Boys Abre May 18, 2015

My beloved family! I have thought for about the last 2 minutes about what I should write about and it's coming small small. We had transfers this week and spent the night in Takoradi to bring everyone here for the transfer. we have 2 brand new elders both from Ghana and it's been a lot of work and fun this week.

We played rugby on the beach this morning! It was so nice! Be jealous cause we enjoyed paa!!!
And yes, I'll send pics today of the beautiful beach. No one got hurt, just sunburnt. Freaking sucks.

One thing I believe in personally in life is progression. Progression in life and progression to become more like the savior Jesus Christ. There have been times in my life where I can see how I progressed and experienced a change of heart, and times when I did stupid things and moved backwards. I owe a lot of credit to my parents for helping me when I was in both situations. But I feel that now, to progress, I must endure to the end of my mission and finish with the same energy I had when I first came....which is gonna take a miracle cause I could WORK when I first got here! But I'm working out and eating good so small small I'll get there. I have enjoyed my mission so far and the next challenge is to simply finish strong.

Please don't remind me how long I have left each week as you email or write, I don't feel now that coming home is even real, and I want it to stay that way so please no countdowns here.

I know all of us know what we need to do to progress in life, I know that we have all felt a mighty change of heart in our lives at one point, and as Alma asked, "Can ye feel so now?" I hope you all can and if you don't, do the things you were doing before to feel that same mighty change of heart. I have felt it again and again. The church is true and I can't express how much I love each of you. It's been almost 2 years and yet I still feel so close to all of you. I love and miss you and pray for you every night. even when I'm tired.

Much love,
Elder Darren Hodges
We are Boss

March/April/May 2015

May 10, 2015
A couple pictures from President and Sister Stevenson's blog from the Mission Leadership Council

 

 



May 11, 2015

Boko se awo

 

Well really it was great to talk to everyone last night! I'm glad everyone sounds like they are doing great back at home. It makes it hard to email after talking to everyone.

Last week I was reading in D and C 128:19-24 when Joseph Smith was testifying of the great restoration in our times, the restoration of the Fulness of times. How all of these great prophets and apostles, from Adam, to Noah to Abraham and Enoch and the apostles had to appear to him to restore keys they had recieved at their time, and then give them to Joseph Smith to begin the restoration of the Fulness of everything. It was powerful as we watched the restoration that same day with an investigator and Joseph Smith asked the question at the end, "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause?" My beloved family, shall we not go on in such a cause, one where all the great prophets themselves have testified of and wished so badly that they could be a part of it? Shall we not go on in teaching the gospel to those around us and bringing it to every corner of the earth? Or in the greatest missionary force that has ever been seen. God himself appeared to a boy in a grove of trees and restored his true church once again to His children. Shall we not go on in so great a cause? No matter how old, or young or where we are. We all have tasted of the fruits of this beautiful restored gospel, can we not share the small that we have with others? No matter how big or small. I know it is true, it's what I teach everyday. It has brought me more joy than playing football, killing people and scoring touchdowns, pole vaulting at 8 pm into the night cause I'm so boss that I already beat everyone and they are on their way home, it's up there tied if not it is better than kissing cute girls.

The church is true.

Much love,

Elder Darren Hodges

 

May 4, 2015

Got Some "B-Dogs"

 

So our recent convert James is in need of a wife. We have started
operation B-Dogs, beautiful daughters of God to find him a good wife!
We even had one come to church this week after a couple miracles. Even
this last Sunday he didnt come to church! He stayed up all
night to watch Mayweather fight Manny Pacqio. Mayweather, the man won
it and took home one hundred million! James called around 5 in the
morning to let us now that he won, then cause he was so tired, he
thought he could skip church. I called and told him we had a beautiful
woman come to church that day, and about 20 minutes later he was in
sacrament meeting! Pretty sweet.
May the 4th be with you! Happy freaking Star Wars day
I hope this week was good for everyone. I had a great week but can't
really stay on longer. I'm sorry for the short email but I hope it'll
pull you through to next week. It will be a busy week for us and right
now we have a lot to do!!!

I miss and love you all!
Love Elder Darren Hodges

 

April 27, 2015

Boko!

 

This has been an interesting week. All in all I have never walked so much in my life and all our appointments all day everyday just kept falling through.. aniagro kraa.. but after walking for so long in the sun, and having a bad week teaching and proselyting wise, Sunday ended the week on a good note. Sundays are usually easy, we go, visit members and recent converts and the stubborn people that didn't come to church.. it all fell through..... all of it. But then finally as we were walking, around 5 pm on Sunday I was asking myself why... why all of the problems and the suffering this week.

There was something I have been missing, I don't know if it was because I was thinking about home a lot or because of bad planning. but in the end, I realized I needed to be a lot more humble and to start asking again, what more can I do, and especially asking my Heavenly \Father what He would like me to do and learn form all this. 10 minutes later we sat down, and taught a powerful lesson to a father and son, who love and respect each other so much. The spirit was there, I was refreshed and I loved it.

I don't know why bad things happen, I don't know why life sucks sometimes, and i don't blame anyone for it. All I know is we need to be humble. Humility is not thinking any less of ourselves, but less about our selves. Be humble, dont be compelled, reach out and show a little love to those around you. As you do, "you are only in the service of your God."

The church is true, I'm enjoying every second I have here in Ghana and can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow.

 I freaking love and miss all of you! Hope ya'll had a great week.

Gqweta loves you.

Love, 

Elder Hodges

 

 

April 20, 2015

Boamah

Michael Acqauh was baptized Saturday and confirmed on Sunday! He is about 20 years old and a sweet guy, he really got serious the past couple weeks as we talked to him about his baptsim. At first he was putting it off and not ready to make a big commitment and join the church. we tried to talk to him about it, but with all the talking it didn't go anywhere. Until we read a verse from the book of Mormon and explained it to him.. after that, he attended all of the church meetings that next two weeks, from church to institute and got very serious, he comes to church early and has changed dramatically in the last 2 weeks.

The Book of Mormon is true, I read it every day and it has brought more peace and personal answers to my life than anything else in my life. I love it and hope all you white people there are reading it.

President came fro interviews last week, my companion and I instructed on working with less actives and recent converts. It went pretty well!

Elder Halversen called last night and told me about our flight plans and that we will be going to London! and get home in seattle at 12 in the afternoon. It's weird, im excited to come and see everyone, but it feels like it'll be harder to come home than it was to leave home.

Miss and love ya!

Elder Darren Hodges

 

 

April 13, 2015

Rain Rain......it rained a lot here.....

 

For 2 days I went outside and didn't see the sun... Friday, the rain started, Saturday it rained, and Sunday morning it rained.. Ghanains, are scared of the rain and will not go anywhere through it. If you don't already know, not everyone has a car here, so church had very few people and I am worried because the rain season here is bad paaaa!!!! Everyday, from June till August. pretty sweet cause it's nice and cold though!

     At our activity as a zone the other day, we watched the other side of heaven and I enjoyed it. It made me want to serve a mission in Tonga, but I still love Ghana too much.

Anyways...

This week, I have seen a lot of poverty, and it really got to me this time. I am in probably the richest town in the mission and I have never come across people with so little. The hardest part is we can't give money to people so we try to find different ways to help.

One new investigator came to church this Sunday, he is from Nigeria and moved here 4 days ago for work. He sleeps on the cement floor and has no money, he came to the church because it was the closest one to where he was sleeping....

Then, a member from Ivory Coast is working here and trying to serve a mission. He told us how he didn't have enough money to pay the rent for his room, sleeping on the concrete floor and he doesn't get paid for another month.. At the end of visiting him I asked if we could say a prayer and hopefully ask for the Lord to bless him. After I said that, he didn't ask us to pray for him, but to pray for his brother who is trying to pay through school and the army.

I can't really understand that kind of selflesness in a person when they have nothing and still think for the better for those around them. I pray i can be that selfless.

As you can imagine, I hate it when Elders come to me and complain that the email where they are is too slow and that they don't get enough money to buy things. Shut up and suffer. Everything that happens is FOR us. The good and bad. God is trying to build us into the children and men he wants us to be.

I miss and love you all!!!

On a happy note, Nicolas a recent convert in Green Hill went to get endowed last week!!! It was pretty sweet!!

Elder Hodge

 

 

April 7, 2015

I'll email next week.  Love you!

 

March 30, 2015

Transfers and All

So, my companion is going home this transfer. Laters! and I'm getting Elder Hinckley, he is from Utah, just like most white missionaries. But he is sweet and I'm sure we will enjoy pa!

This week I was thinking a little about obedience, and how selective obedience brings selective blessings. As missionaries we live very strange lives. We wake up at 6 and study scriptures in a shirt and tie for 2 hours then go out and teach people. I dont know how people here are not just freaked out by us most of the time. But its been boko.

Elders can be exactly obedient on mission, that does not mean however that they will be perfect. We can be exactly obedient without being perfect, whether we have a bad temper or say stupid things sometimes. But it's possible. I know as we are obedient it sets us free.

Isn't that weird??

Our Heavenly Father blessed us with the gift of free agency and kinda said "go for gold" ya know. But as we enter into baptism and the temple, and make more covenants with Him, we give that agency back to him and literally give ourselves to him. Its like having a change of heart.

The heart is the battleground. You either give your heart (desires, actions and thoughts) to the God that created you or you can give it to satan. Your choice. The same choice we made in the pre-earth life.

God and Satan both ask the same question "what do you want?"

What is it you desire? Is it good? Does it draw you closer to Christ? If not, pray for help and work to change. That is how the atonement works hand in hand with it.

The Church is true, miss and love you

Elder Darren Hodges

 

 

March 23, 2015

A Mighty Change of Heart

One day this week during my own personal study, I spent some time on the phrase, "a mighty change of heart." A mighty change of heart is exactly what it sounds like, changed from the carnal and natural man, to a changed good person.

I won't play games, I was very selfish and did some stupid things when I lived at home. And because of it, I wasn't happy with myself and just couldn't get through the day on my own. So I did what my parents had always taught me and I repented.  Repentance is not just being forgiven of sins and moving on with life, it is literally a life changed and your desires change--everything about you changes. I feel, at that time,  I had a mighty change of heart in my life where I fixed the path I was walking on and changed it to the right way. As I did that over time, it changed me.

Now, as I have served a mission, I have felt another mighty change of heart. I look back on the young man I was when I left home, a lot has changed--I'm still me, but you will see in a few months that everything is not the same.

I want to continue to have this in my life. Repentance is not something miserable that we need to be depressed about, it just means we understand our weaknesses and are working to change them.

We first need to be humble. We can either humble ourselves or be humbled by God, I promise, the first is a lot nicer. We need to be willing to give up everything we have and then repent and continue to do so.

Last night, I slept in the heat of 90 degrees, I eat rice every day and sweat so much.....it's so hot.....I have to ride on tro tros (a taxi made of a mini van with many small benches) with fat women shoved next to me and they smell like fish.  I work and work and sometimes it amounts to nothing because people choose not to believe what I say.......and there is a lot more I will won't say for the sake of my mother. But I'm the happiest I've ever been, because I'm living the gospel and doing the one thing the Lord wants me to do.

The church is true, and there is a reason that so many people are following it.

I love and miss you all!

Elder Darren Hodges

 

 

March 16, 2015

Dube

Well, its official. I asked President Stevenson for an extension on my mission.... and he said.. no. It's almost impossible to get one. So yeah. Right after that I got handed my travel log for going home. I will leave Ghana August 6th and fly into the Seattle Tacoma airport with Elder Halversen. If our flight lands and we take and hour to get to the gate... it's cause we went to have some lunch together.

Elder Dube of the seventy came this week for a mission tour and it was sweet! He is crazy and energetic. He taught a lot and how our mission is great, now we just need to sharpen our skills and become greater teachers. He knows the scriptures so well and is shorter than I imagined. Like, the same height as Janna. maybe a little taller.

I slept in Takoradi the night before, there were not any more beds so I slept on the floor. I was sore the next morning but slept it off on the tro tro ride home.

Tarkwa has been sweet. I helped a guy mine gold the other day. He is an illegal gold miner but I was doing service.

I'm really tired and we played a lot of futbol in the rain today! It was so much fun! I scored a goal from a corner kick and got muddy. Pretty sweet. We are going to go teach a sweet family so I'll end it here.

Love and miss you!

