Not a Soccer Player

Hey everyone,

I'll make this one quick, I'm pretty tired this week. So, here's a couple highlights from this past week:

Last P-Day, I got a haircut and also went to the couple missionaries apartment to do some stuff on their computers. They were too nice, and gave us ice cream, and a whole lot of other things, all while chilling in air conditioning. 

We did an exchange this week, and I worked with Elder Obeya. We got along, and just got to work really. He is an awesome missionary, and a great example of Christ. 

We met a French guy the other day in sector, and got to speak with him. He said I speak very good French, so I give myself a pat on the back for that one.

Today was a zone activity, with a large zone vs. zone soccer match. It ultimately ended in a tie, and a whole lot of white guys getting sunburned. It was a lot of fun though, especially hanging out with the guys from the other zone.

That's about it. We are preparing some people for a baptismal service the weekend of the 9th, so I'm looking forward to that.

I hope everyone is doing great. I'll attach some pictures below.

À bientôt, 

Elder Orchard

English Class

Bonjour!

This past week hasn't been anything too crazy, but it was still a fun and challenging week.

A big event this week was Zone Conference, which was on Wednesday. It was a really good zone conference, and I can tell that the messages given to us are always inspired. The assistants gave a training on how to better contact and keep in contact with those we are teaching. We also, of course, had a great lunch of atcheké, and Ivorian dish, and a classic hamburger. Also, I got sung to, and got to pick out a present, which i picked a tie. I'll attach a photo down below, it's probably the coolest tie have.

Also this week, we taught an English class. Unfortunately, we didn't have that many people attend. However, we are trying to find ways to get more people involved. It was a good class though, and we went over just some basic stuff, like introductions, giving your phone number, address, and stuff like that. We also got some cool photos afterwards.

This next transfer, we will be getting upwards of 20 new missionaries, just here in Togo. That means that every area that was closed will be open, and some areas will be opened for the first time. I talked to the zone leaders about how here in Doumassesse, our sector is huge, and we don't have the means to take care of this whole sector ourselves. Therefore, we need another companionship here. They seemed super cool with that, and I think it'll happen. 

Other than that, not much else is going on. We have stake conference next weekend, and then general conference the weekend after that, and I'm looking forward to both. Having an American companion, I may get to watch general conference in English for the first time in my mission, but we'll see. 

I hope you are all doing well, and don't be afraid to reach out!

au revoir,

Elder Orchard

It's getting HOT over here

Bonjour!!

I hope everyone is doing well, and that the week is treating you well. There's not much this week, but I'll get into it anyways. 

So, this past week we worked a lot with Tako, a recent convert, to find people to teach this past week. He has been in the same area since he was a kid, so he knows a lot of people. Honestly, a lot of people he gives us don't seem very interested in our message, but I love that he takes an interest in spreading the gospel, and that is what counts.

We had a baptism this past week, for two children who are in a part member family. We honestly didn't do much, other than teach them the lessons. Either way, it was great to see them enter the baptismal waters.

We found this guy that is really interested, and his name is Deni. He bought a triple combo, and is flying through it. He feels that every other religion he's been a part of is wrong, but he says that he has a good feeling with us. Let's hope that things stay good.

In other news, it's getting super hot out here. It rained a couple of days ago, and now, not only is it super hot, its also super humid. I think it'll be like this for a while, because the rainy season is coming up soon. It's very hot out haha

Other than that, not much else is going on. But, like I said, there wasn't much this week. I'm trying to be better at updating this more often, as in weekly.

I'll attach some pictures down below. I hope everyone is doing good!

Until next time,

Elder Orchard

No Longer a Teenager

Bonjour!!

Well, this week has been pretty good! I'll jump right into it.

So, today I get to celebrate my 20th birthday, and my second time celebrating a birthday in Africa. I still feel like I'm 18 haha. It's crazy to think that my entire 19th year was spent as a missionary, just a cool thought. I'll probably just get a nice burger, and make some no-bake cookies to celebrate.

This last week was pretty normal, nothing too crazy. I do have a couple cool stories though. So, on Tuesday, we went to teach a new convert, Fr Tako. Afterwords, we played foosball just outside his house. The machine took 25 cfa, so we got some change, and played around 30 rounds or so. It was fun playing with Fr Tako, and we had the whole neighborhood watching and cheering us on. I got a pretty cool picture that I'll put down below.

A couple of days later, we were walking down a sketchy road, and this guy stopped us, and asked us to teach him. He was normal, not drunk, but then a very drunk guy came up to me and asked me to drink Gin with him. I told him no, and that I don't drink. He didn't like that, so he kept insisting. I actually got him to calm down a little, until this other guy came over and yelled at us to leave, and go back where we came from, and that they don't want us here. I politely told him that I would like to stay, and that these people did in fact want to talk to us. Then he left, only to come back 5 minutes later with his buddy, who proceeded to tell us the same thing, and I told him the same thing. They both got really mad, and one started pushing me, but I kinda just stepped back a little, and they ended up leaving. Pretty crazy, and probably won't take that route for a while.

This last week we also prepared some of our candidates for an upcoming baptism this Saturday. It looked like we were gonna have to postpone the baptism, but we didn't have to. I've seen in my mission that when I'm obedient, doing what I need to do, I'm more receptive to the Holy Ghost, and to seeing miracles in my life. It's crazy the difference that it makes, and it not only applies to missionary work, but to our lives in general. Be obedient, and then you'll receive blessings. It's mind blowing how simple it is, but it can still be hard to do. We just need to try our best, and the Lord will bless us for our efforts.

I hope you all have a great day!!

Elder Orchard

- sorry for the bad quality photos, our camera is cracked haha