Tu as fait un peu?

Bonjour ma famille,
Tu as fait un peu?(That is an expression that people from Benin use all the time meaning are you doing well.)   So this week really couldn't get much better.  First off on Thursday we went to a wedding.  Here in Benin it is necessary to be married civily before you can get baptized.  We had two couples who have been wanting to get baptized for a really long time but weren't married yet.  So thursday we left cotonou with President Weed to go to Hêvie.  It is a little town outside of Cotonou where I guess all the marriages for Cotonou take place.  It was pretty cool.  There were 7 couples getting married that day and I think 5 of them were getting married so that they could get baptized.  It was very interesting.  It was one big ceremony for all of the brides and bridegrooms.  There was this mayor/magistrate/official looking guy who was incharge of the marriage.  He was dressed up all nice and even had a benin flag sash.  I even got to be a witness for one of our couples.  It was a little scary because the magistrate guy called my name and ask me if i was inagreence with the marriage.  I answer<oui, messieurs>  It was pretty fun too because I also got to sign the marriage certificate(i even have a picture of it.)  I really enjoyed it and it really  has made me think about how important marriage is to God and how God really has instuited marriage since Adam and Eve.  We had a lot of fun and took many picture.
Then on Saturday, all 4 of our amis who just got married were baptized.  I know, how great is that?  It was so amazing to see them take that step as couples.  Also they have been waiting to be baptized for a really long time and seemed ecstatic after the baptism.  I remember one ami telling us that she has been waiting to be baptized for 8 month and now the day had finally come.  It couldn't of been a better baptismal service too.  There were 12 people getting baptized that day(which was for all of Benin)  So that was a really great saturday.
We also have been having tons of great teaching experiences.  We have been teaching this amie.  She was way prepared before we ever got there.  She was actually a contact from another Invesigator.  And also we just started teaching her husband too.  Although he alonely speaks english, so i have to translate for him during lessons and at church.  Which actually goes pretty well, but i give a lot of praise to those people who translate for a living.  It is really hard work.  They are really progressing and seem to love the gospel and seem to be searching for the truth. 
So that was my week.  What an amazing one at that?  I just feel so blessed that I get to meet all this great people and get to help them.  It is a great priviledge.
  Je vous aime tous,
Elder Corey Kimzey  

mom's excerpts
Bonjour ma maman,
Comment tu vas?  I know can you believe it has already been 9 months.  It felt like I entered the MTC yesterday.  Also I was thinking about it the other day, it has been a year since i have taken out my endowments.  How crazy is that?  This week was great.  I really enjoyed it.  I love Benin.  I miss Togo also. I love them both for different reason, but they both are amazing.  It sounds like you have a unbelievable crazy week coming up.  But also a really fun one.  I'm excited to see how chels' bridals turn out.  I'm sure they be great. 
Wow, that is crazy that that basketball player survived and even will be playing soon.  That just proves how tough aggies are! haha.  That is really a miracle though that the trainer happened to be on the court.  We all know that that wasn't by chance.  
Questions:
 How are doing with the move? What are the main differences that you have learned between Togo and Benin? The move hasn't been too bad.  I miss my amis and the members back in Togo but that is okay i'm sure we will meet again.
The difference between Togo and Benin.  Well, they are in different time zones.  Togo is more green but Benin is more developped. The church has been in Togo a little longer, but it is fastly growing in Benin also.  Both countries are very receptive to the gospel. 
Is the basic language the same???  What about the native languages?Yes, the basic language is the same(french) but the expressions are a little different.  Also the accent is kind of different too.  The native language is also different: in togo it is mostly ewe/mina and some cabia , while in Benin it is Fon and after fon it is Mina.
 Is the climate the same or are there slight differences?The climate is a little different because it isn't as green here so it is hotter.  It is kind of hard to tell though because i went through the rainy season while i was in Togo and i'm going through the dry season here.  So it is kind of like comparing apples and oranges.
We've seen some adorable pictures of children in your mission- do they still call you "white man"?  Are they still fascinated by your hair?Yes the little kids often call me Yovo.  Yes they are way interested in my arm hair and in my head hair also.  Although they seem to be interested my skin too.  They always are rubbing it, because i think they think it should  feel different.
Tell us about some of you new amies? 
I have a bunch of new amis.  We have one great ami who is actually from another french african country.  He is very interested in the gospel.  He came to church on sunday and then that afternoon we had a rendez vous with him.  We asked him is he had any questions.  He said he wanted to know those steps to getting baptized so that he could get baptized.  It was kind of shocking but really awesome.  He has overcame a lot of trials in his life, so i thought he was amazing he already wants to be baptized.
 Did you get your xmas package?I haven't received a package yet, but hopefully it coming soon:)
What do you do on your pday?  are they more "touristy" things to see in Benin?Well for p-day often involve a lot of cleaning, laundry, and buying.  But we do a lot of fun things too.  Today a family invited us over for lunch and games.  It was really fun.  We played Mafia and I was a member of the Mafia.  Unfortunately i didn't win though.  I think they are a few touristy things to do.  I'm not sure.
Well, i love you mom and thank you for always being there for me.  Reading you emails always makes me smile.
Je vous aime plus que les biscuits de Noël, (I love you more than christmas cookies)Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonjour from the big city

 Bonsoir ma famille,
Comment ça va?  Je vais bien.  So I got to Benin.  It is way different than Togo.  I'm right now serving in Fidjrossé.  It is pretty awesome.  I can even see the ocean from my house.  How cool is that?  My new companion is named Elder Ndaye.  He is from the Congo.  He got here just 2 weeks before me, so he doesn't really now the secteur that well either.  So we often get lost, but it makes it fun too.  The branch is really amazing also.  We have quite a few members and they really help out a lot.  Our secteur is doing well also, people are so receptive that it is easy to find people to teach.  Also many of them came to church also. How great is that? 
So this week we have been doing a lot of OVB<tracting.>  We have found some really interested people.  We found this one guy who just got in a car accident and was telling us how it was a miracle that he made it out alive.  We have been talking with him a lot about the Book of Mormon.  He promised to read, so that is pretty exciting.
Also coming up this week we have 2 couples who are going to be baptized this week.  I guess that they have been coming to church for a long time but need to get married civily before they could be baptized.  So  they are going to get married and then they are going to be baptized.  It going to be really great.  All of them are ready and really want to be baptized.  I'm excited for them.
This week was full of great exprience and testimony builders.  I'm so thankful for all those little miracles that God does for me everyday.  I sometimes look back at experience or lessons and think how much God must a played a role for it to work out so well. 
Well that was kind of my week in sweet and condensed verison.  Je vous aime beaucoup même,
Elder Corey Kimzey


