Last Letter From the Congo:)

Hello everyone!
   Thank you all for the emails that you wrote to me! This last week was a little weird knowing that it was going to be my last time doing a lot of things, but my goal was just to act like it was a normal week and work hard like always!
   I can't believe this will be my last letter home! Wednesday, I will be talking my flight home! The mission has been so awesome and I'm so sad that it is at an end, but now life starts again!
   I thank you all for what you have done for me the last 2 years! For a final challenge, come and see me so that I can hug you and tell you all in person my mission stories!! I will talk in church on Sunday, Aug 14 at 10:00am (2055 Edgar St) and there will be an open house at my home (2961 Arabian Circle) starting at 2:00pm that same day.  Please come so I get a chance to catch up with you...everyone's invited!!

Love,

Elder Legerski

Mixed Emotions

Dear friends and family,
   To start off, I'm sorry that I didn't email you yesterday. We haven't had power since Sunday and the connection in the cyber wasn't working yesterday. But I want to thank all of you that emailed me this last week...I thank you so much. It's so weird to think that the days of my mission are now in single digits! I don't even know what to think or what to say. My emotions are really mixed. On one hand, I think about going home a lot and on the other hand, I really just want to work as hard as I can. I almost feel like home has never existed and I have been a missionary all of my life. It's a really weird feeling!
   But still, things are going really well. We have been doing a lot of work in the sisters' old sector and have been discovering a lot of new places and amis and it's been really amazing. We are teaching Arnold, who is the cousin of one of our ward missionaries, and he was mind blown about the Plan of Salvation and the lessons with him have been going really well. All in all, just trying my best to stay focused and obedient. It's my second to last time writing to you all so just know that I love you all and I can't wait to see you all! And for a challenge, go and eat some cookie dough ice cream for me!

Love,

Elder Legerski

"A Blessed Life is Not an Easy Life"

Hello everyone,
   How are you doing!? This week was an amazing week... I just loved it! But before I tell you all about it, I just want to thank all of you that wrote me and I hope that you have an amazing week!
   This week starting off with a bang as Elder Ellis came and visited our misson! I got to lead the conference, so it was a lot of fun and it was my last zone conference ever! The 2 things that I liked the most were: 1. Gods ways are higher than our ways and 2. God will always keep His promises. It was a super amazing conference and we learned a lot. And afterwards, we had an interview with him and it was really awesome! I spent most of the time translating as he doesn't speak any French!
   After zone conference, we had a really good week meeting a lot of new amis! We met one guy named Syr and he can speak English, French, Chinese, and Arabic, and he was even talking notes in Arabic during our lesson. But he was just amazed that we would leave our studies to come and serve the Lord and receive nothing for it! It was a really good lesson and the spirit was so strong! Then on Sunday night, we had a good lesson with sister Simonne. Someone robbed her so she has been having a really hard time. But we talked about the example of Nephi and how even though he did so much good, he still had a really hard life! And then a thought popped into my head that said "A blessed life is not an easy life". And that is so true!
   But that was my week! This week were looking forward to lots of splits and lots of working! I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great week! Go and eat some monkey bread for me!

Love,

Elder Legerski

New Missionaries and Family Missionary Work

Hello everyone!!!
   This week was a really amazing week! But before I start, I just want to thank everyone that wrote me this week and for my big sis, Meg, a good recovery from her crash! This week was really busy since we had new missionaries coming! We got to see Elder Pito and Sister Avajon and they are really awesome!
   Unfortunately, we were really busy with meetings all week long, so we didn't have much time to be in the sector. But we did have an activity where we taught the members how to do missionary work and it went really well; we are hoping to help a lot of people do missionary work among their friends and in their family! And then on Sunday, we went out with the Bills and visited inactive members with them and it went really well! It was so cool to be with them and to see them teach and I learned a lot doing it; also, I felt like a US missionary because I was in a car! But other than that it was just a normal week!
   We have a zone conference this week with Elder Ellis and it should be amazing! I love to learn the lessons given by general authorities! I love you all so much and I wish you a really great week! For a challenge this week, go and eat mac and cheese with hot dogs for me!

