Monday, February 15, 2010
Valentines Day and 130 degree weather
OMG! Today is Valentine's Day! I didn't even know... Lol! Sister Leavitt gave us candy and I didn't even realize what it was for... LOL! Health is good. Elder Holland isn't coming to Togo. Haven't tried the Debit card, but someone did steal 30000 francs (about $64 USD) from me so I'll be trying it soon... I can't really think of anything honestly... It's me that wants to send stuff home... President was in the hospital cause he overworked himself... And no. Hasn't cooled down.
We got a thermometer and it is 100 degrees at 9 in the morning with a high of 130 in the afternoon. It actually rained a couple of days ago and it was 80 degrees during the rain storm at night and we were freezing... Then I remembered that I'll be coming home in the dead of winter while here in February is the dead of Summer... Ya. I'm dead... I loved your story about your hair! I would've loved to see that! I laughed pretty hard and a couple guys in the cyber thought I was laughing at them... lol!
I don't really have much to say this week. I didn't keep up on my stories very well... We played soccer today. Went to the market... So I went to go buy a couple little trinkets for the boys and we went to this little shop on the side of the road.... This reminds me a little about Dad's vegetable story... but I was there and it was Halterman, Carver, Kakou, Bobi and Aissigba, and me. The white guys were buying then I hear Kakou say, He's selling the Priesthood! Ad they started laughing... So I said what? I looked up.. .This man had wood carved "Priesthoods" and one that was in brass and a bottle opener... (Think about something that Men only have... That's the "Priesthood") That was fun...
Also Just a little update on the work. For the last two months, we've been contacting roughly 65 new investigators by week.. It's really fun cause you meet all the Jehovah's Witnesses and Catholics and random African Cults. The cults are the most fun. Most of the time we don't teach. We listen to what they want to preach to us about... One guy had a ton of candles in his house on a raised platform with a little stained glass window in his roof and said Jesus comes down every suday to teach them... Ya... Just one of the crazies. Another said he had a dream about Jesus on a bicycle and showed him the true church, which is called "God, The Dove, and THEN the Truth." I'm telling ya. This isn't Washington...
I finished Jesus the Christ and taken a large interest in the bible accompanied with the Book of Mormon. I haven't really kept you updated on my studies... I've taken a HUGE interest in religion and I'm curious about all other religions. How they were founded, what they study. It's jut interesting. Like the JW's think that Jesus was hung on a Post and the Branhamist's think that William is Jesus and the Celestial Christians think that the Holy Ghost was manifested in the human body and so they don't wear shoes... It's just so intriguing... Can't really explain. I'm just happy I have the truth and it's just so clear. Not all this whack superstition... Lol!
Well I gotta go. I love you all! HAPPY (Unknown) VALENTINE'S DAY!
Elder Halvorsen
We got a thermometer and it is 100 degrees at 9 in the morning with a high of 130 in the afternoon. It actually rained a couple of days ago and it was 80 degrees during the rain storm at night and we were freezing... Then I remembered that I'll be coming home in the dead of winter while here in February is the dead of Summer... Ya. I'm dead... I loved your story about your hair! I would've loved to see that! I laughed pretty hard and a couple guys in the cyber thought I was laughing at them... lol!
I don't really have much to say this week. I didn't keep up on my stories very well... We played soccer today. Went to the market... So I went to go buy a couple little trinkets for the boys and we went to this little shop on the side of the road.... This reminds me a little about Dad's vegetable story... but I was there and it was Halterman, Carver, Kakou, Bobi and Aissigba, and me. The white guys were buying then I hear Kakou say, He's selling the Priesthood! Ad they started laughing... So I said what? I looked up.. .This man had wood carved "Priesthoods" and one that was in brass and a bottle opener... (Think about something that Men only have... That's the "Priesthood") That was fun...
Also Just a little update on the work. For the last two months, we've been contacting roughly 65 new investigators by week.. It's really fun cause you meet all the Jehovah's Witnesses and Catholics and random African Cults. The cults are the most fun. Most of the time we don't teach. We listen to what they want to preach to us about... One guy had a ton of candles in his house on a raised platform with a little stained glass window in his roof and said Jesus comes down every suday to teach them... Ya... Just one of the crazies. Another said he had a dream about Jesus on a bicycle and showed him the true church, which is called "God, The Dove, and THEN the Truth." I'm telling ya. This isn't Washington...
