Meeting Legends - Ahoutoué, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone! Its been a crazy week.

I got transferred to a tiny village called Ahoutoué on Saturday. It's a bit of a change from my last area but it also feels like a bit of a return to pace. Serving in tiny villages is always the best. 

Elder Leight and I got news on Thursday that we would be moving to the same apartment to train a couple of new Elders. Friday was spent going from house to house and breaking the news to all of our amis and members from Atlantique and Aéro-cité. There were a few really difficult goodbyes.

I think the hardest goodbye was with Frère Koffi. Elder Leight and I found him my first day in that area. Over the last 3 months, he has become more converted to the Gospel than any other ami that I've worked with. He was sad to see us go and said "Je ne vais jamais vous oublier," or, "I will never forget you."

On Saturday, we met our new trainees and made our way to Alépé, the village where our apartment is. My companion is named Elder Ho Ching and he's from California. It's really fun to be with a new Elder. We have a few tiny villages that we cover and I'm really excited to get to know them.

Yesterday we had our first sacrament meeting with one of our branches. The branch is very small, only a dozen or people or so, but all of those people are really awesome, dedicated members.

In that sacrament meeting, I met two people that I've been waiting to meet for a long time. Phillipe and Annelies Assard were the first members in Côte d'Ivoire. Phillipe left for Germany in the 70s for school. While there, he met and married Annelies. After meeting the missionaries and being baptized, they moved to Côte d'Ivoire to bring the Gospel to Phillipe's homeland. 

Ever since I read about their story at the beginning of my mission, I've wanted nothing more than to have the opportunity to shake their hands. 

Yesterday, Elder Ho Ching and I were the first to arrive at our small church building in Ahoutoué. Not long after who walked in but none other than Phillipe and Annelies Assard.

Of all of the places that they could have chosen to live, they live in Ahoutoué, the smallest village you've ever seen. It was so amazing to meet them and to be a part of the small branch with them.

This week has been really good. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead in our little village. 

Thank you all and have a great week, 

Elder Farr

Feliz Navidad - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Joyeux Noël! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas last week.

I am elated to say that my Christmas was very merry. We did everything that we could to really make it feel like Christmas and, to our luck, it worked. 

We had a few events that really helped to make the weekend jolly. The first was a mission devotional on Christmas Eve that we had with half of the mission. I had the chance to sing in a quartet with a couple of other Elders. It was great to see so many Elders that I dont get to see so often.

On Christmas we were invited to a branch party on the other side of our zone. We traveled with a few other missionaries to the village and ate and celebrated with the members of that branch. I also won a viscous game of musical chairs against the other Elders.

Later that day, we met with some members in one of our wards for a Christmas dinner. We walked inside to find enough food for 6 men on the table for the two of us. We did our best to eat as much as we could out of fear of being found rude. We had a great visit with the family and learned a lot more about their story and journey with the gospel and the church.

It was a great week with a great Christmas. I hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

See you all next year,

Elder Farr

Merry (almost) Christmas - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Bonjour! I hope you've all had a great couple of weeks.

We've been working really hard out here in Aero-cité. I've been focusing especially hard lately on changing up the way that I teach. When I was first learning French, it was a bit too easy to learn just one way of teaching things. It was more comfortable. But now I've been tasked with getting off of my habits and explaining things in a different way. Since doing so, the spirit has been invited so much more fully and powerfully into our lessons. I've loved the experience.

We're getting excited for Christmas. Christmas, as would be expected, is a bit different here. Not much is done to celebrate it. So we've had to put in a bit of extra effort to really make it feel like Christmas. We've been having fun with it. Since last Christmas, my relationship with Christ has grown exponentially. It makes me appreciate the holiday much more. I love my Savoir so much and I am so grateful for Him.

I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Joyeux Noël,

Elder Farr

we got dumped :-( - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone! We had another good week.

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. We talk a lot about the way that we teach and how we can improve it to better invite the spirit. It really peaked my drive and motivation to get out and get working. I love this work so much.

On Saturday we received some good news and some bad news. 

The bad news, and the subject of this email, was that our friend, who was preparing to be baptized in a couple of weeks, told us that she has instead returned to her old church. Lucky for us though, she still wants to meet with us. We are really praying that everything will work with her.

