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| "I think this was the first time in my life that I have ever held a snake! Well... 6 snakes at one time for sure!" -Python Temple, Ouidah Benin |
Dear family,
Hello!! It is good to get to write to you guys this week. The weeks are sure flying by, and if I don't mistake myself... I only have around 27 weeks left on my mission! That means only 27 more times of worrying about investigators coming to church, or 27 more P-Days... Ah this is too crazy! Time is going by so fast and I cannot believe it at the slightest. Anyways... It was sure fun to hear from you guys! It sounds like there is a lot of "moving around" going on! It sounds like quite the huge work that you guys pulled off moving EVERYTHING out of the basement! That is a work that I am happy I wasn't there for ;) Haha and I loved seeing that you guys painted around Brian! He might not be in the NFL anymore... But he will always have a place in my heart. B.U.F.L. The basement looks super killer! It took me awhile to figure out what I was looking at... Seeing that there are walls that are there now that weren't and so on. It looks good though! And the Waterfield’s kitchen looks bomb.com too! Super nice! I hope that she will be able to cook me some really good, not wheat crust, BBQ chicken pizza! Haha good times. I am always happy to hear about your guys’ good weeks :) And it sounds like the weather here has been a little cooler than yours! Ours have been all overcast and pretty windy! Overcast and windy equals a pretty good combination here in Benin... Slash Africa.
So for me in this week.. It was pretty good! I will start off with some stuff that I noted during the week. So when I was in Togo, I discovered this sauce that is called, "nmbagbah". At least that is what it sounds like when they say it in their language haha. Who really knows how it is spelled. But it is SUPER good with rice, macaroni, and bread, really everything. I think that the basic of it is ground up fresh tomatoes, onions, shrimp, certain seasonings and smoked fish. I know that there is other stuff in there like peppers and stuff but I'm not sure... I need to find out how to make it though so that I will be able to make it for you when I get back. I keep imagining it on a pizza with really good cheese and good crust. Ah life dreams eh?
So for me in this week.. It was pretty good! I will start off with some stuff that I noted during the week. So when I was in Togo, I discovered this sauce that is called, "nmbagbah". At least that is what it sounds like when they say it in their language haha. Who really knows how it is spelled. But it is SUPER good with rice, macaroni, and bread, really everything. I think that the basic of it is ground up fresh tomatoes, onions, shrimp, certain seasonings and smoked fish. I know that there is other stuff in there like peppers and stuff but I'm not sure... I need to find out how to make it though so that I will be able to make it for you when I get back. I keep imagining it on a pizza with really good cheese and good crust. Ah life dreams eh?
Anyways Frère Santons was helping us the other day and we were talking about how Togo food is better than Benin food, he lived in Togo for 16 years. But I asked him if he knew how to make nmbagbah and he said that his wife knew how! So I got super excited and gave her 2000cfa or 4 bucks to make me some. The next day I went to get it and it was simply amazing... I was super happy to eat it again! The only downfall was that it reminded me of being in Ablogamé haha. Adwélè was the one that made it for me in Togo... I have yet to call her either! I hope that's not bad... It is just so hard to call on these gay phones and talk! It is almost better just to write letters... Oh well. But yeah thought that I would tell you about my awesome sauce that I pay people to make for me.. Haha. Just like I paid the little kid that was here before to leave so I could write you faster! (We have a family night tonight at 7, so gotta hurry!)
So this Saturday or Sunday is when I will get my call to know if I am going to do another transfer here or not... I think that it is going to be a pretty big transfer, so I will let you know about that! Pray that I will get to see Togo again before I leave here :/
Francise was finally baptized!!! Oh my HECK!! After so much stuff, it finally happened! So here is the scoop... Last Saturday some stuff come up in his interview that he didn't tell us while we were teaching him... So we had to call President Weed to see if he could do it. But he was in Togo with Elder Dickson.. So we had to call one of the members in the district presidency, and at first they said that it wouldn't be possible. But later that night they called us back and told us that it could be done on Thursday at 6. So we were happy about that. The district president came to our branch building and talked to Francise for about an hour and a half... He passed the second time! So we were super happy about that! Saturday morning we had our conference with Elder Dickson, which I will talk about a little later, and then the baptismal service at 2:00 after that. So we weren't able to go get Francise, but Frère Santos helped us out A TON and got him there early! When we went to fill up the baptismal font, shocker, there was no water. SO we had to pull water from a well in the POURING rain for about 2 hours to fill it up. Other than the fact that the water was horrible and brown, everything from that point on went really smoothly! He didn't care that he had to be baptized in muddy water. Francise had some things that happened and I know that he was super happy to put all of that behind him! Sunday he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and he kept telling me on the walk back to church, "I am just so happy!, I am just so happy!" He said it about 20 times total! I know that that kid’s life has been changed forever.
