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

Buckets of Water

Today at 6:48 AM

Its tradition in Ghana that when its your birthday you get buckets of water poured on you. For mine, I was pretty lucky. 2 of the elders in the apartment tried to get me but they missed. So the start of the day was pretty good. We baked a cake, sang happy birthday, the power was out all morning and as I blew out the candles and wished it to come back on, it did!!! Boko! After that I went on splits for the day with Elder Hartling in Apremdo. We enjoyed, he has a sweet area. He told everyone it was my birthday, trying to get them to pour water on me but we got dashed malt instead, and some lady we didn't even know, who didn't speak English said happy birthday as well! After a sweet day we started walking home when the power went out again. So.. we went to a resturaunt called Sizzlers (with a generator) and got pizza. They dashed us a bottle of sparkling cider and then they poured water on me. The Julanders came over that night and even sang a happy birthday for me!

The Julanders also did a black and white jazz concert at the stake center. I thought it was pretty weird, but Ishmael came dressed super nice with his date who I had never met before! He didn't tell her where they were going until they got there haha. But she enjoyed it and so did he. It was a sweet night.

Aaron bore his testimony at sacrament meeting this week about his baptism and the joy he felt during and after his baptism. It was half half fante english but it was still powerful.

This week was a lot of fun and flew by pretty fast. We have been working a lot better with the members. Sister Yalley is about to have a baby and was mad at me cause I predicted she would have it on Friday. But she said she would still name the baby after me!!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Love you!

Elder Darren Hodges

Letters from November (and a few more)

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

Yo Akwaaba
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

Bananas Rice and Toast

There's a bug that has been going around here that a lot of missionaries have been getting lately. First Elder Gqweta and Elder Harlting, then some other elders out in Axim. I got it this last week and it sucked. There really wasn't any medicine to help it but the doctor put me on a diet of plain rice, bananas, and toast. And apples, but there aren't really a whole lot of apples here. I still regret how much I took apples for granted. They are so good! I've only had  about 3 or 4 the past year. But all in all I felt a lot better by Saturday so Elder Richards and I mad some waffles! We used a waffle iron I got sent for Christmas that you just put over the fire. It's so sweet! So we had some waffles Sunday morning, I get elder Richards to go running with me every morning by bribing him with waffles! He loves em!

Elder Larsen came to Takoradi the other day and stopped by to see me! But we were still out proselyting and teaching so I didnt get to see him. He has  been begging sister Taylor to make him some of her banana cake! It's so good! She finally told him to come pick some up, then when he got there she told him to deliver it to me! Haha she is so awsome!!! And I'm grateful Elder Larsen didn't just eat it.

We started teaching a young man named Aaron. He is super sweet and has been prepared by The Lord so much! As we were talking to him the first time we got to see him, he talked about how his father, who was some spiritual herbalist, had a bunch of books from the church including the Book of Mormon! His father passed away a couple years ago, and Aaron had to stop going to school and make money to provide for his family, as they went through his fathers stuff, who he really looked up too, he found the Book of Mormon, and kept it. Then later Isaac, a member moved to Assakae and became really close friends with him. Then, Isaac joined the church later and Aaron saw the huge change it had in his life and wanted to do the same! It was pretty sweet!!

It's getting hotter here with the dry season but I'm enjoying it a lot and Ghana is sweet.

I'm just really tired cause we have been working hard and at the same time trying to get better from the sickness that's been going around. But it's all worth it!

Love Elder Hodges

 

 

The main road in Assakae

 

The "queen Mother" and her funeral parade. With a cow?

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Assakae town.

 

October 6, 2014

We had a lot of work to do last week so it was pretty crazy and tiring. Bridgette was confirmed a member in church this Sunday which was sweet, and she has bee enjoying a lot! She keeps telling me how happy she is but she cant really explain why, it's so awesome! Like the other day she greeted someone that she had argued with, then she greeted back, and she just said it made her so happy!... it doesn't make sense how that made her so happy, but its really just cause she was baptized and enjoying now!!! It's so sweet!

Sunday we showed up at church and a woman that I have never met asked me to give her a blessing... so as I gave her a blessing everything just kinda flowed and she cried and said I told her exactly what she needed to hear! It was just one of those moments where you feel like your doing the right thing. A lot of the time, it's really hard to live up to what everyone expects of you. As in being a perfect, powerful missionary! And it's not easy, but it's moments like that where you know that your doing good and The Lord is proud of you.

We played volleyball this morn with a bunch of members at the chapel and then some football as well! It was a lot of fun!

Not to much happened this week except a lot of work and fun! Gotta love ghana!

Love y'all

Elder Hodges