We had a wonderful phone visit with Jamin the Wednesday night before Christmas! It was 1:00am his time Thursday morning but it was the only time available on his schedule! He has never gotten the two Christmas packages we sent back in October but he says he doesn't need or miss anything from home (besides family and friends), that all of his needs are being provided. We don't have a secure physical address to send him anything anyway for now, but we did send him some pictures attached to our email this week and he loved those! Here is how he spent his first Christmas in Togo...
"Hey Family!!
This week has really been something of a test and not easy ! but also a huge gift, because I have learned a lot this week. So with all this information with how this mission could be closed because of the war and the things like that, which is normal, we don’t want that to happen to Togo and Benin so we have been fighting to show that this mission can function with a war. And we most definitely showed that this past week! We had 15 baptisms within Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 5 of them came from my companion and I. It was a huge gift for Christmas...it was great! The 14 missionaries in Togo are working super hard, I love it!
For Christmas day we had 4 different full course meals with different member families on that day it was crazy; all 14 missionaries were together all day just going from house to house, we were all so full we all had eaten so so much on that day! And then on that Sunday we all went over to the senior missionaries house for the Christmas fireside that the first presidency gave, which was really good! And then today we went over to the seniors couples house again for a party which was pretty fun! Ha, we had a water fight in the house and we didn’t start it, they did!"
He sounded great over the phone and still going strong in his email!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
December 20th, 2010
I received a message today that the mission President in Abidjan thinks very highly of our Elder Lewis; what a wonderful thing to be told about your son!
Here are some of his thoughts this week...we are looking forward to the Christmas phone call!
"Hey Familly
This week has been pretty great and also very sad. Well the sad part is that there are a lot of people dying in côte d’ivoire, and it is just a wreck over there.
I am very blessed to be here especially when you get to teach a family or a big group of very old people and you can feel the spirit so so strong there have been times where I feel likes its not even me speaking its just so hard to explain how that feeling is but I know that even outside in the blasting hot heat in the dirtiest places that you could ever imagine that place feels like a temple during and after the lesson and you can just see into the people and you know that holy spirit has hit them like a freight train; there was actually this one time there is a man that we are teaching and he had just lost his wife to death and he had actually just lost one of his legs before her death and he is just suffering with all of his emotions, he has shared with us all of his feelings and its amazing to see how much he loved his wife and you can tell how much he is suffering. And we taught him a lot of things, there is one time where his dad(who sits down and just listens to all of the lessons and is around 76years or older) while his son was feeling the spirit he told us that we are the medicine for those who are sick(a parable) and then he told us thank you and it was very sincere, im grateful to be able to be the person here that the people turn to in times of need and joy.
Wow this week has passed by really fast and its crazy to think that it will be Christmas really soon!! Well the missionaries here will be spending Christmas with the senior missionaries and we will be having a fireside on Sunday and then a party type thing on Monday! But the exciting part is that we will be having tons and tons of people inviting us over for meals, and we already get a lot anyways so we will be able to get nice and chubby! So we played football this morning for p-day and it was so awesome since all the missionaries here are American it was great, football is the best! So my companion elder cruz is so funny he always tells all the other missionaries that he can do whatever he wants because he has me at his back, its hilarious."
Here are some of his thoughts this week...we are looking forward to the Christmas phone call!
"Hey Familly
This week has been pretty great and also very sad. Well the sad part is that there are a lot of people dying in côte d’ivoire, and it is just a wreck over there.
I am very blessed to be here especially when you get to teach a family or a big group of very old people and you can feel the spirit so so strong there have been times where I feel likes its not even me speaking its just so hard to explain how that feeling is but I know that even outside in the blasting hot heat in the dirtiest places that you could ever imagine that place feels like a temple during and after the lesson and you can just see into the people and you know that holy spirit has hit them like a freight train; there was actually this one time there is a man that we are teaching and he had just lost his wife to death and he had actually just lost one of his legs before her death and he is just suffering with all of his emotions, he has shared with us all of his feelings and its amazing to see how much he loved his wife and you can tell how much he is suffering. And we taught him a lot of things, there is one time where his dad(who sits down and just listens to all of the lessons and is around 76years or older) while his son was feeling the spirit he told us that we are the medicine for those who are sick(a parable) and then he told us thank you and it was very sincere, im grateful to be able to be the person here that the people turn to in times of need and joy.
