The Fast and the Furious (Cabs). Week 12

Bonjour from Côte d'Iviore! Week 12 was great! We didn't have anyone give us food this week, so, unfortunately, I don't have any wild stories. I eat a banana and a hardboiled egg with some doxy for breakfast every morning. Lunch is the same old riz (rice), poulet (chicken) or poisson (fish), and sauce tomate (tomato paste). Sometimes we have eba (Nigerian fufu), but it's not very often. Dinner is usually whatever is left from lunch and maybe some fruit. We eat the same exact thing EVERY DAY. It's actually quite rare when we eat attieke or aloko. On samedi, for 1000f (a little less than $2), I bought 12 bananas, 10 oranges, and 4 limes. Stuff is so cheap here, it's kinda crazy.

Le français is coming bit by bit. Guys, the don de langue is so real. I still often have trouble figuring out what people say, but I can hold a pretty constant conversation, and can teach the basic lessons. It's such a blessing. On dimanche I gave a 5 minute talk. I just had a few scriptures, and the rest of it I left for the spirit to decide. I filled the whole 5 minutes, and I didn't have any problems speaking. The words flowed from my mouth. It was so cool. Afterwards, the members said that they understood and that it was a good talk! I still have such a long way to go, but I'm so so grateful that I've been blessed with what I have so far. Line upon line, precept upon precept, word upon word. Ça va aller.

On jeudi and dimanche, Elder Kalala and I got rides from Elder Torgerson and Elder Kulekor (they're the financial assistants for the mission) to Toit Rogue because the taxis are way expensive to travel that far. We went there because there was a missionary singing practice there. I'm not really sure what it's in preparation for, but I think that we're gonna practice again on Mardi. Quick sidenote before I share a story: There are many different kinds of taxis here in Abidjan. The yellow ones are just your normal average taxi. Then there's blue and green taxis, and they're for specific areas of the city, but I'm not sure exactly where. But, then there's the orange taxis. They don't have any geographical boundaries, and they cost the most. They're also by far the fastest. And the craziest. When we've taken orange taxis, they weave between cars, drive on the other side of the highway, and run stoplights. They have 4 passenger seats, and they never have seatbelts. It's crazy; it often feels like your life is on the line. Anyways, on the way back from Toit Rogue on jeudi (we were on the freeway going probably 100kph), I looked out the window. Driving quickly past us, there were probably 12 or 13 people stuffed into an orange taxi. They were piled up on top of each other, and hanging out the windows. For some of them, the only part of their body that was in the car was their leg. On the highway. Going faster than 100kph. I don't understand how they didn't fall out. I don't think I'll ever get used to the driving here.

We had a service du baptême on samedi! 3 of the little kids in our ward wanted to be baptized, so we interviewed them on mercredi and had the service on samedi. It was a good experience. Benny and Yannick are 11, and Séphora is 10. I baptized Yannick and Séphora, and Fr Peter baptized Benny and a little kid from Vridi 2. The spirit is always so strong during les services du baptême, I love it. Also, next week we're planning on asking Fr Daniel to be baptized! He's an ami de l'eglise that has been coming to church for the past three weeks and he's super interested. We've given him a Livre de Mormon, but he's often too busy with his work for us to teach him. He's an awesome guy; j'ai la foi qu'il va être baptise. Ça va aller.

My spiritual thought this week is a scripture that is very close to my heart. I don't know exactly when I read this scripture, but I've remembered it ever since:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning these things."

"Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (D&C 6:22-23)

Although this revelation was originally for Oliver Cowdery, it's applicable to everyone. The feeling of peace can only come from God. Throughout my life, I've noticed instances where I've felt peace. I'll share two of those experiences with you. Before I opened my mission call, I prayed fervently to know that the place stated in my call was the right place for me. As I first read my call, and for quite a while after, I felt peace. I knew that Côte d'Ivoire was the place that the Lord wanted me to go.

My second one was leading up to my departure. Because I'm the oldest in my family, the "big brother" mentality is natural for me. That's the biggest reason why leaving on a mission was so hard, and still is sometimes. Being on the other side of the world means I can't protect the people I love. It made me cry thinking about it, and it still makes me emotional (tears are currently being shed, fun fact). Before I left, I prayed so much for my loved ones back home to be protected. As I said goodbye to my friends one by one, I felt that they would be protected. Eventually the day came for me to leave. As I said goodbye to my extended family, and eventually my family in the airport, I felt the most incredible, overpowering feeling of love and peace. There's no way to describe it. My whole soul was 'full' of that sensation. I knew that my family would be safe, and that I was doing the right thing. Even though I'm still going to worry, I know that my loved ones back home will be safe.

I promise that the power of prayer is real. If we pray with sincere and good intent, our Heavenly Father will respond. Even though he responds in his own way and time, he will respond. I am so incredibly grateful for prayer in my life, and I hope that you feel the same way. I promise that God is real and loves you, and that he will answer your prayers.

Other than the fact that the weather felt like someone stuck a giant magnifying glass in front of the sun, this week was great! Vous me manque! Je vous aime! Jusqu'à semaine prochaine!

-Elder Lyman

A photo of one of the streets in our sector while we were waiting for our rendez-vous.

These are what they use for brooms here. You have to crouch to use it.

Frére Peter, les enfants, et moi. Benny has his arm around Yannick, Séphora is to the left of Benny, and the little kid in front is from Vridi 2.

Elder Kalala, les enfants de Vridi 1, et moi.

Tout le monde (or in other words, everyone). The soeur missionaries in our district are crouched down at the front. Soeur Bouanga is on the left, and Soeur Mikanda is on the right.

Moi

Elder Godfrey, Elder Perkins, and I at Toit Rouge!

*Elder Lyman will be attempting to cut his own hair soon. He has PTSD from his first experience and doesn't want a repeat. 

*Days of the week in French (Monday to Sunday) are as follows... lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche.