Baptisms here are usually never stressful, however...

 

 

Dear Family:

 Hello everyone! I'm glad to hear that all is going well over there for you.

 Baptisms here are usually never stressful because everything works out the way that they should, even if the services start about thirty minutes to an hour late. The baptism of Sr. Terrez, however, was the most frustrating yet. First of all, the baptismal font wouldn't fill up with water due to a problem with the pump. We went to the church earlier in the day to fill up the font with water so that when we came back it would be filled. The font was being filled as we were leaving; however, shortly after we left, the water stopped coming out.

When we arrived to the church and started to set up everything in order to get the baptismal service started, we saw that the font was empty and that the water pressure pump stopped working.

The brother-in-law and sister of Sr. Terrez who brought her to the church with their vehicle started freaking out when we told them that the font wasn't able to be filled due to the lack of water pressure.

They began saying that we were the missionaries and that it was our responsibility to fix this problem and that we needed to do something about it. Quick pause in the story -- you must realize that the church here is still really undeveloped. In fact, the church has only been here for about ten or so years. That being said, the responsibility of organizing things that should be organized by those who have the calling to do so sometimes doesn't happen the way that it should.

In any case, everyone looked to me in order to figure out what to do. I ended up calling two missionaries in my zone who thankfully had a baptism on the same and at the same time. I asked them to keep the church doors open and to keep the baptismal font filled so that we could hold the baptismal service there. Fortunately, the other missionaries were still there and had not yet emptied the font. I told Sr. Terrez, who was also a bit unhappy, along with her siblings that we would be going to the Souzza Chapel in order to hold her baptism over there. They collaborated without question and we split up so that we, the missionaries, along with a few kids who came to the baptism could take a taxi to get there.

We ended up taking two taxis to get there; however, the only problem was that I nor anyone else with us knew how to get to the Souzza Chapel. I called the other missionaries who would explain to me that they would meet us at big hotel not too far away from the chapel in order to show us the rest of the way. Addresses here don't really exist which is why land marks with which many people are familiar such as the hotel are used as a means of getting from place to place. However, as we made our way to the hotel, our driver got lost and we ended up driving all over the place until we finally found it. Once we got to the front of the hotel, the taxi man threw a fit about having had to drive so far in order to find the hotel and then kicked us out of his vehicle by refusing to take us any further. 

Thankfully, the other missionaries, as promised, we there and waiting for us. Those who were in my taxi and I along with the other missionaries were able to hitch a ride in the other taxi that was containing the rest of our group to take us the rest of the way there.

When we arrived, the first counselor in the Bishopric named Fr. Thomas along with the brother-in-law, who got there before we did, came to me demanding to know who was going to baptize Sr. Terrez along with what we were going to do to start. I was on the verge of bursting out due to my frustration, but I didn't and remained calm. I told Fr. Thomas that as a member of the bishopric, he is the one to preside and to lead out the baptismal service. As for the brother-in-law, I invited him to baptize Sr. Terrez, but he refused and said that I can do it because he wasn't prepared. Due to how I was feeling, I really didn't feel like doing the baptism. I asked him if he thought that I was prepared and he said yes because I'm a missionary and that I'm always prepared for these kind of things. So I simply asked Sr. Terrez herself who she wanted to baptize her. She ended up picking me to baptize her anyway and so I decided to get my act together, to remain calm and to just do it.

Once all that was taken care of, everything started going a lot more smoothly. It took a couple hours to get to this point, but the service went out as planned, Sr. Terrez was able to be baptized, and we were all able to leave the chapel in peace.

Though I felt awful due to the turmoil of frustration and pride boiling within me throughout the course of this event, I could still feel the Holy Spirit supporting me and trying to help me overcome the emotions that I was experiencing.   

 Though this mission may be easier in certain aspects and considered to be harder in others, the difficulties have been some of the hardest that I've had to overcome in my entire life. Though I can overcome everything I have to go through, this has been without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole life.

As for your questions, as for dental care, I'm not even sure if that exists around here. I do know of a dentist office not too far from here. That's where the missionaries go when they have any serious problems with their teeth. The facility is really small, but it's decent enough; however, I pray and hope that I never have to go there for any reason in particular.

And as far as hygiene is concerned, there are boutiques all over the place selling soaps, lotion (the people love it), shampoos, cosmetics, perfumes, cologne, and so forth. The people love and always strive to be clean, but they live in a very dirty place so it doesn't last long. The children, on the other hand, play in the dirt all day long and are therefore very dirty. They especially love to jump on me, hug me, and put their dirt-lathered hands on me whenever I wear my clean, white, hand-washed, button-up shirts, which would be every day. As inconvenient as that can be, I don't really mind because I love the kids that I teach, they're super fun to play with and my shirts end up getting dirty from the dust in the air in about two days anyway.

