Week 41 2 Mundelés in Africa

 Bonjour!

This week zoomed by. Started this week with my new companion Elder Rodriguez. Showed him around the area and we got to work! Even though our French isn't the best we've been working hard and have had some awesome lessons with some amazing people!

We had two friends get baptized! Fr Beni and Fr Vann. Super excited for them! They are awesome.

We also had zone conference this week in downtown Brazzaville. We talked about miracles we saw, being obedient and practiced our teaching skills.

Super excited for this week and what it holds!

Me in Kintele

Congo River

Some kids wanted to take a picture with us

The Elders of our apartment 

Had dinner with Elders Quorum president 

Baptism of Fr Beni and Fr Vann

Week 40 Guess who my new companion is?

 And it's Monday again!

Well, this week was pretty great and crazy as usual! 

We had some great lessons with two of our friends who will be baptized this Saturday! Fr Vann and Fr Beny! We also started teaching Fr Beny's older sister, Sr Shekinah this week. We also had a great lesson with Sr Nelly's family also!

The weather's nice and cool here. It's the best! Time goes by so quickly here 😫 always got to make the most of it. 

We finally are back to 2-hour church here in congo. My first time going to elders quorum.

So on Thursday, the assistants told us that there was going to be another big transfer and we'd find out about it in a couple of days. So come Saturday I still hadn't heard anything when I got a phone call from Elder Rodriguez. For those who don't know, Elder Rodriguez is from Atlanta Georgia like me. While I was doing online MTC he had his mission call to go to Congo as well. We got to meet up and hang out. He's an awesome Elder! He has been in Pointe Noire for this entire time so I haven't been able to see him since November. 

Anyways he called me and asked, "Have you heard the news?"

"No, what news?" I replied

He said, "I'm coming to Brazzaville and we're gonna be companions!"

"NO WAY!"

So tomorrow Elder Nsaka will be in Nzoko, a town in Brazzaville, and Elder Rodriguez will be my companion! Super excited! 

Elder Dewey will stay here too and be getting an African companion. It's gonna be fun.

 Kintele

Climbed a mountain today

Some of Fr Beny's family 

Sunsets are crazy cool here!

Week 39 Joyeux Jour de l'Indépendance

Wow, this week flew by as always! 

Really been enjoying the weather here in the dry season, it hasn't gotten above the high 80s at all here which is the best. Makes me not so excited for the hot wet season again.

I had a great week here! I had some great lessons with some families here. One family who called out for us to come to preach to them while we were walking down the street has been progressing pretty well! We've been teaching the mother Sr Varelle and her husband Fr Symphorien as well as their daughter Sr Shekinah. Sr Shekinah has been progressing the fastest out of those three and came to church yesterday! 

I also had a great lesson with Sr Nelly's family. Sr Nelly is the mother who asked me about the Book of Mormon I was holding in my hand on a bus. We taught her kids and their friends and it was great!

I really love teaching about the principle of agency. Agency is the gift that God has given us to be able to choose for ourselves and it is crucial to God's plan for us. But from this great gift comes great responsibility. Agency allows us to choose to follow God or not. When we receive knowledge and revelation we have the responsibility to act on it. As missionaries, we teach people about how they can receive answers to their questions through revelation. But after they receive an answer it is up to them to choose to act. 

If there is one thing I have learned here, is how thankful I am for the USA. We are super blessed to live where we do because we are much freer to choose in America than elsewhere; we can make more choices for ourselves and choose to follow God. This is one of the reasons the gospel was restored in America.

Elder Hillam and Elder Nsaka

A river we found in a valley

Lesson with Sr Nelly's Kids

Just the main road of Kintélé