September

 

 

September 23,2014
Pigs and Stuff

The power was out all day yesterday so  wasnt able to email. But i have a little time today to send a short one after district meeting today!

The asaake branch is doing super great here still, the members gave us a lot of people to teach which helps the work go along so nice! Bridgette is doing super well, she came to church again this last sunday and is also helping us teach one of her friends! She has been taught for a long time by the missionaries but there was just never a place close enough for her to go to church!

Transfer news is coming this saturday because of the 4 week transfer. but the next transfer will be 8 weeks long!! crazy.

Highlight of the week was an insrtuction Elder Gqweta gave us about personal courage, standing up for what we believe not just here but also at home! Gordan B. Hinckley said that the cost of discipleship is personal courage. To stand up for what we believe no matter what others will say. He used Paul as a great example.

Plus, yesterday for P-day we roasted 3 pigs for 3 zones and enjoyed! Elder Ma'fu was the one who put it all together and helped us cook them. It was so good! i havent had pork since i left the states!

All is well and great here is ghana! Love you guys

Elder Hodges

 

September 15, 2014

Asaake aya fine papaapa

Last Monday night we went to the Kaitoos family for family home
evening! Their house was so nice! They are a super sweet family that
joined the church 15 years ago and now the husband is the first
counselor. He is so sweet!!!  It was so much fun to go there. Their
son is a returned missionary but had not been coming to church the
last few months and has been having a lot of trouble with life. We
didn’t get to see him this last week when we went there, but he came
to church this Sunday for the first time in months! It’s a nice
blessing because his parents were very worries about him.
The next day we got a call that we had to be at the zone leader’s
apartment early in the morning to renew our non-citizen ID cards at
some random bank in Chapel Hill. The whole time I was waiting I was
with Elder GQweta talking to two guys from china. The accent was
really hard to understand and one of their names was Lee. At least
that was his easier name. He had some other long name I don’t know how
to pronounce at all.. We have been doing a lot of proselyting this
week in Asaake. The members there are so sweet! The branch president
is always doing work for the branch and missionary work with all of
his friends at the same time! The members love us! We are the first
missionaries that they have ever had and are giving us a lot of
referrals to contact and teach! This week we were trying to find all
of them visit the members and teach the referrals we saw or set
another day to come see them! It was a pretty sweet week!
Elder and Sister Curtis came this week for a mission tour here in
Ghana! We all went over to sekondi for it. Some elders out in terkwa
had to come and spend the night because it was to much travel for them
to do in the morning. I got to see Elder Ble! The elder from cour di
voure! He’s the one that was teaching me French in our last apartment
together!  Elder Curtis was so sweet! He talked a lot about alma 5 and
all of the questions it goes through. He then told us to go through it
this week and ask ourselves all of the questions again. One thing I
loved that he said, he said it in the MTC too, was our testimonies are
like lasagna. It just grows layer after layer. It won’t come all at
once, even though some layers may be thicker than others, it just
comes small small.
He explained the whole ebola outbreak as well.
President Curtis also talked a lot about how much he loved president
and sister shulz. All of the work they did for this mission and how we
need to continue to make it better and better. He explained how
revelation always continues and the changes made by Pres. Stevenson
are revelation acting right in front of us.
The work here has been pretty sweet. We are still working in two ares
right now, and thanks to our awesome members, asaake is doing super
well right now! Their honestly my favorite members so far. And it’s
only been 2 weeks!!! Tonight we are going back for family home evening
with sister yalley! She is from cape coast! It’s so nice to talk to
her! It’s like talking to someone from home!!
I love this area and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I know that
life is just like a roller coaster, we have ups, always followed by
downs, and then ups again. But thanks to all of these ups downs curves
and other stuff, all of it make slife fun and enjoyable. If it was
just flat, like a train. The ride we just be boring. (no offense to
anyone who works with trains.)
Love you all!
Elder Darren Hodges

 

September 8, 2014

Last Saturday we got transfer news that I was going to serve in Takoradi! The week has gone by pretty fast because of transfers and all. Monday we had our normal p day and went to Moree for family home evening with the other Elders. Then Tuesday was just some goodbyes to a few members and investigators we got to see.

Early Wednesday morning we had to go to the station at Pedu for transfers. We got there around 10 am and had to wait there till 1 pm for the new elders to go to takoradi with us. So Elder Rowe and i went and got pizza! It was at a super nice restaurant (at least for ghana) and it was behind some random gas station. So we ate there and went back to the gas station. I had some left over pizza so i gave it to the new Elders who had just come from the MTC. They were so happy!! i still remembered my first day there when i was talking to Elder Beck!

It was then a few hours on a tro tro to takoradi. My companoin is Elder James. he is pretty sweet. The area just got a new branch in it called Asaake. So we are doing a lot of our missionary work there! the members there are so sweet! and the chapel is a rented apartment but it is so nice!!!! The Branch President and his counselors love the missionaries and are just so nice to us! We are the first missionaries they have had yet.

There are two investigators there that are named Daniel and Bridgette. They have been taught by other missionaries for a long time but because of travel and other stuff, they just kinda fell off the radar. But the Asaake branch has been open for 2 months now and they have been there at church every week! They are powerful and know everything we have been reviewing with them so far.

The area is split in two. we are still working in takoradi town at a place called kwesimintsim. Its more city and reminds me a lot of home. just a lot more dirty. Its hard sometimes. it makes me homesick to behere because i miss Cape coast and here it looks so much more like home would. but its starting to go away small small.

All this week we have been trying to adjust and find our where all of the members are staying in our area..

but small small

We played basketball and football at the stake center this morning with the district! it was a ton of fun!

im still trying to figure everythng out here in this area but im sure itll come soon. The members are already my favorite just from the ones i have met and got to see last sunday. Im excited to be here. the area has a lot of potential and great members!

Love y'all

Elder Hodges