Shortly after moving to Morgantown we were asked by the sister missionaries to pick up an investigator for church. They said that he only spoke French but was very nice. We could see that Serge was a good person right from the start. In very broken English he told us that he was from Gabon and had come to America to learn English. He lived with a cousin (In Gabon, everyone is a cousin, while cousins are called brothers and sisters). Though he had been in Morgantown for three months, he had not gotten any closer to his goal of learning english.
My heart went out to him and his situation; the thought of living in another country where I didn't speak the language terrifies me. So I knew I had to do what I could to help him. There were so many people who rose to the occasion to help Serge. I was able to find him an ESL class at the tech school and the teacher of the class was a huge support to Serge. Sometimes I could give Serge a ride to class but not every day. Serge's teacher was able to get in contact with the bus system here and they do a program where they choose someone each month to get a month of unlimited bus rides for free. They chose Serge so he was able to attend his class.
So many people in the ward helped Serge as well. One brother helped him get a job and another brother in the ward gave Serge a ride to and from work. When Serge moved into his own apartment, many ward members donated things to furnish his new home. He quickly became a valued "member" of the ward, though he had not yet been baptized. A woman in the other ward who spoke French would help translate during missionary discussions and even came to our ward so she could translate for Serge when he spoke during fast and testimony meeting.
Serge became our dear friend. Mariah especially had a special relationship with him. Even though they didn't understand each other most of the time. It's amazing how you learn that there is so much more to a relationship than speaking the same language. We were able to learn so much about Serge without being able to talk much. One day we learned of his phobia of snakes when Chet brought a toy snake to show him and he cowered in the corner until we took the snake away. We also learned that the idea of combining chocolate and peanut butter was revolting to him...which I still can't understand. It's the perfect combination.
Bringing Serge his favorite ice cream (birthday cake) for his birthday.
Serge taught us so much about his country. He cooked us delicious food, and taught us about his culture. He has a fiancee, still living in Gabon, and he showed us his engagement party video, which is a huge affair in Gabon, like an American wedding. A dowry is paid and there is food and dancing. His fiancee, Jeanella came to visit and though she understood even less english we just fell in love with her. She would hold Austin and say over and over, "Oh baby Austin, Oh baby." It was the sweetest thing.
Every year our ward has a party at one of the member's farms. Brother Skousen takes everyone on a hay ride and it can get a little crazy with the rolling hills. There's one part where Brother Skousen puts in the clutch and we get going pretty fast down the hill. Everyone screams, Serge's scream however was more one of panic then joy, he gripped my arm so hard. Afterwords I asked what he thought and he said, "not good, no, not good". I asked if he had ever been on a roller coaster and he said no. I'm sure he thought we were all crazy.
After a little over a year in Morgantown Serge learned of an ESL program in the DC area that would be much cheaper than the one offered at WVU. We were so sad to see him leave. I wondered if he would be able to have friends and the support system that he had here. We were able to visit him in his new ward and the people there were so wonderful. One man in the ward was helping him find a job and he was able to take the discussions from French speaking missionaries. He then moved to a different ward and several months later Tanner received a text from Serge asking if he would baptize him. We were so excited to be a part of his special day.
His new ward is awesome! We met so many wonderful people at the baptism. Serge was baptized with a man who is also from Gabon. There is a French speaking group in his ward that get together often; many of them are from Africa. I felt so discouraged when Serge had to move, and worried that it would be a bad experience for him. But now I can see it was the best thing for him to do. Often Heavenly Father takes us places, or puts us in situations, where we have to have Faith that all will work out. But once we are able to look back we can see the many wonderful blessings that come form acting in faith. Heavenly Father loves us and has our best interests at heart, even if we don't see it at the time.
It has been such a humbling experience to see how willing people are to reach out and serve others. Serge has now had three ward families and they have all been wonderful and willing to serve. We are so grateful for the friendship we have with Serge and everything that he has taught us. God is good and he has put so many wonderful people in our life.
