Week 9 in Libreville: "Change is gonna come"

 (I know that's the name of a song by someone famous and that's why I used it as a subject line but I've been out too long to remember so someone help me please!)

Bonjour amis et familles!

I moved. Again. I'm in my 3rd area in the past month. I'm also with my 3rd companion in the past month. 
You see, we got 2 new American missionaries on Saturday and we had to accomodate. So my Mission President decided to move me down to Awendje, which is in Libreville 2. I had to say goodbye to Elder Meyer, Elder Ilunga, and Elder Utshudi (my old comp) and come down here. I'm now with Elder Zoller, one of the original 'Gabonese Seven', and him and I are sharing the apartment with Elder Ilunga (there are 2 of them) and the brand-new guy, Elder Sheppard. 
I had to say goodbye to all our awesome people we were teaching and who we had found, and now the work begins anew. Such is the mission life. 

FUNNY QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I'm Joseph Smith today!"
So - the word for the Restoration of the Gospel in French is 'Rétablissement'. The word for our 'payday' where our cards get refilled with 70000 francs is also 'rétablissment'. Before Friday (when I found out I was moving), Elder Ilunga and Elder Meyer were discussing going to the bank to get their money out and because of this fun linguistic thing, Elder Ilunga asked, "Who is Joseph Smith today?" and Elder Meyer responded. 

SCRIPTURE/SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

D&C 123:17:

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I might've talked about this in a past email a little bit but I've never been good with change. And I've experienced so much change in the past month, that I've definitely surprised myself with how cheerful I've been. I've taken most of these changes in stride (having a comp that didn't speak English was rough with a capital everything). I don't choose when I get a new companion. I don't choose when I get moved to a new area. But I can take those decisions and move forward cheerfully, doing everything in my power to leave each area with the 'utmost assurance' that I have successfully furthered the work of the Lord.

Short and sweet again this week. Je vous aime tous!

Elder May

PICTURES

(Shoutout to my brother who has asked every week for a pic of a lizard. This one majestically posed for me. Also the pic of me waving features Elder Zoller, my new comp. And yes we're in the middle of the highway. When in Africa.)






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