Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission

Right now, Adzope is our farthest zone from Abidjan.  We were up early this morning to travel there with the Binenes, Eveque Mel and Fr Ebick.  It was a 2+ hour drive through beautiful countryside with rolling hills of lush tropical undergrowth and farms.  We drove through forests of bamboo, palm and ferns.  We saw banana fields, cassava, yams and plantain.  The border restrictions surrounding Abidjan lifted on Wednesday and this is the first time Pres and Sis Binene have been able to go anywhere outside of Abidjan since the COVID lockdowns in early March.  We have 10 missionaries in Adzope who have been missing the regular contact.

Here we are arriving at the peaceful setting of this church building in Adzope.

This beautiful waterway is right near the church.

We have 2 Sisters and 8 Elders in Adzope.  Before COVID hit our world, we had double that number.  There are 10 missionary areas in Adzope.

The baptismal font:

The missionaries were waiting for our arrival.

This Zone Conference was a combination of the last 2 conferences we’ve had.  The Binenes shared messages and training from both today.

We were able to share the good news that the Bendixsens  have received their flight plans and they will arrive in Abidjan on July 24th!

Lunch time!

Delicious food!!

This afternoon the missionaries were taught and trained to use the smartphones.

And at the end of the day, Pres and Sis Binene gave their final testimonies.  This is their very last Zone Conference Ever.

A beautiful papaya tree by the church:

This afternoon the Elders from the 2 Abobo Zones arrived for our 4th Zone Conference.  There are no Sisters in these zones.  Abobo is a good place for Elders.  We followed the same format for the conference, hearing from missionaries who are finishing their missions, the APs and the Binenes.

At the end, the smartphones were given out and Fr Ebick helped everyone get them set up with new SIM cards and the right formatting.

The new Missionary Handbooks were also given out.

Many of our Congolese missionaries had questions for Pres Binene about news of the borders to their country opening (they will announce a decision about opening the borders on the 22nd).  We have received no instruction about whether or not missionaries from the Congo will be sent home if the borders open.  That decision is for the Missionary Department and the Area President to make.

Today we had our 3rd and 4th Zone Conferences here in the Cocody Stake Center.  This morning we met with the 18 members of the Dokui Zone.  At the end of the conference the missionaries received their smartphones.

This is what a portable wifi box looks like.  It’s called a “fly box.”  You can buy a box for about 30,000, then you pay a monthly subscription for the wifi which, depending on the plan, can be 25,000 to 35,000 (30,000 cfa = about $50).  We are bringing our boxes from the office to the stake center so we have enough wifi for the missionaries to set up their phones.

Moving SIM cards from an old phone to a new phone:

On the chair next to me are John’s 5 phones.  The blue iPhone is his own from home.  We bought a fly box for our apartment and we pay for the wifi.  The black smartphone is one of the new ones he’s using to help teach the others.  The little black phone is for the office financial secretary.  It’s free for any missionary to call.  It rings all the time.  Missionaries have had a plan called “the float” where they can call any other missionary for free.  One little white phone is for all other calls outside of the float and international calls (like to Mali).  The other white phone has been our mission phone (for John and me).   These phones go with us all the time, filling his pockets.

Some of the missionaries who have stayed past their departure dates are receiving their “Return with Honor” scarves.  These are the traditional farewell gift when missionaries leave.  We still have no plans for anyone’s departures–borders are all still closed.

I love these African fabrics!

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.