I finished Jesus the Christ and taken a large interest in the bible accompanied with the Book of Mormon. I haven't really kept you updated on my studies... I've taken a HUGE interest in religion and I'm curious about all other religions. How they were founded, what they study. It's jut interesting. Like the JW's think that Jesus was hung on a Post and the Branhamist's think that William is Jesus and the Celestial Christians think that the Holy Ghost was manifested in the human body and so they don't wear shoes... It's just so intriguing... Can't really explain. I'm just happy I have the truth and it's just so clear. Not all this whack superstition... Lol!
Well I gotta go. I love you all! HAPPY (Unknown) VALENTINE'S DAY!
Elder Halvorsen
Monday, February 8, 2010
"John the Baptist", unresponsive kids, and sleeping on roofs
I am opening my first package of garments tonight actually! BIG MARK! Health is great, eat too much, gonna start an exercise program, course I do all that for mosquitos, deet is great. Should last the rest of my mission easily. Haven't tried the Debit again. Didn't get an interview with Golden but tht's okay cause I was really tired with my voice. It kills after all that translating. You asked how my health was twice... LOL! And I got the package with the reflector stuff. Thanks!
So the thing with companions, I know it sounds like I don't like most of them, but it's not that. I love all my companions. I keep in contact with and like them. I just share my feelings on certain subjects. It's me that's going to be reading these again after I get back and I can analyse my life after. Our goal in this life is to better ourselves to become perfect like our Savior, so I want to know my weaknesses. I guess it's kind of a lamely justified reason so I'll omit the other feelings. I've actually become very patient here. I mean kids yell/sing at me everyday telling me that i'm white, a fact I know very well, Old people yelling at me and insulting me all day, but it's weird cause no matter what they say, I love them as a brother or sister I knew before. The kids are innocent I know. I took a video of them singing too. SO FUNNY!
Well the conference was great. Everyone loved Elder Golden's discourse and he got asked some interesting questions. It was great though. We had one baptism last week. We have a good service the 20th coming up.
At the baptisms, they call the person who is going to baptise, John the Baptist. "Now as John the Baptist we have...." Elder Golden about flipped. He was like WHAT?!? I thought it was weird too but none of the other missionaries made a move so I didn't think anything more of it.
So I have a terrible yet kind of funny story... We were walking back to the house in sand like usual. We came to an intersection and there was this group of little kids. Normally they sing or stare at me. This group was coming around the corner and pointing and making noises that sounded like their language Evé. So I thought I'd try to make them laugh and point and act like I could talk Evé too. Kids laugh when I do that. But these kids didn't even see me, they kept walking and I realised they didn't hear me. Kakou explained why they didn't hear me. They were DEAF. Wow... I felt like a total jerk. Kakou was laughing so hard though.
So one person we baptized has become SUPER strong. We gave him a Gospel Principles book, the new one, and the next time we stopped by his house, he had a 4 PAGE TALK written. he asked, how can I give a talk at church? . . .. . That was crazy... He's a great guy.
Last story and I gotta go. So the power has been cutting out every night for the last month. It's always when we're sleeping. So Elder Cruz and I wake up immediately and go outside cause it's too hot. We wait 20 minutes to an hour. Bam. Power. BUT This one night the power cut out around 10 or 11. An hour passed and Cruz and I were too tired. So we took our mattresses up on the roof. We used a TON of mosquito spray and with the great breeze up there were saved from the death heat wave. This is truly Africa. It was a fun experience. : )
Well that's all and I gotta go. I love you all VERY much and got a couple presents for you guys! the boys too.
LOVE YOU!
Elder HAlvorsen
So the thing with companions, I know it sounds like I don't like most of them, but it's not that. I love all my companions. I keep in contact with and like them. I just share my feelings on certain subjects. It's me that's going to be reading these again after I get back and I can analyse my life after. Our goal in this life is to better ourselves to become perfect like our Savior, so I want to know my weaknesses. I guess it's kind of a lamely justified reason so I'll omit the other feelings. I've actually become very patient here. I mean kids yell/sing at me everyday telling me that i'm white, a fact I know very well, Old people yelling at me and insulting me all day, but it's weird cause no matter what they say, I love them as a brother or sister I knew before. The kids are innocent I know. I took a video of them singing too. SO FUNNY!
