Elder Mackinnon Lyman: Another one rides the bus. Week 14

Bonjour from Côte d'Iviore! Week 14 was great! On mecredi we had our interview with president. I always love the meetings with president; the spirit in his office is so strong. After the interview, Elder Kalala and I went to this supermarket that's kinda close to the bureau. We ate PIZZA. It was SO GOOD. I wanted to cry haha.

After we ate and Elder Kalala bought some stuff, we met up with Elder Kasau and Elder Kamara to wait for the bus. 2½ hours later, the bus arrives. The doors open, and a person falls out because it's so full. Miraculously, the four of us fit in the bus. For the next 40 minutes, I was pressed against the railing at the front of the bus. Whenever the driver pressed on the brakes, the force of 15 bodies would squish me against the bar. Not the best. The whole front of the bus is pretty much a window, so it kinda felt like we were in a rollercoaster. Except I had 4 VERY sweaty people pressed up against me. It was SO cramped. And sweaty. Eventually we got to our stop and got off. It felt 20 degrees cooler than the bus, and it was like 85 outside. Ça va aller.

Elder Hougaard was the american that joined our district last week, but he had to go home for health reasons on jeudi. So now, his companion (Elder David, from Nigeria), Elder Kalala, and I are in a companionship. We now work in two different sectors, Vridi 1 and Petit-Bassam. Our room is too small for Elder Kalala and I, and now we're having to fit Elder David in it too. We're only gonna be in an equipe of three for the next 3 weeks, but until then, it'll be an experience for sure.

While I've been on my mission, I feel like my eyes have been opened. I've learned so much about the gospel. One thing I've been trying to do is put my trust in the Lord. It's not always easy, but it's helped me a lot.

"But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things." (2 Nephi 2:24)

When someone doesn't show up for a rendez-vous, when the power goes out, or really anything unpleasant happens, I try to have the mentality that it's God's will, and that that thing has happened for a reason. If we try not to focus on the negative aspects of life, and have trust in the Lord that 'all things have been done in wisdom', I promise that our lives will be happier.

The mission is the dream, there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. I still miss real food. A lot. Fr Daniel and possibly his son are gonna get baptized on samedi, which is SO cool!

I hope you guys enjoy lots of real food on jeudi, Happy Thanksgiving! Vous me manquez! Je vous aime! Jusqu'à la semaine prochaine!

-Elder Lyman

• Elder David joked with us about how Elder Lyman cooks. He calls it "Sauce Lyman". Sounds like the way Elder Lyman's grandfather cooks. By experimentation. Elder David said it was "very nice".

•Each Elder in the apartment gets 2 pieces of chicken per day.

•Lundi = Monday, Mardi = Tuesday, Mercredi = Wednesday, Jeudi = Thursday, Vendredi = Friday, Samedi = Saturday, Dimanche = Sunday.

•We were able to video chat for the first time today because the cyber was closed. So Elder Lyman and his companions went to the church and a branch president met them there. It was a lot of fun listening to Elder Lyman speak French with everyone who came in the room.