Wow this week has passed by really fast and its crazy to think that it will be Christmas really soon!! Well the missionaries here will be spending Christmas with the senior missionaries and we will be having a fireside on Sunday and then a party type thing on Monday! But the exciting part is that we will be having tons and tons of people inviting us over for meals, and we already get a lot anyways so we will be able to get nice and chubby! So we played football this morning for p-day and it was so awesome since all the missionaries here are American it was great, football is the best! So my companion elder cruz is so funny he always tells all the other missionaries that he can do whatever he wants because he has me at his back, its hilarious."
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
I'm sure you noticed that there was no email from Jamin forwarded yesterday; because of the escalating dangerous situation in Abidjan, all the non-native missionaries were evacuated out this past week and sent to other countries so we didn't get this until late yesterday. As you will see when reading, we had been notified about the evacuation, but had no idea where Jamin was for several days until I got a surprise text meassage on my cell phone Saturday afternoon right in the middle of watching a cheer competion for Karissa's all-star team - think high energy, high noise level, packed bleachers at a huge gymnasium - "Hi Mom its me Elder Lewis call me back at this number...!" - now imagine me leaping up and telling the entire crowd to be quiet so that I could talk to my son...ok, that didn't happen but I wanted it to! Instead I got out to my car as quickly as possible and called him back. How great it was to hear his voice, know he was safe, and be able to visit for a short time. He had a hard time changing his thoughts from speaking French to speaking English, which was fun to hear, he down-played the scary part of his last week, was sad to have so suddenly left the Ivorian people he was working with, and was excited about this new area and opportunity.
"So yes I am in Togo now ! Because Côte d’ivoire is having a lot of
problems with government and military and other countries are starting
to get involved and it is really just starting too get hot there. There
are all the African missionaries that are staying there, and all the
others got shipped off to either Togo or Benin. So those missionaries
over there are warriors now I wish them luck.I am excited to be in Togo now because there will be a huge explosion of the church here in Togo, the ones here will be the first ones to start it, ha and again I am the newbie! Its alright that just means president thinks I can do it.
Whenever one of the Americans have a problem or a question and ask one of the people in Togo, the native turns to me and says would you help this guy out or
they turn to me and start talking to me because they don’t think the
white Americans will understand;its hilarious!
So we went to church this Sunday and I had to tell everyone I was American and not Ivoirien and then when they hear that I am a black American they get excited and want to shake my hand because they say it is very rare to see a black American, most say I am the first one they have seen!
The church here are branches; the church is still beginning to grow here, but the members are strong!!!
I'm grateful that we have a priesthood holder (in our family) who can give blessings (MY DAD!)!!!"
"So yes I am in Togo now ! Because Côte d’ivoire is having a lot of
problems with government and military and other countries are starting
to get involved and it is really just starting too get hot there. There
are all the African missionaries that are staying there, and all the
others got shipped off to either Togo or Benin. So those missionaries
over there are warriors now I wish them luck.I am excited to be in Togo now because there will be a huge explosion of the church here in Togo, the ones here will be the first ones to start it, ha and again I am the newbie! Its alright that just means president thinks I can do it.
Whenever one of the Americans have a problem or a question and ask one of the people in Togo, the native turns to me and says would you help this guy out or
they turn to me and start talking to me because they don’t think the
white Americans will understand;its hilarious!
So we went to church this Sunday and I had to tell everyone I was American and not Ivoirien and then when they hear that I am a black American they get excited and want to shake my hand because they say it is very rare to see a black American, most say I am the first one they have seen!
The church here are branches; the church is still beginning to grow here, but the members are strong!!!
I'm grateful that we have a priesthood holder (in our family) who can give blessings (MY DAD!)!!!"
Monday, December 6, 2010
December 6th, 2010
"Dear Family!
