Long Time No See

Hey guys!

I really loved talking to all of you guys too! That was definitely the best part of my day! It was also weird to see how much the kids have grown even if its only been 4 months. Which is another thing that's kinda weird because really it doesn't even feel like its been that long! So the weather was a little bit to adjust to. but that was mainly because you just sweat a lot more so that s been the biggest change but for the most part everything is going good whether wise. Apparently its supposed to cool down a little bit in January but well have to see about that!

Haha yeah you did mention that a couple of times! I honestly feel like 2 hours wasn't nearly enough to give you the whole story in Benin because really there's just so much going on! But I'm glad for the time that I got. Honestly I can't thank you guys enough for how much you guys give me even when I'm miles and miles away. I really appreciate all the effort that you guys put in for me! Also before the mission too even when I wasn't always very grateful for it. I'm thankful for you guys being my parents because really you guys are the greatest!

So for now my companion is the only one that's moving but sometimes they will switch out multiple people at a time. Also with Togo its not too common to move back and forth but this transfer there were a lot of people that were switched so I'll be seeing some missionaries I've never seen before so that will be kinda cool!

I'm also glad Vaughn is still getting spoiled! Anyway Thanks for all the things you've sent me! I don't have anything to specific but if you could keep some peanut butter coming that would be cool! I love you guys a ton and thanks for everything you do! See ya and have a great week!

Christmas Countdown

Hey Guys!

I'm glad to hear that you guys have had a good week! I always thought Mason was going to stay home until he's thirty so that kinda surprised me ;) but I'm happy for him! I hope they'll be super happy! I'm glad that you're a little bit more ahead of things this year! But even with that I know that you're still pretty busy. But that's why you're gifts are some of the best because of how much time that you put into them!

So at the snake temple there's really just the one type of snake that's not aggressive so that's really all that it is. Its also like a little tourist site where they explain a little bit the background of voodoo and what they believe in so it was actually pretty interesting!

So I believe the plans are still on! We have to still find a cam for the computer but other than that we should be all set. As a back up plan we'll probably just end up calling. It cost a little bit more but I would rather Skype but really we'll be in touch Sunday so I'll make sure we get to talk! Um I'm going to be trying to shoot for 5 o'clock our time so hopefully that will work for you guys over there!

 So this week nothing to special happened. Like I've said, I've started to teach a lot more and that's been a lot more fun and the branch is making some progress from it's apostate so that's really good! Were finding investigators and I just hope that they're willing to stay in the church! Anyway I'm going to wrap up. Since its Christmas I just want to say that I'm really grateful for what you guys have done for me. I would like to say that I was always perfect and perfectly grateful for what you guys have done for me but I know if I did, I would be lying. Even when I wasn't the most obedient thanks for always being there when I had a problem. Even if I never told you a problem specifically, just being with you guys really helped me out so thanks. I hope one day I'll be able to repay you for what you've done for me but, that's going to be pretty difficult. Thank you for all and I'll see you guys on Christmas!

Teaching

Hey Guys!

I'm glad you guys have a good week! It sounds pretty jammed packed with just about anything I could think of. I'm glad that mom is keeping busy like her usual self. It's good to be busy and really it makes time pass by so fast when you're working. Oh and there is no way I would let Prentice do even pretend surgery on me! I miss those kids sometimes! I'm not really looking forward to seeing Vaughn and Baby Miles. That'll be the weirdest thing for me I think.

So yeah what Craig said is true but really I'm thankful for it because it really helped my French. I can speak pretty well already and I'm just thankful for the position I was put in cause that really helped!

There's been a lot of times where I've thought to myself of 1st world problems and how in Africa that's kinda the least of my worries! But honestly things are really different but I'm just happy to be here. There is a lot of work to do but that means time will go by faster than I could've imagined and that's a good thing but at the same time a bad thing.

So this week we had a baptism of a kid named Fr Kenneth. Hes seriously one of my favorite investigators so far and I was so happy that we could baptize him. He is way nice and he seems really prepared so that's been a gift. We received his number as a contact just about 2 weeks ago so really it was just kind of a random event. So I'm rather happy cause really he is one of the coolest kids I've met. This week has actually been really good. I've been able so start teaching more cause my French is actually to a point where I'm not spacing words for more than 10 seconds so this week to me is when I actually feel like a missionary. Before, I would always bare a testimony and give a little bit of the lesson that I already practiced a ton but, last week I was able to give a whole lesson on the Book of Mormon and that was really rewarding.