 Well, I am pleased to announce that relations between E. Joseph and I have improved much better than before and we've actually started to become really good friends. It's not that we weren't before, but we've started to become what I would consider to be true, genuine friends. I'm not sure what kind of change took place within him, but it seems like a mighty one has taken place within his heart because I've noticed that he's been making an actually noticeable effort to speak with me more and to treat me a lot better than he had before. A lot of prayers have been answered within these past couple weeks and I hope and pray that we'll continue to become even better friends.

 It's seems that the Lord not only has a work and a plan in store for those we teach but for us personally as well.

 Life has been improving immensely since relations have improved and I've become happier and more relaxed than I've been for quite some time. Nothing really seems to bother me anymore and I feel at ease and at peace.

 E. Joseph, E. Atherton and I have decided to eat together this upcoming transfer which will be great because I'll be able to eat much better than I have for the past month.

 Well, my family, I'm all out time. I love you all so much, you're in my prayers, thank you for keeping me in yours, and I hope that you have a most wonderful, upcoming week!! 

Sincerely,
Elder Gonzales

"Never, ever take movie theaters (or anything) for granted!"

Dear Family:

 

 Great news!!! I've not been transferred, but I received a new companion!!!!!

I've not made mention of what has been happening between my last companion and I in an attempt to focus on better things and to be more positive, but I'll just tell you now that despite all the baptismal success that we've had, he was the laziest and least diligent missionary with whom I've served thus far.
  I am, however, grateful that we were, at least able to get the vast majority of our work effectively and sufficiently done. I'm also thankful that, despite his laziness, he and I were able to effectively teach and work together and we were able to develop a great relationship with our investigators and recent converts; which, I suppose, is all that really matters in the long run.
  I have, though, learned many important lessons while working with him. Some of which consist of the following: never judge nor worry about what others are doing; just focus on what you're doing and make sure that you do what you know to be right; charity is imperative to a happy life and unconditional love is necessary to have in order to get along with others with different perspectives and so forth. At least good things have been the result of working with him in the end.

 Wow, all sorts of awesome things have been taking place over here as of late!!

 The Lord is filled with goodness and has been exceedingly generous to me in granting unto me a countless amount of tender mercies through out the entirety of my mission. Not only that, but He has kept His promise made to me through Bishop Roberts when he conferred upon me the Melchizedek Priesthood. I was promised that while on my mission that every worry that I would ever have would been taken care of by the Lord. It has been a very wondrous and reassuring blessing in which I've learned to believe with all my heart, for the Lord has made manifest this blessing more times that I could count.

 Well, so far my new companion is quite an interesting person. He is patient, adaptive, easy to get along with, very diligent, ridiculously motivated, appreciates hard work, has a desire to do all that is required of him, is excessively clean (far cleaner than any missionary I've ever meet), and respectful.

  It's nice having such a wonderful change -- a clean apartment along with a diligent companion. He's also very respectful and willing to do everything that's required of him. Oh, how I love answered prayers.

 The district that I am now in, consists of Elder Atherton from Utah and his companion Elder Joseph (my old companion) along with my new guy named Elder Ndibu from Congo, Ninchasa and then me. In any case, my guy and I have been doing what we need to be doing and it's been great. Although, it is somewhat difficult to catch up to the pace that I've been wanting to run at, after having been coasting by for so long. It has been a bit of a spiritual work out, but that's exactly what I've been praying and hoping for so it all works out for me.

 

 Prayers on my behalf to overcome the tiredness that I've experienced this past week would be much appreciated. I want to be able to get through this mission at full speed without being held back. If my tiredness increases within the upcoming months, I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with me so that my integrity and will power will be strong enough to overcome it. The things that motivate and push me to do my best to do what I need to do from day to day are my investigators and recent coverts. I couldn't help them if I wasn't willing to help myself by doing what I teach others to do in order to help them come unto Christ and be saved.

 

Productivity is back up to speed! I've been able to do companionship study and leave to the secateur on time every day and it's been absolutely fantastic!!

 

 In any case, all is going extremely well, investigators are progressing, recent converts are doing great and have been progressing more and better than ever and I am at last content and happy with all that I've been able to accomplish along with all that I'm able to now do.  

 

 Family, may I be so bold as to exhort you with every thing I got to never, ever take movie theaters for granted!!! Despite how expensive it can be, its completely worth it!
 There are no theaters, or cinemas as they are called in French over here; however, the majority of the people in this part of the city have TVs. The people here have movie nights from time to time where large groups of people gather together along side of the road and watch a movie set up either on a TV or a projector screen. The father of my recent convert Sr. Nicole installed a projector screen made from a large slab of white painted wood posted into the ground in the courtyard situated in front of their house and that of their neighbor's. There are long benches positioned before the screen made of cement, on which movie viewers sit.

