Eric's email of April 21st, 2011

Well, there's no connection right now, so we decided to type up our email and hopefully later today we’ll be able to send it.

                Yesterday, no wait, Tuesday we went au champ.  We went to help an investigator that we found about a transfer ago.  Actually, she found us.  We were walking to see Soeur Nina at Messassi, and this lady called us over and told us she had a bunch of problems.  She talks a lot.  Her name is Soeur Marie, and her sister Marie-Sylvie is progressing very well.  Marie-Sylvie has been to church 3 times and participated a lot in the Relief Society activity a couple weeks ago.  Soeur Marie has been to church just once.  But she told us she needed un coup de main at her champ, so we went.  And her champ is in a weird spot.  She must have picked it because its close, but it is on a steep hill.  I’ll send pictures of it sometime.  So we went and got there around 7 AM and it was really foggy, and around 8:30 is started pouring rain.  But I prefer the fog and rain rather than heat.  But we worked for about 4 hours, Elder Garner broke 2 hoes, and I only got 1 blister.

Here is the farm.  Once again, it is fuzzy,

but you get the idea.

                Last Saturday we also went au village again to see brother Etienne at Nkol-Ondom.  The elders quorum scheduled an activity chez Etienne that basically was a family home evening.  I think the main purpose was to help Etienne’s wife feel welcomed and try to get her in the church.  Etienne is an awesome member, Sunday School President, but his wife doesn't have really interest in the church yet.  But it was nice to go with some of the members, including Maman Natalie, Souer Mireille, Soeur Therese (the new Relief Society President) and a few other people.

                The new transfer starts tomorrow, and we got the news last weekend, and guess what!  I’m staying!  Guess what else!  So is Elder Tingey!  So we are going to do 4 transfers together.  24 weeks together.  And I will do transfer number 7 in this sector.  36 weeks in this sector.  So I’ve been here since the middle of August ’10 and will be here at least until the beginning of June ’11.  That is basically the whole school year.  But, both the missionaries in Bastos 2, Elder Buck and Elder Garner got transferred, and no one is coming to replace them.  So we decided that Elder Tingey and I would keep just a few of our quarters in Basots 1, and take over Bastos 2.  So its kind of like a transfer, but not really.  Just adding another branch to the progressing investigators we already have.  So we’ll be busy!  Bettter overscheduled than not have enough to do.

I think this shows the Elders in the apartment.

Notice the wall of shoes.

                Oh, duh.  We also had a baptism on Saturday.  In total there were 19 people baptized, so I think that's the biggest one I have been apart of.  Soeur Venessa, who is the niece of Frere Ndzana got baptized.

 Soeur Vanessa and Frere Ndzana

   And Soeur Christine got baptized with just one of her sons, Frere Sebastien.  Her older son, Frere Ignace, was too sick and didn't come.  But then apparently Soeur Christine got sick and couldn't come to church Sunday to get confirmed.  The baptismal font got filled up the day before, and it was pretty cold by the time we did the baptisms, so that might unfortunately be what got her sick again.  And this weekend we are watching general conference, so she will have to get confirmed the next Sunday.  So, prayers for her will help.

Eric holding Aloha (a boy from the orphanage), Sebastien, 

Christine holding Marin, Elder Tingey 

                I also went to another new quarter, the one after Messassi.  Its called Olembe.  Its nice and calm like Messassi, even a little bit more.  There is one more quarter after Olembe, I forgot its name, but after that quarter you are officially outside of Yaounde boundaries.  But, the people we see out in Messassi and Olembe come to church nearly every week, and there are a couple members that live at Obala, which is very much outside of Yaounde, but the pay 500 francs each way each Sunday to come to church.  Ca m’encourage.

                Well, I’m trying to think if there is anything notable...  As usual, the Book of Mormon is awesome.  Today I just read 3 Nephi 11, and I’m really excited to read these following chapters because this time around I'm understanding a lot better than ever, and so I bet I'll learn some pretty cool stuff.

                Well, I heard that the internet is back, so I’m gonna give this a try.

Je vous aime,

-          Elder Eric Palmer

    

      (We pulled the lawnmower out this week.  Are you excited to come home and mow the lawn again?)  Actually yes I will be excited to mow the lawn and do yard work and such.  This morning we actually did a power clean of our apartment, and it made me want to do something like clean the garage Saturday morning and listen to Car Talk.

      Anyways, Christine has 3 sons: Ignace (12), Sebastien, (9), Martin (3 months-ish)
   
(     Our ward is participating in a service project on the James River at the end of April and we get to wear the yellow t-shirts.  Do you have a yellow t-shirt?)  For the yellow shirts the Church sends, I've never got those, but they did get them in Pointe-Noire for their service project right after I left, so Elder Tingey has one.  We were supposed to do one here, but it was postponed a few times then just canceled.  Somebody never signed something in order for us to get permission to give the free service.  I don't get what goes on sometimes.

(     Did you get the package yet?  I want to know if the Reeses made it or if they are melted.)  And I fully expect to get the package on Monday, because a missionary will come up here on the bus from Douala due to transfers.  So next week I'll tell you about the Reeses.

     Je  t'aime,
-    Elder Eric Palmer

Eric's email of February 3rd, 2011

Well, we just got back from Mount Fébé.  We went up there before Elder Hancock and Elder Kapelé left, and tomorrow Elder Lamb and Elder Hansen will leave Yaoundé too.  Replacing them respectively will be Elder Garner, Elder Kabwika, Elder Prince (brand new !) and Elder Larsen.

The Bastos District before the last transfer

Also, Elder Tingey and I are the only companionship staying together on our side of the mission, out of 13 companionships.

This past week we spent a lot of time with Marina, the 10 year old who will be baptized this weekend.  I like teaching kids, because the lessons are super simple, and they usually understand pretty easily.  Or at least that's what they say to us.

Saturday we played soccer again, and we went with Blaise.  I got put in goal, and I stink at goalie.  One person knocked it over my head from half field because I came out a little bit.  But at least since I am so horrible in goal, they don't put me in anymore.

