Week 2 and 1 (sorry)

Here are the emails we received from Corey today!  First is the main family letter...

Bonsoir;

sorry for not writing last week but when we came to the cyber ; the internet café; there was no power. (Welcome to Togo:) So I'll try to catch you up on everything but it might not be possible to remember everything. So I'm in a place called Souza Noutime. Its really close to the ocean. I love it here. Seriously I think the nicest people in the world leave here. Everyone loves talking about God and is always inviting us in to do things. I've had some great experiences these past weeks. Since I'm in a new secteur we had to find pretty much all of our amies. I remember the first door being way nervous and not really sure whats going on. My campanion knocked on the door and just said we're missionaires from the chuch of jesus christ of latter day saints and we talk about jesus christ to everyone. He also said we're not the temoin which is jeovah witness in french. I was suprised they totally let us in. The lesson went really well, we taught this teenager kid named samuel. It was awesome even though mostly I just bore my testimony. It suprising how many people just love talking about jesus christ here. So we have found tons of amies. My favorite is this lady named Martina. She is this Elderly lady who let us in because she wanted to talk about the second coming. I could see in her eyes how much she loved jesus christ and she even bore testimony of it to us. She is really one of my favorites. We taught her about joseph smith the other day and she said she would pray about it so i'm hoping she'll keep meeting with us. Everything here though is just so different. The bugs aren't bad here though at all. I've probably seen only a handfull of mosquitos, but I've been making sure to take my medicine anyways. Also everyone here stays outside most of the day. So its awesome we teach tons of lessons just outside peoples houses and the crazy thing is it works just fine. Even with all the noice and the people there still seems to be the spirit there and people are still way intrested. Also not very many people here have heard of the church. So its awesome because the message of joseph smith is new. French here though is way different. Everyone here speaks ava(I don't know how to spell it) and most speak french, but usually as there second language or maybe third. Also it really funny sometimes i'm bearing my testimony and i'll feel really good about it. Then the person wont really understand. Like the other day i try to ask this lady who really is progressing well if she had some friends who would be intrested in our message. She didn't understand what i meant. I said it again. Again she didn't understand. Then i swear my companion, Elder Mulumba said the exact same thing. She understood him. So funny. Actually though for the most part, my french is coming along really well. I usually can follow along in the lessons and teach some too. Its when people talk really fast or talk about random things i get lost. It helps a lot that my campanion is from the Congo and only speaks french. I have to admit the first few days it was a lot of communicated through hand motions. He is so nice though and really a great missionary. Also here people are so willing to try out our simple engagements. I thinks its because a lot of them are looking for the truth.

Food is kind of different here. We cook pretty much all of our food ourselves. We usually buy everything from little stores or people on the street. EVERYTHING IS SO CHEAP. I bought like 4 kilograms of fish for about 2 dollars, but they don't prepare the fish at all. Its just a fish head and all. So i learned how to gut and prepare a fish, which was fun. Also we cook everything over this stove type thing which is like the kind you take when you go camping. Also the fruit and the bread is to die for. They make the bread in this bakery and it is heavenly and the fruit here is awesome. Although they have some different types of food, like they eat a lot of pate and also some vegtables and fruits are different colors. LIke eggplant is green here and oranges are green on the outside. The pineapple though is twenty times better than the kind in america. Also everyone eats with there hands, sliverware is optional. So tell uncle garin when we have togo food, it going to be so way hot pate( its like foufou) which you eat with your hands with some tomato sauce and some fried fish.

So i have some intresting news this week. I'm getting transferred on thurs. I know its kind of bizzare but i guess a missionary hurt his back and has to go home some i'm moving to a place called Doumesse. I heard its really great with a bunch of members. I'm be campanions with this french missionary whose parents are from africa. I'm excited to work there and with my new campanoin, but i'll definetly miss my amies and Elder Mulumba. Also i almost forgot but Elder Haycock is the son of Dad's friend. We freaked out about it. What are the chances we meet here in Togo. I'm really loving it here. I love seeing how intrested people are in the gospel here. Its really amazing. I know that there are some many people here waiting for the gospel, like one of our new amies. We would say something and he would say something along the lines of " i've always believed that but didn't know anyone else did too" It was a pretty great experience. Also tons of people here has very little, but love life. Everytime i even kind of feel like life is hard i just have to look around and realize the many things i have in my life. Also everyone here family is so important. Its really the one thing they have.

