Prophets and Apostles

Bonjour! 07/05/2014

This past week has gone really well. We had a solid Sunday night once again all having dinner with the couple:) One of the best perks of being so close to them. So that was awesome! Then the week started off really well also. It was kind of weird Monday and then Tuesday as those were the last days of President Weed. I will say though it was a good example for all of us, as even his very last day on the mission, he was in working in his office. He no doubt gave it his all till the end. On Monday we had our last weekly meeting with him, and he gave an awesome spiritual thought. He mentioned the statement the first presidency came out with this past week concerning church doctrine, and a little bit about what has been going around in the media lately about the church. It was nice remembering how blessed we are to be led by Prophets and Apostles who are continually receiving revelation for us to help protect us. At the same time though they don’t change as the world does, which often makes what they tell us the more unpopular way. It really reminds me a lot of even Book of Mormon stories for example in the clear fact that many don’t like what the prophet and apostles tell us, even though it is the truth and will help us. In turn they end up having many problems because they failed to follow the prophet. People here always seem stunned to find that we have a Prophet on the earth today, but its nice having that knowledge there is someone there to guide us.

But yeah on Tuesday President Weed was off to the airport and then on his way home. It was really sad seeing him go, but just an hour after getting dropped off at the airport we had to go pick up President Morin as well. We ended up waiting a while at the airport, but he finally made it! It’s not hard to tell though already that he will be amazing. He’s a pretty small guy, and kind of reminds me of Brother Clark, as he isn’t very big, but is extremely humble and a spiritual giant. He is a native French speaker so that’s what he speaks with us, but he told us that he learned English actually from an American companion he had on his mission. As were President Weed and his wife, him and his wife are awesome together and are an amazing example. Its a little different as well as his wife is a native French speaker also so the two can even kind of teach together when talking to us. He’s extremely zealous as well, and it was funny, as right after we picked him up, he wanted to get started right away with planning and getting to work. I’m pretty sure he’s already gone out and taught with some companionship's every day this past week since he got here. He’s awesome and I’m super glad to have the chance to work closer to him! He’s going to Lome next week to see the missionaries and to meet with the Stake President and Elder Ounleu from the interregion.

This past week we did have a little headache as the customs at the airport picked up some of the packages they sent here to be waiting when they got here. They were asking us to pay a certain amount, I’m not going to say how much, ha-ha to get them out. We tried and tried but it was pretty useless. Luckily though we ended up calling the ex-police commissioner for Cotonou, who is a member, (the same guy that saved us when we had that accident with the assistants at the start of my mission) and he came and after a long talk with the douane, we were able to get the packages out at about a 14th of the price they were wanting.

Driving is still as awesome as ever here. It’s like being in a movie or something! I will say though adjusting back to the driving there won't be easy. But yeah the work is going pretty good and our Amis are doing pretty well. We had to push back the baptism for our candidate named Ghouda as he still has a problem with the word of wisdom. The problem is it’s not a drug that is always listed as its something more cultural, so he doesn’t understand yet he has to let it go. At the same time since he has stopped drinking coffee to stay up for work, he told us he hasn’t seen any difference, and still has all the energy he needs to work. So in a way he has already started gaining a testimony of the word of wisdom, but at the same time is struggling in some areas. I think that he will be able to get baptized though not too far off. Our little family we're teaching thanks to one of the sons which is a member is progressing really well also! Again they’re having some difficulty leaving the Catholic Church, but you can see that they understand the importance of our message, and are coming along with that. So yeah the work is coming along pretty well, and is picking up a lot for sure which is nice!

But thanks for the spiritual thought as well! Its interesting how important that reading in the scriptures is. It’s just a normal missionary habit, so we see the blessings of it daily, but its really cool to see the differences that it makes in others and in new converts especially. Its clear that those who study the Book of Mormon, often become the strongest members, and when asking most inactives if they read it, the usual answer is no. So that’s very true! But yeah things are going really well here! I hope all goes great there this next week! I love and miss you all a ton!

Elder Oliverson