Offisiapaa, ef fim kote bien
December 1, 2014
Transfers made the whole week feel really weird. I got my new companion Elder Cole on Wednesday afternoon. 3 Elders from our apartment left, so it was just me and Elder Hartling together all morning. The apartment was really quiet and weird. We cleaned everything and went to Assakae to see a few investigators. We went to the station to pick them up and all took a taxi home. Elder Cole is a sweet guy, he is from Salt Lake City, Utah. Pretty sweet. We are enjoying and getting a lot of work done! We haven't been in Assakae for the last few days before transfers because my comp was packing but we are getting everything back up and going!!
Elder Hartling got a new companion from South africa named Elder Meleni.
Our investigators are doing great! We had a baptism for Aaron on Sunday and it was the best! He asked Elder Gqweta to baptize him and everything thing went well. A lot of members piled into a trotro and we all went together for the baptism!!
Ishmael is doing great as well. He is still just being a boss and understanding everything we teach him! We also finally found a French Book of Mormon for Esther. Elder Cole said he had some in his old apartment so they are pouching them to us!
Thanksgiving, we had monkey bread and tried to make pumpkin pie! so good!!!
Me Elder Cole and Aaron
Elder Gqweta and Aaron
kente (Fabric store)
President Agana going to the baptism.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
November 24,2014
Yesterday, after a sweet stake conference (that was just for Africa) we went to see Ishamel. He is doing super well, hopefully everything will go smooth for his baptism in the next couple weeks. He couldn't come to church with us on Sunday because of work, so he asked if he could come to the Saturday session of stake conference. He sat through the preisthood session and the adult session for 5 hours!! He is such a boss! The night before he didn't sleep too because he had work!
Aaron was at stake conference with us yesterday and a few more investigators. He is doing great too and will be interviewed this week for his baptism. He is a super sweet guy and has changed a lot in these past few months! The whole reason he is in the church is because of his friend Isaac who has been a great example to him!
Stake conference was powerful!!! It was held just for Africa and they talked a lot about things that we could work on. It was super powerful, the best stake conference I've had. Elder Bednar and Pres. Utchdorf both spoke along with a couple other people. They all talked about--no more bride price (people paying the parents for their wife), Not aspiring to positions, hastening the work, doing things the Lords way, the children are the future (so the parents have to raise them in righteousness), Ebola, Tithing, and not doing any big weddings and funerals. People here t hrowhuge parties and go into serious debt just for weddings and funerals. One thing President Utchdorf said was if any one could come to Africa just for one Sunday, see their faith and the people they are, it wold change their life and their testimony for so much better. The stake center is huge, the size of a normal one and was literally packed 20 minutes before the program started... Africa is awesome.
Transfer news came this week. I'm staying and getting Elder Cole. I have no clue who that is but I'm excited for the change. Today we had cinnamon rolls at the Julanders and watched Forever Strong! my favorite movie!!! So, I'm kinda hyped up cause of a lot of sugar and watching a sweet movie.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Elder Hodges
November 17, 2014
This week flew by again! We are teaching a new guy named Ishmael and he is sweet! He has come to church twice now and love the church! Plus he is super buff and just stacked on stacks. I really dont know what more to say about him, he is super sweet! One of our investigators (Flora) had eye surgery in Accra the other day and is now in the house for about two weeks. Plus she has to wear these weird sunglasses for about a month. We went to visit her with the Kaitoos the other day and she seems to be doing well. Its like talking to a blind person.. she just looks somehwere else while she talks to you. Everyone else is doing really really good. The members are super powerful as always and helping a lot with the missionary work. Nothing too crazy or different this week.
By the end of the week I'm usually pretty tired. So Monday is always nice to relax small in the morning!! Today we went to Vienna beach to enjoy the ocean breeze, nice warm air, and some football and rugby! We had some tortillas and stew to eat too! Enjoyment!! It was for our zone activity this month and it was a lot of fun! I'm sorry everyone is freezing at home, especially those in Rexburg. But I know you'll be okay. I hope these pictures warm you up! Love you all!
Elder Hodges
Beach!!
The woman sitting behind me on the trotro.
GCCM
November 10, 2014
This week went by super fast and was a whole lot of work. I don't have a lot of time so I'll make it short.
A lot of missionary work, the members are helping us so much and we are getting a lot of work done in the branch. There have been a few late rainstorms. This last week we were in Assakae when it started raining really hard, so we had to take a trotro to get to Kwesimintim in time to Dorcas so we could review the baptismal interview questions with her. By the time we went from the station to her house we were soaked from the rain! So we had a lesson with her, Took off our socks and shoes, put our bags in plastic bags, and walked home in 3 feet of rain puddles. We were soaked by the time we got home.. But it's all because the church is true.
