WEEK 36 - April 24, 2017 (Aparri, Philippines)

view from the top of the moving rice truck

Helloooo,

So this week flew by. I wish I had as much stuff to tell you as last week, but this week wasn't quite as crazy. First off, I’ll tell you about the weather. It is scorching here. But I have actually started to adjust pretty well to it. The heat doesn't affect me as much as when I first got here, but I’m still sweating sooo much. I’ve never had to do so much laundry in my life haha. 

Speaking of the weather, while we were proselyting in an area that’s away from the city, it started down pouring. Man, it felt incredible. Problem was, there was no transportation at all. So we sat on the side of the road in the rain, just waiting for a Tric. Then I saw this hugeee truck carrying loads of rice, and I waved it down haha Didn't think they would stop, but when people see an American out here, they are always willing to help out. So one of the workers heaved me up on the top of this load of rice, and we drove back to the city. I have a good video of it, I’ll send it so you can get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. It was a lot of fun. (editor: Can't get the video to load correctly - but the top pic pretty much sums it up!)

I’ve been thinking of some of the questions you guys might have for me. Maybe you're wondering what I eat at the apartment. I don't have too much money to spend, so I buy pretty cheap stuff usually. I always buy ramen noodles, and 5 cans of tuna. Also a loaf of bread or 2, and sometimes some peanut butter. Oh, also a big bag of oatmeal for breakfast. But yeah, that's about it. We try to eat with the members as much as possible, or just buy some food off the street. Trying to stay away from Jollibee cuz that place is just emptying my wallet. Recently I’ve been eating tons of fish. I never enjoyed fish that much, but I’m really starting to like it. And of course rice. We eat a lotttt of rice. 

emptying his wallet...again

So this last week we had Zone Conference. Got to see a lot of friends that I haven't seen in a while. Also got to meet Elder and Sister Nelson, from Alpine (editor: same stake as Ryan’s Uncle Ken & Aunt Robin). They are such great people. So loving. They bore strong testimonies and I can tell they will be a big help to the mission. Every Zone Conference, President Andrada goes over the numbers from the last month, and how we did. And while he was talking at this conference, my competitive nature kicked in like none other haha. I got kinda angry at how low some of the stats were. That is one advantage I have out here. I'm a bit competitive and want to reach all the goals we set. So I left that meeting fully motivated and pumped to work hard. 

This last Sunday, we had 3 of our investigators show up to church. Mae came to church again, and so did her cousin, CJ. And one of their friends, Sandoval, came to church as well. The Elders Quorum president and a member of the Branch Presidency spoke. So it turned out being a really good meeting. CJ is way interested. He has investigated a lot of churches in the past, so he really enjoys learning more. Hopefully they all felt the spirit and will want to come back next week. 

(Jerick - see last week's letter)

The other day we were out finding on the Pier, and there were tons of people. And then a big group of people ran up to me and started grabbing onto me and they were all yelling "ahhh picture tayo, Selfie Tayo!!" It doesn't happen very often, but to some people, if you are American, you are a celebrity haha. This one grandma gave me a big hug and wouldn't let go, it’s quite hilarious. But yeah, if you see some random pics of me on Facebook, that's the story. 

Well my testimony has grown a bit this week, like it does every week. I testify that if you pray with full intent to see others the way Christ would, even just a little bit, your prayer will be answered. How great would it be if we could all see people the way Christ does. It reminds me of Pres. Eyring's talk about when he was able to see a man how Christ would. It is a lot easier for us to see the good in people as we strive to be as Christlike as we can. So that is the challenge for us. To try to be Christlike in our everyday lives. 

Love you all.  Next week is transfer week, but I’m pretty sure I'm staying here... I sure hope so. Have a good week :)

-Elder Jenkins 

surprise visit from one of the members from Bangui

WEEK 35 - April 17, 2017 (Aparri, Philippines)

Eric from Bangui!! He was on his way to Santa Ana and stopped by to say hi. Love that guy. 

Hello everyone, 

This week was wild. I’ve got some good stories to tell.

First of all, this week was "Holy Week". Here in the Philippines, they celebrate Easter all week. Thursday is called "Holy Thursday", Friday is "Good Friday". That is the biggg celebration. On Friday everything was shut down, not a single store was open. We ran out of water to drink and when we went to the water store, it was all closed. Everybody was inside, watching the Catholic Holy week movies. It was like a ghost town. Even difficult to find transportation. And then on Friday, everyone was lined up at the huge Catholic church. Seriously around 1000 people lined up to go in. Longer than any Disneyland line I’ve ever seen. 

