June 30, 2014
This week flew by too. its crazy how fast its been going. But it was a lot of fun at the same time! Everyone was pretty sad that Ghana is out of the world cup, but whenever a football game is going on we still have no one to talk too haha. But there's only three games in one day so it's all good. Elder Larsen is in Moree now so we went on splits for all of Friday! Oh we enjoyed!!! It was such a sweet day! We went to Aburah Dunkwa while my companion went too Moree.THe best part had to be when the day was about to finish. It was around 6 pm and we had nothing too do for an hour. We have to leave the area to get a tro tro home or else there won't be anymore kra. So, we decided to go to the graveyard in a big grove of trees!! it was his idea.. somehow. But we went anyways and right before we left the dirt road to go into the bush some girl called us over and told us not to go in there! we said "oh no it's all good." but she still wouldnt let us. So we went over there to talk to her. Her whole family was there!
The father told us that on Fridays that is the day the traditionalists believe to be the sabbath for the dead, so there were a bunch of people doing weird rituals along with all the fetish priests... so its probably good we didn't go in.Ghana, Abura Dunkwa
June 23, 2014
The week started out kinda slow. My companion got pretty sick and was in bed all Monday and Tuesday, exept going to Abura Dunkwa for a little bit on Tuesday. But Wednesday he was feeling a lot better so we were able to go to a combined zone conference in Aburah/ Cape Coast. It was our mission presidents last meeting with me before he left. Our new mission president will be here at the end of the week and The Shulz's will leave next Monday! It's crazy how they are already going home! But they have been here for their three years so now it's time too go.
Pres. Shulz talked about repentance and gave an instruction on it for a short time. But then after that we all went outside for an activity that Sister Shulz had for us! We were all split into groups of 5 or 7 and were blindfolded. Then we had to hang on to a rope and someone leading the group would lead you all around the church compound over rocks and around bushes and up some random hill. People driving by the church were probably thinking, what the heck is happening there? But we were not allowed to talk at all, so we had no clue where we were going. At the end of it, after being led around for 15 minutes and having no clue where I was, they took my hand off the rope and said wait for further instruction....Our investigators are doing super great. Forster got Malaria... but hes doing a lot better now!! poor guy. Teddy and Mike are having the same concern about leaving their old church but they are starting too come around. Teddy is doing super well, he is reading his Book of Mormon and just understands everything we teach him.
Akonaba
June 16, 2014
Transfers were this week but I stayed with Elder Tobler. It is still
the rain season so the rain will just keep coming everyday until maybe
August gets here. It's been nice and cool though!!! I love it! Except
all the mud and rivers we have to cross. We had to take off our
shoes and cross the same bridge this week but this time it was a lot
worse. There are a couple bridges and they were both covered in water
so we had to feel our way across over the coconut bridges. This week
has been super sweet! A lot of work and it all payed off in the end.
Everyone has been going crazy this week!!!! Because of Fifa World Cup!
It's so sweet! Whenever you go too see anyone, if any team from Africa
is playing, you wont be able to teach haha. Everone was super happy
the othe day becaue Uruguay lost. All because they beat Ghana the last
time. Ghana people are super nice and ready too listen and talk about
anything!!... unless the world cup is happening. Ghana will play the
U.S. tonight and it’s the fourth time we are seeing them. Hopefully
this time we will actually win. The first thing that happens when we
meet someone out her they ask. “Were do you come from?”… “ The U.S.!”
then the yell “Oh we will score you!” haha its pretty funny. Except
when the freak out on the tro tro home. It happened yesterday and
everyone in the tro got mad at the guy. But hopefully we’ll win!!!
For the past couple weeks we have been trying to set up a baptism for
a young woman named Gloria in Cape Coast and the past couple weeks we
have had too push it back for reasons we couldn’t control. It made it
really difficult. But everything was great this week! We had a
combined baptism with the elders in Cape Coast and Brickano. It was
super sweet and the spirit was very strong. It was my favorite baptism
by far this whole time I have been here in Aburah Dunkwa. Elder Lelea
and Larsen were both there and a ton of people! It was a lot of fun!
