Baking, Power outs, and Late Night Disturbances

My Boii Elder Okwii

Subsistence Monday! We did the usual washing and cleaning, went to the market. I got some things to make Geloff and Stew. It rained for the first half of the day which cooled everything down which was a nice change. I made Zucchini bread as well! They call it squash here.... but it's Zucchini. We rested for the rest of the day and then went and saw the light house. It's abandoned and people live there now but it's still way cool.

Emailing was the usual. Only this time, a few seconds after hitting 'send' for my long weekly email, the power went out.... The Lord gives us small and simple mercies each and every day. :)

Lawrencia, an investigator who is only 6 days younger than me, fed us banku which was way nice of her. :)

They call it squash...
it's a zucchini. :)

Busy busy busy! Tuesday's Zone Meeting was splendid. We discussed more on being obedient, Missionary Handbook (MHB), Preach My Gospel (PMG) missionaries. It was filled with great reminders. After that we went to DIS for a second visit. This time they diagnosed it as fungal...... I think they're guessing at this point. So they gave me another set of meds to "try". Aside from that our day was normal.

How we blend things

I baked more banana bread for Lawrencia since I promised her I'd make her some. We only had one lesson, which I guess is better than none. Hopefully we'll have more success.

The first conversation we had on Wednesday was with a man who claimed to see Christ every day face to face and said he was a prophet as well. And then said a whole bunch of other self-righteous things that were kind of ridiculous. Plus he just couldn't stop talking. So we sat there patiently for an hour and a half..... trying to listen/ correct gently. :) but it came to a point where I had to say "it's time for us to go" otherwise my compa might have kept conversing for another hour or 2. Man some people paaa...

Cape Coast light house. :)

Our appointments were very spread out, so we spent most of the day walking, and only 2 people were able to see us. It seems we have weeks that are very productive and weeks that aren't. So patience is the key and to work hard, relying on the Lord that he'll provide IF we do all that we can as well.

I have to take 9 pills a day for my rash.... that's right, 9.
1. 2, 4 times a day
2. 1 every morning.
These 'doctors' are guessing..... comforting ehh? :)

Round 2.....

Thursday had its ups and downs. The morning was very productive. We got supplies and equipment for the apartment and planned for the week. We went and got Fufu for lunch which was tasty paaa. :) Every single appointment fell through. Not a single lesson was taught. It seems that people don't understand just how far we walk just to see them, and the importance of our visits. Their eternal salvation is at stake!  The power was out today, which also discourages people from seeing us. :/ Lawrencia fed us Banku again, this time she made it herself, she is such a sweet gal.

What 3 months of sun will do....

Friday was my 3-month mark! Eeh! Where did that time go!? My mission is going too too fast. Elder Ofordeme and Elder Assibey (One of my Zone leaders) had a meeting to attend to, so I spent the day with his compa Elder Okwii. He's from Uganda. It was nice getting to know him and to see that he's a really sweet guy. We interviewed 2 investigators for baptism for Elder Nwatah and Elder Tom. We only taught Emmanuel and Suzy. Everyone else fell through including all of the ones Elder Okwii had planned to see in his area. Lot of walking took place. We were so close to the light house since it's in his area, we went and I showed him around for a bit since he's only been in the area for a 2 weeks.

Saturday was hot! Like, hotter than normal. Plus my knuckles aren't improving, in-fact it's spreading.... Joy! It's been nearly 6 weeks now. It doesn't hurt, it's a bother.

The day was good though. we visited with a few people and brought Emmanuel and Suzy to Elder Nwatah and Elder Toms baptisms. After that we went and saw TillyWendy, Araba and Eko (siblings). All of them are recent converts.

And round 3....
But it's made in America!
So I trust this one :)

I am so grateful we have sound/noise laws in America. Here there are no such things. Muslims pray 5 times a day, and their prayers begin at 4am.... If you don't have an alarm clock then settle for a 4am alarm. They are very prompt.... Also, each evening you get the wonderful white noise of either what sounds like someone getting beat, or cats brawling it out. Sunday morning began nice and early. I woke up at 12:30 and at 2:30 to expel everything that could have possibly been in my body. Sleep did not happen which is always a pleasant way to start your day. So it wasn't the best Sunday I've had. Thankfully President and Sister Stevenson came and visited the ward after ours and they gave me a cream made in New York that should work for my knuckles since nothing made in Africa works. So hopefully the third time's the charm. :)

Mami Sopa fed us some nice rice and stew. We visited with Christian for some time which was quite nice. He really really really wants to serve a mission, only he's too old to go. :/ But this was my week. :)

Exploding Irons and Makeshift Ovens

Short circuited...

