Fast Week

Hello,

This week has flown by. Wow I can’t believe it’s already Monday again. This week we taught a lot of our members and that was awesome one of our members said that it had been three years since the missionaries visited him. He lives on the other side of Yaoundé it took almost an hour to get to his house. So in branches sometimes the missionaries are home teachers, so we home teach the branch President (Bishop) the second counselor in the branch presidency (bishop rick) and the elders quorum President. So we were able to visit all of them but the branch president wasn't there so we taught his niece who lives with his family as she goes to school here in Yaoundé. We got to go to the Elliot’s and eat some large fresh shrimp. It is the size of a Lobster! That was my week. Hope you all had a safe week, I love you all. Remember to choose the right and don't forget to pray our Father in Heaven is just waiting for us to pray to him all we have to do is open our mouths and speak or pray in our hearts. Have a great week.

Love Elder Stephens

Chauffeur and Zoo

Hello Everybody

This week was great it was filled with reading the scriptures, teaching some people, getting contacts from sisters in Washington DC North mission and then finding the person they sent to us. He's a Civil Engineer. It was pretty cool he gave us a ride in his car which he has a chauffeur for to the church sweet. Then we had a guy who took the lessons a long time ago call us and asked us if he could come to church and what time it was at and then he was there it was awesome, Then to top it off our zone went to the Zoo What yes the Zoo and we saw crocodiles, monkeys, baboons i think, a crazy African water bird with a massive beak vipers and pythons and then we had lunch which was chicken and French fries at this bar by our house all in all it was pretty sweet week this week. Hope you all have a wonderful week I love you all and remember to read your scriptures and say your prayers Heavenly Father is literally our father and so it’s kind of good when we talk with our earthly fathers and get advice from them hope you all stay safe love you.

Love,

Elder Preston Stephens

Republic of Congo Brazzaville Mission, Cameroon District

Preston.stephens@myldsmail.net

Recovery

Hello everyone

This week was recovery from our ingrown toenails being cut so Elder Gilbert and I stayed at the apartment while our comps went out to teach so our investigators wouldn't think that we left them. We got to listen to conference and study. On Friday president Monga came to visit us and to talk with the ward leaders  he talked to us first to know what wasn't working here haha, then we got pizza and then we had some lessons and On Saturday we had a Yaoundé priesthood session and it was very good I loved what the leaders said. I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I know that we are where we are for a reason and that the lord has put us in a place that we can benefit the others most. I love you all!

Love,
Elder Preston Stephens

Chicken Feet & Cat Poop

Bonjour,

So, this week I’ll get right to the point. So for those of you who only read this for the funny stories or just want the “Highlights or the Whiteouts” here is the story for this week. My companion and I arrive at the house of some recent converts not everyone is there so we sit down to wait for the rest to arrive. The cat very nice cat comes and sits on my lap normal, the cat likes when I pet her. Well it gets off and goes to elder Tshibanda then comes back to me. Well he leaves again and….. To my surprise I look down to find cat diahreah on my white shirt…. And well white and poop do not go together. I turn to elder Tshibanda and I said ok I think it’s time to go and he said yea we will come back on Saturday. So we had a long humiliating walk home so I could change my shirt… I promise I will not be having any more animals on me. So that would be the whiteout for the week. Highlight I had Chicken Feet! So good! (Picture attached)  Also I had my toenail arranged (cut/surgery) so my foot will hopefully be better. (My mom has a gnarly pic if you want to see it)  Well that was my week. We watched conference and loved it. Read the book of Mormon. Love you guys have a great week.

Love,

Elder Stephens

Republic of Congo, Brazzaville Mission / Cameroun District

Preston.stephens@myldsmail.net

Small Things

Hello Everyone

This week I studied in the book of Mormon and well Alma and Amuleck are some of my favorite missionaries in the book of Mormon. They had to do hard things, suffer, were beaten, and starved but they did not lose faith in Christ. They stayed strong and in doing that they escaped the prison in which they were bound. I know that we all go through hard times whether it is now or later. I know that if we stay strong and believe in Christ and don’t stop doing the little things we will be blessed. I love the quote “the way you do small things is the way you do all things.” If we don’t take the little things seriously we won’t be able to take the big things seriously. So that was my studies then on Thursday we were invited to go have enchiladas with a couple in our district. They were so good. And then on Saturday we had our baptisms and that was totally awesome. Hope you all have a great week this week love you.

Love,

Elder Stephens

Republic of Congo, Brazzaville Mission / Cameroun District

Preston.stephens@myldsmail.net

Point of Cameroon where it was consecrated for missionary work

Bonjour tout le monde,              

                C’est Elder Stephens Ecore! Just another week out in beautiful Cameroon. This week was good we had baptism interviews on Saturday so this Saturday we should have some baptsims =) so excited! Saturday I got to work with our district leader Elder Scofield he’s from Arizona he’s really cool. Fun fact he got to work on the mesa Arizona temple AC system! So because of the exchange Elder Tshibanda went to work in he’s sector in Eleveur. On Sunday the district president came and spoke. It was funny, so he’s shorter and only speaks French so he in our sacrament meeting had to be translated by our second councilor and he’s super tall. So it was funny to see the two of them up there just like complete opposites. Monday we went to the point in Cameroon where it was consecrated for missionary work it was so beautiful. My mom will post pictures when I can send them. Look for an opportunity to serve someone say hello to someone who looks sad or a neighbor you don’t normally talk to but if the least you should do is smile. It is impossible to be in a bad mood when if your fake smiling, I promise. I know Jesus Christ is out redeemer and through him we can accomplish anything, love you guys hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Stephens

Republic of Congo, Brazzaville Mission / Cameroun District

Preston.stephens@myldsmail.net

Smile at someone today

Hello Everyone,

                This week was awesome so my companion and I were coming home from our last appointment and met a couple who are in the French branch who are both returned missionaries, and they were on a date to get pizza and they saw us and invited us to have pizza with them it was so cool and then they bought us ice cream it was so nice of them. So yea that was just awesome haha. We are preparing some people to be baptized on the 1st of October it will be interesting because we are doing a district baptism but the other branches speak French so we might do the talking in separate rooms and then have the baptisms together but we are still planning that one. We just got a new investigator who’s a mom with I think two kids and I believe her husband’s possibly interested too. We haven’t met them yet but they live next to a member who is good friends with them and so I hope all goes well with that. On Sunday Elder Tshibanda and I had to speak in church we finished blessing the sacrament and “our first speaker will be Elder Stephens” I turn to my companion “What am I going to speak on?” “I don’t know” “Ok thanks” well I gave my talk and then we sang and then he had to speak too. Then a member of the district presidency got up to speak after him. Gotta love Sundays, I hope that you all had a wonderful Sunday and a wonderful week. Be kind to others and smile, a little smile can change your whole day even if you are fake smiling so just try it!

Love,

Elder Stephens

Republic of Congo, Brazzaville Mission / Cameroun District

Preston.stephens@myldsmail.net