 

 Actually, we should strive to never take anything for granted, for we have been given more than we can possibly imagine! Although, let this serve as a warning and an invitation to us all to be ready and willing to act by rendering service at every given moment and opportunity, by magnifying our callings to the best of our abilities, by wisely spending our time and consecrating as much of it as we can to the Lord, by setting time apart for the temple, family and friends, and by realizing that we will be held accountable for the works that we will have accomplished or failed to do so at the judgment bar of Christ. Let us all remember that "to whom much is given, much is required" (I forgot the citation).

 

 I've learned many things as a zone leader within the past four and a half months of my mission, especially within the past week.

  I'm distraught to report that during our last zone meeting, there were Elders who are new and old in the zone that literally challenged everything that my companion and I were teaching by asking us ridiculous questions and by trying to provoke us so that we would negatively react to what they were saying. Never in my entire life have I seen such derogatory behavior. I was surprising calm at first due to having dealt with these kind of situations all throughout my mission; however, to have that actually directed towards me by people who are supposed to support me and be on my side, try to tear me down and make me look bad in front of the entire zone astounded me. There are many cultural differences that have yet to be overcome, but there are some in particular that the Elders from the surrounding countries have difficulty to maintain, which are pride and envy for leadership power. I've come to learn that the only reason why I was treated in such a way is because of where I'm from, because of who I am, and because I was chosen to be in this position and they were not. My companion has had much experience with these kinds of situations, seeing that he was, at one point of time, on their side of the spectrum; he was, therefore, able to quite cleverly handle the situation, which was quite impressive. My companion, to whom I will be forever grateful for this, supported me and confounded their words so that I could keep directing the meeting and do what was required of me. On top of that, and to my surprise, there were several sister African missionaries who stood up for me and told them to stop what they were doing and to listen to what I had to say so that they could learn what they needed to know in order to accomplish what our leaders have asked of us. They also told them that as missionaries, they should be supporting and sustaining their leaders rather than try to bring them down. As sucky as of an experience as the last zone meeting was, I learned many what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's during a zone meeting and that experience had shown me how great it's going to be to have a wife who will be courageous to stand up beside me in order to sustain me. The amount of support that I had withdrawn from them was astoundingly amazing.

 

 I thank you all so much for you prayers and for everything else that you do for me. Oh, speaking of which, I just received the package that you sent to me for Christmas! Thank you so much for that! I really appreciated the letters that you had written to me! They're the best part of the package! They were very encouraging and filled me with joy, faith, hope, and love. That being said, I'll be keeping them forever!

 Well, my family, duty calls! You're in my prayers and I love you all so much!!! Until next week, God bless you and I hope you all have a most wonderful week and that everything works out for your favor.     

Love, your brother and son,

Elder Gonzales    

"There you have it, yet another week in a Bénin, Cotonou Mission".

Dear Family:

 

 Though this week may not have been as productive as normal, it was, all the same, quite fruitful in the end.
 On Tuesday, my comp. and I held our first English Course and we had quite the turn out. It was a lot of fun, a lot of people showed up and everyone actively participated. A few of the people there already new the majority of everything that we taught and so it was sort of a review for them.

