Letter 3

Hello our Dear Family and Friends,

Les and I hope this letter finds you all doing good and enjoying this part of the year. Sorry for this big delay in getting our letter off but wow, they are keeping us so busy that we hardly know which direction to go next. We have been spending our time finding buildings and doing whatever we need to do to get them for the new mission and missionaries that will soon be arriving. We have to find them with the help of an agent, wait for someone to bring the key, walk through them, negotiate the price with the owner, usually in his home (which we use President Rogotien Lokossou who is a retired businessman, a very good negotiator and one of our Branch Presidents), read their contracts, make any changes necessary, have an agreement by all, sign documents and finally write the check and pay the agent (realtor). When we have finally completed the negotiation on the price and signed the contract, the owner cleans, does all repairs, we do a walk-through with him checking everything and checking for all the keys (they have a key for every door, cupboard, etc.) and then finally he gives us the keys.

Furnishing the apartment comes next, but we don't know how much we have to do in that area because we haven’t gotten that far yet. So far, Les and I have only gotten to the point of signing as a witness and paying for it (which also takes the time and sometimes there are little glitches, or hic-ups in there, too.) Eco Bank is getting better and better with us. I'm not sure if they remember us from 2007-08 or if they know us because of the Church and our missionary tags. But whatever the reason, Heavenly Father is moving his work right along and we are so grateful to be a part of it!

We thought we’d like to give you an explanation of our photos. Some of them are taken because of the interests of the moment and we don’t want anyone to think of all Africa as is depicted in our photos but our photos do depict everyday life for a huge number of people. There are people who are much better off than average and many more who are blessed with very little of this life’s excesses. We will have a few photos of both ends of the spectrum but most will be typical life here in Benin.

Again, I want to apologize for this very late letter. We hope you are all doing well and that you are surviving the winter quite comfortably.------Keep working hard and Staying close to the Lord.
Love you and Miss you,
Mom and Dad, Les and Nancy and Elder & Sister Southam

Tue. 2/1/11 6:45 a.m. Nancy and I took Pierre with us to the inspection station. We went early and found ourselves #11 in line. Forty five minutes later when the gate opened there were 30 or 40 more cars behind us. Within 15 minutes we were complete with most of the inspection and we were asked to drive to the rear of the station and wait for the remainder of the inspection and our papers. For the next 3 hours we watched an endless string of cars come to the parking area and wait with us but nothing happened with the inspection. Pierre finally found that the man who signs the documents was in a meeting. We waited longer and finally we got our documents with no further inspection. No brake check, no light check, no spare tire check, no other stuff check. A couple of hundred cars that day get through because the officials are holding a meeting. Now I don’t want to be too down on the establishment but this is so typical of the inefficiencies of West African governments. There will not be much development nor economic growth so long as the present mind set remains. It is so incredible, so unfathomable. We see a lot of the same mentality in the church but many members are starting to “think” how to do things better. It will take time but the gospel is really helping these good people.

Wed. 2/2/11. Our refrigerator has not been working the past few days. We have had a repairman come but he doesn’t know what to do except to add coolant. So I called Dave, our son and asked for a refrigerator service man. He gave the number of Sterling Appliance Repair. I called Sterling and asked if he would be willing to help me with some questions. He was kind and gracious and helped me a lot. It was the first time he had ever serviced a refrigerator in Africa. The refrigerator was worse today and Pierre showed up with a different repairman. This one actually had some electronic tools and that was somewhat comforting. He said the thing that I thought was bad was indeed bad and he will return tomorrow with the good part. Here’s hoping.
The weather is stifling now and our air conditioners cannot keep the rooms cool. We sleep with the A C as cold as it will go and still we need another fan to move the air around the room. We realized how hot it was today when we saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking.

We mentioned the problem we have with the marriage situation here. The church does not, because the government does not, recognize traditional tribal marriages. Therefore before traditionally married people can be baptized they need to be married civilly. The church is helping those couples to accomplish this. Today Elder Halterman, Elder Kittaka, Pres. Rogatien Lokossou, Lionel Missigbeto, Nancy and I met with the mayor who performed the marriages of two of our couples two weeks ago. He agreed to come to Cotonou to perform future marriages. He lives in a village about 45 min away and that will save the couples a lot of money for travel because he is some distance from here. We will now organize a mass wedding for the near future.

Feb. 3-- Tonight we picked up Elders Donovan Lewis Terranova (Highland, UT), Michael Shane Workman (Phoenix, AZ), and Skyler Robert Wolthoff (Layton, UT) at the airport. These are the first “Greenies” that we have welcomed to Africa. It was really fun to see these new elders. They are full of faith, hope and great expectations. Some years ago I hit a deer one night while driving my truck. The look in the deer’s eyes was somewhat akin to the look we saw on the elder’s faces. They feared that we were to be in an accident any moment as we drove back to our apartment. We treated them to fresh mangos, pineapples, watermellon and bread and butter. We took them to their apartments after they had emailed their families from our computer telling them they were here safely. Soeur Southam is always thinking of others and this time it was their parents. She wanted them to know asap about their sons.
Elder Wolthoff is in for a great learning experience. The elders in his apartment are from France, Madagascar and Congo. None speak English.