So this week has been really interesting; yes we are all together still and things have been really exciting here but not for a good reason! There has been a curfew set for every one in Cote d'Ivoire that you cannot be out after 1900h or else the police will shoot you, so we have heard gunshots through out the days of the week. Oh hope that the people will start to make good choices, because nothing good is coming of this and i worry for this country. So there was this one time we were able to leave the house to go teach but we were only to stay inside of the gated neighborhood, so we were out for about 20 to 30 minutes when we started to hear gunshots and the people started to run and yell, 'Get inside!' So my companion and I talked and I said lets go back and wait for the others, so we were there and then we saw the zone leaders and we talked and decided that they would go and search for the other missionaries, I would stand outside and be the lookout and my companion would go inside and call the president. So I was outside and then here were 3 missionaries just sprinting to the apartment; there was one missionary who has been out for a year and then there were the two others who have been out for 1 to 3 months in Cote d'Ivoire and one of them was white! So I asked 'why are you all sweaty and why did you sprint here?' Well it turns out they went outside of the gates to go teach someone and there was a gun fight right around the corner and the people were running all over because there is bullets firing and we can still hear the guns fire while we are talking, so they were lucky because someone saw the white missionary and yelled, 'hey white boy what are you doing get inside!!' Thank goodness for that missionary's skin! I can tell you that testified even more to me that obedience is very important!
It might be crazy here but there is no other place I would want to be than here!! I LOVE IT!! Everything happens for a reason! So yea its just the regular now just wait out the fire and if things get real bad get out of the country, but just keep spreading the good word, study a lot, and play a lot of soccer and other games we create!! We are missionaries we survive in any environment, without fear only faith. Oh thank you so much for all paragraphs that you have written to me, i truly am blessed to have all of you! I aim to be as safe as i can and spread the word, HAHA I love IT i was born for things like this!
Oh yea and i learned something they say that i am the first black american missionary to come here!!!
I love you all very much!!
Elder Lewis"
I am so thankful for the protection the missionaries receive from our Heavenly Father and for the blessing of calmness I continue to feel about Jamin in spite of his current situation.
Thank you all for your prayers in his behalf!
So this week has been really interesting; yes we are all together still and things have been really exciting here but not for a good reason! There has been a curfew set for every one in Cote d'Ivoire that you cannot be out after 1900h or else the police will shoot you, so we have heard gunshots through out the days of the week. Oh hope that the people will start to make good choices, because nothing good is coming of this and i worry for this country. So there was this one time we were able to leave the house to go teach but we were only to stay inside of the gated neighborhood, so we were out for about 20 to 30 minutes when we started to hear gunshots and the people started to run and yell, 'Get inside!' So my companion and I talked and I said lets go back and wait for the others, so we were there and then we saw the zone leaders and we talked and decided that they would go and search for the other missionaries, I would stand outside and be the lookout and my companion would go inside and call the president. So I was outside and then here were 3 missionaries just sprinting to the apartment; there was one missionary who has been out for a year and then there were the two others who have been out for 1 to 3 months in Cote d'Ivoire and one of them was white! So I asked 'why are you all sweaty and why did you sprint here?' Well it turns out they went outside of the gates to go teach someone and there was a gun fight right around the corner and the people were running all over because there is bullets firing and we can still hear the guns fire while we are talking, so they were lucky because someone saw the white missionary and yelled, 'hey white boy what are you doing get inside!!' Thank goodness for that missionary's skin! I can tell you that testified even more to me that obedience is very important!
It might be crazy here but there is no other place I would want to be than here!! I LOVE IT!! Everything happens for a reason! So yea its just the regular now just wait out the fire and if things get real bad get out of the country, but just keep spreading the good word, study a lot, and play a lot of soccer and other games we create!! We are missionaries we survive in any environment, without fear only faith. Oh thank you so much for all paragraphs that you have written to me, i truly am blessed to have all of you! I aim to be as safe as i can and spread the word, HAHA I love IT i was born for things like this!
Oh yea and i learned something they say that i am the first black american missionary to come here!!!
I love you all very much!!
Elder Lewis"
I am so thankful for the protection the missionaries receive from our Heavenly Father and for the blessing of calmness I continue to feel about Jamin in spite of his current situation.
Thank you all for your prayers in his behalf!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
"So I had 2 more baptisms this Saturday. The Africans are so loud and there was a big stake activity at the same time as the baptism and the people were running in the halls and yelling and actually opening the doors of the baptismal service and then slamming them on the way out. So finally I got up and was in the hallway as the noise monitor. Ha! some of the people probably think I am very serious now because that hall was silent after I talked with them all. I'm doing my job keeping the spirit and teaching the people the important things!!"
Jamin also said he got the chance to break down a door after several missionaries in their apartment, including him, could not get it open using their "brains instead of brawn". After he used his martial arts skills and of course his weight/strength, he said that now, more than ever before, the Africans say '"cette un grande homme" »which means "that's a big man" and then my companion and I just laugh!'