The stake president even came to preside over it because there was
more than one ward involved!
Teddy and Mike finally read and prayed about the Book Of Mormon! It
was powerful! Mike came to church this Sunday looking extra fresh!
Teddy would have been there to but the taxi driver that was going to
pick him failed us so we will get it all together next week. But
anyways, Teddy just read the first two chapters a couple times and
said how he felt he was reading the bible, then if it feels like that
it must be scripture, and if its that, then it's true!!! It was so
sweet! He seems so much happier when we go too see him now and he
loves reading the Book of Mormon. Mike did the same thing except we
gave him Alma 5 to read and he got the same answer! He studied it for
a couple days and understood it so well!!! He said he just knows it's
true and we are going over tomorrow to talk about baptism! The Book
of Mormon is too true.
We met a new investigator named Harrsion the other day and he is a cop
detective something. I cant translate it that well. But the same day
we met him, he had just gotten back from Accra with a guy he had
arrested. It was so boss!!! George Sarkwa called the other day. He
moved from the village too Aburah and he is schooling there now.
Regina is doing great too! She is giving a talk Sunday! This week she
couldn’t come because her son was sick.
Besides all that awesomeness Elder TObler has been super sick. It hit
him last night and he is having a lot of trouble today as we are
coming to Cape Coast to email home. But he is feeling a lot better.
We gave him a blessing after we tried a whole bunch of moms oils and
pills. But after the blessing he finally started too look a lot
better. He is improving.
Alls good in Ghana!
Love Elder Darren Hodges
the rain season so the rain will just keep coming everyday until maybe
August gets here. It's been nice and cool though!!! I love it! Except
all the mud and rivers we have to cross. We had to take off our
shoes and cross the same bridge this week but this time it was a lot
worse. There are a couple bridges and they were both covered in water
so we had to feel our way across over the coconut bridges. This week
has been super sweet! A lot of work and it all payed off in the end.
Everyone has been going crazy this week!!!! Because of Fifa World Cup!
It's so sweet! Whenever you go too see anyone, if any team from Africa
is playing, you wont be able to teach haha. Everone was super happy
the othe day becaue Uruguay lost. All because they beat Ghana the last
time. Ghana people are super nice and ready too listen and talk about
anything!!... unless the world cup is happening. Ghana will play the
U.S. tonight and it’s the fourth time we are seeing them. Hopefully
this time we will actually win. The first thing that happens when we
meet someone out her they ask. “Were do you come from?”… “ The U.S.!”
then the yell “Oh we will score you!” haha its pretty funny. Except
when the freak out on the tro tro home. It happened yesterday and
everyone in the tro got mad at the guy. But hopefully we’ll win!!!
For the past couple weeks we have been trying to set up a baptism for
a young woman named Gloria in Cape Coast and the past couple weeks we
have had too push it back for reasons we couldn’t control. It made it
really difficult. But everything was great this week! We had a
combined baptism with the elders in Cape Coast and Brickano. It was
super sweet and the spirit was very strong. It was my favorite baptism
by far this whole time I have been here in Aburah Dunkwa. Elder Lelea
and Larsen were both there and a ton of people! It was a lot of fun!
The stake president even came to preside over it because there was
more than one ward involved!
Teddy and Mike finally read and prayed about the Book Of Mormon! It
was powerful! Mike came to church this Sunday looking extra fresh!
Teddy would have been there to but the taxi driver that was going to
pick him failed us so we will get it all together next week. But
anyways, Teddy just read the first two chapters a couple times and
said how he felt he was reading the bible, then if it feels like that
it must be scripture, and if its that, then it's true!!! It was so
sweet! He seems so much happier when we go too see him now and he
loves reading the Book of Mormon. Mike did the same thing except we
gave him Alma 5 to read and he got the same answer! He studied it for
a couple days and understood it so well!!! He said he just knows it's
true and we are going over tomorrow to talk about baptism! The Book
of Mormon is too true.
