Christmas in the Congo

Dear family and friends,
   How are you all doing!? I hope that you all had a great Christmas with your families! Thank you so much to all of you that wrote me this week...I really appreciate it! This week was really good, but it was a really tiring one because missionary work is really slow during the weeks with lots of holidays! But it was still very good and the Lord blessed us here in Congo.

   The highlight of the week had to be Christmas day! We got up and did the normal things, but I got to open up the package that my parents sent me and it was amazing! I especially like the cookie butter and I am eating it very wisely because it needs to last me a long time! And everyone in the apartment loved their ties and they all said thank you for the gift! Also,I found shirts that were really cheap so I got each person a shirt and gave it to them and they were all really happy and we all took photos and drank sparkling cider together. After, we got together and sang Christmas hymns because Africans really like to sing and it was a lot of fun. After that we just hung out at the apartment all day and did little things and talked. I worked on making my bead tie which Elder Mannasse showed me how to make and it was sick! And after that we headed to the mission offica and I got to talk with the family! It felt really good to see them and talk with them and now I only have 1 Skype left before I go home so I'm slowly becoming old! After that, the Nelsons gave us pizza that they had cooked and it was soooo goooood! I haven't eaten that in almost 3 months I would say! But that was the end to our Christmas day here in Bascongo!!

   As for our amis, they are doing really well. Here in Africa, Christmas is a holiday for kids and not adults. When we were talking with one of our amis, before the lesson her daughter came up and put all the gifts that she got on my lap and she was really happy to show me them! Then we talked with her mom about the law of chastity because she lives with someone she's not married to and we challenged her to talk with him and pick a date to be married and to pay the dot (dowry)! Then on Sunday she told us that she had talked with him and with her mom and then she got a really, really good job offer which was amazing! If we will just put our trust in the Lord then He will work miracles in our lives! 

   This week I ponderized Luke 2:10-11 which talks about the birth of Christ. And in doing that, I thought of when the angel said that the news will be unto all people. The news of Christ is good news to all people and we all have need of Him and as we let Him into our life and surrender ourselves to Him, He will make us stronger than ever before.

   But that's all for this week! For a challenge, go drink some creme soda for New Years Eve! I love you so much and I'll see you next year!

Elder Legerski

Chrismas is About Family, Not Things

Hello everyone!
   How are you all doing in the cold and in the snow!? The heat is good here in Africa and I am really loving it! I can say that I never know if it is hot or not because I just sweat all the time and now I am used to it! But this week was so much fun and I have so much to write; I don't know if  I'll ever
have enough time, but the good thing is that I will tell you all when I get back home. I want to thank everyone who has sent me emails this week...I really appreciate it and I hope that you all have a good week! I also want to say Happy (late) Anniversary to my Grandma and Grandpa Routh; I am sorry for not saying that earlier! Also, Happy Birthday to my Dad...I hope you don't have a ton of gray hair now! And also a Happy Anniversary to my Mom and my Dad...I am so glad that I can call you two my parents!
    As I said earlier, this week was awesome. I found out a lot of good things. 3 Branch Missionaries that I worked with when I was in Cameroon are going on missions and that is such good news! Getting young men and women out and on missions is so important and I am so happy to know that these people have made the decision to serve the Lord!
    Also, I spoke with Elder Tshibanda (my companion in my last area) and things are going well back in Aeroport! It really strengthened my testimony of sowing Gospel seeds even if you're not there to reap them. Since I left, 6 of the old amis that I taught got baptized and this last weekend, Binta and the family Albertine got baptized!  I was so happy to hear that and I know that no matter who is there, that we are all doing the same work!
    We all went out to lunch as a mission (well, the Missionaries here in Brazzaville) yesterday and it's because of that that I am writing on Tuesday and not Monday. It was a lot of fun and the food was really good and now all that I am waiting for is Skyping with my family on Christmas! But Elder Dou and I went to Park-n-Shop and got loaded up on sparkling cider for Christmas day, so it should be like I am back home!
    Over these last 2 weeks I asked all of my amis and members what they do for Christmas and they usually just get together as a family and eat together. Because they don't have a lot of money, buying gifts and all that is really hard for them to do. So it's just a time to be together as a family for them. It makes me really miss my family and remember the time spent together, rather than the gifts given.
    But that's all for this week folks! I love you all so much and I hope you all have a good Christmas and a Happy New Years! I pray that we may all think about the birth of our Savior and all that He has done for us. And I pray that we may all start a new year with a life that reflects His life.