Love,

Elder Legerski

Transfers, New Assignments and 2 Baptisms:)

Hello everyone how are you doing!?
   Sorry I am emailing on a Tuesday! We had missionaries go home and so we were busy all day yesterday! This last week was a little bit of a hard one with lessons falling through, but it was good as well  because we had 2 baptisms for the first time in a long time! And they were both confirmed on Sunday in white shirts and ties and it was awesome! Also, Elder Larson will be coming to Brazzaville for his last 2 transfers so I'll get to hang out with him for the first time in a year! I'm so pumped!
   Unfortunately, the sisters got taken out of our ward so now we have to work both sectors.  So we have a lot of work to do, but we are really excited to do it and to really get to know and work with all of the members!
   I love you all so much and wish you all a good week! Go and eat some fettuccine pizza from Olive Garden for Elder Cicon and I!

Love,
Elder Legerski

The Best of Reasons to be Dressed in White

Hello everyone how are you!?
   Happy 4th of July from the Congo! Wish I could be with you all to celebrate the birth of our wonderful nation, but I'll just be doing it at the apartment with sparkling cider and chili fries! I hope that you all have a good holiday and you enjoy yourselves!
   This week was a really good one for me here in the Congo! This week was spent preparing our amis for baptism! We have 2 amis, Jhonathan and Amour, that we saw almost everyday this week to prepare them for their baptismal interviews and they both went well! The only hard thing was that Amour got sick so we had to go look for him on the day of his interview. But they are now going to be baptized this Saturday! We are having a big baptism with Ouenze and Moungali (neighboring "arrondissements" or sectors in Brazzaville) and our ward so it should be pretty amazing! The two are super excited and they have been doing amazing.  Jhonathan asked me if I would baptize him so I'll get to be dressed up in white once more!
   But other than that, I got to go on splits with Elder Frazer who is from Canada and it was really fun! We had a great day and it was really good for him because he got a chance to truly lead in the lesson and it was so awesome to feel the Spirit as he was talking. He is an amazing missionary. Also, we fixed baptism dates with 2 new amis this week so we are hoping to have another 4 baptisms before I leave, which would be unbelievable!
   This next week we have misson council and also we are getting transfer letters, but I already know that I'm not going anywhere:) So my text transfer is back home!

   I love you all so much and I thank all of you for your emails and I hope you have an amazing week and holiday! Go and eat a lot of yummy food for me! 

 

Love,

Elder Legerski

 

***Elder Legerski will be giving his missionary report in sacrament meeting on Sunday, August 14 at 10:00 am at the Rock Springs Stake Center.  He would absolutely love to have you all come! 

We will also have an open house that same day, starting at 2pm at 2961 Arabian Circle.  Please come welcome Zachary home!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy...and Loving it

Hello everyone how are you doing!?
  This last week was really tiring and also really amazing! There were a lot of planes and buses and interviews to be done and I think it is the week during my mission where I have been the most busy! During the week, we started in Douala and I went out to Bonaberi and worked with 2 missionary teams out there for 2 days and it was amazing! They are all doing so well! Also got to see a lot old amis and members! Then we took a bus to Yaounde and once we got off it was back to work with 2 of the teams in the Bastos District! I was there Thursday and Friday and then on Saturday, we took the bus back to Douala and the plane back to Brazzaville. And on the way back, we met two air waitresses (or people that work for the plane) from Angola and talked to them about the Church so it was pretty cool!
   It was a super awesome week and I got to meet a lot of new people and it was such an amazing experience. Being in Douala brought back a lot of old memories and I found a lot of stuff that I had left in the apartment! One the best things was meeting all of the missionaries. Now I have meet them all except 2 which are in Gabon! But while we were gone, our amis were doing well.  We have 2 amis named Johonaton and Amour that will be baptized soon and they came to the basketball activity and institute and they are really loving the Gospel and they are doing so well! This week we are planning for mission council and receiving Elder Ellis from the South African Presidency, so we are pretty stoked!
   I love you all so much and I thank all that wrote me this last week and I wish you an amazing new week! For a challege go and drink some sparkling cider in honor of the Cavs victory!

BYEOOO!