Speaking of Blaise, he also gave us a coordonnée of one of his friends who lives in Madrid, Spain.  So if Elder Pericle (a member from our ward serving in Madrid, Spain) gets a Cameroonian coordonnée, that's probably him !

And sorry, I forgot my camera, so I won't be able to send photos, but next week I will have a lot to send.

Elder Tingey and I have also continued with Blaise’s family, and on Monday we set a baptismal date for 3 of his younger siblings.  His parents and one other sister are going to take a bit more time, but are getting ready probably for sometime in March.  So the good thing is that the whole family is committed to being baptized, which will give them the greatest chance to progress towards the temple and all the blessings of the Restored Gospel together.

I also got out of translating in Sacrament meeting, and the other missionaries split it between themselves, and I just played the piano.  But I did end up translating for Sunday School.  It was the 5th Sunday, so the branch presidency taught everyone, anglophones and francophones.  So I was translating from French to English, and vice versa.  It kind of messed with my head.

We also helped the Thompsons’ (senior couple) move into their new apartement.  I didn't even know they were moving until they said they wanted our help last weekend.  So now, since I’ve been in Cameroon, all the missionary apartements, including the senior couples’, have changed except for the missionary apartement on the other side of Yaoundé and the couple apartement in Douala.  I don't like to move a lot.

Elder Tingey and I also had a nice surprise on Tuesday.  We went back to see a lady we contacted about a month ago named Soeur Catherine.  We hadn't been able to see her regularly because she was out of town and was also sick.  But Tuesday was the first time we saw her for probably more than 2 weeks, and we asked her how her Book of Mormon reading was coming, and she said she loved it !  She talked about Nephi and Mosiah and Moroni, and pretty much read the whole thing!  She says she studies it with her Bible and everything.

I’ve also learned that I say one phrase in french a lot : « c’est bien ».  Its just like saying « alright » or « okay », I don't really know how to explain it, but I just say it without thinking.  But I noticed this, because Soeur Melanie pointed it out.  She said to me, « tout est bien chez toi ».  Even when she told me how she still isn't really interested in the Book of Mormon, I said « c’est bien » just as a reaction or whatever.  Its not bien that she isn't interested in the Book of Mormon, but I just said it.  That was the first time she pointed it out.  I’ve realized its hard for me not to say it.

Elder Tingey also played 15 holes of golf today with Elder Hancock, and Tim from the American embassy, this morning.  I was too lazy/tired, and I’m not good anyways at golf.  I can do that at home, so I'd rather rest on p-day.

Also, for the je-ne-sais-combien-th time, (I don't know how many-th time) the Book of Mormon is the best.  I’m at the beginning of Alma now, and I’m finding stuff that I never knew existed in it.  And I also just finished the Part A of « Devoirs et Bénédictions de la Pretrise », (Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood) learned a lot there too.

Je vous aime tous,

-          Elder Eric Palmer

To Mom:

(Do your ankles still crack when you walk?)

My ankles don't crack when I walk anymore, I think, but I can still crack them at will.
(Have you heard about the protests in Tunisia and Egypt?)
I heard about something crazy going on in Egypt, but didn't know anything about it.
(Did you get the package yet?)
Haven't got the package yet.  I assume you sent it to Douala, so I'll either get it this weekend when the missionaries and the Headlees come up, or will have to wait a bit.

Je t'aime,
- Elder Eric Palmer

Hey Dad,

Was their lots of participation or precipitation in that storm?
(Mark was on a late flight home from Houston, dodging the big storm and typed " I was watching New Orleans weather because a big storm was headed their way but temperatures were supposed to be in the mid-sixties to seventy but with lots of participation.")
Send me a picture of Andrea in that hat.  Where did she get it?

(Andrea in her "raccoon" hat-she wears it everywhere!)

Well I don't know why you thought I was getting transferred.  Still in the Bastos 1 branch in Yaoundé with Elder Tingey, starting transfer #5 here.  Sorry for no exciting news there.
(How does the church's welfare program work in Cameroon?  (Can you tell Mark was the bishop?))
I don't really have any idea how it works here for the welfare program.  I assume it has something to do with paying tithing.

Je t'aime,
- Elder Eric Palmer

Eric's email of October 14th, 2010

Alright, I gots lots of questions to answer, I can see.

(How is your ami Adam?  Would you like a Book of Mormon in Arabic for him?)  So first, Adam is doing better I think, because we haven't seen him since Sunday.  We were supposed to see him again on Monday, but he wasn't there and he doesn't have a phone anymore.  Also stopped by on Tuesday and Wednesday, but no luck.  So, I guess that means hopefully that he is somewhere doing something.  But, I just discussed with Elder Acorda, and if you could send an Arabic Book of Mormon, that would be nice.  And pretty cool just to see, at least.  That language is ridiculous looking.

(Are there a lot of satellite dishes in Yaounde?) As for the satellite dishes, it seems like the houses that are nice enough, that have a gate around and such, usually have a satellite.  And a lot of the houses with gates also have a guardien that is almost always there.  I don't know how often they get stolen, or what someone would do with a stolen antennae here.

(How many floors are in your apartment building?)  I think in our apartement building there are 4 or 5 floors, but we live only on the 2nd.  And that building across the way, (in a recent picture) I don't know if they are still working on it or not.  There are a good number of buildings that seem to begin being built, and then half way through they realized they don't have enough money or something to finish it.  And construction just takes a darn long time here.  And actually the background of me studying is the same as the other picture.  I'll check.

(Why is your companion polishing your shoes?)  Well, I think I "can" polish my shoes, but I just choose not too.  I'll wipe off the mud and stuff if its ridiculous, but they just get so darn dirty after a couple days, I don't see why I should spend so much time polishing them.

(How many emails do you get each week?)  This week I had 19 emails, but a few where ones from last week that I didn't look at.

Alright, I'm jumping over to Dad's.