The good news is that our friend, Prince, who has been coming to church consistently for about 5 months, finally has the plans for his wedding finalized. After the wedding in a couple of weeks, he wont have anything else keeping him from being baptized like he's wanted for so long. We are super excited for him!

That's about all for this week.

À la prochaine,

Elder Farr

On Nage Comme Des Sirènes - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Bonjour tout le monde!

It's been another great week here in Côte d'Ivoire. We've been able to make some great progress with a lot of the families that we've been working with. We've also found some great new friends that we're really excited about.

A big issue that faces us here in Côte d'Ivoire is marriage. Here, there is a cultural form of marriage that is separate from legal marriage. As such, many people opt to do the cultural marriage without going through the trouble of a legal marriage. It's a complication that I've dealt with many times since I got here. Right now we are working with a lot of families who have the same issue. They all have such great testimonies so we are hoping and praying that these weddings work out. This is admittedly not a part of missionary work that I had to deal with in the States. 

This week has been heavy with rainstorms. The roads have been more flooded than I've ever seen them. Every day we've had to jump from rock to rock or wade through the water to get to our appointments. Many of our amis have been astonished that we even took the effort to travel to their house through all of the rain and flooding. At the end of the day, it makes the work much more interesting.

I've started to really feel like I'm at home in these two wards. I've started to grow really close to the members and amis here. I hope with all of my heart that I will get to stay here a bit longer than I got to stay in my last couple of areas. I really want to be able to make my mark here. I love these people so so much.

That's all for this week. See y'all next time!

Elder Farr

Un An!!!!! - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

One year in, and the mission only continues to get better. I love it here and I am so grateful for every experience that I've had so far.

A few highlights from this week include:

Tuesday we had interviews with President Bendixsen at the mission office. The mission office is about a half hour away so it should have been simple. Unfortunately for us, all of the taxis went on strike so we had to find another way to get there. After 3 hours of improvised travel plans, we arrived and had our interviews.

Thursday was the one year anniversary of the start of my mission. We had been invited to a wedding but when we arrived at the supposed venue, there was no wedding to be found. That same day, I fell on the road and scratched up my hands pretty badly. I'm all good now. Anyway, that evening we went with a couple of the other Elders to the Burger King at the airport to celebrate my year mark.

Friday we received that unfortunate news that one of our amis has passed away. Last time that we saw her, just a couple of weeks ago, she told us that she was feeling a bit sick. On Friday, while visiting her daughter, we were told that she had passed away. In the words of the daughter, "nous sommes dévastés," or, "we are devastated." In situations like these, I find myself increasingly grateful for the Plan of Salvation which tells is that, through Jesus Christ, we will one day be reunited with our loved ones. Life does not end with death.

Saturday we had exchanges with our zone leaders. I got to work with Elder Koffi. He's Ivorian and he's a fantastic missionary. I had a great time teaching with him. At the end of the day, while we were on our way to the zone leaders' apartment, Elder Koffi noticed his ami with a glass of beer in hand. He walked up to her, asked her to pour it out and, after she said that she would just do it after we left, he took the glass and poured it out. Afterward, he took the bottle from behind her and poured out what remained. Luckily she didn't seem mad about it at all. We shared a laugh about it afterward.

This week has been great and, in all, the first year of my mission has been fantastic. I am so grateful for all of the change that I've experienced over the last year. In that year, I've become a missionary, moved away from home, moved to Africa, learned French, and made more life-long connections than I ever could have expected. I love this place and I love this work.

Elder Farr

Nous Rencontrons Un Culte - Port-Bouët, Côte d'Ivoire

Hello once again everyone! This week has once again been a great one. We've been able to get quite a bit done. I'm so grateful to be working with a companion who loves to work as much as Elder Leight does. I love getting to go out every day and share the Gospel with everybody around us.

This week we met with a lot of less-active and non-active members of our ward. A new focus for us has been working with said members, who left the church when covid began, and helping them come back to the church. It's been a great joy to meet all of these great people over these last couple of weeks.

We've also been teaching quite a few English classes which has been very fun for us. Interest in learning English here is very high so we've had a lot of fun teaching such large classes.

To finish off this weeks letter, we encountered a cult meeting as we were walking to and from appointments on Sunday. They tried to invite us in but, after seeing that goat sacrifice last week, we weren't to interested.

Anyway, I'm having a great time out here in Côte d'Ivoire.

Ayez une bonne semaine!

Elder Farr

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