Elder Allison has lost 35 pounds

Bonjour!

So, I don't have a lot of time today, so I'll just give a quick recap of our week!

We had interviews on Thursday, and those went super well. It's really weird to think I only have 2 more interviews left with President. Times going quick! President Proudfoot is awesome, and I've loved working with him.

I saw Elder Allison at interviews. He's lost 35 pounds!

We had a good week in general. Did a lot of finding, and preparing those we have found. Good things in the works!

Today, we spent all day at the waterfall, and it was gorgeous! We took all the photos with the Zone Leaders' phone, which I don't have yet, so I'll attach those next week. Coolest thing I've seen in Togo for sure. 

Like I said, just a short little email. I hope everyone is doing well!

Elder Orchard

No, you cut the tomatoes!

Bonjour!

This was a pretty eventful week, so I'll get right into it.

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to do some service. We helped Fr. Honoré, the first counselor, with his job, which is basically yardwork/landscaping. We got some machetes and cut down some weeds, and other plants. Tigi was there to help us as well. I've never done this before, so I asked where I could cut to make sure I was doing it right. I start hashing, and then not even 30 seconds later Tigi yells "no you cut the tomatoes!" And not too much longer after that, Honoré comes by to make sure we are doing the job right, and I heard him say under his breath, "he cut the tomatoes." Sorry to whoever owns that land, but I cut your tomatoes.

On Thursday the Jeffcoats came to Kpalime, and we had the opportunity to go with them to visit a Nigerian family. It was just me and Elder Rogers who went, since we speak English. The family lives about 30 minutes north of Kpalime, in a village called Adeta. We had the opportunity to teach the whole family, and the father, who is not a member. Then, they gave us some amazing rice, and some beef that, for once, wasn't cooked passed well done. We also came back to Kpalime to see Barnaby, a friend of the Jeffcoats, who works at the Artisinal. We got to visit the Artisinal and see all the cool hand-made wood products, and paintings. We finished our exchange by finding some new people to teach, as well as taking some pictures with some random children.

Saturday night I felt really sick, and it continued into Sunday morning. Luckily, the Jeffcoats were still here, so I told them about it at church. I was honestly scared that it was malaria again, because it felt like the same symptoms, and it's been a while since the last time I had it. However, I got a malaria test, and it came back as negative, so it's just some sort of virus. We stayed in the whole day yesterday.

I love the Book of Mormon, especially when it talks about the atonement of Jesus Christ. I'll share one of my favorite scriptures on this subject:

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more." (2 Nephi 9:7)

The atonement is such an incredible and complex topic that it often appears incomprehensible. Often, we cannot understand how one man could do all of this for us. However, we know that it was done, and because of this, we are no longer subject to an endless and eternal torment. It is something I have grown more and more grateful for.

I hope that you are all doing well! Have a great week!

Elder Orchard

Where has the time gone?

Bonjour tout le monde!!

Well, today is 20 months on the mission. I can't believe it has gone by this fast. Not a lot of time left, but still a lot of work to do. This week was pretty normal, but I'll give a quick summary.

This past week, we tried to continue finding new people to teach, and helping those we have to teach already. We worked a lot with Fr Tigi, an awesome member. It's much easier when we have someone to translate the language for us. I'm not quite fluent yet in Ewe, but it's coming. That's a joke, I don't know that much. 

Last night, we broke our fast by eating Congelese FouFou, prepared by my companion Elder Mazunzu. He prepares a ton of FouFou, and then divides it into these giant FouFou balls. They are huge, and even at a very hungry state, I ate 2.5. My companion also ate 2.5, and another missionary, Elder Kouadio ate almost 4. Well, we all get done eating, and the last one left is the other American, Elder Rogers. He is the slowest eater I've ever seen, by the time we're all done, he's finishing his 2nd ball. There are 2 left, and his companion jokes and says, "companion, these 2 are for you." To which Elder Rogers accepts the challenge. Slowly but surely, he finishes the 4, and his companion was more than surprised. He held his head up high for the rest of the night. 

