Long Time No See

Hey 好久不见. Sorry it's been a while.
Time here flies by so quick. The days and the weeks go by so quick. So so so fast.
After everything we’ve done during the day, we get back to the apartment and it is crazy to see how much time has passed. The days are over.

I was able to watch the Saturday afternoon session, and the last 3 speakers of the Priesthood session. And President Nelson’s talk in the Sunday morning session. That was all I was able to watch with how they were distributing it. I’ve been going through talks when we have time. It was a really good conference. The talks have been awesome. One of the talks that probably touched me the most was President Eyring’s talk in the Saturday morning session about temples. There was a phrase in there that really hit me. He said something about how he wants to prepare us, to remind us of the importance of temples to prepare us for the temple experiences that are coming for us. When I heard that it reminded me of some things I’d been counseled about, and it got me thinking that I need to make temple worship a consistent part of my life after my mission. I haven’t thought much about after the mission. I’m pretty laid back and feel that whatever comes comes, but now I am thinking about how am I going to continue my discipleship after my mission. What is going to be most important. How I am going to continue with my goals and spirituality, and stuff like that.

Now, I'll try to give some insight on this place.

Transfers came on Saturday and I'm staying here in Koweït 1 with Elder Kouadio. I kind of wanted to leave so that I could see some different parts of the mission, but after giving it some thought, there's no way I'd want to leave. This ward and sector are the absolute best. I love the members and the amis here so much.

I'll try to give you an idea of how life is here. We live on the 4th floor of a pretty nice apartment building. Our apartment is small, but it's pretty nice. Because we live on the 4th floor, it does mean that we have to frequently walk up and down a couple flights of stairs, but there's a really nice constant breeze that comes. Also. There are no rats. No cockroach armies. HUGE plus. I'm so glad that we don't have to wage war here like I had to in Vridi.

The view from the apartment

 

Our power cuts out once every couple days, ranging from 15 minutes to 48 hours. It kind of really sucks when that happens, but it's manageable.

Each morning, we go downstairs and buy a baguette with chopped hardboiled eggs, beans, cow liver, and sauteed onions in it, along with this juice called menthe au lait (I know it's wack, but that's the best option we have here haha).

baguette with chopped hardboiled eggs, beans, cow liver, and sauteed onions in it, along with this juice called menthe au lait

For the other meals, sometimes Elder Kouadio makes some sauces like arachide (peanut sauce) or djumbilé (some dried okra sauce). When we don't cook at the apartment, we usually have garba or porc au four (pork head. kind of the actual worst. I could go on about it for a while). The food is pretty alright, although I do have times where I want some food from home.

That's as far as living conditions go really. I could explain more, but I hope that gives some insight.

In our sector, there are 3 different areas. The area that our apartment is in is called Agbayate, the area that's across the ravine is called Koweït,  and the last one is called Santé, which is the area kinda down next to the lagoon. They're all in our sector and are in a mile radius to our apartment, but the people are very different in each area.

- Santé is a nicer area with bigger churches. Most of the people that we've interacted with so far there are bashers.
- Agbayate is full of bigger apartment buildings and at least 20 different churches. Most people in that area haven't been very interested.
- Koweït is the poorer section of our sector, and is where the majority of our amis are. They are a lot more receptive there.

I saw the same results in my comparison between Flower Mound and Dallas back in Texas. I won't talk about it too much, but I just think that the correlation between income and humility is really interesting.

We have a lot of really awesome amis here right now. La famille Soya is still wonderful. The parents are still working towards marriage, but are already firm in attending church and participating in church activities. Their 2 youngest kids were baptized on the 24th last month. It was a great experience. We're continuing to work with the other kids, but they're hard to catch. I love that family so much.

Prunelle and Emmanuelle soya

Some other people that are preparing for baptism:
- Sr & Sephora Yao. Sr Yao is the wife of the stake clerk. I don't know why she hasn't joined the church yet, she is very prepared and ready to hear the gospel. Her 9 year old daughter, Séphora, is also very prepared, and sometimes is really funny. Their baptism is scheduled for the 29th this month.
- Sr Kahi. She is the wife of a recent convert, and has recently started to become more interested in the church. We've put a lot of effort into teaching her and helping her understand. Her baptism is scheduled for June 5th.
- Sr Loua. She is someone we found 3 weeks ago. She has a really simple faith and understands really easily when we talk about the gospel. She is awesome. She should be reached for the 29th.
- Aurelia & Ange. They are two 13 year old girls that live in the same building as Sr Kahi. They progress really well, and understand easily the things that we teach. They're set for the 29th as well.

