Hiya World!
Okay, this is attempt number two of writing this email!
The computers that randomly flash a warning in Arabic and then restart are not
friendly! If to begin in the same manner as I did the last I will say….
So, I was posed a very important question by one Elder
Hale of the Berlin Germany Mission and it goes something like this, “what do
you do for your P-days?” Welll Sweetcheeks let me answer in a way that the
whole world can understand. “Oh Babylon, oh Babylon! We welcome thee!” ;)
We start our P-days off like every other missionary out
there in the world. We clean our apartment and we do a thorough job! We clean
our rooms and the living room and the kitchen and our three balconies and a
spare room outside of our apartment that we don’t use but is technically part
of our apartment and I wouldn’t mind using it, and our bathrooms. It takes us a
good part of an hour to do all of that! Can you believe that we would waste one
WHOLE hour on cleaning up after ourselves!?!?! It is unheard of! ;) Our apartment
is one of the nicest in the whole mission, so we count our blessings by keeping
it clean as well.
After that, depending on if we have money or not, we go
into the main part of Lomé where the grand marché is. I don’t know the exact
spelling, but I feel it is something along the lines of Asegamé. One would hope
that I could spell it correctly, but sadly I was born into a first world
country and I have been taught English which has thoroughly embedded itself
into my mind and then I was asked to learn this French language which is coming
along, but then I was thrown into a country where the literacy rate is pretty
low, their native language isn’t French and everything in the country is in
Ewe, their actual native tongue.
All the cool places are over in Asegamé like Festival de
Glace, and cool little boutiques of really cool little knick-knacks that are
really cheap… unless you are a yovo! Sometimes I hate being white here in Togo,
but then I remember how I have a nice first world country to return to at the
end of my two-ish years here and they will remain. They think that we are made
out of money and so if you don’t know how to haggle they will take you for
everything that you have! Good thing is that if you are firm in your price that
you are willing to pay, they tend to back down really easily.
 |
| Charwamas |
 |
| Morgan |
I am a wee scatter-brained/forgetful as to if I have told
you what Festival de Glace is so I will explique un peu. You see, it is a
restaurant, and those aren’t too common here in the world’s largest flea market,
especially not those that you have a desire to sit down and eat in. It sells
such wonders as hamburgers and fries, and my personal favorite ICE CREAM!!! MY
favorite combination here is something they call “tropical” with vanilla and
chocolate, yum yum! SO that is that, if any of you visit this little spot of
earth in your adventures, there is a Festival in both Cotonou and Lomé so fear
not! It’s worth eating at, but it is no In-n-out.
We then waste our allotted 45-60 minutes a week at the
Cyber… We write these things that you are currently reading and then we go on
our merry little way. The days like today come and go faster than any other day
here in the mission, and so the few moments that we have here to write to those
that we love are very precious to us.
Well now I will explain a little about the week that has
passed, though again not much of note has happened. Aside from on Thursday we
had to stay in our apartment the whole day due to the legislative elections
that were going on. So the thing about that is there are chances of
manifestations when they announce the winners… those should be announced either
today or tomorrow, so I hope next week’s letter will have more of a story to
it. :)
There is something that happened this week that I am not
very proud of, I got into an argument with my companion over doctrine. :( An
argument broke out as I told him not to teach people that Mary Magdalene was
Jesus’ wife… He said that she was his wife and I said it is something that is
assumed and isn’t doctrine… He used the argument that doctrine is dependent
upon faith because nobody has a perfect knowledge and so if one believes that
Mary is the wife of Jesus it is therefore doctrine… My annoyance and inevitable
rage on this subject ensued as he gains his information from sources that are
less than reputable. There is one of his books that tells of Jesus’ life from
his birth in Pakistan to his death in India. I don’t mean to get upset at
things like that, but when he teaches other people these things it makes it
harder to teach the truth.
I got into a rage the rest of the day with hating an
attitude of “ignorance is bliss” that has been developed by a lot of the
missionaries (American) that just feel it is hopeless to try and correct some
of the foolish traditions that have sunk in here amongst the members and the
African missionaries. This was renewed on Sunday as well, and this one included
everyone’s favorite character Frere Alex.
Now, I would like to give a disclaimer as well as an
apology for making things sound horrendous when he is included, though they may
be, it is not my place to belittle another of God’s wonderful children. I like
to look at him as one that is loved by our loving Heavenly Father, though being
his sibling I still don’t like him very much! I think that a healthy battle
amongst siblings is good for the soul, though the missionary in me is saying to
be nicer to him and endure the things that get under my skin. He is loved by
someone, it may not be me or anyone in the group here, but he deserves to be
loved like the hobo that people will give money to but won’t let them near
their children…
Well on Sunday, it being the day of youth talks, Frere
Alex decides to ask a missionary to give a talk in the middle of it all… I
guess that wasn’t a smart idea, so it was his fault there, but what followed is
the missionary’s fault. He spoke for THIRTY MINUTES!! First off, nobody should
ever talk for thirty minutes in church, and secondly, a missionary should know
better than that! So that ate up all the time for the following four speakers,
the youth and their instructor, so Frere Alex let one more speak cancelled the
others and then spoke for ten minutes himself! (Back on him being annoying.) I
don’t like his talks, honestly they are more whispers than talks. He
“corrected” what the youth said and always explains how he knows every aspects
of the gospel with all of his heart and that is why he is their leader… I wish
I didn’t complain so much. :( Anyways, I made it a new goal to just do
everything possible to be an example to those members here and try to be
positive and uplifting, but like all things, I will start tomorrow! ;)
Okay, I will wrap up my email with some profound response
to the hardest question in life. Why does God let bad things happen to good
people?
But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must
not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto
himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that
the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their
hearts, that the judgments which
he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of
the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and
cry mightily against them at the last day. (Alma 14v11)
The cruelties of this world are the remnants of the pride and
selfish desires of men, and there are those that suffer in its wake. Yeah, God
does have the power to bless each and all of his children, but he also has the
means of giving them an eternal supply of those blessings which are
incomprehensible here in mortality, but that amazing and wonderful God has
asked up to do the basic thing and have faith in all His promises! How can
people say no to such an amazing opportunity? Honestly, whining and moaning
over the situations we are placed in here in mortality gets us nowhere, but
there is a light and a hope of the everlasting gospel that will bring riches
and glory beyond our wildest imagination! Amen! (Who would have thunk I could
say something like that?)
Anywho, this is Hipster Haggard signing off and wishing
you all the best in this next week!
--
Elder Robert Eugene Haggard II
No comments:
Post a Comment