Well the conference was great. Everyone loved Elder Golden's discourse and he got asked some interesting questions. It was great though. We had one baptism last week. We have a good service the 20th coming up.
At the baptisms, they call the person who is going to baptise, John the Baptist. "Now as John the Baptist we have...." Elder Golden about flipped. He was like WHAT?!? I thought it was weird too but none of the other missionaries made a move so I didn't think anything more of it.
So I have a terrible yet kind of funny story... We were walking back to the house in sand like usual. We came to an intersection and there was this group of little kids. Normally they sing or stare at me. This group was coming around the corner and pointing and making noises that sounded like their language Evé. So I thought I'd try to make them laugh and point and act like I could talk Evé too. Kids laugh when I do that. But these kids didn't even see me, they kept walking and I realised they didn't hear me. Kakou explained why they didn't hear me. They were DEAF. Wow... I felt like a total jerk. Kakou was laughing so hard though.
So one person we baptized has become SUPER strong. We gave him a Gospel Principles book, the new one, and the next time we stopped by his house, he had a 4 PAGE TALK written. he asked, how can I give a talk at church? . . .. . That was crazy... He's a great guy.
Last story and I gotta go. So the power has been cutting out every night for the last month. It's always when we're sleeping. So Elder Cruz and I wake up immediately and go outside cause it's too hot. We wait 20 minutes to an hour. Bam. Power. BUT This one night the power cut out around 10 or 11. An hour passed and Cruz and I were too tired. So we took our mattresses up on the roof. We used a TON of mosquito spray and with the great breeze up there were saved from the death heat wave. This is truly Africa. It was a fun experience. : )
Well that's all and I gotta go. I love you all VERY much and got a couple presents for you guys! the boys too.
LOVE YOU!
Elder HAlvorsen
Monday, February 1, 2010
Mmmm...mmmagggottts!
Health is good. [Elder] Cruz was sick. Don't know if it was malaria... Haven't tired Debit card again. Weather is hot. Compy is good. Fav Scrip. There's too many... All of Alma 29 is good. or 1 to 10. lol! I heard Tess was engaged. She told me. CRAZY! When did you get a Jetta?
An apostle at Jared's house! WOW! That is too cool! I'm happy for him! I can't check the blog. Don't have time. Rushed again... Tonight the power cut off eight times in the last hour...
So here's some fun stuff about what's been going on. So it's hotter then normal, don't know how in the world that's possible, but it is, and I now have SALT DEPOSITS coming through my pants after one day. Yeah. That's hot. lol!
We had a fun maggot experience. I was going to open the garbage can to throw something in and I tried grabbing it by the top, but my hand kept slipping so I thought heck I'll just reach around the side of the lid. I flipped it off real quick and ya... HUNDREDS of maggots all over the place. On the rims falling off the sides, on the lid, crawling all over.
SO I call out Kakou and told him to carry it out into the sun. Then the small portion of 200 that fell on the ground, I got a broom and swept them off onto the other sidewalk. I turn around and heard a scuttering behind me. I look and all of a sudden four lizards come out of no where and started eating all of the maggots! All of it. It was like pac-man lizard style! It was great! So We tipped the garbage can a bit and they hopped right in and took care of all of them! I love the lizards here now. And they love us. : )
So when I went to the bank to go get my money transfer, there was a Nigerian there and he had literally 5000 american dollars all in Franklins. It was ridiculous. I said, why do you have that here? He said Amreica money is better then Africa money. Case closed. Lol!
Another thing about my comp. He's 26... Ya not kidding. He's ANCIENT! I thought he was like... 20. But oh well. I really do like him a lot. He taught me some cool stuff and also how to make these cool bracelet things. I'll make em for the fam.
The Zone conference is tomorrow in our apartment with Elder Golden and I'll be translating again. It should be really good. I'm pretty stoked for this. We worked really hard this last week too. We should have some good baptisms coming up.
Also We didn't do anything for my year mark. The only thing that I'm gong to do is burn a tie, a shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of pants on my year and six months. Well I gotta go.
