A Little Humor Never Hurts

Baptism of M and J

Hey guys,

I am always glad to get to hear from you. We had to wait for a while for the power to come back on so that we could email. It finally just came on. It is Elder M's first time emailing in a cybercafe for over a year (he usually got to email at the mission office), so he’s going to have to get used to the noise and bustle in the cyber.

Last week, right after we got home from the cyber, I opened the front door to see Elder R in our apartment! It had been months since I saw him last, and it was great getting to catch up. He seemed to enjoy Togo quite a bit. He spent the night with us since he was leaving for home the next day. He left me with a stinky towel that he didn't want to take home with him. It is crazy to see him leave--I remember when he and my trainer, Elder A, hit their one-year mark together. Crazy how fast time flies!

I am sending my email in fragments this week--the lights are flickering here and the connection is bad. The power could cut out at any time.

Working in the sector with Elder M is great. He has so much energy! Most missionaries here are more tired after their first three weeks, than he is with only three left to go.

Being both American seems to make the crazy aspects of African lifestyle standout a little more.

One funny story: We were teaching a few women outside of their small homes. One young toddler was pooping just next to us in a little baby plastic toilet. He finished, stood up, and tried to put this little plastic lid on the bowl like he'd been taught to do. However, he put too much weight on his hand and ended up falling into the bowl and getting his hand covered in . . . well, you know. Needless to say, he wasn’t to happy. His mom brought a little bowl of water in which to wash his hand. When she was done, she then threw the dirty water over the wall (hope no one was on the other side!). Later, I joked that she'd probably use the same bowl to offer us water at some later visit. Elder M wasn't too happy at that thought.

Another funny story: One day, just for fun, I thought I would play the part of an American tourist. I went out in my wide brim hat, sunglasses, a white strip of sunscreen on my nose, and a walking stick. Again, it was all just for fun, but we ended up getting stopped by a ton of people. We ran out of brochures after an hour! Maybe it pays to joke around every once in a while.

Many amis are progressing, so I’m enjoying myself.

We had two baptisms this Saturday for J and M. They are both great amis, and I'm excited to see them baptized. I'll send some photos through later (power allowing).

As for Sunday, I played the piano again. I had asked to have the keyboard during the week to practice, but the Branch President wants to keep it locked in his office during the week. He let me get it on Friday, and I spent the weekend practicing the hymns to the point where I felt confident enough to play the selected hymns. Sunday, as I was playing some prelude music before Sacrament meeting, one of the counselors called me over and said they had to change all 4 hymns and gave me 4 new hymns I had never played before. I ended up playing very, very simplified versions of the hymns, using only one hand. Not very impressive. I am trying get them to not pull last minute changes on me, and to coordinate more.

I did have a little fun with the piano--I decided to play a bit of a joke on everyone. The keyboard has a prerecorded version of Silent Night that is very well put together. So during the prelude I decided to just put it on and pretend to be playing. A LOT of heads turned! And NO ONE talked until the meeting started--there was dead silence, except for the music. The other Elders just smiled, knowing what I was doing!

So the power just cut out for the second time--luckily, Google saved my draft.

The new AP (assistant), Elder P, is very fun to be around. He is very French. And very short. They invited him to give his testimony on Sunday at church. As he started to head towards the front, the counselor jumped out of his seat and pulled out the podium's step (what you would use for a young child so they can be seen behind the podium). It wouldn't have been a big deal except the step is heavy and made a lot of screeching and squeaking as it was pulled out from the podium. Elder P seemed very, very tall using the step. It wasn't necessary, but it was funny.

We played some futball and ultimate Frisbee with the Cococodji district this morning Lots of fun, even though I’m still pretty bad at soccer.

I will try to get some photos through.

Love you guys,

Elder Walls

Elder R's last day in the mission. Elders M, R and Walls

Another photo of M and J on their baptism day

Good Eats!
Most missionaries get an hour after coming home at night before it is lights out.
We get an hour and a half since we don't get the hour break to go have dinner at someone's home.
That time includes cooking and eating. It took a long time to cook this!