So we were at one of the member’s house, they were having a Good Friday party. Tons of food and a karaoke. The members were begging me to sing a song. So I looked through the book of songs and one caught my eye: "Reminiscing" -Little River Band.  Everybody was a little confused why I chose that because they had never heard that song and they like it when you pick songs they all know. So they didn't enjoy it much, but I had a good time haha. 

Another interesting experience from this week - I was sitting in the sidecar of a triC, waiting for our triC driver to get going, and all of the sudden this truck, carrying a trailor, bashed the sidecar that I was in. I was expecting to get out and see the two exchanging insurance info or something like that, but all I saw was a cloud of smoke and this guy sped away as fast as possible haha. I couldn't believe it. My first instinct was to chase after the guy, but everybody else was just standing around like nothing happened. Like it is an everyday occurrence. Nobody cared, including our TriC driver. All he said was "ayyy mobilis yung takbo" (wow he ran fast). Things like this remind me how different it is here than in the U.S. There is an elementary school, and on the other side of the wall is a Prison!! 

and another cultural difference

Alright, about the food. One of the members called us up on Thursday telling us they just slaughtered a pig and wanted us to come feast with them. We were stoked. We got there and they had all kinds of different Ulams (main dishes) some lechoned pig (whole roasted pig - see pic below), some BBQ, some sweet and sour, some kind of tray that involved the pig’s blood, and also the liver. That’s one thing that I’ve never really enjoyed - the liver, not a big fan. But man, it was sooo good. 

Also, I am starting to love balut more and more. After every baptism, I treat some of the members to balut. It’s really good, but the pictures I took will probably gross you out a bit. When I’m back in America I’ll have to find a Filipino restaurant and get you guys to try some. 

post baptism balut for everyone

I've got some goooood pictures of balut to send to you guys. You are gonna be grossed out, but honestly I love it. It's such a delicacy. I ate like 5 just last week. Mom will gag when she sees one of the pics haha (yep - I'm avoiding looking at them).

Funny story. There is a "special" boy in our Branch named Jerrick. During sacrament meeting he likes to come and sit with us. But he’s not a quiet boy haha. He’s a big boy who runs around yelling. Last week he came up to me during sacrament and started yelling "ALLERGY" while pointing at the acne on my cheek hahaha, and he kept yelling it over and over. Then went to my comp and started yelling even louder. Before we knew it, everyone was looking back at us just cracking up. A bit embarrassing, but pretty hilarious. 

So yes, we had 3 baptisms on Saturday, and it was great. Leny was the only one in her family who hadn't been baptized yet, so we were really happy for her and her family.  Jacky, the 17 year old boy is best friends with our Branch President's son. Jacky's mom doesn't really support him in doing all this church stuff, so it was a long journey for him to finally get baptized. It was a very spiritual meeting when he bore his testimony and told his story about his parents not supporting him. Our Branch President bore his testimony and had the same type of story as Jacky when he was a kid, and he related to him. It was just a good spiritual meeting. Jordan, 30 years old - so when the missionaries first met this man, he was constantly getting drunk. But wow this man has changed. He has found a whole new purpose in life. The Gospel has absolutely changed his life. So about the baptisms. The faucet in the font decided to kinda stop working, so the water was only up to my knees. Baptizing Leny and Jacky was ok. They are Filipino size, so it wasn't a problem. But Jordan, he is taller than me. And to add on to that, he has really bad knee problems, can’t really bend his knees. So you can imagine the difficulty of fully immersing this man in the water. The first time I dunked him in, I thought it was good and I pulled him up. As I pulled this heavy man up with all my strength, my hammy decided to tweak. I never thought I would obtain an injury in the waters of baptism haha. And we had to re-do it because he wasn't all the way under apparently. Let’s just say it wasn't the most smooth baptism. I had to put him as far as I could into the water and hold him in for a couple seconds to make sure everything was immersed. The next day at church, he came up to me and said, "Elder, I think we should go to the ocean and re-do the baptism, just to be sure." haha he's hilarious. I love the guy. 

Earlier this week, we went to a member’s house. He's 40 years old, has 4 kids. He just got back from doctor appointments and treatment in Manila. He has stage 4 cancer, and has been suffering for a couple months now. I had never met him before, and when we walked into his room, he was just lying there, crying. I just wanted to sit there and cry with him, I felt so bad for this man. While my comp was talking to him, I sat there and pondered what I was going to say to this man. I then began to testify of God’s love for us and his plan for us, and about the Atonement. He sat up and started to listen. It seemed like he started to feel comfort and peace. 