LOVE YOU ALL! Hope you're all doing well!
Elder Halvorsen
An apostle at Jared's house! WOW! That is too cool! I'm happy for him! I can't check the blog. Don't have time. Rushed again... Tonight the power cut off eight times in the last hour...
So here's some fun stuff about what's been going on. So it's hotter then normal, don't know how in the world that's possible, but it is, and I now have SALT DEPOSITS coming through my pants after one day. Yeah. That's hot. lol!
We had a fun maggot experience. I was going to open the garbage can to throw something in and I tried grabbing it by the top, but my hand kept slipping so I thought heck I'll just reach around the side of the lid. I flipped it off real quick and ya... HUNDREDS of maggots all over the place. On the rims falling off the sides, on the lid, crawling all over.
SO I call out Kakou and told him to carry it out into the sun. Then the small portion of 200 that fell on the ground, I got a broom and swept them off onto the other sidewalk. I turn around and heard a scuttering behind me. I look and all of a sudden four lizards come out of no where and started eating all of the maggots! All of it. It was like pac-man lizard style! It was great! So We tipped the garbage can a bit and they hopped right in and took care of all of them! I love the lizards here now. And they love us. : )
So when I went to the bank to go get my money transfer, there was a Nigerian there and he had literally 5000 american dollars all in Franklins. It was ridiculous. I said, why do you have that here? He said Amreica money is better then Africa money. Case closed. Lol!
Another thing about my comp. He's 26... Ya not kidding. He's ANCIENT! I thought he was like... 20. But oh well. I really do like him a lot. He taught me some cool stuff and also how to make these cool bracelet things. I'll make em for the fam.
The Zone conference is tomorrow in our apartment with Elder Golden and I'll be translating again. It should be really good. I'm pretty stoked for this. We worked really hard this last week too. We should have some good baptisms coming up.
Also We didn't do anything for my year mark. The only thing that I'm gong to do is burn a tie, a shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of pants on my year and six months. Well I gotta go.
LOVE YOU ALL! Hope you're all doing well!
Elder Halvorsen
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The mice are eating well...
Heat is killing me. I put on sun block, got burned still.... No rain... PRAYING! We'll have two baptisms this week. I have stories but I left my stupid planner at the house. My Apt doesn't have AC. MY new companion is great! His name is Elder Kakou. So I spelled it wrong the first time. He's fresh from the MTC and I'm his Trainer. We get along well. Health is great. I'm learning to cook a bunch of stuff with Elder Kakou. Sonds like you guys had a bunch of stuff going on. And another car? Dang... Lol! That sounds cool though. I would love to drive it.
Well I bought some masks today and got burned playing soccer. I got some statues too. Nothing too crazy. I had a lot of stories about a ton of funny and sweet stuff but I really can't remember. AND LUCK HAVE IT! I had it right next to me! Gonna open it up.
I saw two little kids ding dong ditch this poor old lady. It was actually quite hilarious. The kids just took off running.
AFRICAN EXPERIENCE! We found this guy we thought was an investigator. He's CRAZY far from our house, but someone showed us. Se we get to the beach and we see this shack. We're thinking interesting... Okay. And then we take this tiny little side trail winding through this plantation of palm trees and end up in this tiny hut on the beach. Wow... It was intense. His house is a little bigger then our pantry and made up of palm leaves. We took a picture together.
I got the package with my debit card from the Bailey's. The mice ate really well. The soup and bacon bites are gone. As for my card, I tried it and it said action forbidden. I don't know if it's activiated or what. So that's what it said. I'm going to try another place.
I bought a bible in évé so I'm: going to try and learn this language really really well and speak it. Also had a little ice cream party for my comp. It's been a decent week.
Well I love you all very VERY much and miss you all!
Elder Halvorsen
Well I bought some masks today and got burned playing soccer. I got some statues too. Nothing too crazy. I had a lot of stories about a ton of funny and sweet stuff but I really can't remember. AND LUCK HAVE IT! I had it right next to me! Gonna open it up.
I saw two little kids ding dong ditch this poor old lady. It was actually quite hilarious. The kids just took off running.
