ouidah, transfers, and baptism

Bonjour Famille,

Comment allez-vous?  Je vais bien.  This week has been absoultly crazy.

Ok, to start off today we went to Ouidah!!!!  It was really awesome.  I sent two pictures for you to see.  So to start off our adventure, we went to the museum at the old portguese fort.  It was really cool.  They taught us about how the Benin slaves had influence on other countries like Brazil and Haiti.  That is why there is still vodoo in those countries.  They had a bunch of amazing artifacts and pictures of the slave trade.  Then we took a few pictures at this huge tree which someone had carved into.

  Then it was oft to the Temple of Pythons.  So the Temple of Pythons is this voodo  temple that is really safe and open to vistors.  The main attraction is they bring out pythons and you can take pictures with them ie the first picture that i sent.

  It was pretty scare to have that huge snake around me, but they are pretty harmless.  I guess they said that the snakes are really important to them. 

The guide said that they keep all the snakes inside the temple except for once a week they open the gates at 2:00 in the morning so that the snakes can go look for things to eat.  They said that often they will go into peoples homes and it is suppose to be a sign of good fortune.  And if they do come into your home you are suppose to bring them back.  I had a hard time imagining that if i found a python in my house i would be calm enough to just take it back.  One person even said sometimes they will come snuggle with you while you are sleeping.  It was pretty intresting to see all the cultural things behind it. 

 They we went to the port of no return.  It is a grand monument(seen in my second picture) for all the slaves that were brought there. 

 They would march them along that beach to bring them to the slave ships.  It was a pretty amazing monument.  I really like this one part where they had a tree that the slaves would walk around three times to signify that they after they died there spirits would return to their homeland.  Overall, it was a really cool experience and one that I will never forget.  It was amazing just to see all the amazing cultural sites and the respect that they had for their ancestors.

Secondly, This week i recieved a suprising call.  I getting transfered to Menotin.  I going to be working with Elder Mundu as a Zone Leader.  I heard that Menotin is a really great branch so i'm excited for that.  I have to admit though it is going to  be hard to leave Fidjrossé.  I really love it here.  I guess the thing i love the most it just my amis and my recent converts and the members too.  The nice thing is that we are still in the same zone.  So i will be able to see them sometimes.  

Lastly, this week we had the baptism this week.  We got to see one of our amis get baptism.  I think she was really nervous about it, but afterwards she felt really good.  So that was really great to see.  She has changed so much and made so many strides.  I know she is going to do so many great things.

So That is kind of what happened this week.  It was definetly a crazy, unexpected one.  I hope everything is going well with all of you.  Je vous aime tous,

Elder Corey Kimzey

I didn't receive an email this week, but I wanted to share an excerpt from another missionary in Benin...

 Here is what I know about some other missionaries... Elder Smilies (Kimzey) is going to be a zone leader in Benin, Elder Poll is assistant, Montross is coming to Benin for the first time, and there are a bunch of other missionaries coming in too. Excited to meet all of them! (elder Layton)

Good to know that corey's smile lives on in Africa...

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Bonjour tout le monde,
 Comment ça va? Je vais bien. This week has been pretty fun. We spent a lot of time helping 2 of our amis who are going to be baptized this week. It really helps that they both knew the church before hand and that we often get to teach them with members. One of them told us the other day that he has been looking for the true path. He told us the other day that he believes he has found it. It was definitely a cool moment. Also i'm really excited for the other ami too because she has been talking with the missionaries for a really long time, but now has decided to be baptized. I have to admit I'm loving this branch. We really have tried to work well with the members because there is around 25 recent converts in my area. Which is pretty fun because we get to hear all of their great stories about how they met the missionaries. Also this week, I started teaching English Class this week with the Elder Baker. So I'm hoping that we help me relearn English. (insert mom and dad laughing!)We have a bunch of people who want to learn, so i'm hoping we can help them a little so that they can learn english.
 Also I found out that next week for p-day we are going to ouidah. It is a kind of touristy village near togo. I guess one of there main attractions is a snake house. I guess they have a bunch of huge (non poisonous) snakes that you can wrap around yourself and take a bunch of pictures. So I'm pretty scared and excited for that haha. It actually should be really fun.
 Well, Je vous aime tous,
 Elder Corey Kimzey

 Bonjour maman,
 Comment tu vas? Wow, it sounds like you had a pretty great week. I really like your ideas for your lessons. It sounds like it went well.
 You mean to tell me carli is competitive? I don't know if i can believe that. haha Just kidding. That is pretty cool that they get to go to region. It seems like they win at every sport.
 That is too bad that casey didn't get to run. Although, Hurricane never really was a good meet. No one every qualifies there. That is good that Carli won her soccer game. She seemed pretty excited when she told me about it.
 (We have a friend who's son is going to Ghana, so I asked corey what he know about it.)
Well, i know a few elders from ghana and a few people who live here who are from there. I have seen a few pictures too. It looks quite a bit more developped than Benin or Togo. Especially in Accra. Also i heard in accra most people speak really good english. Also i heard the Ghana Mtc is pretty cool. Also i think in Ghana they eat a lot of Enyams, so i'm sure shane will like that.
(Corey's good running friend from HS is getting married this week and I asked if he wanted to write something for the card)
yes, i will send you an email just after this one that you can put in the card...
(are you planning on Utah State after your mission?)
I think i still going to go to Utah State. There is actually tons of missionaries in this mission who went there before the mission and plan on going there after. I'm not sure about running. The probably is that i pretty fat now. haha.
(Carli didn't get a letter last week- do you think it got lost?)
I swear i wrote carli but maybe i forgot or maybe in got lost. I'm not sure.
 Well, This week has been a pretty great one. I cant believe how fast it has gone by either. I love you a lot. Oui même plus que la tarte,
 Elder Corey

Casey's mission call

Bonjour Mamman,

Comment tu vas?  Thanks for the video, although, i kind of cheated.  Because it took 30 minutes for it to load and i couldn't wait that long.  haha.  What!!! that is so cool!!  I know tons of people in that mission.  I think also that means that in our family  we should just speak french all the time.  haha.  Carli told me she is going to learn french too, so i guess it will totally work out.  That is cool that casey won best legs too.  I like the photo.  That is crazy that Shean is going to Japan like his sister.  Although, it kind of makes sense because they both speak japanesse.  I can't believe Shane is coming to Africa.  I heard the Ghana MTC is pretty intresting.  Also since he'll be in Accra he will probably learn some Ewe(which is the same language of Togo)  

Yeah, i heard there french (canadian french) is kind of different and even sometimes they speak frenglish. haha.  Although, i'm going to have to tell the canadian family here.  They are actually from montreal but now they live in Ontario.  But still i think they grew up there.  

Holy cow that is so crazy cold.  That is crazy considering we have been burning here in Benin.  I heard that Montreal is way pretty.  My mtc teacher served his mission in montreal.  Also i know that they also have had a lot of missionaries go home, so they have had a bunch of new missionaries in that mission.  I will defintely come and translate for you.  Also i know there are tons of Africans there also.  

Answers:

1.  what is the name of your new missionary from the US?

The new missionary is named Elder Baker.  He is from Spanish Fork.
2.  do you have a great story to tell us?

Well this week was pretty great.  One of our ami decided that he is ready to be baptism.  He just stopped us on the street and told us that he was ready. 
3.  I heard it's been crazy hot?  When does rainy season start?

It has been way hot.  I think that the rainy season starts around April or May.  
4.  did you have anyone in the MTC going to Quebec?  Did they learn french with you or separate?

Yeah i know tons of missionary going to the Montreal mission.  I remember one was even from st george.  I think his name was Truman.  He went to dixie and played soccer there.  They were all in the same branch with me.  So probably some of them might even remember me.  They are usually in the class just next to us.  
5. What is your favorite food in Benin?

That is hard to pick my favorite Benin food.  I really like Enyams.  Also i like pâte with mayock.  
6.  We got an email from the Semkins- do you see them much?

That is so cool you got a letter from the semkens.  They actually work with us every sunday because we teach an english speaking family.  I love them a lot.  They are a great couple.  
7.  How is your greenie doing?  How long has he been on his mission?

Elder Kogani is doing pretty good.  He is hilarous.  He is definetly one of my favorite campanions.  He has now been on his mission for 1 month.  