Feb. 6 -- Today is fast Sunday. We decided to fast for Brother (frère) Landu to find a job and for Aunt Mary to recover well from her surgery. Last night Frere Lionel suggested to us that we use members to secure the buildings for the mission. That way, the agent’s fees can be paid to members of the church who are in need of employment and I, Nancy, suggested that Frere Landu could do this and Lionel agreed. He also wanted to do it, too. We think this was a really great idea. We will work this out somehow. The last agent we used got 400,000 cfa for his fee (equivalent to one month of rent that we will be paying). This translates into about 6 months of income for most people. This could really be great for Frere Landu and Frere Lionel.
Elder and Soeur Gubler (from Las Vegas) came to stay with us for about 4 days. They came from Togo to train the new missionaries. It has been a very delightful past few days with them. They leave for Togo tomorrow.
Elder Gubler and I just returned from the church. There were about 20 or 25 saints there for a meeting. As we talked outside after the meeting a man who was so drunk that he could hardly walk came up to us and greeted us. This was our 400,000 cfa man. What a waste of talent and money. It appears that no sooner than he was paid for finding the house for us, he started to burn up his new found wealth as fast as he could. Now for sure we want to use some very good people who aren’t going to drink their money away.

Feb. 7 - Pierre brought a new generator today. Wahooooo!!!!! [It only took me a month to finally convince Les that we needed a NEW one and that the old one had really been well used. If you don’t believe me, ask the Blacks and the Leavitt’s. I am so happy and much more relaxed to know that I don’t have to sweat all night in the heat, if we have the gas for the generator, when the power goes off!] So, now when the power goes out we are ready. Nancy, with her motherly instincts, invites the elders for dinner every Monday night for FHE and tonight after they had finished their proselyting for the day we fed them again. We had goulash! They loved having a home cooked meal prepared by someone else, Sister Mom Southam
Feb.8 – The refrigerator is out again. I am sure that somewhere in this city of nearly 2 million people is one who understands refrigeration and the repair thereof. I guess we just haven’t tried enough repairmen and paid enough money yet, like we did with the generator when the Blacks and Leavitt’s were here.
Elder Greg Dunn, his wife and Francis Kazah-Anfo, temporal affairs personnel from Accra, came by today to see our buildings for the new mission home and the mission president’s home. We drove them around to see the homes and we really enjoyed spending some time with them as we looked at the homes to make sure they would work. They should be making the final decision right away on which ones we will take. It was really nice for me, Nancy, to be able to talk to an American lady from the States, for a change. We had a good time together.
Elder Dunn told us that in one year’s time we won’t even recognize the church in Cotonou. He said this program we are starting has been hugely successful in Ghana.

Feb. 10 – The refrigeration fellow is scratching his head today but then decided that he “knew” that this next part would do it. He installed the part, about 10 minutes and then spent about 6 hours trying to get things to work again. He left after dark and the refrigerator was working once again. We will see how it does in the morning. Here’s hoping.
Pres. Lokossou and Lucy, his wife, stopped by to see us today. She is not a member of the church yet but we so love each other’s families. This is the first time we have seen her because she travels to China so much on business. We will be going to their home for dinner one of these first days. She prepares such a good meal. Some of our children have eaten at her home and they really liked it.
The power went out today twice but we have a generator now and life is good.
Tonight we had a great thunder storm. Lightening lit up the nighttime sky and the thunder boomed. It was great. Our street was a small river and very few motos were on the road because of the downpour.

February 14, 2011 HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! We were so busy that this day came and went without much of any celebration. We just wished each other a Happy Valentine's Day and want to wish you all one, too.