So unfortunately there are actually a lot of kids who live in a home with only one parent, and kids that just live with other family members.  I don't know a good number to give you, but I say that you would be fortunate to live in a home with both your parents.

I don't think too many families have pets here.  There are dogs here though, but I think they don't really have an owner.

If I had to guess how many people come to our branch on Sunday, I would say 60-ish?  But there is something like 150 or more on the branch records, so that's why we want to focus so much on reactivation.  And there's not that many youth aged kids.  They do have seminary once a week.  Maybe a dozen in my branch.  And the primary has about 20 kids each Sunday.

(Mark has a shoe shining story-he had two pair of shoes on his mission: one for church that were always clean and one for the rest of the week that he NEVER shined.)  And since I can't remember about your shoe shining story, you can tell me about it next week.  But I do not like shining shoes.  I can think of a hundred better things to do with my time at the apartement.

And just so you know, I'm getting conflicting reports on the Redskins last week.  I think it was Scott who said that they lost to the Texans, but you told me they won.  And I don't know who to trust.  (Redskins beat the Packers 16-13 in OT.)

So the first highlight from last we is that nous sommes allés au champ.  That means we went to the field, or the farm, something like that.  On Saturday morning Elder Acorda, Elder Kesler, Elder Lamb and I went with Maman Natalie and her family, to go to their field to plant stuff.  We planted stuff like manioc, or cassava, and other stuff that I don't know the name of.  It was hot.  And, I had just gotten a haircut.  I put on sunscreen on my face, but I still got a little bit burned.  It burned away my collar tan line, though.  (He told Jacob that he was burned, but not to tell Mom about it.)  But we got to her house at 8 AM, than we sang hymns for about 30 minutes waiting for their cousin Etienne, also a member, and then we walked there.  It took about 30 to 40 minutes to get there, and we were carrying bags of stuff to plant and tools and machetés and such.  I spent most of my time tilling the ground (I don't know if that's the right word, but we were stabbing the ground in a repeated manner with some kind of shovel-y tool making the dirt plantable).  Then we left around 12.  I got a few pictures that I will send next week when we go to the good internet café.

 4 of us working to till the ground with Maman Natalie

 Maman Natalie, Elder Acorda, and Elder Kesler workin'

 Eric burning under the sun "I got a haircut just the night before, 

probably wasn't the best idea"

The missionaries gave talks last week in Sacrament meeting.  People told me I took too long, sorry if I had to give my talk in 2 languages and it started late.  I talked about fortification.  I also have another fully-loaded branch mission plan that I can email to you, unfortunately only in French again.

Yesterday we took a 100 franc bus home from Massassi, which is basically the village.  And everyone was freaking out because the whites where trying to take a cent-cent.  (We don't understand this right now-we will clarify next week.)  We also got stuck in the back, and the lady next to me said that I have to pay 2 place, which is 400 francs.  And the guy on my right asked, "tu sais danser?", (do you know how to dance?) and I said "pas vraiment" (not really).  And then he said I should learn to dance like the Cameroonians, because if he went to chez moi, (where I'm from) he would learn to dance.

I'm struggling to think of things that I can tell you about...  Before I forget, you can thank Sister Warnick, Sister Bertonneau, and Jisu for me, because I got letters from them last week. (Thanks)  They were sent to Kinshasa, and the Thompsons just had a 1 week couples' conference there, and they brought back mail.  I don't know how long ago they were written.

Well, like Paul said, combattez le bon combat, gardez la foi, (fight the good fight, keep the faith) and something else I forgot.  I hope you guys are all doing well, for me now I can't believe each time its p-day again, its weird.

Je vous aime,

- Eric

Pictures from Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo

Eric-first on the left, and his companion
Elder Parsons-third from the right, at a Baptism.

Eric on his 20th Birthday!

Church building in Pointe Noire, Congo

Eric's email of June 17th, 2010

Hello tout le monde.

So I'm going to go through and answer questions and what not, and also I'm going to attach some pictures, hopefully I can get a pretty good number. And this computer is confusing me, so we'll see what happens.

So yes, the World Cup is all over the place, one picture I have will show that. Also the internet café I am in right now is showing Nigeria versus Greece. And yeah, I remember the Priors, (family in the ward from South Africa) good for them. Hopefully one day they'll have the World Cup in the US so I can go to it. But that noise of the matches can give you a headache. There is a match on, pretty much everywhere here, unless you are in a peaceful, residential area.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to open the e-card, (for his birthday) but I'm gonna try again this week, because these computers are different-ish this week. They are in "ubuntu" mode or something, I learned about this at that computer class I took at SUU, but its kind of weird.

The English class is going well. Last Saturday we taught them how to pray in English, and since I'm the beginners class we just kept it as simple as possible. But there was a couple times where I forgot how to say something correctly in English. And you already know from my email last week that I don't speak very good English sometimes. When I talk with Elder Parsons or another English speaking missionary, I'm fine. But if we randomly find someone else who tries to speak English with us, I usually just get confused. But, yesterday I did teach someone from Nigeria, therefore the lesson was in English. And we were on splits, I was with Elder Mbuyi, who is from Kinshasa, but he speaks ok English. But at one point I couldn't remember how to say "alors" or "donc" in English, and Elder Mbuyi had to remind me (its "so", embarrassing).

I wrote Mr. Gates a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't heard anything back yet.

Yes, I can still write to Spencer and Sang, (friends on missions) but I have learned that Spencer aint gonna write to me no more. So now its kind of pointless for me to write to him, because he can't really respond to my questions or anything anyways, but I'll probably just copy and paste stuff I send to you at home. But whatever, c'est pas grave.

But that's great about Chris, (a young man from our ward who entered the MTC last week) I guess that means I've been on my mission for a little bit now.

So from what I hear, Bonabéri is going pretty good, but there wasn't anyone baptized this past month. I have heard that one person, Emmanuel, is doing awesome, and that his son Nelson is getting ready to get baptized in July. I do email Elder Lee (former companion) usually each week, he is still in Douala, so I know a little bit.

(Is it hard to get up in the morning or have you adjusted to the mission schedule?) So now I set my alarm for 5:15, because on the mornings when Elder Parsons and Elder Ritchie and I run, we have to start at 5:30, and it gets easier and easier, but there are still some mornings when its pretty darn hard to get up at that time. But once I get up and do something, I'm fine. I am looking forward to the day, though, when I sleep in til 7 or 7:30.

Alright, now I've figured this out a bit, I'll be sending those pictures in another email. Also, I heard that your package came today in Douala. They even called me to tell me not to have packages sent there anymore, because they had to pay 10000 CFA or something to get it. I just told them that's what the Willis' said to do. But they also said to make sure that the Church's name is on the package, because the p.o. box is for the Church, just as a reminder.

Well, thanks for the fat sports email Dad, haha. (Mark sent a detailed timeline of the Ute's invitation to the PAC 10 conference) Also Dad, Happy Fathers' Day! On Sunday! Thanks for the reminder on that Mom, and Elder Ritchie next to me reminded me again. Grandma also told me you have now been a bishop for over 5 years, dang! Do you think you will still be a bishop when I get home?

And thanks for the sports update and analysis of how it happened. I will try to keep my comment short, but I would say I am similarly pleased like Dad. Again, Grandma told me how excited Dad was on the phone about it.

Also, I don't see any "quick questions", (from Mark) so I'll just tell you what stuff is going on. Did splits twice this week. Tuesday I went with Elder Kesler, who is the district leader, and he is supposed to do splits with each missionary. It was a pretty good day. And then the next day I was with Elder Mbuyi, like I said, who is Kesler's companion. Its kind of weird to not be in your sector, because I'm pretty much clueless and don't know where I'm going, but its nice to do that every once in a while.

I taught the amis class for the Pointe-Noire branch on Sunday again. I taught on le jour du sabbat, (Sabbath Day) pretty basic. But now I actually kind of like to do that, because then I learn that principle really well and find cool scriptures on it and stuff. And I've learned its not really that hard to take 40 minutes to talk about one chapter of Principals of the Gospel. And one other plus, it counts as a lesson in the presence of a member!

Also, we have this ami de l'église named Fabrice. I think I've already talked about him, he is the man. So we had gotten through all the normal lessons, and we taught la Parole de Sagesse (Word of Wisdom) on time. His only problem is that he smokes, a lot. He said he picked it up from the military and never got over it, and that he even smokes up to 10 times a day, that's kind of a lot. We had fixed his baptismal date for the 26th of June, but now we'll have to put it in July. But we gave him the commitment to only smoke 5 times in a week, and he reported to us that he only smoked twice! He went from 10 a day to 2 in a week! Seriously, he is the man. He also bought a new Bible with an Apocrypha. He said he bought it because he wanted the stuff that is missing in other Bibles. So then we read D&C 91, to clarify that.

What else...one great success, with our friend Matinga, who is also the man, getting baptized one the 26th. His only problem, is that he likes to bear his testimony too often, and for too long of time. One time, we wanted to teach him la loi de chasteté (Chastity) and la parole de Sagess. (Word of Wisdom) Literally, all Elder Parsons said was the name of the commandment, la loi de chasteté, and then Frére Matinga went off for 40 minutes on some long story, which was good, but we really didn't have time for. So the next rendezvous, in order to get ready for his baptism, we had to teach him la parole de sagess, le jour du sabbat, and la dime, (tithing) in under an hour. It was hard, I seriously had to ask him to not bear his testimony, but we got all through it. That might not sound like much of a challenge, but it is with Frére Matinga. But this guy is probably the most ready-to-get-baptized person I've met.

Well that is pretty much life right now. Also Elder Ritchie is going home in 2 weeks, that's kind of weird, because he is the first missionary I know who I will experience him going home. And we also have zone conference this Saturday with mission president, so those are always good. I bet everyone is getting ready for summer, luckies.If you want, you can root for Boston for me, (NBA) and the USA in the World Cup.

Je vous aime,
- Elder Palmer

Eric's email of April 15th, 2010

Hello everybody, so I'm gonna start by answering Mom's questions, then I'll go get Dad's darn questions.

(I reminded Eric that he opened his mission call a year ago on April 16th and asked if it seemed like a long time ago.) So I got my mission call a year ago Friday, dang. That does not feel like a long time ago at all, to me at least. Weird, I guess that means I am becoming an old geezer.

(I asked him how his clothing was holding up.) So my shoes are still comfy and fine, especially the brown ones. The only thing is that, on the brown shoes, the sole started to come off, but I bought some super super glue stuff and managed to close it back up for now. If not, there are people all over who fix shoes for cheap. Last week Elder Lee got the whole bottom of his basketball shoes put back on for less than 500 CFA. And I wear my sandals not a whole lot, but often on pdays and such. Maybe I will start to wear them more often when it rains, though. As for shirts, um, maybe I might need some more. For some reason, today I found that I only have 6 white short sleeves shirts. (He went with 7.) I was finishing my packing, and I couldn't find any other one. The supplies that are in the worst condition though, I think, are my ties. Holy cow, I have a couple of ties that are filthy. They get kind of dirty on the big end, and some are disgusting looking where the knot is. And it is worst on the lighter colored ones, like the one I got from Bro. Edmunds. So ties are the only thing in not good condition.

So yeah, the Willis (Senior couple who take care of the Elders in Bonaberi) residence is comparable to an American one, and is much much better than any other house I've been in in Cameroon. Never met anyone else with a pool. So that picture of me and 3 others by the pool, if I can remember correctly it goes like this: very left is Fred, then me, then Ebanezar, then Emmanuel, who are all studs.


Ok, I think I got all Mom's questions, now I got to go to Dad's email. Tout à l'heure. (Later)

Ok Dad, here I go.

So the Willis' finish their mission at the end of May, which will make 18 months for them. They are from Montana, and Sister Willis lived in Wyoming when she was younger, if I remember correctly. But now they live in Provo. But mainly, they are from Billings, Montana.