I know, for a fact, that God has a Plan for us to return to him. And that His plan for us is centered around the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Through His pain and suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, He prepared a way for us to return to our father. D&C 19:18-19

Mahal ko kayo (I love you all), have a great week! :)

-Elder Jenkins 

D&C 19:18-19

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

WEEK 34 - April 10, 2107 (Aparri, Philippines)

Hello everyone!! 

We are heading through April and it is scorching hot here haha. It’s the hottest it’s been for me so far in the Philippines. And it’s just gonna keep heating up. At night I set up 2 electric fans next to my bed and turn them on full blast. Still manage to wake up doused in sweat. It makes the freezing cold showers not as bad though:)

This morning we woke up at 5 to go play basketball at the church before the sun was beaming on us. But wow, it doesn't matter what time of the day it is, it is sooooo dang hot. The flies are constantly landing on my arms and shoulders, trying to get a drink. I'm a walking pond during proselyting hours haha.

So this week was a good one. Our investigators are progressing for the most part, and God is blessing us with success and more people to teach. We will have 3 baptisms this Saturday if everything goes as planned. One of the guys that is getting baptized this Saturday is named Jack. He often talks about how he wants to serve a mission in the future. He’s 17 years old right now. But he constantly is taking us to his friends house to teach them. We met one of his friends, Mae, and began to teach her. The spirit was soooo strong as we testified to her the truth of The Book of Mormon. She could feel it too and felt just from that experience that our message was true. She is eager to receive an answer for herself. She attended church this week and really has interest in the church and its teachings. Later, she introduced us to her cousin, CJ, who also wants to learn about the church. So we are being absolutely blessed with the referrals and finding people who are ready to learn. 

The language improved soooo much this week.  I've been carrying around a little piece of paper with 15 new words on it that I memorize every day. By the end of the week, 90 words. At night, I go through the dictionary and just find 15 more words I wanna learn. It's a great routine. Definitely helping me understand people too. Feeling and noticing improvement in the language is such a confidence booster. And when the language improves, so does the teaching. Now that I’m starting to get more and more comfortable with speaking Tagalog, I’m trying to get better at Ilicano. The people love it when we speak Ilicano to them. It’s a really difficult language though. Speaking of things the people love, we were having dinner with a family the other night, and they asked if I like Balut. I responded, "Siempre (of course)", and he immediately went and fetched two of them for me. I cracked em open and slurped em both down haha and they loved it. They thought that it was incredible that I liked it. I never thought I would enjoy a half developed duck fetus. But it’s quite the treat.

(editor: I was going to include a picture of balut right here...but looking at them made me queasy. Feel free to google for yourselves though.)

All right, so General Conference.... I loved it. And so did all the members, especially when President Monson announced the new temple here in the Phils. People loved that and are very excited. Half of them didn't understand what he said at first, but eventually everybody got the memo. So I’ll talk about a few of my favorites.

Elder Rasband's talk: I think his talk last year was one of my favorites too. He’s a great speaker. His topic was perfect for a missionary, "Responding to promptings of the spirit". I loved how he said we need to wake up in the morning and tell God that we are ready to receive these promptings, and that we will act on them. For me, I have realized that the harder I work and as I am improving in the language, I can feel those promptings of the spirit easier and more obvious. Then, the more we act on those promptings and have experiences with them, the more often we will recognize them. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/let-the-holy-spirit-guide?lang=eng

I also loved Elder Sabin's talk, especially the phrase "When you get tired of walking, RUN!" He also constantly said the words "Go all in". This was also just a great talk for missionaries. We have no time to rest. I remember the words of Elder Bednar at the mission conference last month. He said to us, "This work is too important to take a break."  It’s so true. This work I’m doing right now is some of the most important work I will ever do in my life. It needs to be taken seriously every second of the day. When will I ever have another opportunity in my life to focus on this one work and not worry about anything else? Never again. This is some important work. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/stand-up-inside-and-be-all-in?lang=eng

Of course, I also loved what President Monson spoke about Sunday morning. The Book of Mormon. He could only talk for 2 or 3 minutes and he chose to speak about the importance of reading The Book of Mormon. That goes to show what we need to be doing every day in order to live our lives how our Heavenly Father wants us to. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/the-power-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

Love you all, have a great week:)

WEEK 33 - April 3, 2017 (Aparri, Philippines)

Hello everyone,

Happy General Conference weekend. I don’t get to watch until next weekend, so I’m sooo stoked for that. Especially because I heard there will be a new temple here in the Philippines!! People are going to love that announcement. Also, Happy Bday to LITTLE KENNY!! Even when you aren’t little anymore, we will still call you little kenny. 