This Sunday we had a baptism for Dorcas with Tenekrom. The Stake President was there and for some reason super happy!! The baptismal service was sweet and the spirit was super strong!!
It was a great week and there is still a lot of work we gotta do this week!
Elder Hodges
Happy Halloween!!!!!!
November 3, 2014
We had a great Halloween here in Ghana!!! its fun to explain to members here exactly what we do for Halloween. Some people just look at us like we are stupid when we explain it though. Others don't believe us!! But to celebrate we had a nice Pumpkin stew that one of the Elders made for us! It was so good! It was a groundnut pumpkin stew! We didn't dress up in costumes. Sorry.
Speaking of dressing up, I got a wonderful package in the mail from my parents! Thank you! It had the newspaper from FCAD, which was so sweet! And it had a shirt... with batman and robin on it... from the 70's. I love it.
The work here in the village of Assakae is crazy! We have a ton of people to teach and to help come to Christ but it's hard to find time to see everyone and get it all done. But we are working better with planning well and making it work. The members are helping us so much! Aaron and Dorcas are working towards their baptismal dates for the end of this month and its going really well. Then there is Frostina and another mother named Frostina. One is staying with a member family and the other is a referral from the same family. Frostina can hear English small so we need a translator to help us because my fante is horrible. But she came to church this Sunday in Takoradi for General conference and is doing super well!!! Flora is another woman who came to church on Sunday with her younger sister with the Kaitoo family and loves the church! Her and Kathrene (a referral from the branch presidents family) both came to church and accepted to be baptized in the first lesson we had with them! Kathrene looked at me half through our lesson and asked " Elder Hodges, I haven't been baptized, can I do that in your church?" so we explained it to her and now she is super excited! We are meeting with her whole family next Sunday! A lot of sweet miracles have been going on in Assakae! A lot of people are just super prepared for the Gospel!
Sunday we had General conference at the stake center!!It was super sweet and powerful! Frostina couldn't understand most of it, but she told me how warm and happy she felt! The church is true!
Love Elder Hodges
Don't want to stain the shirt!
Frostina and Isaac
Assakae
Elder Gqweta and Kwodwo
October 27, 2014
I really don't know what to say about this week. We had interviews with President Stevenson this week here. It started off the week really fast and since then it just kept flying by. There were a lot of funerals going on in town and Assakae, so there were really a lot of parties. Our mission president has been raising the bar with the work we are doing here and it has been really sweet. It's forcing a lot of the Elders to stretch and work a lot harder. Its so nice to see the mission continually getting better and better.
This week after talking to Elder julander, one of the senior couple missionaries, I was thinking a lot about goals and governing values. A few weeks ago he gave an instruction on setting values in our lives, things that we will live by that are eternal. And then setting long term goals to live by them and or develope them. Then to set short term goal, yearly and monthly goals. Then to take those goals and make daily and weekly plans to work towards them. The only thing is picking governing values to live by. Its pretty deep. But thats been on my mind this week along with a lot of work o do in Asskakae. The members there bring friends to church! what more could a missionary ask for?!
Love you all
Elder Darren Hodges
waiting for an appointment with Coby and Kofi
GQETA AND TWITTER
October 20, 2014
This week was pretty sweet! I went on splits with Elder Gqweta this week, it was so awesome! It was just pure enjoyment. We split Tuesday night after ward coordination and I went to his area for all of Wednesday. We made tortillas, really bad ones, and slept and went on to the next day. I really can't explain why it was so great. Maybe because we could just actually understand each other, so I actually got to talk to someone all day. He is a black guy from South Africa. Pretty sweet.
This week we met a new investigator in Assakae, named Daniel. He has an older brother who is serving a mission in Nigeria and is the only member in his family. Daniel loves the church and wants to join, its just that his parents were very against it when he was wanting too. But that was a few years ago, as we talked to his parents now, they are okay with it, us teaching him and all, and we even have an appointment to go and see him with his mother! Hopefully all goes well.
We have been teaching a lot of new investigators, so we have been teaching a lot about Joseph Smith, the Restoration and The Book of Mormon.
It's been a lot of helping people find out if its true and finding answers to their prayers. I just thought, life and missionary work would be so much easier if God could Twitter or post thing on your facebool wall.
#its true lol
That would be so nice!!! but its not always like that. Well, its never like that. But its so sweet when people do receive answers. Its just something you really cant explain but just shows you the church is true!
Love Elder Darren Hodges