AFRICAN EXPERIENCE! We found this guy we thought was an investigator. He's CRAZY far from our house, but someone showed us. Se we get to the beach and we see this shack. We're thinking interesting... Okay. And then we take this tiny little side trail winding through this plantation of palm trees and end up in this tiny hut on the beach. Wow... It was intense. His house is a little bigger then our pantry and made up of palm leaves. We took a picture together.
I got the package with my debit card from the Bailey's. The mice ate really well. The soup and bacon bites are gone. As for my card, I tried it and it said action forbidden. I don't know if it's activiated or what. So that's what it said. I'm going to try another place.
I bought a bible in évé so I'm: going to try and learn this language really really well and speak it. Also had a little ice cream party for my comp. It's been a decent week.
Well I love you all very VERY much and miss you all!
Elder Halvorsen
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Fixing the kinks in the new apartment
This is now the third flipping time that I've written this letter. First time the computer tweaked and THEN after it had erased everything the computer saved nothing, and then the power got cut in Togo. Good start for the morning.
Well I"m in the Souza Nétimé branch. Health is good. Package wasn't rummaged. Out of Deodorant. Africans believe in Roll on only and it's girl marks... New apartment had a TON of problems. Some self proclaimed lock smith took a crowbar to our door and broke the lock. He charged us three bucks. Then water started overflowing in the kitchen and our drunk guardian got his sons, beat the concrete around this big lid thing with hammers, put a ladder down and his son dressed only in a pair of tight boxers went down, no shoes, basically diving in just the worst smelling sludge I've ever seen... Was so gross. Did not receive the reflector stuff either. That story about Chan sounds terrible but super funny. Reminds me of the pooped pants I cleaned up at Home Depot. And With Bro Baxter. : ) You can tell him I did learn a little Fong bé and I'm starting a little Ewé.
Here's a couple little stories. Just after last week's internet we went outide and the Muslims were burning a goat they just killed. Right in the middle of the road. Fun times. We dumped a huge bucket of water on Geisler's head from the roof and started a water war inside the house... Took an hour to clean. Some kids threw a strobe light in the middle of the road and we kept walking, but Geisler stopped to do the Robot, and it turned out to be a mini bomb firework. He jumped so hard and it was So funny.
We were on the roof of this four story building and some kids had spotted us from the roof, so I started doing the YMCA dance and we got about 25 kids down on the street to start doing the YMCA and after the Maccaraina. They cook here buy using grinding stones and coal in these little firepits. Just like the native Americans. Most people cook like that anyways. We got stuck in a huge march for the UFC. We were in a taxi. Dead stop for all the Traffic. And then the next day we got stuck in another when we were walking. It was a bunch of people that were excited for the World Cup. Wow... It was crazy. They block the whole road. Some crazy guy come over and started hugging us and asking for money so we told him to get off and that we didn't have any so I thought I'd pull the I speak English card and he most definitely spoke english too. I just said great. Lol.
Well that message was way better the first time, but oh well... I'll explain more when I get home and have some photos. The 28th is coming fast! The year mark! It's been so fast! I get Kakoo the 14th. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll have my debit card soon too so all is good. Thank you! I love you all and miss you a lot!
Elder Halvorsen
Well I"m in the Souza Nétimé branch. Health is good. Package wasn't rummaged. Out of Deodorant. Africans believe in Roll on only and it's girl marks... New apartment had a TON of problems. Some self proclaimed lock smith took a crowbar to our door and broke the lock. He charged us three bucks. Then water started overflowing in the kitchen and our drunk guardian got his sons, beat the concrete around this big lid thing with hammers, put a ladder down and his son dressed only in a pair of tight boxers went down, no shoes, basically diving in just the worst smelling sludge I've ever seen... Was so gross. Did not receive the reflector stuff either. That story about Chan sounds terrible but super funny. Reminds me of the pooped pants I cleaned up at Home Depot. And With Bro Baxter. : ) You can tell him I did learn a little Fong bé and I'm starting a little Ewé.
Here's a couple little stories. Just after last week's internet we went outide and the Muslims were burning a goat they just killed. Right in the middle of the road. Fun times. We dumped a huge bucket of water on Geisler's head from the roof and started a water war inside the house... Took an hour to clean. Some kids threw a strobe light in the middle of the road and we kept walking, but Geisler stopped to do the Robot, and it turned out to be a mini bomb firework. He jumped so hard and it was So funny.
