Elder Masse Baptism Sept 2014

Elder Masse Baptism Sept 2014

Monday, December 23, 2013

to My Family & Friends from Africa- Joyeux Noël from Elder Masse - December 23, 2013



Dear Family & Friends,

I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas during this happy season! I know that we are far away at this time, but the Spirit of the lord is close and he loves each of us. I feel that love from each of you and I wanted to tell each and every one of you that I love you and wish you a "Joyeux Noël"! I know that I have not had much correspondence with many of you, but I wanted to thank each of you for your prayers and for that you gave my in helping me to prepare for my mission. I know I have been out for some time now, but I wanted to thank you for the contribution that each of you gave and the sacrifices that have been made on my behalf whether they be physical, mental, or spiritual. Heavenly Father answers our prayers and he listens to each of us.

In my small corner of Africa everything is going well! It's hot, I sweat every single day, but I continue on! Heavenly Father has blessed me greatly with this opportunity and I am grateful that I was called to serve in this part of the world. It is wonderful to see the change in the people that I have grown to love so much. They are wonderful. Africa is truly an amazing place and I have hundreds of stories to tell!

Again, I love each of you and hope that you are doing well. I am happy and content. I hope that each of us would take some time this Christmas season to reflect on who we are and where we are going. We are truly blessed and Heavenly Father loves us.

Je vous aime plus que vous m'aimez! Je vous souhaite un joyeux Noël! On se verra bientôt!

Que Dieu vous bénisse!

Avec amour,

Elder Massé

December 23, 2013 - Birthday party/Christmas Party, Mountains of Food!, "Je reviens! Je reviens encore!", "it was a dream come true!", why its so amazing to be a missionary in Africa

Comp: Elder Wright
Area: Douala, Cameroon

December 23, 2013
Dearest Mother,

I have been thinking about that all this week! My life is so wonderful! There are just no words to describe how I feel. I feel such peace, such joy, such happiness. It doesn't even feel like Christmas, but it is the best time of my entire mission! The more I give myself up to this work the more I feel engaged and locked into it. The more I work, I find more work to be done. I have been getting home later every day and working and sweating and bleeding and teaching and preaching. I honestly can't describe it. I know Natalie understands well, but I hope that you and Dad can too. As it states in the district, these are feelings that just can't be described. I love this work! 
So here we go! 
1. What do you want to hear about when we skype?

I honestly can't think on anything. I just want to see you guys and your faces. I hope that you are doing well and that all is well. Don't worry! We will just talk and it will be over. No worries! It will be great whatever happens! 
2. What are your plans for Christmas?
 We will be out working on Christmas until about 1:00 and at that point we will need to head to the city to see the Gaileys at their house. They will feed us a lunch/dinner. Once we get there we will start skyping our families and just playing games and having fun. After that we will head home and that is Christmas! We will also be watching last years Christmas devotional by the First Presidency. I love last years so I am excited to watch it again. 

3. What are you looking forward too?
 I am just happy to be here. It's a great time to be a missionary and I wouldn't trade the time that I have left for anything in the world. Honestly, this is perfect. 
4. What made you happy this week?
It's hard to answer that question. I feel so full of joy and peace. Everything is going well and it's the best! 
5. What have you been thinking of lately?
. Not much. I am just looking forward and enjoying my time here in the mission. It's an exciting time! 
6. Did any presents or packages or letters arrive as of late?
I have not received any letters or packages as of late, but I did receive a letter from Natalie! It's awesome! She seems happy and she is doing well. It's hard to tell though because the letter was written two months ago. Ha ha! Oh Africa. And the Phillippines. 
7. Tell me some African traditions
If there is a pimple on your face it means that you are in love with another woman. The Douala tradition is that mermaids exist. Africans never use a towel that they use to wash their body for the ground. I got in huge trouble for that one. Seriously. Chewed out. That is all that came to mind for the moment. 
8. What made you laugh?
Well Elder Davis and I  talk all the time and we laugh about every day. It's been so fun watching that relationship grow. We are doing awesome. 
9. Tell me a joke
What do British Nuclear physicists eat for lunch?
Fission chips! Ha ha! 
10. Tell me why its so amazing to be a missionary in Africa.... 
Because the work is growing and people are so accepting. People are very in-tune with the Spirit and it is wonderful to watch them grow and progress. However, there is also a catch to that. There are so many people that I love and have grown close to and it's hard to watch them not progress or watch them struggle and drown in their trials when I know exactly what they need - The Gospel. It's very hard, but it is a wonderful blessing. This country has been prepared and we have more people to teach than we can see honestly. I love it here, but it's not easy. 
11. How are you feeling?
 I feel great! Truly, everything is going my way. Other than that I don't have a whole lot.

So it was a really great week. On Saturday I helped one of our neighbors set up for a huge birthday party/Christmas party and thanks to my charm and class, ( wink wink) ha ha! I managed to get all four of us missionaries invited to the party! At 6 o'clock on Saturday, I hear the doorbell ring and so I went to investigate. As soon as I opened the door I just see my neighbor named Agnesse rush into our apartment and start placing plates with mountains of food of them on our table! She kepy saying, "Je reviens! Je reviens encore!" I'm coming back! Before I knew it there was like six or seven plates of food on our table full of African food. It was like a dream come true. Fish, chicken, meatballs, roast beef, stew, beignets that tasted like blueberry muffins,  cake, Ndolé, Cantonese rice, potato salad, and tons of soda. Seriously. It was the best thing ever. I had a seemingly endless supply of African food. It was a dream come true. 
Ahhh... And there is still more in the fridge! Ha ha! That was the highlight of my week. It was the best. 
I don't have a whole lot more to say and not much is really coming to my mind at the moment so I guess I will just end there!

I love you Mother! I will see you on Wednesday! Avec amour,

Love Elder Massé

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Dedication of GABON!!! First 4 Elders go to Gabon for the first time!!






I was so touched by the part of the dedicatory prayer in Gabon by Elder Bednar- about leaves falling from the trees when the prayer started- but it turned out to be butterflies!)
http://www.lds.org/church/news/print/gabon-country-dedication-in-ancient-forest?lang=eng&country=afe