We are also fortunate to receive emails from the Senior Missionary couple serving in Abidjan; they often pass on information that adds more detail to what Jamin writes. This week they wrote to re-assure us of the missionaries safety during this second round of elections:
"Actually there is no news. At least the results have not been announced as of 8:30pm today (Tuesday). The President of Cote D'Ivoire has declared all borders closed, the airport closed, and a curfew from Sunday through Wednesday, 7pm to 6am.
The 'regroupment' plan (14 elders have been moved to shared living quarters) is still in effect until the results come out and we know things are calm enough. The mission President wanted us all back in our apartments by noon, hoping the results would come out early this afternoon. But still no results. This afternoon, however, it was nice to hear people out and about and children playing and people laughing. But tonite, all is quiet again.
All missionaries are safe and doing well. We will let you know as things progress.
Much love,
Elder and Soeur Gubler"
We feel such gratitude for the blessings in both Jamin's life and ours!
Jamin also said he got the chance to break down a door after several missionaries in their apartment, including him, could not get it open using their "brains instead of brawn". After he used his martial arts skills and of course his weight/strength, he said that now, more than ever before, the Africans say '"cette un grande homme" »which means "that's a big man" and then my companion and I just laugh!'
We are also fortunate to receive emails from the Senior Missionary couple serving in Abidjan; they often pass on information that adds more detail to what Jamin writes. This week they wrote to re-assure us of the missionaries safety during this second round of elections:
"Actually there is no news. At least the results have not been announced as of 8:30pm today (Tuesday). The President of Cote D'Ivoire has declared all borders closed, the airport closed, and a curfew from Sunday through Wednesday, 7pm to 6am.
The 'regroupment' plan (14 elders have been moved to shared living quarters) is still in effect until the results come out and we know things are calm enough. The mission President wanted us all back in our apartments by noon, hoping the results would come out early this afternoon. But still no results. This afternoon, however, it was nice to hear people out and about and children playing and people laughing. But tonite, all is quiet again.
All missionaries are safe and doing well. We will let you know as things progress.
Much love,
Elder and Soeur Gubler"
We feel such gratitude for the blessings in both Jamin's life and ours!
Monday, November 22, 2010
November 22nd, 2010
"Its amazing to get to see the gospel change so many lives, especially when you get to watch it happen progressively while you teach them! The people here love talking about god, but its amazing to see someone actually grow a testimony of the restored gospel and know the things are true; and also to know that you were a part of this conversion."
"Ha! so the people think that only white people live in America because whenever some one says im American they say “American noir?”(black American) and then laugh but im glad im not white because they get called all sorts of names here ha some of the children are afraid of the white skin, its pretty funny actually."
"Oh yea and I eat fish heads now they are so good! They just fry the head up with some oil and then just eat the whole head, my companion says that you get more wisdom when you eat a fish head, then I just laugh."
"Ha! so the people think that only white people live in America because whenever some one says im American they say “American noir?”(black American) and then laugh but im glad im not white because they get called all sorts of names here ha some of the children are afraid of the white skin, its pretty funny actually."
"Oh yea and I eat fish heads now they are so good! They just fry the head up with some oil and then just eat the whole head, my companion says that you get more wisdom when you eat a fish head, then I just laugh."
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Catch up on Jamin's news...
Hello Family and Friends!
Here are some excerpts from some of Jamin's past letters; he is doing GREAT!!!
From the MTC...
Aug 2nd: This first week has been so crazy and i have learned so so much about gospel principles and the french language it has been insane!! I have learned so much french that every single one of my dreams have been all in french ha its insane and just this morning i realized that i was alsleep and i was saying french words out loud as if i was studying it was crazy, i have prayed so much for help on this and i surely have been blessed! The spirit is so strong here and there are unlimited possibilities to how great i can be! im so excited to serve!!!
Aug 19th: So this past week has been great and i realized i have learned more french than i thought i did ha everyone at the MTC enjoys hearing us speak french because its so cool and they say that i speak it with a creole dialect which is great because thats what ill need in africa! i have been teaching alot of lessons and im getting better and better at it! And im learning more and more and studying sososososo much! and i really hope we get to have an apostle come and talk to us this week it will be so exciting! ha alright keep Me up to date!!
