Sunday, July 10, 2016

Dieu Soit avec Toi Jusqu’Au Revoir (God Be with You Til We Meet Again)

Dear Family, 

Wow, it is really crazy to be emailing for the last time from Africa!

It is hard to put into words my emotions. I am so happy for all the experiences I have had here, and for the people I have met, and for the little part I have been able to play in helping convert my fellow brothers and sisters to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This past week, I have been visiting converts and members to say goodbye, and to eat patte together. I have been so impressed by the sincerity of everyone we have visited. They really love God, and Jesus Christ, and they really love the missionaries. They have all taught me a lot of different lessons over the past two years. 

Today, in church, I gave my last testimony. I shared John 15:13 (Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.). I talked about the love God has for each of us, and how He asks us to do our best to have the same love for each other. I also shared Luke 22:32 (When thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.), and talked about our responsibility to strengthen ourselves and then help others.

While I was talking, it just kept hitting me that I would still have this responsibility, but that I would have to do it without the badge.

As we were singing the closing hymn, God Be with You Til We Meet Again, different members kept waving at me from the congregation which was really touching. It was hard to keep my eyes on the music, and as a result, I made quite a few mistakes on the piano, but that isn't really important. 

I will miss the people here in Benin. I suppose we will get the chance to see former friends in the next life. Who knows, maybe when they build the temple here, I will be able to come back to visit. 

I have said so many goodbyes, and taken a lot of photos. This has been probably the longest and the shortest two years of my life. Part of me feels like it couldn't ever end.

So this little shed is the place where I taught my first lesson. I still remember sitting there, wedged in-between Elders Adjei and Florion, lost and confused trying to understand what was French and what was Fon. We had taught the Plan of Salvation to a recent convert and her family. I passed by that shed again this past Thursday while visiting Cococodji and all the memories from the beginning of my mission hit me. I had to stop and snap a picture so that I won't ever forget. 


My final responsibilities will be to help take care of transfers. My comp, Elder Pellevoizin, will get his new companion. And then, Elders Jackson, Jorgensen and Bailey and I will take a day to do some sightseeing and shopping for souvenirs. I have one final dinner appointment with Luc and Marina (two of my favorite people from Cococodji). We'll have final interviews with the President, and dinner, and then we are gone. I suppose I have taught my last official lesson, and that is a really, really weird thought. So many mixed emotions. 

It's weird to think that we'll be seeing each other fairly soon. I'm excited to be coming home. I am hoping the things I have learned here will help me be a more serious student, and a better person in general. 

So, I guess ill see you guys in just a few, holy cow---

Love you,

Elder Walls

You typically don't see many monkeys in areas where people live, and when you do,
they usually get overexcited. This little guy was pretty calm and friendly.
Two of our Nigerian amis finally got the courage to come to our all French church
meeting (they speak English). They made us Yellow Eba, a Nigerian classic dish


Final photos with members and converts





















10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Elder Walls. Thanks for keeping this blog. I've been looking through the pictures and see that you are an amazing missionary and love the people! My son leaves for Benin a week from today and is that big group of missionaries coming. His name is Elder Andrew Peterson and we are looking forward to his mission there in Benin!!! Thank you so much for your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rất nhiều chị em thắc mắc mắc bị ngứa âm đạo và sưng đỏ vùng kín là do đâu? Theo nhiều chuyên gia phụ khoa cho biết, có rất nhiều yếu tố khiến chị em có các hiện tượng trên như là bị kích ứng với mỹ phẩm chăm sóc da và vùng kín, do viêm âm đạo hoặc viêm âm hộ, viêm lộ tuyến cổ tử cung… Hoặc cũng có thể là do môi trường âm đạo bị thay đổi khiến cho vùng kín bị ngứa rát… Ngứa rát âm đạo gây ảnh hưởng rất lớn tới sinh hoạt, cuộc sống của chị em, nhất là khi triệu chứng đó là biểu hiện của một số bệnh lý nào đó. Khi tình trạng ngứa rát kéo dài, kèm theo nhiều dấu hiệu bất thường khác như như khí ra nhiều, có màu sắc và mùi khác lạ… thì hãy đi thăm khám phụ khoa ngay lập tức. Bệnh được điều trị ra sao theo tùy theo chỉ định của bác sĩ, chị em không nên tự ý điều trị mà không rõ nguyên nhân hoặc chưa có sự tham vấn của bác sĩ. Điều này sẽ giúp hạn chế những biến chứng và rủi ro gây ra.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rong Xuong. Please show respect to Elder Walls and delete this comment off his blog post. It is not appropriate and doesn't relate to anything regarding a missionary. Thanks. Rồng Xương. Hãy thể hiện sự tôn trọng với Walls Elder và xóa bình luận này tắt bài blog của mình. Nó không phải là thích hợp và không liên quan đến bất cứ điều gì liên quan đến một nhà truyền giáo. Cảm ơn.

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