16-Feb-11 -- Wow time goes so fast and we don’t seem to be able to keep up. The power went out last night about 8:00 and didn’t come back on until about 2:00 this afternoon. But no worries we have a brand spanking new super strong generator that will save us from any problems. I started the generator and all was well. We used the internet for a while and then got ready for bed. We turned the A/C on in our bedroom but all that happened was all the lights went out as we tripped the breaker on the generator. We tried it again, same result. So we opened all the windows and hoped that the night time breeze would keep us somewhat comfortable in the very hot and humid weather we are having. No luck, we just sweated as we lay there on top of the bed. Finally Nancy had a brilliant idea. Maybe the A/C in the guest room wouldn’t use as much power as the one in ours. So, at about 2:00 am we finally got the generator going and the A/C also. It was wonderful, even the mattress wasn’t too bad. Then we had visitors coming at 7:00 am so we had to sleep hard and fast to be ready for them. That didn’t work either but we have survived and hope all goes well now. We don’t yet know what we will do with the A/C in our room. Anyone need a clean one owner one?
We took Elder Wolthoff to the ophthalmologist today because he was having problems with his eyes. He is one of the “greenies: and lives in the Akpakpa area. The office was clean and neat and the doctor came highly recommended by the American Embassy. We spent all day doing the examinations and taking a break for lunch. As we left the doctor said “your eyes are not parallel” and he asked us to look also. Sure enough he has a “slight” wandering eye. He had glasses but had not been wearing them. He put them on and his eyes lined right up. We think the problem is solved but he will go back for another test on Saturday.
We received word from Accra that a selection has been made for the mission office and the mission president’s home. They wired us some money and tomorrow we go with Pierre and Pres. Lokossou, Rogatien to write earnest money checks to the landlords. All three new landlords are Muslim. They seem to have a lot of money. The ladies are the ones with whom we negotiate. One of them tells us that she prays to Allah and to Jesus. I guess she’s covering all the bases. This lady really likes Nancy. She told her her that they are sisters. They both have the same blood flowing in their veins.

17-Feb-11 -- We picked up President Ayekoue at about 6:00 p.m. then brought him to our apartment where we fed him dinner. It was really good to talk to him in the solitude of our home. We had his undivided attention for a couple of hours and then he left for the hotel taking our truck for the night in our truck.

18-Feb-11 -- He came to our home for breakfast. He wanted to have a new experience eating. So we had hash browns, eggs, ham, toast and jelly and peanut butter. We also had watermelon and mangos. We think he liked it. He ate everything.

19-Feb-11 – We toured the newly acquired properties for the mission home, mission president’s home, and one group home. The pres. likes them all.
We also took Elder Wolthoff to the specialist again. After several tests and consultations we were assured that there was nothing to worry about. He should wear sun glasses, and try not to worry about things, especially his eyes. The doctor feels that his concentrating on his problem is making it worse. The doctor recommended that we now go see another doctor that examines other aspects of the eyes. Three different trips to the Ophthalmologist has cost a grand total of $66.00.

20-Feb-11 – We attended the Akpakpa Branch today. In Sunday school we sang “Israel, Israel God is Calling”. The young women of the branch have added a kind of extra part, an extra melody or something that I have no clue as to what it is called but it really sounds awesome. I’m sure the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would drool all over it. :)
We have elections here in Benin on the 6th of March. The mission president has asked all of us to be in by 6:00 p.m. each night until it is over. That gives us a whole hour of light inside before dark. Sure hope the internet works at those times. It is not working today so at least I can add to our journal.

21-Feb-11 – We had a banner day today. We inspected and accepted the keys for our first Group Home. It is ours. We now will furnish it with beds, chairs, tables, refrigerator, stove, pots, pans, plates and everything else 4 missionaries will need to set up house. This is the very best apartment we have seen and are so excited to have elders live here and to hold church here.

22-Feb-11 – Amber Walker Allen emailed us that Arlo Walker died this morning early. We sure love him. He and Dorothy were so good to us and accepted us as one of their own for all these years. Arlo was a really great man and will be missed by not only his family but ALL who knew him. He was so talented and good with his hands. He was a great gardener and always produced a lot of grapes, even on the off year. Les and I still have not learned how he does it. Today is Larry Walker’s birthday and even though his dad died on his birthday, they have another thing to share together. I believe, for Larry, each birthday will bring a happy time to remember the things he did with his dad. Also, we are content to know that we have the gospel and a sure knowledge of where Arlo is and what is happening with him and his family. I just do not know what I would do without the gospel. It brings me such peace and understanding of who I am, why I am here, what I am to do and where I am going.
Les and I brought Elder Wolthoff to our apartment today to see how his eyes react and to see how he rests his eyes like the doctor told him to. We hope that with a little rest his eyes will normalize and he will be able to get fully into the missionary mode without the headaches and eye strain that he has had. Well, I suppose he is just like any other missionary that can’t sit still and just rest! He is such a good Elder that he just wants to do what he was sent out here to do.
We learned who our new mission president will be on July 1, 2011. It will be Robert Weed. We don’t know anything else about him as yet but we are excited to have him here. For those of you who do not know, the two countries on the West Coast of Africa, Benin and Togo will make up a new mission and the mission will be called the Benin Togo Mission.
A huge rain storm started about midnight. The thunder rolled and the lightning lit up the sky. The wind blew rain into our open windows. In just a short time enough rain blew into our pantry room that Nancy and I had mopped up 2 buckets of water. We also had to mop part of our bedroom and bathroom and close all the windows in those rooms. It was a great storm that lasted several hours.Sorry for the great length of this email. We will try to get it shorter next time. Hope life is good for all of you.Love you all,Mom and Dad, Les and Nancy, Elder & Soeur Southam