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?

​

 

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

Como se va?

September 29, 2014
Como se va?
These past 4 weeks have just flown by and honestly just feel like its been about 1 week. i cant believe its almost october and Taggarts birthday is this friday too!! Happy birthday!!! When its someones birthday here, you dump a bucket of water on them.. haha yeah that ghana.

One day while we were walking from Kwesimintsim to Assakai some girl stopped us and wanted to talk to us.. but she kept speaking super fast french and it was hard to undersatnd her. but i found out that she is a member of the church who moced here from ivory coast! Her name is Estelle and is super sweet! Her madame (the owner of the dress shop she works at) hires woman from ivory coast and then brings them to ghana to live with her and take care of her shops for her. Thats nice and all but the madamfu is not nice at all. Estell told us a couple weeks ago she came to the church at assakai, but her madamfu got super mad, and took he French Book Of Mormon from her. so we are working on getting her a new one so she can read it again. but she was so happy to see us and the members! she came to church on sunday and enjoyed with Henrietta who is a member from Cour' Di Voire. She has been teaching us french while we have been trying to teach her english, its kinda fun!!

We Bridgets baptism this sunday! After church in Assakai, we fit about 20 people in a tro tro and all went to the stake center for her baptism! it was so sweet! The branch President spoke at the baptism and it was super powerful. It was the first baptism in the branch with the 2 first missionaries there!!!

The members here are so sweet! They love us and are giving us a lot of people to teach and to see! Time is flying by because we stay so busy here. But all in all this is my favorite area i have been in so far, and its all because of the sweet people here!!

Hope all is well in the states! 

Love Elder Darren Hodges

 

 

 

                                                               ​Me and Elder Gqweta

 

Abura Dunkwa 

 

 

 

                                                                     Yamoransa zone

 

 

​a random spiral staircase cemented in the ground

 

 

 

 

September

 

 

September 23,2014
Pigs and Stuff

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Hodges

 

September 15, 2014

Asaake aya fine papaapa

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

 

September 8, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

but small small

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

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

Love y'all

Elder Hodges

Takoradi

We got transfer news this last Saturday and I will be transferred to Takoradi. Over in western region. I'll go to be with a Nigerian I know named Elder James. I'm pretty excited. I haven’t been to Takoradi since the time I was brand new on mission and they sent me over there on the wrong tro tro on accident haha..

But there were a lot of goodbyes this week and I had to tell everyone goodbye on Sunday at church. I bore a really short testimony, yeah I cried, but to save all the trouble I just didn’t talk too long. Mostly cause I didn't want to cry more. The members in Aburah Dunkwa are so sweet. I really got to know all of them so well because the group is so small. But I'm really going to miss them so much.

Michael is still doing really well. He is still coming to church and all of the activities. He has a baptismal date for September and he should be ready to go. He has changed so much. It’s so sweet to have seen him change so much in just a short time.

We had an activity today at the mission home again. Playing football and we made some cinnamon rolls! I was hoping President wouldn’t send me away too far from Cape Coast but it's just about the opposite. But I know its for a good reason and I'm excited to get out of my comfort zone and have new challenges, new people, and experiences as well. Takoradi is a really nice city. Bigger than Cape Coast.

But the next couple days will just be packing and sitting on a long tro tro ride to Takoradi on Wednesday.

I hope all is well at home. Just know I love you people and will be talking to you next week with a lot more to talk about!

Love Elder Hodges

August 2014 Highlights

Week 5 (of the transfer)

August 25, 2014

My companion had something wrong with his stomach so we talked to the doctor and he told us we had to take him to the hospital to get him tested! Ghana hospitals... are so slow and weird. It took forever just to get him tested for parasites in his stomach. I guess when he talked to the doctor at the hospital he wanted him to get tested for malaria as well.... thats just Ghana. my companion had a cold once and they told him it was malaria... but he got his blood tested too for it.

Earlier that morning we thought it was parasites so we gave him some medicine for it to help my companion out. then we got the results back... and it was nothing. Whoops. So hopefully the medicine we gave him won't make things worse. We have about 3 nurses who are members, so they kinda just pushed the bill for the test aside and told us to just forget about paying.. That's just Ghana.  

We got a new zone leader! Elder Lebaron! On his second day in his area he came on splits with me to Abura Dunkwa! It was so much fun! He is super talkative and has a lot of energy in him! 