Elder Legerski

Miracles and Missionary Work in the Congo

Hey everyone how are you!?
  This week was an amazing one for Elder Mikanda and I here in Diata! Just wanted to thank everyone that wrote me this week and all of you who sent up prayers on my behalf! I don't have a bunch of things to say this week! We have been really busy working with 5 amis which we hope will be baptized on the 9th of July! They are Deborah, Jhonathon, Rock, Fernese, and Amour. They all want to be baptized and we have been having some really amazing lessons with them during the week!
  I also got to go on splits with Elder Gilbert and it was so much fun! He really taught me a lot just in the way he went about doing missionary work! Just goes to show that we are learning everyday!
  We leave Congo to go to Cameroon tomorrow to go on splits and it's gonna be so much fun! I hope to do a lot and work really hard!
   I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great week! Go and eat some Oreos for me! And just wanted to thank my family for the amazing goodie package that I got! Somehow it got through to me pretty quickly!

Love,
Elder Legerski

Short and Sweet

Hello everyone,  
   I have no idea what to say to you today. This last week was a week full of meetings. So it was kinda boring and we didn't have a lot of time to see our amis. But it was still really good.
   But I have good news! Next week Elder Mikanda and I are going on splits with most of the Elders in Cameroon! So I get to go back! It's so weird but I'm really excited to go. I'm just doing my best to work hard...it's so weird to think that it's June already. I used to dream about being at this point in my mission. The time is flying by. But I love you much and I hope you have a good week! Go and have an ice cream shake for me!

Love you all so much!!

Elder Legerski!

A Humble "Grandfather" and Old Friends

Hey everyone!
   Sorry I didn't get to email you yesterday...we had a ton of things to do and we didn't have time to email! But this past week was a blast. It was the last week with Elder Bacera and Elder Sperry and it was just amazing! And it was also a week full of missionary work! I got to go on splits with Elder Sperry and it was just awesome! But we had a really humbling experience. We thought that we were going do really well together and have really spiritual lessons, but the day was just okay.  When we came back, we talked about that and we saw that it was the Lord's way of teaching us humility and that we had been prideful and it was really humbling and an awesome lesson to learn.

   Then on Friday, I went on splits with Elder Temahuki who is from Tahiti and it was just amazing! He is my "grandson" (I trained the Elder who trained him) on my mission and I was in my old sector with him.  I got to see Loubake and Joriane, who were 2 amis that I taught and it was really awesome and we had really amazing lessons! But also because of transfers, we got a new person in our team: Elder Mpongo! So he just got here and we will be working with him for this transfer!

   As the time flies by I just never have enough time to do all that I want but I just keep trying my best to stay focused and to get better! I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great week back home! For a challege this week go and eat some Grubs for Elder Crandell and I!

Love you all!!

Elder Legerski

Short, but Sweet:)

Hey everyone...how are you doing!?
   Everything is really good here in the Congo! This week was a week that was really fun and filled with lots of hard work! We didn't have any interruptions this week as assistants so we just got to work our butts off! We met with so many amis and got to meet a lot of new amis that we have been trying to see, so we are hoping for good things this week.
   But I don't really have much to say this week...I just hope that you are all well and I hope you have an amazing week! I love you all so much! For a challenge this week, go and eat some schwarmas!

 

Love,

Elder Legerski

Splits, Stake Conference, and Mac & Cheese with Ketchup?

Hey everyone how are you doing!?
   So once again it's really hard to remember what I did all week, but I know that it was a really good week;)  I got to go on splits with Elder Stephens and it was really fun. He has been out for 3 months and he still doesn't speak super well, but it was really fun to go and work with him and really help him with his French! Also this week, we had a meeting with a security guy from South Africa and he talked about safety and things that we need to do and he told us that we are really lucky because our mission is really safe. Elder Sperry and I had to traslate for him and it was really hard because I kept switching back to French and forgetting English words! Also, this week we had Stake Conference! It was really fun to go to and see all of the different people from the Stake and also to be taught and it makes me really excited to go back to Stake Conferences back home!

   But our amis are doing really well and we have really been working on finding new amis and contacting people and it has been really great. We fixed a baptism date with a young man named Jhonathan that we have been teaching and we are really optimistic because he was given to us by a member. Also, we talked with Jean de Dieu about the Book of Mormon and it was really good. He finally understood that only God can tell him if the Book of Mormon is true. It really strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father has let me know personally that the Book of Mormon is true. As I have read it, it has really helped my testimony of Jesus Christ grow. 