Sept 9th: This week has been really fun and still so much studying and french and our teachers even teach all in french so im picking up french really fast but there is always alot to learn! ha THere was some weird thing that the elders were trying to do is they were alltrying to do a pull up with this other elder on their backs ha and he is about 130lbs and i heard that no one could do it, everyone was just yelling and it was some contest and then i hear people say i bet the juggenaut could do it and i was like okay ill try and i did it, it was pretty hard especially since i weigh alot but i did it anyways! Ha there were these new elders that came in that were from tokyo japan and they are crazy hahaha they dont speak that much english and its like they are all on some sort of drug becauset they are so excited to be in america and they see me and they all just look ( ha they dont see black people ever there!).
Sept 24th: i am so excited that i get to leave on monday! Ha last night the elders and i and 3 other people( it was an exclusive party ha) had a awsome late night ha because all of there other parents have been sending them ALOT of food and they all wanted to get rid of it, so everyone grabbed their excess food and we just piled it on to one of the rooms floors and it was a massive pile, we took photos because we knew that this was going to be epic! ha and one of the elders had these fake mustaches and we each put one on and, people thought we were so weird but they wanted to come with us and chill but i had to kick them out since i was the bouncer and this get together was exclusive ha! and we all just dug into that pile ha it was insane, there was so much food and candy and soda ha oh yea and 2apples and 2 small loaves of french bread ha! And yes ELder kitchen does leave with me on the 27th he will be with me! Well it is almost time for me to get out there and start doing my best to spread the gospel i am so excited that i get the chance to go to the craziest continent on this earth! I'll call you in monday!!
(For a fun peek into life in the MTC right before leaving for the mission field check out the three videos posted on Jamin's MTC companion's blog, eldershanekitchen.blogspot.com. They will amaze and delight you!)
From Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire...
Oct 4th: Okay i am writing on a french african keyboard so it is kind of difficult to type and im already not very fast at it! The weather is crazy differnet and it is usually pretty hot with like 70-100percent humidity its insane! the french here is crazy i am learning really fast here because everyone here thinks that i am a native and so they are tougher on me but i can take it ha, but they tend to like to poke fun at me because im just as dark as them but i dont have there accent ha and they always say that i am very big man ha, but in french! My companions name is Elder Tshibasu and he is from congo and he has a thick african accent as well ha but he is a really good teacher! here in abidjan they eat alot of rice so for about 3 of the days in a row here i have eaten rice with beef and a tomato and onion sauce ha! but my fqvorite is the spicy spicy chicken with yam and some kind of fried rice, i dont know what it is called in french! here we do not get to wach general conference but we get it in the liahona about 3 months after it was broadcasted! the living quarteres here are sufficient for our needs ha and ha if you can live here then you can live anywhere with anything ha, its great though and the showers are always cold, which is nice becquse it is so hot here, ha showering with a bucket is always fun! I want to tell you every thing but it is hard ha i cqnt type fast enough i have tons of photos for you though! I love you all very very much
Oct 11th: If i say i am from america i will be moree unsafe ha like people will try to follow me home or give me their children or ask for money or try to mug me, just pretty much ill get alot more attention than needed! oh yea qnd elections are coming up pretty soon, so we have to come home early because it gets crazy at night and like at the end of the month all the missionaries in cote divoire are getting transfered to different appartments so we dont get caught up in all the riots qnd get hurt or kidnapped, its very exciting here! Everyone is very opinionated and loud! I ate my first snail at a memberes house we were eating FUTU(which is when you take a whole banana, peel and all and mash them until it is like a dough ball and you eat it with any kind of sauce) Well any ways i saw this squishy thing in the sauce and i thought it was fat, since we had fish in the sauce as well, but my companion said i had to eat that and i said what is it, and he said i wont tell you until after you eat it! and then he laughed! So i took half of it and stuck it in my mouth and when i bit into it , i thought that i was going to vomit but I held it down! It was just like rubber!
I know that i have a huge work to do here. and even in my broken french when i teach this gospel i know the people can not even deny that it is true, i can see it in there eyes and the eyes are the way to the soul. i know the lord blesses his missionaries, we are his soldiers he gives us everything we ask and he protects us. and it takes alot of faith to go out and speak to people who you cant really understand and dont know. It takes faith to get up in the morning and go back out again when you know it will be rough ha its not easy, but i like it, i love it. you have to go out with faith knowing that someone is just waiting for the gospel to come to them, i can see it you can just see the change in their eyes it is crazy, i cant put it into words. i have seen the many weaknesses that i have but i have also seen how the lord makes me strong when i have faith in him.