So yeah on Saturday morning we had our conference with Elder Dickson from the Quorum of the Seventy. It was super awesome! He talked to us about how it is promised that the gospel of Jesus Christ is going to go to every single corner of the earth for people to receive our message. He talked about of course the importance of missionary work and he just gave so many insights into the scriptures that are amazing! He said one thing that I really liked. He shared with us the moment when he received his testimony of the Book of Mormon when he was 18 years old. He said that since that time, he has read the Book of Mormon dozens and dozens of times, compared it with history texts, read manuals on it, and studied it inside and out. He said that even though those things have helped him understand what is in the Book of Mormon, nothing has been more powerful than the feeling and answer that he received when he prayed to know that the book is true more than 50 years ago.
So this Saturday or Sunday is when I will get my call to know if I am going to do another transfer here or not... I think that it is going to be a pretty big transfer, so I will let you know about that! Pray that I will get to see Togo again before I leave here :/
Francise was finally baptized!!! Oh my HECK!! After so much stuff, it finally happened! So here is the scoop... Last Saturday some stuff come up in his interview that he didn't tell us while we were teaching him... So we had to call President Weed to see if he could do it. But he was in Togo with Elder Dickson.. So we had to call one of the members in the district presidency, and at first they said that it wouldn't be possible. But later that night they called us back and told us that it could be done on Thursday at 6. So we were happy about that. The district president came to our branch building and talked to Francise for about an hour and a half... He passed the second time! So we were super happy about that! Saturday morning we had our conference with Elder Dickson, which I will talk about a little later, and then the baptismal service at 2:00 after that. So we weren't able to go get Francise, but Frère Santos helped us out A TON and got him there early! When we went to fill up the baptismal font, shocker, there was no water. SO we had to pull water from a well in the POURING rain for about 2 hours to fill it up. Other than the fact that the water was horrible and brown, everything from that point on went really smoothly! He didn't care that he had to be baptized in muddy water. Francise had some things that happened and I know that he was super happy to put all of that behind him! Sunday he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and he kept telling me on the walk back to church, "I am just so happy!, I am just so happy!" He said it about 20 times total! I know that that kid’s life has been changed forever.
So yeah on Saturday morning we had our conference with Elder Dickson from the Quorum of the Seventy. It was super awesome! He talked to us about how it is promised that the gospel of Jesus Christ is going to go to every single corner of the earth for people to receive our message. He talked about of course the importance of missionary work and he just gave so many insights into the scriptures that are amazing! He said one thing that I really liked. He shared with us the moment when he received his testimony of the Book of Mormon when he was 18 years old. He said that since that time, he has read the Book of Mormon dozens and dozens of times, compared it with history texts, read manuals on it, and studied it inside and out. He said that even though those things have helped him understand what is in the Book of Mormon, nothing has been more powerful than the feeling and answer that he received when he prayed to know that the book is true more than 50 years ago.
I thought that was really cool and totally true! When I was in the MTC that’s when I really got my full testimony of the Book of Mormon reading it all the way through for the first time. I have learned SO much about it since then in the mission field. But all that I have learned about it, nothing beats that feeling and reassurance that I got when I prayed to my Heavenly Father to know if it was his work. Prayer, meditation, and a simple question is all that it takes to completely change our lives for the good. Such an amazing experience to get to hear the words from a man chosen by God to lead this church in these latter days. I was able to give my lesson as well and that went good! Not really much to say about it... But that I talked about the importance of Daily Planners and how to use them.
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| "This is the museum of the Portuguese Fort for their army in the 1700's. A lot of cool stuff inside but they told us not to take any pictures..." |
Today we actually had a zone activity for the first time since the Zoo! And it was super awesome!! We went into the "Historical Village of Ouidah". It is home to one of the biggest slave trade ports in the world, and of course, the Voodoo there is one of the biggest capitols in the world as well! We got to visit a military fort that was for the Portuguese in the 1700's and it was really interesting to see and learn about all of that. We got to see some chains that were dug up that were used to keep the slaves chained and all that stuff. Just a lot of cool ancient artifacts. And... Of course you can't go to Ouidah without visiting the Python Temple!
I think that it was the first time in my life that I have ever held a snake! Well... 6 snakes at one time for sure! Haha it was really cool. I took a lot of pictures and videos that you will see when I get home... I will try and send you a few today as well. Overall it was a really fun activity! After we left the village we went and got something to eat as a Zone. It was a super fun activity and I think that all of missionaries really liked it! Great success!
Well here is the close of my letter for today... Thank you for all of your support that you give me... It really pushes me to want to do my best in all that I do! Really! Thank you! AND! I can't let another week pass without thanking my favorite Aunt Debbie for all of the letters and love that she has sent me while I have been out here in the mission field! Every time the assistants give me letters, there is always one from Deb! And I am so grateful for that! Some of my favorite memories are hanging out at her house and ALWAYS eating something! If it's a turkey sandwich, or her amazing chocolate chip cookies... That is for sure going to be something to do on my list when I get back home! Hang out with Debbie... Have a wonderful week you all and I will talk to you next Monday!
Love,
Elder Landon Dean Layton
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| "Say what's up to my cannon... These were used to kill slaves if they tried to escape. Still used today to kill slaves if they try to escape? We sure hope not...." |
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