Elder Darren Hodges


March 9, 2015
MLC Axim and Fufu

Tuesday right after district meeting we went to Cape Coast to stay the night with the assistants!!! I think that night was the first time I have slept in air conditioning since I left home... it was so nice!!!!! and cold!!!! haaa! The average temp. here is 80 and 90. It's hot. So I spent the night with Gqweta and Larsen and my companion! We enjoyed and had a great time. The next morning was MLC and it was sweet. The instructions were about correction and getting ready for Elder Dubes conference. That'll be this Wednesday so I'm pumped!

I spent the next 2 nights in Axim doing a few baptismal interviews there. We were suppose to be there one night but we didn't get to do one so we missed the tro leaving town and stayed another night... so 5:30 that morning we get a knock at the door.... it was the investigator. so I did an interview at 5:30 in the morning wearing my old school batman shirt... that's something I wont forget haha
I

was so tired from all this but it was a great week.

The rest was teaching and having fun this week.

love and miss ya

Elder Hodges

 

 

March 3, 2015

Axim

We had our first real zone conference this week in Tarkwa. The mission president came and the assistants. Pres. Stevenson instructed on having unity in the mission. At first he was pushing for obedience in the mission. Now, Elders were going crazy with correcting each other without love and there has been some contention because of one or two elders that are just being childish and giving bad correction. So president instructed on unity and that we need to build a zion mission through love and unity. We need to be humble to take correction and loving when we give it. He compared it to all the times in the scriptures when the church was booming and it was because there was no poor among them, all things were equal. The assistants instructed on finding people and then my companion and I instructed as well, it was pretty sweet! I got to enjoy some time with Elder Gqweta and Larsen which was nice.

We went up to Axim for exchanges this week and it was far... it takes 3 hours of tro tro rides just to get there... its far paaa. But exchanges there were great! I loved it and enjoyed being with Elder Biney and Hartman for a day! It was great!

Not really to much happened this week but it went by really fast. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Love ya!

I'm in Tarkwa

Family! how are y'all!?

 

Monday and Tuesday were hard this week. It was all goodbyes to the members and it was not that fun. People cried, I did a little bit.. but Wednesday I packed up and left for Tarkwa in the morning. Well, I really got stuck at the station waiting for the elders who would go with me to Tarkwa. I waited from 8 am to 3 pm and then we got on a tro together which left around 4. We got there by 6 and that night we had an activity at the branch about the restoration. It went great.

 

The branch meets on the second floor of the place we live in. The stairs are outside though and it is weird. The baptismal font is also in the compound. OUR APARTMENT IS SO NICE! It's beautiful and one of the nicest in the mission. To top it off we have rechargeable fans to keep us cool when there is no power. The power is a lot better. It is 24 on then 12 off. A lot better then Takoradi.

 

It's cold here and there's a lot of bush. Not sagebrush... some peoples children... but it's bush!!!! The kind that is in Africa that you kill small deer in and hid a body.

There is gold in the hills papapa. We see a lot of illegal gold miners. It's Ghana. so its okay.

 

I'm a zone leader here with elder Lujan. he is from California and is sweet. He is a lot like Jordan Reynolds and we are gonna enjoy. He goes home at the end of the transfer with elder Larsen.

the members are sweet. I'll get to know them better.

 

We had a baptism Sunday! Boko!!! his name is James Mark. He is a freaking boss!!! We had no water all Saturday and Sunday and we were worried we would have to baptize him in 8 inches of water. It would have worked! we tested it on elder Gumauh and it worked!  But a water truck came and we filled it up with the truck. The water was so dirty... it's a 4 foot deep font and you couldn't see the bottom... soo.... he was baptized and all!

I'm loving it here. Tomorrow is zone conference with the mission pres and the assistants! Pretty sweet to walk upstairs and be at the church. we are instructing and it should be great.

Love y'all!!!

 

 

 

 

Tarkwa

We got transfer news this Saturday and I'm being transferred further west to Tarkwa! It's a branch out in western region and it will probably be my last area for my entire mission. I'll be serving with Elder Lujan there and it is his last transfer. I was really worried at first cause it's far away and just all out and so far away from Cape Coast. But at sacrament meeting I felt that I would just find more happiness there. Like that is all that is waiting for me there. So now I'm more excited. I really wanted to go to Cape and be home! but I will go where the Lord wants me to go.

