18 Months, Wow

Bonjour a tous!

Hello! I hope that everyone is doing well. I am doing pretty well myself. These past few weeks have been alright, nothing too crazy, but I'll jump right into it. 

These past few weeks, we've been preparing some people for their baptisms. We had a service for one young man, Gedeon, but not for anyone else this past weekend. They're not ready yet, but they will be soon. We also got transfer news, and to no surprise, Elder Allison and I are staying together, to finish his training.

I had an exchange this past week with Elder Hansen, a zone leader. He is really awesome, and probably the nicest guy I've ever met in my life. He taught me a lot, and we had a great day, and worked really hard. 

This week I will officially 18 months on my mission, a big milestone. I remember getting here to Togo, at about 5 months, wondering if I'd ever get to the end of my mission haha. I saw the guys that had 18+ months and thought, ''I'll never be there'' but here I am! It's crazy how the mission can change your perspective on something. I remember at the beginning, just wanting to be done already, to now, not knowing if I'll have enough time to finish everything I need to do.

I love all of you, just as our Heavenly Father loves us. I was reading a talk this last week, written by Richard G. Scott, that talks a lot about the Atonement. He says, ''The Redeemer will safely lead you over the most difficult obstacles of life. His laws are absolutely secure anchors of protection that dispel fear and assure success in an otherwise dangerous world. Such a life will certainly provide you peace and happiness.''

I think a lot of times we think of commandments, or rules, as laws, only there to tell us not to do, and we may even think of them as restricting. Here, we can realize that His laws ensure success, and protection that can lead to everlasting joy in our lives. I know that as we follow His example, we will have this happiness and joy, without end.

I know our Savior lives and is there to lead, and guide us today.

I hope you all have a great day, and week ahead of you,

Elder Orchard

Two Americans

Bonjour!

How is everything going? I am doing pretty well! I'm loving the mission right now, so I'll get right into that.

Well, having two white guys walking around has been quite the experience. Other than just some exchanges, I've never had a white companion, so this is a different experience. It's just a lot of people calling us out, and stuff like that. A lot of people think that we are students from some international school, and we've even increased the amount of marriage proposals we've had. If that was only a key indicator haha. 

Anyways, these past few weeks have been good. A lot of crazy things have happened in sector, but I won't get into all of that, or this email would be too long. We had this investigator, named Marc, that was progressing super well. He loved our message, he was reading the Book of Mormon, and he even came to church. Well, I thought things were going really well with him, until he told us he had some sad news. He told us he was moving to Attiegou in one week. That honestly made me super sad, and now he is gone. It was a really great experience to teach him, and I loved answering his questions. However, where he moved to has missionaries, and I know he will continue to work with them, and I was lucky to even meet him.

This last week I studied a talk from President Thomas S Monson, from October 2003, titled ''The Bridge Builder.'' In this talk, he compares Jesus Christ to someone who has built us bridges. Not bridges over rivers or valleys, but over death. President Monson stated ''He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves; hence, mankind can cross the bridges he built - into life eternal.'' I love reading the words of modern prophets, because they put these large, complex ideas into these simple analogies, making it possible for anyone to understand. I testify that Jesus Christ really has built the ultimate bridge, and that through crossing this bridge, we will have eternal life.

I love reading the words of our modern prophets, and I invite each of you to read their words as well. 

I hope you all have a great week, and I'll attach some pics down below.

Ayzonday!

Elder Orchard