(Are you flying to Pointe-Noire?) Yeah, I'm flying from Douala to Pointe-Noire, and I have no idea what airlines. All I know is that I will sleep at the Willis' tonight, and that we need to get to the airport before 11 to get me all checked in. And then my flight is supposed to be leaving at 12:30 or 1:00, but, the Willis' said that ever since they have come, this Douala-Pointe-Noire flight has never been on time. And today, our friend Robert, who works at the airport, says that's because every African airline except Air Gabon doesn't get it or care about being on time. Its called African time. Ca veut dire, people are late in Africa. When people say "j'arrive", they could arrive between 10 minutes and 3 hours. So yeah, just a little side note there. And if you want my airplane tickets just tell me, and go take another vacation with them.

Alright, so now I'll answer Dad's next 2 questions, and it will probably be the biggest chunk of my email, cuz I've got to think about it. And Dad would ask these questions. So anyways, some of my 3 most meaningful or striking experiences in Bonabéri (not necessarily in order):

1) One I just thought of is about Stanley. Stanley has been a member for over a year now, and he was great and everything, but he had one issue (which is somewhat common I've found), which is tithing. We would explain the law of tithing and such, but he would never really commit. He would say, he isn't financially stable, and so doesn't know if you would pay it always. We would even explain the financial blessings and such, but its wasn't getting to him. Then, with Elder Lee, about a month ago, we taught tithing again, same result. Then the next week, we talked about the Melchizedek Priesthood, and at the end, he asked if he needs to pay tithing to get the Melchizedek Priesthood. Then the next lesson we talked about temples, which Stanley really liked. And he asked again, if he needs to pay tithing to go to the temple. So we were feeling good about that, and then a couple days later, just in passing by, he told us he wants to start paying his tithing. So I chose this because I saw how Stanley was hard to get to for so long, and we never knew if he would ever pay his tithing, but he saw the blessings, especially the temple, that pushed him to act and live the principles of the Gospel, specifically tithing.

2) The baptismal service at the beginning of this month. I loved that, because I got to see all 3 of those people, Fred & Emmanuel & Eb, all progress from the beginning to baptism & receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and further. And at the beginning, they were are just simply there, not anything extraordinary happening, and then gradually they got testimonies, came to church despite some difficulties, and preparing themselves now to get the Aaronic Priesthood soon.

3) The day we had the "Bonabéri Olympics" activity. Again, it was just great to simply have fun with some of the members, and a whole bunch of the cartier (neighborhood) kids. It was cool to see Mam Laura coach people and tell them how to play football. It was fun teaching people how to play frisbee. Missionary discussions are important and good and all, but to show them an activity where you do not just sit in a chair and listen to people was something great I think.

Ok, now the 3 most memorable people from Bonabéri (also, not necessarily in order):

1) Emmanuel. When I got here, Emmanuel was just someone we saw once or twice a week and invited to church. He works at his soya stand down by where Tumasang, another member works. And he would always say its toooooooo hot, toooooooo much rain, tooooooooo much tired and such things. But then one Sunday he came, said he actually liked it, and then the next Sunday bore his testimony. And we had never taught him yet! And so it took a little bit longer to get him at church consistently and to read the Book of Mormon, but now he does that and many other great things. I saw him yesterday, and we talked about the Priesthood, and he promised to do all the work necessary to get the Priesthood. So for him, basically it shows how the Gospel can change someone and motivate them to do good, who didn't really care much at first. And he is also the best testimony bearer, according to me. I think I've described it already, but he does it simply on what he knows is true, but I believe him when he says it, and feel the Holy Ghost.

2) Grant, the branch missionary. Grant became a member before I got here, but what I love about him is he is willing to share the Gospel with anyone, and help us out whenever we need it. Also, when people call us "les blancs!", Grant calls them "les noirs!", which keeps me from gettin annoyed by that. He also taught me a lot of Douala. Tuesday evening we walked with him for about an hour, and we got 4 cordonées, which I think are called referrals in English. Also he is a cartier chief, which basically means he knows everywhere and everyone in Bonabéri. He is also preparing for a mission, and wants to leave by the end of this year. When he finally embraced the Gospel, he changed and is actually happy to keep the commandments now.

3) Andrew & Phillip. 2 hilarious studs. Andrew has been a member nearly a year, and Phillip got baptized in January. Even though they can say some weird things at times that anglophones say, they are awesome, and have some of the strongest testimonies. Sometimes they get a little over excited when talking about the church, and they are learning and learning, but they are 2 people who will do whatever you ask them to serve in the church. Andrew's wife also moved in with him recently. Last night they fed me and the the 3 other missionaries, with food prepared by Andrew's wife, Germen. Phillip taught me how to open a bottle of soda with my teeth. (So why did I pay for braces?) They have also known the church just since it got to Bonabéri, and would barely have 10 people at church, and now they've seen it grow, get a new building, and they might be 2 of the most excited people for Elder Runland, the member of the 70, to come. (To dedicate the new building.)


And so I don't have nearly enough time to write about everyone, but there is also Fred & Robert & Omega, Mama Laura, Eb, Passie, Tumasang, Stanley, Florent, Jules, Totto, Léonel (aka Mr. Perfect), Danielle, Valére, Nelson (Emmanuel's son), the Motto family, Lawson, President Njampou and his family, Felix, and lots of other people as well.


Au Cameroon et à Point-Noire, il y a huit missionaires à Yaoundé, huit missionaries à Douala, et six missionaries à Pointe-Noire. Il y a vingt deux missionaries, alors. Mais, en toute la mission entiere, il y a plus que cent missionaries. J'ai vu une fiche avec tous les missionaries la semaine passée, et beaucoup des missionaires servent au Congo. (In Cameroon and Pointe-Noire, there are eight missionaries in Yaounde, eight missionaries in Douala, and six missionaries in Pointe-Noire. Therefore, there are twenty-two missionaries. But, in the entire mission, there are over one hundred missionaries. I saw a picture with all the missionaries last week, and many missionaries serve in Democratic Republic of Congo.)