   Well, that's about all for this week...I love you all so much and I hope you all have a really good week! And for your challenge, Elder Sperry said that you should eat mac and cheese with ketchup! 

 

I love you all!

Elder Legerski

The Best Part of a Missionary Mom's Mother's Day:)

Hi everyone how are you!?
  So I just got to Skype with my family for Mother's Day, so I don't really have a lot to say in my letter this week! It's crazy to think that I just called my family for the last time as a full time missionary...I remember when i was at the MTC and still had four more times left!

The Happy Elder:)

  
   But I'm gonna keep it short this week. I got to go to Pointe Noire and work with the missionaries there (Elder Biaya and Crandell and Elder Tshibanda and Miller) and it was a lot of fun. I didn't get to see any of my recent converts and members that I worked with at Aeroport because I was on the other side of the city, but it still brought back so many memories when I landed in the airport and it was just awesome! And also we got to go to the Yes Club, which is a really nice chineese restaurant for President Monga's bday and we all sang to him and we all ate with chopsticks so it was a lot of fun! As for the amis, they are doing really well. We are really trying to find new people to teach and the search has been going well.
   I have been reading about the missionaries in Alma and it has really been insiring me to be a better missionary and work harder than ever before! Well, I love you all so much and I hope that you have a good week! I love you all so much and I'll see you next week! For a challenge go and eat sweet and sour pork and egg rolls!

Love,

Elder Legerski

 

PS.  Oh and I just wanted to thank the whole ward for the Christmas cards that they sent to me! They finally got here really late but I really loved them!!

 

Koltin and Elder Legerski
Mother's Day Skype

Dad and Elder Legerski
getting caught up

Koltin's been wearing my shoes while I've been gone??!!

See Ya'll on the 10th of August!!

Dear family and friends,
  I'm tired. One thing about missionary work is that it is really hard and really, really tiring. I'm just really tired all the time. We played basketball today and Elder Sperry and I feel like old men already. We're probably gonna go home and take a nap.

   But even in spite of all that, everything was really good this week. As far as the amis go, things were a little hard but all is well. We had zone conference and it was really amazing. We learned about what the apostles want us to work on and it's really been changing our work but it's been a good change and we are really hoping that we see the fruits of our work. Elder Sperry, Elder Bacera and Sister Twikala all testified for the last time so it was really cool to see. 

   But one thing I want to talk about today is Sister Simonne. She is a recent convert and has had some trouble working on the Sabbath day because she has a hard time paying her rent. We talked with her on Friday and told her that if she wants to be blessed she needs to come to church and not sell. But on Saturday, her boss guy came and asked her for money that she didn't have. So she called us and told us that she had to sell. But we told her that even with this difficulty, if she trusted in the Lord he would bless her. And this Sunday, she came to church!  It was really amazing to see her exercise her faith and come to church. 

   But that's about all for this week. We are going to Pointe Noire this week to work with the missionaries there so we are pretty pumped and we are looking forward to working hard with them. I love you all so much and I hope that you all have a good week. For a challenge this week, go and eat some monkey bread!

Love,
Elder Legerski

PS.  My official homecoming date is August 10!!!

Hellos and Goodbyes

Hello dear family and friends!

   How are you all doing there in the weird Wyoming weather!? Here in Brazzaville it's still hot like always, but it's getting just a little bit cooler which really helps when there isn’t any power at night! This week was a really bust week and we didn’t really get to work a lot because of all the things that we had to do with the new missionarys coming in and the old ones leaving--but it was still amazing! But before I tell you how my week went, I just wanted to thank everyone for the emails that they sent me and I hope that you all have a good week!
  