We were on the roof of this four story building and some kids had spotted us from the roof, so I started doing the YMCA dance and we got about 25 kids down on the street to start doing the YMCA and after the Maccaraina. They cook here buy using grinding stones and coal in these little firepits. Just like the native Americans. Most people cook like that anyways. We got stuck in a huge march for the UFC. We were in a taxi. Dead stop for all the Traffic. And then the next day we got stuck in another when we were walking. It was a bunch of people that were excited for the World Cup. Wow... It was crazy. They block the whole road. Some crazy guy come over and started hugging us and asking for money so we told him to get off and that we didn't have any so I thought I'd pull the I speak English card and he most definitely spoke english too. I just said great. Lol.
Well that message was way better the first time, but oh well... I'll explain more when I get home and have some photos. The 28th is coming fast! The year mark! It's been so fast! I get Kakoo the 14th. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll have my debit card soon too so all is good. Thank you! I love you all and miss you a lot!
Elder Halvorsen
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Elder Halvorsen's testimony
Health is good. Companion, Elder Geisler, is getting transferred next week to Benin and I will receive a Brand new Ivorian missionary from the MTC. His name is Elder Kakoo. Christmas was great and New Years was fun too. I'll bear testimony at the end. I re-sent the email again. Sr. Bailey called and talked to me about the package. THe money transfer worked out great. It's funny cause I actually ended up pulling it out FARTHER away from downtown but in a WAY nicer facility. Lol!
Yeah I can't believe that Jon will be home in 3 months. That's just too crazy to think about... And with Kirtley. I got a letter from her family saying she had been evacuated.. Man that's just nuts...
Did Andrew get a hold of you? I told him to give you a call.
Okay. Now the fun stuff. New year's was great. Kids have used fireworks all day everyday since I came here and man.. EVERYONE had fireworks. We did too... We threw them off the roof. Lol! We ate so much that day. I thought I was going to explode. Everyone invited us over to eat. Then I was too tired so I decided to go to sleep at around ten cause we were all so tired. At exactly 12 the apartment started shaking... There were SO many fireworks. Not just little ones... We're talking an army might have turned around... It was ridiculous... It went on for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then the stupid rooster woke us up again... UGH.
It's more difficult being a District Leader then I thought. I've got to keep all these Elder's in line and staying in their positions as missionaries. It's rough... Good experiences for me though. I'm learning how to deal with all kinds of people.
We just moved apartments today. First off we went down to this market where we buy food, but there's a member next door who sells wood things. CRECHE SETS MOM! : ) They're a little more on the expensive side, roughly 20,000 cifas, I think that's forty bucks, but they're pretty cool. I don't know if you want it to look African or just a normal type creche. Let me know.
There are also masks for 8 bucks and cool wood statues and necklaces and all types of things. If the boys want something, nows a good time.
So we got back to the apartment and Fr. Dieudonné came by and says, you guys are moving today! Surprise! So we ran around packing things and getting ready. We moved everything in about 4 hours and we finished moving everything around in the house. Then we realized ah. Gotta hit up the internet. So I lock all the doors and there was just one door left to lock. I put the key in, locked it and pulled the key out. But something went wrong. The lock and tumblers followed. Yep. We are currenlty locked out of our house... Lol! The guardian next door has a key but he wasn't there so we're going to stop by his house on the way home. It's been an eventful day...
So it's kinda weird bearing my testimony in English cause I always do it in French, but after everything that I've seen here and everything I've been through I have taken the testimony that I had before and turned it into an unbreakable rock. I have easily moved every obstacle out of my path in this mission because of the testimony that has been built. I look at other churches and other people that don't have the Gospel and I just ask myself, How can you think that that church is right when the bible clearly states what we need to do, and you're church doesn't do it? How can you let yourselves live in darnkness? Even with the Book of Mormon as a second witness that completely backs up the Bible, how could you believe in anything else? There's is not a single question that I have, had or will have that I have not anwsered easily with this Gospel. The answers to eternal life are only in one place as stated in the Bible, One Lord, One faith, One baptism. Jesus built one church on the Earth and he made his church on the foundation of Prophets, Apostles and HIM being the corner stone and Leader of all righteousness.
