Crocodile times and pics- 8.13 and 8.20

Heyooooooo

So this week was pretty cool.

We had a baptism for brother Arssen!!! We were supposed to have another candidate baptised that day but due to some personal issues she couldn’t be baptised. The baptism was awesome, but, I was a little nervous because when it came time to start the service, there were only five people at the church: my companion, me, the branch president, the branch mission leader, and brother Arssen. The rest of the members who were supposed to be there to show Brother Arssen their love and support weren’t able to show up. So, I thought that the service would be a train wreck. But the service ended up being one of the most spiritual services I’ve attended during my mission. Even though there weren’t a lot of people in attendance, the spirit that was felt throughout the whole service was tangible. There were no problems, there were no awkward moments, and there no slip ups; the service was just amazing.

A couple of hours ago we also bought a live crocodile! We decided as an appartement that we all wanted to taste crocodile meat so we bought a little guy, took it home, took a bunch of pictures with it, and butchered it. No one else really wanted to kill it so the task fell to me. We had to tie all of its legs up, and give it a couple of blows with the machete in order to kill it. It was a pretty tough guy to kill because of how thick it’s armour was, and even after we got the head off the body it would not stop moving. It was pretty crazy, even after the torso was severed from the hind portion of the body the arms would still crawl!! It felt like an episode of the walking dead. So yeah……. we are planning on eating it tonight so wish us luck!! No worries I’ll send pics, but just a warning, the pictures are kind of gruesome.

 

8.6.18- New Comp and transfers

 

 

So this week we got our transfer letters, and it looks like I’ll be chilling out here in Nkombo for the rest of my mission. I did however get a new companion! His name is Elder Agyei and he is from Ghana. He is really chill and I’m really pumped to be working with a companion who speaks English.

This week we had a pretty spiritual discussion with one of our recent converts. His name is brother Morrell, and I wrote a little about him before he was baptised. We were talking about the scriptures, and he started talking to us about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. He explained how everytime he reads the Book of Mormon he gets an overwhelming feeling of peace. He told us that he wishes that he could read it all the time, because everytime he reads it he feels good. The scriptures really are awesome, and they can definitely be a source of peace expecially in difficult times.

We also found a really cool investigator this week named brother stevi. We found him through a member, and towards the end of our first lesson with him he told us that his goal in life is to become a good man, a man of God. That really touched me, and really that should be everyone’s goal in life. It is, after all, one of the reasons why we’re here on this earth. Missionary work is really cool sometimes because we have the opportunity to help people work towards this very goal, and become better people through the Gospel, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

We were supposed to have a baptism last Saturday, but we had to delay it to next Saturday because our ward building was having some water problems. But it’s chill.

Alright Peace Out

Chillin at the stade de Congo

7.16 and 7.23- Nkombo/Makebandilou area

Basketball 7.23.18 and letter and baptisms from 7.16.18 letter

 

This week we had the chance to meet with one of our really good investigators, I’ll keep his name anonymous though. He is a war veteran who is really interested in the gospel, and who has been really touched by this message. We’ve been working with him for a couple of months now, and recently we’ve been helping him to overcome his alcohol addiction in preparation for his baptism. He has been struggling with this for a long time and has seen how this addiction has been a deteriorating factor in his life. He has seen how it has created emnity between him and his wife. He has seen the financial strain that this addiction has put on him. He has desired to quit for years now, but he hasn’t been able to. This week we were able to give him a blessing to help him in his struggles to quit drinking alcohol. He told us a week later that after we had left, the day we gave him the blessing, he decided to go drinking with his friends. He told us that after drinking a small quantity of alcohol he began to feel really sick, and he knew that it was because of the alcohol that he felt that way. Since that day, he told us that he hasn’t had the desire to drink. He has a long road to go before he can truly overcome this addiction but I know that the Lord will help him throughout the whole journey. I’m really praying for this investigator, and I know that the Lord can work mighty changes in our hearts if we only let him.

We also had a baptism this week!! We baptised two people. We were supposed to have four candidates but two of the candidates were really sick and couldn’t be baptised.The two candidates were also baptised in  two separate services. This was because one of the investigators was an investigator for the Nkombo ward, and the other for the Makebandilou ward. We are also preparing four other candidates for their baptism in two weeks. Exciting times here in the Nkombo/Makebandilou area.

We also stumbled upon someone passing out a brochure for the church of Raël. Their symbol is a swastika inside the star of david. They believe that god doesn’t exist, but they believe in a higher race from a different planet that created the human race. They also believe that christianity was a ploy used by white countries to erase african culture, and that cloning is the key to eternal life. Hmmmm interresting.

Alright love ya all.

