Email - October 12, 2009

Elder Legere and Elder Koffi

Dear Family!
Wow what a week! Well things have been going just great! I wanted to share with you all a little bit of how the work is here. Im not trying to brag at all or anything like that but i want to show you what your prayers are doing. Well so we had a baptism two weeks ago (it wasnt that big of a baptism), one this Saturday (a good size), and one the Saturday after (its even better then). But thats not just it... Elder Koffi and i have had so much success you cant even imagine. Elder Koffi and i have been working very hard with the members and have found over 50 couples that have now been married and we set baptismal dates for, and thats not including their kids.
Within the next month or two we will literally start a new branch. We're working a lot with the president, if you can imagine trying to organize a branch in this short time, its almost impossible. All the callings and just organization. We may have to separate our ward and Anyama to mix the members who have been members for a long time. I think we might even just place everything in the hands of the mission home and for the assistants because it is just too much. But i want you all to know that the work is exploding. Please continue to pray for us.
I also wanted to share a small story with you that I thought would make you all laugh. Well so we were over at Dieudonné's (his name means "God gave" or "God given") home, one of my converts. Hes 19 years old and is just so sharp! Well his mom just loves Elder Koffi and I and insisted that we eat dinner with her and her son... haha well so we are sitting in this tiny 2 room home (about the size of my bedroom back at home, or smaller) sweating like a banchee and she brings out this blackish looking soup. I have to explain something, its REALLY hard to turn down food here because of how poor people are. Because she fed us, she and her son probably didn't eat breakfast and lunch the next day, but if you don't accept its very rude and insulting. so she brings out this soup. I take the spoon and stir it a little and see stuff I have no idea what it is and a big blob thing of fat.
haha So we blessed it (in my head I blessed mine a couple more times) and started eating. It was the HOTTEST thing I've ever tasted! I had to loosen my tie or else I probably would have passed out. So I'm almost done forcing this soup down then I get to the blob of fat... well so I asked what type of meat it is and where on the animal, and she said its the snout of a pig!
It was the fattiest thing I've ever seen. If any of you know me well you know I HATE fat. I started eating it and I just started gagging. I was trying as hard as I could to not throw up, let alone show that I didn't like it. It was not easy but I got it down. You all would have laughed so hard.
Well know that I love you all so much. I wanted to share a small spiritual thought with you all. Elder Koffi and I took a taxi to Abobo for the Zone Conference. It was 500 francs to go but when Elder Koffi gave him a 1000 franc bill he gave us 4500 back (what happened was the guy didn't look at the bill that well and thought we gave him a 5000 bill). I watched Koffi as he held the money. I could see him thinking in his head what to do. But before the driver drove off Koffi say hold on, you didn't give us the right change. We explained it was only a 1000 francs we gave not 5000. He told us that there isn't another person in Abidjan that would have done what we did, we gave him a contact card and he drove off. If he calls, I dont know. But if the missionaries ever contact him again he will remember what we did. When I think about this tiny experience I think of the
scripture that says "Let your light so shine before men". I know that each one of you have heard that "every member is a missionary", but how honorable of missionaries are you? The #1 way to do missionary work is to be an example. I love the 115 section in D&C (I think its verse 4 or 5, I dont have my scriptures) He gives a commandment to all the members. Please read it. I love you all so much I need to get going! I love you! PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ME!
Oh about the elections, it's a little heated. but I don't hear much. Starting the 25 of November I'll be living in the assistances apartment just in case anything happens. Pray that nothing will. But we do have a good evacuation plan.
I love you all!
Elder Cameron Legere