I'VE GOT JUNGLE(add italics) FEVER!!!!‏

Hello!!!!

 Well everyone, the inevitable has happened…. I caught jungle fever! No! It is not the kind you are thinking, that’s what Elder Hawkins has. ;)  You see, I have been sick for about five days… It isn’t malaria if that’s what popped to your mind. All I am suffering from is a medium strength head cold that consists of a fever, migraines, and constant stuffy/runny nose. I am still sick in case you were wondering, and slightly to unbearably miserable because of the said sickness. Pray it doesn’t turn into malaria, there are two things that I am scared of here, the first is malaria, and the second will be a running joke throughout my mission that I will let you all in on when I return chez moi in a few months… a little more than a few….

 On to the week!

 Perhaps I will just start from the most eventful event that event-ed this week and then go from there. I SAW THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON IN ALL OF TOGO!!! (I have to preface it like that because nobody will know who he is unless they are huge soccer fans or they have useless information bursting forth from their brains.) Il s’appele Emmanuel Adebayor and he is/was (not sure which) plays/played (again not sure which) for Arsenal! He grew up in our lovely little hamlet of Kodjoviakopé so he returned home for a visit! T’inquiète pas I got a picture of him and the riots that he caused, thought the reason he had returned is on the more eye-opening side of life. His brother Peter had passed away.

The reason that I was able to get a photo of him just below our apartment is because the Pasteur Baptiste did not allow him to enter his own brother’s funeral even when he was one of the pall-bearers (sp?). The pastor blamed him for the death of his brother for not sending money to help his brother in his suffering… The people here like using money as an excuse for the suffering and the solutions to all things… We have had many rants that white people shouldn’t being bringing God to Africa, there is too much God already, they “need” money. Money is sooooooooooooooooooo stupid! I’m learning more and more that some poverty increases humility, but for the majority it incites greed and excuses. Anyways, Adebayor (living), followed by nigh on a thousand people (if exaggerating it is only a little bit) marched in front of our apartment. It was quite the scene.

 Onto my discovery of the French Language, and it is a compelling argument that even the French themselves cannot counter (in relation to why it happens in Africa)! You see, what I have discovered is that there is no word for “awkward” in French. Do you want to know why? Every situation in French is awkward! There are few if any whose native language is French here in Togo, so everyone stammers over their French. It isn’t something that is used in the home because they use Ewe, so they (the French) make up for all the awkward things by making there be more “irregular” verbs than regular. Anywho, my rant, and yes, the French can probably rebuttal my complaint.

 Next rant! This one I like to give a shout out to Elder Hawkins for inspiring me to rant about this to him and the whole world. Clue! It is more than a board game, it is a very good movie, starred by a very good actor, Tim Curry. For those of you who have not seen Clue but are Muppets fans, he was in Muppet Treasure Island as Long John Silvers. Watch Clue! Don’t waste away your lives doing other things, go pop in a good movie and watch other people’s lives on the television! ;)

 So guess what is a good movie, Harry Potter. Guess what is a not as good movie in French! Harry Potter. No no, I didn’t sit there and watch Harry Potter, though I did want to. We just watched it for a few minutes as we awaited Marcelin to finish whatever chore he was doing. We then sat and sang the cantiques ensemble. It was fun, but it really reminded me of how long Harry Potter has been in my life. You see, that is the problem with my generation, we have grown up with so many wonderful things that they are ingrained in our lives. So I missed curling up on a nice comfy couch and watching a good series like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or Star Wars. Good times, good times.

 So there is this couple here in the mission, they typically reside yonder in Benin but they are here temporarily as the mission transitions between the old couple here in Togo that went home and the new couple that is due to arrive in Septembre. They are the Eastmonds. They came to church with us on Sunday and they were a lovely addition to our Fast and Testimony meeting. Life is going great in the jungles of Lomé, and I call then jungles because if New York can get away with the “concrete jungle” Lomé is definitely more able to get away with being an actual jungle filled with animals that are homo-erectus…

 I gained a new perspective and a love for life, and it was because of the inspiring and spiritually profound words of encouragement that Sister Eastmond shared with me as she observed our little group here. So that leads me into my weekly subject of Frere Alex. Yes, he has no idea what he is doing, and he goes about leading this church, but it falls on the shoulders of those that know better to rein him in and show him how he needs to do things, but do it in a loving and corrective manner that is spiritually edifying and creates an atmosphere were Telly-tubbies spontaneously sprout up out of the ground with the Wiggles on their stomachs and everyone singing kumbiyah (sp?) and hugging each other and saying nothing but lovely words to one another. So if that isn’t happening I need to keep working harder. It will begin with me loving more and then the members, and then the leader. I shall call it “LE MANIFESTATION D’AMOUR!!!!” It will be catchy because the Togolais love rioting.

 Frere Alex is difficult, and I hope that you are not sad because I will no longer speak unfriendly of my “Telly-tubby sprouting machine,” I shall love him as if he were… I don’t know… I’m not a very loving person… Use your imagination and figure out how to love something in a strictly platonic manner. It will be good! Life is going on its merry little way, and each and every day brings blessings, whether they are clear as day or hidden like the Nigerian’s hand in your pocket there are many blessings! Continue to love the life you live! There are those people that bring you down, those scenarios that are so predictable you are angry in the monotony of it, but we all just need to fake a smile until it becomes real. I am not saying that you should fake life, but sooner or later you will realize behind that fake smile there was something that really gave you joy. Don’t waste those small moments, they add up like the change in your couch. Love you all! Have great lives where e’er thou mayest be!

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Elder Robert Eugene Haggard II