Bon Arrivé Elder Kouadio! - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

 Bonjour et bonsoir tout le monde! It's been crazy week here in lil' ol' Affery!

So, as you know, last week we found out that Elder Kamenan would be transferred to a different area. So the plan was that that transfer would happen on Wednesday when my new companion came up. So on Tuesday morning, we went out and visited with some of our amis and said goodbye.

After that, we came back for lunch before we'd go out to visit the rest of our amis. But as we were eating lunch, we got a call from the Zone Leaders saying that the four of us had to leave ASAP to Adzopé. 

So Elder Kamenan and Elder Christensen frantically packed their suitcases and we all loaded into a tiny cab to head down as fast as we could.

The thing was, the cab didn't fit all of the stuff we had to bring so we had to hold onto the suitcases as they hung out the trunk. 

Also, the cab was run by a propane tank in the trunk and the hose kept disconnecting, filling the car with propane and leaving us stranded on the roadside for 20-30 minutes at a time. Also, most cabs here are missing important parts like door handles so that was a fun puzzle trying to figure out how to escape the car before the propane kills us first.

Eventually, we passed by the Elders' apartment in Akoupé where they dropped me off and continued their journey to Adzopé and then Abidjan. I said a rushed final goodbye to Elder Kamenan and Elder Christensen and they were off.

So I stayed the night in Akoupé with a couple of the Elders there and then waited until 5ish on Wednesday when a van came back with Elder Dent and our new companions!

My companion is named Elder Kouadio and he's an Ivorian. He actually started his mission just a couple of months before me in August and he's waiting to go to his original assignment in the DRC.

One of the greatest blessings about being companions with Elder Kouadio is that he loves to work! All week since he got here, we've been working non-stop and it's been the greatest thing in the world. I couldn't be more excited for this transfer.

On Saturday, the other Elders had a baptism for one of their amis. Unfortunately, as the branch president was bearing his testimony to close the program, she walked out of the room twice to talk on the phone and then fell asleep so deeply that we had to shake her awake. So that was a fun time for us all.

My French has had to improve really fast this last week because, as the missionary people recognize, everybody's been coming to me with their questions and comments. But thanks to what can only be attributed to the gift of tongues, I've been able to, for the most part, understand what people are saying here.

Something interesting about Affery is that, being as small of a village as it is, most of the people don't really speak French at all. In their homes, they speak their tribal languages they've been passed down for ages. So the only time they speak French is when they're talking with someone from outside the village, which is hardly ever. So that's been a fun challenge to figure out.

I've learned a lot this week about learning to fully rely on the Lord. I've had moments where I've felt entirely hopeless and helpless this week. But it was in those moments that I learned what it really means to rely on the Lord.

I'm very happy with how this week has turned out. I'm getting to work a lot more which is the greatest blessing and Elder Kouadio and I are becoming really good friends. 

I love you all and I hope you all continue to trust in God in all things. In Alma 36, we read:

"for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

À la prochaine mes amis!

Elder Farr

Elder Kamenan and I as we rushed out the door for the last time

A pic of Elder Kouadio and I that I took while writing
this 'cause I realized we didn't have a picture together yet

One Dark, Dark Birthday - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

Sœur Lilliane's baptism!

Week two in Côte d'ivoire! (I know that title sounds scary but I promise it's not that bad. I'll explain in a minute)

I hope you're all doing well. It's been a bit of a wild week for me. 

To start, on Wednesday we took a taxi with one of our amis, Sœur Lilliane, to the next village over where we met with a member of the Mission Presidency for her baptismal interview! But since Abidjan, where the mission is based, is pretty far away it took him a few hours extra to get there. So we ended up hanging out at the church building in that village for almost the entire day.

When we got back to Affery, after a successful interview, of course, we discovered that around lunch time the power had gone out and, unlike the usual outages that last only a couple of minutes, it had yet to come back on. Unfortunately, the lack of electricity meant we had no running water either so we went to bed hot and sweaty that night. 

The next day, Thursday, was my birthday! We still didn't have any power but Elder Dent and Elder Christensen came into the room right at 6, singing happy birthday and holding a couple of donut-hole-type-things with matches in them for candles. 

Since we still hadn't regained power, we had an electrician come over. Unfortunately, since he was over the entire day, we never got a chance to leave the house and go work. So I spent my birthday stuck inside the hot house. We played a lot of UNO that day.

When the electrician left at the end of the day, the problem still hadn't been fixed. So we went to bed, once again, hot and sweaty. 

On Friday, after going to the church to charge our phones a bit, we found out that there was no power because nobody had sent in a picture to the mission office of the power bill that came a few weeks ago. So Elder Kamenan and I got a taxi to the next village over as fast as we could to resolve the issue else we had to live without electricity for the rest of the weekend. Luckily, we got there just in time and returned home to electricity! 

On Saturday, we had Sœur Lilliane's baptism! It was an awesome experience to be able to baptize her. It was a super small and simple event but it was spirit-filled nonetheless. 

On Saturday afternoon we went to a party at the church building put on by the Relief Society. From what we three Americans could tell, it was probably pretty sacrilegious. So that was an interesting experience to say the least. 

Unfortunately, the work ethic Elder Kamenan had our first week seems to have been a rare occurrence. I've only been able to go out proselyting for a total of about 4 hours this week. So that's been really tough on me. I really want to be able to serve.

Love you all! Hope you all have a spectacular week!

Elder Farr

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)