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Zone leaders and fellow
Cape Coast 2nd missionaries |
This past week has been pretty grand. Thursday I finally got to email! Which felt really good. We had porage for breakfast again. We have porage every morning only it's made out of something different each day, like today it was made out of corn... or so they say.
We only taught one discussion today and it was amazing! We had amazing companionship unity and had planned out everything that could have possibly happened. We got into the lesson and everything just flowed. We had all the right scriptures and said all the right things, I worded things a lot better than I thought I would. At the end of the lesson I committed him to Baptism! No one else in my district got him to say yes! Me and my companion were feeling the spirit so strongly. :) Personal studying has been getting more and more beneficial for me, ideas and concepts are sticking a lot better. :)
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| Elder Ofordeme!!!! :) |
Friday was different from the usual, we did lots of little break out sessions that targeted different aspects and attributes. We had lots of thinking and pondering time which allowed us to think about what kind of a missionary we really want to become. Along with the kinds of attitudes and mindsets that will best benefit you . At the end of the evening we had this wonderful pep talk from a local bishop who works here at the MTC. It was so nice to finally get reassurance from somebody who served where you're going to serve,and he addressed practically every concern that I had. He didn't sugar coat it though, he told us it's going to be super hard but that we'll love it. It just reminded me of the quote from Christ saying "I didn't say it would be easy, I said it would be worth it."
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| Wedding! |
Saturday was pretty much a normal thing, the only thing out of the ordinary was what we had for lunch.... It was Fufu!!! I still don't know if I like it or not. It's essentially this big sticky dough ball. You're supposed to tear off a piece (which is an absolute joke because it's so sticky it doesn't tear), dip it in the soup or broth (which just coats the fufu, the fufu doesn't absorb any of it), and then swallow it completely. If you chew it it'll get stuck in your gums, teeth, and on your tongue. It just slides down your throat. What's the point of eating food that you can't chew and enjoy?!?! My main question is though, why don't they just bake it? You're only one step away from bread! Anywho, hopefully I'll get used to the feeling of slick, slimy dough sliding down my throat.
In the evening me and some Elders played Uno with a deck of face cards. An Elder from Zimbabwe taught us the game and us American Elders knew what it was the moment he started explaining.
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| Still Wedding! |
Sunday was fast Sunday I thought it would be hard not eating for a full 24 hours but it honestly wasn't that bad. As long as you have a solid purpose then you don't even realize you're hungry. Plus the Spirit is with you all day. The spirit is just grand and I love the assistance and comfort it gives. :) We had several devotionals which discussed what kind of missionaries we need to be, how we need to tailor to investigators' needs and not spit out a lesson plan.
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| Brother Christan Ativor :) |
Monday was my last full day in the MTC. It was filled with various health and safety meetings about what you should and should not do out in the field. They essentially promised us that as long as we take our Doxycycline and sleep under our mosquito nets then we would not get Malaria, sounds like a plan to me! They gave us water bottles with filters that can filter absolutely everything, and the filtered water tastes like plastic. But the plasticyness is totally worth not getting a parasite.
Tuesday we went to our mission home, there we just chilled and watched church movies. We got to talk with President and his wife, along with the Assistants. But Tuesday was really low key.
Wednesday we went into the field! We got our areas that morning. They bussed us down to a trantran where we met our companions and then went on our ways to our different areas. My first area is the Cape Coast, Cape Coast 2nd Ward. And my companion is Elder Ofordeme. We dropped my stuff off at the apartment and then went to work. We decided to go and get lunch and my first meal was Fufu! We walked around and talked with members mainly. The people here are so nice and really sociable.
Thursday was my first full day in the field, we had our weekly planning session and then went out to the market to get food. The market is crazy and slightly gross.... But the food we get is usually okay! I've been living off rice, bread, eggs, and chicken. Now that might sound good but the quality is a little sketch.
We taught our 3 investigators: Christian, Samuela, and Philip. We are mainly trying to get them to church, but I committed both Samuela and Philip to baptism. I got Christian to commit and so he'll be baptized on Saturday! The only problem with the people here is that they want to please and hate to disappoint. Which means they'll say yes to your face but then not come later.
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| I love this man. :) |
Friday was nice, I'm still getting used to sleeping under a net at night. It doesn't give you much room, but it's worth not getting bit. We taught our 3 investigators again and also some less actives. They all promised to come to church but I honestly doubt they'll come... :( Christian is on track for the following day. He seems really excited and honestly I think he's prepared.
Saturday was fantastic! There was a wedding and Christian's baptism! The wedding was for a member named Francise Mensah and Augustine. It was a wonderful event and I got to meet a lot more of the members. Shortly after, we had the baptism for Christian and my companion had me do the baptizing! It was such a cool experience and I'm so privileged to have had the honor of doing so. We finished the evening by talking with people on the street, trying to find new investigators.
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Me and the Malmroses,
they adopted me
as they're grandson. :)
We talked family history forever! |
Sunday was slightly difficult. All 3 hours were in Fante, so I just sat and tried to listen... I had no idea what they were saying. But I'm learning bit by bit. :) It's tradition for a Missionary to bear they're testimony the first time they're in the ward. So I bore mine about why I chose to serve which was my family and the temple. After which several members came and wanted to talk to me more about my family and my temple experiences. These people are so great and I honestly forget that they're black. We had groundnut soup at a member's house, but groundnuts are peanuts. So they gave me sardines instead.... They looked nasty but were honestly not bad at all. You just have to focus on the flavor and not what you're actually chewing.... :)
Today is my first P day (Preparation Day). We deep-cleaned the whole apartment and went shopping at the wonderful market that makes you want to not touch anything. The food is a lot better than I thought it would be, but it's still a little shady. We have to clean everything super well before preparing it. Pictures are a little hard to transfer over from Elder Ofordemes' camera, but I'll do my best until my SD (camera memory) card comes!
Some thoughts from studies. :)
- The first law to practically everything is Obedience.
- The Armour of God is nearly all defensive, stuff to help us be converted, but the sword of the Spirit / the word of God is our only tool of offense that we can use to affect others.
- The whole book of "Our Search For Happiness", especially pages 10-12, and the bottom of 58-60. :)