We met a new investigator named Harrsion the other day and he is a cop
detective something. I cant translate it that well. But the same day
we met him, he had just gotten back from Accra with a guy he had
arrested. It was so boss!!! George Sarkwa called the other day. He
moved from the village too Aburah and he is schooling there now.
Regina is doing great too! She is giving a talk Sunday! This week she
couldn’t come because her son was sick.
Besides all that awesomeness Elder TObler has been super sick. It hit
him last night and he is having a lot of trouble today as we are
coming to Cape Coast to email home. But he is feeling a lot better.
We gave him a blessing after we tried a whole bunch of moms oils and
pills. But after the blessing he finally started too look a lot
better. He is improving.
Alls good in Ghana!
Love Elder Darren Hodges
Crossing the Rivers
June 9, 2014
There was a lot of rain this week! All Thursday it rained, all night and most of Friday. And it was a lot of heavy rain!!! All of the rain flooded the streets and the coconut bridges around in the area. So one day we were on our way too an appointment and usually we could just find a way around or someone would put a bunch of bricks in the water so you get walk over but this time it didn't work. So we had to walk through it. It was kinda nice. We left as soon as something jumped in the water.
We finished training this week and transfer news came! Elder Tobler and I are staying together in Aburah Dunkwa!!! Oh its gonna be a sweet transfer! I love that kid so much. To celebrate the end of training I made him some pizza!
Love Elder Darren Hodges
June 2, 2014
This week was super sweet!!! Saturday was Morrisons baptism and it was crazy getting everyone to the baptism all the way in Yammoransa. But the baptism was super sweet. Sometimes its difficult cause Ghanains dont like to swim and most don't know how to hold their breath. So we had to practice it with him a lot haha.
We then confirmed him as well at church this Sunday!!! He's a big stud and I love him a ton. He is helping us teach one of his friends from work named Rastimo. We taught him the first lesson and how to pray too know if it's true. He prayed and had his answer the same night in a dream! I'm not sure what exactly he saw but he asked some white guy in his dream, with all the different pastors and churches and prophets in Ghana... how do I know which one is true? So the white guy told him to follow the things his two friends (the two white guys in the village) and they would help him know the right path. It was a super sweet lesson! He is sincere and really wants to change his life around. He is just worried that his father won't approve because his father is a pentecost elder. But small small. We got too see him this Sunday and gave him a Book of Mormon. May 26, 2014
This week went by way too fast and I can't believe the transfer only has a couple more weeks left. This week was a lot of work and the members were helping a ton. They have been coming out to teach with us everyday and giving us friends to teach and also bringing friends to church! Oh its been sweet!!
On Saturday Morrison's old date came all the way from Takoradi just too stay a few nights and "visit" and try to get him back. She came without telling him and once she was all the way to Abura Dunkwa, she called and told him she was coming to stay a few nights with him. Morrison called and told me what happend. By the time he called, he was all the way in Cape Coast. He said he didn't want to see her, so he left to Cape Coast with his boss to get away from her. Since she had a key to his room and was gonna stay there, he stayed the night with his boss in Cape Coast.
May 19, 2104
This week flew by again. Everyday we take a tro tro too the area and every morning you never know what will happen. This week we got on the tro, stopped on our way to pick up some lady with her goats. So they tied the goats up and threw them under the back seat right where we were sitting haha. I got a fun video of it. They didn't smell too nice and one kept trying to get away.
When we got too the area we went too visit a member and Amos was there with him! Amos joined the church in 1995 after taking the missionary lessons for about a year and a half. Then he finally decided to go too church and see if he should join it! Haha he is super sweet! He is the man who translated the book of Mormon to Fante and Twi. He is super smart and has been too Salt lake for a few years and even been too the Hill Cumorah. If you go to the temple and go through the endowment in Fante or twi, then yeah.. thats his voice saying all of it too.
