Bonjour mes amis de Kodjoviakopé

Hello Everybody!

Another great week in the Dark Continent, which is a lie, the sun is
bright here; therefore, there is not much darkness to be found, unless
of course all the nicknames for Africa are racist….. Food for thought.

Life is going pretty well here in Kodjoviakopé, and I don’t have many
complaints besides the long days and even longer hours, but that is
the part that I need to get over. I enjoy being a missionary, and much
like living on an elevator, it has its ups and downs. ;)

So this week in our little group (all those that read this remember
my mentioning of our group leader), well, right after my letter about how
nobody likes him we went to Family Home Evening, or Soiree Familia,
where he spent an hour and a half telling people that they must
respect him because he is called of God. (That was a really long
sentence). He is the type of leader that causes mutiny, which is
exactly what we are seeing here. Our group could be so much better
but nobody wants to bring their friends to our services because they
don’t like Frere Alex at all. It is sad for the work here.

The other day, and as I type, there have been manifestations going on
throughout the streets here in Lomé. Manifestations are the French’s
way of saying political riots. There are numerous gatherings of the
university students that are highly opposed to the current president
here. They say that he put himself into power and they want to take him
out of power by whatever means they can. The next election is in 2015
and so if riots are starting two years early….

Don’t worry about those things, there are no dangers that will befall
us as missionaries, we avoid the large gatherings and whatnots of
rebellion, aside from the missionaries that rebel against the mission
rules, but that is a longer and more monotonous story.

There is a heavy weight that falls on the shoulders of the American
missionaries here, and that isn’t to boast or brag about or capacity
or how amazing we are. The truth is that we have been blessed with
living within the states so close to the church and truly seeing how
it is meant to work. The Africans here are floating in the same boat
as many of the recent converts and investigators, they have the
message and a testimony, but the building a church from nothing is a
truly tasking feat. The resources are limited here, and none of them
have seen the most recent General Conference, and that includes the
missionaries. We essentially are sailing at night in a raging tempest.

The hope I have from this mission is like many scout leaders have
taught me with camping, always leave the site better when you leave it
than when you found it. Hard work is what is required, and many that
know me know that hard work and I haven’t played so nicely with each
other in the past. I’m loving every minute here, so that is how I can
truly see the blessings of the Lord manifest in my life. Appreciate
life; you only have one with these trials and difficulties. Yes, enjoy
the challenges that come, they will be worth it.

This letter is a little shorter, mostly because the internet
connection is slower than usual. I hope that everyone is having a good
life, enjoying the simple things. You should love the form of life,
good or bad. I’m grateful for the good and bad that will come, which doesn’t
take away how much the bad sucks, but you can see the good even better
through it.

Love you all! I pray for you all each day, and thanks for those that
pray for me, they are helping me so much!

--
*Elder Robert Eugene Haggard II*