Excerpt from dad's email...

Dad,

 I'm really loving this area.  It is one of my favorite areas.  sometimes i think that you guys should just move here because it is so awesome.  This week has been so great.  We found out this week that one of our amis is getting married the 23rd.  So we are really excited for them.  They even invited us to their wedding.  They are a really great couple.  I will definetly send you some pictures.  I really do hope that someday i will be able to come back here.  I have so many friends here now.  Maybe we all will come someday.  Well, i love you dad.  I hope all your bishop stuff  keeps going well...

 

Je t'aime maman plus que la tarte,

Elder Corey

At the end of the day...

Bonjour ma famille et mes amis,

Comment allez-vous? ça va bien ici.(How are you?  I am well here.)  This week has been pretty great.  It has been kind of a harder one because we are waiting for the new missionairy to come.  It has been kind of fun though because we have worked with Ward Missionaries a lot to complete our campanionships.  Also this week we found out that a couple that we have been working with for a long time and who has been coming to church for a few months now are going to get married.  Wohoo!   It is pretty awesome.  Everyone is really excited for them.  

Also we found out that our branch is going to be splitting soon.  So that should be intresting.  I had a very intresting experience this week that I felt like I should share.  We were talking to one of our amis about the importance of the Book of Mormon.  Then we seem to get on the subject of Baptism.  She told us that we could definetly baptize her brothers and sisters, but that she didn't need to be baptized because she had already done that.  We started talking to her about the nessacry authority.  We helped her come to the conculsion that either her pastor had the authority or that authority was found in our church.  It really seemed to make her think.  Now, she hasn't came to a conculsion quite yet, but it renforced an idea for me.  That really we are here to explain our message and to help people to know our church but always at the end of the day it is for them to decide if it is true or false. That is one of the things i love about being a missionary.

Well, this week has really been a good one.  It has been really fun working with my new campanion.  He really loves our amis and tries to help them.  Also i thought i would tell you a funny story.  So yesterday, we were teaching our english speaking couple.  The couple semkens did a great job teaching but left a part for me to tesify at the end.  I totally messed up.  I was trying to  tell them that we were there to help them have faith in Jesus christ, repent, ..., and endure to the end but i couldn't remember how to say endure in english.  I kept saying endurer or perserver.  My campanions thought it was pretty funny.  It is probably good that i get to teach in english once everyweek so that i don't totally lose my english haha. 

 Je vous aime tous!  Je vous souhaite une bonne semaine,(I love you all!  I hope you have a good week)

Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonjour maman,

Comment tu vas?  C'était bien passé.(how are you?It's been good.)  Alors, I can't believe that casey's call didn't come yet.  I rushed to the cyber in annticaption. Oh well, i guess we will get to know next week.  That will be great if Casey, shane,a nd Shean get their calls all at the same time.    It is pretty rare that a ward recieves three calls at the same time.  That is great that Ashley Vogel is going too.  I bet she'll love Nebraska with all its hardcore fans.  

That is great that casey ran so fast.  I think he destroyed my time.    That is amazing how well the XC team did too.  

Answers(daily double)

1.Can you believe you have been out for almost a year? no, i can't believe how fast it has gone by.  

2. Did you find out if you can watch a video if we post it (like on youtube) of Casey opening his call?  I don't think you have enough space on your email (since they limit it to 12 mg). maybe if I send it in a separate email....

 Bon, we aren't allowed to go on anyother site but that of the church.  But if it won't go through the email, i could probably talk to president weed to see if i could watch it.  

3. Do you have a guess for where he is going?  Don't guess paris, we have like 6 guesses for there haha 

I know Elder Noumbolibona,my district leader, thinks he is going to paris but that is mostly because he is from paris so he would like to see my little broother.  Personally, i would love for him to come to Benin but i'm not sure if that is possible.  So i have been debating picking Kumasi, Ghana mission or Congo as my foreign choice.  I think i'll go with Kumasi because it is a new mission and he can learn twi there.  And for my choice closer to home i'm going to chose Orlando Florida Créole Speaking.  

4.they announced 58 new missions to open this summer- but not a split for yours?  Do you think that it will still happen?  Maybe next year?

No, i don't think it will happen.  I say that Dyllen's mission got split.  I think we will probably stay the same till maybe next year.  

5. How is your greenie?  where is he from (city)?  tell us about his family?  He is doing good.  He is still trying to get used to teaching but ca va aller.  He is actually doing pretty good for such a new missionary.   I know he lived in Abijan for a while but he spent most of his life in a village near Ghana.  I know that he has 1 sister and no brothers.  

6. What is the name of the new american in your apartment? I'm on a Facebook page for your mission for parents, and so I know a couple of the missionaries that are coming.  I'm sure that you will help him with the "shell shock" of arriving in Benin- you've been there.

The funny thing is we don't know his name yet.  He should be here around wednesday.  I'm sure he will do fine.  Most missionaries it isn't a problem.  

Well, je t'aime plus que la tarte,

Elder Corey Kimzey

New companion to train

Bonjour tout le monde ou bien tout le monde qui lis mes lettres,(Hello everyone or everyone who read my letters,)
Comment ça va?  ça va très bien chez-moi.  This week was so great.  I hope you get the pictures of the baptism.

 It went really well.  There were 7 people getting baptized.  It was great to hear all of their testimonies.  It was cool to see Elisabeth get baptized because she has been looking for the truth.  She asked me after her baptism what  caused us to knock on her door.  I told her that we were just walking down the street and felt like we needed to knock on her door.  It is crazy to think that just because we followed a simple feeling to knock on a door, that she ended up finding the  answers to her questions and was able to get baptized.  How amazing is that?
Also, this week we had transfer calls again.  My companion is getting transferred.  Which was sad to here because we had a lot of fun together. So my new companion is actually Elder Kognani who is the new ivorien elder who just moved into my apartment.  Which means we get to do training together.  It should be pretty exciting.  He is a pretty awesome missionary, so i pretty excited for the future.  Also we found out that soon,  we should get a brand new american straight from the Provo MTC coming to our apartment to work with Elder Noumbolibona.  So it should be a great apartment.
Je vous aime tous.  J’espère que vous aillez avoir une bonne semaine. (I love you all. I hope that you got to have a good week)
Je vous aime,
Elder Corey KImzey

Sister Missionaries for the mission

Bonjour tout le monde,(hello everyone)

Comment ça va?  Moi, je vais bien.  (How are you doing?  me-I'm doing great)This week was a pretty big week for our mission.  For the first time since our mission was a part of the Côte d'ivoire mission, we have sister missionaries in our mission.  Also they have been opening up a bunch of new areas.  It is really exciting.

This week was a great one for us too.  Honest got baptized this week.  I sent the photo of the baptism.  He is pretty awesome.  He actually called us to find out about the church because his pastor moved to Nigeria.  Then 3 weeks latter he is baptized.  Talk about someone who was already  prepared.  His baptism went really well too, so that made me happy.  

Also this week, we were late to one of our appointments with one of our amis.  By the time that we got there it was too dark, so we were talking at her door.  She said we could come back the next day, but before we left she said she decided that she wanted to get baptized this next week.  It was definetly a shock, but a good shock.  I'm really excited for her because she has been looking for the true church of Christ for a really long time.  I'm happy that she finally found it.

So that was kind of my week.  We got a new missionary in our apartment.  His name is Elder Kognani.  He is from Côte D'Ivoire like my campanion.  So now in my apartment there are two ivoriens, one frenchmen, and one american.  We have a lot of fun together.  And also  it really helps my french because every in my aparment are native french speaker.  It is great! 

 Well je vous aime tous, ( I love you all)

Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonjour ma mère qui est plus belle que la soleil à midi(i learned that expersion this week),(Hello my mother who is more beautiful than the sun at noon)

Comment tu vas?  ...

Wow, i can't believe * already getting married.  I think she is the first.  I haven't talked to** in a long time so i might be wrong.  If it true that the better my wife is the better i speak the language, I definetly going to study hard during language study. haha- (insert kim laughing at corey's english)

Wow, that is crazy that Casey is all set already.  It is crazy how fast time flys sometimes. 

Questions:

1.  How was your birthday?My birthday was great.  My apartment suprized me by buying sparkling grape juice.  We had a fun time shooting off the cork.  Then for dinner, we eat some charawambas and hamburgers.  It was a pretty good time.  