That same day a new crazy lady covered in mud and naked wandered into the village from Yankumasi. She saw the only two white guys in the village and started following us... so we had too lose her in the market and hide for a little bit until she left. We tried hiding. She found us and sat in the middle of the road until we came out. So we lost her again in the market and just left.
We went too a nearby village called Edumfua this week to do some missionary work there. There is one member there that showed us around and introduced us to some friends and family interested in the church! we taught her family and it went super well!!!
Morrison is doing super well and so is Gloria. They both, Nyamenasi, will be baptized on the 31 of this month. We had too move it back because of conference. Morrison has been coming with us to teach all of his friends at work and they are so sweet!!!!
Our men investigators our doing well. Morrision is the one who is really progressing. We have found a lot. So now we are praying the Lord will soften their hearts and humble them so they keep their commitments. we are involving members a lot to to help with all the teaching! They progress faster and come to church more often if the member is there for the teaching.
May 12, 2014
Well, I dont know what to say! It was so nice to talk to everyone yesterday thank you so much!!! I loved that one hour to talk to the whole family!
This week has gone by super fast! We talked about all of it yesterday pretty much I think. Well, calling home was the highlight of the week.
General Conference!
May 5, 2014
This week all of West Africa was watching general conference. So President Shulz stopped by, dropped off a couple sessions one morning and kept driving to wherever he was going. He looked good.
It's the rainy season now. You know it cause every five minutes it'll get really hot.. then it will rain another 5 minutes later. It makes things a lot of fun, dodging through the rain from place to place to visit people!
April 28,2014
It's already the end of my first transfer with Elder Tobler and it doesn't really feel like its already been almost two months with him. It's going by way too fast. This last week we have still been teaching a lot of men and getting them progressing. Regina and her two kids came to church yesterday! So did Morrison and Wilfred! Two other investigators! We had branch conference in Abura Krampa this Sunday. So we had to get to our area in time to pick people for church. We left around 6 and got there around 7. We picked up Morrison and headed to the station to get in a car that Abura Krampa had sent. They are the branch that Abura Dunkwa is under. They only sent one tro tro for the group... a tro tro is about the size of a mini van. Well really it is a mini van. But they take out all the seats and put new ones in so that you can fit 4 rows with 3 people in it. Yes it is very uncomfortable. We fit 24 people into that thing and drove half an hour to Abura Krampa for branch conference that morning! It was a lot of fun!! We got there and had sacrament meeting. It was a lot of announcements and business. But with about 10 minutes left Pres Shulz got up and spoke about tithing. Abura Krampa literally just needs too pay their tithes so they can get a building made. Right now they are renting just a big house. All they need to do is pay their tithes this year so they can get a building! Hopefully they will! After church we all got a bigger tro tro back to Abura Dunkwa!
A few days ago we made cinnamon rolls for President and Sister Shulz. They called and said they were great! Sister Shulz said it was better than cinnabon.. I dont know about that one.. that's pushing it.
APRIL 21, 2014
Well it's Easter time in Ghana and this place is crazy! There have been bonfires, parades, new chiefs chosen and lots of parties and loud music!
This Sunday we had church as usual in the school we have been renting from on Sundays. But the Pentecost church had a huge convention right next to the church with subs playing super loud music. Church here for Pentecost isn't really church. It's honestly just a big party with people yelling amen and hallelujah! We couldnt even here the speaker talking at church, the music was too loud. Plus, someone let all the people staying over the weekend for the church convention sleep in the school we use as a chapel. So we cleared out the spot we have for sacrament meeting and I just did my best to ignore the people sleeping in the halls, cooking over fires, and old women walking around half naked during church. Its a Sunday I probably won't forget any time soon. George our recent convert is going with them!!!
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