I know without a doubt in my mind that this church is his church.. I know that everything that is is here because of a Heavenly Father that loves us and will never leave us alone and in darkness. The gospel is so easy to understand and so easy to live. We just have to follow what somebody else has already done, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's always easier to do what has already been done because we know it's possible. We know it has been done and can be done. It's the path that is the choice. The straight and narrow where our Brother has already walked and leads us along as well, our the wide path that only descends into darkness. I have chosen my path and will hold on the Rod and the Wisdom of our Father and his Christ instead of the knowledge of man. This is my testimony and this is my Rock. Which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I love you all very much. One year has passed and one year remains. I'm making the most of it for these people.
Elder Halvorsen
Yeah I can't believe that Jon will be home in 3 months. That's just too crazy to think about... And with Kirtley. I got a letter from her family saying she had been evacuated.. Man that's just nuts...
Did Andrew get a hold of you? I told him to give you a call.
Okay. Now the fun stuff. New year's was great. Kids have used fireworks all day everyday since I came here and man.. EVERYONE had fireworks. We did too... We threw them off the roof. Lol! We ate so much that day. I thought I was going to explode. Everyone invited us over to eat. Then I was too tired so I decided to go to sleep at around ten cause we were all so tired. At exactly 12 the apartment started shaking... There were SO many fireworks. Not just little ones... We're talking an army might have turned around... It was ridiculous... It went on for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then the stupid rooster woke us up again... UGH.
It's more difficult being a District Leader then I thought. I've got to keep all these Elder's in line and staying in their positions as missionaries. It's rough... Good experiences for me though. I'm learning how to deal with all kinds of people.
We just moved apartments today. First off we went down to this market where we buy food, but there's a member next door who sells wood things. CRECHE SETS MOM! : ) They're a little more on the expensive side, roughly 20,000 cifas, I think that's forty bucks, but they're pretty cool. I don't know if you want it to look African or just a normal type creche. Let me know.
There are also masks for 8 bucks and cool wood statues and necklaces and all types of things. If the boys want something, nows a good time.
So we got back to the apartment and Fr. Dieudonné came by and says, you guys are moving today! Surprise! So we ran around packing things and getting ready. We moved everything in about 4 hours and we finished moving everything around in the house. Then we realized ah. Gotta hit up the internet. So I lock all the doors and there was just one door left to lock. I put the key in, locked it and pulled the key out. But something went wrong. The lock and tumblers followed. Yep. We are currenlty locked out of our house... Lol! The guardian next door has a key but he wasn't there so we're going to stop by his house on the way home. It's been an eventful day...
So it's kinda weird bearing my testimony in English cause I always do it in French, but after everything that I've seen here and everything I've been through I have taken the testimony that I had before and turned it into an unbreakable rock. I have easily moved every obstacle out of my path in this mission because of the testimony that has been built. I look at other churches and other people that don't have the Gospel and I just ask myself, How can you think that that church is right when the bible clearly states what we need to do, and you're church doesn't do it? How can you let yourselves live in darnkness? Even with the Book of Mormon as a second witness that completely backs up the Bible, how could you believe in anything else? There's is not a single question that I have, had or will have that I have not anwsered easily with this Gospel. The answers to eternal life are only in one place as stated in the Bible, One Lord, One faith, One baptism. Jesus built one church on the Earth and he made his church on the foundation of Prophets, Apostles and HIM being the corner stone and Leader of all righteousness.
I know without a doubt in my mind that this church is his church.. I know that everything that is is here because of a Heavenly Father that loves us and will never leave us alone and in darkness. The gospel is so easy to understand and so easy to live. We just have to follow what somebody else has already done, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's always easier to do what has already been done because we know it's possible. We know it has been done and can be done. It's the path that is the choice. The straight and narrow where our Brother has already walked and leads us along as well, our the wide path that only descends into darkness. I have chosen my path and will hold on the Rod and the Wisdom of our Father and his Christ instead of the knowledge of man. This is my testimony and this is my Rock. Which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I love you all very much. One year has passed and one year remains. I'm making the most of it for these people.
Elder Halvorsen
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