Our Best Friend Denis - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone, big news! I've officially been a missionary for six whole months! It's crazy how the time passes. I can't necessarily say that it's been quick, because sometimes it's felt super super slow, but it's still crazy that I've already hit this milestone.

It's been another awesome week here in Affery! We've been working really hard and we've found a whole bunch of really solid people to teach! We've been putting our all into the work I couldn't be happier about it.

We've been teaching Seminary the last few weeks and it's been a great experience. It's awesome to be teaching and talking with all of these future missionaries. The coolest part is that Sœur Lilliane, who I baptized my first couple of weeks here, has come every week because she wants to serve a mission! That seminary class has really become a highlight of my week every week.

Story time: Every two weeks we have to take a "bus" down to Adzopé, about two or three hours away, to use the ATM and go shopping for our food. So that day was today and about half way there, Elder Kouadio realized he forgot his card. The thing is, my card was stolen just before I left America. So we had no choice but to have them drop us in another village and take a taxi back to Affery. 

So after we got back and got the card, we went back to "la gare" only to find that all of the buses were already gone. 

Now for the next part of the story, I have to introduce a new character: Denis. Denis is a man who we've seen around the village a few times. He wears full winter clothes and a big motorcycle helmet 24/7. I can't even begin to explain how impossible that is in this whether. Anyways, this guy is actually insane and he's tried to follow/chase us and the other Elders home a few times. We're all pretty scared of him. He's also superhuman strong it's freaky.

So now that we've introduced Denis, Elder Kouadio and I had to find a taxi to Akoupé, the next village over, so we could find another bus to Adzopé. So we finally find a taxi, get in, and wait for the three other people that'll inevitably be sharing that back seat with us. And who happens to be one of those people but our best friend Denis. So I shared a seat with him for that taxi ride. That was probably the most uncomfortable car ride of my life. This guy is terrifying. 

Anyways, we eventually made it to Adzopé with barely enough time to get our money, buy our food, and make it back on the last bus to Affery.

So that's been my week. We oughta have another baptism fairly soon so watch out for that one!

Love you all, stay safe!

Comme toujours, à la prochaine!

Elder Farr

The Affery and Akoupé Elders!

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

Stranded In Adzopé! - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

 

It's been a great week mes amis!

On Monday we were down in Adzopé for a zone activity and we were planning to stay the night and then come back to Affery on Tuesday. Well on Monday night we found out that President Bendixsen would be coming by in the morning for interviews!

So the 14 of us that were staying in that apartment got up and got ready on Tuesday morning for interviews. While the Bendixsens were there, we found out that our Zone Conference would be on Thursday instead of the next week like we'd thought.

So long story short we had to switch our plans and stay in Adzopé for an extra 2 days because we didn't have time or money to come back to Affery in between. It was fun figuring out how to make two outfits stretch four days. Also, since there were fourteen of us in an apartment fit for four Elders, the sleeping situation was definitely interesting. 

But everything worked out and on Thursday we went down south for a multi-zone conference. It was awesome to get to meet so many missionaries in one spot! The Conference was easily the highlight of my week and the spirit was so strong!

During one of the breaks at the Conference, President Bendixsen came up to me and asked me if, for the closing hymn, I would sing the first verse of "Ye Elders of Israel" in English all by myself and then have the other missionaries join me for the last two verses in French. Now I love performing and I hardly get stage fright, but getting up in front of so many missionaries made me pretty nervous. All was well though and when the others joined me on the last two verses, the spirit was nothing short of overwhelming. 

That night, after four long days, we made it back to the comfort of our apartment in Affery. I've come to realize this week just how much of a home this place had become for me. What a fantastic blessing that is.

This week I hit a month in Côte d'Ivoire. I'm amazed at how quickly it's gone by but also at how much has happened! I love this place with all of my heart and I am beyond happy to be here.

I hope you all have a fantastic week! Heavenly Father loves you and is looking out for you constantly. 

À la prochaine!

Elder Farr

A mound of rice, the average lunch

On our way to Zone Conference!

After 5 months, I finally got a picture with Elder Card!

Everyone's always excited to take pictures with "le blanc"
so I have a lot of pictures with people we meet

Elder Kamenan went all out for dinner

The sky was awesome

Multi-zone conference!!!

Le Zone Adzopé

 Le Zone encore

 Le Zone encore

 Le Zone encore, encore

My Best Friend iPhone - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

 Bonne fête de Pâques!

Salut everybody and happy belated Conference weekend!

Unfortunately, due to the crazy time difference between here and Salt Lake and our area being in the middle of nowhere, we were only able to watch the Sunday Morning session and most of the Saturday Morning session. 

I was glad to find that the French french was easier for me to understand than the funky Ivorian french. Elder Kamenan thinks I'm crazy to think French french is easier. Someday all of the weird Ivorian accents will make sense to me.

I was able to listen to one of the conference talks in English. It was President Nelson's first talk from the Saturday Morning session. In it, he talked about clearing the debris from our lives. Even though I'm on a mission and I've done a lot to rid myself of those things that distract from the spirit, there's always more to be done. I know that as I continue to focus and refocus my life on the Gospel, I will be blessed. I know the same applies to all of you.

Some fun random highlights from this week:

- I got to play a lot of different games with the kids around the village. If there's one thing the kids here are great at it's making up super fun games with whatever objects they can find. Spent a few hours learning a few and playing with them the other day.

- A baby chick accidentally fell into a pot of boiling water and got crisped up. That was a sad sight.

- I met a baby whose name was, in all seriousness, "iPhone". We've become best friends over the last couple weeks but I figured his name was just some weird Ivorian name that happened to sound like "iPhone". But sure enough, his name is seriously "iPhone". I love Africa.

That's pretty much all I've got for this week, folks. I hope you have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Farr

J'aime Affery! - Affery, Côte d'Ivoire

Hey everyone! It's been another great week here in Affery! The work continues to go well and I'm loving the experience.

One of the greatest blessings of being able to serve out here in Côte d'Ivoire is that just about everyone is interested and ready to hear what we have to say. It's awesome to be able to just walk down the street and then just *bam* someone invites you to sit down and share your message. The work thrives out here and I couldn't be happier for it.

Another awesome blessing is how whenever we're giving a lesson, people will just come, sit down, and listen in. Actually most of our most solid Amis have been found that way. All of our discussions are had outside so if people are passing by and are interested, they come to listen. It's amazing.

This weekend we had District Conference with all of the Branches in our District. It was awesome to get to hear from our Mission Leaders and Area Authorities. 

I've been getting really excited for General Conference coming up in just a few days! I'll be listening in French so I'm not sure how much I'll really be able to understand but I have a testimony of the spirit that General Conference brings, regardless of the language. I invite you all to tune in and listen to our beloved Prophet and Apostles.

I hope you all have a great week! Love you all! I'll include some pictures from the last few weeks at the end of this email. 

Avec amour, 

Elder Farr

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)