There are so many wonderful examples of faith, love, and devotion here. Those are just a few people that are progressing well. This place is the best place on earth.

Me personally, I'm just trying to do my best to serve the Lord these last couple months. It gets harder every day to stay focused, but I do my best to work as hard as I can. I'm so grateful that the Lord gave me the blessing to return here. There is no place I'd rather be right now.

The people here continue to amaze me every day. They have such a simple faith in the gospel, as well as a firm determination to live it. One time, one of our amis was coming to the church for a lesson when her sandals broke. She walked on the hot asphalt all the rest of the way. A couple Sundays ago, one of our recent converts had an extremely swollen ankle, which made it difficult and painful to walk. Yet, she made it to church on time, a couple minutes before 7. Yes. Church starts at 7:00 am. Multiple families have given us meals when they barely had any food to feed themselves. There's so many other experiences like that that happen from day to day.

I love the people here so much. It's kind of weird to me that someone love a people and culture in general more than individuals found within. Often, I find myself at our balcony watching people walking, just going about their daily activities. Then, I have a certain feeling in my heart as I remember that each one of those people is a daughter or son of God, and that He loves them so so much. I really do love the people here with all my heart. It's going to be really hard to leave.

As I wrote that, I was reminded of a scripture:

"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him" (2 Nephi 26:24).

Christ is the absolute greatest example of love. It's impossible for me to understand, but I imagine Him right before coming down to start His life on earth. I imagine Him looking at the people on the earth, who He was about to sacrifice himself for. I'm sure He saw the scope of sins, hate, despair, sufferings, and fallen state of the people at that time, and of humankind in general, that He was about to take upon Himself.

Yet, when He looked down, He didn't turn back. He came down and pushed through the torture, suffering, and agony that came with being the Savior of the world. He went through all that He did because His divine love for us outweighs the ocean of our mistakes and sins. We can't ever completely understand Him and how He atoned for us. All that we can do is repent, try and help others, and stand in wondering awe of the Son of God.

I love Him, and I love the people here. I'm so grateful that I can continue to walk with my Savior in doing His work. I will never be able to repay him for the experiences that I've had, for the things that I've learned, or the love that I've felt. I love you guys as well. Have a great week!

Elder Lyman

MLC

The zone visited St. Paul's Cathedral

Le Blanc

Le Blanc. Cute kids. 

Elder Lyman says kids play with trash in the streets, like the kid running up to him. And they are so happy.

Oh it is Wonderful!

 So, not much has changed since the last time I wrote. And a lot has as well. As far as the constant grind, nah that's still the exact same. Working hard, all day, every day. Awesomeness.

Then, of course a lot has changed, in the sense that our amis continue to progress. There's so many people here that are ready and prepared to hear the gospel. Right now, we currently have 6 people on date for baptism, and we're planning (hoping) to have more this week as well. Prunelle and Emmanuel, 2 of the kids from the famille Soya are being baptized this Saturday. Things are going good.

Just a quick addition. The past couple weeks with Easter and general conference having happened, I've been thinking a lot about the resurrection and the Savior's Atonement. I had written out a long explanation of how I felt, but I realized that there was a really easy way to express my thoughts and feelings. Hymn #193

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.
                    
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!
                    
I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.
                    
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!
                    
I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.
                    
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I love this hymn. It expresses perfectly my thoughts and feelings. How would the Son of God descend from heaven to suffer, bleed, and die for someone as lost, weak, and unworthy as me? It blows me away. I'll never completely understand it. But, it does give me reason to always, always thank Heavenly Father for His Son and what he has done for me.

Have a great week!
Elder Lyman

 

Climbing a tree to pick oranges.

oranges...