Bonjour Maman,
Comment ca va?  I'm sorry you are getting up that early everyday that is got to be really hard. 
So how  is the wedding going?  Thank you for the invitation.  It turned out very well.  But it is true i don't think I'll be able to make it.  Please give my apologize to the Bride and groom haha. 
(I edited this-won't bore you with corey's wedding talk...)
I'm being thinking about the christmas call.  I'm hoping that we will be able to Skype.  But we need to figure out when we can do it.  So it is an 8 hour difference between us.  So maybe i could call around 6 o'clock here and that would be 10 o'clock  your time.  I don't know what do you think?  I'm really excited for it.  It will be great if we can skype or just talk.  By the way what is you skype name so i can plan out the call? 
Benin is great.  It is way different than Togo.  It is a little hotter here because there isn't as many trees.  It is a huge city.  There are tons of people.  We went to the grande marche (large street market)today and there were people everywhere.  I guess it is the biggest marche in West Africa.  It was ginormous. 
Crossing the border wasn't that bad.  I got a few more stamps in my passport, so that was great.  It is great too because the border police already know that we are the missionaries so it was pretty easy.
So in my new apartment there are 4 elders: Elder Ndaye, Mulumba<my first trainer>, Ritchie<an american who is hitting his 6month mark soon>, and me.  We have a lot of fun together.  ELder Ndaye is really great.  He teaches really well and speaks french really really well.  I'm learning a lot from him so it has been great. 
I will miss my investigators and the members of Togo a lot.  I already miss them.  Also i miss the language of Togo.  I haven't learned any words in Fon<the language of Benin> yet.  So i'll have to get on that.  Also i miss the greenest of Togo.  Hopefully someday i'll get to go back.
Benin is way more developed.  There are tons of big buildings.  There is also tons of nice houses in my secteur because we are right next to the beach. 
I'm in Fidjrossé.  It is a very nice area.  People are pretty nice here and pretty willing to talk about the gospel.  We have a lot of great investigators who are probably going to be baptized soon. 
I learned a lot of things from my old companion. Two things he used to say is: We never know and Everyone is weird.  I really like the two phrases.  Because we really don't ever know what is going to happen, what investigator will work out, or even what the day will bring.  All we can do is to do our best.  The other one makes me laugh pretty hard.  I would tell him i'm sorry that i'm so weird and he would tell me everyone is weird.  And sometimes he would say that he is weird and i would respond that everyone is weird.  It is very true though.  That we all have our quirks and our diffculties but we all are trying to get better.
I will try and take a lot of pictures.  Thanks for serving pie and chels' wedding in honor of me haha. 
But i still love you more than all the pie you could serve, Elder Corey

Tranfered- Off to Benin!



District basketball- thanks to Elder Layton!

 Bonsoir Ma Famille,
Comment vas-tout le monde?  So I'm being transferred to Benin.  I going to the branche of Fidrosse and I'm going to be working with Elder Indayi(he is from the Congo.)  I'm really excited to go to Benin, but it is wierd to think that I'm leaving Togo behind.  I really love Togo, the people are so great here.  Although, I'm excited to work with the people of Benin.  I heard that they are great.  I also heard that my new companion is a great missionary too.  So yeah, I'm really excited.  Also i guess that means you will have to change my clock because Benin is an hour ahead.  I guess that means i am going to experience Daylight saving times in a way. 
Okay, this week has been a lot of fun and a lot of success.  Many of our amis are really progressing now.  I had a really miraculous experience the other day.  We were just walking down the road to the next appointment when we decided to stop and talk to this lady who owned a small boutique.  I thought we were probably just leave her a brouchure because we were kind of in a hurry.  As we started to talk to her, i realized we really need to talk the time and have a lesson with her right then.  We had just a small lesson about the restoration.  She seemed very touched by the message and seemed really interested.  So i learned a very important lesson that we never know who God wants us to talk but we just need to be open to the Spirit and willing to talk to everyone.
Also this week we have been teaching an ami who used to work on sunday.  We explained to him the importance of the Sabbath Day.  I thought that maybe this would torque him.  It didn't really.  He asked a few questions and we gave him a few scriptures to read, and he accepted it.  I realized the simple truth that we don't need to be afraid to ask people to respect the commandments because we know they bring blessings and that God will help us keep them also.  Also that he was obviously prepared before we ever arrived.
So this week has been a great week.  I also went and played Basketball today.  We played for 3 hours.  It was a lot of fun and it was good to see all of the other missionaries before i go to Benin.
Well, I love you all and hope all is well.  Next week, I'll be writing you from Benin.  That's pretty exciting.
  Je vous aime beaucoup meme,
 Elder Corey Kimzey

Sections of Mom letter...
Bonsoir maman,
Comment ca va?  The big continent is going well like usual. 
The xc banquet sounded way great...  That is great that casey logged the most miles.  I was awful at that.  I'm glad that Casey didn't follow in my footsteps haha.   That is really great that Trev made the Hall of Fame.  He really deserves that...  How is Trev doing? 
That is great that you carpet came in early.  Are they already installed?  I don't remember drawing on Carli's floor but that is super funny. 
I'm gald that you had fun in Thanksgiving.  It always is a fun time. 
Answers of the Week(the daily double haha):
Did you get transfered this week?
Yes i did get transferred.  A lot of people got transferred.  We have a bunch of new missionaries coming in so that changed a lot of things.  There were 7 missionary who came last month(5 from Ghana Mtc and 2 from Provo.)  Then we have 4 missionaries from Ghana Mtc coming on Tuesday and 5 missionaries coming from Provo MTC in the first week of December.  So it kind of exciting. 
Did you do anything for Thanksgiving?
Yes i did celebrate Thanksgiving.  Elder Burkhart and I went and ate at a restuarant it was fun.
What is the weather like this time of year?  Is it still dry? 
Yes it still is dry season.  It is really hot.  I think it starts to change around Febuary but i'm not sure. 
Do you have any new missionaries?Yes and we are supposed to be getting a ton more with the new age change.
Thanks mom.  I'll make sure and have a great week.  It should be tons of fun going to Benin.  I have kind of forgotten what it look likes.  It should be exciting.
 I love you more than pie,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Conference Generale

 Bonsoir ma famille,
Comment allez-vous?  I hope all is well back in the USA.  I'm doing really well.  It just started to down pour outside but like usual african rainstorms it stopped after a few minutes.  So this week was a really great week.  I got to watch conference this week.  All of the members of Togo came together to watch it in Hedranwoe.  So it was great to see all the members and all the missionaries too.  I watched the Saturday morning session in English with all the english speakers(mostly american missionaries.)  I really liked some of the talks.  I loved Elder Andersen's talk about how we can endure through Trials.  I also liked Elder Gay's talk about what would what we give for our soul?  I really liked all the talks, it was a great general conference.  Afterward a lot of people left, so i went downstairs and watch the Sunday Morning Session in French.  It was great also.  I loved Elder Hollands and President Monson's talk.  I really loved watching conference because it really helps put my life in focus and help me improve my life. 
Well stories from this week.  We have a great new ami named Gentille.  Her name means nice or kind in french(which seems very apporiate because she is very nice)  We found her by ovb.  We happened to be walking along when we saw her sitting on a bench.  We started to talk about the importance of Faith and Repentance.  She was very accepting and we fixed another rendez-vous.  She has been progressing really well.  She reads quite a bit which helps a ton.  She has a little kid too who is funny.  He always is climbing all over the place and seems to be curious about everything.  She has even accepted a baptismal date.  She is really keeping all the commitments and seems to really believe in our message.  It is so crazy how we seem to meet people that God has prepared in the most unusual ways.  She also came to watch General Conference which i thought was a big plus.
Also we have another new ami that is actually a contact from some other missionaries.  Her name is Tatiyana.  She already told us that she has been praying about our message and she feels really good about it.  She told us this during the second lesson.  Obviously, we were ecstatic.  It kind of reminded me that we never know when God is going to answer  our investigator's prayers, so it is so important to help them recongize answers.  She also came to conference.  So we were excited for that.
So this week has been really amazing.  I am hoping that things keep going this well.  I'm loving my mission.  This week i have really noticed the importance of prayers and how God really listens to our prayers.
 Je vous aime tous,
Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey

ps. the picture is of a member who is about to leave on his mission and i at Kpalmie     

(excerpts from email to mom)
Maman!
   Bonsoir, Je vais très bien.  Comment ça va?  I'm glad that you are doing well and the house also.  I'm sorry to hear you still had to deal with the fans this week, but atleast you recieved the good news that the floors won't need to be ripped up.  That is great that you are getting new carpet too.  I can't wait to see how it looks.  Are you going to replace all the carpet in the whole house? 
    I'm glad that Carli is still doing family history work. I also thought the temple was even a greater experience when i got to do work for our ancestors.  Actually, as missionaries we don't  really pay tithing.  If we recieve money from home or from other source we are supposed to pay tithing on that but we don't pay tithing on the money the church gives us.  Although, we do use that money to pay Fast Offerings.  It is kind of interesting.  I don't think we have tithing settlement either although, i'm not sure.
   Thank you for supporting me although it probably be better if you could sleep for longer. haah.  I'm sure you will get adjusted soon. (I mentioned in my letter, that my body clock was completely messed up since the end of daylight savings..) Here, we don't have daylight savings time. 
   Thanks for the compliment on my picture(don't i always look good haha jk)  I think my weight has kind of balanced out.  That is great that you saw Coach Ginsel, how was he doing?...  I will make sure to take a bunch of pictures. I will take picture of my new apartment too.  Well, if i get to move in to it.  We are suppose to move in December 15 and transfers are next week.  So i'm hoping i'll get to move into the new apartment.  But either way i take pictures and a short viedo if i get transfered too.
 I love you mom even more than pie in the world,
Elder Corey Kimzey   