  On Wednesday, I went on a split with Elder Whitt's companion E. Ranaivorisoa in their secateur at Baguida. The majority of the day consisted of doing a whole lot of OVB throughout proselyting hours, and then holding an English Course where we would teach the one person who showed up and doing a baptismal interview for a girl named Sr. Sesilia (who was baptized last Saturday) before leaving back to my apartment.
  On Thursday, my comp. and I had a Bible bash with a coiffeur (hair cutter) during the morning, which lasted for a little over an hour. He argued on a lot of points concerning the Restoration of the Gospel. We tried in every way we could to help him understand that the Gospel, the authority of the Priesthood along with the same organization or church that had been established by Jesus Christ himself and has existed in every dispensation, but the Spirit wasn't present and the man too arrogant to accept anything that we taught him, even though we confounded him more times than my guy and I could count using his own words along with the scriptures. He argued that we no longer have need of prophets, apostles or the same organization that had been established by Jesus Christ himself and said that he will never been convinced that a Restoration has taken place unless he reads is directly from the Bible (which testifies of the Great Apostasy along with the Restoration on several accounts). At times, it astounds me at how blinded some can be to the truth that has been plainly written and placed beneath their eyes; however, so arrogant and prideful is the heart of men that there are some that don't want to accept this message even when it makes -- at least to me -- perfect sense. So shall they remain until their hearts are softened and are then pierced into by the witness of the Holy Spirit that these things are true! The only thing that we can do in these kind of circumstances is to just let these differences go and to serve, to not judge, to help and to become friends with these kinds of people. Teaching with a humble heart and atmosphere is absolutely essential for spiritual progression along with spiritually edifying experiences; without the Spirit, we're merely shouting words back and forth against figurative, mental brick walls like water balloons.
  Anyway, for the remainder of the evening, my companion fell sick and started having the runs and so we stayed in the apartment until it was time for us to go to the church to teach a scripture study class. We only had two participants at this class, which included Fr. Honoré, a ward missionary who works with us from time to time, along with Sr. Clarisse, a member in our ward who has gone on mini missions with Sister missionaries in our zone and will be leaving in a couple weeks to do her own full-time mission in the Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan Mission. What we did was actually really cool, in that we taught them how to effectively teach the first point of the Restoration, The True Nature of God, by using many scriptures to answer specific questions that have been posed to us found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. This point focuses in on the Divinity, or the belief that God, the Eternal Father, his son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, are three distinct individuals who are united in purpose and in doctrine.
  On Friday, we had quite a busy day. First thing in the morning, my guy and I did weekly planning and were shortly thereafter picked up by our taxi man Fr. Richard to go back to Baguida because I forgot to sign the baptismal form of E. Whitt's baptismal candidate before I left. Later in the afternoon, I went on a split with E. Mayamba in order to go to Akodesewa to do another baptismal interview for a baptismal candidate of E. Hammons and E. Florion while E. Joseph stayed with E. Miyasaki in Bè-Kpota so E. Miyasaki could do an interview for three of our candidates, which included Sr. Shérifa, Sr. Akuto, and Fr. Dieudonné. I finished with my interview in time to be dropped back off at Bè-Kpota from Akodesewa before our candidates' interviews had been completed. Shortly after I arrived, I learned that not only was everyone good to go, but the sisters were older than they had originally told us from the beginning. Sr Shérifa, who I thought was either eighteen or nineteen, is actually twenty-one whereas her sister, who I believed to be fourteen, is actually eighteen. The people here have a weird tendency to give us either false names (usually done by men) or ages (mostly done by women). I believe they're taught to do this when they're young just as to how we teach our children to not talk to strangers.
 In any case, Sr. Shérifa, Sr. Akuto, as well as Fr. Dieudonné whom I've taught ever since I first arrived in Be-Kpota along with all of the other previously mentioned investigators where baptized Saturday afternoon and then confirmed as members the following day at their respective church buildings during Sacrament Meeting.
  Our three investigators are super fantastic and we've become great friends with them ever since we began teaching them. It was difficult teaching them at first because they had a hard time understanding and keeping commitments by not reading scriptures nor coming to church. It also took a long time before we were able to get through all the lessons, but as we patiently went along they progressively began to better understand and keep commitments by reading the BofM and coming to church. Though it took a while, they now understand the doctrine really well and were able to become converted based on what they've learned along with the witness that they've received from the Spirit that our message along with the church are true.
  On Sunday, after the confirmation of our investigators and the Sacrament Meeting, we went to our investigator class where I would translate for our new Nigerian investigator Bro. Alex who has now come to church for the second time since we've recently began teaching him. At the third hour, I taught Fr. Alex while E. Joseph taught another one of our investigators named Fr. Anoumou. Fr. Alex and I had an interesting discussion and he asked me so many questions that I ended up teaching him about the Great Apostasy, The Restoration, the story of Joseph Smith, along with the Book of Mormon all in accordance to what he asked me to find out.
  As for the remainder of the afternoon, we went back to the apartment where we would rest and then prepare ourselves to go to Sr. Clarisse's house to spend time with her and her family and then eat a ton of pat with great tasting sauce. Afterwards, we went to see an investigator named Sr. Zeynab, an English-speaking girl born in Niger, to wish her a happy birthday before we went back to the apartment. As we were getting ready to leave, she gave us a small pizza along with a cork-bottled container filled with non-alcoholic, red cyder juice. I felt bad taking this because I had nothing to offer as a gift, but she insisted and so we took them without refusal. We ate the pizza, which tasted like overheated quesadillas, and drank the drink, which was actually really tasty, once we got back to the apartment.
  Well, my family, there you have it, yet another week in a Bénin, Cotonou Mission in Bè-Kpota, Lomé, Togo.  

 Thank you so much for the thorough and very encouraging email that you sent me. It was really great to be able to read this and it really made me feel a lot better about myself for the efforts that I'm trying to make to be more diligent and obedient when it seems like no one else in the zone seems to care anymore. Transfers are coming up next week and its always during this time that most of the Elders seem to have difficulty wanting to work and do as much as they're capable of doing. Prayers on behalf of the missionaries in the zone would be genuinely appreciated because no matter what I do to be a good example and to encourage others to do what they should be doing doesn't seem to make a difference. This work is a sacred calling that deserves not only the best of us, but to also be taken seriously and be magnified; although, it would be nice if others felt the way I do.

 Well, I'm super glad that all is going well on your side of the world and I pray that all may continue to do so. You're all so wonderful and I love you all so much. I would encourage you to make to best usage of your time as possible by consistently serving others, by searching to make a positive difference in your own lives and in those around you, by spending wholesome, quality, fun and spiritual time with friends and family, and by choosing to make each day a gift to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 I love you, God bless, and may you have a wonderful, upcoming week, and may all work out in your favor so long as it is aligned with the Lord's.