Elder Lyman has been eating a lot of pork. But not pork like we eat in the States. It is a chopped up pig head. Skin, teeth, bones, ears and all. He says it is like eating Beanboozled or Bertie Bott's beans, but it's all bad. He doesn't love biting down on pig teeth or ears. Or jaw bones. Or most of it.

Caught in a rainstorm while tracting.

 

Lost in the Work

 Okay I actually have less time to write this week than last week.

 It's going to be hard to not repeat myself, but honestly it's amazing to be back here. Last week passed in the blink of an eye. Lost in the work is such a good feeling.

 

From 6:00-9:30 each day we do all of our daily preparation. Pray, exercise, personal and companionship study, and daily planning. Then, from 9:30-19:00, we have lessons. The entire day. Some days we don't have time for lunch, we just keep going on teaching and finding. Then after 19h00, after we've done all of our planning and cleaning and dinner, it's usually bedtime au même temps. It's so crazy, we have no time to se reposer. I love it though.

Sorry if I use French words. Sometimes it just makes more sense that way.

We had zone conference this week (it feels like ages ago). It was really good. It had been a long time since I'd had zone conference in person, and even longer since it'd been here with President and Sœur Lewis. The Spirit was really strong there. 

Some of our amis that are progressing the best is la famille Soya. It's a family that has 9 kids I'm pretty sure. I love them so much. The parents and a few of their kids have been pretty consistently attending church each week, and tonight we taught a wonderful lesson with them. We taught l'évangile de Jésus Christ, or the Doctrine of Jesus Christ (I think) and read Mosiah 5. When we asked them to be baptized, they were happy and excited to. The Spirit was so strong as we talked with them. One thing though, Fr and Sr Soya aren't legally married yet. They'll be married in June, so they'll have to wait. I hope I'll still be here to see that happen, but we'll see. Either way, as long as they are firm in their knowledge and testimony of the gospel, that's what matters most.

La famille Soya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... 

Now I want to talk about someone that I love very very much.

 Elder Assale told me that this ward was amazing and that they work really well with missionnaires. I quickly found out why. Our ward mission leader, Fr Oulaï, is one of the most Christlike people I've ever met. I've been working with him for just a month, and I've already learned a lot and grown just from his example. I don't know all of his story as well as I'd like, partially because of français, but here's what I know.

That is Frère Oulaï in the forefront

 

 I don't know how many years it's been, but he converted to the church a while ago. From what I understand, there was a point in his life where he started to search for truth. He went to many different churches, and even tried Islam and Buddhism. He spent a couple years in search of truth. Eventually, he found the missionaries, and discovered the truth he was looking for.

 A couple years after that, he was living with a woman (now his wife) and they were working towards marriage. They saved up enough money for la dote(similar to a required dowry), but then he was paralyzed. I'm not sure what situation he was in medically, but from what I understand, for a year he couldn't move or talk. After a year, he slowly rehabilitated, and was able to function properly again.

 They had to get ready for marriage again by saving up money. It was then that Fr Oulaï found out that living together before marriage wasn't in compliance with God's commandments. So, for the next year, he slept outside. Basically, he chose to be homeless to keep that commandment. The amount of devotion and love he had is really amazing to see.

 Now, they're married and sealed together. They live in the poorest section of our area, with a house similar to the ones I described next to the lagoon in Vridi. Dirt floor, black trash bags for walls, and sheet metal roofing. Their home is 1/2 the size of my bathroom back home. They basically have nothing. Fr Oulaï doesn't have a job anymore, and I don't think Sr Oulaï does either, at least they don't have consistent incomes at all. They actually live from day to day. 

 And yet, despite their complete lack of money and possessions, they're always happy, always smiling. Fr Oulaï works with us 2 or 3 days a week, for 10 hours a day. And even then, when he isn't working with us, he's street contacting people all the time. He's someone who truly loves the Lord.

 After we talked with them and they recounted their history, Sr Oulaï fed us dinner. They're scraping by as it is, and they chose to feed us. 

 On Saturday, Elder Kouadio and I were going back to the apartment after a meeting for lunch, Fr Oulaï tagged along with us. Our apartment didn't have water for a while, so the dishes had really piled up in the kitchen. I was planning on washing the dishes, but Fr Oulaï just started doing them himself. He did a couple days worth of dirty dishes just because.