   So this week was hectic but fun as well! On Tuesday, the people that were supposed to go Cameroon couldn’t go because their flight got transferred, so we had to organize what would happen because President Monga was in Cameroon. Then after all that, we had to go and do a trainer's meeting with the new trainers and then we went to the Browns house! The Browns are a couple that work for the US embassy and they had us over for dinner and it was so awesome! They are so nice and they made pizza for us and we talked about them and the mission here in broken French.  I spent a lot of the time translating, but it was really fun and they are just a really cool example; in spite of all the differences in the culture and the language, they still come to church every Sunday! I hope that one day my future wife and I will be like them! Then on Wednesday, we went and got the new missionaries and they are super cool! They are Elder Tatahio from French Polynesia and Elder Odimba from Kinshasa.  They are really awesome guys and I'm looking forward to working with them! That same day we saw Elder Waite and Elder Nzema off and it was really weird because it seems like they came just before me and was just weird! And then on Thursday we went on splits with Elder Bilolo because he was waiting for his new companion and we had a really good day with him. We had a cool lesson with a lady named Joseph and we talked about the importance of family prayer and she was really touched and said that they would start doing it daily. On Friday, we had the orientation meeting for the new missionaries with President Monga and it went really well.  Afterwards, we went and ate and it was amazing food like always. And then on Sunday, it was ward conference and we had a lot of new amis and there were a lot of people there and was just a lot of fun.
  
   But that’s about all for this last week! This week we have zone conferences so it should be pretty packed! But all is well here and everything is back to normal! Really awesome being a missionary and doing Christ's work. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! And for a challenge this week go and eat cheesecake for me!

Love,
Elder Legerski

Splits, Transfers, and Saka Saka

Hello family and friends how are you!?
   This last week was a really fun week even though I was almost never in my own sector because I went on a bunch of splits with people, but that's okay! I just wanted to thank all of the people that wrote me and I wanted to wish my cousin Biz a happy wedding and a happy honeymoon! Wish I could have been there but I hope that you will be at my wedding!

   But this week was really an amazing week!  I started by going with Elder Kabeya for the third or fourth time and we had a really good day together, even though we had to take a lot of transport because they don't live close to their sector. It turned out to be a really awesome day and we even taught a lesson in the middle of nowhere, right the middle of a bunch of fields, so that was awesome! And then on Wednesday we had the last ever district meeing with Elder Nzema and we had a lot of fun and we drank sparkling cider together and I almost took his head of with the cork, but i didn't! And then on Thursday we helped one of our inactives cook and we ate saka saka (a dish featuring Cassava leaves) with her and it was soooo gooood! I loved it so much and I ate sooo much!

Saka Saka...and according to Elder Legerski, it's delicious?!

And then on Friday, we had the final dinner for Elder Waite and Elder Wzema and it was super good and we ate super good food again! It's always nice to have someone else cook for you because it makes life a whole lot better! And also on Friday, we had transfers and I wasn't moved at all! But Elder Izere and Elder Kazemb are leaving and Elder Sperry is coming to Brazza so these next 5 weeks should be a lot of fun! Then on Saturday, I went out to Talagai and I worked with Elder Pindi for the day and it was a lot of fun!  For most of this week we didn't have power, so it was really hot at night, but now it's started to come back! And now even with the fan I'm starting to get cold! And that was all for my week! It was really tiring but it was a lot of fun!

   This coming week we have new missionaries that are coming so it's going to be a really packed week, but it's also going to be really fun! I love you all and I hope that you have a good week! As a challenge, go and eat some dessert pizza for me!

Love,
Elder Legerski

All is Well

4/5/2016
Hi!,
   I'm not really going to write a letter to you guys this week. Last week was a normal week and everything was good, except for a few things. I don't know if you have read the news about Africa, but there were rebels who were shooting and burning police stations and they got close to our apartment,but we are fine. They moved us out and we are at President Monga's house now so we are all okay and safe. Just wanted to let you know! I love you all so much!

Elder Legerski

4/11/16
Hello family and friends,
   How are you doing!? This week here in the Congo was just amazing and everything was like normal! I just wanted to thank everyone that wrote me this week and I hope that you have a good week!

  I finally got to watch General Conference and it was amazing! This week, all that I'm going to say is that I know that the keys of the priesthood were restored on earth. And also, that if we will do family counsel like Elder M Russel Ballard told us to do, it will bless us abundantly!
   I love you all and I hope you have a good week! And for a challenge this week, I want you to write me the blessing that you have recived for keeping the Sabbath day holy!