This last week, I've been reading a lot from the Book of Mormon. I've always been impressed with the faith of Nephi, even when things are not going good for him. For example, when his brothers tie him up on the ship for multiple days, instead of ever complaining about his state, he prays and thanks God.  And at the end, when his brother finally releases his, he says the following:

"Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions."

Everything that God does is for our well being, even the things that are hard in life. Sometimes we just need a trial, or a struggle to make us stronger, or to bring a new opportunity into our lives. We should accept these things, and praise our Heavenly Father for loving us enough to direct us in the right path.

God loves you, and wants what's best for you. Never forget that you are the son or daughter of a loving Father in Heaven.

Elder Orchard

I got bit by a dog!

Yep, that really happened. So, here's the story. On Wednesday, we were going to meet with someone new to teach, Daniel. He seemed interested the day before, and even indicated where his house was. He told us, "the house that makes bread just just the road." We didn't have an exact location, but we went looking anyways. We found a house that we believe to be his, so we knocked. They told us to come in, so we did. I stood right next to a dog, who was sleeping. The dog woke up, growled, and then bit my lower left calf. I kinda jumped away, and the owner pushed the dog away. I then saw that the dog was a mother, and had 3 small puppies. So, I made the conclusion that she bit me out of protection.

We went down to Lome on Thursday for Zone Conference, so we stopped by the clinic. We weren't really worried about rabies because the dog was tame, a house dog, and I hadn't yet had a reaction. But, the doctor totally flipped out haha. He was telling me how I needed a rabies shot right away, and more for the coming month. I said that I had to go back to Kpalime the next day, and he then forbid to go back to Kpalime. I called our mission president, and he said I would be fine. I'm back in Kpalime haha. I already checked off getting malaria, and now I can also check off getting bit by a dog. I'm not sure what's left haha. 

On a more spiritual note, I have a cool experience to share. Yesterday, we just happened to meet a non active member of our branch, and so we shared a spiritual message with her. She was requesting that we shared a passage from the Book of Mormon, so while I searched for a passage, my companion talked. I decided to share Mosiah 4:1-10, where King Benjamin finishes his sermon. While we were reading, I just felt the most calming spirit wash over me, and such a great love for the Book of Mormon. I especially love verse 10, when King Benjamin exhorts:

"10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them"

What a powerful statement! President Nelson recently invited us all the find the joy in repenting. It doesn't have to be something shameful, but joyful. We should have joy in becoming more pure, and becoming more like our Savoir, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and the word of God.

If you ever have any questions, always feel free to reach out. I love you all.

Until next time,

Elder Orchard

Kpalime is pretty cool!

Ok, Kpalime is actually really cool. I love it here!!

This last week was pretty wild. So, I got to stay in Doumassesse for a couple more days with Elder Allison and Elder Barker, while I waited for my new companion. We worked the sector, it was pretty fun. Then, my companion, Elder Mazunzu came on Wednesday afternoon. We stayed overnight in Doumassesse, as we had a training the next day. 

We went to the training, and then finally to the good part, when we got to take the taxi to Kpalime. The taxi driver was crazy, and definitely gave me a headache. So, I fell asleep for a little while, and then when I woke up, I saw down the road, a giant silhouette of a mountain. Yes, a mountain!! We arrived in Kpalime, and I'm still taking in how gorgeous it is over here. We are surrounded by mountains, and everything is so green. It's also rained 3 of the 5 days that I've been here. I love it here.

Last Saturday, we had a missionary activity that lasted the whole day. It stared out in the morning with soccer. As always, I played terrible. Fortunately, the other American here, Elder Rogers, played even worse, so I had that going for me. My team only won once, but it was still super fun. It was also a lot of fun meeting a ton of members and their friends! In the afternoon, we had, I guess you could call it, a "talent show." A lot of people danced and lip synced. It was fun though, and we got a ton of non members involved. We even got to eat akoumé and sauce d'arachide.

The only downside so far has been being new to the sector. Also, my companion is brand new, so he doesn't really know anything yet, so that's been tough too. We don't know the sector at all, and so it's been a lot of just walking around, and trying to talk to people. Next week, we have a member lined up to work with us everyday, so I'm guessing this next week will be much better.