(for dad)
Things are going great here.  I got to listen to 2 sessions of General Conference.  So i was pretty excited about that.  I don't really have any plans for thanksgiving.  I guess last thanksgiving a bunch of missionaries got together to celebrate.  At the very least, i'm sure I'll make a big feast for everyone in my apartment. 
Wow, it really sounds like College Football is going to be exciting this year.  I wonder who is going to make it to the champanionship.
 My investigators are doing quite well.  Most of the arae progressing really well.  I'm hoping they will keep progressing like they are now.  That is cool that Alec is going to LA.  I'm sure he is going to love it.  I'm sure he will get to meet a wide variety of people.  I heard that Jessica got her call to Russia .  Talk about Cold.  I'm sure she'll love it anyways. 
Studying is really great.  I don't know what it is about a mission but i seem to love the scripture and love reading them more than i ever did before.  I just love really a the story(????)and seeing how they apply to me and my investigators. I study with my campanion in French.  One reason is that he doesn't really speak english.  But i like study in french because we are really studying for our investigators.    Yeah, Elder Burkhart(the other North American Elder in my apartment) and i get along really well.  We actually sometimes speak in french.  But usually we communicate with a form of Frenglish. I really love all the Elders in my Apartment right now.  WE all get along really well.  I haven't really written down all the blessings i have given, but i think that would be a good idea.  I will definetly do that from now on.  Thanks dad for all the encouragement.  I often think of the advice someone gave me that if i wanted to be a good missionary that i just needed to become like my dad.  I think this advice is true.
 I love you very much,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Life is really simple here

Waterfall in Kpalime

Bonjour ma famille,
Comment allez-vous?  J'espere que tout le monde aille bien.  (How is everyone?  I hope that you all are well)  So this week has been pretty great.  We been working with this new ami named Natalie.  She is really great.  She is one of those people that I know God has prepared way before we ever got there.  She seems to answer all the questions right and seems to understand things that most people don't.  She also always love talking with us.  The other day we were in her parcel to talk with her neighboor but her neighboor happened not to be there.  She asked of if we could teach her instead.  Of course, we were way excited to teach her.  She seems to be progressing really well, but she is going to be busy for a few weeks so we can't talk with her.  But I'm sure she'll keep progressing afterwards.

I also had another great experience this week.  We had been planning on teaching this man and maybe his two sister.  We weren't really sure who was going to be there because it was our first rendez-vous.  When we showed up there was 6 people there to listen to our message.  I was stunned.  Then we started the lesson and they are all really great people.  They asked really good questions that really applied to our lesson.  I remember we answered one woman's question about repentance.  Our answer seemed to really click with her.  It was like we were saying things she had always believed.  What a great experience!
Also this week we have been working a lot with the members.  It seems to be helping us out so much.  My testimony of working with members has grown a lot.  I can often see a great change in the expression of the ami when the member testifies of what he or she knows to be true.  It is really quite amazing.
Also today we went and played basketball again.  It was tons of fun.  It is nice and cool today. The rest of the week it has been pretty hot. I have been sweating a ton, but that okay.  It is way better than the snow.
Well, today i attached some of the photos from last week.  One is of the baptism of Desire.  The other is us going to the waterfall in Kpalime.  It was very beautiful.  Well, that was kind of the synopsis of my week.  It was short and sweet. 

 Je vous aime tous,
 Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonsoir Maman,
Ma Mere, comment va?  I know, I can't believe I've already been out for eight months.  I feel really old just saying that. 
I'm really sorry that you are still having problems with the house.  Really, what are the chances?   But I'm sure you will catch a break soon and all will turn out in the end.  But at least you can keep using Meet me in St Louis quotes. 
Well the inspections went really well  We have inspections every month.  They score us and which every apartment wins either gets to go to lunch with the Leavitts or some money.  We didn't win this time but they said it looked nice.  I was pleased with that.  Also they found us a new apartment and we will probably be moving in there next month.  The leavitts are really busy right now because we are suppose to be getting a bunch of missionaries so they are looking for new apartments.  It is pretty exciting.  A lot could be changing soon.
Thank you for the package too.  It doesn't matter if it comes in January or even Feb.  I'm just excited.
Great experince:  well, the other day that we teaching this ami and her neighboor came up to us and  asked if we could come by sometime and teach her.  We accepted and came by a few days latter.  We were talking about faith and a few other things, but we hadn't even really got to any really new doctrince when she told us she had a question.  She asked us if she could come to our church and if there were any requirments to come.  We explained that there weren't any.  She seemed really excited and told us she would come to church next sunday with a member that lives in her parcel.  We latter told the member and he seemed way shocked.  It kind of just proved to me that we never now when somebody will be open to our message.
Funny experience:  Well I can't think of an absoultely hillarous experience but something kind of funny happened today.  I was in the process of washing my clothes.  I was having a good old time washing the last shirt and singing hymns as I worked.  Then as I was finishing my last shirt, my foot slipped that was on top of the basin.  Water flew everywhere and I lost my balance and almost fell into the basin.  I was laughing pretty hard after that.  I know that was probably not very funny but I thought it was.
Bon, I love you a lot mom.  I hope you know that.  I hope your floors and kitchen come around too. 

 Je vous aime beacoup, meme plus que tarte, (I love you beacoup, even more than pie)Elder Corey Kimzey


Elder Kimzey and Elder Kalala


Dad,
Togo is great.  I love this country. Life is really simple here.  The mission has really taught me that when you leave all the other things behind and just care about the important things in life, life is so enjoyable and simple.  I love it.  That is really cool you got to judge a programming contest.  What kind of applications did they have?  I'm sure they had some really awesome applications.  What was your favorite?  I can't believe Alabama lost.  It should be intresting to see how things turn out in the end.  Although, Oregon kind of seems like they are dominating.
Yeah, i guess we might be moving from this apartment to one near the marche.  It will be closer to my secteur so that should be good.  Also we didn't win the apartment inspections.  Maybe next time we will win.  My companion and i are getting a long really well.  He is really a great missionary, so it makes it easy to get along with him.