Elder Legerski

A Love We Cannot Even Imagine

Dear Friends and family how are you doing!?
   I'm doing really well here in Brazzaville! Everything has really calmed down and things are pretty much back to normal! But since I wrote you last week, nothing really has changed! But we did go to the marche today and I can say that my bartering skills have gotten really good and they pretty much got to a master level today!

 

   But as this is Easter season, I just wanted to bear my testimony and say that that I am so thankful for Christ in my life. He lives and He atoned for our sins so that we may have eternal life. I love Him and I know that we cannot even imagine His love for us. 

   But thats all for this week! Stay safe and have a good week! For a challenge, go and eat a whole box of peeps!

Elder Legerski

Staying Safe During the Congo Elections

Dear family and friends how are you!?
   Well this week I don't really have a lot to say! I just wanted to say thank you to all my friends and family members who wrote me this week. And also I just wanted to wish my little brother Koltin a Happy Birthday! I love you lots, bro! But sorry that this email was so late we have had a little trouble in Brazzaville! (Due to the Presidential Elections in Zach's area, all telecommunications were blacked out and he and the other elders in his area were advised to stay in their apartment for a few days till things died down...http://www.ibtimes.com/republic-congo-election-2016-results-stalled-citizens-take-polls-amid-media-blackout-2339752)

   But to shoot to the point, we haven't been teaching since the 19th. Because of the elections things aren't super safe and we have really been staying safe and being really careful so we have just been in the apartment all week. But all is well and there is no danger now! But it's just been really boring and I'm really ready to go back out and work! 

   I love you all so much and I hope that you have a good week and I will talk to you in just a few short days! I can't wait to hear from you. And for a challenge, you guys have to go play War (the card game) and eat peanut butter cookies! 

 

Love, 

Elder Legerski

Hitting My 18 Month Mark

Dear family and friends how are you doing!?
   Everything is going really well here in the Congo! This week was a week that was full of mission stuff, but not too much missionary work! But despite all of that, it was a really good week and a really fun one as well! And as always, I just wanted to thank everyone who wrote me this week and just wanted to wish you all a good week!
    But this week was a week of people that left and people that came! But I will start with the ones who are leaving. Well, the Nelsons are finally leaving! The Nelsons are our office couple here in Brazzaville and they are done after 18 months here in the Congo! It's so sad to see them go home but I know that their family is sure going to be happy to see them! It was hard to say goodbye, but I know that we are going to stay in contact! Because we are losing the Nelsons, the Bills are coming back down from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville! So we need more couples in our mission! Couples are SO important for us and we are in desperate need for them! So all of you who can go on couple missions, get ready and come on down to the Congo, and all of you who can't, tell all of your friends who can to come on down to the Congo so you can help us missionaries do the work of our Lord, Jesus Christ! I know he will bless you for your efforts!
    But as I said, we also had new missionaries come in this week! It's always a big thing when people come into the mission! And so most of this week was spent doing trainings and greeting them and all of that fun stuff! We had an Elder from Belgium who is really cool and speaks super good French!! We also had 2 canadians, Elder Fraser and Boutot; but one speaks English and the other super good French! And finally, we had Elder Best and Stephens from the US, but Elder Best went straight to Cameroon cause he didn't get a Congo visa; however, Elder Stephens came here. It's always fun to see English speakers learning French because it reminds me of when I was at that point in my mission and was in awe of all of the old missionaries who spoke French already! But it was really awesome to be with them and I know that they will all make really amazing missionaries.
    And last but not least, I went to a baptism at the old ward of Guynemer! It seems like the Lord really likes me to seed and not to sow! In the past few months, 9 of my old amis that I left in the sectors have been baptized:) But thats okay because its all for the same cause and it's the will of the Lord! But Loubaki and Nancy got baptized on Saturday and it was really awesome; the first baptism in almost 10 months in that ward, I think. But the ward was there and the room was full! Quite amazing to be there and really nice to see all the people that I left there!
    But that's all for this week folks! Nothing else to report! I hope that you all have an amazing week and that I will hear from you next week! This coming week is officially 18 months for me as a missionary! If I was a girl, I would be coming home:) But for this week's challenge, go and drink some cream soda for me!

I love you all so much!
Elder Legerski