I sincerely hope everyone is enjoying their day!! The fourth of July is one of my favorite holiday’s! I don’t know if it’s because I get to shoot lots of guns, blow up things with fireworks, or eat American food? No, my favorite part of the 4th of July celebration is getting together as family… And shooting guns with them.
Sometimes you just have to think a little bit.
One of the sad thoughts I had a few days before this glorious day is that I will not have the privilege of watching fireworks on the 4th until 2018… Sad thought. To make things worse, no one even acknowledges today as a holiday in this country.
This, this is a powerful sink.
The people of Ghana are missing out. Missionaries are not allowed to shoot guns or fireworks either, but I want all of you to know that I too have celebrated this wonderfully American holiday by eating a ton of chicken and jello.
Every in Ghana carries their loads on their head.
That’s all I really have for today! If you want to know how this week went, then tune into my dropbox to watch the latest video! I know I invited everyone, so I hope you are all able to watch my videos. One problem about dropbox though… I am running out of room on dropbox. I will have to delete videos off my dropbox every week in order to post more videos. 😦 BUT wait! Katie (and whoever else wants to) can download my videos on their own computer before I delete them! Yay!
Elder Anderson and I.
Alright, go enjoy your freedom. I hope everyone remembers that God has written the constitution and blessed the land you know live on, so be grateful for what you have!
Another wonderful week has past and I am still enjoying my mission here in Ghana! One of the main reasons I have enjoyed this week so much is not because it was easy, but because I have learned more about trusting in God this week. When elder Lawson was transferred to Tamale, I became the district leader of the Daban district, senior companion to an older missionary, and the mission’s financial secretary. I was completely stressed out with no idea of where I should start. So, I prayed.
I have made Sunday my french toast day. I eat french toast every Sunday.
During the prayer I offered, I asked that the Lord would place challenges before me to help me learn and trust Him, instead of asking Him to take away the trials I already felt closing in on me. Well, my prayers were answered with a lighting fast response.
This is unity. We decided we all had to sleep in one room before a few of us were transferred.
All throughout the next few days after I said that prayer, I felt like everything that could have went wrong, went wrong. On the missions working fund sheet (the excel spreadsheet that tracks the missions money), I somehow messed up a formula that caused the sheet to tell me that I was missing thousands of cedi’s, which caused me to have a little heart attack. While trying to fix the mistake that I had made, I was also having to train my companion on how to be an office elder. After many frustrating attempts to correct the excel sheet, my companion and I wanted to go teach a few people we had planned for. Most of the people we had planned to teach were unavailable…
Sorry it’s so blurry. Elder Lawson is by far, one of my favorite missionaries.
To make a long story short, my prayer was answered and I definitely leaned completely on the Savior. After quite an exciting few days, the winds blew in my favor. With the help of my trusty cellular device, a long phone call to the USA, and the actual financial secretary for the mission the excel spreadsheet was repaired. Problem solved, check. My new companion learns quickly. Problem solved, check check. Even though we were not able to see most of the people we wanted to this past week, we were still able to teach more lesson than we had anticipated. Problem solved, check check check! All in all, it was a sweet week filled with plenty of weights to make me stronger.
We forgot to tell elder Abrams that we were not doing our “I’m tired” photo yet…
My new companion is elder Anderson. He is Ghanaian. His family lives in Accra. He is a pretty quiet most of the time, but we are still able to talk, so that’s good. We have gotten along the whole week, so that is especially good.
Just singing in stake conference. It’s okay that I took a photo, because I saw president Cosgrave take one… 🙂
Also, I think I have sent everyone on my emailing list a link to my dropbox videos, so I hope everyone is enjoying the opportunity to be able to “live” in Ghana with me. I probably won’t write super long weekly letters anymore since I will be able to make a video at the end of my weeks here for y’all. That will be good, because it will give me more time to write personal emails.
I hope and pray everyone had a splendid week last week! I hope everyone has an even better week coming!
I am sad to say that this weeks email will be pretty small due to my want to use my time to write individual emails, so I’ll get right to the “meat.”
