3/3/2014 - Translating for Elder Vinson; thoughts on one year in Togo and changes



Family!  

february is gone? are you sure? i'm not sure i really believe it.  it's probably because it's such a tiny little cute month.  haha anyways this week was awesome! we had a visit from elder Vinson of the  seventy.  he is amazing.  he lives in ghana right now.  on thursday we had a meeting with all the missionaries for 3 hours that went to like 3 hours 50 minutes.  and then friday morning he met with the zone leaders.  i didn’t' get to take any notes because i had the lovely honor of translating for him for the whole thing, both days.  that's the first time that i've had to do some serious translating like that and it was challenging but good.  it kept me on my toes the whole time but i did have to focus a lot on how to translate and not really the goodness of what he was saying but i still got a lot out of it. 
  
other news from this week.  i forgot again to take pictures of the apartment or the elders in the apartment but i will this week.  

thoughts about one year in africa:  my whole life has changed.  the way i look at things is so very different.  humidity is actually not that bad.  and does even have some perks: soft elbows, no cracked knuckles or chapped lips, etc.  i love the people of togo.  yovo yovo is chanted every time i walk around.  i think i've heard all its many, many versions. [This is the song the children sing to any white person they see on the streets.]  i've gone from the youngest little american to, in our generation (me and elder potter), the second oldest americans in togo and the longest living american missionary residents of togo.  i love the french language.  

there's something strange about change.  it's almost imperceptible in yourself.  just the other day i saw elder sagers and he said, dude have you lost more weight? and i said, you know i haven't seen a scale in about 4 months so i don't know. he said well i would say yeah you have.  i wouldn't know because i'm still me.  even when i change i'm still me.  so to say that i've changed yes i know i have, but how i could guess but to me i'm still me.  i'll always be me because everything i do is me everything i see is me.  i guess what i'm saying is that as far as change goes you'll have to see when i get home because i'm just me.  but the me i was is not the me i am.

well that was way to philosophical.  i'm not even sure if that makes sense.  i love the mission.  i love THIS mission.  before i didn't really understand why people would say they served in the best mission but now i do.  

i love you all.  i miss some of you a little bit sometimes....just kidding.

loves

ElderRybin