Donc, je vais finir en francais parc que, comme, j'avais dit avant, c'est bon pratique pour mon francais. Je veux vous dire que je suis très reconnaissant pour tout ce que vous avez fait pour moi. Je suis tres impatient pour l'occasion de parler avec vous pendant Noel. Je souhaite que vous tous soyez en bon sante. Je vous aime beaucoup et Je vais vous voir ce Noel. Passez bonne semaine et je vais vous parler le Lundi prochain.

PS so for the time I'm not too sure. I'll have to talk to my companion a little bit more but it will be after 1 o'clock. At least here anyway Ill try to narrow that down more.
I've received one letter so far so I don't know if that's all.
We have a font at our church so that's where we do our baptisms.

Snake Temple

Whats up guys? :)

So I'm glad that you guys have enjoyed your extended fall break and I'm sorry that the snow had to come but I honestly I completely forgot that by now in Utah we usually have snow! That's one of the weirdest things to think about because usually I would just be hanging out with friends and getting ready for Christmas but I'm instead in Africa and honestly, I'm not sure I would want it another way! :) at least for this Christmas! We'll see how I feel next time around but really I'm doing good!

It sounds like you've guys have had a really good week and I hope your good days continue! I'm really glad that everyone is doing good and that everyone is happy! Um and one second, what happened to Courage in the first place? Cause the last time I heard he was on his mission? Also some disappointing news that I found out this week was that one of the Elders that came into the field with us ended up going home this week. I don't know for what reason but it was really sad to hear. It's really a sad thing to hear when missionaries go home especially when you've personally known them and seen who they are.

With that thought really I'm starting to figure that out more and more. Especially here because sometimes the missionaries here are literally asked to open up a new sector and basically establish a church in a specific town so if there's questions in the branch it truly is the missionaries who are there to make sure everything goes right. Really I've been able see how much is possible to help. I really wish that I could do everything I possibly could to help everyone but sadly I can't help every single person. No matter how much I might want to. There's so many little things that I've took for granted at home that some of these people haven't even experienced before and it really has given me a new perspective. Oh and now I'm not exactly picky in what I eat now ;) But anyway I've learned a lot and I hope that I'll continue to learn.

So just a quick story we went to a snake temple and there we could pick up and touch a whole bunch of snakes so I got some pretty decent pictures of that so I hope that you'll like them!

I hope you're all doing good and that you also will continue be like that! Thanks for everything that you've done and I did get the Christmas package and I haven't opened up the other half yet so Ill keep forcing myself not to! Anyway until next time!

Nice snake tie

Ring around the snake

Watch your step!

Point of No Return Monument

Thankful Week

Whats up?!

Im glad to hear that you guys had a good Thankgsgiving break and that everything is going well over there! Everything is going pretty well over here! Weve actually had some interesting stuff thats been happening between some of the members of the branch and so weve been kept pretty busy with that. I dont think that I would be allowed so say because its actually pretty sensitive stuff that I honestly thought I would never really come across in my life but its happened so thats kinda been a subject of our work lately but just know were getting things handled and the problem is starting to die down so thats been good!

And honestly 2 years doesnt seem really too long to me right now. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing and really the people are great and I'm just happy to be here safe and sound. Thanks for sending the package I hope I'll be able to get it soon and I'll do my best to wait for Christmas but that may be a little difficult ;) I'm glad mom was finally able to make an awesome pie! If there's one thing that I have noticed, is that really I'm pretty much down to eat whatever because really sometimes you run out of money and you just gotta find what ever is cheapest sometimes but really the food is good!

So for the food seasoning I think I'm good but if you could send like more drink mixes and stuff. That would be awesome cause that really tasted good! So the new missionary has started to adjust fairly well. He struggled quite a bit at the beginning because he really loved everything in America and litterally theres nothing here thats the same so that took him a while but hes getting into the swing of it.

As for my testimony and spiritual experiences. My testimony is really strong. To me everything in this church just makes sense to me and if God sent Jesus Christ to be his example then why wouldnt we follow everything he taught and set up while he was on the earth. For me everything just makes sense and as I'm teaching and learning I just keep finding more that just adds to it so its building. Sometimes spiritual experiences out in the field can be difficult but the most spiritual experiences I found are when someone has a problem and you are able to help them through the church. That's really one of the coolest things that I've seen and problems here are quite frequent so yeah! But really there are always spiritual experiences no matter how small they may be and really it's just a matter of paying attention.

