November letters from Darren

3 months

November 11, 2013

Well I have beeen out for a little over three months now and it doesnt feel like it at all. I love this work and really enjoy it, but I think I miss my family more. I'm probably missing home a little cause we have transfers this week and a lot will change. I'm getting a new companion from Utah, Elder Larson. And thats all I know about him. I'm so happy to hear that the family is doing ok.  Mom, something glad I knew before I came on my mission was how to cook and prepare food... and something I wish I knew was that I could've been doing missionary work before I left and I wish I would've been more involved in the work back at home. By the way, how do you cook that spagetti oven recipe stuff? I wanna try it sometime. Uncle Bob's letters were hilarious this week! I loved them so much! Haha you can ask him about them! I really noticed a change in the way I have been eating latley, I eat pinapple for dinner every night just cause it's so dang good!!! This week our branch went to the temple in Accra which is a huge sacrifice, they enjoyed and bore some powerful testimony.

I went on splits with Elder Otieno this week. an elder from Kenya, whos has a best friend serving in the same mission as Jackson, and Jackson had seen his friend just last Sunday! 

Our investigators are doing well, its just hard to get them to church cause its a social and all day commitment, so I will help their testimony grow until they are ready to make that big change.

What day is Thanksgiving?

Also my zone leader Elder Glider is leaving, I really love that guy, hes awesome and I can just relate to him a lot, I really respect him. 

Mom and Dad, I love you so very much and am truly blessed to have such wonderful parents. I am ok, well and safe.

Love your son,

Elder Hodges

November 18, 2013

A lot happened this week! It was pretty crazy. I got my new companion this Wednesday and he is awesome! He is from the great city of Utah! Just came from Tacaradi side of the mission and this is his first time in Cape Coast! Wow, I gonna get fat with this guy, he knows how to cook and we have enjoyed so much! He loves his family, we went through family pictures and it was awesome! He was the first 18 year old in the Cape Coast mission and he's a hard worker. I'm enjoying. 

Our first day out, a miracle happened, the waffle iron came! Oh wow that was good! We had blueberry waffles and I made some monkey bread another day!

Our investigators are doing well, we have two that are preparing for baptism and the members are giving us a lot of help! I really love teaching with Elder Larsen. He has shown me the importance of being our investigators friends before we can be their teachers. I'm learning a lot from him and he loves to have fun while at the same time get the work done. He reminds me a lot of Jimmy.

I love the new change that transfers have brought, the week went by slower but I feel thats a good thing, I feel better now that im getting out of the same old motions. Not much has happened except the new companion and the fact I'm enjoying a lot more. But im sure a lot more will happen this week! 

Hey, my comp likes reeses just as much as I do! I dont know about you, but I trust they would make it here just fine. The chocolate chips weren't even melted.

Well today was sub p day. We woke up and cleaned the apartment and washed our clothes! Then we made a delicous breakfast!! We had blueberry pancakes ( Elder Larsens parents sent him some mix) Toast with jago on it and fried oats with some coconut milk! Oh wow its so good! I'm really enjoying it! 

I cant think of anything crazy that happened this week, this morning we played basketball with the zone and another one, and then frisbee on the beach!!! Wow. the beach was so nice and beautiful!! I took my shoes off and played frisbee in the sand. There was a guy washing himself on the beach with some sand and stuff. And a rasta man ( Bob Marley follower) washing his dog too! Plus there was about 100 people pulling in two huge fish nets that they had sailed out earlier the morning and we watched them bring them in! After that we changed and went to town. We emailed, well... some of us did, then we went out and got some Waakye at a lil shop on the side of the road I really love. It was so good!!! The lady was happy to see 6 bronies come to eat and she was super happy and dashed me some extra food!

Then we went to the Kota Krabba market and got all of our food, like a lot cause we had to resupply because of transfers. 

Then we came back to email... again. whoo!! We found a sweet cafe with AC and fast internet! I'm enjoying.

I felt like a stud this week when I made some deeeelicous monkey bread! i burnt myself.. that glaze is hot! I wanted to lick some to try it... But it was hot..

I got my waffle iron and almost started crying. I was so happy!!!! I love waffles. Thank you dad. I love you!!!! I hope your enjoying your nap. 

Love your son, 

Elder Hodges

PS Let Jimmy know, who the waffle king really is and why. As in, im in Africa cooking waffles over a fire.

Love your son

The Waffle King

Thanksgiving feast!

November 25, 2013

This week has flown by! Elder Larsen and I get along great and the work is progressing. We are honestly getting twice as much work done and I am enjoying it so much! Im a little worried that I'm enjoying it too much! Haha. We have been eating very well and today we had a "District Meeting" along with our zone leaders, the assistants to the presidents and President and sister Shulz! We went over to the Nkonfoa apartment this morning and fried up A LOT of chicken. Along with mash potatoes, CORN! And cookies and brownies and some ice cream! And we mad some pizzas before the President came haha. Wow, I'm stuffed. I'll be honest, I'm getting fat. If a missionary is complaining about not enough food, it's because he can't budget or cook. Either/ or. 