Frenglish

As my sister Kari said this week, we might have to start looking for ESL classes for corey- he's losing his english-sorry ahead of time for all those english majors out there!
Bonjour ma famille,
Comment allez-vous?  Je vais tres bien. (cow is everyone?  I'm really well.) This week has been absolutely crazy, but was amazing at the same time. 
So to start off, we have been finding some new amis.  This two guys stopped us on the street the other day.  One of them is soccer player/ farmer(i know what an intresting combination.)  His name is Koffi.  And we also have been teaching his friend too.  His friend is from Togo but lived a long time in Nigeria.  So, he sometimes speaks Frenglish(French and English.)  I don't think he does it on purpose, but sometimes it is pretty funny.  They told us that they have been looking for the truth for a long time.  They said they don't even go to church because they are sick of them.  Then it was awesome, they reacted so well to the message of the restoration.  They seemed to find so many similarities between them and joseph smith.  They said that they really wanted to read the book of Mormon too. 
Also we have been talking to  a new ami named Germaine.  She sells stuff at a little store.  She is super nice.  We started talking to us about baptism.  She was very recpetive to our message.  So, we are really excited about her.
The best day of the week was saturday.  We had a some really good lesson in the morning and left to Tokoin for the baptism.  There was actually quite a few people getting baptized.  I think there was 6 people.  We had one baptism(Desire.)  So it was really great because i had the opportunity to baptize him.  Also the missionaries of Be Pota asked if I could baptize there canidate too.  So i got to baptize two people.  What an occasion(does that work in english?)
So we usually have a little baptism service beforehand.  It went really well, so i was very pleased.  Then the amis of tokoin were the first to get baptized.  So we all went outside to watch and wait for our turn.  Then when the second candidate of Tokoin was being baptized, she passed out as she was coming out of the water.  So a bunch of people came and helped her.  She turned out to be ok.  I guess she just didn't have the habit of going under water.  She had never been swimming or anything, so the sensation of going underwater kind of freaked her out.  After that i was nervous that my ami would be kind of freaked out.  But he totally wasn't.  The baptism went really well.  He seemed very excited.  He is really going to be a great member. 
So this week turned out to be awesome.  It ended so well.  It is so crazy to think about sometimes how we are helping people recieve ordannces and accept the gospel.  Sometimes it is daunting to think about it, but with heavenly help it is possible. 
Thank you all for the many emails, letters, and words of encouragement.  Also today was pretty great, we went up to Kpalime.  It is a small town/village that is 2 hours away.  It was super cool.  We met the familly of this member.  Some of them didn't speak much french but it was fun to practice our ewe.  We went and saw a cocca and caffine plant.  Then we went and saw this huge waterfall.  I took a bunch of picture.  It was beautiful and it reminded me a lot of the time my familly and i spent in Costa Rica.  I forgot my camera cord today, but i will defintely try and send the picture back next time.I thought you like the title too. The ou bien, ai-je menti is a really common phrase here meaning or what, have i lied.  I love it when people say it.  Also people sometimes for saying thank you they say C'est Gratuit, meaning it is free.  I like that one too. Well, thank for everything. 
Je vous aime et je vous souhaite les bon choses, (I love you and I wish you all good things)
Elder Corey Kimzey

Almost 8 months!

 Bonjour Ma Famille,
Comment allez-vous?  J'espere que toute sois bien.(How are you? I hope that all is well) This week was very great.  We were planning on baptizing a few people this week, but they all could pushed back to next week, more on that later.  My companion and I are really getting along well.  He is pretty great companion.  He is from the Congo.  He is a pretty funny guy. 
So we have been doing a lot of OVB(ouvrir votre bouche,which is our version of door to door.)  But surprising we still taught a lot of lesson and have met some really amazing people.  Like this lady named Chantal.  We were talking to her and she was saying how she didn't speak french.  Although she said it in french.  I started talking to her and she spoke way better french than I do.  We gave her a brouchure and our number but she didn't seem that interested.  Then the next day we get a call from her saying that we needed to come over Saturday.  We met with her on Saturday but she wasn't really available because someone  in her family just died.  But she said that she wanted us to come back.  So we are hoping she will progress.  We had a lot of really great experiences with meeting people this week.
Also this week Cherita is probably going to be baptized.  She was going to be baptized this week but we still needed to teach some vital commandments and she happened to be sick this week.  Ca va aller.  (it is what it is) She says she is really excited for this next saturday. 
Also Desiree is going to be baptized this next week too.  He came to church an hour in advance just to make sure he was on time.  It was pretty cool.
Also this week we had a pretty crazy experience with Fafa and Chantal.  Fafa started off the lesson talking about how she didn't understand why our church meetings were different.  Why we don't dance and things like that.  I was kind of nervous that she didn't really like church.  Then we started talking a little about it and it seemed better.  Then she asked us if she could get baptized.  It was totally out of the blue.  She told us that she really wanted to be baptized.  So we set up a baptismal date for the 17th.  So I was really shocked but really happy at the same time.
So that was some of the great moments we had this week.  I hope it will keep going well here in Doumassesse.  It really is a great branch and I really love it.   I'm glad  to hear that everyone is doing well.  Also it is great to here that so many people have just got there mission calls.  What an exciting time! 
Je vous aime,(I love you)
Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey
Mom! 
Bonsoir, c'est comment?  Je vais bien. (Good evening,it's okay?  I am well) I'm sorry that technology isn't being your friend today.  You should  move to Africa, its awesome.  haha.  I got your photos.  It was great to see the house, but it was sad to see the floors all torn up.  It was pretty sad to see the floors.  But at least you will get a brand new floor.  I'm sorry to hear you were put kind of in disarray with your kitchen all over the house. 
  ...Yeah i heard Shayna got her call to Argentina.  That is so cool.  I also heard that Kara got her call to Hungary(I think)  That is really exciting for them.  I also heard that Logan got pneumonia in the Mtc.  Is that true?  I hope it gets better. 
...  That would be great if Casey went to USU.  I'm sure he would love it.  That is great he made Sadies Royalty.  Did he get to be in the play and everything? 
Yeah I'm sure life will be better next week.  Just think most people here have concrete floor their how life.  I'm sure your new floors will be awesome.  You'll have to send me a picture when they are finished.
 I love you mom.  More than pie, more than anything,
Elder Corey Kimzey 

Dad,
Things are going great in Togo.  WE have a lot of new missionaries here.  I met the new american today.  He seemed kind of in shock still but I'm sure he will get over than soon. My new companion is awesome.  His name is Elder Kalala.  He is from the Congo but not Kinshasa so other town.  He has tons of Kids in his family(if i remember right its like 10)  His sister is on a mission in Kinshasa.  He really like soccer.  He has been out on his mission for 1 year and is our district leader.  Right now is the sunny season.  It is pretty hot. 
(refering to the kona ironman)Wow, that cool that an Australian guy won again.  They seem to always win.  That is too bad the American girl didn't win though.  I really liked her. 
It really seems like its going to be Alabama and Oregon for the National Championships.  Go ducks.  Is anyone else undefeated?  That is great that Alec got his papers in already.  Maybe he will go to the best mission on the face of the Earth: Benin Cotonou. That is so cool so many people are working on their papers.  I heard a few people have already got their calls. 
Advice for new missionaries:  I think i would tell them to first off be patient with themselves, especially if they are learning a new language.  Sometimes it might feel like you haven't really progressed, but if you look back you'll most likely see that you have progressed a ton.  Also make sure and do the little things.  Gain a habit of reading scriptures, praying, etc.  Also it is important to learn to talk with people because that what you will be doing all day long.  Also learn to do the temporal things too, your companion will be thank full that you did. That i guess some advice that i could give them.  I don't know if that helps. 
That sounds like really nice weather.  Here it is really hot, but that ok because  Ilove the heat haha.  HOw is the riding going?  That seems like a good idea to sell the porche.  What are you thinking of buying?  New carpet in the bedrooms would be good.  I can't imagine coming home now the house is going to look so different. 
I will definitely read that chapter.  It sounds like a really good one.  I'll tell you what i think about it after i read it.  One of my favorite chapter in the Bible is John chapter 9 about the guy who was born blind.  I think it is such a great one. 
Thanks dad.  I can't think of anything right now that i need.  I loved the things you sent last time.  I used all the drink mixes already, the beef jerky, and the peanut butter.  I would loved to maybe have a few more photos of the famille.
 I love you too.  I hope you have a great week.  Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey

New Companion

Bonsoir Ma Famille,
Comment ca va?  Je vais tres bien. Also this week was really great.  My new companion,Elder Kalala, came wednesday.  Then Elder Makubu left thursday morning.  We had a pretty good week teaching.  I really like the way that my new companion teaches.  He testifies a lot.   We have a lot of fun together, it pretty awesome.
So this week we had a pretty amazing experience.  We have been teaching two women who are sisters.  One is named Chantal and the other is named Fafa.  They are really funny.  They run a little boutique and we teaches them as they sell stuff.  So they had promised us that they would come to church.  Church started and they weren't there, so we were kind of depressed about that.  So we were standing right outside the sacrament room because we had so many people at church, when we recieved a call.  It was Fafa and her sister looking for the church.  I guess they had been driving all around the quartier but couldn't find the building.  They ended finding it and were able to see part of sacrament meeting.  Then the craziest thing happened, a member that I didn't know came up to us and Fafa knew him.  I guess he was the Missionary who taught her 2 years ago.  He is actually from the Ivory Coast and happened to be visiting Togo that sunday.  It was pretty awesome.  He expressed to us how he was really excited that we are teaching her.  What are chance?  I mean i think we all know that that event wasn't by chance.
Also we have been working we Cherita a lot.  She is still planning on getting baptized the 27.  I sent some pictures of Elder Makubu, Cherita, and I before he left.  She seems ready.  We are pretty excited for her. 
Also today we went and played soccer at the unviersity with the elders from Adidgome and some members.  We had a lot of fun. It was super hot but that always makes it more fun.  Also we know have 6 missionaries in my apartment.  So we have a lot of fun. 
Also Desire has been progressing well too.  He is really accepting what we teach him.  We also have started to teach the other people in his parcel too.  So we are hoping He will be baptized soon too.
Well, all is going well.  I hope all is going well for everyone.  I am loving my mission.  I love hearing about everyone turning in their papers and how they are getting ready for their missions.  It is great to see.  I love you, even more than pie,
Elder Corey Kimzey




It's great to see corey's smile!

 Bonsoir Maman,
How are you doing?  It sounds like you had a crazy week.  How are your floors doing?  That crazy that you had to put a bunch of fans in the house to dry out the floors.  I'm sure you dominate your class.  That is great that you are really pushing yourself.  I mean that great you take a class that pushes you not just underwater basketweaving aerobics.  (wow-that's a random hickman phrase thrown in...)
(refering to the state xc meet last week)  I can't believe that Saarel almost beat Luke's record.  I thought no one would get close to that one for a really long time... 
That is awesome they put in new pickleball courts.  We will have to play when i get back.  Although, you will probably beat me.  That is great you got a new calling too.  How do you like it so far?  Do you have many young women?  I think we have 7 or 10 for our whole branch. 
Yeah my week was pretty awesome.  I really do love the people here.  They are just really awesome.  It kind of make me sad just thinking that someday i will have to leave them.  I can't believe how fast time flies. 
I'm just love sharing the gospel with everyone.  This week we did a zone activity where we contacted people in a big intersection.  It was really fun.
I hope everything keeps going well.  I love you mom.  I hope everything is going well with Chels and her wedding too.  I love you more than Pie and cookies,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Hey Dad,
Life is pretty great in afrique.   I have to admit, I'm kind of sad about the wood floors.  At least you found some good ones to replace them. 
It sounds like you are way busy with your bishop duties...   I imagine that the church has tons of people turning in their papers. It kind of amazing.  I'm hoping we can get some more missionaries here, so that we can expand out into new areas. 
That is great you have been running more.  I probably need to start running more too.  I'll probably get back and be slower than tar...  That is crazy how fast the winner of the Half championships ran.  Most people, like me, would kill for a 13 minute 5k.  That is spectular. 
Life is going well with my new companion.  We really starting to get used to each other.  I like teaching with him a lot.  I'm really working on following the spirit, not just doing the same thing for each lesson.  It sometimes is easy to fall into a routine, but it is important to meet the needs of the investigator.
I love you dad.  Please, say hi to all the priest for me,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Transfers!!!! (um- wait- maybe not)

Chers Ma Famille,
Bonsoir,  so I'm doing really well.  So on Sunday, I got a transfer call.  I'm now leaving to Ablogome(which is in Lome).  I'm going to be working with Elder Bukasa.  He is from the Congo.  I heard he is really awesome.  So it should be really exciting.  It is really hard to leave Doumassesse because I have so many good friends and good memories here.  But I'm really excited for what the future.
So today was pretty awesome.  We played basketball at this Catholic recerational center.  It was really fun.  Also it was pretty hilarious because there was a 6'7" guy who is a member on the other team.  But you know with all my basketball skills it was pretty easy to guard him(yeah right).

This week was pretty good for teaching too.  I forget sometimes how lucky I am here.  I get to teach a ton. This week we have been teaching a new ami named Ida.  We met here through a pastor who stopped us on the street.  She is really smart.  She knows the bible and the doctrine really well.  She runs a little store and that's where we teach her.  We invited her to church and she came(she is the one in the blue dress in one of the photos) I'm really excited to hear what happens with her. 
Also our ami named Cherita is progressing well.  She is going to be baptized the 27th of October.  She is progressing really well.  She even came to church when she was going to leave town.  So she is progressing really well towards baptism.
Also i learned an important lesson this week.  That the more the lesson is geared towards the investigar, the more you look to help the person and not just check off another lesson, the more effective a missionary you really are. 
So everything is going really well.  I loved hearing from many of you.  I hope all is going well for you.  I'm loving being a missionary.  I know the church is true.  Je vous aime,
Elder Corey Kimzey

my mom's letter this week...

 Maman! just killed a man( just kidding but that queen song popped into my head when I wrote maman)
Je vais bien.  Comment vas-tu?  It sounds like you have been driving a ton which is even more fun through scenic Idaho.  I'm glad that your xc dinner went so well.  I always loved those.  I can't believe how much spaghetti you went through.  I guess runners do eat a lot. I'm kind of infamous for being a big eater compared to the other elders.  They always give me there let overs.
Well I'm glad casey ran so well even if we did lose to DH.  Ca va aller.  We will beat them at State which is the most important thing. 
I can't believe the kitchen flooded.  It is totally true that it always happens when dad isn't home.  I'm sure that was a great surprise for him.  I'm sorry that the floors are now kind of warped. I remember how hard we worked on those.  Hopefully the home insurance will help. 
That is awesome that you went to Logan.  Was there already snow on the ground?  Did you get to see the awesome book robot too?  I'm glad that Casey got to see it.  Maybe that will push him to go to the best school(usu.)  There is actually a few missionary here with me who are probably going to usu afterwards too.
I actually have heard of Rigby Idaho.  I think an elder is from a town near there.  His name is Elder Daryl Kent. Maybe they know each other(that would be a small world.) 
We do have primary programs.  I guess the primary has been practicing a lot for when the new building is dedicated.  Our primary is actually pretty big.  There is probably 20 to 30 kids.   
  I'm doing a lot better with the whole weight thing.  I lost most of the weight i gained.  So now I'm back to normal.
That is crazy to think that James is already back.
Well i thought I'd tell you.  I just got a suprise phone call that I'm not getting transferred.  That I'm actually staying in Doumassesse, but that my companion is leaving to Benin.  My new companion is Elder Kolala.  I know nothing about him.  So it should be fun.  I hope everything is going well.  Cheer hard at State for me.  I hope we do really well.  I love you mom.  I can't believe casey is already getting ready for his mission. He is going to be an amazing missionary.
 Je t'aime plus que tarte pour eternite, (I love you more than pie for eternity)
Elder Corey Kimzey

Holy Cow- Eighteen year olds on missions that is awesome!



