Elder Legere's Email-Thoughts on Peter & Christ Walking on Water

Wow this computer really isnt working with me! but ill try to write as much as i can! i first off want to thank everyone for the emails!! i love them!! thank you SOOO much! i know your prayers are being heard as well. i love and appreciate you all!
thank you for the love in them. i really cant tell you how much it means to me. please know im praying for you all!

well i dont have much more time but i want to share a spiritual thought.

i was reading in the New Testiment the other day about peter and Christ walking on the water. (Matthew 14:24-32) The power of Faith!!! How the Lord , and peter for a short while, were able to walk on water (in the middle of a storm) is something that science cannot explain. But what it does tell us is that there is power in faith (see Ether 12:6-22) I love the story of Christ walking on water and Peters attempt to go out after Him. There are a lot of symbolism in these verses.I love the apostle Peter. He truly is "the man of rock". what i love about him is his eagerness to be like the Savior and how quick he is to act (see Matthew 14:28; matthew 26:51) But what i really love about him is his need for the Savior. In John 21:7-8, we learn that Peter knew how to swim and swim well! but in Matthew 14:30, he expresses his need of the Lord as he cries "save me"! and of course the Lord "immediately" stretched out His hand and caught him. We should all be like Peter and cry for aid. i love the faith he had. the Faith to even attempt to walk on water. Though it was not perfect, we learn a lot from it. This story of a trial of faith that Pter went through, reminds me of the scripture in Helman 5:12. Though Peter was attempting to walk on the stormy sea, if he would have not doubted and had a "firm foundation" of faith he could have walked without stumbling.

Though he did doubt as the waves and storm were raging around him, did any of the other apostles go out on the water? im not saying that they werent able to walk on the water but peter, being so quick to act, immediately asked to "come unto Him" (verse 28) After he expressed his need for Christ , we are not sure what happenbed from that time and returning to the ship. We dont know if once the Lord "caught him" Peter had enough faith to walk back, or if the Savior literally carried him back. But either way, we know Peter needed the Lord. It is my speculation that the Savior led Peter back to the ship one step at a time. I also love in verse 32 that once they returned to the ship the storm ceased. I find it interesting that The Lord didnt calm the sea when Peter was struggling, but He calmed it once Peter endured to the end. The Lord will not hold trials from us, but He WILL see us through them. Serving this mission has already taught me so much. There has been already, so many times where i just had to put my faith in the Lord. Whether it is with my health, feet, not having water, or any other thing. I have learned that i am nothing here. I am nothing without my Lord. How i, even for days here, have gone without water is truly a miracle (taking in account that we sweat NONSTOP) How i am even able to walk miles and miles on swollen feet. It reminds me of the scripture in Alma 26:11-12. I truly know what Ammon means when he says he does not boast in his strength, but in the Lords. I want you all to know how much i love you all. Thank you again for all the prayers and letters! i hope to get them soon. I will be praying for you all as well thank you!
Till Next time
Elder Legere

