Quelle Souffrance Préférez-Vous? - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone! It's been a great week here in Côte d'Ivoire. This week was filled with experiences so here's some highlights:

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. My favourite takeaway from it was this:

"There are two kinds of pain. The pain of sacrifice and the pain of regret. Which would you rather have?"

Throughout my mission, I've learned a lot about the pain of sacrifice. Its been rough at times to be out here on the other side of the world, speaking a language that I barely knew. But this pain has helped me grow. I am thankful for it as well as for all of the experiences I've had here thus far.

On Thursday, we met with a member who told us an amazing story. Years ago, she was so sick that she was practically paralyzed. After no medical treatments worked, she was determined to make it to the temple to seek her healing there. She made the trip over to Accra, Ghana and, as soon as she came out of the temple, she was healed.

On Thursday night, a crazy thunderstorm hit our area, flooding all of the roads for the rest of the week. It was especially bad on Friday, where we had to hop from rock to rock and climb on the sides of buildings just to get to our appointments. Every day's an adventure out here.

That same day, we also witnessed a live goat sacrifice. It wasn't exactly what we wanted to see but it sure was an experience.

Anyway, Africa is full of a wide, wide range of sights and experiences. I love it here.

Have a good week,

Elder Farr

Une Foule Inattendue - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire,

Hey everyone! It's been another great week out here in Côte d'Ivoire. This was my first full week working with Elder Leight in the Atlantique and Aéro-Cité wards. We've been having a great time and we've been working really hard. I come home exhausted every day and I couldn't be happier about it.

My favourite experience this week took place on Saturday. I'm still teaching the English class that I started in my old ward because neither of the missionaries who are currently serving there speak English. Elder Leight and I were a bit late because we had an appointment with an ami and it takes a long time to travel home from our secteur.

As we were walking up to the church building, my old bishop came running out and telling us that there are nearly 40 people waiting to learn English from us. Astonished and surprised (especially considering that last week's attendance was only 5), we made our way upstairs to find a packed classroom. There were so many people, in fact, that we had to split the class in half and teach them in two separate rooms. It was awesome to get to teach English to such a crowd, and to share the gospel along with it.

It's been a great week filled with great experiences and I can't wait to see what experiences the next one will hold.

Elder Farr

Je Crois Dans Les Miracles - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone! Crazy news! I've been transferred yet again. The difference this time though it that I've stayed in the same apartment, I just work in a couple of different wards now. 

We got a call earlier in the week letting us know about transfers. I was a bit sad to be leaving my old secteur after only six weeks again but I was super excited to work with Elder Leight. He's an awesome missionary and we've grown really close while living together over the last few weeks.

Sunday was our first day out in secteur together. It was one of the best days of my mission. The highlight came towards the end of the day. We had walked for about an hour or so to the northernmost border of our secteur. We found ourselves in this beautiful field with only a few houses dotted around it. On a whim, we walked down this small trail that stretched off from the main road. On said trail, we passed an older man who was standing outside of his house. We said hello and he invited us inside.

He told us that he used to talk to the missionaries a lot. But after his first ever Sunday at sacrament meeting, he moved to where he currently lives and unfortunately lost contact with the missionaries and with the church. He told us that hes been searching for the church ever since to no avail. It was amazing. We were in essentially the middle of nowhere, in a part of our secteur that we would have otherwise had no reason ever to come to. But because we did, we were blessed to find this man and reconnected him with the church.

My love for missionary work grows every single day. I love this country, this people, this work, and this gospel.

I hope you all have a fantastic week.

À la prochaine, 

Elder Farr

Écoutons La Voix Du Prophète! - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Bonjour tout le monde !

It's been a good week over here in Côte d'Ivoire. I've seen my love and passion for missionary work grow this week through a plethora of wonderful experiences. I'll share a few here:

First, last Thursday, Elder Bakeba and I accompanied another Elder, Elder Leight, to his secteur for a day and meet with some of his amis. We had a fantastic time and met some super awesome people. We saw some awesome testimonies grow through those lessons and it was all in all a great experience.

On Friday, a bunch of missionaries met together at our church building to receive their patriarchal blessings. Among the recipients was Elder Bakeba. I could feel the spirit very strongly as I sat in that church building and spoke with the other missionaries waiting to receive their blessings.

On Saturday and Sunday, we had the stellar opportunity to watch general conference! This time around, I was able to view three of the sessions, which is a lot better than the last time. I was so happy to get to hear from God's chosen prophet and apostles.

I'm having a great time out here. With every week that passes, I'm becoming more and more grateful for all of the blessings that I have found and am finding here in Côte d'Ivoire.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Farr