.....October 12-19.....

hello agin family and friends,

this week has been pretty crazy to be honest. alot of changes. first off, i'd like to inform you all that the goat which guards our appartment was killed and eaten by our guardian. we were pleasantly greeted by the head of the goat as we left the appartment friday morning. i'm just alittle miffed that he didnt invite us to eat with him. oh well, perhaps i will cross another in the next year and a half.

we watched "other side of heaven" with a family from the ward. it totally got me jacked to be a missionary. it always touches me to watch that.

in bigger news, ITS OFFICIAL. i am leaving for Riviera on wednesday with elder n'dri. we wont be companions but we will still be in the same appartment there. my new companions name is elder gnohohi, and he's pretty dang awesome. i already knew him from zone conferences. so these next few days will be dedicated to saying our goodbyes. i love our investigators, and its going to be really hard to say goodbye. i hope the missionaries replacing us can pick up right where we left off. however difficult it may be, i am glad to be going because now i can feel like im actually progressing.

so this mission is the most difficult thing i have ever done and most definitely ever will do. but whats keeping me going? i think its the fact that i am not alone. i have a loving family who supports me through all the trials, an incredible group of friends, an amazing girlfriend with an amazing family. and of course, i KNOW without a doubt that the Lord's hand is in this work. i have no doubt about it. this isnt easy, but its so worth it. i am learning and growing every day, my testimony is getting stronger and stronger, not to mention my french, but i know that this is God's work. i I KNOW that His gospel has been restored. i have seen the changes in these peoples' lives. i wish i could describe everything that i see and feel but thirty minutes on a computer is just not long enough. i guess i'll have to wait to share my journal until i get home.

just know that i love you all and i miss you all so very much. somedays are harder than others, but i am doing fine. i am focused on the work and i am trying to lose myself so that Heavenly Father can make me an instrument in His hands. i am trying to give everything i have so that when i return, you will all see the version of me that He had in mind.

thank you for all of your support. keep me in your prayers as you all are in mine. i cant wait to tell you about my first week in riviera next monday!!!

your Ivoirien missionary,

elder call

.....September 28-October 5.....

hello friends and family,

this week again hasnt been very exciting, but thats alright. i cant believe its october already, and its already the fourth week of this transfer!!! kinda nuts, time is flying. that also means that it is getting closer and closer to the day when n'dri gets transferred... that is definitely not fun to think about but i guess he has to go sometime right??

so everyone has been talking about how awesome general conference was... i wouldnt know, we didnt get it over here. but im sure it was as great as everyone said.

so my ward split on monday!! there has been so much growth in the past few months that now it is just the koumassi ward and the marcory ward meeting in the same building but at different times. kinda exciting right? also i have been getting more and more people at the english lessons, which is pretty dang fun. i know im not here to teach english, but its helping us find new people to teach, and its providing a service for the local members here.

as we draw nearer to halloween, i have been thinking of my costume. something with a shirt and tie. i might go as a missionary or something. i dont know, i havent decided yet.

(SPIDERMAN!!!! or......)

(a missionary????)

also, tell annie and youyou banza that i learned how to make alocco. they would be very proud. its pretty dang good so when i get home i will have to make it for you all.

well the work is progressing great, we have dozens of awesome people we are teaching, my companion and i continue to grow closer. its way hard being away from everyone, but i know that this is the right thing to be doing. i am learning so much, and growing so much.

dad as you asked, here are some ideas for a christmas package.

-black/brown athletic socks (nike or adidas, midcalf) because my dress socks are too thin and got sooo many holes in them

-DEODORANT/ANTIPERSPIRANT

-flip flops, not the thong kind, nor velcro


-sharpie pens(not markers) in different colors for marking scripturesthats it really... of course the snacks always rock

well i love you all and miss you terribly, but know that i am doing fine and that this work is God's work, not my own.


til next week!!

your african


elder call