Elder Thomas

 

 

7.9.18- Elder Thomas- Congo

Bonjour bonjour bonjour!!!

So I haven’t really written a big email in a while and that’s largely due to the fact that there hasn’t been very much happening lately, and also due to the fact that I’m incredibly lazy when it comes to writing weekly letters. The work here is progressing really rapidly, and we are constantly finding new and interesting people to teach, but there haven’t been any events that I’d consider out of the ordinary.

This week we celebrated Fourth of July, which was my last holiday out here on the mission, unless you count Labor Day. We celebrated by buying outrageously expensive hamburgers, which where really good, especially considering the fact that I haven’t had a proper hamburger in almost two years. In addition to this Elder Konchar and I had ourselves a “firework show.” This pretty much just involved us flicking matches in the dark while we sung patriotic hymns.

Besides this, we haven’t had stable water for the past week, so I’ve had to dust off the ole buckets whenever I wanted to take a shower or wash my clothes. We’ve had pretty stable power though which is cool, at least I can wallow in my own filth in an air conditioned room.

One of the really cool investigators that we found this week was a dude named brother Tangi. He contacted us a while ago while we were walking down the street, and we never had the opportunity to teach him (mostly because we lost his contact). So he called us last Sunday, which was a little bit of a surprise considering how whenever we give an investigators our number they usually never put forth the effort necessary to call us. But Tangi did, and we were able to teach him a couple of times this week. He explained to us during our first lesson how he had been searching for the truth about god and religion. We were able to talk about and connect his experiences to those of Joseph Smith, and give a really spiritual message concerning the restoration. During our second lesson with him he told us that he knew our message to be the truth he was searching for. Just a little reminder for us to never neglect a contact we receive, because we never know who has been prepared by the Lord to hear this message.

Oooooo we have a baptism next week!!!!

bye O

Elder Thomas

 

6-18-18

Bonjour a vous tous

This week was pretty great, we had a stellar baptismal service, and all three projected candidates were able to be baptized. One of the guys who were baptized was a guy named brother Laundry (the name is a lot less lame in French).  Brother Laundry has been with the missionaries for five or so months and he was never able to be baptized before because he worked on Sundays. He tried switching days with other people, and he even tried asking for a schedule change but nothing worked. He finally decided to put the situation into the Lords hands and quit his job thus enabling him to be baptized last Saturday.

Brother Morell was another candidate who was baptized last Saturday. He came into contact with the church himself and progressed through the lessons and was baptized a month or so after his initial contact with the missionaries. He bore his testimony during the service and explained to the members in assistance how he had been in a terrible position in his life and how he had searched all over for the right church. He found certain that he thought taught great lessons, but he always felt that there was something missing. When he came into contact with the LDS church he knew immediately that it was what he had always been searching for. During the service we had the opportunity to talk with his mother who was apparently a member from another ward; they had apparently found the church separately.

Here in Brazza my companion and I work in two separate sectors. We work for Nkombo and Makebandilou. It’s pretty great because we have twice the investigators and twice the members, the one downside, I mean blessing, is that we have to; I mean get to, sit through six hours of church every Sunday. We are therefore the holiest missionaries here in Brazza.

Alright love you all!!!

ByeO (Lingala for bye)

6.18.18\

 

 

 

Congo River Shenanigans 6.11.18

 

Bonjour!!

Last week was pretty crazy, Brother Morell, one of our investigators, asked us to visit him every day of last week. So in one week we went from lesson 1, the Restoration, to lesson 4 the Commandements. He is really pumped about the gospel, and he reads all of our brochures before each lesson, so even before the lesson he knows everything about each topic. Some of the most spiritual lessons that I’ve had have been with him. He has been really touched by our message and he is currently prepparing for his baptism this Saturday. The religious culture here is really different from that of Cameroun, the people here are extremelly receptive to the Gospel. We currently have three candidates who are preparing for their baptism this Saturday, I’m so happy to be back here in Brazzaville. Haha even if the people bully me more for being white.

It was pretty cool, the other day while we were driving to the zone conference in Diata we were driving down a hill and the brakes in our taxi went out. The taxi driver started freaking out because he thought we’d either die or get injured pretty badly. However, a couple seconds later there was a gap in the traffic of the neighboring lane and the driver was able to swerve over and drive into a sandy area where we were able to slow to a stop. It was a pretty interresting experience and everyone around the taxi was shouting about how the taximan was saved because he was driving men of god. In hindsight we probably could have gotten a couple of good contacts from the experience.

Oh this week we had a zone activity! Earlier today we went to this area close to the river, hiked a little bit and had snacks. It was pretty cool though because we where able to play games and mess around with everyone in our zone, it was a really fun time and I’ll send a couple pics later.

