In Africa you learn to expect the unexpected.
Last March, remember how the travel lady here booked our tickets to Mali, but she did it in the names of Pres and Sis Lewis of the Abidjan West Mission (we’re the East Mission) instead of for us? And we missed getting back to Mali by hours because the next day the lockdowns happened? And then we ended up being here to help with all of the mass evacuation of all the missionaries in March and April and May? Remember how good it was for us to be here to help the Binenes finish up their mission and then to welcome and help the Bendixsens settle in? Remember all those reasons we needed to be here?
Another reason has been added to why we are not in Bamako right now.
We’ve been asked by the Area Presidency to be interim Mission Leaders for the Abidjan West Mission. Pres Lewis has some health issues that need to be addressed at home in case surgery is needed. They’ll be returning home for a time on Oct 13th to have things checked out. Sis Lewis will also be able to have her knees scoped and their daughter has rescheduled her marriage so her parents can attend.
The hope is that they will be able to return after 6-8 weeks where John will be an interim President until Pres Lewis returns. This assignment has come from the Area Presidency in Accra and has been approved by Elder Suarez and Elder Vinson and by Elder Nash in the Missionary Department in Salt Lake City.
So while they are gone, our assignment will switch over to the West Mission. Our offices are side by side and the mission homes are side by side too, about 5 min from here. We’ll get to stay in our little apartment in the same area. I think they picked us so our nametags would match!
This evening we joined Pres and Sis Lewis in their home as they informed the missionaries of this change in an online mission-wide devotional. It’s a hard thing to step away from missionaries you love. We will do our best to keep the work rolling forward while they are away.
To follow along on my Mission Blog where I am posting regularly, you can go here:
https://lewismissionhome.wpcomstaging.com/