First of all, yesterday was freezing. I loved it. Everybody had their thick winter coats on, shivering and huddling around fires haha. We are in the middle of a storm right now. Haven't seen the sun in a few days. I love this weather. I don’t sweat very much and it just feels nice. (editor: I looked up yesterday’s weather – it was a low of 72 degress with 85% humidity. Haha is right.)

As I’m writing this right now there is a little filipino boy leaning up against me asking for pesos to play on the computers haha. I’ll send a pic.  His name is Pacquiao. That’s kinda how it is around here… a bunch of kids running around in the computer shops, skipping class so they can play World of Warcraft. 

So a few quick stories for you. This morning I went to get a haircut here in Aparri, and the guy was excited to cut my hair. Said it was his first time to cut an American’s hair and that he was going to put my picture on the wall after the cut. So that’ll be fun to go back and see my pic on his wall, hanging for everyone to see. 

The other night, we had just got back from working, and I had to go to the bathroom soooooo bad. Problem was, we had no water. None at all. And our neighbor (we usually can get water from her) was asleep. She goes to bed at like 7. So I was in quite a difficult situation. So we decided that Jollibee (fast food restaurant) was our only option. We raced over there right as they were closing. Luckily, they let us in. But man, life is tough when you have no water. None of the dishes get done, sometimes you have to go to bed smelly and sweaty. Hopefully the water will get fixed soon. 

(editor: Gary mentioned that this kitchen looks pretty nasty. Ryan's response, "It smells worse!")

So this week was really good, we are having success here in Aparri. Right now we have 4 investigators that will be baptized on April 15. They all want to do it in the ocean, but we have a nice font that our Branch Pres wants us to use. We are all sooo stoked for that. One of the little towns in our area is about 15 minutes away from the city. It’s a big flat land right next to the ocean. I’ll send some pics. We have some solid investigators over there and a good family that picks them all up for church on Sunday. Their transportation is a small triC, but they fit like 10 people on it. I’ll send a picture of that too, it’s pretty hilarious. They are all related somehow and they seem to just keep building the branch over there, little by little. 

But yeah, our whole area has tons of potential. I’m excited to work here the next few months or however long I’m here. I especially love becoming good friends with the members and especially with the youth that will come out and work with us.

Branch Youth Activity

Well my testimony has grown more this week, as it seems to every week. And as I study personally every day, I seem to always learn something new or have something inspire or motivate me to work hard that day. And when I study PMG (Preach My Gospel), I always seem to find something that I need to work on to become better. A better missionary, a better teacher, and a better all around person. And lately I’ve been studying the Christ-like attributes. How amazing would our lives be if we all just mastered those attributes, haha. If we all had perfect Charity and Patience. Perfect Humility and Diligence. But then we think to Either 12:27 

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them....

If we pray and earnestly try to obtain these attributes and work towards becoming better, weak things will become strong. 

Also as I study PMG (Preach My Gospel) I always think to some of my friends that are preparing for missions… Matthew, Dallan. I’ll give a quick bit of advice to you guys. Study the PMG. Especially the discussions you will be teaching. I was blessed to be able to serve in Utah for a cycle and become familiar with teaching these lessons before I had to teach them in different languages. 

Love you guys, have a great week:)

-Elder Jenkins 

A few questions answered on the side...

* Do the sister missionaries have hot water in their apartments?

No, the sisters don't have hot water... there is no hot water here haha. I got to stay in a decent hotel in Laoag in December for the Christmas conference, and there was no hot water there either.

*What kinds of service opportunities do you have?

We haven't done any service yet. Nobody will accept it haha. They won't even let me put away my chair after a lesson. They are so kind it's amazing.

*Tell us about Jollibee's

Jollibee is alright... the burgers aren't very good, but I found an item on the menu that I like... the chili cheese dog. It tastes pretty good. So I get that and some fries most the time. 

