Le Blanc. Semaine 8

Bonjour!
Week 2 in Vridi 1 was great! I've gotten used to most of the stuff here now. It's actually not that hot here, thankfully. I haven't seen a single mosquito yet (no Dad it's not like when we were in Colorado). The only animals I've seen here are chickens and some pretty sad looking sheep. Here's my usual daily schedule:

6:00 Wake up to the sound of the Catholic church playing its music

7:00 Eat sleep for breakfast

7:30 Do personal study

8:30 Do companionship study

9:30 Go proselyte, study

12:30 Eat a tomato paste stew with rice and doxy for lunch

13:30 Language study

14:30 Go proselyting, teach lessons, get called "le blanc" wherever I go

20:00 Return to the apartment and maybe eat something

20:30 Plan for the next day

21:00 Additional study while the Catholic church plays music

21:45 Go to bed 

That's what my schedule is usually like, but it varies all the time. Depending on whether or not we have appointments or meetings in the city, we stay at the apartment longer, or scratch our entire morning and take a taxi to the stake center, or proselyte later, or skip lunch, the schedule is all over the place. We've taught a few lessons and my French has been okay but people usually laugh at me when I speak haha.

The people here are so nice. When we show up, they always go to find something for us to sit on, whether it be a chair or a pillow or a wood block. Usually the things we sit on are the only seat that they have, so they sit on the ground. If there's nothing else, they'll sit on the ground. They always offer us water. They're always willing to listen and are pretty open about their thoughts and feelings. They're so humble and I love that.

I haven't eaten any really weird stuff here yet. Our daily lunch meal is almost always tomato paste stew with rice. Here's how to make it:

Step 1: cook a ton of rice with a little bit of oil

Step 2: Saute some onions and sometimes cook chicken in lots of oil

Step 3: Add a considerable amount of tomato paste to the oil onion mixture. Let it cook

Step 4: Put the oil-onion-tomato paste stuff on the rice and voila.

It's not bad but it's not something that I'd make at home. Other things I've eaten: 

-The Congolese fufu that Elder Kasau makes with tomato stew. 

-Acheke with veggies, fried fish, and  sometimes mayo (I think that it's called Garbo)

-Acheke with pork and spicy sauce 

-An egg sandwich that had way too much mayo in it

-Spaghetti with sardines and spicy sauce

-Fried bananas & plantains (which by the way is SO good)

-Fufu and goat stew and tamarind juice at a bishop's house (which is SO good too)

(Acheke/Attiéké is a side dish made from cassava that is a part of the cuisine of Côte d'Ivoire. The dish is prepared from cassava pulp that has been grated or granulated. Dried attiéké is also prepared, and is similar in texture to couscous.)

(Fufu is a staple food and is made by boiling starchy foods like cassava and/or plantains and then pounding them into a dough-like consistency) 

 

That's it as far as the food I've had goes. Not too weird yet (I haven't eaten any giant snails yet thankfully). I want to convince Elder Kalala to come to a store with me so I can buy stuff to make brownies or tacos or something like that.

There's so much more I could add to talk about. I have to keep it short though.

For my spiritual thought, I'll share an experience I had. One morning, I was doing personal study, and a couple thoughts sunk into my heart. One was from a meeting we had in a previous day. 

Elder Kalala and I went to a meeting with all the other new missionaries and President Lewis & Soeur Lewis. I learned so much from it, but the principle that stuck out the most to me was this. President said that we can't just be a "good missionary." Trying to be the best missionary we can be is great. But even if we become the best missionary ever, after our mission ends, we're not a missionary anymore. That's why we have to be good disciples of Christ instead of just a good missionary. That way, the things we learn here will continue with us after our missions as well. We have to do our best to act as Christ would act, and follow Him.

The second thought I had was from a song. Elder Kamara has music that he plays often, and it's wonderful. The song that touched my heart is about a missionary leaving people behind. In the previous verses, it says that "two years is a long time for me" and "I'll miss you dearly." The last verse is the Elder's response to his loved ones, and it hit me really hard.

"Two years is a time for me to give back for I owe, each breath that I breathe. It's only a small thing, when you look at eternity."

My third thought came from my companion, Elder Kalala. He truly is amazing, I love him with all my heart. Anyways, the same day as the activity with the Lewis's, we had a heart-felt conversation. He told me about his struggle to come on a mission and the challenges he had to overcome so that he could serve. But, he told me that being here is what his father wants him to do, both his Heavenly Father and his father in the spirit world. He dedicates everything to the people here, always asking himself how he can help them, how he can serve. He loves them. He's an incredible person.

I have a scripture that ties all those thoughts together. In Alma, the sons of Mosiah went on a mission to their brethren, the Lamanites. They left their rights to the throne of Zarahemla, family, friends, and home for 14 years. 14 YEARS. Ammon, one of the sons of Mosiah, says this about his experiences:

"And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation, yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world - not upon the mercies of the world alone, but upon the mercies of God."

"And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some." (Alma 26:28,30)

Ammon and his brethren left everything they knew behind, and completely committed themselves to the service of God. They suffered so much, and yet they did it patiently with patience and love. Because of this, they brought many of the Lamanites to the truth, and their joy was full.

I'm here in Côte d'Iviore, having left family and friends behind that I love an entire world away. Any manner of problems or afflictions that will happen here are nothing. The Savior suffered everything for us. The least I can do is try and pay back what I owe. I know that my family will be protected and safe. I will work my hardest, relying on the Lord, keeping my eye single to the glory of God. I will become the best disciple of Christ that I can be. I'm ready to "lose myself in the work."

I'm sorry for how long this email was haha, I got carried away. But anyways, I want you to know that I love each and every one of you and I miss you! Until next week!

-Elder Lyman

Sorry that I have no pictures this week, we can't take pictures while we're proselyting and I always forget about my camera haha.

Other info from Elder Lyman during our hangouts chat that was very short this week because the power went out... twice...
•His companion, Elder Kalala was one of the first elders to serve in Senegal, which is also part of the Abidjan West mission. He served there for ten months. He returns home December 17th.
•Elder Lyman tries to teach parts of lessons, but it is still tough.
•He has seen a few stray dogs, but not many. Another elder said that dogs are sold at butcher's counters as meat where he is... Maybe that is why.
•Taxi rides "are the most stressful thing ever and we take them often. Sometimes we are just in oncoming traffic."
•If Elder Lyman can't get the computer at the cyber cafe to switch to English then his portable keyboard doesn't work and his texts/emails look like this

because the keys are in strange places. He is happy to use the keyboard we sent him with. It makes communication so much easier on his end. I am so glad we sent him with the Neo keyboard. (Thanks, Morrills, for the suggestion!!!)