Blanc Frère! - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

 Well, its been a couple weeks since I've been able to talk to ya'll but I'm in Côte d'Ivoire now! It's been a crazy couple of weeks so buckle up!

My last few days in Sanford were jam-packed with goodbyes. It was pretty hard to leave that amazing ward and area so soon after I had the opportunity to join it. I said goodbye to the other Elders in Sommersworth after a couple final exchanges. I said goodbye to Colby after Elder Greene and I took him out for icecream. I said goodbye to Bishop Shaw after he excitedly drove to our apartment to drop off a really old Ensign with the history of the church in Côte d'Ivoire. And I said goodbye to Elder Greene after one last road trip to Manchester. 

The day before I left to Côte d'Ivoire, I had the awesome opportunity to see my parents for a couple of hours so we could swap suitcases. It was hard to say goodbye to them for the second time but I'm so glad to have had that brief time with them again.

On Friday March 5, I left to the airport with President and Sister Beck, said goodbye to them, and boarded a plane to Charlotte. In Charlotte, I had a 4.5 hour layover so I found a chick-fil-a and had one last chicken sandwich. I then flew from Charlotte to Atlanta where I met up with a bunch of other missionaries also going to various missions in Côte d'Ivoire! I also got to meet Elder Card in person which was awesome! The flight from Atlanta to Paris was around 8 hours so I slept most of the way. Then in Paris, we had just enough time to go through security and get our documents re-verified before our final flight took off. And then, before we knew it, we were on a plane to Abidjan!

The first thing that hit me when we got off the plane is the humidity. I'm a little more used to it now but that first night was brutal. It's, quite literally, heavy.

We stayed in a hotel that night that, by some miracle, had air conditioning. The next morning was Sunday so we went to church in a chapel right next to the construction site for the Abidjan temple! As we walked up to the chapel, my eyes were filled with tears realizing that I'm finally  here.

After church we had some training at the mission office for a few hours and then we were off to our zones. We drove through the crazy traffic of Abidjan which was brutal but we eventually made it to the Zone Leaders' apartment in Adzopé. The three of us from my flight group that came to Adzopé stayed the night there with a bunch of other Elders. Many of which had come in the night before and were also waiting to head out to their areas.

On the following Monday, I got to meet my companion, Elder Kamenan. He's from Côte d'Ivoire which means he only speaks French. So that's been a fun challenge to figure out this week. After a few days, I came to find out that he's a pretty goofy guy. He's a good companion. 

The other two Elders in our apartment are Elders Dent and Christensen. Elder Dent served on reassignment in New Hampshire just like me! And Elder Christensen was one of the Elders in my flight group here. It's pretty rare to have three Americans in one apartment. 

Our area is in a village called Affery. It's only been a week but I've come to really love these people, language barrier and all. I've also come to love the work. In fact, being in the apartment is my least favorite part of the day. I'm the most happy when I'm out among the people and the culture, as crazy foreign as it may be.

Last Monday was so crazy busy that I didn't have a chance to write at all. This ending my many-week-long streak of weekly's. But I'm here now so I suppose that's what counts.

I'm not gonna lie, it's been a crazy tough week. And had I written this email a couple of days ago, there would be a completely different tone. I never quite understood homesickness until I came here. I've been, in literal terms, sick from how much I miss my family and my country. But I'm gaining a strong testimony of how Heavenly Father blesses us for our sacrifice. 

I've already written way too much so I'll probably get into some of the nitty-gritty details of Ivorian culture next week. But there is one thing I want to share that's been brightening may days here. In Côte d'Ivoire, it's always hot. And nobody has air conditioning so everyone is always outside during the day. So every day when we're walking down the winding dirt roads of our village, there are loads of kids who yell out "blanc frère!" as I walk by. It's become second nature now to respond with a wave or a "bonjour!" or "bonsoir!". It really makes my day. Elder Kamenan says "You are star!"

(Unfortunately, the internet here is really bad so I can't send pictures)