Bonsoir,
Comment ca va?(How are you?) Je vais tres bien parce que Noel va arriver bientot.(I'm very well because Christmas is coming soon) So this week was really great. We had zone conference this week with all the missionaries in Benin. A member from the Seventy who is the 1st Counseuler for the West Africa. His name is Elder Curtis. His wife came along too. So it was really great. We recieved lessons from Pres. Weed, Sister Weed, Sister Curtis, and Elder Curtis. It was a highly insightful day. Sister Curtis talked about prediciton of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon. Elder Curtis also talked about the Book of Mormon. He asked all of us what we thought were some of the great chapters in the book of Mormon. For me it was 2 nephi chapter 9. It was amazing when everyone started to name of great chapter, we realized the great knowledge we recieve from the book of mormon. Then he asked each one of us to make a list of great chapter in the Book of Mormon and why they are important. I thought it was pretty inspiring.
This week has been going really well. We taught my English -speaking ami a little bit this week. It is kind of intense(Do you know what else is intense? Sleeping Bags sorry it just reminded me of that pun) It is a little harder because i have to translate between my companion and the ami. He is progressing really well though.
We also have started teaching a new ami name Lorence. She said that she has gone to a lot of church and has been baptized a few times too. But she doesn't know what church is true. She said she had been praying to find the true church. I was so excited. We explained the Restoration and asked if she thought that our visit was an answer to her prayers. She said that she thought it might be. What an amazing experience!
Also we have been teaching this student who came here from another country. He is progressing so well and loves the gospel. He comes to church and even reads out of the book of mormon every night. He seems to know so much about the gospel already and we have only taught him 4 times. It is crazy how people are just prepared.
Bon je vous aime beaucoup, et je vous souhaite une joyuese saison de Noel, (I love you very much, and wish you a happy christmas season)
Elder Corey Kimzey
Bonsoir maman,
Comment vas-tu? Joyeux Noel! Merci for chelsea's bridal pictures. They turned out really well. I like them a lot. Chelsea looks very beautiful(like usual.) That is so cool that they took pictures at the Harris' house. I think the chance are really one in million. They seemed to turn out really great and i'm sure they will be a great keepsake.
That is good that Chels' Bridal shower went well too. How is Reann doing? That was nice of her to put on a bridal shower. I also like your twist on the ward christmas party. We are having our ward christmas party this saturday. I guess that Elder Ritchie and I are making an American Dish for Everyone(yeah don't ask me what one would consider an american dish) We have been thinking about making some form of apple pie or apple tart but without an oven it makes it more diffcult. Also all the missionary are going to sing"the first noel." Then the next day we are suppose to sing again for sacarment meeting. I think we are going to sing "a little town of Bethlem" for that meeting. It should be fun considering i cant hold a tune to save my live. Good thing some of the missionary in my district sing very well.
That is unbelievable sad to hear the story of the little kids in Conneticut. It really is unimaginable. It just so sad. I'm sorry for those parents...(insert corey's political views here) I'm sure everyone will be praying for those parents.
I told corey that I had taught a lesson in YW on talents, and asked him what he thought his talent was-Talents? I guess one of my talents is that i like learning. It really helps on my mission. I'm sorry if that sounds really lame but it is something i think is important.
I love you mom way more than pie,
Elder Corey Kimzey
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tranfered- Off to Benin!
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
 |
| District basketball- thanks to Elder Layton! |
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
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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
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
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
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
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.
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,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.
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.
 |
| 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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
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
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