Last week was zone conference week, so my companion and I were able to attend all the zone conferences being held in the mission. I was able to travel back up to Techiman for one of the conferences! Super sweet stuff.
Elder Dudley and I go to the mission home and workout every single morning before drinking our green drinks. Upon returning Saturday after our workout, elder Dudley found the mosquito net to his window cut open and some of the things on his desk stolen… After searching our apartment, we found the AP’s window cut open as well. Looks like our white skin has drawn some unwanted visitors. Dang. Thankfully nothing too serious was stolen.
“how I feel when stuff gets stolen.”
This last week was also transfer week… 😦 Elder Lawson will be leaving me. He has been reassigned to be a zone leader in Tamale. He will be dearly missed. 😦 My new companion is another Ghanaian. Apparently he can drive and work computers. I’m excited to see how things will go! Also, I will be the senior companion for the first time and have been assigned as the new district leader for the Daban district. Cool beans.
Anyways, that’s the main news for this week!
Love,
Kamron
p.s.
Also, thank all of those who sent pictures this week!!!! I really enjoyed them!!!! Sorry I didn’t have time to take photos this week… I’ll repent and take plenty of pictures for next weeks email!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Elder Dudley’s three month mark was on Saturday, so he wanted to celebrate by playing “matchsticks and a bottle” and taking pictures.
This week flew by just as quickly as the last. My companion and I did a lot of contacting big houses this last week.
Our landlord invited us to do service for her last Saturday, which we happily accepted! It’s what my mom would call “fun”… A whole lot of weed pulling… It was good fun though! Can you find me in the banana trees?
Here’s a journal entry for one of my contacting experiences this last week. “The area elder Lawson and I are assigned to labor in right now mostly houses the really rich people of Kumasi. Today, while contacting, elder Lawson and I found a big compound with the gate open and two or three big houses in it, so we decided to contact there. When we went inside we found a young woman sitting on a bench in the really well kept compound yard. She offered us a seat as soon as we walked up to her, which most Ghanaians will do. After speaking with her for a bit, she said she would like us to come back later to teach her a lesson, because an electrician had just shown up to work on her house. We thanked her for her time, set a return time, and left. Right down the road from her house, elder Lawson and I were passing another gated compound with a locked gate. As we passed it, I thought “Let’s try it!” When we walked up to the locked gate, I noticed a crack in the gate and peeked through. I was baffled by what I saw! I turned to elder Lawson and said, “There’s tons of peacocks in there!” We knocked on the gate and eventually the caretaker of the compound came and opened the gate by order of the owner. We were invited to come and speak with the owners of the compound. As we walked towards the house, I noticed even more peacocks and even an ostridge! For a moment I thought, “Africa wouldn’t be a bad place to live if you had money. Maybe I’ll have a house here one day just so I can have sweet African animals in my front yard…” The owners of the house didn’t have a lot of time, but we were able to teach a short lesson. They invited us to come back to continue our message after we finished the lesson. Good times in Daban.”
We went to the Golden Tulip (nicest place in Kumasi) to eat today. We paid for the lunch buffet. Definitely the best meal I have and probably will ever eat in Ghana.
Pretty cool stuff. Not a lot of missionaries get to teach a lesson in the middle of a zoo… Along with teaching cool lessons this week, we also taught the most lessons in one week then we ever have as a companionship so far! We were pretty happy when we closed our week with meeting all of the goals we had set for the week. Even thought elder Lawson and I work extremely hard together, we just haven’t been able to achieve our goals until this last week. We have been setting relatively high goals for office elders though…
Unified district right there.
Along with meeting weekly goals, I have been learning new things! Big surprise there, huh? One day last week, while sitting at my computer typing away, I was listening to a devotional talk given by Elder Bednar given at BYU-I called “Seeing things as they really are.” This talk hit me right between the eyes… I have had a greater desire to do good with my life and rise to the potential that God would have me be at since coming on my mission, but especially after hearing that talk. I wasted a few hours on social media and video games… Okay, probably more time then I would like to share. I have so many things I want to do in life! So many places to go! So many people to help! I may have wasted a ton of time on useless hobbies before, but not anymore. I’m done with wasting time! I have a fire burning in my soul.
The outside doesn’t look very nice, but that place is legit.
To close my week, I had a personal experience with forgiveness this week. Maybe I’ll share it one day if you ask me.
Whelp, that’s all I can think of for this week! Until next Monday!
With Megatons of love,
Kamron
I ate so much food… Food I haven’t eaten in 8 months… Salad! Real salad!!!!
This week has been a special week, because I got my international driver’s license! I can now drive in almost every country in the world! My international driver’s license doesn’t expire until the year 2026 either, so even another 8 and a ½ years after my mission I can drive in foreign countries. That’s pretty cool. If anyone wants to ever travel overseas, you can always bring me along to be your driver… After driving on these roads in Ghana, I can handle anything! Being in the passenger seat of the car while elder Lawson drove was bad enough, but now that I’m driving I feel like I am in combat. If you read Ghana traffic laws and then you come and drive here you will see that almost nobody follows the rules. It’s interesting. I like driving though. I forgot how wonderful it is to drive.
Can you guess who’s driving now?
Elder Lawson and I are continuing to lengthen our stride and lift our goals to higher planes, especially after this last week. On Thursday, our mission had its mission leadership council, which is when all of the zone leaders in the mission gather together and are instructed by the assistants and mission president on how to become a more effective mission (Elder Lawson and I were invited to attend by the president). During one of the instruction sections of the council, we were taught about how goal setting is deeply linked with our purpose and how if we don’t set and work towards our goals then we won’t fulfill our true potential as missionaries. I have heard over and over again how goal setting is important on mission and I have been setting and keeping some of my goals… I have had an about face though and will be trying to learn how to set and keep effective goals. I know this, along with everything else I learn here on my mission, will not only help me now, but in the not so distant future.
I’m living the life here in Ghana! I drink this every single day! So good!!!
My companion and I are still having a great time together. We laugh, talk, and teach well together. We have now taught and baptized both of the referrals we received awhile back and since we have not gotten anymore referrals from the members my companion and I are back to street contacting. Please, everyone, give your missionaries referrals!!!! It is a million times more effective and makes the work more enjoyable. Your missionaries will love you so much. Just think about this… EVERY baptism I have had here in Ghana has come from a referral. I have not baptized a single person that I have contacted on my own, but on the other hand, I have baptized at least a quarter of the referrals I have received. Just ponder that.
Watching “Frozen” as a district! (President approved it)
Also, here are little bits from my journal entries from last week.
May 21 2016
I have now been in the assignment as an office elder in the Ghana Kumasi mission for almost 3 months now. The time continues to rush on. Elder Lawson is still my companion and we always enjoy. Today, elder Lawson and I had our daily personal and companionship studies and then went out to pay the electricity bill for our apartment. After we finished with the power bill we went to the office for most of the day to work on some reports and the mission newsletter. Around 5 o’clock, my companion and I went contacting for the first time since I’ve come to the office! It went well… We only taught 1 lesson that wasn’t that spiritual, because the person we were trying to teach went way off topic with juju, spirits, and what not. It’s okay though! No effort is ever wasted. Even when the days are long and rough, elder Lawson always knows how to make me laugh, so my days are always awesome! Once we ended contacting for the day, we decided to eat some swarma. While we ate swarma, elder Lawson and I talked about home. We also talked about how our lives before mission were just kind of at a standstill, because we knew we couldn’t get married or start our careers yet for we knew we had to serve a mission first. And now… Now our missions are flying by and next thing we know, we are going to be married, in school, and starting our families. Crazy stuff.
May 22 2016
Most of my Sundays are the same here in Daban. I wake up and begin to prepare for the day by ironing my shirt, eating breakfast, taking a shower, etc… When I finish all of these things, it’s off to church! Sacrament meeting is always looked forward to by me, because I get to partake of the sacrament, renew my covenants, and become a better person. All of the talks in sacrament meeting are usually in Twi, so I just spend an hour thinking about my life and the lives of everyone I know. For the second hour in church, I attend a gospel principle class for all the investigators and recent converts who come to church. This class is always enjoyable, because there is an even amount of Twi and English, so I can understand what is being said and I can add my comments. Third hour of church is a struggle. The teacher teaches in only Twi… Ah, it’s okay though, because I have more time to study the scriptures! After church my companion and I eat a quick lunch and then go to teach a crippled man named Richard who loves to have us spend time with him and teach him. He practically cries when we leave, because he is so lonely. I cannot go over to his house and not feel really emotional when I leave. He makes me want to be a better person and visit the “sick and afflicted” when I go home. I knew it was important before I came, but now I know exactly how much it means to those being visited. Once we finish at Richard’s house, we usually teach a few other people and then end our day. Since my companion is the district leader, we end our day a little early on Sunday’s so he can get weekly actuals from the district members. That means I always get to go to bed early on Sunday’s… Yes! I am almost always tired and ready for bed by 9:30…
May 23 2016
Today was pretty sweet. We had an activity at 10a.m. today, so my companion woke up early to start his wash so we could both use the washer before we went to the activity. The washing machine broke right as elder Lawson was finishing his load… I was not able to do my wash in the morning because of that. Once we finished washing the car and dressing for the day, we left Daban to go to our activity in Asokwa. We just played games indoor for a few hours and then ate, but the zone activity was fun and the food was delicious! After the activity, my companion and I didn’t do a lot. The power went out at our apartment right as we walked in the door, so I had to wash my clothes by hand in the dark… No problem though! The best part of today was definitely playing in the rain. As I was washing my clothes, it started to rain really hard outside. When I finished washing my clothes, elder Abrams (one of the AP’s) ran into the dark room and said, “Elders! Let’s go play in the rain!” Playing in the rain was so awesome! We all acted like kids and just had the time of our lives! Definitely in the top of the list of mission memories so far!
May 25 2016
Nothing too special today… Just a normal routine in the office. Our mission has a newsletter that gets sent out to all of the missionaries and I happen to be in charge of it right now. One of the sections in the newsletter is for missionaries to write their thoughts so that all of the mission can read them. Most of the letters I get for the newsletter are really long and rough, so I spend a lot of time editing essays… I get a lot of emails back from missionaries saying I did a really good job editing their letters, so that’s pretty cool. Who knew I would use writing skills so much on my mission? Well, I guess God knows everything! I spent most of today in the office editing missionaries’ submissions to the newsletter. Then, my companion and I went out and taught for the rest of the night. Right now we are focusing on teaching a young girl named Christlight. She is only 12, but she is progressing quickly. Her baptism is this Sunday. I’m pretty happy about that.
May 27 2016
Today we had the regular Friday weekly planning and then had the opportunity to serve! Serving my mission in Ghana has been hard in the aspect that no one ever lets me serve them!! I can count on one hand how many times I have been able to serve someone here in Ghana. I know that being here on a mission counts as serving the people, but I miss hard manual labor… I never thought I would say that, but it’s true, I miss working hard and getting sweaty. Today though, one of the members in our branch, sister Veronica, was moving from one house to another and she wanted help from us missionaries. It was fun! Of course nothing was packed… So we had to pack things for her first and then move her things. After we finished, she fed us some delicious banchu, sobolo, and banana bread. To wrap up our day, my companion and I went and taught our recent convert, Comfort. Nice day.
Well, that’s all for now! I thought I would add my journal entries this week, because I didn’t write a ton last week. Wherever you are, have a super week!!!
I’m just trying to make do with what I have over here… It turned out nicely! No bacon though. 😦
Dear loved ones,
As for this week, I don’t even know what to say. I have received many wonderful emails from friends and family, which have filled my heart with great joy. I am so happy I came on a mission.
My companion and I cleaned the mission home’s storage garage this last week. Lots of heavy boxes and bugs.
For sure one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
Christlight is our second baptism here in Kumasi together. She is only 12, but she is super smart.
I feel the Holy Ghost teaching and comforting me every single day.
Couldn’t pass up this picture of all these kids riding a wagon being pulled by a donkey.
When I make a wrong decision, because missionaries are not perfect, the Spirit teaches me and I am able to make an immediate correction.
That’s sawdust. I wonder what they going to use it for?
I love this feeling of closeness I have slowly, and will continue to develop, with God. I guess that’s way I would say this mission has been the greatest decision of my life, because I have come closer to God, which has brought me more joy then I have ever felt before.
This is Wood Village. It’s like the Meeks lumber yard for all of Ghana.
I don’t want the closeness I feel now to ever go away. The ways to keep such closeness are easy too. Read the scriptures every day, pray always, keep God’s commandments, keep the covenants you have made, magnify your duties, etc… Simple things! Keep things simple, “choose the right.” 🙂
Beautiful.
Alright, lots of stuff happened this week, but nothing really of too much importance. So, if you want to know the details of this week, you’ll have to wait until I get home… Sorry.
With much love,
Kamron
[Below are rest of the photos from this email.]
This is Richard. He had a stroke a few months ago and has lost the use of the left side of his body. My companion and I stop by every Sunday for a long while just to spend time with him and read the scriptures with him. He has lived in Germany before and he even lived in America for about 30 years. Now he lives back in Ghana and is so very lonely. One of his sons lives and takes care of him, but he misses people. I have already made the decision that when I come back to America, I will set aside time every week for people like him. They just want to talk and feel loved, so that’s what I’ll do.I too sleep on metal rods when I am tired. 😛 [“hold to the rod…the iron rod…”]“Dinner anyone? It’s fresh!”We played in the rain on Tuesday last week. And… We had the best time ever!Seems legit.Most meals families in Ghana feed us look like this. Banchu and fish. Actually, this is a nice dinner compared to some of the things I have eaten.We had a BBQ today. Delicious.Even the AP’s need to relearn how to tie a tie…BBQElder Lawson is the master chef.We bought some “sweet baby ray’s” for this occasion. So dang good!
Every Monday in the Ghana Kumasi mission, and all other missions in the world, we write a weekly letter to our mission president reporting on our own personal growth and the growth of our areas in the mission. Along with reporting on those things, we are to tell our mission president one Christ like attribute we will be working on during the coming week. Well, last week I chose to work on humility. All throughout this last week I have focused my scripture studies on humility. As I asked myself questions about humility and how I can be a more humble follower of Jesus Christ, I found answers.
Matt 4:18-22 “Follow me…”
No matter how many times I have read the scriptures, I always find scriptures (not necessarily new scriptures, but scriptures seen from a new view) that help me become a better person. This week it was a scripture that I have read many times before, but I read the scripture looking for a new way to apply it to my life. It talked about how we should be content with what the Lord has given us.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I think it takes a humble person to be content with what God has given them. I decided I want to be content with what the Lord has given me. Along with that, as I have studied about humility, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to ever be angry again. Being angry stinks. I was teaching a lady the other day about charity and she told me, “I just get really angry at people really easily.” I then asked her, “Does it change the other person when you get angry at them?” She told me no. Asking a follow up question, I said, “Well, then, why do you get angry?” She continued by telling me that she didn’t know why she got angry at people. She just did. After I taught that lesson, I asked myself, “Well Kamron, why do you get angry?” Let’s just say I never want to be angry again, because there is no purpose to being angry.
Matt 18:21-35 Forgive 70 times 7
As for this week, I will keep my emailing short. Thank you for reading! Tune in next week!
“The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to become better as long as we live.” —President Henry B. Eyring
“You have help. You have help on both sides of the veil.”
“When we do what is right, increased faith always follows.” This is one of the messages elder Vinson shared with our mission during his time in Ghana. This principle of increased faith caused by action can be found in the thirty second chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon. In this chapter, Alma uses the same teaching mode as the Savior to help us understand and see the simplicity of a topic that often seems like such a mystery to many people. That topic is faith.
Life as the AP’s and office elders is hard… Sometimes you just sleep wherever there is a flat surface.
By using something that we can relate to, Alma teaches that faith is like a seed. Once we take action, plant the seed of faith, and then continue to nurture that seed, our faith will grow. How hard is that? Well, when you have Satan lying to you, things can be pretty hard. Far too often, we as God’s children let Satan’s lies into our minds. We give up. Why?! Why do we give up on the brightly lit path that leads back to our Father in Heaven and everything we have and ever will hope for? Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need to return to Him. He has given us a scripture for all of our problems. He has given us prophets that speak His words directly to us. He listens to and answers our every prayer (even when you feel like He is not answering you, He is. Sometimes we just don’t listen back or when we do get His answer, we don’t like it). He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die (and live again) for us.
You cannot find root beer in Ghana… My companion had not had a root beer for his entire mission until this last week when we found these treasures at a store that imports American goods.
Yes, we mess up. No, it is not the end of everything when we do go astray, because unlike us, our Father never gives up on us. That’s why I love this scripture on faith and the principle of light and truth. God has told us that “when we do what is right, increased faith follows.” When we choose the right, our light grows which also increases the amount of truth within us to expand. When we fully understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will have an increased desire to be like the Savior, take His name upon us each week, and never give up. It all starts with a decision to act. “Decisions determine destiny.”
Chia pudding is the best.
This topic has occupied my thoughts this last week, so I thought I would share some of what I have gained from my studies. This week has been a pretty chill week. Nothing overly exciting. One of the only exciting things from this week was transfers. I and my companion will be staying in the office together, so that’s good.
I thought this sign was funny, because everyone in this country bribes the police. I have seen many people bribe the police…
Whelp, I hope everyone has a most excellent time this coming week.
Remember this, “When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer no matter how eloquent the oration.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Another incredible, memory filled week. Monday was a chaotic day of preparing for the mission tour. My companion and I stayed up waaaaay past our bedtime, because we had to pull mission supplies for each zone in the mission, finish prepping the mother’s day calling credit, and washing/packing for our week long trip.
This is called a “yellow yellow.”
Elder Vinson and his wife arrived on Tuesday morning in Kumasi to begin their tour of our mission. All of Tuesday morning was almost a disaster.
The main mode of transportation in Tamale is motorcycle.
People were showing up late, people were not following clear instructions, food for all of the missionaries showed up super late, and the chapel that the Vinson’s were to speak in was not set up right… So it was a mad dash to make everything right before the devotional was to begin. By time the meeting started, the chapel wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.
The Vinson’s are powerful teachers! Sister Vinson taught that no effort is ever wasted and elder Vinson taught all about prayer, scripture study, church attendance, member missionary work, the Atonement, repentance, the Holy Ghost, and many other things that he was able to put all together into one message.
Tuesday night the assistants, my companion, and I finished pulling orders and packing our truck for the week long adventure. The next morning we hit the road for Techiman, my “birth place”. It was really cool to be able to see my old area again and I was even privileged to meet some of the members of Krobo branch.
A lot of the houses up north look like this.
The devotional in Techiman went super smoothly. I am extremely grateful I got to follow the Vinson’s to Techiman, because they gave an entirely different message then they had in Kumasi. Their messages sank deeply into my heart in Techiman. I would share my notes with all of you, but I forgot my notes in the apartment… So, I will just have to add my notes to next week’s email. Right after the devotional in Techiman concluded, we were on the road again!
Elder Vinson, my companion, and I in Bolga.
The trip to Tamale went by so quickly, because we all talked and laughed the whole way. When we arrived in Tamale we had to drop something off with President Cosgrave and it turns out he was eating dinner with elder Vinson, so he invited us to join them. For the first time in 6 months, I ate lasagna. It had real cheese on it!!! Milk products are a luxury here in the Ghana Kumasi mission…
“Mango anyone?”
Thursday was kind of a repeat of the previous day, which was nice because it was another spiritually uplifting day. Friday we had the pleasure of traveling all the way to Bolgatanga! Bolga is such a wonderful place. Sweltering hot, but oh so sweet. The people in Bolga speak perfect English and are some of the most humble people on this earth. The gospel is spreading so quickly there! Missionaries just went to Bolga 6 weeks ago and already they have 50+ members and investigators attending church. That’s progress.
We were only in Bolga long enough for President Cosgrave, sister Cosgrave, sister Vinson, and elder Vinson to give short talks. During elder Vinson’s talk, he said that the West Africa area is on the verge of exploding with success. I am thankful I get to be a part of this great work here in Africa.
Africa
After the short little devotional we had in Bolga, our mission tour came to a peaceful halt. Before the Vinson’s departed back to Australia, they spoke to a small group of missionaries consisting of myself and 7 other missionaries. He told us that we were model missionaries, that we would be blessed for our service, and that our parents should be proud of us. It felt good to hear that from a general authority.
Our companionship… Is sweet.
And… That was my week! To add some icing to the cake, I got to Skype home to my family! Ah, I was so happy all last night! In fact, I’m still happy. To see familiar faces and hear familiar voices… 40 minutes went by too quickly! I can’t wait until I can just talk to my family and loved ones without having to worry about a timer telling me I have 5 minutes left. One day…
Well, that’s all I have for y’all this week! Until next time.
As my first item of business, I am well. Secondly, missions are sweet. This week my companion and I have been extremely busy trying to make up for last week’s lost time. We are trying to prepare a woman for baptism as well as spending time in the office filling out reports for this week and reports that should have been done last week. On top of teaching lessons and making reports, mother’s day is coming up and my companion and I are in charge of buying phone credit and sim cards for missionaries to call home.
Ha, they know how to get stuff moved!
It sounds easy, but we have missionaries from all around the world in this mission and each country has a different cost on their calling tariffs. There’s more, but I will just leave it at, we were/are busy.
This is our branch presidents daughter. She had her baptism 2 weeks ago.
Staying busy is way better than being lazy. I can’t stand laziness here on a mission. It drives me crazy. When we stop and just sit around, it eats at me. That’s why I am glad I have the companion I have.
This. Is. My. Childhood. You already know that I am filling my suitcase up with this stuff on my way home.
Elder Lawson cannot stand laziness either. He just doesn’t stop moving. He is such a great companion. Not only does he work hard, but he constantly tries to be better then he currently is. He is kind, funny, and loves the same things as me. He lifts me up all the time by telling me how well I am doing. He told me the other day that he loved my teaching and couldn’t believe that I have only been on a mission 6 months. It felt so nice to hear something like that.
This is almost every night for us here in the Ghana Kumasi mission.
He also makes me laugh. Like, really laugh. Most of the time I have been out here, I haven’t laughed out loud very often, but since I have been with elder Lawson I laugh out loud at least once a day. Laughing makes everything better.
Some days you need to just gather as an apartment and laugh.
Since I’m already on the topic of making things better, this month is about to get better. Mother’s day is this Sunday and because it’s mother’s day, I get to call home!!!!! To make that better, I will be able to Skype home to the family!! I am so excited!!!!!! This will be my second of four calls home. Time has flown has it not? I think it has. (Dad, you should probably download Skype…)
I am so happy there is English chocolate here in Ghana.
Well, that is pretty much all I have for you this week. No incredibly interesting story that I can take and mold into an amazing adventure for you to read this week. Sorry. I will have plenty to tell this coming week! We have elder Vinson of the seventy coming to our mission to do a mission tour.
We had grilled chicken last Monday.
President Cosgrave has given my companion and I permission to travel with the AP’s up to my old area of Techiman! After Techiman we will be traveling to Tamale and then Bolgatanga, which is as far north as you can go in our mission. Elder Lawson and I are pretty stoked about our road trip! I’m telling you, the diversities of being an office elder are sweet.
Late nights in the office. Usually I would be at the other computer working, but the AP’s sometimes need to barrow a computer…
Anyways, tootles! Write me your own adventures. I enjoy to hear what is going on in your part of the world.
Cute baby. She is sitting in a fufu pounding mortar.
Letters from Kumasi 