Merry Christmas to all and for a challenge, just have fun with your family and don't let material things get in the way!

 Elder Legerski

Temple Marriage and Church Attendence: So Important:)

Hello my family and friends!
   How are you doing!? Well, while you are all really cold and freezing, here its really, really hot! Now I get cold even with the fan at night, so I can  say that I am adapting! But this week was really good, as all weeks are on the mission! This time of the year is really awesome to work! This week we met a lot of good people and had a lot of good experiences!

  This week we got to meet Sister Juvette, who is the woman that our former elder's quorum President wants to marry and she is now becoming really interested in the church. The main topic that she wanted to talk about was the temple because she has heard a lot about it, but she was confused about why we had to go to the temple. While we talked to her about the temple,  I really felt the importance of a temple marriage and how thankful I am for the chance that we had to go to the temple as a family! 

   Also, we were talking with Nancy, who is the daughter of a non-active member, and she couldn't come to church this Sunday because she had chores to do at home and she was really sad that she couldn't make it to church and it really stuck me because going to church might seem like such a little thing, but this little thing makes such a big impact on our lives. 

   But that was our week in a wrap! Not everything is perfect, but we still have to keep going out and helping people and sharing this Gospel! This coming week we have a lot of meetings for the mission and it will be a lot of fun! Last week, I "ponderized":

Jacob 4:6 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/jacob/4.6,7?lang=eng#5 and this week, it will be 

Alma 48:17 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/48.17?lang=eng#16 

and as I am doing this, I am trying to find ways that I can become like Moroni and also like Christ. 

   Thank you so much for all the emails and I hope all of you college students have survived finals! I love you all so much and I'll see you in 7 short days again!

Elder Legerski

"Ponderizing" and Realizing that Grubs Taste Like Peanut Butter

Dear family and friends,
  Thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes that you all sent to me! When I opened up my email, I saw so many messages and I smiled the whole time reading people's birthday wishes! I want to say thank you once more! That means so much to me and it was just simply amazing. As for my birthday, I didn't do anything too amazing; I went to a boutique and bought food and other that that it was just a normal day! That is the thing with a mission, you just forget yourself and you just lose yourself in the work and sometimes you are so busy trying to do the Lord's will that you forget about yourself, which is a great thing! But it was a really good birthday and I really enjoyed it, but I'm ready the spend the next one with my family at home!

This week for us was really good! On Wednesday, we were meeting with the niece of our former elder's quorum president and she said that she was too busy and she had a lot do to, so we went ahead and took the broom and swept the parcel and when I say sweep, it is all dirt so you sweep to remove all the trash and also, it makes the dirt look good! It is hard for us to understand, but it makes sense to the people here! After sweeping, we washed the dishes for her and it went really well. I really enjoyed the chance that we had to do service. It's really hard to find opportunities to serve here, so we jump at every occasion. 

Also, this Sunday was really amazing. We found a less active family and the mom is a member, as well as the oldest child, but the other 3 are not and the girl who lives with them isn't either. Well, we go to their house about 2 or 3 times a week and we are working with the kids who aren't baptized and this Sunday, they all came to church together! It was a really amazing feeling when they walked in and I know that it was the Lord who prompted them to come. The more I work with people and the more I learn, I see that we as missionaries are there to do our part and then the Lord will touch their hearts and do what is needed. We are just there to do what the Lord has asked us to do. 

This week we finally got the Liahonas for this last general conference and I read the talk about "ponderizing" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/my-heart-pondereth-them-continually?lang=eng) and I have had the goal for several weeks to start doing this, but I never did it and:( I was having a hard time this week and I thought: the Lord has spoken unto us through his servants and if we will just to what they say, we will find the peace and happiness that we search for. So I decided to start doing it and I can say that it really helped me during this week. I know that if we do the little things and follow those that the Lord has chosen, we will be blessed. 

But that's all for this week! I hope all of the students back home have good luck with their finals and that they will survive! We will be here in the Congo doing the Lord's errand:) But I love you all so much! For a challenge go drink some cream soda for me! 

 

Love,

Elder Legerski

PS.  Also, I don't know if I said this already, but Elder Dou bought grubs a few weeks ago (like from The Lion King!) and he grilled them up and we ate them! And it was like peanut butter! But once again love you!