 He never ceases to amaze me. I love him so so much. And his wife too, she's amazing as well. But especially Fr Oulaï. People like that deserve so much more than they deal with. It breaks my heart. But it also makes them be such an incredible example for me. I love them so much.

I almost forgot to mention it, but next week we'll be having a baptism. Sr Martine Lida was someone that Elder Assale taught for a long time and she's finally ready. I'm excited for her to be baptized.

Soeur Martine Lida

 

 Yeah I don't know what else to say. I'm happy to serve, learn, and help. When you lose yourself in the service of others is when you truly find yourself. Love you guys. Have a great week!

Elder Lyman

La Terre Promis

 

Okay, I don't have too much time to write this week. But I'll write what I can.

This week was just like the last, nonstop work. It feels so good to be back and always have somebody to help. There's always an ami, a missionary, or a member that I can be thinking about and wondering how we can serve them, what will help them progress, or what way we can bless their life. This place is the terre promis. 

Elder Assale finishes with his mission tomorrow right after zone conference, so I have another companion with me right now. His name is Elder Kouadio. He's from Yamoussoukro (no idea how that's spelled), Côte d'Ivoire. He's been out for about 4 months now, and seems awesome so far. I'm excited to work with him. 

Departing companion (Elder Assale) is next to Elder Lyman, new companion (Elder Kouadio) is on the far left.

 

We went on exchanges with the assistants this week. It was so wonderful to work with Elder Diaz again. The entire day went so smoothly, and I really felt the Spirit as we worked. It was good to see him again.

Elder's Lyman and Diaz working together again

 

There have been tons of other experiences that I was intending to share, but can't right now. Maybe I'll save them for next week.

I'm just so happy to be back with my people and be serving le Seigneur. Despite all the difficulties and struggles, this has been and continues to be the best experience I've ever had in my life up until now. I've come to know so many things that I didn't before, or at least didn't have a clear testimony of before. Foremost of those being that God does exist, and that Jesus is the Christ, he sacrificed himself for us in the ultimate expression of love, and that in following his council, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. 

Love you guys

 

Elder Lyman

Thank goodness for water filters.

Africa is dope

Africa is dope. I forgot how awesome this place is. It's such a different world out here, especially in comparison with my mission before. First off, COVID regulations, or anything of that sort, are essentially nonexistent. The moment we stepped out of the airport, mask off. The only time we need to take any precautions are when we go to church. So yeah, that is a huge blessing. 

I'm currently in a part of Abidjan called Yopougon, and my area is called Koweït. The ward here is awesome, it's as close to a ward in the states as you can get as far as being well organized and having a good amount of people show up. 

My companion is Elder Assale, he's from Abidjan. He was serving in Congo Brazzaville but he's here because of the COVID changes. He was supposed to finish his mission last month, but he extended. He's going to finish next Tuesday, so I'll have a new companion then. He's incredible, I'm learning so much about how to teach in French again, how to be a zone leader, how to interact with people, along with many other things. I'm gonna miss him when he's done.

I'm busier here than I ever have been before. Each day here is full of lessons or meetings from 9:30 AM often until 8:00 PM or later. Usually by the end of the day, I barely have time to write in my journal. It's kinda crazy and really tiring, but I love it. Being able to just push and work work work is such a blessing.

As far as French goes, I haven't had too much of a problem with it. Somehow, after almost a year of not being immersed in it and for the most part not practicing it, I'm still fluent (don't take that term too literally). I learned French 100% through the Spirit and the gift of tongues, and I'm certain that my French is good now for the same reason. 

Also, it's so hot here. So hot. Thankfully this area is right next to the lagoon, so sometimes we get some cool breeze blowing through, but for the most part it's just a microwave. The piment definitely doesn't help with the heat factor.

I've missed all the little kids shouting 'le blanc' as I walk past, eating garba and futu, having random goats and chickens chilling everywhere, breastfeeding during lessons (kinda didn't miss that), random people touching my hair, eating mystery meat, people saying goodmorning and howayoo, murder missle taxi drivers, the excessive amount of oil on literally anything I eat, sleeping with a fan blowing on me all night, sitting on 6 inch tall stools under random fruit trees teaching lessons, bissap, and a whole big list of other random things that I forgot about being here. This place is so dope haha.