So quirky things about africa:

There are more motocycles here than cars and pretty much no traffic laws.

Also we wash all of our clothes by hand in a basin. Also all the missionaries think my clothes smell like america because i have american soap.

All prices: taxis, food, etc is negotiable. There is really no set standard.

Yovo Yovo is in ava. Little kids say it all the time is really funny because they think you don't understand and they you respond and it startles them. They usually start busting up laughing, but for many its there first time seeing a white guy

Thank everyone for there support and tell logan congrats on wisconsin: i know you'll love it there. on wisconsin on wisconsin. I love my mission and even though its going to take awhile to get adjust i'm love it.

Je vous aime,

Elder Corey Kimzey

A note to mom!
Bonjour,

sorry this isn't with the others but your letter just randomly showed up in my mailbox. No way they won state that is so awesome. Thats awesome that you start running again. Second week is awesome. My campanion and i can actually communicate pretty well. Sometimes its slower than others but for the most part its pretty good. My new campanion supposly speaks really good french, well i'm mean his from france so yeah. Fun eating stuff: i eat some food from a member which had some wierd meet that i wasn't even sure what it was. Also it had some wierd sauce that was some wierd brown color. WE eat it and it was pretty good. I get to teach some many lessons. We taught a lesson last night about the gospel of jesus christ that went so well. We mainly just shared scriptures and testified which really taught me the importance of those two things. Okay im kind of bad at taking pictures, but i was going to do more today. It been raining most of the day. It rains so hard here. Also when it rains people just will stay inside for forever because there are huge puddles everywhere. P-days we do our laundry which takes a while because its by hand. We usually buy some food and do an activity. WE didn't really today because it was raining, but last week we watch conference in french. It was prett fun because i had seen it already before so i knew what they we talking about. Everything is going well. You would be proud i've been taking really good care of myself so i don't get sick. Also did i tell you about how everyone carries things on their head. I mean like 4 to 5 boxes at a time. It madness, hopefully one day i can be like them. I love you and hope everything going well.

Elder Kimzey

And dad's

Bonsoir mon papa,

I'm doing really well still, i can't believe i'm ready being transfered but thats life. I do remember that from last year. Thats so crazy that Zabrinski was in yellow.  I hope it comes back, but i'm glad to hear about frere winters. That money would be huge in togo $100 is like 500000 cfas.. Thats a lot of money. Good luck with your bike ride. I'm sorry if your letter is really short but we are about to leave to go to a lesson. I love hearing from you and Just wanted to thank you for going on a mission. It always makes life easier for me. When ever people don't understand my french or i cook something really nasty. Which happens a lot because i'm not a good cook haha. I can always look to you and the stories you used to tell me. I hope someday to tell those stories to my kids of the great people of Togo and Benin. I love it here, not quite sure i would want to live here forever, but its really great. Je t'aime
Elder Kimzey

to chelsea...

Bonsoir Chels, Everything is going well. i cn communciate pretty well with my campanion, sometimes i don't understand but for the most part its going well. I'm glad to here that your work is going so well and also that you starting going on dates with skyler. So when the two week mark so i can know when you'll be engaged. Just kidding. Africa is very diffferent. The culture is very different but awesome. I'd think you really like it here. Although everyone would stare at you like they do with me because there are very few white women here. I got to talk with a guy from america the other day, who moved here with his wife and are actually members. It was competly random. I love you and hope the best for you,

Elder Kimzey

last (but not least) Carli
Bonsoir ma soeur,
NO way tiger is still alive that is aweome.  (Carli's fish that corey bought for her in January)Yeah i bet he doesn't remember me at all.  i have read how to kill a mockingbird and i really like it.  My campanion and i communicate through french and sometimes hand motions.  I get all of you random emoticons and there awesome.  I do sometimes meet some girls who remind me of you because they seem to enjoy life like you.  I don't have time to send pictures this week but i'll defintly try next week.  I'm glad you are doing so well.  Also there youre trying some many different things.  I love you tons,
Elder Kimzey