Heya Everybody!
Sometimes Africa plays games as U
walk down the streets and songs, as they drift from the rattling speakers of
bars, bring back memories. Regardless that the speakers themselves being in
their last leg of life the music is being played at full volume, but overlooking
the noise that isn't the music, the familiar words come through. It is funny,
the words of Celine Dion, words that I haven't heard in years, carry me back to
my childhood.
I can see our little family driving
down the highways of southern California, or in gas stations, parking lots to
Vons or Food4Less, or just any time in our little white station wagon listening
to, when it wasn't Radio Disney, our mother's extensive collection of Celine
Dion. I can't remember what we were doing at those places, or where we were
going, but I can remember us being happy. It is oftentimes nice to walk down
memory lane, especially with those memories that you never thought you'd
remember.
My week has been filled with, once
again, the picturesque missionary activity of porte-à-porte, tracting. You can
just imagine for yourself two young men, okay, one young man and a young-ish
mature adult, walking side by side. You can see our well-worn shirts losing
their white, our once polished shoes now dirty (or if you are like me,
completely thrashed and riddled with holes like a 20's gangster) and our shoulder
bags bursting at the seams with brochures and scriptures, the bags as well
being weather-worn and sun-faded while walking along dirt roads under the
weight of the sun's rays; the sweat of our brow testifying of the work we are
doing. It is the life!!!
Albeit that tracting is a lot of
fun, I am being honest in that, I love talking to new people and sharing my
testimony with them, but I much prefer having rendez-vous' during the day. It
is great to see all of the souls that the Lord has entrusted me with but I am
confident that He wants at least a few of them progressing. Perhaps I am being
an ungrateful servant, nine of the ten lepers, Moses with his inability to
speak eloquently, but two weeks of tombez-vous' is a little discouraging. We
have our flecks of gold amongst the rocks though, and for them I am most humbly
grateful.
It has taken a bit of time to see
what everyone is saying by Africa is ripe and ready for the harvest, but like
the mangoes on the tree at the apartment, the biggest and best looking are
often very rotten on the inside, whether it be due to age, or some little
beasties that have crawled in and ruined it for the rest of us. There is a very
delicate and special stage within the hearts of men that the Lord has prepared
many to be at. It may not be "perfect" but with the sunlight of faith
and the water of hard work we can get these "mangoes" nice and ripe,
inside and out!
Among those of our over ripened
mangoes is a man, and for the sake of anonymity I shall call him
"Aka-aka-akpo." Have you ever met those people that are humble, they
have the desire, but they have made a mistake that has trapped them without a
visible means of escape? Aka-aka-akpo is one of these unfortunates.
The missionaries found him at a very
vital moment of his life. The missionaries have been meeting with him off and
on for the past five months. Each of the missionaries never understood why he
wouldn't get baptized, but he finally opened up to Elder Kouadio and I.
You see, Aka-aka-akpo had been
unfaithful to his spouse, and for those of you a little confused, that is a BIG
no no. Along with his infidelity, there are certain powers attached to sexual
relations, these powers are those of procreation. This gives two people the
capacity to work in creating life, for giving a temporal tabernacle to one of
God's children; these powers took full effect. Aka-aka-akpo found himself
with an unfortunately unwanted child. These events transpired a couple months
before him meeting with the missionaries and so his, I don't know a good
English word for it so I will use French, concubine, but I now realize it is
the same in both languages, is seven months pregnant.
At first he thought of aborting the
child, but he knew that killing his child was no way to make the situation
better. He is now lost in the so many paths that this life places before us
with a terrible guilt weighing upon his heart. We are trying to help him; we
are doing all that we can to help him find the answer from our loving Heavenly
Father through prayer and searching the scriptures. The words of the prophets
and the consolation of the Holy Ghost will be his guide. He isn't always
available to meet with us due to his work and travels over to the village; he
is the second village chief. It hasn't been long since he broke this news to
us, so it will be an interesting next couple of weeks. Adultery, as terrible as
it is, is still so much easier to handle than when the precious life of an infant
hangs in the balance.
That is the interesting story of the
week. I was slightly, very sad due to Halloween not existing here, but they are
huge about the Fête des Morts the day after. The cemetery was packed full of
"mourners", candle vendors, and FanIce.
Family history plug, momma'd be so
proud! Do your family history so you can pay your respects at the temple and
not by littering their resting spots with trash and urine. This work is
true!
Sincerely,
Elder Haggard
P.S. Here is reference to last week's blog: a picture of the newly dedicated chapel!
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