October 2020 – Page 2 – Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission

Church in Port Bouet Ward, in Cite Sipim (West Mission)

Today we got to attend church with some of our office Elders in Port Bouet Ward, in Cite Sipim. We love opportunities to be with the wonderful members here in this area. You would love it too!

We had about 40 attending today, beautiful families and faithful Saints and friends. We partook of the sacrament, listened to sacred hymns and had a Sunday School class.

Today is Elder Usana’s last day here. Tomorrow he departs.

Our Port Bouet Stake President and members of his family:

After church there were a few meetings going on and ministering visits.

This rented meeting place has 3 stories. Here’s from up above:

Au revoir de Elder Unasa!

Election Billboards

The national elections in Cote d’Ivoire will be held on 31 October 2020. Elections here are every 5 years. When the current President was elected in 2010, there was a good deal of unrest and uprisings that led to the deaths of more than 3000 people. Five years later he was re-elected. He is running now for a 3rd term. The opposition leaders aren’t happy about that.

This next week, we will be sure to keep all of the missionaries safe and away from the areas where there are demonstrations and unrest. We hope this corner of the world stays calm.

“Always Take At Least Two”

I don’t often keep the duplicate photos I take. A wise photographer told me years ago, “Never take just one photo, always take at least two. One will always be better than the other.” It’s the best photography advice I’ve ever heard and I always take at least two and I delete all but one. One is always better. Except for today. I took the photo below, and then snapped a few more of these sisters who get excited every time we stop to buy fruit from them. Their mother is in the back on the right. They set up their stand on a busy road and do a good business.

The girls are always a little shy when I ask to take their photo, but then they love to see the photos I take of them. I think they are stunningly beautiful young women. It would be a sin to delete a single one of these photos.

A Yopougon Neighborhood

Here’s a small look at a neighborhood we drove through today in Yopougon. As you can see, it’s a lively and colorful place!

Interviews with the Yopougon-Attie-Selmer Zone, Kuweit District (West Mission)

Today was a fantastic day! I loved every minute of it. The interviews were incredible and inspiring and historical. It really is an honor to be here with these amazing missionaries. We met with 12 missionaries today in the Selmer Stake Center in Yopougon.

This is a large stake center in a busy area. The apartment complex across the street was well-lived in. There were lots of people and street vendors around the building lot which had a grass playing field in the back where kids were playing soccer at the end of the day. Our interviews started at 9:00 and went until after 4:00 p.m. It was really a great day.

Here are the companionships we met with today.

This is Pres Binene’s son, Elder Binene!

Our fearless Zone Leaders

Bishop Miliate is the driver for the West Mission. He’s really good at it.

In our Neighborhoods Today

Here are a few photos I took today as we traveled. These first ones are of the new dumps of road base on our own road. They are starting to be crushed into the potholes by cars passing by.

It’s not a ball, it’s a coconut.

Hot drink carts.

Tree trimmings

The rest of these are in Yopougon.

Snacks for sale.

Wheelbarrows for hire.

Furniture stores line the roads here

Wheelbarrows for hire
Satelite dishes for sale

School girls

Low hanging fruit

Kids were walking home from school

A lumber yard and carpenters

Popular chairs for sale

Refrigerators for sale

A hardware store

These bakkies are everywhere–one of the main modes of transportation here.

Interviews in the Niangnon Stake Center in Yopougon (West Mission)

Our 16 interviews today were in the Niangnon Sud-Cent Stake Center in Yopougon. This stake center is large with a large parking area and a grass field where young men were playing soccer when we finished. There are 2 stakes who use the building and 22 wards in these 2 stakes.

Here are the companionships we met with today, beginning with these beautiful Sisters.

It was another fantastic day, filled with inspiring stories of how this group of missionaries came to be in this place at this time. There are many miracles happening around us. Most we will never know or see. Today we learned about some of them.

West Africa Area Mission Leaders’ Seminar

This week the Mission Presidents from the West Africa Areas gathered online for their twice a year seminar. Sadly, because of COVID, we were not able to meet together in Accra. Instead we met on ZOOM.

Pres and Sis Lewis tuned in for much of the seminar from the States and I was able to sit in this morning. I wish we had time to listen to more, but we’ll be out with the missionaries, doing interviews. It was fun to see our fellow servants today on my computer screen.

John spent the morning at the US Embassy working miracles. He came away with 3 visas for our Haitians who have been trying to get home for months. It’s finally going to happen!

Timeline of Stakes of Zion in Africa

The missionaries waited today in the high council room. Hanging over a window there was this timeline of the first 100 Stakes of Zion in Africa. I realize it’s hard to read–it was not hanging straight, but still I found it fascinating.

Interviews in Toit Rouge (West Mission)

We had a full morning of interviews in a new place new to us called the Toit Rouge Stake Center. It was about 30 min away. Our driver, Eveque Miliate, drove us after meeting him at the Mission Home this morning.

The stake center is large with huge grounds around it–a full soccer field to the side and a full basketball court in the parking lot with all the lines painted and hoops with backboards. It feels like a wonderful place for youth and friends to gather. As we left this afternoon, there were 2 soccer teams in the field practicing.

We had 14 missionaries today and it was great. Their stories are incredible. I’m taking lots of notes to transcribe into my journal. Everyone has amazing stories to tell. Remarkably amazing.