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