Hello Everybody!!!
Sometimes I realize I hate the computers in Africa when I have
to rewrite my email three times before deciding to write it in Microsoft Word.
The computers here are a joke, not to mention I am using a German keyboard as I
type, and it is all kinds of strange, I feel for Elder Hale in Berlin. J
Life is going really well for me here in Kodjoviakopé. I love the work that we
are doing, even though it is a slow process. The people that accept the gospel
are lovely, but there is so much work that needs to be done for them. In their
infancy they still have difficulty understanding the simple concepts of the
gospel, or those concepts that I found easier. That is the beauty of the
gospel, everything that is learned really depends on the person learning it and
how they apply it to their lives.
Yes, I am enjoying my time in Africa, so I am already doing so much better than
I was when last I came. I love the people, the work, the spirit that is felt in
an almost overwhelming amount, and above all how close I feel my relationship
growing with my Savior.
To begin this email I just want to give people my address so they can write me,
if they feel so inclined. It is:
Elder Robert Haggard
Mission Benin Cotonou
01 BP 3323
Cadjehoun, Cotonou
Benin
Now, I will talk a little about the magical work that is going on here, and
those people that the Lord has entrusted me to teach and be a part of their
lives.
Currently we have 9 amis, each of them at different stages with different
concerns and needs from the gospel, so we are figuring out how to best apply
and adapt our teachings to their lives. Out of those amis, there are two that
have baptismal dates fixed for the sixth of July. One is a young teen who is
called Edem, the other is Pascaline, who also happens to be the woman mentioned
in my last letter that was “addressing the needs of her baby” whilst I was
bearing my testimony.
I don’t know what those numbers are like in comparison to other missions, but
we have the smallest and slowest growing secteur in all of the mission. I
actually don’t care what they are in comparison to other missions, because I
feel that I am helping nine of God’s children come unto our Savior Jesus Christ
and qualify for eternal life. It sounds super amazing! I don’t want to get
bogged down thinking that we could have more, or there could be others out
there. Yeah, it may be true, but those others aren’t more important than those
that I am currently teaching in the eyes of God.
I say that mostly as a preface to my opinion that we do waste more time then I
would like to as my companion despises street contacting with a passion. I
honestly like talking to the people in the street, especially those at little
kiosks every day that we know when and where we can find them. My companion
doesn’t seem too convinced that that is a plausible way of finding just yet,
but I will change his mind after he sees it actually work, for now a lot of our
finding is on his shoulders as my French struggles, so I don’t want to force
him to do things that he doesn’t want to do if I can’t support him the way a
companion should.
One of the members here is a teenaged boy named Michel, and he is an awesome
kid. He is finishing up school and is planning on putting in his papers to
serve a mission soon. We were helping him plan his lesson for church when my
bladder decided to tell me it was full. So, being the naïve boy I am, I asked
to use the “salle de bain,” which is bathroom. He looked at me, puzzled, so I
said in more simple terms, “toilette.” He laughed then said “Ca va. Suivez
moi.” I followed him to the toilet, which was a little niche outside that
formed a room about 5’6” where you did your business against the wall. Yes, it
was recently used as I had to dodge the remaining bits of the last users waste.
Yes, I did use it instead of holding it like my mind and gag reflex were
telling me to.
I’m not meaning to sound better than these people, they are great and
wonderful, but these things are little things back in the United States that
allow me to be grateful for the common luxuries enjoyed by us.
I had asked Elder Hawkins on the way to church if they ever have missionaries
give impromptu talks in sacrament, he simply responded that he had been here
for 6 months and has never given a talk in Sacrament. This eased my mind. We
then get to the church building and are preparing for the meeting to begin. He
(the group leader) calls Elder Hawkins in and asks him to bless the Sacrament.
He calls Elder Ramananjanahary to say the closing prayer. He calls me in…..
Yes, you guessed it. I gave another talk in Sacrament meeting, beating all the
other Elders there in giving a talk in Sacrament. Elder Ngandu is leaving in 19
days, so that tells you it isn’t an often occurrence.
Today is P-day and we went to some place over in Toquin, which is the center of
our Zone here and we played basketball and soccer. I just played basketball,
and I am so grateful that this country is at sea level. I had so much air in my
lungs that I could run and run and run. That is something that hasn’t been
happening for me in a while; just ask those that I played football with at
Thanksgiving. It was great fun! We then went to a popular restaurant among the
white tourists here called “Festival des Glaces” where we ate burgers and
charwarmas and ice cream. :D I love ice cream!!