Things in the area were very hard this week. Everyone we have been teaching traveled and our one investigator  had a ruff week. He didnt come to church and starting drinking again. I guess he didnt really understand that he couldn't just wait until the day of his baptism to stop drinking. But he is doing really well. He was just sad this weekend that he had fallen back into drinking. But we are still seeing him everyday and helping him. He is such a sweet and humble guy. I was scared he would be mad that we had to move his baptism back a few weeks but he was just okay with it and said how he would do whatever he needed to do. As we were talking to his wife that same day she wanted us to come and see her the next week to start teaching her!!! She loves the church she is going to but I guess she just wants to actually see what we are teaching since it's helped her husband so much! We tried teaching her before but she would just say oh next time!!! But i guess now she really actually wants to sit down with us!! 

This week flew by but its been a lot of ups and downs. This is the last week of the transfer so we will get transfer news on Saturday evening!!! 

Sunday night we were washing clothes and my companion put a load in Elder Larsens washer just a little bit before 10 pm and all of us still needed to shower!! So we just kinda sat there... then Elder Larsen asked if I wanted to wrestle?!! So thats what we did for about 30 minutes! Sunday night mania! It was so much fun! it reminded me when I would wrestle armando randomly. But i was in a lot better shape than haha.

This month has been so sweet and im looking forward to all that we have to do next week!

Hope all is well at home!

Love you!

Elder Hodges

August 18, 2014

Tithing, Crazy Lady and a Lot of Cement

This week flew by! I'm honestly kinda scared at the fact it went by so fast. But we enjoyed it so much! To start it all off, a crazy lady kinda chased us again this week.. but at least this one was wearing clothes. Hoping she would leave us alone, we went to Teddy's shop to sit and talk to him. She followed us. And wouldn't leave cause she knew we didn't stay there.. So we just walked by her and had to lose her in the market.. I really hope that doing this doesn't become a normal thing here.

The rest was just powerful. One of our guys just stopped drinking. out of nowhere he just completely stopped the whole thing and hasn't had any for a few weeks now. He has a baptismal date for the 30 and he is so excited.! When we gave him the date he was kinda not wanting to do it so soon. He was nervous about it. But we came back the next day and he wanted to just get baptized that day! He is so powerful!!

Another one of our guys payed his tithing for the first time this week! After he payed it he said he only had 2 cedis left. which is about 1 dollar or less. He used some of it to buy dinner then was left with just 1 cedi. He asked and prayed for help because he didn't have any money at all after he payed his tithing on Sunday. The next day he went to Salt Pond to try and get his electricity back on because he owes a huge electric bill! So he was going to beg that they keep it on so he could work. On his way he talked to a woman who use to come to his mill and asked him why he looked so sad. He told her all of his problems. So, then she just gave him 700 cedis!!!! It was crazy! and it was just his first time paying tithing!!!

We have been praying to find new people to teach and it worked! One day a guy in a nice car (if you have a car here, you are RICH) and he asked us a couple questions and then when we could come to his house to visit him! He is from the terkwa gold mines and his brother is a member of the church! So he just wants to know for himself if it is true! 

Then Saturday we had the Helping Hands service project. It's something that is all over west Africa in August. So for us we went to mix and pour cement at a school that was being built in Yammoransa! We mixed the cement in a small mixer and then had to cary it above our heads in head pans to the top of the building. We were so tired and covered in cement by the end of it! I got some spelt down my back... it was so weird. 

Elder Beck and James went home today. I'm gonna miss those two so much. They were my favorite zone leaders. It really hasnt hit me yet they they are already going home. I guess Janna is next haha. 

August 11, 2014
Liberia and Sierre Lione

We got 21 new missionaries this week from the Liberia and Sierre Lione missions because theirs was closed down because of the Ebola out break thing. But the disease isn't in Ghana so we are safe here! We stay in an apartment in Yammoransa with 2 other missionaries and just travel to our area every day. But 2 missionaries form Liberia came to be in Yammoransa so they now have 4 missionaries and no room in the apartment for us. So we moved to the Moree apartment to be with 4 other Elders. One of them being my old companion Elder Larsen! Hey charlie we have been enjoying! Their apartment is so much better and its not a dark depressing basement like the last apartment. So I'm happy with the move. 