Happy 20th Birthday Elder Gonzales!

Dear family:

 I come bearing tidings of great joy -- quite delightful news about a certain event that has recently taken place that will have forever changed the quality of my mission from, not only memorable, but also to photographical. Family, at long long last, the package has arrived!!!!

 I don't think I've ever been more content to receive a gift (save for the Atonement, my family, temples, the Priesthood, the Gospel, and so forth) throughout the entirety of my almost two-decade life than that which I had received in a cardboard box that will enable me to visually journalize my mission life!!  

 The new camera came in last Tuesday at the conclusion of our Zone meeting and had been delivered to me by the Assistants. The camera is without blemish and was thankfully not tampered with and it has been absolutely fantastic!! No longer do I have to wish I had a camera when a memorable moment arrives!! That, believe it or not, has been a wonderful relief. I've been taking pictures of and with investigators, ward members with whom I interact the most, along with my recent converts. I took the pictures of the certain locations and areas concerning the secateurs and the apartment for which you had asked as well.

 Well, as far as investigators are concerned, we've been having less of them coming to church now 'a days... because they're all getting baptized!!! We have, however, started searching more frequently for more investigators to work with so that we could help others also get through the gate and enter into the way towards the temple. We've been having success in finding more investigators thanks to recent converts along with the members. My companion and I will also be starting an English course (starting tomorrow afternoon) along with a Scripture Study Class (on Thursday) so as to find more investigators to teach. There are, unfortunately, quite a few investigators of whom we've had to let go and stop teaching because they wouldn't keep true to their word, wouldn't progress and wouldn't keep commitments. It's not easy, particularly when we develop good friendships with these people, but we have been counseled by our leaders to have the courage and the love to let them go so that they can see what they've been missing and then have more time to be prepared by the Holy Spirit. We've also been asked to make better usage of our time by looking for and teaching those who will more readily and willingly accept and act according to our message.

 If there's a lesson to be learned from all this, it's that the progression of this work is directly affected by the ward members with whom the missionaries collaborate and work. Members and the diligent efforts that they make to help us have such an essential role to play in work! In fact, I know that if the ward that I'm currently working in wasn't as great as it is, I'm thoroughly convinced that we would not have had nearly as much success as we've currently been having with our investigators and recent converts. The ward and it's members are not perfect by any means, there are many inactive and active but not diligent members, not everyone knows what he or she is doing, and there's a lot of work that needs to be done due to the adolescence of the church in Togo, but despite all this, here is what makes the difference: the members are trying to enforce themselves to magnify their callings and by helping the missionaries as they accept, invite, encourage, and bring in everyone as their own. This is not just a ward being established but a family and a kingdom being built upon the principals of charity, love and an astounding amount of faith. I love this place and I love this people, for behind all the rough edges lies a pearl of an example as to how one should live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Sr. Shérifa, Sr. Akuto, and Fr. Dieudonné were unable to be baptized last Saturday because they went on a trip with their father to their village; however, our prayers have been answered in that their father has allowed them to be baptized!!! Our friends might be going to their village again this Saturday, but if they don't then they'll hopefully be baptized if all goes according to plan. If not, then the following Saturday is when their baptismal service shall be held. If our plans don't hold, better later than never; although, I much prefer sooner if possible and so prayers with that in mind on their regard would be great (if it is, of course, in favor to the will of the Lord)!!

 Well, my family, thank you all so very much for the wonderful (Twentieth) Birthday and New Year wishes!!! It would be great to be able to celebrate with you during these two particular days, but I suppose I could say that I'm celebrating them in a far better way than I ever possibly could because this time around, these will be days that are not surrounded around myself but are rather concentrated on serving and helping others around me. There aren't really any other nor better ways to celebrate such days than to serve the Lord and give back what I can to the One who gave me all that I have.

 Thank you all so much for all that you do for me! Thank you for the love, support, encouragement and packages that you've sent to me! You're all super great and I'm proud of and happy for each and every one of you. I hope that you have a marvelous week and that all goes according to your favor so long as it is aligned with the Lord's, which, undoubtedly and increasingly is! Take great care of yourselves in every way, enjoy the fruits of the New Year, and do your best to always become a little better with every invaluable passing day! I love you all so much and may God bless you all!!!

Sincerely,

Elder Gonzales

Joyeux Noel!!!

 

Salut ma famille:

 

 The internet connection has been functioning so badly that it has taken me two hours in order to send one message so far.

 Check it out! Four of our investigators have been baptized!!! FIST PUMP!!!