This is a jumbled letter that is far from chronological, but on Thursday we
have Coordination with the ward mission leader, who is also the group leader
that nobody likes. Well anywho, we had a rendez-vous before that started at the
church, and as my companion tries to unlock the gate, the lock falls to the
other side with the deadbolt firmly in place. We look at each other then he has
the great idea of having me climb over the twelve foot high wall and push open
the gates at the same time from the other side. It is shoddy craftsmanship, so
that part sounded easy, it was the me climbing over part that I didn’t
thoroughly enjoy the idea of. I offered to lift my three-foot nothing companion
up do that so he could hop over, but the drop on the other side is too high for
him… so of course I climb over the gate to open the gates. The only thing that
my companion helped me with is taking a picture with my camera as I was
lowering myself down the other side.Maybe some of you begin to question why nobody likes the group leader here in Kodjoviakope, and to those I will give a response. It is a simple response, read the last part of Doctrine and Covenants 121. Not to mention that I got on his bad side at institute on Wednesday, but not meaning to.
You see, I want to be obedient so that I can avoid regrets on my mission. I
feel that I have had plenty of regrets associated with a mission already that I
don’t need anymore. I have already overcome those regrets so there is no desire
in my heart to add more.
So, Institute begins at 18h30 (6:30pm) and is meant to go for only an hour.
Which is lovely for us missionaries since we are meant to get back to our
apartment by 20h (8:00pm) so it rolls around to 19h30 and we think to
ourselves, okay maybe he is going to be finished a little late, we are okay
with that. 20h rolls around, and we are thinking any minute now. So there is leniency in a mission that you can be back to your apartment a half an hour late if you
are in a lesson, and we figured this counted. But 20h30 rolls around and we are
all very annoyed. So finally he asks his favorite question, “Est-ce que ca va?”
“Is that alright” or “does that make sense”, and I accidently stretch and
he calls on me to ask my question. So I ask, “Are you almost finished?”
Granted it may have come out rude, but either way he shot me an evil look as if
to say “how dare you ask that question.” Luckily I saw his puzzled look, and
his lesson was on being obedient and more like God, so I said that we needed to
be obedient to our rules and leave so we can be more like God… Yes it was in
broken French, but that may have something to do with why he called on me to
speak in church yesterday.
Yesterday was eventful, I saw a monkey. J The funny part of that, my
companion doesn’t really like animals so he was scared of the monkey. It was a
cute little monkey, though it did not like its owner touching it. That little
monkey was scratching and beating his owner.
Two more things that have happened this week. The first was disgusting, it was a mangez-vous. That is a rendez-vous where we are fed. Which in almost all missions is heaven on earth, and it is here as well…. for the native missionaries. It was pad and a sauce that I have heard the name of many times here but can’t remember for the life of me. It is boiled spinach and a few more spices that turn it into a gooey lump that looks like snot. Pad is just cornstarch that has been heated to finger scorching temperatures. The idea is that you take the lump of cornstarch that is melting the flesh from your bones and dip it into the also hot bowl of snot and all the dangling bits and snotty texture you try to “gracefully” wrap them around your fingers and eating it in one swoop……. It was disgusting and painful, for my stomach and my fingers. Yes, I appreciate the investigators making it for us, and no, I will never reject it if they offer, but I will dread it.
The second thing is to help others learn the native tongue of Togo called Ewe.
I will teach you all five words/phrases that you can try to put into practice
and be cool knowing a language that isn’t English.
1. Agbolotovy - Fat lady
2. Akpé kaka - thank you very much
3. Eyzande - See you later
4. Amewibo - Black
5. Yovo - White
All in all it has been a good week, and I am looking forward to
many more wonderful and exciting experiences throughout my mission. I feel my
letters may get shorter, but hopefully they will still help you know what is
going on in my mission. They may stay just as long as well, right now I am just
frustrated with my keyboard because I know I can type faster than this. I
didn’t spend four months in the Referral Center to type this slow.
Oh, also, remember to check out my blog at haggardreii.blogspot.com and tell your friends about
it as well. It is my hope to use that resource to share the gospel as well.
--
Elder
Robert Eugene Haggard II
I will write you a proper letter!
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