  Bonjour ma famille,
Okay to start off the whole changing of missionary age is blowing my mind.  That is really awesome!!  We don't get to watch conference for awhile but the couple came to our sacrament meeting and told us the good news.  People, here, are really excited about it too.  It still blows my mind.
So this week was great.  The baptism was really amazing.  We had a few amis show up for the baptism even though it was all the way out in Souza Netieme.  I send a picture of some of the people at the baptism.  I'm sorry Chantal(our ami who got baptised) wasn't in the picture.  I'll try to make sure at get the picture with her in it from my campanion.  So that was amazing part of the week.  Even her sister who usually leaves the house when we teach Chantal said that she might get baptized.  That was really great to hear.
Also this week we have some great lessons with our ami named Desiree.  He is like 15.  He is super intressed in the gospel.  He tells us that he watch this gospel channel on tv all the time.  On this channel there is a bunch of preacher from around Togo.  He always asking us why there is so many different churchs and they all believe different things.  This week we explained the Great Apostasy and the Restoration.  It seemed to really make sense to him.  We asked him about Baptism and he said that he wanted to but first he was going to pick a date.  So we are really excited for him.
Also this week we been teaching Cherita a little bit too.  She is a friend of a member.  She always comes to everything we invite her too.  She came to the Baptism and has came to 2 sundays.  We taught her most of the restoration so far.  She seems to be progressing really well.  She is super funny too.  The other day she was harassing us because we don't take Motocyle Taxi.  I was laughing pretty hard.
Also we have a new ami that is really intresting.  He is Muslim.  When we showed up for the first lesson, we asked if we could talk to him and his familly.  He ended up inviting like his whole parcel.  The next time we ended up teaching like 6 or 7 people all from different background.  It is just cool to know the gospel applies to everyone no matter what background. 
Also this week we had our interviews with President Weed.  He is really amazing.  I always just feel good about life when I talk to him.  Also Sister Weed is super nice.  She was trying to help teach some of the Elders in my appartment english. It was a really  good week overall.
Je vous aime,
Elder Corey Kimzey
Dad,
(about the change in missionary age) I know , isn't it spectucalr to know though that we have a prophet we still recieve revelation?  Wow that is crazy to think how many missionary could be in our ward in June.  Yeah i loved my time at USU.  It helped me so much on my mission.  I think there are two many things i learned for my time at college.  One is just temporal stuff.  Like cooking and sewing- stuff like that.  You would be suprised how many missionary struggle with those things.  So maybe doing some things like that would help them.  Also i had to learn to just leave everything up to the lord, which was hard at first, but changed my life. 
I can't believe USU lost.  That just too bad.  My friend wasn't very happy that Fsu lost.  He was telling me before how this week was going to be an easy week for them.  I can't believe that we are already in peak xc season.  I can't wait to hear how they do.  Also tell coach Holt congrats, that is a pretty good time. 
Good to hear logan is doing good in the MTC.  I think they were starting to change the amount of mtc time when i was there.  I think for french now its only 6 weeks.  That would be so awesome if someone from our ward came to my mission.  It would even be better if we were in the same appartment. 
Thanks dad.  I really do love my mission.  I love all the times i get to study the scriptures.  I love the people here.  I wish you could just come and meet them.  I know you would love them too.  They are just so amazing.  The gospel really is true and changes lives.  Thanks for the prayers too.  I know it probably pretty stressful to think you have to prepare 6 missionaries.  But the great thing is all those priest are great missionaries already.  Also i start thinking of maybe some ideas of things i wish i had done before my mission to be better prepared.
 I love you dad a lot,
Elder Corey Kimzey
 Mamman!!
Don't worry Elder Corey works great. It reminds me of the Mtc they always got mad at us if we said hey guys.  Because we were Elders, not guys.  It took me a while to change that habit.  I still can't believe the whole change in missionary age.  It is crazy to think that now casey and i will be out at the same time.  I can't really wrap my mind around it.  The great thing is casey is going to be a great missionary.  I often think about how much more prepared he is than i was.  He really will do great. 
Also the change for girls is huge.  I think it is so much better.  I remember how hard for some girls to try to figure out what to do when they are 19.  I think it is great that girls can now just go on there mission.  I wonder if we are going to start getting sister missionaries. 
 I can't believe how intense you fitness class is.  I laughed pretty hard because of your physical fitness joke.   That is wierd to think that Casey and I could miss the lake.  At least think that would mean that there would only be 3 lake trips with out both casey and me.  I got chels' pictures.  They are really amazing.  Which one are they going to use for the invite?  Mom.. I love you.  I hope you know that.  I know it probably really hard to think that Casey could  be leaving on a mission soon but know that God calls though he has prepared.  I know he probably has preapred casey for a long time.  I'm sure he will great.  Also think of all the blessings with 2 missionary out at the same time.  I'm sure blessings kind of work like exponents.  The blessing will just skyrocket.  I love you mom.  I hope you have a great week. 
I love you more than the awesome foufou with tomato sauce and chicken i ate for lunch(which is saying something because it was really good),
 Elder Corey Kimzey 

Octobre deja? (october already?)

 Bonjour ma famille,
Comment ça va?  Je vais très bien.  This week was awesome.  We had a lot of great lessons and found a bunch of new amis.  This Saturday, Chantal will hopefully be baptized.  She has really been progressing well.  You can tell she really wants to be baptized too.  So we are hoping to finish all the lessons with her this week.
Also we have this awesome amie named Egenie.  Sometimes, I forget she is an ami because she knows so much about the gospel.  We haven't even had very many rendez-vous with her because she works a lot.  She reads a ton though.  She has already almost finished 2 nephi and she can explain it well too.  She, even, told us that someone asked a question in Church about the Godhead and she answered it.  She also has accepted a baptismal date.  I'm really excited for her.  She told us at the beginning how she has been praying to find the truth.  She seems so happy always to talk about the gospel.  She has so many questions for us.  She is really quite amazing.
Also this week, we have been teaching this young man named Désiré.  He is really awesome.  He is a contact from another ami actually.  He always asks a lot of questions.  We invited him to church, not really knowing if he would come.  He totally surprised us by coming to church.  He is really smart so i hope he keeps progressing.
Also this week we started teaching a new investigator named Chrita.  She is good friends with a recent convert.  It is so nice when the amis already have a friend at church.  She seemed so much more at ease.  Also at Church we had a surprise visit by President and Sister Weed.  They came because a bunch of members got their mission calls.  It was really fun to talk to them too.  I guess they are also come over tomorrow for interviews; so that should be fun.
So that was my week in general.  I'm sorry if the letter is really short.  Je vous aime beaucoup;
Elder Corey Kimzey
(I told corey that we went to cedar for his sister's engagement pictures and that the leaves were changing, and I asked him about the seasons there)
That great that Chelsea got to take her picture.  I can't wait to see them next week.  We don't really have season changes here.  Like right now it kind of the hot season.  It hasn't rained a lot lately except today it rained a ton.  We went to the marche to get all the food for the month and ended up getting soaking wet.  It was quite fun.  But it is really hard to tell the season changes because there isn't really changing of leaves and stuff like that.

On a side note- it's a very small world. It's a small, small world (sing along with me...)

Elder Danny Gillespie, one of the French Elders in Washington, DC that Elder Harding served with before he went into the MTC in 2009; friends with fellow Benin Cotonou Mission Elder, Corey Kimzey.
Danny ran with Corey on their High School Varsity cross country team, and Elder Harding served with Corey in Togo!

Loving Life

Bonsoir ma famile;
Je vais bien.  I hope everyone is doing well too.  This week was really awesome.  The baptism of Pepe went so well. 

 It was really cool to see.  He has been investigating the church for a really long time, so it ws so great to see him baptized.  It was awesome after the baptism he asked me,"  I made the right choice huh?" (I think that is how you would say that in English.)  He gave me a big huge afterward.  His sister told me she had been praying for him to be baptized.
Also this week we did a split with the Zone Leaders.  I got to work with Elder Haycock(the son of Dad's high school friend) over in the secteur of Tokoin.  It was pretty fun to work over.  Also our secteur changed this week.  So we lost like half of our secteur.  So it should be fun this next week to find a bunch of new amis.
Also we have been teaching Chantal a lot.  She has come to church a few times and plans on being baptized the 6th of Oct.  We have had some really great lessons with us.  She even had her sister start taking the lessons too.  The two are kind of reserved but maybe are the nicest people in the world.  She made us some Enyam Pate on Sunday.  It was crazy good.  I love that people over here are always offering us to come over and eat.  It really hard sometimes because if someone is preparing food they expect you to eat with them.  People are just so nice.  Also they expect you to finish it too even if you are stuffed.  It is so awesome.

