[Thank you so much for your prayers and fasting!  Elder LeBaron has experienced miracles this week!  His recordings couldn’t send last week, so we didn’t have the communication until today.  He’s working so hard, and you can hear in his recording how the Lord is blessing him tremendously!]

Hello Family,

Last week was soooooooo much better!!! I had an amazing experience yesterday.  Saturday we had our first baptism!!  It was amazing.  I committed both of them to baptism, and they were baptizedI  I talk about it in my recording.  I read everyone’s emails.  Thank you for all of them!  You guys are awesome!!!!  I can feel everyone’s love!  I got so many emails!  It was wonderful!  It’s been an amazing week!  I’ve been writing in my journal a ton.  I write like I’m writing to my children.  I’m probably going to run out of paper before the two years are up!  I’m going to get the packages you sent at the multi-zone conference in a couple of weeks.  Yeah I took your advice and just chilled out and it has seemed to help. Elder Ayama told me something that is so true, “just play the fool to win the war”,  which basically means suffer through the crap till your out of training then you can do whatever you want.  We’ll be together until the next batch of missionaries come at the end of the month.  I’ve come to realize so much this past week with the spirit as my trainer!  He’s the real teacher!  Satan has been trying to get to me, but he got a giant curb stomp yesterday!  😉  So I have no clue why my comp has been better this week.  I think I got him in a good place right now, but even the smallest things tip him off, so like I want to say I’ll be able to email next week but there is also a high possibility of not hearing from me.   Haha it just will be in and out!  The good thing is I got to fast, so I put my starvation to good use!  🙂  I’m honestly better than you think!  The Lord is blessing me!  Mom, I have lost a lot of weight, which I thought was impossible…haha!  The good news is the Lord is blessing me because I haven’t felt hungry anymore, which is a huge blessing.   Alban’s friend called me the other day!  He’s gonna come by the apartment.   He is an area authority, which is dope!   He seems like a stud!  I also met Alban’s other friend too that he served with when he was here.   It was super cool because we were talking with him and then I asked him if he knew Alban and sure enough he served with him!  The Lord is in our lives more so than we can even comprehend!  It’s impossible to not see the blessings that keep coming into my life.  I’m great.   I don’t have any anxiety.   Just bursts of homesickness sometime,  but I’m doing a lot better!!!  The power is sketchy so some nights its super hot others its freezing, but I’m getting more and more sleep as time goes on.  It’s all apart of the adaptation!  🙂 I just have to laugh about it.  Africa is really funny actually.  When I think about how I’m living and what I’m doing I just laugh.  🙂  Hahaha I’ve come to realize that is the key to get my comp happy is to laugh.   I just joke with him and even if it is the dumbest thing if he thinks its funny then it is freaking hilarious!  I’ve gotten pretty good at fake laughing hahahahaha!  These people are really easy to love!   I’ve come to find ways to just love them for who they are and they have grown to like me so thats a blessing.   It is all the Lord’s hand.  He needed me to suffer to know what the good feels like, if that makes sense?  The spirit is really helping me learn and grow.  You’re awesome, Dad!   I love you so much!!!!! I tell people stories about your mission and just your awesome example in general like all the time!  I have also grown to love the Savior so much and have gained so much respect for him!! Read Jesus the Christ!!!! It is amazing!  Well, this place is amazing…it’s the comps that have made it terrible.  LOL  I just have such a lazy comp.  Oh well, I have a ton of time to learn French and study!  

I love you sooooo much!

Elder LeBaron

 

Hello…

This past week was not good.  It was so hard and I’m struggling to even want to be here anymore.  I’m really struggling with my comp. I don’t even know where to start.  My recording should help you understand what’s happening, but my comp doesn’t speak English and hardly talks to me.  Basically our new apartment doesn’t have great water so I’ve had to use the filtered water bottle thing to get water and the power is super iffy so its way hot.  We hardly go to the secteur and my comp isn’t doing much to help he just kinda adds to the stress and is super selfish with everything.  I can’t communicate with the Mission President because he only speaks French.  I’m scared if i say anything about it it is just gonna come back to bite me in the butt.  Yeah its tough man I seriously am ready to just throw in the towel and come home I can’t take it man!  I’m in a threesome.  Everything they want is done and they just kick me to the curb.  I’ll try to be strong. This is so hard you seriously have no idea the crap I’ve been through already.  They’re super disobedient as well.  Like really bad.  I’m trying my hardest.  I’m just glad I have you.  We had to take a survey today, so I was able to come and communicate with you.  My comp wouldn’t let me come yesterday on the P-day.  I just hope I can communicate with you on P-days.  I just want to be the best missionary and I just don’t know what to do.  I think my biggest problem right now is that I’m trying to be so perfect in an environment that is so difficult.  I’ll work to be obedient even though these missionaries aren’t doing what they should.  Well hopefully my comp will let me come to the cafe next week.  He really just plays video games and watches movies all day.  I’m going to focus on learning the language and studying and try not to upset my comp.

I love you guys so much thanks for everything!!!!!

Elder LeBaron

[These were sent today, January 8th]