We have Sr. Nicole and Sr. Prisca, who have been making phenomenal progress in diligently keeping commitments by coming to church every Sunday, by reading scriptures and brochures, and by praying to find out the truth for themselves by the power of the Holy Ghost. Also two brothers named Fr. Koffi and Fr. Yao who have become great friends and have been just as diligent, despite their difficulty to fluently speak French.

 

 This morning, as I was writing in my journal, accounting for everything that took place last week, I took note that this week had been the most productive week, as far as working with members goes, that I've had since I've been working with Elder Joseph and probably throughout the entirety of the mission as well. I had then realized that while I was with Elder Tapusoa, we were only able to teach exactly eighteen investigators in the presence of a member during each of the two six-week long transfers in which we had worked together. That adds up to a grand total of thirty-six member lessons at the end of approximately almost three months. Last week, E. Joseph and I taught seventeen people in the presence of a member. What does this mean? In the amount of time it took for E. Tapusoa and I to teach eighteen individuals in the presence of a member (six weeks to be precise), E. Joseph and I were able to accomplish just as much in a single week. 

 Well, if I was still in Kégué, this would have been very discouraging news; however, I'm not and my new secteur rocks!!!!!

 As you could imagine, we've been very busy as of late to the point that we've been kept on the tips of our toes making plans, going appointment from appointment, coordinating with members to work with and receive more contacts from, and helping our progressing investigators prepare for baptism while finding more people to teach all at the same time.

 At least, I've lost weight due to all the extensive walking that we do every day, and thanks to the weather change, the heat has died down and so it hasn't been as excruciatingly hot as it had been before.

 

 Interesting fact: The season in which we are in occurs every year when the sands from the Sahara Desert are carried from there by wind over the entire country. Unfortunately, the season doesn't last for too long, but it would be considered as the equivalent of our winter season, save for the snow. There's so much dust and sand circulating in the sky that some days it looks like a giant cloud of reddish-brown fog is floating in the air. It actually made breathing a bit of a challenge and it had caused a lot of people to catch colds; fortunately, I was not a victim. Thankfully, the sand has gone down, but the fresh air and coolness are still lingering which is great. 

 

 Well, family, everything is going great over here, I'm in great health, and I've been able to overcome a lot of trials that I've been having from time to time due to a variety of stressors. Despite all the difficulties, which have lessened immensely, I've been filled and blessed with an extremely abundant amount joy and happiness because of this great and marvelous work and I'm thoroughly enjoying and loving every bit and moment that I have to teach and to serve the people of my mission.

 I appreciate all that you do for me and I sincerely thank you for the prayers that you've made on my behalf. Thank you all so very much for the love, the unceasing support, the encouragement, the compliments, the words of counsel and wisdom, and for everything else that you do for me. Take care of yourselves in the best way that you can in every aspect of your lives. Be safe and may our Father in Heaven guide and protect you as you exercise your faith in Him, make right choices and follow the promptings of His Holy Spirit.

Here's some exciting news! One investigator named Fr. Honoré, whom I had been teaching ever since I had arrived in Bè-Kpota, finally got baptized last Saturday! After his baptism, he stood up and bore what I thought to be one of the most simple, yet most touching testimonies I've ever had the opportunity to hear. Spiritual experiences aren't exactly in an abundance in this mission and seldom happen if ever, but the testimony that he bore struck my heart with the Spirit.

 Check it out!! Do you remember Sr. Patience, of whom I would write when I was working at Adidogomé with E. Jeneseri? She was finally baptized not too long ago!! :D I spoke with the missionaries currently working in my old secateur and they informed me of the good news. Apparently, she was the one who came to the missionaries telling them that she's a grown woman who can make her own decisions. So, they went over what we had taught her and she was shortly thereafter baptized. The whole reason as to why she hadn't been baptized when E. Jeneseri and I were there was because her mother, with whom Sr. Patience was living, had refused that she be baptized. Her mother threatened that if Sr. Patience were to be baptized, she would disown her and kick her out of the house. Well, hopefully none of these things transpire; however, I'm just glad that Sr. Patience finally took the brave and right decision.

 

 As for my Nigerian family, everything is going super well for them and they've been progressing very well according to the missionaries who are working in their ward. Bro. Frank and his son Daniel recently received the Aaronic Priesthood and Bro. Frank is preparing himself to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood soon as well. 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
 I sincerely hope that you were able to have an amazing Christmas day and that everything else in life has been going very well for you. I pray that this wonderful holiday season may bring to you and your families a great abundance of happiness and joy no matter what situation in which you may be.

 I know that as we do the very best that we can to unreservedly spread the holiday cheer, as we stretch out our hands to those with feeble knees, as we strive to work a little harder to become a little better, and as we remember and remind others about the true reason as to why we celebrate this holiday in the first place, we will all be greatly blessed according to our own specific needs and we may be the means by which the Lord extends his merciful hands to provide for the things of which others have need.
 