So yeah that was kind of what happened this week.  It was really great.  I have attached a few photos.  One is of Pepe and I; the whole baptismal group; then there is one with me and a few of the kids in my branch; the other is of me, sidonie(a recent convert) and a few kids in the branch; one is of pepe, melanie, and i; the other one i can't remember. (sorry- I didn't get the last few photos  )

Well i hope everyone is having a great week. Je sais que l'eglise est vrai. 

Je vous aime beacoup,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonsoir mama,
Je vais tres bien, comment vas-tu? (I am really well, how are you doing?)  I have been eating well like always but I think i'm starting to get back to normal...   Go sundevils!  That is so great they beat Utah- Yeah Brigham City is just 30 minutes away if you take the canyon.  I really hope I can go to it a few times before i get back... (I asked Corey about the national election there- they were having riots in the streets a few weeks back)  I'm not sure what elections you are talking about?  Was there elections in Togo?  If there was i didn't know?  We don't do a ton for P-days.  We play soccer or go to the beach. Supposely there is a cool slave memorial down on the beach but i haven't gone yet.  Also there is supposly a huge  market with Elephant heads and everything.  I'm not really sure what tourists do here.  I would like to go see some villages.  Supposly there is a village on a lake in Benin that the missionary go and see all the time.  I really love my ward right now.  They have been helping one of our amis named Justine a lot.  The church is going quite well.  We have a few problems like all areas but ca va aller.(that's how it goes)  The new building is going to be finished soon.  I hope to be here when it is. Maybe an apostle or a seventy will come and dedicate it.  The next transfer is probably in the next few weeks.  I hope i get to stay here in Togo.  I really love it.   Although it would be fun to see what Benin was like too.  The transfers in between benin and togo really depends some missionary will spend 14 months in one country before getting switched to the other.  But usually every other transfer someone comes from benin to here.  My amis are doing awesome.  We lost a few of them because of the changing of the secteur(because a new branch is opening in adidogome)  So this week i hope we can go find so more investigators who will progress.  I really have been working on taking more pictures.  I took a ton the other day at church.  I love you mom.  I hope everything is going well at home.  I heard that dad might have to get more of his tongue cut out.  I make sure to keep him in my prayers.  Also how is chels' wedding going?  I hope that it walks(as we say in french.) 

 Je t'aime plus que glaces, fan ice(the ice cream here), benyahs, eclaires, et tartes,

(I love you more that ice cream, benyahs,eclairs and pastries......)

 Elder Corey Kimzey

Member's are awesome!

Bonsoir Ma famille et mes amis,
Je vais bien. (I am well)  Our secteur is going really well too.  It is quite crazy.  We have a baptism coming up this Saturday with Pepe.  I was really nervous that he wouldn't come to church this Sunday,which would've meant he couldn't get baptized.  Then right before sacrament starts he walks in.  I was so excited.  So he is going to be baptized on Saturday if all goes to plan.
Also this Sunday I gave a talk.  It was really scary.  I talked about the blessing and the importance of the restoration.  It went pretty well.  I was so nervous.  My legs I think were even shaking.  The reason I gave the talk was because it was missionary Sunday.  I guess that from now on every 3rd Sunday the missionary are in charge.  So we give the talks and teach the classes.  It was pretty fun.  It really helped the members get to know us better.
Also this week we got to teach a ton.  We even did a split on Saturday.  I went out with a ward missionary named Messan.  I was so lucky he was there.  The first appointment, i thought the people spoke french, but they only spoke lingala and ewe.  My companion usually talked to them in lingala  so I had no idea they didn't speak french.  So Messan explained everything in ewe, it was way awesome.  Sometimes I wish I spoke ewe too.  I'm trying to pick up a little but it is really really hard.
Also this week, we were just walking down the road and just we decided to knock at this door.  Well, we didn't really knock we just walk into their parcel(but that's just what people do here.)  We started talking to the mothers in the parcel but they were busy.  They said we could talk to their daughters though.  So we started talking to these 5 girls.  It was a pretty decent first lesson.  We came back a few days latter.  We had an awesome lesson on Joseph Smith and the book of mormon.  We only had one copy of the Book of Mormon at that time, so we gave it to them.  They were trying to decide who got to read it first because everyone wanted to read.  Then 2 of the girls came to church that Sunday.  So that was really exciting.
Also this week, we had one of the best lesson ever with a member.  We had a lesson  planned to teach Abivi(the lady that sells chalk.)  She has been progressing really well, so we were hoping to teach her with a member so she will start to know people in the ward.  So Soeur (Sister) Catherine(she is from Ghana but speaks french well) told us she would.  We were teaching about the plan of Salvation.  At the end we ask her if she would be baptized.  She said that she really loves our message but she didn't know if she could change Churches again.  She said she had changed Churches a bunch of times.  Then Soeur Catherine bore her testimony about how if she asked God if our church is the path for her than changing Churches is nothing.  It was really awesome.  It really touched Abivi's heart.  She promised that she would pray for an answer.  I love member, they are so awesome.
Well that was my week this week.  It was quite exciting. 
Merci pour tout choses.  Je vous aime beacoup, (thanks for things.  I love you alot)
Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey
(from Kerry's letter)
Hey Dad,  Togo is awesome.  In Togo, you have to come to church twice before you can be baptized.  Usually the hard one is that people have to be married either traditionally and/or leagally.  How are the youth doing with preach my gospel?  That will really help them a lot on their mission.  I can't believe USU lost by a  field goal too.  That is really a heart breaker.  Byu lost to Utah that too bad too, but if utah state beat utah, and utah beat byu does that mean utah state would beat byu?  haha I'm just kidding.  Actually the other american in my appartment is a huge Florida State fan, so he tells me every week how they do.  So he will be happy to here they dominated.

(to mom this week)
 My companion is LeVieux(meaning the old in french) Makubu.  He is a convert of the church since 2000.  He is like 26 or 27 years old.  He told me his plan is to become a taxi driver because taxi driver make a lot of money in the Congo.  And he said he wants me to find him an American Girl who knows a little french.  Church is usually awesome. WE have been having problems with the electricity.  So the fans turn on and off. We have had a lot of people at church lately so that has been great.  I have been lacking at the whole picture taking thing, but I'm working on it.      
Also mom i have decided you would really like it here. Everyone with their bright color clothes, the dancing, and the soap operas.(I think he's refering to the spanish novella I watched to try and learn spanish???)  Everyone here watches either sports or soap operas, it is really funny. 
I love you more than the biggest slice of pie in all the world,
Elder Corey Kimzey

Teaching, Teaching, Teaching

 Bonsoir ma famille et mes amis,
OK this week was quite fun.  I celebrated my 6 months anniversary on my mission.  I didn't really do anything special but it was fun none the less.  Also this week we had 2 amis commit to be baptized.  The first one is named Pépé.  He has been taking the lessons for awhile but has never been ready to be baptized.  So I'm really excited for him.
Also we have another named Chantal.  We met her on the street one day. She had a lot of questions on why she needed to be baptized again especially why did it need to be by immersion.  She seemed to understand and agreed to a date, her family doesn't seem for it.  I hope they will come around though.
One of the coolest stories of this week is of an amie named Fryiza.  We often pass by her enyam stand.  She one day asked us who we are.  We explained that we were missionaries and so on and so forth.  We then later started talking about  her religious background.  She told us how she grew up in a non-christian religion, but never really felt part of it.  She even got married into that religion.  Then she started talking to Christian missionaries.  She said she knew that christian religions were for her.  She said that she knew her decision was right because she  started to feel the holy ghost as she prayed.  So she is really awesome.  We invited to her to this small activity the ward was having.  She accepted.  She came and started playing scrabble.  I played for a little bit, but french scrabble is a little harder for me. 
Also this Sunday we had tons of people come to church.  Some of us even had to go seat out in the hall.  Our branch is getting quite big, but they are about to split it and create a group at Adidgome. 
Another awesome ami we found this week is named Egenie.  We were actually looking for someone else when we met.  She seemed kind of skeptic at first, she didn't really want to talk to us. Then we gave her a brouchure and that seemed to peak her interest.  Then when we showed up for the first rendez-vous she told us she had read the whole brouchure.  She told us how she had been praying to find the truth on the earth.  She has been going to one church since her childhood, but she says it like they teach the same thing all the time and don't even use the Bible.  She has obviously been prepared by Heavenly Father.  She really seems to accept out message.  I hope she will just keep progressing.
So that was my week in a nutshell.  A lot of great lesson and a lot of great amis.  I'm hoping that are ami keeping progressing as well as they have.
Je vous aime beaucoup,
Elder Corey Kimzey
 from Kerry's letter-
Things are going well. I can't believe USU won. Hey aggies hey aggies hey!  That is so cool!