Nov 1st: Well This week has really been interesting Ha ! well I don’t get much time on the computer because the president has said that he wants us all back to the apartment quick. The people have not taken the elections very well and we are actually not allowed to leave the gates today because things are not going well ha! But the area we are in is called Angré and if things get worse than we will all get shipped off to Benin! So I am living in an apartment with 13 other missionaries, and my new comp is Elder Shaffer he is a newbie from America like me. Ha its funny because they put the two new people together. But we are getting lots of new investagators so that means we are not doing a bad job! Its exciting we have some really interesting people that we know like one of our investagators that we have named Austin ha (he is from Nigeria) so we have to teach him in English, it is actually very difficult to teach in English now because I have forgotten some words and the sentence structure for English but it is okay I like it!
Nov 8th: So i am back in my old apartment now with my old companion, but in a couple weeks we will be leaving again because of the second elections! so n the other area with my comp elder Shaffer we got a lot of investigators which was great and I am excited to go back and see them again.
I will do my best with trying to give info on the culture in africa its not easy because theres alot of stuff i have to do!! there are alot of fun and cool crazy things that go on here but there are also lots of bad and scary things also, ha dont be afraid mom i work with the spirit! its been a really great eye opener here ha im so glad i can live here for 2 years to see and expirience it!
Here are some excerpts from some of Jamin's past letters; he is doing GREAT!!!
From the MTC...
Aug 2nd: This first week has been so crazy and i have learned so so much about gospel principles and the french language it has been insane!! I have learned so much french that every single one of my dreams have been all in french ha its insane and just this morning i realized that i was alsleep and i was saying french words out loud as if i was studying it was crazy, i have prayed so much for help on this and i surely have been blessed! The spirit is so strong here and there are unlimited possibilities to how great i can be! im so excited to serve!!!
Aug 19th: So this past week has been great and i realized i have learned more french than i thought i did ha everyone at the MTC enjoys hearing us speak french because its so cool and they say that i speak it with a creole dialect which is great because thats what ill need in africa! i have been teaching alot of lessons and im getting better and better at it! And im learning more and more and studying sososososo much! and i really hope we get to have an apostle come and talk to us this week it will be so exciting! ha alright keep Me up to date!!
Sept 9th: This week has been really fun and still so much studying and french and our teachers even teach all in french so im picking up french really fast but there is always alot to learn! ha THere was some weird thing that the elders were trying to do is they were alltrying to do a pull up with this other elder on their backs ha and he is about 130lbs and i heard that no one could do it, everyone was just yelling and it was some contest and then i hear people say i bet the juggenaut could do it and i was like okay ill try and i did it, it was pretty hard especially since i weigh alot but i did it anyways! Ha there were these new elders that came in that were from tokyo japan and they are crazy hahaha they dont speak that much english and its like they are all on some sort of drug becauset they are so excited to be in america and they see me and they all just look ( ha they dont see black people ever there!).
Sept 24th: i am so excited that i get to leave on monday! Ha last night the elders and i and 3 other people( it was an exclusive party ha) had a awsome late night ha because all of there other parents have been sending them ALOT of food and they all wanted to get rid of it, so everyone grabbed their excess food and we just piled it on to one of the rooms floors and it was a massive pile, we took photos because we knew that this was going to be epic! ha and one of the elders had these fake mustaches and we each put one on and, people thought we were so weird but they wanted to come with us and chill but i had to kick them out since i was the bouncer and this get together was exclusive ha! and we all just dug into that pile ha it was insane, there was so much food and candy and soda ha oh yea and 2apples and 2 small loaves of french bread ha! And yes ELder kitchen does leave with me on the 27th he will be with me! Well it is almost time for me to get out there and start doing my best to spread the gospel i am so excited that i get the chance to go to the craziest continent on this earth! I'll call you in monday!!
(For a fun peek into life in the MTC right before leaving for the mission field check out the three videos posted on Jamin's MTC companion's blog, eldershanekitchen.blogspot.com. They will amaze and delight you!)
From Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire...
