Moving Areas

Bonjour,

I hope that everyone is doing great, and having a good summer so far. Luckily, we are in the rainy season here, so it's a little bit cooler, instead of it being 95 and sunny everyday. I heard it has been hot back home, so sorry about that.

Things have been going pretty good for me these last couple of weeks. As you know, Elder Osime got transferred mid-transfer, so I had Elder Kouadio as my companion these last three weeks. I was a little worried, because he doesn't speak any English, and I didn't think my French would be good enough. However, things have gone pretty good, and communication hasn't been a problem. These last three weeks have gone by quicker than I thought they would. 

A couple of weeks ago, we had Zone Conference and interviews. Zone Conference was pretty good, and I learned a lot of things. President Proudfoot talked about the importance of teaching the first lesson, in the right way. Too many companionships will take too long on each principle, especially the first half of the lesson, and not be able to finish the lesson in one visit. He stressed that the core of our message is The Restoration, the Book of Mormon, and Prayer. He stated that the first five principles of our message are important, but not as important, because other churches teach a lot of those same things, like prophets, and the ministry of Jesus Christ. I thought it was a great teaching, and will be a great tool that every companionship can use.

As for other news, we had a baptism this last weekend. We baptized a 9 year old girl, whose parents are members, and active. I don't understand why she wasn't baptized when she was 8, but once she turns 9, it becomes our responsibility to teach, and baptize her. It was a good service, and I am happy for the decision she made. Also, we got the transfer calls this last Saturday. We got the call early in the morning, and I answered it. Elder Kouadio was in the shower, and I told the AP's that, but they decided to give me my transfer news, and call him back later. I got the news that I'm being transferred out of Attiegou, and going to work in Baguida, with Elder Mahoungou. He is from the Congo, and doesn't speak any English either. Also, he just got out of training, so I will be the senior companion, which will be a new experience for me. Elder Osime knows him very well, and said that he is just the coolest guy, and hardest worker, so I'm excited. Also, in Baguida, we will have 4 missionaries in that apartment, so I'm excited for that as well.

Well, that was my biggest news this week. I'm finally leaving Attiegou after over 5 months here. I've loved the sector, members, and the work, but it was time for a change. I mean, I am almost at a year, and just now moving the my third area haha. But, other than that, I am doing good, and things are going well for me.

I hope everyone is doing great, and having a good summer so far.

Elder Orchard

Elder Osime is Gone

Hey Everyone!

How is everyone doing? I'm doing alright. I don't really feel like writing an update, but I figure that I'd better, since it's been a couple of weeks.

Well, I had Elder Osime as my companion, and things were going great. We were getting along, and having a really good time. Then, we learned about something that happened in the mission, and we knew that some emergency transfers were going to be happening soon. So, on Friday night, after working in our area, Elder Osime and I bought some things to make for dinner, and headed back to the apartment. After about 5 minutes, we recieved a call from the President of our mission. He was going to transfer Elder Osime, and give me a new companion. So, just like that, he left the next morning. It really stinks because we got along really well, and worked together really well. I've been in Attiegou for 4 transfers, so I figured that we'd only get one transfer together, but we didn't even get that.

Now, my new companion is Elder Koadio. He is from Ivory Coast, and he doesn't speak any English at all, which will be fun. We've only been companions for one full day, but things are going good so far. It will be nice to speak only French, to make sure I still remember it. With Elder Osime, it was all English, which probably didn't help.

As far as our area, it is doing well. We are preparing a couple differnet people for baptism, and will probably have about 4 more baptisms this trasfer. Keep our friends in your prayers, that they'll be able to progress well, and move towards baptism. 

Other than that, nothing much new to report. I'm doing well, and my sector is doing well. This week I'll hit 9 months on the mission. If i was a sister missionary, I'd be halfway done haha. However, I cherish that I still have 15 more months to serve the Lord here in Africa.

I hope everyone is doing well, and has a great week, and a great summer!!

Elder Orchard