WEEK 32 - March 27, 2017 (Aparri, Philippines)

Hello Everybody, 

This week has been a crazy week. I’ll tell you all about it. So after I emailed last Monday, I took a 4 hour bus ride and 30 minute jeepney ride to my new area, Aparri. This place is a little, big city. Lots and lots of people and tons of traffic. Not with cars, but Tricycles…lots of tricycles. It’s kinda nice cuz when we need one, there is always one driving by. It’s a lot different that Bangui where we would have to call our tric to get one. But wow there are tons here. Lots of people.

But anyway, I got dropped off at Jollibee with all my luggage. Jollibee is like the McDonald’s of the Philippines (they have McDonalds too). I waited for my comp there to pick me up. My comp is Elder Montojo. He is from Mindanao (the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines), and has just 3 months left on the mission. He has been here in Aparri for 3 months and will probably finish his mission here. 

So our apartment: it’s me and 3 other elders and honestly, the place is junk haha. For example, we went to pump some water this morning, and it decided not to work. So I had like 3 quarts of water for my shower haha. Our kitchen is infested with ants, cockroaches at night, rats sneak in and feast on any food that we leave out. So we are gonna try to fix that problem. I forgot to take a picture of our bathroom, I’ll send one next week. You guys will laugh haha it’s hilarious. It’s literally just a toilet bowl, with a bucket of water next to it. We have to manually pour the water into the bowl to flush it lol. It’s a loooot different here to say the least. It smells really bad. 

One thing that I don’t enjoy here is the water. It is freezing cold. The showers are brutal. I seriously dread taking showers every morning. I just stand there and pour a freezing cold bucket of water over me, shivering while I wash, and then pour bucket after bucket of cold, cold water to rinse off. Some days it’s hard to pour that first bucket on cuz I’m just not feeling up to it. So I do all I can to heat myself up, pushups, jump up and down, anything to help haha.  I will never get used to the showers.  

I am very very excited about this area though. There is sooo much potential here, it’s fully ready to harvest. Yesterday we had 6 investigators at church, 4 of them will probably be baptized within the next 3 or 4 weeks. So the work here is good. And the members are great too. Lots of them get together on Saturday and all go home teaching. We have a nice big beautiful chapel. I love it here. 

So here in Aparri, of course they speak Tagalog, and they speak some Ilocano, but they have another language here too – it’s called Ibanag. So I guess I’ll start learning that one too haha. The language (Tagalog) has gotten a lot better for me though. I’m beginning to be able to speak to everybody without any problem. It’s a lot of fun. The best part about the progression in the language is the ability to teach better. 

Lately, I’ve been studying the New Testament, and also have been reading Jesus the Christ at the same time. As I read and study His teachings and the way He teaches, I become more and more enlightened by the spirit on how I can improve my teaching. It’s incredible to me how the spirit works. It will just pop ideas into your mind, and then confirm those ideas by a feeling. I have also realized that God likes it when we pray specifically. For example, instead of me asking how I can become a better teacher, it’s more effective if I ask how I can help a specific person understand the gospel better. And I am enlightened during my studies of how I can help that specific person. I love how God works, and how this church works. And I absolutely enjoy the spirit every day of my mission. I could NEVER deny the happiness I receive from this gospel. How could I not give it all I have every day. I owe it all to my Savior! 

Love you all,

-Elder Jenkins

WEEK 31 - March 20, 2017 (transfer day)

Well this has been a pretty eventful week. Of course the highly anticipated day was Saturday. On Saturday night we were supposed to receive texts if we are being transferred or not. It was 10pm and I had still not received a text, so I thought I was staying another cycle, but then we got a text saying transfer texts will be on Sunday. So Sunday morning during church I got the text saying I was being transferred. I was expecting it, and I think most the members were too, so it wasn’t too shocking or devastating. But then I look to my right, and I see the two sister missionaries crying and crying. Both of them were getting transferred too, and they were devastated. And so were the members. They hadn’t been here for very long, so they weren’t expecting to be transferred. But oh man, there were lots and lots of tears from them and the members. Then I decided to change the closing hymn to hymn 152 (God Be With You Til We Meet Again), haha and that really got the tears flowing again. 

But anyway, we were going to check our emails this morning to see where I’m getting transferred to, but the power was out. So I just found out a little bit ago where I’m going. I’m being transferred to Aparri!! It’s in Cagayan and it’s going to be smoking hot these next few months. Gonna be sweating a lot. But I am sooo excited. Don’t know too much about my new comp, haven’t met him yet, but I’ll give details in the next email. It really feels weird to be leaving Bangui after all this time. It definitely was a bit hard saying goodbye to a few of the members that I’ve been close with these past few months, but I just told them I’ll be coming back in 2019 or 2020. (Start planning Mom, Dad :)) 

Anyway, earlier this week, the sisters had two more baptisms. I got to baptize one of the young girls. I always love having the opportunity to baptize someone. Always a good, spiritual experience. 

