Surprises, Jehovah Witnesses, and Service

He dey go home ohh!

P-days are the busiest days of the week. I began by washing till my fingers were raw. Joy. But there is always this wonderful feeling that comes from when you finish and all is done. Ahhh... :)

Zone activity was nice, we had a little talent show, some talents were nice and prepared, others were less prepared and still... nice. A small water fight broke out too... eish. I shared a poem, and it goes like this.

We chose to come, to this mortal life

And then succumb, to earthly strife

             

To break and fall, to learn and grow

To stand up tall, to take a blow

                 

We wonder why, there's so much pain

Then as we try, we see it's vain

Without God's ply, we won't get gain

He sent his Son, his only one

That would not shun, until he won

   

Gethsemane, and on the cross

He made us free, from sin and loss

He bled and died, for one and all

If we relied, and heard his call

God's plan is that, men might have joy

If we are at, His hand employ

So that's my poem! After the activity, we went shopping since I'm not leaving and there is absolutely no food at the house. Took an 80-minute nap which was perfect. Ate Waakye (waah-chee) while we emailed. FHE was nice, but it went late as it always does. I taught the clan how to play black jack. They are always so surprised when I come with more card games. They believed there was only one card game to be played and it's called spar. I'll teach you all when I get home. :)

Pictures struggles.... :)

Tuesday I prepared a surprise instruction for district meeting that very day. Elder Lukhele walked in our room while we were studying and said "Psst.... You're giving the instruction today...... enjoy!" What on earth... So I decided to have a silent lesson. The district loved it and said they learned a lot.

Book of Mormon every day, each day we give out 4+. It's getting harder and harder to place them. :) Elder Tobler's last day in the field, so that means he was an absolute spaz and didn't sleep a wink. Man I'll miss that kid.

What I'm known as :)

Transfer day! Isaac Maskar was set apart as a missionary Tuesday night.... which means all day he needed companions, so we were his companions. He still had a few things to do, so we tried to mix appointments with his errands. His errands were mainly people wanting to feed him, so we got fed 4 times.... I thought I would bust. Eish. But everything is ready for him so that tomorrow he'll have no worries on his trek to the MTC. Elder Magopolo replaced Elder Tobler. He's from Botswana, seems like a pretty chill dude.

During Thursday's personal study, I learned more about Armageddon from Ezekiel. That day is going to be so crazy.

Last lunch before MTC bound!!!

I made some really nice beef. It loses its nice flavor when you eat it with other things, so I just cook it and eat it straight. :) It makes me happy eating red meat again. We were able to see most of our planned people. We gave 6 Book of Mormons. Mary is really progressing. We'll be able to have her baptism next Saturday on the 27th. Agnes has a new light in her which is really enjoyable to see, from when I first met her to now there is a huge change. It's amazing what the Gospel can do. :)

Friday exchanges! Elder Lukhele came to my area. We work really well together. It might help that we are TCs. :) Handed out Book of Mormons like bosses. Had good solid lessons. And had tons of gospel conversations. We got into a lively discussion with a Jehovah Witness. They would rather die than admit they have falsehoods in their church. So... I have one of their bibles, and as it turns out, they are missing 14 scriptures from the New Testament.... It's always nice when you're bible bashing and you pull those references, they flip.... and flip.... and then look way confused..... you do that a few times and then give them Deut. 4:2  Finished. :) Man those people though, eish.

On top of the world
with Elder Lukhele

While on our way back from the Sisters' baptism, we GCd a woman in the taxi, and then she paid for our fare! The Lord does wonderful things through the people we speak to. :) It was a nice way to end our day.

Saturday, we woke up and went to the chapel for cleaning. We cleaned small and then moved a whole bunch of wet sand and cement, under the sun and with warm water, it was a splendid time. :) Actually, it was quite nice. The sun was bad yes, but the priesthood in our ward is good and they are always willing to give their time for projects like these. My shirt was so soaked I had to wring it out. That was gross.

I made some banana bread which Elder Magopolo consumed since he'd never had some before. Man, you'd think he'd been starving. Washed small and then went to the other companionships' baptism. Taught a few lessons to Amos and a new investigator named Shaibu. Both of them love the Book of Mormon and are really interested in the church. :)

Shoveling...

We picked Emmanuel for Church. Oh! and it was the 3rd Sunday, so we all gave talks again. Elder Masendi and Elder Tom each took 12 minutes..... So Elder Lukhele and I were left with 5 minutes to share, which is bad when you planned to speak for 7. Oh well. Emmanuel loved church. He's been to pretty much every one and he said this one he likes the most, and I totally agree. :) Alberta is preparing for baptism as well as Mary. I'm so excited for Mary and I'm so glad she is making this decision. Mami Supa fed us Banku and stew. She is so kind and loving, I'm so grateful for her and all that she does for us each and every week voluntarily. :)

Restoration, Running...., Interviews, and Baptism!

(Using some photos taken in April by Collin's aunt, Amber Park, since we didn't receive any photos from Collin this week.)

Monday was the day of restoration! Well at least for most people. When you run out of funds for food it's called "going into apostasy".... I've never gone into apostasy, so there is no need for a restoration!

Transfer news is on Saturday.... I'm pretty sure I'm getting transferred. So I didn't buy anything for the week. That way if I do get transferred, I don't have to pack all my stuff AND food. We rested small and made a late lunch. Tried to email but the network was so bad that I only got to read 2 emails in 80 minutes.... eish.

We tried to pick a few people for FHE but it was a no go. Still, others came which we hoped would and so it was still a nice evening. :)

Woke up Tuesday running! Man, my guts were disturbing all day.... Oh wait, they haven't stopped.

At combined district meeting we watched a missionary broadcast about teaching repentance and baptizing converts. Man it was so wonderful and powerful. I love Elders Oak and Bednar. After we had MLC, so we finally finished at 3.... Wooo! After that we only had a few short hours left to try to see the people we planned to see. But by 7 we had to urgently rush back to the house to relieve my guts....

Wednesday was pretty standard. We got banku and abenkwyne for lunch, nice paah. When we went to find a referral, we instead found a different house full of old women who were pleasantly surprised to see and obruni at their door ready to share the gospel. They invited us in and we had a wonderful, slow.... discussion. :) Time just wasn't on our side. We did all we could to see the people we planned to, but there just wasn't enough time to give everyone the portion they needed! Gaah!

I sent a package on Thursday, hopefully it gets home too. :)

We taught Amos, a rastor, a super funny guy that believes in a very strange culture, which is honestly pretty sweet. Aside from the smoking weed....

Appointments were a hit and miss. It's nice to see the people that promised you they'll be there. We received a referral and her name is Janet, she lives a hard life with 1 child and one in the oven. She is a very sweet woman and doesn't have a religion -- she'll have one soon. ;) so teaching is super easy and simple. Emmanuel is also a new investigator. He has lots of questions and a long background story, so we managed to cover 3 points of an 8-point lesson in 2 hours. :)

Friday was very cheerful. We had interviews with the President. One on one time with him is so wonderful. He takes time to know about your family and personally, and addresses gospel questions and concerns. Man, you leave feeling so good. :)

Teaching was ish.... but we prepped Agnes for her interview in the evening. She passed, obviously. :)

Saturday began with a few lessons. We saw Janet again. Agnes had her baptism as well! WOOOOO! We had Christian do the baptism for her. It was such a spiritual event. I loved it so much and I'm so happy to see that she has agreed to follow the Savior this way. After, we went and enjoyed Banku and Abenkwyne with them. Watched Legacy with them and taught Mary.

All day I waited and waited and waited for a phone call.... and I never received one... which means I'm staying for 6 more weeks!!! YES!!! Tehehehehe. :) I'm so happy. :)

I'm so glad I'm not leaving yet. What looked like my last Sunday is not anymore! :) We picked Janet up for church, which made us a little late, but we were still there for the Sacrament and Aggie's confirmation. We took a small nap after church and then went around visiting people, sharing books of Mormon with everyone since we have so many.

Mami Supa is so wonderful. The food however tonight was not my favorite, some weird plantain, onion, peppe, batter deep fried in oil.... when you pinch the finished product, oil runs down your fingers.... that's good for your heart. So I tried not to eat too much. My tummy doesn't like oil like that...

Life is good, mission is good, and God is good! :)

Fifa, Baptisms, and Firesides

Fifa crew!

GOOD MORNING AMERICA!!

It's approximately 5 pm in the evening, the weather is a bombing hotter than hot, and it looks like that will never change! :)

Monday, we woke up bright and early to gym, and then went and played football at the local Fifa pitch. We played with the Bakano Elders and invited some members to join us as well. It was a lot of fun. :) We shopped and then napped, which felt way nice. We emailed and then went to go to FHE at the Andoh-Kesons. After we continued to teach late.

Exchanges again! Woo! This time I went with Elder Tom in his area, so Elder Masendi led for the first time in our area. District meeting was a humbling/good reminding experience. A lot of the lesson was spent on attributes of the Lord and which ones we struggle on. I'm grateful for inspired leaders who instruct on what is needed.

My boy Elder Masendi!

We mainly just had gospel conversations with people. No one was really home for lessons. But we managed to make it productive!

As fun as exchanges are, I love working with Elder Masendi. We work so well together. Felicia was around, so we went and taught her and one of her co-workers named Van. Van seemed more interested in her, and so we'll be focusing on him too. :)

We were able to see most of the people we planned to see. Denis is doing good, and Mami Supa as well. Josephine had her baptismal interview and passed with flying colors! Brother Jesse also dropped off 2 more boxes of the Book of Mormon, so we now have 10 boxes (400 copies) to give out. :) We are flooding cape coast with the knowledge of the Restoration! And my package arrived! My highlights were the Family Photos Calendar, and the Family Photos Calendar...... Tehe. :)

Elder Lukhele,
The game. For the World 

Thursday morning we saw Van first thing. Gave him a Book of Mormon, (surprised?) and taught a stellar lesson.

I made Nkakra Soup for lunch. Man it tastes so nice. Overall the day was a hit and miss. Most of the planned appointments failed and those unplanned succeeded! Elizabeth and Agnes were good lessons, both progressing to baptism. Josephine was super stoked for her baptism that's on Friday. She is such a sweetheart and I'm glad she has made this decision to follow the Savior. :)

We had a very prompted Gospel Conversation with a woman. It was like the Spirit forced me into a store, I had no intentions of saying anything, and then my introduction just came out, almost like I didn't have agency... :) We had a wonderful exchange and have planned return visits! The Spirit works in mysterious ways! :)

Yay for Baptisms!

Friday was splendid! We made sure the font had water and went about our day normally, teaching people here and there. Josephine's baptism was at 4. It was so wonderful and the Spirit was so strong. She has been ready for a long time, and now she has finally made those covenants with the Lord. Mary, an investigator, called us and asked us to come and teach! What on earth?! I thought that was just a Josephine thing... But it was a very welcomed pleasant surprise. :)

Saturday was slightly packed. Studies were good and the first 2 lessons were good. But then our Ward Mission Leader drops the bomb on us saying that he hadn't bought anything for the Fireside that evening, even though he promised all was well..... psych! So we rushed around trying to get everything. The fireside was very nice and a good success. I taught on referrals and examples, and used Simon Says to help teach the lesson. Ghanaians love loud games. :)

Josephine, our new member :)

Fast Sunday is always nice. Fasting is getting easier. Purposes are huge! In the morning, we went on splits to try to get more investigators and Less Actives to church. It worked somewhat. Received a Referral from the Zone Leaders, his name is Bush and is a swell guy. He only speaks English! Sweet ya!

Josephine was confirmed, she was beaming the whole day, tears streaming all 3 hours and probably some more after church. She is so powerful and I know she will have a huge influence on many lives. Emmanuella Appiah also gave us a referral! Referrals are finally coming. They haven't come this whole time, and now they are, it's wonderful. :) Mami Supa fed us Shitto. It was very nice paah. I love Cape Coast. :)

So proud of her!

The biggest thing I've come to learn on my mission so far is that there is always a Good, Better, and Best. And it is our job to decide which one to choose. Priorities are so important and I know that figuring out ours will help the rest of our lives be so much easier! I love this church so much and all that it does to help us as members grow so much.

Trims, Gyming, and Weddings

Elder Assibey came back
for the baptism!

First thing on Monday was a trip to Elder Day. He has only been barbering for like 8 months, and man, he does a good job. It had been 19 weeks since my last one... :) I finished all of my washing and cleaning really fast. Did some small shopping and then took a nice much-needed nap. We made a late lunch and then emailed for an hour. We tried to bring several investigators to FHE, but we only managed to find one. :/ But one is better than none! I taught them the card game BS (changed the name to Obwah!, Obwah means "it's a lie!") Man they loved that game. Half the group had good poker faces, and the other half clearly didn't.... tehe. :)

2nd hair cut on mission! :)

Combined District meeting was nice. Elder Harward is our new supply Elder and the new District Leader in Nkanfoa. He gave a really pondered thought-out instruction regarding the power of examples. He's a goofy kid, but also very powerful. :) We went and chopped some fufu afterward and then tried to see some investigators. We had a wonderful lesson with Mami Supa. I love that woman so much and I would love to see her join the church some day. :) By the way, she has kind of sort of adopted me as her own child.... sorry fam! ;)

Emmanuel's Baptism

Wednesday morning, Josephine had a referral for us. She isn't even a member herself yet and she's doing missionary work like a boss! She'll be so strong when she joins. :) We didn't teach very many people during the day, but the day was still very satisfying. Emmanuel Ansah was baptized as well! Booyah! Since he lives outside of our boundaries now though, we had to refer him over to the first ward so he could be, so it's a bummer that we won't be able to see him at church anymore. Elder Assibey came back too! What the freak?!?! He left on a plane last week and he's already back, little did he know that he would miss me that much eh? ;) Nah, he came back for a baptism of one of the people he was teaching, but it was quite nice to see him again. Elder Lukhele is such a goof. He's the only other missionary that participates in full-on imaginary shoot-outs/ slow motion combat. Goober. :)

I didn't know
the original apostles
and Christ had Dreds.... ;)

Gyming every morning. It's nice to be going every morning. The day just feels so much better when your body is sore. Hehe. :) Felicia (Josephine's Referral) works at the top of the highest hill in our area, and is only free early in the morning. So we prepared and made the trek up a nice big dirt hill. Met her and had a good little introduction/lesson. We hope she'll progress so that Josephine has a close friend in the church as well. Super super productive, we taught a bombing 7 lessons and saw some less-actives! Josephine will be ready for baptism next week and Agnes the week after. I'm so glad they are willing to make those covenants with our Father in Heaven. I've come to find, that my main motive to become a better person is to become a better husband and father for my future family. :)

Church life :)

Friday Elder Lukhele and I went on exchanges. So Elder Masendi went with Elder Tom. Exchanges are nice pahh. Elder Lukhele is essentially my South African twin. I love him so much. Our humor matches and we get along very well. We saw a good amount of people and taught solid lessons. We took Christian to the family history center, and got him started and finding family names so he can take them to the temple. You know, we all have weaknesses and faults, the thing is is that my strengths might be your weaknesses and visa-versa. But we are all learning together, yes there will be differences, but in the reality of God, we are all the same. No one is better than another.

Photo from
Mission President's blog:
Pineapple growing
at the chapel at Tarkwa.

There was a wedding on Saturday! So half the day was spent at the chapel, helping where we could and enjoying the ceremony of the two people being united together. :) Afterward however, it changed to the strange traditional apostate party that all Ghanaians have.... Plus there was a Muslim wedding being held at the complex at which we live, So now pretty much every Muslim knows where we stay. :)

Denis came to church again! I've noticed that since he's been coming to church that he's been happier. I hope that he continues to come. :) Elder Masendi and I blessed the sacrament. I love being able to bless the sacrament, it reminds me of good memories from the times back home, but also it helps me focus more on the Savior. Mami Supa prepared Fufu and Nkakra. We went and helped her pound it. By the time the Fufu is ready, you've burned more calories than you're going to consume. ;) But it was very very nice. After, we went and taught Mary. And she had some wonderful questions. We committed her to baptism and she seems pretty gunghoe about it. :)

Life is not easy, but it's so worth it. People might do things to hurt or anger, but we need to learn to let go of such things, for that is the Lord's way. My beloved friends and family, this church is true, Christ is our Savior. By following Him and showing our love for Him, we can grow into the people that God wants us to be. I'm so grateful to be serving a mission, even if the sun bakes down. :) God is sweet, and life is sweet. :) I love you all and am grateful to have all of you in my life!