I met the stake patriarch, what a powerful guy! Turns out his son met grandma Karen! Crazy stuff. I'm not sure if I'll skype on christmas yet or the day before. We will see. But I will definitely call on Christmas. So send me your phone number if you wanna call from Africa. PS it wont cost you anything. It'll cost me like 10 bucks for a few hours. 

I got my birthday package yesterday! Sorry, I already opened it but won't enjoy the goodies until December. Thank you so much!!! I love it!

There is not pam here and I have no clue how to use a non stick pan. So, i put some oil in a squirt bottle and used that. We had waffles and pancakes this morning!!!!
Our investigators are doing great! We are actually teaching two families right now, and I truly believe that Elder Larsen and I are going to fix up this area. We have already seen so many miracles. I'm also learning that I need to be a friend to the people before I can be their teacher and I enjoy doing that so much more! I love you all so much! And today im thankful for my grandparents, even the one who is here in Ghana protecting me wherever I go haha. 

Love, Elder Darren Hodges

PS I cant wait to hang up the birthday banner! 

Whole Lotta Soup and Goats/General Conference!

October 28, 2013

A Whole Lotta Soup and Goats

This week was a lot different! Our branch celebrated its one year anniversary. Which was an entire weekend celebration. It was hard to get a lot of proselyting in because we did service all Friday, movie night Friday, and all day Saturday was Mbarima Kwon! Which means man soup. We did a service project in Ola for a guy named Dan Edwudzie. Turns out, he was and is a pioneer member!! He is in the movie we watched Friday called Finding Faith in Ghana. Which is all about how the church came to Ghana and some of the amazing things that happened! We helped build his house, and he was the fourth member in Ghana baptized! The first baptisms also happened at baptism beach, which is in my area. Its such a beautiful place when the tide is high. On Saturday, we woke up at like 4 am to go on a health walk with the men of the branch. We met them a little bit before the chapel and turns out it was a jog. So we jogged in our shirt and tie a couple minutes to the chapel, chanting and stuff with them. It looked good on video haha. Then we all cleaned the church. After that we went back to our area and helped slaughter the goat for the man soup. While still in shirt and tie. Then helped make the soup and participate in the fun! But we left as soon as we could cause we wanted to go to our appointments. This lady that we taught, had seen the missionaries before. She told us this on the second visit. I asked if she had prayed about the church and Joseph Smith. She said yes, because the Elders that were first in that area had asked her to too. So she did... At midnight? But then she had a dream about me and Elder Hansen, who she hadn't met before cause we were on splits the first time I taught her and she dreamed about us laying hands on her. Wow. So now we are working on getting her to church cause she says she has to go to decide if its true. That's what's been going on in Africa! By the way, Janna, that quote is true. Africa is awesome.

Love Elder Darren Hodges

November 3, 2013
General Conference!

This week was a lot of fun! We watched General conference at church yesterday and it was in English! We watched both sessions and it was good! It was hard to listen because I was tired from fasting and I was sitting in the back of the chapel hall. The played it on a 32 inch TV and put a microphone up to it so that we could listen! It was great! During one of the closing songs, the missionaries, 6 of us, ran outside to watch the solar eclipse! It was great! Not as beautiful and amazing as I thought it would be, but it was still cool! Then we went back inside in time to hear the prophet speak! that guy is so awesome!

Last Monday was Combined Branch Family Home Evening. It was a lot of fun to be there! But they made the missionaries sing.. so we sang Called To Serve cause that's just easy. Everyone was happy with our performance! After a lesson we went down to have dinner. It was pot luck... I didn't know they had that kinda dinner here and it was interesting. You have to be careful what you eat here, because the next day you may be sick, as I chose my dinner among the table of different things I felt like Indiana Jones, trying to pick the Holy Grail! I chose wisely. The next morning, I felt like the knight who said, after the Nazi was killed, "He chose poorly." Because the next morning, my companion was in the bathroom for a couple hours. He chose, poorly..

It didn't feel like Halloween here at all. So I bought a bunch of candy off the side of the road to celebrate! that kinda helped. But it was still a great day!

We also made a cake for Elder Otieno and his birthday! it was so good! Then we went on splits that day too! I went with my Zone leader elder Glider in my area. It was great! I loved it so much! The way that we taught invited the spirit a lot. I especially liked talking and really testifying of the atonement. It was so powerful and amazing. I really do love teaching by the spirit cause its how the work gets done and its when I really feel like a missionary!

That's my week here in Ghana! I'll find out tomorrow if I am training or not next transfer and I'm excited to now! It would be sweet to train.

I hope all is still well at home. Love you!

Elder Hodges