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

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

Koame, a Man of Faith

Bonjour!

How is everyone doing? I am doing great, let me get right into it!

I am having a great time training my new companion, Elder Allison. He just wants to work hard, and get out, which is awesome! I'm not going to lie, his French is terrible haha. However, it poses a challenge for me to help him learn this language, which I like. 

This last week, we've turned our efforts towards finding. We don't have a ton of people to teach, at least not many that want to progress. Hence, we gotta find some more. We found a lot of solid people to teach, and things were going well. On Saturday night, we called all of them, plus those we are already teaching, to invite them to church. Well, none of them came. That was so frustrating, but I can't let it affect me too much, and we just have to move on, and try again next week.

Yesterday evening, we went to teach Patience, who is a friend of a member, Koame. He was born in Togo, but for the last couple of years has lived in Italy, and he speaks really good English. He is back to get his papers in order, and then take off to Switzerland, where he will permanently reside. Yesterday, we asked Koame to share his story with us, while we ate FouFou, and this guy's story is insane. 

So, basically, he left Togo in 2014 to live in Libya. He told us he took the 3 day car ride through the Sahara. This road is full of bandits and thieves, and you have to be very careful. He told us he saw multiple people get robbed, and stranded, on his way there. He said ''I just prayed to God he would protect me.'' He resided in Libya for a while, but when things got rough, he knew he had to get out, but he didn't have the means. His boss gave him $2000, and he hid that in his house, but then a couple of days later, he was arrested. The Government was trying to sort out who was trying to leave, and lined them all up along the wall with machine guns pointed at them. He said again, ''I just prayed, and I knew that God would protect me.'' They let him go, after he said that he wasn't going to Italy. After they let him go, he said he ran home as fast as he could, quickly collected his items, and left for Italy. He eventually made it to Italy safely, but there were many who didn't. He said that it was his faith in God that drove him forward the whole time.

I was really touched by his story, and the faith that he has. After he made it to Italy, he found the church, and was baptized. I think we can all grow our faith in God, and let him prevail in our lives. Know that he has a plan for you, and that he will protect you.

I love you all, and I hope that you have a great day.

Elder Orchard

Pictures: Eeating foufou with Koame; some rice and sauce that I made

Pizza, Burgers, and FuFu

Bonjour!

This past week has been absolutely bananas, so I'll get right into it.

OK, so I found out that I was training, but that my companion wouldn't get here until Friday, so I got to stay with Elder Oler for a few days, and that was awesome. He's a great missionary, and loves to work, but also we have a lot in common, so just hanging out was super fun.

This last week was full of good food. So, our first day with Elder Oler, we went to Elite Burger, and both got the Double Cheeseburger, which was delicious. Then, that same night, we made no-bake cookies. The next day, we made fufu, with the stuff that Elder Oler bought. The next day, we went to this super nice restaurant and both got pizzas. At the end of the week, we ate super well, but spent a lot of money haha. Pictures attached below.

On Friday, we got our trainees, and had a meeting at the stake center, so we got back to the apartment at about 5 pm. I let my comp, Elder Allison, unpack his stuff for about 10 minutes, and then we headed out right away to a lesson, throwing him into the deep end haha. His French is not good, but I'm not worried about it. I was in that same spot not that long ago, and I keep telling him that it will come. He is very eager to learn, a quality that I admire. 

These next two transfers are gonna be awesome, and are gonna go by super quick. Some cool news, so, tomorrow is the 25th, the official 1 year mark for me in Togo. It's crazy to think that I've been here for a year already, and it has definitely flown by. Given that, the time I have left will fly by as well.

Everything over here is going well, and I have nothing to complain about. The mission is awesome!!

Next time,

Elder Orchard

Big Changes

Bonjour!

How is everyone? Things are going pretty good over here, and some big changes are coming, especially with the recent transfer calls. I'll jump right into it. 

So, first of all, these were a pretty good last few weeks. We did a lot of good work, and saw a lot of blessings. We were able to realize the baptisms of two of the people we were teaching, both children. They are the children of members, some less active families, so we were happy we could help out there. We didn't have too much success with our own efforts, but that's alright.

Last Saturday, we got the calls from the assistants. For once, i get to stay in my area haha. Elder Malenga is transferred to Tokoin, which is in the same district, so we'll still see each other often. Then, for me, I get to train again, this time an American. I'm super excited to train, and teach this greenie the celestial language of French. He won't get here until Friday, so until then, I get to chill with Elder Oler. 

Well, that's about it, just a short update for transfers. I hope everyone is doing well, and the new year has started off great!

Until next time,

Elder Orchard