I bore my departing testimony on Sunday and didn't cry this time!!! That's a record! Sis Agana and Kathrene both were crying. I'm going to miss the members here in Assakae a lot! 

We started teaching Kathrene's husband and it has been going really really well! He is smart and understands what we teach him, especially what it means to him and the change it can bring in his own life. He is keeping his commitments, reading and praying about the Book of Mormon but hasn't come to church yet. But he is really sweet.

We think this is his last Sunday in Assakae. He's hard to find--in the back, in the middle, smiling. 

December 22, 2014 -February 10, 2015

February 10, 2015
YO FAMILY!

Sorry. We didn't have power yesterday so I could email only small. The internet was slow too for the small time that it was on. The power here has been really bad. We are on a schedule where we have power for 12 hours, and then it is switched back off for 24 hours. so we have light about every 3 days and every 3 nights. Fun stuff! But the Lord has blessed us and I'm happy!

Everything is great and well. This week was a week that consisted of 7 days and it was a good 7 days. Nothing too new or out of the ordinary. It is still normal missionary work here. 

Trainers will be called today and transfer news is on Saturday! I think I will go. I have been here for 6 months and it just feels like it is time for some change. 

So I will let you know what is happening next Monday.

I hope everyone at home is doing well and enjoying life.

This week I went on exchanges with Elder Miskin. It was the best day out of the whole week. He does missionary work the way I feel it is suppose to be done. He doesn't run from appointment to appointment. He is sincere in everything he does and everyone he talks too. It is all about the people to him, not about the numbers we write in our planners at the end of the day. People, not numbers. It was just a good day! It kinda reminded me how the work is suppose to be done. 

It is getting hot paaa!!! So hot!!! I have to put on sunscreen every day... 

We played volleyball yesterday for sub p day. My team of 5 went undefeated!

Love ya!!!

Blind-folded some kids to teach them to follow the holy ghost

Combined zone meeting

Exchanges with Meleni

February 2, 2015
 

Boko Nyamenadum

Dear Family.

Hi

I'm sad the Seahawks lost. I got the news this morning and it sucks... but we will win it next year. 

President Stevenson came down for interviews this week and instructions on how to be good missionaries. It was combined with 2 districts so it was my district and Sekondi District. Elder Larsen and Gqweta were there, and the Julanders and the zone leaders. It was a good meeting. Elder Barlow instructed on planning and then I instructed on obedience and why we need to be obedient. It went from getting the desired blessings we want when we get home, we need to be obedient, to get all the blessings from our patriarchal blessing. Elder Scott explained it in the Feb. 2014 Liahona, that when we are obedient we grow in strong character to face the tests that come to test our faith and then as that character grows we have a larger capacity to exercise our faith. Obedience is an act of faith. It's like positive feedback in science where it all just keeps growing. The only thing to stop the cycle is acts of disobedience which just bring it the other way. It was really sweet. 

It was so good to just sit and visit with Larsen and Gqweta afterwards too. My interview was really short. So was everyone's. Larsen is doing great. He goes home in May I think and will go to school at UVU and Gqweta just applied to BYU Idaho!!!! Whooo!! I hope he goes! The plan is to go to Idaho then transfer to Provo as fast as I can. Then go from there. Room with Larsen when I go cause it went great the first time we did! But I wont worry about that right now. 

The transfer is going fast. It is now week 5 and there are just 2 more to go.

We confirmed William, Abigail and Ajoa on Sunday! It was really sweet and a good fast Sunday! we have been fasting for Aaron's brother. He can't talk and he wants us to give him a blessing so we are fasting and praying before we give him the blessing.

Last night Elder Iwuji had me write a couple letters for some girls.. he can't really write so I was the scribe. It was normal until he started talking about taking her to the temple and getting married!! I was like, whoaaa! It was pretty fun. Nigerien love letters are something else. 

I love ghana so much. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now, I'm praying for ya and I love you!!!!

Elder Darren Hodges

Janaury 26, 2015 

This week was a great week! We had 3 baptisms at the stake center and it was a great service! The church is true paa! It was a very normal week besides that. A lot of work, and the week just flew by. I cant believe how time is flying by here. I will have 6 months left after this transfer. I'm not a dying missionary, don't worry, I don't have cancer or anything. (Missionary terms for not ending strong.)