First email from the Ivory Coast

How is everyone!?!? Wow it feels so good to finally write you all!! where to even start!? well ill first start off by saying i am alive! haha barely... haha well so last week i wrote a HUGE email for an hour long!! and right when i clicked the send button the computer turned off!!! i know i was about to die! haha and i tried to tell the man who owns the cyber café that i need some more time, but he wouldnt give it to me...( sorry if things are spelt wrong this keyboards keys arent in order haha and some of the keys dont work sometime so bare with me. im afraid this might not be as long as i want as well because it burned a ton of time logging in because they are just super slow) but like i said i am alive! Im hanging in here! That doesnt mean i dont need your prayers..i need them more than ever! you remember when my patriarchal blessing says "your ancestors will go before you and keep you from harms way"? well i completely understand why! It is a whole different world over here. Oh before i forget to tell you my companions name is Elder Ilunga Bukasa and im in Port Bouet. I LOVE my companion!! he is from the Congo and doesnt know a single word of english. But we communicate and get along just great. he NEVER smiles, so were working on that ;) i wish i could send you pictures!!!! :/ the computers here are ancient! but ill try to figure out a way. The pictures to develop are extremely expensive! its like 500 Ivorian Francs for a single picture.. and i STILL dont even know how to mail things. oh and if you want to send me mail send it to the mission home address. I dont even think i have an address.. haha im really living in a third world country..the investigators i teach are so poor. (Port Bouet is one of the poorest areas as well..) every lesson weve taught has been sitting on dirt floors in a candle lit shack. Most homes are made of cardboard or wood planks with tin roofs. the children and a lot of the adults dont have clothes..it really isnt as distracting as you think it would be. its just heart breaking..seeing the people the way they are and how they live is by far the hardest thing I'm going though..a lot of times I'm thankful for the candle lit rooms because you cant see when i cant hold back the tears anymore. im already getting teary eyed just writing this. I feel so blessed here. i live in a palace compared to what everyone else lives in. it isnt by any means American standards haha but it is luxerious here. we actually have water (most the time... haha we havent had water for the past 2.5 days and our water supply of a couple water bottles are getting low. This place is the hottest place on earth! haha im not even kidding.i havent stopped sweating since i got here.and you grow to really appreciate water when you dont have it. please pray that the Lord will turn our water on. i have no doubt He will.) Lots of times our electricity goes out haha it really isnt that bad except our food in the fridge goes rotten. and we dont have enough money to get new food most of the time so we gotta made do with what we have. (i know what your thinking, pull money out of an atm ... and i would!! but ive asked a few people where a bank is and they dont even know what one is haha) ;) yeah im doing okay. ive been really weak and just sick, but ive been praying really hard. i met with the Area Authority and he said if it continues we might need to think of some course of action.. so im not going to talk to him anymore. im sorry but its going to have to take a stretcher to get me out of here. ive already been through a lot.. the first week my feet were so swollen they didnt fit in my church shoes so do you know what i did? haha i wore my shower sandals around!! haha im trying as hard as i can to not let any of the trials keep me from giving 100%. and i havent. my feet hurt every day but i just have to deal with it. Elder Bukasa said we walk about 18 kilometers a day, i dont know how much it is but it feels like a lot when the days over with. haha but i love the feeling of taking my shoes off! and i know it wouldnt feel as good as it does if i didnt give it my all (if that made any sense...) there is a lesson ive learned here, and that is the Lord will not hold trials and hard times from us, but He WILL see us through them. but im sorry i dont mean to sound like im complaining! cause im not. there isnt one time in my entire life where i have felt closer to my Lord than here. i am so grateful to be here and to serve. i already am so humbled.. i have a whole new look on the atonement now. i wish i had the time to express to you all my thoughts and feelings. I also dont want you to think that im not counting my blessings! because i am. we have been blessed with SO much success already and i know its because of our strict obedience and diligence. Just in the last 2.5 weeks ive found 9 people that ill be baptizing this saturday, with a WHOLE bunch im teaching and are on there way.there isnt enough time in the day to even teach them all. im trying to firgure out a way that can be more efficent. i want you all to know how much i love each and everyone of you.. i pray for you all, all the time! please pray for me. pray that i can have good health and strong feet. also pray that well get water soon. im not sure how much longer my body can handle without it, i guess that means its coming on soon! :D haha hey you gotta have "hope" with faith ;) well if you have any questions for me feel free to email me! when i got on last week and this i didnt have any, and i understand if you all are real busy but i would love to hear how everyone is. i love you all!!! MUAH!!!! Your Son,Elder Legere

News From the Ivory Coast

(**We haven't heard from Elder Legere since he first arrived in the Ivory Coast. But we received this email today. Sister Bailey and her husband have been serving a mission at the mission home since February...**)

The Legere Family,

I am Sister Bailey and was with your wonderful son today at our Mission Conference. Because the mail system is so crazy here and because they tried to e-mail yesterday only to have the power go out, I promised him that I would contact you and let you know that he is doing fine. He expressed his deepest love to all (and told me to tell his Mom that he loved her). I have only been here for two months, my husband and I serve in the Mission Office and so we know what a shock and experience this mission is.

However, You have a son that knows in whom he trusts, and has called upon His Heavenly Father, and searched his scriptures to find the strength he needs to further the work of the Lord in bringing souls to Christ. He is a wonderful son, with such a heartwarming smile, and is trying hard to learn the language. President Ayekoue asked him to bear his testimony today in the conference. The new missionaries hearts and tears are very close to the surface, but he did a wonderful job, you should be so proud of him.

I have talked to the Assistant to the President and he said that it would be best to send your letters to the Mission Office as that would be the best to get your letters here. I am sending the address at the end of the e-mail.

Also I took these picture of Elder Legere with some of the Missionaries to send home to the family.
Thank-you for preparing such a faithful, valiant missionary for the Lord. Sincerely,Sister Bailey

He Made It!!

Elder Legere's 1st email from the Ivory Coast!!...

"I just had to tell you I got here okay. I dont have a lot of time to write but I just wanted to calm some of your worries. I love you all so much! I didn't have enough time to read that last email you sent me, I'll have to wait till my p-day. but I met my pres and his wife. The nicest people youll ever meet! I am exhausted...I only slept an hour and like 15 mins in the last 30 or so hours. Abidjan is....ummm..."crazy".. haha they don't have traffic rules at night... and the rules during the day aren't much either. my heart is already breaking for the people. I'm already crying just thinking about it. I loved talking to you all yesterday. I'm sorry I don't have much time.. but I just wanted to tell you I love you and I'm here!"
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Elder Legere