 I bear my solemn witness that Jesus is the Christ.  I know that the Savior Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets have testified of his coming since the beginning, had in all reality been born in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. I know that a little over thirty years after His birth, he would begin His ministry; during which, he would accomplish a great and marvelous work by healing the sick and afflicted, by preaching the Gospel to all who would listen, by setting the greatest example to all by his sinless and completely obedient life, by establishing His church among His people, and by accomplishing His ultimately universal, perfect and eternal atoning sacrifice.

 I know that at the end of his earthly journey, He suffered, bleed, died, and was resurrected for us so that, through Him, each and every one of us could overcome the effects of sin, from which we could then receive redemption and remission. I know that on top of being able to be freed from sin and, for which, receive forgiveness and mercy, everyone will be resurrected to be brought before the judgment bar of the Lord where we will be judged according to our works that will have performed throughout the duration of our mortal existence on this earth. However, before this great and dreadful day comes and thanks to His Everlasting Atonement, everyone, including those who've passed away into the Spirit World, will be given the opportunity to be forgiven of his or her transgressions and thereafter inherit eternal life in the kingdom of the Father on the condition that we keep His commandments, live in accordance to the principles and ordinances of His Gospel, and endure to the end.

 I know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lives and that now, as always, during this Christmas time is the perfect time to especially remember Him along with His birth, life, ministry, and atoning sacrifice. I know that as we strive with all our heart, might, mind and strength to make Him the very center of our day to day lives that our Father in Heaven will open the windows of heaven and pour upon us an ever abounding amount blessings.

 

 Well family, it was a wonderful pleasure to be able to Skype with you! I'm super glad to have been able to interact with you once again and it was really great to see that you're all healthy and to hear that everything is going well for you. As for my side of the world, I wouldn't worry too much about me if I were you, even if I made it sound as if this mission experience seemed crazier (which it actually is) than it actually is. The Lord knows exactly what I'm capable of and he wouldn't put me through a situation without providing me a way through which I could overcome it. Despite all the physical, mental, and emotional challenges I have to go through, the Lord is watching over me, the Spirit of the Lord is with me, and I've so far been able to overcome every trial that I've had to go through in proportion to how much I've placed my confidence and trust in Him. On top of all this, my new found desire to serve and to help others obtain exaltation has blotted out every hardship that has come my way. Everything that has taken place since I've been on the mission, every trying, sad, happy, and spiritual experience has only been for my own good, spiritual growth, and learning. Every moment is a gift and I strive and do my best to never take anything for granted. 

I love you all so much. It was wonderful being able to see you again, and I hope you have an amazing week along with a... Happy New Year!!! 

 

 

 

P.S. Here's a photo of the all missionaries of the Benin, Cotonou mission in Togo with Elder Vinson of the Quorum of the Seventy and his wife. Elder Vinson and his wife came to visit us a couple weeks ago to see how everything has been going in the mission and to help us improve ourselves by giving us many inspirational insights, talks, words of wisdom and counsel. I had the opportunity to go to a leadership meeting with Elder Vinson, our Mission President, along with their wives. During his meeting, my companion and I along with the assistants and other zone leaders, established what we could do as individual zones as to how we can do to better ourselves by becoming more diligent, obedient, and effective. 

Well, everyone, thank you so much for the love, support, prayers, emails and so forth. I hope that all is well on your side of the world wherever that may be and that life has been going well for you all. I love you all and may you have a wonderful week!
Avec amour,
Elder Gonzales

Fr. Eloge

Hello everyone!!! Wherever you are in the beautiful world I sincerely hope that all is going well for you and that life has been wonderful despite the challenges and difficulties that we all have to overcome.

Here's a photo taken of me, our friend shortly before he was baptized, and my new companion named Elder Joseph from Layton, Utah. 

At the start of our new companionship, Elder Joseph and I were able to help out a friend that I've been teaching ever since I first arrived in Bè-Kpota named Fr. Éloge be baptized the 14 Nov. 2015. This guy is a stud and I'm really proud of him for the progress that he made in the short time we've been teaching him. He's still got a ways to go, but we'll do all that we can to help him prepare himself to go to the temple one day. Prayers for this one will be most appreciated!

 

 

Well, I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. 

 I'm pleased to announce that I had a fantastic last-Thanksgiving-on-the-mission holiday/dinner as well! :D Believe it or not, but for our dinner, we had mini steaks, rice, devilled eggs, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie and chocolate cake, chips and guacamole, along with a variety of drinks consisting of sodas and cider. I guess one could say that after having lived here for over a year, I've finally learned how to eat (or rather, found the locations of the stores containing said foods). 