De toute facon, je vais finir en français parce que j'aime écrit en francais. C'est amusant et bon pratique. J'espere que vous allez avoir une bonne semaine! Et aussi que vous pouvez voir plus les benedictions que Dieu vous a donné et aussi qu'il va vous donner. et je veux le meme pour moi aussi. Parfois, c'est un peu difficile de voir tout qu'il a fait pour nous, mais, si nous prenons les temps de nous arrêter et regarder autour de nous. Je sais que vous allez voir les chose que vous n'avez jamais reconnu avant. Je vous souhaite une bonne semaine! Je suis impatient pour le prochaine fois. Merci pour tout ce que vous avez fait pour moi. Je n'serais pas ici sans vous. Merci pour tout. à tout alors!

Elder Ellison

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!!

Whats up guys? :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!! And I actually remembered during the week so don't think I forgot all about ya!

I finally got my package!!! It was the best thing ever!! You think I'm kidding but that was really awesome! Thanks for everything that you did for me! I really like that book also those Oreo cookies were like the best thing I've ever tasted, that was fantastic!

I'm glad you guys have had a good week! And yes that Hires makes me only a little bit jealous but hey I had grilled chicken with rice and a tomato based sauce so I think I won that battle ;) Oh hey good on the Jazz! They might actually be a good team this year but then again I could've just cursed it by saying that!

Alright so this week has actually been a pretty productive week and a little crazy! So first off it was out first transfer this week and it was pretty eventful! Elder Ranaivo is becoming a new Assistant to the President and we're also going to be receiving a new missionary from the United States! So I'll pretty much be his trainer because the person who he's training speaks the most rapid French I think that I have ever heard! So that will be an interesting formation! Also I've started using French words that resemble English words a lot more and that's been a really weird thing! Kinda like formation I would've just said training but in French its Formation so I've just started using that!

Also we had another baptism this past Sunday and it was 2 people Marie and Laurent and really they're pretty awesome! They don't speak really good French so its really kinda hard to talk to them but when you can they are really kind and funny! I really like them!

Anyway that's pretty much it for this week! Ill update you on the situation with the new American next week! Have a good week and I'll talk to you guys soon!

Laurent and Marie 

Happy Birthday Cake

Marie

Bon Anniversaire

Hello!

Thanks guys! Its really is weird to think that I turned 19 in Benin Africa and that there's only 1 more birthday on my mission! I really appreciate that you have sent the package, but no I have not yet received it. I however did receive Brother Miles weekly painting and he sent that on the 11 and that just got to me last Friday so I'm sure the package will arrive soon enough! Please tell grandma and grandpa thanks! The one thing that I've bought here were a pair of Nike shoes that are probably not real but still are pretty cool and they were only 14 bucks! Also, our apartment just had a little party and we bought some cakes and they were actually super good! However one cake is more expensive than the shoes I bought but the lady who made them gave us a discount on the second one so that's awesome!

Dang a car caught on fire! That sounds like something that would happen here! I'm glad you guys have been having a good week! Its always nice to hear that my family having a good time!

So now with the homesickness I'm actually doing so much better! I just kinda missed having someone to just kinda talk to about pretty much anything! Because really there's only so much I can talk about in French. It's coming a lot faster and if someone is talking directly at me,I can understand probably about 90 percent of the time but if its like a big conversation that's kinda hard to follow. Things are starting to become easier to memorize so that's been good!

Alright Mama Sabine is pretty cool! Shes super nice and she lives with a pretty big family! Not all of them are her children but when you live with that many people they're pretty much your family. She sells candy and some other food for the most part but one thing that's super cool she has a lot of faith! Like any problem she has she believes that God is going to help her no matter what and that's actually really cool! She sometimes doesn't know all the doctrine so sometimes she'll say stuff and well have to explain it again but she really is awesome,

Food is pretty basic. Chicken, fish, rice, or a sauce is usually the case. I've made some scrambled eggs and I've made chocolate milk so that's awesome! I also want to make an egg salad sandwich because that's pretty simple. Um request wise just some different types of candy and maybe a jar of peanut butter! Oh and maybe a couple recipes too? Not anything crazy but variety would help. Oh and maybe the recipe for cookie dough? The eggs haven't affected me so far and if I get sick. It will totally be worth it! I've actually noticed I kinda gotten smaller but that's not because I don't eat enough, we just do so much walking and I try to do some exercises every morning but don't worry I'm not starving!

I really like that thought about joy. Also a big thing that goes with that is hope. Hope is one of the biggest reasons why sometimes we can do things or overcome trials that other wise would be really difficult. That's one of the many benedictions ( I used that word automatically cause its blessings in french ) of the church and that's one of the reasons I came on my mission. I'm glad things are going well and I hope you all have a great week! Love you! Talk to you next week!