That's about it for me. I'll attach some photos!

Have a great day,

Elder Orchard

Welp, I'm training for a 3rd time on my mission! We got transfer calls this last week, and I am leaving Doumassesse after 3 transfers here. Although I am sad to leave Doumassesse, I am also ready to move on. I will be working in Kpalime and I'm so excited!! It's the sector everyone wants to go to in Togo, because it's a village about 60-70 miles north of Lome, and it has mountains, a ton of fresh fruit, and it gets cool! I'm insanely hyped to go work in Kpalime.

I am training for a third time however, which kinda baffled me, especially since I'll be training for 4 consecutive transfers, about 6 months or so. It'll be a good experience though, and this time it's another African. His name is Elder Mazunza, and I'm not sure what country he comes from, but I'm hoping Cote D'Ivoire. We'll be up in Kpalime with Elder Koaudio, and Elder Rogers. It should be fun.

This last week was just kinda waiting for transfer news, knowing that I would most likely be leaving. We had some baptisms planned, but we pushed those back, to better prepare the candidates. Other than that, this week was kind of terrible, we didn't have much success, but that's alright. We all have our off weeks. 

It's crazy, I'll train my new companion, and then I'll only have 6 weeks left on my mission. If these next two transfers go by as fast as the last two, then I'll be home in no time. But, I still have plenty of time. 

I love the mission. It had its ups and downs for sure, but it's all worth it, and for my good. I love that serving a full time mission was emphasized so much in the last conference, because I can testify that it's true. It really is worth it.

I love you all, and I'll write to you next week, From KPALIME.

Au revoir,

Elder Orchard

General Conference!!

Bonjour!

A lot of things happened this past week, and so I'll get right into it. 

First of all, I got to go on an exchange with the Zone Leaders. I went to Agoe and worked with Elder Deafon. I don't know who remembers, but I worked in the Agoe and so it was a weird feeling going back there. It's the first time I've been back to a sector after I've already left. It was awesome though, I got to see some of my converts, and it was a good exchange too. Elder Deafon is from Cote D'Ivoire and a really good missionary. 

We had interviews with President on Thursday, and those went well. It's weird, because Sister Proudfoot was just talking to me about going home stuff, and I was thinking, that's so far off, but it's actually coming up. It's weird to think about.

I do have one cool story from this past week. We were planning on meeting a friend, Patrick, to meet with some of his family. Well, he wasn't there, but his sister was. We talked to her for a while, and then she invited us to come in, and we met with their father, who I would say is almost 80 or so. We started talking with him, and when he found out we were American, he was ecstatic. When I said I've been here for over a year, they started clapping and saying Bravo haha. Then, after talking for a while, he started praying for us out loud, saying some interesting things. They also gave us some soda, so that was pretty cool. We just sat, and talked, and he basically told us his whole story. I love meeting with people, and just talking with them. It's amazing hearing other people's stories.

The big highlight of the week was general conference yesterday and Saturday. For the first time in a while, I actually got to watch all the sessions. It was an amazing conference. I especially loved Elder Holland's talk, as is the case every year. I love how he declared that each of us is a child of a Heavenly Father, and that each one of us is precious to him. Through Jesus Christ, we can overcome these trials that we may feel overtake us. His message of love and peace is something I think, or I hope, we all search for. I know that Christ lives, and that through him, we can overcome all that comes our way. There isn't something we suffer that he hasn't suffered already. He's the only person that knows us perfectly, and so we need to turn to him when we feel as if there is no one else to turn to. 

Well, this is the last week of the transfer, and the last week of training for my companion, Elder Allison. It has been a pleasure training him, and the time has gone by way too quick. It'll be interesting to see where I'll be going, and who'll be my companion this next transfer. 

That's about if for me. I hope you were all able to watch General Conference, and if not, I would invite you to do so. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04?lang=eng

I love you all, and I know our Heavenly Father loves you with a perfect love.

À la prochaine fois,

Elder Orchard 

- a box we left at the office elders apartment 

- how we watched conference at the church

- me and my "genealogy" the two missionaries I've trained, and the missionary being trained by one of those missionaries