Here's some random experiences from this week:

On Saturday, one of the fat rats like the ones we warred against in Vridi ran through my legs during a lesson. It brought flashbacks.

Friday and Saturday, our water was out, so we weren't able to shower. Also, our power was out Friday night, so we didn't have dinner. We finally found water somewhere Saturday night, so we carried buckets of water up to our room to shower with (we live on the 4th floor). Super fun stuff.

I found mountain dew here. 

I've had to learn how to handwash my clothes. Super fun (not).

We changed out the water filters today. I haven't seen a more heavily used water filter than today. Holy cow it was nasty. It hadn't been changed since October or November last year. Nasty nasty. 

Earlier today, I was thinking about my mission. When I returned here last Friday, I was finally told my end date for the mission, August 3rd. It didn't take me too long to realize that I only had 5 months left. It's such a small anount of time left for me to serve. It made me kind of sad especially when some part of me still feels like I need to serve 2 full years here. Instead I'll have served around 1. It made me feel like I was robbed, especially since I spent 3 months awaiting reassignment, and a lot of time in Flower Mound wondering if I was really making a difference. 

Although that is the case, and it would have been wonderful to have been able to serve 2 full years here, I know that what happened is all according to God's plan, and I learned what I needed to as well as had the experiences I needed to have. At first it wasn't a very easy concept to come to terms with. However, as I've reflected over my mission up to this point, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Simply taking into account the change that I've seen in my own life and testimony makes it all worth it.

I applied to serve the Lord for 2 years  and I was called to serve, not to a place. That, and what we do with what we're given, is all that's under our power. The rest is up to God, to carve our path. And having signed up to serve the Lord, the least we can ask is just to influence the life of one person for the better. And if He sees fit to let us do more than that, it would be wonderful. In my case, I've been blessed with the opportunity to see many people's lives change for the better, the foremost of which being my own. 

I don't like to say this because I feel like I should be more outwardly focused and talk about other people that I've seen positively influenced by the gospel, but I truly do feel that the change that I've seen in myself has been my favorite part of my mission.

Before I came on a mission, I went through the motions for the most part, as most people do. I went to church because that's just what one does, I maybe participated in seminary, and every once in a while I got nightly prayers and scripture study in. I had faith and believed in everything, but it wasn't a very solid belief. I just thought "yeah, it's gotta be true" and didn't think much else of it.

Going from that state to where I am now is more than I can thank my Heavenly Father for. I've learned that God really does live and love us. I've learned about God's plan, the restoration, the gospel, and what they mean for me and for everyone. I've learned so much about Jesus Christ, what he did, who he was, what he really went through, and what that means to me. It's been so wonderful.

I can never thank my Father in Heaven enough for that gift that he's given me.

So for where I stand whether or not a mission is worth it... yes. My answer is a complete, resounding yes. Although the mission is indisputably hard and even sometimes excruciating, it is so so so worth it.

I've loved my mission up until this point and I'm excited to work as hard as I can for the next little bit. 

I love Africa, I love the mission, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

Have a great week

Elder Lyman

 

Elder Lyman's current companion, Elder Assale, is on his right side, and his last companion in Africa before leaving, Elder Diaz, is on his left side.

*MEGA LONG EMAIL ALERT*

Okay so due to my consistency of writing very infrequent email updates, and the many free hours that I had while flying, this email is going to be very long.
It is not for the faint of heart.
I will include checkpoints for those who will need a mental breather before they continue.
You have been warned.

TRANSFERS
So, transfers came. I didn't expect any changes to happen, but they did. Elder Call was transferred to the Flower Mound 2nd ward, and I found out I was training, which was surprising, because I was expecting to be launching over to Côte d'Ivoire soon. We received our trainees and my new comp was Elder Sanders, from Delta, Utah. 

Elder Lyman and Elder Sanders

 

Get this, he is originally assigned to the Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan East mission. Crazy stuff. He's awesome, and I really enjoyed serving with him. We spoke French some, but he was fresh from the home MTC, so I didn't push for too much French.

Here's a fun experience we had.