 At church on Sunday I was thinking a lot about what I'll instruct on this week and next week. President will come for interviews and I'll be instructing for a little bite. I'm gonna talk about obedience.

Elders think they can be disobedient and still be blessed with the perfect life when thousands of other people are working towards the same thing. It should be sweet.

SundayI  was reading Presidents Benson's biography. It made me cry when I read they sold their farm just so they could pay for their fathers mission. I can't imagine having to sacrifice so much. I finally understood what elder Vincent said to me. He said he loved God more than his wife, I thought that was weird. But then I realized that you can love God and your family, just in different ways. He loved God more, that's why he left his family to go and serve a mission. You can't serve God and Mammon, but you can love God and your family at the same time. 

Elder Dube is coming for a mission tour in march! Should be sweet!

Go Seahwaks! Love you!

January 19, 2015
GCCM

We have a new man we are teaching named Koomson. He is about 60 years old and teaches at the local school. He came to church the last two weeks with Sister Julie and we have been teaching him at his house is Kwesimintsim. He stays with his younger sister and he is a sweet guy. Super smart and loves the church! 

His sister reminds me a lot of my own sister. When we went inside the house... it smelled like cats and there were in sight.. lots of cats. I asked he how many she had, without a breath she said "19" that is a lot of cats... we play a game each time we go there and try to count all 19. The first day we counted 8, then  the next day 11, we are now up to 13... just 6 more to go!

       We went to visit sister Yalley this week, she just had a baby! So as we went to visit she asked if we could share a short message with her, so we talked about the 2000 stripling warriors and how their mothers taught them everything the knew, and they did not doubt what their mothers told them. I shared a quote from one of the apostles about how a woman does a greater good for the world by being a mother than she would as a great leader, a king or a president. She has 4 boys and two girls now and she is one of the best moms I've seen. it was a sweet visit. 

           After we saw her we went around with Ike Mensah to take the sacrament to some members who couldn't be at church on Sunday. One of them being sister Yalley and another because he had malaria. 

We had MLC this week with all of the leaders in the mission. The night before I stayed at the zone leaders apartment in Chapel Hill. I spent the day with Elder Halversen! He is also from Washington and is pumped for the super bowl! At the meeting we had leadership training. And we had to go all the way to Cape Coast!!! Home! It was so nice to be there! We talked about leadership stuff and it was great! Leadership in the mission has changed a lot since I have been here. When I first came, everyone and anyone would be a district or a zone leader, and that was cool. But now President is choosing people who are sweet and helping the mission a lot more. I think the great leaders we have here are a big reason the mission is doing so good right now. 

I feel like I have been doing a lot of good lately and helping people and missionaries around me a lot more than I have before. Elder Tui came up to me and told me the other day how i inspired him to work out every morning because he heard that I get up a 5:30 and go running every morning. I haven't missed a day of running since he said that to me. 

After being uplifted and thinking great about myself I got humbled paa... The last couple days were rough then the thought came to me on Sunday morning at church to forget myself and get back to work. So that's what I did and I am feeling great again and working to help the people here in Assakae again. I'm not here for me, if I was here for me I would've come home a long time ago. 

It was a sweet week, I got to see a lot of friends, enjoy Cape for a few hours and spend a whole day with a broda from Washington.

I love and miss you all.

Elder Darren Hodges

Oh! and we found a freaking ice cream truck in Ghana!!!!!!!

Sister Hamilton's House

January 12, 2015

Its Hamaton season here in Ghana. I don't know if that is how you spell it. But its from January through February. Its when there are a lot of sand storms in the Sahara Desert, and all the sand and dust from it floats all the way down to Ghana! So it looks and feels like it is foggy everywhere, when really its just dust. It's so dry.

 This was the first normal week we have had since the end of December. It's been a lot of fun and work. This morning we cleaned and played football as a zone then went into town to shop. 

 When we went around this week, we took a DVD player with us to Kate's to watch the Restoration with her, and it ran out of battery after about one minute. And the power was out, but jokingly I said it would come back right now....And it did! Pretty sweet! 

Two Elder in our apartment were transferred out and we got two new elders this week. It's different but the change is pretty nice. 