 

 The mission has been going incredibly well these past few weeks and the work has been moving forward faster than I've ever seen before. My companion and I have been teaching investigators with members almost every day (props to the ward and it's members). We receive an almost uncontactable amount of contacts from the ward. We've been having an average of ten or more investigators come to church every Sunday, some of which started coming for the first time since I've been here while others were brought by members and then would later become new investigators. Nearly all of these investigators have baptismal dates fixed, two of which named Fr. Honoré whom I've been teaching since I arrived along with and Sr. Nicole, a ten year-old girl whom Elder Joseph and I started teaching and has kept commitments and come to church ever since we started, are going to be baptized this Saturday. We pray and hope that everything will go according to plan.

 As for other exciting news, our mission received a visit from Elder Visent of the Seventy (the Elder with an Australian accent who gave the opening prayer at the start of the last general conference), with whom I was able to speak during a leadership training meeting, which was really awesome and quite inspirational. And then there's today, which would make the thirteenth month mark of the mission along with twenty-five days away from Skyping back home!

 Well, I pray that all goes well for you during the following week. May you perform well in everything that you do and in every pursuit and ambition that you strive and work to accomplish. May you be physically and spiritually safe and out of any kind of harms way. I pray that Heavenly Father blesses you with everything of which you stand in need. I sincerely miss you, I look forward to seeing you again soon, I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week to come!!

Sincerely,

Elder Gonzales

"We're not expected to be perfect, but we are required to do all that we can."

Salut ma famille!!

 Well, my last companion, Elder Adjei, was taken by the assistants to go to Benin where he will have his final interview with Pres. Morin and then take his flight home to Ghana. I had a great time working with him, he was a great companion, we had a lot of fun and got a lot of work done, and he had shown me an excellent example as to how I should end my mission once I get there.

 

 My new companion came in on Wednesday, this has been one of the best weeks I've had since I've been in Bè-Kpota, one of our investigators named Fr. Eloge was baptized last Saturday. Elder Miyasaki and I have been eating very well since we've been living together, although, we ought to make a better budget. We've been doing our shopping in American-equivalent stores. My new companion is from Layton, Utah, his name is Elder Joseph, he is African-American, and he came into the mission with Elder Whitt. My new guy is really cool, we get along very well and we've been working great together so far. 

 Well, everything has seemed to be turning out for the better this past week. I've been making a lot of great friendships with ward members and investigators and I've been able to develop more Christ-like attributes that I've been striving really hard to acquire. 

 So, last Sunday, I finally had the opportunity to watch the morning and evening sessions of conference at church with the ward. I had a difficult time understanding what was being said because the speakers in the room weren't functioning very well. There was, however, one lesson in particular that I retained from what had been said by of the new Apostles. I forgot which one said this, but one of the Apostles said something that stuck out to me, that is, the fact that we need the constant, daily companionship of the Holy Ghost. We have been promised that if we heed and listen to the words of the prophets and continue living according to the principles and ordinances of the Gospel we will have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I know that we can be worthy to have His constant companionship as we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ along with His promises and His Atonement, as we apply the Atonement in our lives through sincere and daily repentance, as we live in accordance with the baptismal covenants that we've made and as we endure faithfully until the end by praying and reading scriptures personally and as a family, by going to church to renew our baptismal covenants, and by performing righteous works, rendering service, and keeping the commandments to the very best of our abilities. We're not expected to be perfect, but we are required to do all that we can (Moroni 10:32-33). I know that as we do so, the grace and mercy that come from the Atonement of Christ are sufficient to change our lives for the better, to enable us receive the forgiveness of our sins, to help us overcome our trials and our weakness, to enable us to improve ourselves and to eventually obtain perfection that will inevitably come to all those who willingly accept and do all that which had been previously said.

 There's a fantastic book that I've been reading called Believing Christ that I highly suggest that you read because it completely changed my perspective in many different aspects of my life that has helped me better understand the scriptures along with the Atonement and learn how to apply it in my life. I highly encourage you to read the book because is has also helped me learn about what is expected of me in order to receive perfection and it has given me hope in that I no longer worry about whether or not I'll receive Celestial Glory because I know that that it is completely and 100% obtainable thanks to the Atonement of Christ.

 I know this Church is true, I know that the fullness of the Gospel along with the authority of the Priesthood have been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. Thanks to the Restoration, we have a sure knowledge of the true nature of God. He is our Father. We are His children. He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; however, He is different in that He is a perfect, glorified and resurrected being. I know that He knows exactly who we are and I know that He loves us with all His heart. Because He loves us, He sent His son Jesus Christ to the earth to suffer the price of our sins by performing the Atonement, by being lifted up upon the Cross, and then being resurrected so as to give all of His children the possibility to return to live in the presence once again. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and contains the fullness of the Gospel. I know that as we diligently study this book and put into practice that which is there written, we can know exactly everything that we need to do in order to obtain eternal life and that we may know for a surety that Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet.

 

 I'm afraid I'm out of time, but I'd just like to let you all know that I love you so much and that I hope you had a wonderful week! Take great care of yourselves and of each other, continue doing great things, and I'll talk to you next week!

Love, your brother and son,
Elder Gonzales