Oct 4th: Okay i am writing on a french african keyboard so it is kind of difficult to type and im already not very fast at it! The weather is crazy differnet and it is usually pretty hot with like 70-100percent humidity its insane! the french here is crazy i am learning really fast here because everyone here thinks that i am a native and so they are tougher on me but i can take it ha, but they tend to like to poke fun at me because im just as dark as them but i dont have there accent ha and they always say that i am very big man ha, but in french! My companions name is Elder Tshibasu and he is from congo and he has a thick african accent as well ha but he is a really good teacher! here in abidjan they eat alot of rice so for about 3 of the days in a row here i have eaten rice with beef and a tomato and onion sauce ha! but my fqvorite is the spicy spicy chicken with yam and some kind of fried rice, i dont know what it is called in french! here we do not get to wach general conference but we get it in the liahona about 3 months after it was broadcasted! the living quarteres here are sufficient for our needs ha and ha if you can live here then you can live anywhere with anything ha, its great though and the showers are always cold, which is nice becquse it is so hot here, ha showering with a bucket is always fun! I want to tell you every thing but it is hard ha i cqnt type fast enough i have tons of photos for you though! I love you all very very much
Oct 11th: If i say i am from america i will be moree unsafe ha like people will try to follow me home or give me their children or ask for money or try to mug me, just pretty much ill get alot more attention than needed! oh yea qnd elections are coming up pretty soon, so we have to come home early because it gets crazy at night and like at the end of the month all the missionaries in cote divoire are getting transfered to different appartments so we dont get caught up in all the riots qnd get hurt or kidnapped, its very exciting here! Everyone is very opinionated and loud! I ate my first snail at a memberes house we were eating FUTU(which is when you take a whole banana, peel and all and mash them until it is like a dough ball and you eat it with any kind of sauce) Well any ways i saw this squishy thing in the sauce and i thought it was fat, since we had fish in the sauce as well, but my companion said i had to eat that and i said what is it, and he said i wont tell you until after you eat it! and then he laughed! So i took half of it and stuck it in my mouth and when i bit into it , i thought that i was going to vomit but I held it down! It was just like rubber!
I know that i have a huge work to do here. and even in my broken french when i teach this gospel i know the people can not even deny that it is true, i can see it in there eyes and the eyes are the way to the soul. i know the lord blesses his missionaries, we are his soldiers he gives us everything we ask and he protects us. and it takes alot of faith to go out and speak to people who you cant really understand and dont know. It takes faith to get up in the morning and go back out again when you know it will be rough ha its not easy, but i like it, i love it. you have to go out with faith knowing that someone is just waiting for the gospel to come to them, i can see it you can just see the change in their eyes it is crazy, i cant put it into words. i have seen the many weaknesses that i have but i have also seen how the lord makes me strong when i have faith in him.
Nov 1st: Well This week has really been interesting Ha ! well I don’t get much time on the computer because the president has said that he wants us all back to the apartment quick. The people have not taken the elections very well and we are actually not allowed to leave the gates today because things are not going well ha! But the area we are in is called Angré and if things get worse than we will all get shipped off to Benin! So I am living in an apartment with 13 other missionaries, and my new comp is Elder Shaffer he is a newbie from America like me. Ha its funny because they put the two new people together. But we are getting lots of new investagators so that means we are not doing a bad job! Its exciting we have some really interesting people that we know like one of our investagators that we have named Austin ha (he is from Nigeria) so we have to teach him in English, it is actually very difficult to teach in English now because I have forgotten some words and the sentence structure for English but it is okay I like it!
Nov 8th: So i am back in my old apartment now with my old companion, but in a couple weeks we will be leaving again because of the second elections! so n the other area with my comp elder Shaffer we got a lot of investigators which was great and I am excited to go back and see them again.
I will do my best with trying to give info on the culture in africa its not easy because theres alot of stuff i have to do!! there are alot of fun and cool crazy things that go on here but there are also lots of bad and scary things also, ha dont be afraid mom i work with the spirit! its been a really great eye opener here ha im so glad i can live here for 2 years to see and expirience it!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Elder Jamin Lewis entered the Provo, UT Missionary Training Center on July 28th.
I find it funny how Jamin looks just like the Africans accept for the fact that he is so much larger! This is his companion and an investigator in the middle.
This is their chapel, pretty different from ours.
Jamin loves the people of the Cote D'ivoire, this is a picture of a member and the member's daughter.
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