Love and miss you all!

Elder Hodges

 

Hamaton

Elder Cole broke the banku stick

Quarshie!!

January 5, 2015

New Years was a bigger party than Christmas! Everyone was launching fireworks and enjoying paa! We went to our land lady's house in Chapel Hill for lunch. She stays at this HUGE house on the beach and works for the oil company with her husband there. It was crazy! Saw some weird fish that walk around on the beach too when we went to see and island just off the coast. 

That night we went back to the family from Ivory Coast and got fed. They gave us some lamb and chicken with our rice. My comp didn't eat it but I did. It got me super sick. That night I was having nightmares about people feeding us and then at three am it came back up. 

I felt a lot better after that. That day I went on splits with Elder Uklaegbu in my area. It was a sweet day, we went to the branch Presidents to teach Kate. They fed us... So Elder Ukaegbu ate the whole pot of rice and chicken for us :)

On Sunday we went for church and it was fast and testimony meeting. Kate and Ishmeal were confirmed, they both bore their testimonies, and so did Aaron! It was sweet to see them all do that!

When Ishmeal got up to bare his testimony, he stood up and asked everyone to sing hymn 270, and brother Kaitoo, our first counselor was so excited, "Yes, yes lets sing a hymn!!!!" so we sang it then he bore is testimony! It was a fast week and a fast transfer. Two Elders in our apartment are getting transferred away. so things will change but im excited to be with Elder Cole for another 6 weeks. we are gonna keep enjoying Assakae.

 

December 29, 2014

Afhiyphaa!

 This Christmas was a blast! It has been going on for about a week now and should last up until the new year!

Ishmeal and Kathrene were baptized yesterday after church!! It was probably the best baptism ever and two of my favorite people to be with and just to see the gospel bless their lives so much! Ishmeal is so big and buff! 

We went to an Ivorian family's house for lunch on Christmas and it was so good! No one spoke English though so it was hard to talk to them. But it was a lot of fun! One of them is a member for Ivory Coast and is staying with her boss here in Ghana who is also form there. That's how we got set up with a lunch there. then they invited us for new years as well! 

It was so nice to talk to and see my family!!! paa!! i even got to see Jerry Welch and we said a family prayer! Ask my parents how that went.

We went around this Christmas and sang for the members and investigators. it was weird at first but you could feel the Christmas spirit and I really enjoyed serving others this Christmas. I really feel that is what Christmas is all about. Thinking of others before you think of yourself.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love you!

Ishmeal and Kathrene

With Elder Larsen

December 25, 2014
Talking to Darren via Skype on Christmas day was so awesome!
You will LOVE his accent. :)

December 22, 2014

We had a lot of fun at the Christmas devotional this week! We had it on Friday at the Takoradi stake center! At the start we had an instruction given by President Stevenson and some testimonies and songs. We had some activities, rice and chicken and it was just nice to see a lot of the other Elders from around the mission! Elder Larsen was there, it was nice to catch up with him and to see a few other people! After lunch we had a talent show and then watched a couple videos about the birth of Christ. It was very nice.

That afternoon we split into zones and went around caroling in market circle and Takoradi! Takoradi is a very big city here and there are a lot of people! So we split into groups of 20 and went around singing and handing out a couple copies of the Book of Mormon. The first time we stopped to sing was at a junction right  across from some guy preaching on the side of the road with a speaker and a generator. They do that a lot here. So after a couple songs we left and went to the market doing the same thing! On the way, as we passed another preacher with a big system, Elder Gqweta took the microphone from him and started singing the First Noel! So we sang some songs over the speakers and continued on! It was the highlight of the day! But we just kept going and caroling for about an hour then came back to  the stake center to sing at the carols night at the church. So we sang a lot on Friday!

This week was a lot of teaching and singing to everyone. When we would go visit members and investigators we would sing them a christmas hymn throughout the day. So it has been a lot of singing! 

I'm excited to call home and talk to my family! I hope everyone has a great Christmas and enjoys the friends and family around them! Love you!

Elder Darren Hodges

Eficia-paaa!

December 15, 2014
We got some great pictures this week.  No words.  Just photos. 

Elder Hodges with Enita

Assake

Elder Hodges and Stephen

Aaron's baptism