Month: July 2020

This afternoon we had our second Zone Conference with the Cocody Zone here in the Cocody Stake Center.  The meeting followed the same format as the one this morning, with the traditional parts and pieces including talks by missionaries, the APs and Pres Binene.

In the end the smart phones were distributed.  The moment we were all waiting for!  Come take a look!

These are the phones we’ve been using here.  John has had to carry 4 different phones, each is used for a different purpose.

Here is the progress at the temple site today:

With the Binene’s still here and the Bendixsens still waiting to come, we encouraged Pres Binene to have another round of zone conferences this week so we could distribute the smartphones.  Today we held 2 zone conferences, back to back– with the Grand Bassam and the Cocody zones.

The missionaries are excited to have these smartphones–another tool to help them connect with people safely.

Fr Ebick is our technology specialist.  He helped everyone get their phones set up.  Some are very familiar with phones like this but for some, this was the first time.  Fr Ebick is a very patient and good teacher.

These phones will be a great help, especially during these COVID times.  The way we do missionary work is changing all over the world.  We are grateful for technology that brings us closer.

Today we met Elder Amani, who has replaced Elder Wanani as our newest Assistant.  He has come to our mission from the Oweri, Nigeria Mission, where he served for 15 months.

Elder Amani is 26 years old, a big young man, gentle and humble.  He was baptized in 2015. A class mate of his invited him to church. When he told him the name of our church was The Church of Jesus Christ, he was interested and it impressed him. He said you don’t often hear of a church name with Jesus Christ. He decided to go and see what they had to say. He said, “I told myself what I can pick, I will pick.”

The missionaries began to teach him. He said he had lots of troubles in his life and after a while he asked them not to come back. He went on for 2 months after that, but said he kept thinking about what they had taught him and he decided to have them return. Two different missionaries returned and finished teaching him.

Elder Amani’s mother has died and he is an only son. He moved away from his family to go to school in Grand Bassam, living with his grandpa’s brother. He was studying to be an electrician. Eveque Mel was his bishop and helped him prepare to go on a mission. He was able to overcome many challenges in his life and he loves Eveque Mel.

His grandpa’s brother was once a preacher and heard bad things about our church, but he respected his decisions to be baptized and to serve a mission. When he opened his call to serve in Oweri, Nigeria, his father came to Grand Bassam to meet Eveque Mel. When his father read the mission call letter, he was impressed that he was called by a Prophet of God. He has been supportive, the letter softened his heart.

Elder Amani served as an AP in the Oweri Mission. He spent part of his mission in Aba. I showed him pictures of when I attended the dedication of the first LDS Church building in Aba in 1984. He said, “Wow, that was a long time ago!” His Mission President in Nigeria was from Kwa Ibom State where I used to live.

We are excited to work with Elder Amani here.  He seems very humble and has a nice spirit.

This afternoon we traveled to N’dotre on the outskirts of Abobo, northwest of here.  The Sossou family invited us and the Binene Family to a farewell dinner with their family.  We had such a wonderful afternoon and evening!  We loved being there with them.

Sis Sossou’s sister helped with the delicious food.  We were served a cucumber and tomato salad, then fish and attieke, rice and fried chicken, fried potatoes and plantain with a nice onion sauce and fresh baguettes.  Everything was wonderful!

Brother and Sister Bole also joined us.  He was a counselor in the Mission Presidency before John.  It was wonderful to meet them.

After dinner the Sossou family presented the Binenes with gifts to remember them by.

They also gave us some very nice Ivorian clothing!

What dear friends we have here!

We are so grateful for all the hard work that went into preparing this beautiful and delicious meal for us.

The Sossous have a beautiful home.  It felt like we were in a bit of heaven here.  They provide a place for about 18 people here in this compound, family and friends.  It was an honor for us and the Binenes and Boles to be with them.

Today we had MLC.  It seems like time is just Flying by!  The Binenes didn’t think they’d be here for another one, but there have been no changes in the border openings.  We are hoping the Ivory Coast borders will open a bit on the 15th.  Maybe the DRC will follow soon afterwards.  In the meantime, the Bendixsens are on standby in the USA, ready to come as soon as they are allowed.

Today’s topics included things we can do to improve our mission culture, reminders of how to stay safe during these COVID times and the Doctrine of Christ.  We are also preparing to distribute the smart phones next week.  And today our leaders received their new Missionary Handbooks in French!  We’ve been waiting months for these!

Here’s a look at our day:

Part way through the meeting the power went out.  No lights or fans.  No problem.

This morning we attended 2 District Meetings with our local missionaries.  Here are some photos from these meetings.  This is the Riviera District:

And here is the Cocody District: