Monday, January 18, 2016

Week 9: Transfers,News of New Companion, Fail Moments, FINALLY FOUND A SERIOUS INVESTIGATOR, AND MORE!

First, a few questions and answers:

1.  Tell me about transfers.  How does it work there?

Well with President Hill we all met up in Tesano (a suburb of Accra) but now we have to check our email to figure out where we are going for transfers and now we just travel straight to our area. So I won't be seeing people often at all.


2. When you make banana bread, is it pretty traditional:  like bananas, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt?  Or how do you make it?


Yes we use flour baking soda, oats, brown sugar, vanilla, brown sugar, salt and a few other things but we have to cook it in a microwave.  But it still tastes good.


3. Are the plantains that you mentioned last week fried and sweet? How do you make them?


They have the consistency of like big french fries and are almost tasteless. You dip it in pepe which is kinda like salsa.


4. Dad asked if there was anyone close to baptism?


Yes we met a guy who was a referral from and we have a date set for February 6th. He is super serious and knows it is the true church.


5. What are the foods that you cook for yourself?  Noodles?


Right now I'm broke so for breakfast I make oatmeal, fried rice for lunch and tuna or noodles for dinner.


6. Do you know how much you weigh? 


I have no idea how much I weigh but everyone says I look smaller and smaller everyday. I know for sure I am losing weight very slowly.


7. Dad asked: Did you have any less active members at church?


Yes we have 3 less active members that we have been seeing at church regularly.


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Week 6




This week was a really good week.  It went by too fast.  Today marks my 2 month mark being on a mission.  It's crazy how time flies when you are working.  Honestly, I couldn't have asked to serve in a better place. I swear these elders down here are like the coolest people I have met. So some of you might know that after week 6 it's transfers. I got some very sad news but also exciting news. Unfortunately Elder Bloomfield will be leaving Oda after 8 months. But I am so grateful for Elder Bloomfield and his patience in teaching me about our area and missionary work. I'm definitely going to miss him. My new companion is Elder Ferrin. We talked small (a little) on Saturday because he called me. We are excited to start working together. This means I will have to be area lead until Elder Ferrin gets well enough familiar with our area.  I feel like I will be here for ages just like Elder Bloomfield but you never really know. With transfers anything could happen. The other elders in my apartment are staying together.  We are just getting a new district leader. I probably will be junior companion for my whole mission haha.

Monday



Nothing much happened.  I said most of what happened last week. But after I was done emailing I watched 3 church movies because Elder Bloomfield has them all. But a couple of things that happened that were kinda funny was that i dropped a glass bottle of Alvaro  (a drink) on the ground and on my foot and it cut it open but I was chillin. I have to stay tough. I ate a like 4 inch fish bones and all at dinner.  It wasn't that bad.  I usually get freaked out at that type of thing. Our post Office looks sketchy and it is super expensive. I don't have the money to send anything home and I don't want to risk it. The wood carvings are worth 220 Cedis (220 Cedis is approximately $60. He bought himself and me Nativities.  I asked about mailing them home)




Tuesday


I chased and caught a goat.

The day went by fast,  We were really busy in the morning. We contacted some people that we feel really good about.  But right now we don't have anyone who is too serious or progressing.  Missionary work is too hard haha. Right now we are just visiting a ton of less actives and we are trying to help them remember why they were baptized. This week they figure out if I'm going or if Elder Bloomfield goes. It's pretty sad to think about if any of us going.  But it happens. Elder Hunt tried to wrestling me today by catching me by surprise but it didn't work haha, All the missionaries, they just try to beat me all the time. I guess I made the mistake of telling them I wrestle.  Like the other day I wrestled this African elder and pinned him in like 30 seconds.  But we just play around.  It's nothing serious.  I think i would probably hurt myself if it was for real. haha.  I feel like I mess with people too much here i love scaring the kids.  Like today there was a big group of kids and I just ran at them and scared them all.  I had Elder Bloomfield record it.


Wednesday


Today has probably been the hottest it has all week. Thank goodness there was a little bit of wind or I would have died honestly. We had DCM today and I had the spiritual thought again. I guess they like them. But I talked about how if we put our faith in Jesus Christ we can do all things. I shared Neil L. Andersen's talk he had at this past Priesthood Session at General Conference and kind got a little emotional giving the spiritual thought. But that probably has to be my favorite talk ever. I took a bunch of pictures as a district and stuff because it might be the last time we are all together.

Thursday


I felt so gross all day.  It was too humid. The sun is beating us, but still no sunburn (no idea what is going on). We taught a Fetish Priest today and that was really fun.  They are usually pretty chill.  Their first question for us was if we were going to argue and we thought that was perfect because as missionaries we are there only to invite them to know for themselves if the gospel is true. Apparently people like to argue with them all the time. They liked how nice we were and weren't forcing of them to learn our stuff. So we had a little bit of extra time after a lesson.  So I decided I wanted to play soccer with some kids nearby they were all around my same age so it was chill. and they told me that they were scared of me because I shouldn't be moving that much for a fat guy or something like that. I also had to take it easy on them because I wasn't trying to pull anything. I did have a fail moment though, when I was walking to get my stuff, I rolled my bad ankle haha. But i just walked it off because I have to be tough, can't show these kids I got hurt haha. For dinner me and Elder Bloomfield got a pizza.  I guess you can say we enjoy too much and that's why we are broke. Also had another fail moment.  I was messing with the Gold Bond  powder I brought not knowing it was open. So I accidentally squeezed it and our fans were blowing and it wasn't good. I got some in my eyes. At this point everyone was laughing at me. So when I got the stuff in my eyes I dropped the Gold Bond and it got all over my foot. I accidentally kicked that pile up in the air (idk I'm dumb) and another puff of Gold Bond got in my eyes and I was just done with the night.  I told Bloomfield to just turn off the light because i was going to bed.




Friday


I had another fail moment this week idk I'm struggling. But a bug flew on me and I like flipped out and ripped my pocket of my white shirt off so I'll have to go to a tailor to sew it for me. We finally found a serious investigator. He is here for work for 7 to 8 years.  His family doesn't live with him.  They live in Swedru. Me and Bloomfield are
excited to teach him (didn't know Bloomfield was leaving at this point). We are complaining to the water company because they are being dumb and can't read meters right. Maybe I can do it for them and make a little bit of extra money haha jk. We explained Jews, Gentiles and the House of Israel to Perry using a Risk board game and Lego men. That was fun.



Elder Hunt broke the sink!

Saturday


So we are doing this new thing with transfers where we have to check our email to figure out where we are going. So we were in the middle of a lesson and the zone leaders call me and I was thinking "Crap I'm leaving" but they told us to go to a internet cafe or member's house to access our mail. And then was interrupted again in the same lesson by my new companion so that fun. Elder Bloomfield said he is excited to leave because he has been here for too long. But the funny thing is he will be in the same apartment as the person he trained before me so he is pretty excited I guess haha. So my new companion will be Elder Ferrin.  He is from Lehi, Utah and he is been on his mission a little over a year. He is a District Leader. I talked to Elder Bawden (his MTC companion) for the first
time since we got here.  It was nice to catch up and talk about how we are doing. We are the only people from our MTC that haven't seen each other. We both have seen everyone else hahaha. We talked about our beach bodies when we go back home, It's nice to have a little bit of fun. We will talk later tonight too. Both of us are getting the
language down pretty well.





Sunday


Just said goodbye to members and investigators pretty chill day I guess.




"The Last Supper" Their last meal together

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