Sorry, I thought I would write one paragraph in French. Dad and Scott or whoever can critique me. (No critique from either.) So that's about all the time, thanks for the thought provoking questions Dad. Andrea & Jacob, kick behind in soccer. Scott, don't die. (from studying so hard) Mom, make sure Dad & Scott don't go too crazy during the playoffs. (NBA)

Je vous aime bien,
- Eric

Eric's email of April 8th, 2010

Hey Mom, I'm sending you this short email real quick, so that you don't send any packages to Douala, or Cameroon actually. The reason is, I'm getting transferred to Point-Noire! I leave on Monday, so yeah. (He later told us it would be Friday, April 16th.) I don't really know much more about that, but its kinda a bummer, because the following week is when they will move into the new building, but all well. If you want good pictures of the church when its finished, I think you will have to ask Sister Willis. But I have been told that in Congo they have a real, actual LDS church building, so that will be good. But yeah, just thought I'd get y'all the big news first.

Je vous aime,
- Eric

"J'ai été muté!"

I think I spelled that last word wrong in the title, I just guessed. Dad can correct me on that. But that means I got transferred! To Pointe-Noire! But here are Dad's questions from last week, that I am required by law to answer:

(When you go out for fish or whatever to eat, what are the names of the "restaurant's" that you get the food at? Do you usually go to the same places or do you try all sorts of places?) So when we go out to eat, which is normally fish, there aren't restaurants with names and such. The only times we've gone to restaurants with names is at Zone Conferences when President Headlee takes us. But we have 2 fish ladies that just post up on the side of the road. We just call them "fish ladies". And sometimes every so often, we go the other places, one we get beans & benyais (spelling...?). Benyais are just doughnut ball type things, except with no frosting or sugar, just fried. So pretty much, its all just from some lady on some road somewhere.

So there's not really too much in common about the members' jobs, except I noticed that the higher class and such usually don't give a hoot about what we the missionaries have. But there are lots of different jobs, one is a hair-cutter, one works at this place called "OK Foods" that just packages little snack things and such, one drives trucks around and hauls stuff, one sells soya which is meat on a stick, one is a teacher, one works at the docks, and some don't/are looking for a job. And I don't really know too much about education, but most people didn't go to college or anything.

Dad, why do you ask random questions all the time? (This was Mark's question):If you had the resources, what "store" would you open in Cameroon that would do really well? What kind of stuff would you sell, maybe stuff that the Cameroonians would love to have but just don't get much?If I would open up a store here, its would be...ugh...I dunno, if I had the resources I would open my store up somewhere else. I guess if I had to, I'd just sell candy from America, because lots of the candy from here is not really good at all. Like last week I gave the bag of Skittles you sent me to Fred & Omega because it was their birthdays during the week, and they loved that stuff. So I would open up a candy store with actual good candy.

So about Limbé, it will be best described with some pictures I took, which I shall send later today. But one great thing about it, is that it is an anglophone area! So Elder Wilkins and I said one day near the end of our missions we will go open up Limbé or some other English place and be companions again. But we saw a whole bunch of monkeys and such at the Gorilla Wildlife Reserve or something like that. I also bought a hat. Its called a "traditional hat" or "nature cap", but I just call it the "anglophone hat", because if you see anyone wearing it, they are an anglophone. After the monkey zoo, we went to another beach, had some fries and a soda, and played sports. We had to pay this guy darn 2000 CFA for a volley ball and a soccer ball for 1 hour, but it was worth it. It was sweet because we played football down on the beach, and I scored.



So I think I got them all Dad. Now I'll talk about the baptism, which was great. On Saturday, Eb, Emmanuel, and Fred were all baptized. But we did have a small problem because the water at the church in Bonapriso was off, so we did the program and such at the church, then relocated to the Willis'. They have a pool in their backyard, so that saved us thankfully. We had to take taxis from the church to the Willis', and probably got about 7 or 8 of them, that took a good chunk out of our soutien. (Money allocated for the week.) And then one person forgot baptism clothes at the church so we had to wait for him to go back and get them. And we didn't have the Willis' car because it got hit by a truck last Thursday.

But we eventually got everything together, and it went fine. But I'm glad I got to see them all baptized before I left, because I started teaching all of them from the beginning, and it was great to see how they changed from beginning until now. Especially Emmanuel, who used to never go to church, because it was toooo hot, or tooooo much sun, or tooooo much rain, or toooooo much tired. But now he comes each week, and is ready to keep "the 10 commandments, and the commandments in the Book of Mormon". That is a direct quote from his testimony, which was awesome btw. Emmanual bore his testimony at the baptism Saturday and at church Sunday, and he is the best. All he does is keep it simple, and says what he knows is true, and its great. One problem is some people give long as could be testimonies with a billion ideas and stories, which wastes time and messes up other peoples opportunities. Sunday only 3 people got time because the 1st person took for ever... But I was just especially glad Emmanuel got to share his, everyone should take his testimonies as the perfect example.

This week we finally started cleaning the new church as well. We started Tuesday, spent all day cleaning and preparing everything to do painting on Wednesday. And also a good number of members and amis (friends) showed up, so that made me happy to see. Then Tuesday night I got the call from Sister Willis that I'm getting transferred to Congo, so that's kinda a bummer. I don't get to see the building all finished, the General Authority, Elder Runland, and Pres Headlee coming all the way out to Bonabéri itself for the new building, so that stinks. All well. But yesterday we did a good chunk of the painting, everything except the main room. So Friday we have to do the big room and some 2nd coats if necessary. They might have to do some more things next week, but it should be ready for the 18th. Also last night we played soccer and football. I caught 3 touchdown passes, and got closelined (literally, by a closeline that got me on the neck) right after I caught a full field touchdown pass in stride from Elder Lee, and scored once in soccer. And we won both games, which is always fun.