In probably our 2nd week together, we had a day where we planned to go up to the corner of our area and contact some people, make some calls, and hopefully someone would answer and want to meet. Fun fact, we didn't have bikes. So we walked to the top of our area, called nearby people, and knocked in some cases. No one was home or wanted to meet. When we were done contacting, we had gotten really hungry, so we decided to walk to the nearest restaurant. Well, Google maps had us walk for half an hour along the freeway against a giant wall that helped direct the already below freezing air right into our faces. Two guys, originally assigned to and who packed clothes to prepare for Africa, walking along the freeway with this bitter, bitter cold wind absolutely freezing their faces off. It wasn't fun. Finally we got to WhataBurger and had lunch, then walked back home. Overall, we walked for a little over 10 miles that day. So so fun. When we got back to the apartment, we tried to do studies, but we were so exhausted that we kinda crashed haha.


TEXAS SNOWMAGEDDON
Maybe y’all have seen it on the news, maybe not, but if someone mentions the Texas snowmageddon or something like that and about how terrible it was, they're not making it up.

Thankfully, my apartment had water and electricity throughout the whole weather warning. But much of the rest of Texas wasn't as lucky. On the 12th, we went shopping in the evening to get ready for the storm, and on Saturday we got news that church was cancelled. On Sunday, we got 2, maybe 3 inches of snow. So not too bad. Elder Sanders and I thought it would melt really quick and we'd be back out working soon. But, around 10 that Sunday, some of the other elders in the district showed up at our apartment (they walked). When they woke up, their apartment was 50°. They had no power at all. So, they stayed with us that night. The next day the temperature was around 5°. Not fun. We stayed inside the whole day. The next day, we checked the other elders’ apartment, and brought back more food and stuff to help them be comfortable, because their power was still out. We also had 2 more elders show up who's power was out as well. So, we had 6 elders in a small 1 bed 1 bath apartment for a couple days. It wasn't too bad, I got to make ramen for them, so that was fun. After Thursday, we were able to get the other elders back to their apartments with power and water. Overall, it wasn't too bad, our apartment was just cramped and we were basically quarantined for about a week. 

Everyone else didn't do too hot though. Most people had their power go out, and they didn't have anywhere to go. So they were just stuck in their home or apartment, layering up and trying to deal with it. Then, water was shut off due to major pipes freezing and bursting, so even if you had power, you may not have been able to use water. Also, stores were closed, and when they opened up, people bought absolutely everything. Most food was nowhere to be found. And that's if you were able to make it to the store. Partially melted snow froze into thin sheets of ice, which many cars wrecked on. A couple people that we were in contact with in our area said that it was a living nightmare for them.

During the winter chaos, Elder Sanders and I became a trio. Elder Scorup came and became our companion. He's from Orem Utah, and is originally assigned to Montréal Canada.

TIBÉ'S BAPTISM
This may be the highlight of my time serving stateside. The whole experience with Tibé and Inès has been incredible. From receiving the news about how they were found at the temple, to teaching them, to the baptism, I've never met anyone who's more prepared or ready for the gospel, or anyone who's more dope haha. I've come to really love them.

Their baptism was the first baptism that I've heard of that didn't have any complications. Everyone showed up on time, and it went smoothly. Inès was kind of scared of the water (many of the people in Côte d’Ivoire are), and was a little surprised after she came back up haha. After I baptized Tibé, I asked him how he felt. He said "Je me sens bien, je suis né de Dieu." Just a little cool experience there. 

The Tibés

 

 

I honestly love them so much. Their kindness, humility, and faith have repeatedly touched my heart. I'm so grateful that the Lord blessed me with being able to help. Because honestly, none of that was me. The Lord put me here, prepared them and sent them to the temple to meet the temple president, and supported me so that I could teach even with my really rusty French. Their whole conversion process was 100% divine inspiration and intervention. I'm just happy that I was able to contribute what little I could, and play a part in Heavenly Father's plan. It's such a blessing to be here serving, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