This was an eventful week! On Monday we did the normal everything, only this time, our iron short-circuited and blew up.... so that was exciting. :) no one was hurt which is always a bonus. My companion was tired so we just chilled and rested in the apartment. We emailed for the usual 2 hours and then went and visited Christian for awhile and helped him finish his talk, and then with Auntie Kate.

Tuesday we had a great Zone meeting. A lot of things will be changing like supplies and how we get them, ECG and various other things about the apartments. This week is transfer week, and a lot of the Elders in my Zone are heading home! So it was a good chance to say goodbyes. Man I'm going to miss some of those guys. Especially Elder Wasden. We went to DIS afterward because Elder Ofordeme's shoulder has been giving him problems for the past couple months, they diagnosed it as muscle pains.... I don't trust African Doctors.

Elder Wasden's
last day... :(

That evening the Andoh-Kesons fed us Fufu since Elder Mapfumo is leaving. After that we went and helped Mami Sopa move 150 crates of drink. By the time we were done we were soaked through and through.... Nasty.

Wednesday was transfer day! Out with the old and in with the New! I'm going to miss some of the Elders that went home, but we got a new Elder in our apartment, his name is Elder Tom from Nigeria, 3 Nigerians in the apartment! It's crazy! But he's a really sweet guy and he's 26.  Here in Africa they let men leave a little later.

Fufu with the Andoh-Kesons!

The day was quite productive, we had 6 lessons and got a new investigator! PEC was cancelled again.... shocker. On the way home it began to drizzle, but at the base of the hill to our house it began to pour! So we had to sprint for the house! I'm so glad we were that close and not further away. :) The Lord helps us, even with the weather. :)

Thursday was also really productive. We spent the first part of the day tracting and found a long lost Less Active and an interested Muslim.... We'll see if they're serious. We taught several other lessons throughout the day. The sun is so hot.... As long as it's out you're wet... like soaked. Which means mornings and evenings are bliss. :) We stopped by the Appiah Family in the evening unexpected and they fed us dinner! They are so nice to us and always do all they can to make our lives great. They're a wonderful family. :)

Moved 150 crates like a boss. :)

Friday was great. It was hotter than hot, as usual. I took a mini nap which felt nice. Our first appointment was a gal named Ruth, a new investigator that wants to learn about the Book of Mormon. :) Little does she know that it's the Book of Mormon that will convert her. ;)

After we went and got Fufu and fish for lunch and I ate WAY too much. I felt slightly ill for the rest of the day. I found some Aluminum bread pans so I can now make banana bread! We visited with a few people small small and then a Recent convert named TillyWendy. She's 13 and still needs a good foundation, so we're helping her with that. :)

Nigerian Tie Woman. :)
She makes lovely ties

Saturday I made banana bread! And it tastes just like Mom's homemade from back home. :) The guys in my apartment inhaled it... I guess it passed the taste test. ;) I had to make a makeshift oven to back the bread since our apartment don't have ovens, or blenders, or microwaves, or anything nice. So you make your own appliances! :)

My makeshift oven!

Only Lawrincia was around today, not as productive as days past. Sister Patience invited us over to her house for Fufu. She gave us beef and snail with it as well. And it was all good. :) The snail was just new, it wasn't bad, it was quite nice. We talked with her and her friend, Anita, about the gospel and why there are so many churches today. After them we went and had a lesson with Christian and Benjamin.

Just like Mom's! :)

Sunday, Christian gave a wonderful talk on obedience. It was mainly in Fante but I could tell it was good. ;) 2nd hour Elder Ofordeme and I taught primary. Those children are stubborn eesh! We went back to the house for lunch and I made more banana bread. I gave one loaf to Mami Sopa right as it came out, so it was still hot. When we returned to her place for dinner the loaf was gone except for the bum! She then told me my bread was too nice and she couldn't stop eating which means she won't be able to eat dinner. Sounds like a real bummer. ;) She made us Kotonte, which is a different version of fufu, and it sits in your stomach like a rock. I'll be digesting it for the next few days. So that was my week!