But yeah, its sad to go. One member, Andrew, is always upset when missionaries get transferred. Yesterday he told me and Elder Lee that they should keep missionaries in an area for 1 or 2 years, haha. Oh, and this transfer is also surprising, because Elder Lee is getting transferred as well! He is going back into Bonapriso though, so we both are getting taken away from the new building. I am excited to go to Congo, but it will be a bummer leaving Bonabéri. Getting transferred is a small bit of what its like to get your mission call, or going home from your mission, its weird.

So that's that. I've been informed there are no anglophones down there, so that stinks, because they are hilarious. But I think it will be good. So I hope everyone enjoys their spring break, Jacob don't get too bored. And enjoy going to Puerto Rico Mom and Dad, now I know why you wanted the frequent flier miles!

Je vous aime,
- Eric

Eric's email of March 4th, 2010

Eric sent this picture a few weeks ago. The caption on the wall is
"Holiness to the Lord" Zechariah 14:20

Hello everyone,

Alright, so I'll start with answering questions... So Dad, what questions of Mom's did I not answer? Oh, and no I don’t recognize any of those names you told me about Mom, but that’s cool about those guys’mission calls. (Two SUU students are going to African missions-one to DRC!)

For my last 3 meals, starting this morning, my comp and I stopped at a boutique and got chocolate gateaux. Which is basically some bread thing with this chocolate spread, (we think it is Nutella-how deprived is Eric that he doesn't know what Nutella is?) and we get 2 for 300 CFA, which is 60 to 70 cents. Then last night at the end of the day, we met up with the other two missionaries and had "poisson brisé", which is grilled fish that you peel apart and eat with your hands. That costs 600 CFA, then I got 200 CFA of plantains which are just kinda like bananas but have the texture of potatoes and are really good, and 200 CFA of Miondo (that's how Elder Price told me to spell it), which is basically just rubber that you can eat. I doubt there is any nutritional value at all in that. And also I had a Topomplemousse with that. And then yesterday for breakfast, I made scrambled eggs and potatoes with ketchup, yum.

No, I did not get my cleats yet, and I stinkin' forgot my money again to get it transferred to CFA...I'll get them soon...(These cleats were supposed to be his Christmas present-and now it is March!?!)

Well I've only played soccer once, and that was a while ago in my 1st transfer, Elder Lisowski and I went to play one Saturday morning with a member named Grant. And it was ok, but we never went back because no one else ever wanted to go again, lazys. But since then, the last p-day of the week of zone conference I played basketball with Elder Terneiden, Elder Lee, Elder Landress, and Grant and Florent (2 members). And it was pretty good, except I didn't really eat a breakfast because I was out of food and we didn't bring enough water. But we are planning to play something next p-day because this Tuesday is zone conference so one p-day we have more time because there is no district meeting.

(Mark asked how old is the oldest member in Bonberi?) So right now I can't tell you, but in April the oldest member will be Ebanezar, who I talked about a little bit last week. He's 78, so he says, and he is getting baptized on the first Saturday of April. But, who has been a member the longest... I think I would have to guess Nanné Stevens, because he knows the Dajeus and was Bro. Dajeus' hometeaching companion. Right now he is a Sunday school teacher, and he's the man. (The Dajeus are members from Cameroon who now live in our stake.)

So I think I got all the questions, if not ask me them again next week, and so I apologize because I probably did miss something. But this week was ok, except I'm pretty sure it is the hottest week of my life, and Elder Lee has said the same thing. Especially Monday, I thought I was going to die. But (thankfully) we had to come back at 1:30 to do weekly planning and meet someone from the Branch presidency who is also the guy who fixes our apartment when it gets messed up. The shower head in my bathroom was leaking a little bit, so Elder Lee tried to wrap something around it to stop it some, and then it just kinda exploded somehow, so we had to turn the water off for a couple days. And so we also got a break from the sun. I'm a little bit sunburned right now.

Also last Sunday church got changed from 3 hours to 2, for the time being. This is because in Bonabéri we are still a group, so actually we don't exist. But the problem was that nearly everyone showed up late. Elder Lee announced to everyone to be there 15 minutes early next week, so we'll see.

Oh, and so before I forget, Mom, yes I got some packages. I got one from the Innsbrook YW, I got a family calendar from Aunt LeeAnn, I got a card thing from the Bertonneau's, and I think there is one other I cannot remember right now. But thank everyone for those. I did get my Christmas package from Grandma and Grandpa, and I just got another card from them today.

So one other notable thing this week, is me and Elder Lee have found our new favorite people to teach. One day we just contacted this guy named Princely, and at least I didn't think much of it. So we went to our first rendez-vous with him and his brother Chris, it was pretty good. They are anglophones btw. Then later we came back a few times, and on the 2nd rendez-vous, Chris told us he received an answer that our message is true. So we've gone back, just finished Plan of Salvation, and Chris came to church last week. But also in our lessons their cousin Blandine, who is a francophone, sits in. And she is actually starting to take interest now that we gave her a Livre de Mormon, rather than just sitting in to learn English. And also they live with their grand-mére, who is awesome. I don't know how old she is, but she only speaks pigeon and is always saying random stuff during the lesson, but she is a sweet old lady who we can't communicate with. And so these lessons are good, and also they are hilarious. Yesterday we taught just Princely and Blandine, and we spent 40 minutes explaining the Spirit World to Princely. I told him, "Princely, when we die our spirit doesn't immediately go back to Heavenly Father." And then he said, "What!? How can you say that? Elder Lee, is this true?" And then we read a verse, but then it took forever for him to understand the difference between Paradise and Prison in the spirit world. He also got kinda mad when he saw how the French Book of Mormon is bigger than the English one. I told him "its the same thing, Princely, just in French and the writing is bigger". Then he said, "this is an injustice!" One would appreciate it more if they were there actually, but its always fun.

