I'm here in Douala, y'all.

Bonjour amis et familles!

I have safely arrived in Douala! And boy, does it have a different vibe than Yaoundé! The second I stepped off the bus, I was blasted with that wonderful hot, wet air. Humidity is something I haven't missed at all being in Yaoundé. I also found that while Yaoundé is hilly and green, Douala is flat and a lot more urban. My area, Bonaberi 2B, is in the suburbs but there's not as much greenery. Cool bodies of water though are something I missed - Douala is on the coast and my area is separated from the rest of the city by this cool river thing. 

Let's get to all that happened this week!

MISSIONARY MOMENTS OF THE WEEK

This isn't like an active finding or teaching thing, but we actually had an Apostle visit our mission! Virtually! But still, Elder Ronald A. Rasband gave us a devotional as part of his trip to the African continent. We all gathered as a zone, and although there were connection issues and a blown-out speaker, it was still really cool to receive revelation for our mission from an Apostle of the Lord. 

I'd like to tell y'all a cool story about this kid named Arthur. Arthur, as of 2 or 3 weeks ago, was a 16-year-old homeless, orphaned youth who came up and asked the missionaries for water. After a little conversation, the man the missionaries were in the middle of teaching offerered to take him home. This man was just baptized on Saturday, and now Arthur, who now lives with him, has now started taking the missionary lessons himself. I've never seen someone so humble and eager to learn and find a place of belonging. Quite the awesome story to just get transferred into the middle of.

FUNNY QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Maybe we should just try to give her a random book and see if she takes it."

We've got this lady who comes to church every Sunday, but everytime the Elders bring up the Book of Mormon, she refuses to take a physical copy. Even if she commits to reading and praying about it. I presented this idea to try to find what her concern actually is to my companion (Elder Mbaya is his name) and he burst out laughing. 

SCRIPTURE/SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK 

D&C 109:39:

"And whatsoever city thy servants shall enter, and the people of that city receive their testimony, let thy peace and thy salvation be upon that city; that they may gather out of that city the righteous, that they may come forth to Zion, or to her stakes, the places of thine appointment, with songs of everlasting joy"

This scripture was shared with us by Elder Rasband. It was in response to an Elder's question about how we can remember our temple covenants when there isn't a temple in our mission. This section is the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland temple. And this verse is all about missionary work! I have come to this new city to 'gather out...the righteous' - and I know as I strive to do this, the Lord will bless me with His Spirit so that I can remember my temple covenants, and all other blessings the Gospel and the Church have brought me. I can be a force to bring about the 'everlasting joy' of others through the Gospel. 

N'oubliez jamais que je vous aime tous! Passez une excellente semaine!

Elder May 

PS: 2 of these pics were from a member farewell visit last Tuesday. The rest are from Douala.








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