and part of mom's letter, I asked him if he had any advice for his cousin that is leaving for the MTC in a couple of weeks-
 I would tell him that the MTC is kind of hard at first because you usually have like 4 to 5 hours a day to study.  Also i will give him 2 pieces of advice that i received the first day.  First, that days in the mtc feel like weeks and weeks feel like days.  The first day seemed to last forever.  I remember after the first day I thought I'm not quite sure i could do this everyday for 2 years.  Second, I remember being in the MTC the first day and teaching an investigator with 20 other missionary.  You could just raise your hand and say something.  I couldn't really think of anything worth wild to say the whole time.  I remember walking back to my class room and my companion turning to me and saying Elder Kimzey we need to do be better because we are missionary.  So the most important thing is to take one day at a time.  Be patient and try to get better everyday.  I know that Logan going to be a good missionary.  He is really going to love it.

6 months holy cow!

 I didn't edit these letters to show how corey's starting to lose his english!-kim

 Bonsoir ma famille,
Comment ca va?  This week has been quite awesome.  We have recieved so much help from the members this week.  They help some much.  Also this week we've had some of the best lessons. 
For example, we had an awesome lesson with this lady named Abivi.  I'm not sure if I told you about her.  She produces and sells chalk.  We were working with Elder Boklo(the assistant.)  We didn't have a rendez-vous with her but we just stopped by to see if she was there.  She was and she was really excited to see us.  My campanion started off reviewing what we had talked about last time, then he gave me the nudge to talk about the restoration.  I have talked about the restoration plenty of times before but this one was different.  I don't think I explained it amazingly but the spirit was there.  It seemed to hit her pretty strongly.  It was kind of like she had always know it in her heart.  It was really amazing.  Then a few days latter she came to church.  She told us afterward that she really loved it.  So I'm really excited for her.  One thing i love about her is that if you say something she like or you pray  for her, she says amen.  She is really a great ami.

Another is when we went to see this less active who doesn't come to church because she doesn't speak french.  She only speaks English and some Ewe.  Elder Burkhart and I were on a split when we visted her.  We explained to her a little bit about the Book of Mormon in English.  It was really hard to teach in English sometimes the french words would come out.  It was kind of funny.  She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is the Word of God.  Then we explained to her the gravity of that.  How if the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet and how our church is the only true church.  We explained the difference between the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  She told us she had never been taught those things.  She seemed really touched and thought about that for a long time.  She even promised to come back to church, it was really awesome. 
Also this week we have had a bunch of people stop us on the street and ask if we can come teach them.  We had an awesome lesson with these guys named Balougou and Koukou.  They work at this school as bodyguard or something.  Usually only one of them is there at a time, but they both stayed so that we can talk with them.  They had read all of the Testimony of Joseph Smith and had tons of questions.  We explained to them about the Book of Mormon too.  They seem really intrested in our message.  I hope they keep reading. 
Today, for p-day, all the missionary got together and had a huge feast.  They killed this big pig and cooked it in the ground.  It was really good.  I ate so much I thought I was going to burst.  6 of us played soccer against this kids.  We were doing good when they were only 8 but then more kids came.  Then it was like 20 versus 6.  So we lost but it was a lot of fun.

I attached some photos of the first building in Togo. It is at Kegue.  It is really nice and really big.  I can't wait until its finish.  I heard that it will take maybe 2 more months.  The first is of my district all together (um- didn't receive that!), the second is of me, elder burkhart, and elder Owusu.  Then the next is of the outside of the building.  Then there is one of my campanion.  Also there is one of Elder Sow who is from Cote D'ivoire.  He is one of my favorite Elders. 

 

Well  thanks for everything.  I really loving my mission.  I can't believe how fast it has flown by.  6 months already is so crazy to think about.

Je vous aime beaucoup,
Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey

Maman,
As you probably can guess from my title, I got my package you sent me this week.(I sent this package the first week of May...)  It was really awesome.  It made my day.  Thanks also for the letters from my friends and from the kids in the primary.  Maybe this week I write an email for them I sent it to you.  I would sent a letter but it is so hard to mail things here.  Thanks for the package again.  I'm loving the peanut butter and all the jus(juice.)    Also i was going to tell you that the demstorations are still going on, but not to worry.  They are mostly just walks.  I guess they had a problem in one secteur because a bunch of people were going to go protest naked, so the missionary had to stay away from that part of town.  I don't think they ever did protest naked but i thought it was really crazy and funny...
 I'm probably going to be the obesse one after my mission if I  keep eating like this. haha jk.  I stopped gaining weight so its really good...
  (I told corey about a new elder coming in November, and asked if he had any advice for him) What is this elder's name? One thing is if he uses razor blades, sometimes the replacements are hard to find so I'm glad i have a ton of those.  Also i would tell him to try new things and new foods when he gets here.  It makes the mission so much more fun if you try new foods.  Also love your new companion.  He'll probably be from some foreign country but if you just serve him and look for the good things in him you'll have a great time.  That is probably the biggest advice, so many missionary struggle with that.  Also in the mtc don't worry about the difference between tu and vous.  In france, in is a very impolite to use tu with someone you don't know well.  Here even if you never met the person you can use tu.  Also don't worry about french.  It will come.  And when you get to africa you'll probably be in a little bit of shock.  Just know that you'll adjust really fast and you'll love it.  I'm not quite sure what either advice to give.  I tell him to read a lot of preach my gospel and the book of Mormon.  I'm sure he'll do great...
  I hope you know that I love you.  It has already been 6 months- can you believe it?  I feel like i just got here.
 Je t'aime plus que tout le tart dans la monde,  Elder Corey Samuel Kimzey

Hey dad,
Things are great here in Africa... I'm sorry today was so difficult.  Turkey though sounds good.  I don't think they even have turkey here haha. 
Thanks for the update on sports...(Corey was a professional sports viewer and loves to get sports updates!)   When are you guys thinking of going to Disney World? 
We have a lot of really good investigators.  Sometimes it is hard because we have so many we have to be really good at planning and also if someone isn't progressing we have to visit them less often because there are so many people just waiting for the gospel.  It is crazy.  I'm glad to here everyone is doing so well.  And tell Morgan for me that he'll get the language down real quick.  Yeah I know Elder Layton he is Ablogami I think.  We just had a huge transfer.  Everyone is staying in my apartment except Elder Owusu.  He leaves to Benin and we get a malagesse Elder.  Yes there is a couple coming in October.  I don't remember there names either.  It will be nice to have two couples.  One in Benin and one in Togo.  The language is really fun.  I still mess up a lot but that's okay people usually understand what i mean.  It really crazy though how quick it comes.  Thanks for everything dad.  I love you a lot too.  I love sharing the gospel.  It just seems so normal now.  Sometimes, it feels like I've always been doing it.  I love the people of Togo.  You will have to come here today just to see them for yourselves.  They are one in a kind.
 I hope you have a great week love you a lot , 
Elder Corey Kimzey