Elder Park

Rashes and Utahns

FHE with the Andoh-Kesons

Monday was another busy day! We did the usual washing and cleaning, and then had a District activity for Elder Wasden (he's from Rexburg) and Sister Atieno, who are going home next Wednesday. I love Elder Wasden.  He's a really chill dude and super relateable. I'll miss him for sure. We played games and ate Geloff rice and chicken. Charlie, that stuff is nice.

Expensive Medication.....

We visited a clinic for my spreading bacterial rash that's on my right knuckles, and they prescribed me some expensive ointment.... it's a good thing I get reimbursed! On the way home I found two nice shirts for lounging in the apartment and I talked the guy down to give me a better price. When we got back, we only had time to prep and go email. After which we went to the Andoh-Keson Family for FHE. I love them. :)

Lately I've been getting to studies an hour early, so that way I get 2 hours of personal study time. I wake up at six. Work out, eat, shower, and get dressed and will do all of that by 7. It's really nice. :)

Institute!....
With one student and no teacher!
Woohoo!....not

District meeting was good. We discussed about pride which was a really good eye-opener for me. To be able to reflect and see where I've been prideful and how I need to improve.

We taught a gal named Lawrincia today.  It was really nice since she speaks really clear English. ;)  We taught Emmanuel and his family plus a friend of theirs named Mary, and she asked a billion questions, not all of them relevant. She's silly. :) and it lasted for 2 hours, which was fine. :)

My staple :)

Wednesday we started the day off by going to Justice. He's such a sweet guy. On the way we stopped at the European store and she dashed us a kool-aid! She's seriously my favorite! Christian had more wonderful questions as always. PEC was cancelled... again. So we went and taught Mami Grace, a new investigator. In the dark since the power was out.

Thursday was weekly planning. For lunch we went and got Fufu at our favorite Chop Bar. :) It's the best Fufu period. After we went and taught Lawrincia, one of her friends wants to marry me... and I told her I've already said yes to 2 other women, and I can only take home 2 suitcases..... :) She didn't understand but Lawrincia did, I'll let her explain. :)

First time with Sugar cane!

No one else made time for us. :/ But I did have a wonderful conversation with a man named Larry who is desperately needing some direction in his life. So we'll be meeting with him in the future. :)

Baptisms!

Friday we had Elder Mapfumo come with us, since his companion Elder Nwatah will be training this upcoming transfer so he had to go to a trainers' meeting. We had very little success. Only Emmanuel and his family made time for us. We visited nearly all of our investigators and recent converts but every one was either not home or busy. However, while we were sitting with sister Loveluck (a member) a car pulled up and 2 obruni women hopped out and rushed over to us and said "Elders! Thanks you so much for doing the work!" Turns out, they were from Utah! The mother was from Bountiful and the daughter was from Sandy! We visited for a bit and they gave us a ghc20! They wouldn't take it back and told us to buy something nice. Which means we'll be buying lots of Fufu. ;) I love how members recognize us from all over the world. :)

After church pics :)

Saturday began with the usual 2-hour study. At noon we went to Philips grandmother's place, and there she made us Fufu for lunch. We took Emmanuel and his family to the baptism that was for the other Cape coast 2nd Elders. Silvia, an investigator that moved away to boarding school, came back for the weekend! It was so nice to see her and visit with her for a bit. It's too bad that the missionaries can't teach her when she's at school. We visited several less-actives to hopefully spark some interest in coming back to church. There are A LOT of less-actives in this ward.

Sunday I got a little study time before church. Church was nice with the same failure of understanding. :) Afterward we helped Christian prepare a talk that he has next Sunday. He said in about 3 weeks or so he'll want to come with us teaching since he's too old to serve a mission. He still wants to increase his knowledge and get the little bit of Missionary experience that he can. He is such an amazing guy.

From Mission President's Camera:
"Some things
you just don't see every day."

Bro Kingsman (a new investigator) in his questions today, essentially told us that our church was true. :) His stubborn child who never goes to church with him, gladly comes to church with us.... maybe because we have something that his church doesn't... ;) Mami Sopa fed us as usual. We had Banku with a nice stew. I love ending the week at her place. :)

So that was my week!

~Elder Park

Gardening, Cherrios, and Late Night Gas Runs

Oasis Beach

This week flew by! Gahh!

Monday is always our busiest day! We had devotional and did the usual washing and cleaning. We made 3kgs of rice for the Zone activity....  That's 6.6 lbs. We had the activity at Oasis Beach. There we played a bunch of games that the Sisters wanted to. Which were all weird African Child games that none of the Obrunis understood.

We got kicked off the beach by a company who owns it... so we had to eat at the chapel. Which was fine. It finished around 1:30, so we went and got Elder Ofordeme a hair cut. While I was waiting I discussed with the Barber's brother for like 35 minutes about God and the Restoration. And he seems interested! So we'll be teaching him when he gives us time. :)

Hair trim!

We went and emailed afterward, and I had just finished emailing when the power went out, small and simple mercies are everywhere. My favorite store keeper waved us over on our way home, and she had 3 boxes of expired cheerios! Heck ya! They have become my evening snack. :)

Tuesday we had District meeting. Which was great. The Sister Training Leaders gave the instruction. Some of these sisters really try your patience because they are so demanding and expect you to do everything they say at the drop of a hat, otherwise, they chew you out. So they help build patience. :)

Carrying chairs
like a Ghanaian ;)

I stocked up on oats for my breakfasts as well. We only taught Linda and Benjamin since no one else was home. We did help Sister Lucy carry chairs back to her place for a funeral. Funerals happen all the time here, and they aren't like our funerals back home...

We attended Institute with Christian since it was his first time. Institute will be good for his doctrinal questions. :)

Wednesday was quite productive. We taught 4 of our new investigators and it seems that all of them need the foundation of the Book of Mormon right off the bat. :) Which is great! Because, after all, the Book of Mormon is the key stone of our religion. We were late getting to PEC, but no one went! So we rushed over there for nothing!

'Menthol' Candies!!!
Their "candy" is also used
for runny noses. ;) 

When we returned home we found some onions in our fridge that had been forgotten and had begun to grow. So me and Elder Mapfumo took our busted sink and placed it out on the balcony, then got buckets and shovels (aka. spoons) ran out, and filled the buckets with the dry, hardly fertile dirt for our to be garden. :)

Thursday was not so pleasant. My stomach hurt all day and I had a raging headache. I had to stay within range of the bathroom for the first half of the day. I took a 2 hour nap which didn't help. Aside from that we only taught a few lessons in the evening. Nearly everyone fell through.

Stealing dirt like a bandit.....
with spoons. :)

J-dogs (Jehovah Witnesses) have been teaching one of our investigators, so each time we visit we have to correct all the damage that has been done... :/ J-dogs are so confusing and frustrating paah....

Auntie Kate bought us some "somethin or other" which is practically little scone balls dipped in sugar. They were really tasty.

Exchanges with this guy!

Exchanges Friday! I felt so good all day! There was no lingering illness from Thursday which was nice. :) Elder Nwatah came with me to my area. He is such a funny guy and we share the same sense of humor. We had Fufu for lunch and taught 2 lessons. Emmanuel and Christian. Which both went really well. And both asked some deep deep questions.. :)

We went to the Abura sisters baptism to show our support since they're in our district. They scheduled it for 5 and it started at 6 which means it ended at 7:30.... Some things take longer than they should sometimes. But we still love the Sisters. :)

Expired Cheerios!

Saturday was supposed to be General Conference! But here in Africa, we don't see the sessions for another month! Since they have to translate everything into Fante and Twi, and burn it on a disc and send it to us. They send an English version too, but we still have to wait. :/ But we'll get it at some point. :)

We had weekly planning since on Thursday I was sicker than a dog. We went and taught Justice, he's such a sweet guy and always refers to me as "My friend" Sometimes all that these investigators needs is a friend. He's way genuine and I love him so much. :) Plus, he committed to baptism!

Auntie Nancy

We taught Emmanuel and he promised to bring his family to church! So hopefully they'll come. Investigators don't realize how important it is for them to come to church so they can see what the church is really like.

Elder Nwatah and I did a late-night Propane run to the Sisters' apartment. 2 of them are really sick and they were out of gas which means they can't prepare food. So we took our Reserve tank and brought it to them. The things we do for those we care about. :)

What a goof :)

Sunday was our first Sunday at 9 am! Which means morning studies don't really happen. And there was no General Conference. We learned who the new apostles were from our Zone Leaders. It was Fast Sunday and 5 of our investigators came! 5! We never get 5! And Emmanuel brought his family just as he promised! And they all seemed like they enjoyed church. Emmanuel also brought his J-dog bible, which has a lot of missing scripture. Apostate churches are so foolish. :)

Our new granite sign. :)

That evening we helped Mami Sopa prep and pound the Casava into Fufu. She feeds us every week and takes such good care of us. :)
So that was my week! :)

Sincerely
~Elder Park