2.  I was talking to Dyllens mom and she said he doesn't have running water for long periods of time. How about you?

We have water a good percentage of the time.  Sometimes we will go a few days without running water, but it isn't that bad.  

3.  I saw a picture of the the dust storms- wow.  Have you had any lately?The dust storms are pretty awesome although it makes it hard to keep the apartment clean.

4.  How was transfers?  Did you get any new missionaries in your apartment?Yeah, we got a brand new missionary straight from the Ghana Mtc.  He is from the Ivory Coast.  

5.  Dad and I were wondering when you talk to Pres. Weed, is it in French or English?(mostly because we didn't know if he could communicate in English well now!)

Usually with President Weed, i speak in English.  Although, sometimes it is more like frenglish because i forget sometimes the word in englsh. haha.  

Thanks for the photo.  I liked it a lot.  Tell carli that is really cute. 

 Bon, je t'aime plus que la tarte,

Elder Corey Kimzey

Bonsoir

Bonsoir, Comment ça va?
So last week went really well.  We had a lot of good suprises this week.  First off, this week we have been working a lot with one of our amis who comes to church often.  She is amazing, but she has visted a lot of churchs so she isn't sure which one is true.  She has been coming to church and praying about it a lot, so we hope that she keeps progressing.  But the thing that was really suprising was her son told her that he wanted to be attend a lesson.  Then at the lesson, he asked us a bunch of question like how can he have faith in Jesus Christ, did Adam have many kids, which church is true, etc.  We answered his questions the best we could.  At the end, he told us that we were the first people that seemed to answer his questions.  He seemed really excited and fixed another appointment with us.
Also another great suprise was we had a bunch of new people come to church.  Which is always great for Fast and testimony meeting.  We have another ami who told us that he wanted to get baptized.  He has been coming to church reguraly, but is busy often so we don't get to teach him very often. He seems to know already that the church is true and the importance of getting baptized, so I'm really excited for him.
Well, that is what happened this week.  I sent two pictures too.  One is of a mangez-vous that we had a while ago that i thought you would like and the other is from the baptism in January.  I hope you all have a good week especially because it is my birthday.
Love you all more than pie,
Elder Corey Kimzey


Bonjour maman,

Comment tu vas?  Je vais bien.  No i haven't heard much about whether the mission is splitting or not.  I heard that if it is going to that usually takes place in July.
That is great that everyone is going on a mission.  I can't believe that Shane should get his call so soon.  I'll start praying that he comes to Benin.   It is crazy to think that most of Casey's friends will all get their call at the same time.  I can't wait to see where they go and to here all their great stories.  Casey is going to be a great missionary.
Thanks for the birthday wishes.  I think we decided we might order hamburgers from a restuarant or something like that.
Answers to question:
1.We were wondering if you wanted us to pick you up?  what does president weed think of that?I think that would be awesome if you could come and pick me up.  I don't really know how that works but i would love to show you around and visit my investigators with you.  I don't know how president weed would feel about that.  He is a pretty relaxed president, i'd have to ask him what he thought about that.  I would love that though.
2.  How are your amies doing? My amis are awesome.  We had a bunch randomly show up to church, how great is that?  We have a few who are really progressing well, so i'm excited for my secteur.
3.  When are transfers? Actually, the next transfer is tommorow.  Elder Ritchie is leaving our apartment and his campanion is going to be training a new missionary from the Ghana Mtc.  So that should be exciting.
4.  When are you getting your next batch of greenies?  So we get new missionary this week and then even more in another 2 weeks.  It pretty exciting too, because for the first time in a long time we are going to have sister missionaries.  Crazy huh?
5.  How are the sand storms?  when will rainy season start? The sand storms have been wicked this week.  There is dust everywhere and the tempertuare drop a few degrees.  Raining season shouldn't start till april or may.
6. Can you believe you are 20?  and that next month you will be out a month?I can't believe that I will be 20 in 3 days either.  That is weird to even think about.  Also i can't believe i will be finished with half my mission next month.  Time really does fly.
Ok, Thanks for everything mom.

 I love you more than pie, Elder Corey Kimzey