That’s about it for this week

Elder Thomas

6.4.18 pics and 5.28.18 letter

June 4, 2018

Baptism and reuniting with an old mtc bud.  In the sector pics:

 

 

May 28, 2018

So this week we had a baptism for three candidates!! It was a very spiritual service. Brother Jeanve, one of the people who was baptized asked me to baptize him so I was really honored. He is a really cool guy and he is really interested in serving a mission one day. So the bishop gave him a copy of preach my gospel after the service and he was really excited. Sister Cornelli another one of the candidates spent three years as an investigator before she decided to be baptized. She was really prepared and had a really strong testimony.

Right now we are teaching a group of four Papas, brother arssen, adolf, rock, and philip who were invited to take the lessons by one of the members. They are awesome and they are all really stoked about the lessons. They all really want to be baptized, but so far only Arssen has come to church. I love teaching them because they love the lessons and understand really well.

We are also teaching an investigator named Brother Morell. I like him a lot! The first lesson I had with him he layed his cards on the table and told us that he really wanted to be baptized. So, we are working hard to finish the lessons with him so that he can fulfill that goal. Wow, the work here is a whole lot easier than the work in Yaounde, the people just flock to the baptismal font.

That’s it for this week, I’ll send baptism pictures next week.
 

5.21.18- Brazzaville, Nkombo Ward

So about a week ago from today I was transferred back to Congo, I am currently working in the Nkombo ward, roughly three miles from my old sector. One might think that I’d be dissappointed to work so close to an area that I already know instead of experiencing the other cities and countries of the Congo Brazzaville mission, but I am actually pretty stoked. It feels so amazing to be back in the city that I have grown to love so much. It feels so familiar too, as if the entire city was on pause during the year I spent in Yaounde. The sights, the sounds, and even the smells have greeted me here in Brazzaville like an old friend. I even feel nostalgic whenever I hear the people shout moundelle at me. It feels good to be back, and it felt even better yesterday during stake conference when I had the opportunity to see all the people who had made a significant impact on my life back when I was in Massa. I was able to see most of my converts, pretty much all of the members, and even an old investigator who even now hasn’t been baptised, it was truly a remarkable experience. I had thought that most of the people here would have forgotten me, but I was proved wrong. Not only did the people here remember me, but they even remembered my name, and we were able to talk about the experiences whe had shared together. The Congolese are truly an amazing people, and I am excited to serve among them once more.

I am also working with Elder Muluane who is my first companion who isn’t from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is from Vanuatu, a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. He is an amazing guy, probably one of the nicest and one of the most humble missionary I’ve ever had the chance to work with. I am excited to work with him.

Well that’s about it for this week,

Bye o

Elder Thomas

Pictures include missionaries and companion in Brazzaville at Stake Conference.  Flood on the Street Road/River.

 

 

Goodbye to Cameroon, missionaries, members and eating a Viper Snake. Back to Congo- Brazzaville

4.30.18

Bonjour!!!

So this week we had the opportunity to hold a baptismal service for three people, Sister Niquaise, Brother Nikola, and Sister Abigail. It was an amazing service, and the spirit, as in all of the baptismal services we’ve held throughout my mission, was extremely strong. after the service Sister Niquaise and Brother Nikola had the opportunity to bear their testimonies. They explained how they had both heard of the church a couple years earlier, it had peaked their interest and they researched it relentlessly. Despite their efforts however, they never came into actual contact with the church. One day a couple of years later Sister Niquaise was walking in Bastos when she saw a sign that said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She got really excited and immediately called her cousin Brother Nikola. They attended the church services the following Sunday, and following that encounter they were put into contact with my companion and I. They testified concerning the truth of this gospel, and they testified of their unwavering testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of god. I was reminded through this experience of the manner in which god prepares his children to hear his word. I am grateful for the people that god has put in our path, and for the manner in which this message has affected their lives.

One of the greatest blessings of living in our appartement is the opportunity to grow acquainted to the smell of rotting rats. The rats living in our appartement complex scurry through an intricate system of holes and tubes scattered throughout the appartement. this week someone in our appartement (names will not be mentioned) thought it would be wise to solve our rat problem by using rat poison. This wasn’t however, a very well thought out scheme because the rats once dead are impossible to dispose of. Because of this we have a couple rotting rats hiding in the infrastucture of our appartement, and when we walk into the kitchen or a certain section of the balcony we are hit with the unpleasant and almost tangible aroma of deteriorating rat. O quelle joi

Oh we also had zone conference this week, it was great.

 

Love you all

Elder Thomas