Well sorry, I don’t have too much time to write, I have to catch a bus at 12:00 to Aparri. I’m sooo excited for this next area for me in the mission. New area, new opportunities! Next email will be a good one. I’ll have lots to tell. 

Love ya!

-Elder Jenkins 

FINAL DAYS IN BANGUI

The Pacman shirt was a gift from a member.. it's awesome

WEEK 30 - March 13, 2017 (Bangui, Philippines)

Hello everybody!!! 

This was a great week. And this next week may be the last one for me here in Bangui. Transfers are on March 21, so we will see what happens next week. But anyway, it has been even hotter this week. For fun I started counting how many showers I take during the week and I think I got up to 19. If we have any down time at all, we get back to the apartment as soon as we can and take a quick shower haha. We are sweating like mad out here. 

sweating :)

This week we had some good success in the branch. We had a large sacrament meeting attendance, and we also had 3 investigators come to church. There is one investigator that we found a week ago. We returned back earlier this week and asked if she had read any of the Book of Mormon. She pulled it out and said she had read 30 pages. She’s a solid investigator, but she didn’t make it to church this week. But it was nice to have someone keep commitments.

So you know how in some movies, there will be a kid that has to run after a bus or somebody is sprinting after a bus to catch up to it? Well I always thought that doing that would be pretty embarrassing. But I’m not kidding, it’s a weekly thing here for us. Sometimes when we are waiting for a bus, we will flag it down, but it won’t see us until late. So it hits its brakes and expects us to start sprinting to get in. And if you don’t show some hustle, they will just leave haha. It’s hilarious. Just pictures me in full proselyting clothes, sprinting a 40 yard dash towards a bus. I hustle too, it’s no joke. 

Speaking of things they do different here than they do in the US, the fellowshipper title is to a whole other level here. We have 2 fellowshipers in the branch. And by fellowshipper they mean someone that goes out to teach with the missionaries, but not just for 1 or 2 lessons. He works the whole day with us haha. It is wild how generous the members are to work with us for that long. I can’t imagine doing that back home. 

Another funny thing here that I have been forgetting to write you about is the phrase "Long time no see". People love to use that phrase, but they do not understand the meaning. In America, it’s a sarcastic phrase, right? Like if you just saw somebody earlier that day and you see them again, you would say that, right? Well here, I had an experience where I met somebody for the first time in my life, and she said "Hello elder, long time no see!" I was soooo confused. I had no idea what she was talking about. So yea that’s a funny phrase to use here. 

Right now there is a ton of construction going on here. They are fixing up the town in time for the Bangui Festival. It’s a bigggg party here that lasts a weekend. Everybody loves it. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I will still be here for that. I think it’s in mid-April. (The town of Bangui featured the Kannawidan Festival which is a five day celebration starting every 26th of April. This is the most awaited event in the said municipality wherein the townsfolk participate to showcase their traditions.)

There is a lady from Las Vegas here, visiting for a bit. She invited us over for dinner the other day. Turns out her box of American food just shipped in from the states, and she cooked up some spaghetti for us. It was amazing. They have spaghetti here, but it is waaaaay different. It’s sweet and tastes like candy almost. So that was soooo nice to be able to have a little taste of America again. 

Alright so spiritually-wise, I had a great week. As I begin to learn this language little by little and get better at it, I begin to recognize the spirit more and more in the lessons. I’m able to teach with the spirit better because I can actually speak decently. It’s a goooood feeling to teach and feel the spirit confirm your words are true. And even a better feeling to recognize a prompting and act on it, and then have the spirit confirm to me that it was a prompting and not just a random thought from my brain. I’m excited for the time that I am fluent in speaking and am able to fully focus my attention to the promptings of the spirit.

I also had a good experience with prayer. Occasionally in my extra time, while my comp is doing some branch business at the office, I decided to just pray. I realized as I began to pray more than just the regular times during the day, the spirit has had a bigger effect on my life. I really think if we rely on God more during the day and just talk to Him more than twice a day, we will feel His impact in our lives more often. I know for a fact that He wants to help us and bless us, but we need to act in order to receive that help and those blessing.

So there’s my testimony for the day. Love you all. Have a great week. I’ll let you know next week if I’m getting transferred or not :)

-Elder Jenkins

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