So the spiritual thought... is from Andrew, who is a member. And basically, he told us his awesome testimony. He didn't like where he was going with his former church. So later he found the missionaries, and at first wasn't that into it. Other people around him told him that the missionaries were not there for the Gospel, but to do crazy stuff. But Andrew said he prayed very hard for a long time, and got an answer. And so even when there were other people around him telling him stuff, he stuck with the answer he got from God, and he is the man. Also he is one of the few people who did all his home teaching in the first month of home teaching in Bonabéri, and last Sunday he taught a lesson and gave a talk. Stud.

Oh, and one other thing about Eb. We taught him la Parole de Sagess (Word of Wisdom) on Tuesday, and he got a little confused. On the board we wrote the things you do not take: l'alcool, le tabac, les drogues, le café, et le thé. But he got a little confused, and said how he understands a little bit of coffee and tea can be good, but he didn't understand why he should smoke and drink and take drugs. So, we explained to him these are the things NOT for the body. Eb is the man, though.

Well enjoy the nice weather and the Jazz/Wizards game. And enjoy the 10k for those who run it, Dad don't pull anything.

Je vous aime,
- Eric

Eric's email of December 3rd, 2009

Dang, 100 days already! That's weird, and we are getting a new missionary a week from today so I won't be the newest already. But anyways, the questions:

So our Thanksgiving went really good I thought. We played football (yes, with an actual American Nerf football) on this dirt field in the middle of the highway entrance. It was just 4 on 4, cuz there are only 8 in the whole city. And the other team won, because we played cruddy, but all well. We need to play soccer soon on a p-day. But then after we went back to the Willis', showered, and had a Thanksgiving dinner that was actually pretty good. Some of the Willis' children who come to visit them brought stuff from the States. The turkey was the only thing that wasn't that good, and I missed yams. But besides that it was really good.

So we have an electric piano in our apartment that one of the missionaries carries to the church each Sunday. And its actually in a member's house, like a real house with 2 floors. But we always sing the same darn cantique each week in sacrament, but I can't remember the name of it. But this week we moved sacrament meeting to downstairs in the bigger living room, rather than on the 2nd floor/the balcony. Up there it is windy or stormy, it's not good. But I haven't played the piano yet because there's the one missionary whose been doing it. But I bet I will eventually on my mission. I know the church in town, where they actually have a building, has an electric piano there that just stays there, so I'm pretty sure each branch has one.

The sports updates are fine like they are, they aren't distracting me. But this week I actually found out the score of the BYU-Utah game because my companion knew I wanted to know. So at church he told Elder Willis to find it, then he told me at the end of the day Sunday. All well.

I almost always wear contacts, but today I'm wearing my glasses, actually. But the problem with the glasses is that when I sweat (which is always), it drips onto the glasses and they slide off, and it just doesn't work. But I usually wear glasses on p-day just because I'm not doing anything that will make me sweat.

So yeah, sorry I haven't sent any pictures yet. But today I finally remembered to bring the thing so I can plug my card into the computer at the Willis' tonight. So tonight I will send home some pictures for you guys. And the haircut isn't that funky, its just a buzz, and my little widow's peak has pretty much already grown back. But yes, I will send those today.

So my exchange with the zone leader went really well. And the best things happened actually, when we had an appointment fall through and decided to go find new people. So the first building we rang, was of a Muslim family who was getting together because last Friday was a Muslim holiday called "Feast of the Rams" or something like that. So we went in, saw they were all getting ready for a party and decided we didn't want to bother them now. So we wished them "bon fete" and left. But then one of the younger girls came back and told us we were invited inside. So we went in and talked with their family for a little bit. And they gave us fulery (I don't know how to spell it, but its this purple drink that's pretty good, but takes some getting used to) and these bread ball things that I forgot the name of.

Then after that, we rang the bell for the building next door, and got invited in again. And when we walked through the gate, this old lady said, "are you Mormons?" And that is weird, because no one calls us Mormons. But we went in and talked with her, and she told us she lived in Salt Lake City for 2 years, had just recently returned and was planning to go back sometime. She also has 2 sons in Salt Lake City now, and other kids in other places. And she also had lessons with missionaries there. But so we re-taught her the first lesson and are going back tomorrow.

Oh yeah, we had another 10 teaching appointment day yesterday. I'm just lucky to be in an area where that happens. Others have told me Bonaberi is the highest teaching area in the mission. And things are going well with a good number of our amis, we have 3 right now with a baptismal date, potentially a family of 4, and a couple others who are coming along well also.

So this week, I ate something that you will probably think is gross. But I will start by explaining some things. So here there is something called "soya". And basically, soya is just any kind of meat on a stick. And so we get it so often, and sometime we even go to someone we call "soya man" at night and grab a sandwich filled with soya meat for dinner, and it is delish.


But a couple nights ago, we were walking and this one kid was carrying soya around in a bucket, and my companion suggested I get some. So I bought one for 100 CFA (which is about 20 cents btw) and I ate it, but I didn't know what it was. It was a little spicy, but I liked it. And my companion told me it is called "congo meat". And then when we got somewhere where there was light, we saw that it was snails. But, I still finished it and it was pretty good, like I said. So yeah, I ate snails off a stick this week.

We also learned about transfers this week, and one elder in our apartment, Elder Lisowski, is getting transferred to Yaounde. And he has been in Bonaberi ever since he left the MTC, which has been over 10 months, dang. But we are also getting a brand new missionary as his replacement, so all the companionships in Douala will have trainers and trainees.

So last night we were teaching Shilah, who is an anglophone. But what's funny about everytime we go to see her, her daughter is outside, sees us, and yells "white people!" Oh, and her name is Precious. But Shilah has had pretty much all the lessons, and has come to church twice. But last night we asked her if she has prayed if the church is true, and she said yeah. And then I asked her to pray about baptism, and she said she would, so that is great.

But I think that's about it for now, but I will make sure to send pictures tonight. But things are going well, even though it is still hot as crud. And they've told me February is the hottest and dryest. So I might die then, but we'll see. Oh, and I'm going to try to send an email to the Dejeu family today also, and in French. I hope you all are still doing well, and have fun getting ready for Christmas!

Love,
Eric