COVID SHENANIGANS
The date of my departure kept getting closer and closer. Eventually I received a temporary visa online, as well as an itinerary. Everything was going according to plan. On Tuesday, I went to the mission office to do my scheduled pcr covid test and ship it. So, I followed the instructions as best I could. I did the test, registered it online, shipped it, and tracked it, while refreshing the page often to see when my results came back. No big deal, everything went smoothly. But then, Wednesday night, I got an email saying that it was registered improperly online. I quickly fixed that problem, and was notified that my sample would be processed first thing Thursday morning. Thursday morning came, and I still hadn't received my results. Tick tock went the clock, and we made the decision to go do a rapid test nearby, hoping that would permit me to travel. We drove to a nearby urgent care, explained the situation, and got the test. It was originally going to cost around $200, but when I explained the situation, the price became $10. I don’t know if the man helping me discounted it, or graciously paid for the majority of the test, but either way, that man is a saint. Even though I didn't end up needing the antigen test in the end, it was still a wonderful reminder of the goodness of people.

After we did the test, we started driving to the airport. (Also, this entire morning, my phone was open to the webpage where my pcr lab test would show up. I was refreshing it every 30 seconds) I called the church travel agency department, and the lady on the phone told me that the antigen test isn't accepted for my travel. But, when she checked my account for the pcr test, it was there. Hallelujah. The entire morning my heart felt icy hot. Refresh... no test results. Refresh... no test results. I was a little bit stressed, but mostly I kept praying for hope and patience, willing to accept whatever the Lord's will for me was. And guess what, we made it. Even though I didn't have a printed copy, security accepted an electronic one, and I made it through.

I just want to say again how grateful I am for that man that did the rapid test for me. He was so kind.

And now, I'm currently on my way back to le Côte d'Ivoire. I never ever imagined that it would open back up while I was on my mission, but surprisingly it did. I've been kind of wrestling with this since I received news that I could be going back. The moment I got that email, memories of walking in the heat, warring against cockroach hordes and rat gangs, getting sick and being unable to leave, trying to help disobedient/contentious missionaries, and so many more came flooding back, reminding me of how trying and tough that period of time was. At first, I was not excited to go back.

But as time has progressed, and I've thought about it more, I have become excited to go back. Spending time with the Tibé's has definitely helped, just reminding me of the good things of being over there. I've also accepted that if the Lord wants me there, He will provide a way, and if not, He won't. I actually did really love the 7 months that I got to serve there. Despite all the negative, I loved it. There's two reasons why that is, why I'm choosing to go back, and why I'm now excited to return. The first of which is because my love for God grew. I learned so much about Him and became much closer to Him than before. I love Him so much, and if He needs me to serve in Côte d'Ivoire, I will happily and willingly go. Even though it's gonna really suck sometimes, I'll go. I love Him so much. The second reason is because I also developed a lot of love for the people there. Despite horrible circumstances and situations, the people there still find ways to serve, love, and find joy. I loved serving them when I was over there, and I look forward to it again. Those two things make going back completely worth it, no matter what.

Missionary work is the greatest thing on the planet. I wouldn't trade what I'm doing for anything. God does live; He loves you. Jesus Christ did love and sacrifice Himself for us, so that we could live again. Joseph Smith did restore the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth again.

I love yall so much. I have no idea what happens from here on out, but I'll send emails more frequently I hope.
À la prochaine

Elder Lyman

Elder Lyman arrived in Côte d'Ivoire close to 9pm after 26 hours of travel, and only 2 hours of sleep.

 

 The elders had interviews and meetings the next morning and then met their new companions and headed to their new areas.

yes. he looks tired, but happy.

We received an email from the mission president notifying us of the area Elder Lyman is now serving in. We looked up the weather... 90º during the day and a low of 78º at night, with 89% humidity. The apartments don't have A/C, but very few people in the country have ever experienced that luxury. (He will probably never again complain about sleeping outside at Lake Powell when it's 75º at night.) Elder Lyman will adapt, as he did before, and enjoy his time living in and serving the people of Côte d'Ivoire.

Elder Lyman with Bonebo Jean-Luc Oulai

This is a photo a friend forwarded me. Elder Lyman is with the ward missionary of his current area, Koweit 1 in Yopougon. This man, Bonebo Jean-Luc Oulai, took the photo and sent it to the friend saying that he is so excited to have American missionaries back. We are excited as well.