The week was crazy because of the move so it was hard to find time to go to Abura Dunkwa this week. But we did have Teddy's baptism this week on Saturday!!! He was so happy after it! We went to visit him later that night and he told us how his legs were sore and he was tired and hungry. But he was still happy!! Haha. I learned he named his son after the kid on Home Alone haha. Amos is the one that confirmed him on Sunday. ey... Sunday was rough. Everything started late and was just going really bad. There were ants in the sacrament bread when they went to break and bless it! Big black ones!! But they got them all out and we still all took the sacrament... 

Forster was really quiet this Sunday and wasnt saying much. He gave a great talk though! But because he was just quiet all day I was worried about him. 

I asked him how he was doing after church and to my surprise he said he was very happy! So then he went to explain that yesterday he decided he wasn't going to come to church this Sunday, but then he felt that he should pray about it. So he did, and he said, "The still small voice whispered to me, to forget all of my problems and to just go to church, I would receive blessing and be happy."

So he went on to say it was true and he was so glad he came!

I didnt know what to say so i just said the church is true. 

It's true. That's why I'm here.

Love you people.

Elder Hodges

Elikem with fufu

Ghana

August 4, 2014

Another beautiful week in Ghana!!! I'm enjoying it too much! We have another temple trip coming up this month so we have to organize everything for it  with our Branch President. A lot of people are wanting to go so hopefully it'll all work out. The temple was closed for renovations last month so it wasn't open kra. 

Randomly this week we were walking through town, when we saw Reginas son Edom! Hes about 5 years old and was just walking through town all alone the other day! Usually he walks home form school with his brother Elikem but he wasnt there. We called Regina and she freaked out that he was in town all alone!!! So we walked him home and by the time we got there his brother was already home! Edom was upset, he yelled Kwesia! at his brother and slapped him haha... it was kinda funny. but they both won't talk about what happened. Edom just says he didnt enjoy that day so he wont talk about it! 

Our investigators are doing very well.

We are getting some new Elders here from Liberia. 17 I think so President will have to open a few new areas. They will be here this week and will finish their missions here! It'll be sweet to have them here and I know it'll be a big blessing to us. Its all because of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Nigeria and Sierre Lione. But it's not here in Ghana so we are safe here. 

Elder Hodges 

Yo Charlie!
July 28, 2014

This week went by pretty fast. not too much happened this week but hopefully we will ave a lot more happening soon. 

We went to Abakrampma to this big random nice house in the middle of the bush to see our branch president. He wants us to start relief society and priesthood meeting in church now so we will get that going in the next couple weeks. On the way we saved a bird from a net! but it was to weak to fly. so we set it on the ground. By the time we came back to see if it had left... it was too late. some big ants had gotten to it.... so we left.

We were talking to an investigator a lot this week and getting ready for his baptism. He seemed reluctant for the date and wanted to move it back. My companion and I were worried that he would want to just keep pushing it back. But he said, "Ah, why do you want me to be baptized on august 2nd? Why that day?" so we explained how when we plan for each of our investigators we pray about a day they can be baptized and ready for it as well, and the answer we got for him was august 2nd! Then he said.. Oh sweet! then I better be baptized on that date!

Small and simple things!!!

We also went to the hospital this week to visit a small girl in the hospital. She is in a family that we are teaching right now and she wanted us to come see her. so we went to the hospital (i hate hospitals..) and she was on a bed in a big room with about 10 other kids with malaria in there. We couldn't really give her a blessing in front of everyone but I was saying a silent prayer for her and I found out after so was my companion. Ey charlie! She had a burning fever and looked horrible. But after about 30 minutes she fell asleep then woke up again! She looked tons better! She was smiling and saying "I'm fine," and was so happy! Even though we couldnt give her a blessing I'm so glad our quiet prayers were answered! 

Today we cleaned the beach at Moree! Then we played football on it in our bare feet! Oh and every time I say football, its really soccer. No one plays football here. I got sunburnt and had a lot of fun! Some of the things you clean up on a beach are just weird. Especially in Africa. 

If anything, Ghana is wonderful, I'm alive and happy. No one tried to feed us goat skin this week! Whoo!

Love Elder Hodges

No Transfers!

July 21, 2014

This week flew by pretty fast. I can't believe July will be over soon. But this week I was very nervous and just wanted to know if I was going to go to a new area or stay. Turns out I'm gonna stay! I love this area so much!!!  We gave one of our investigators  an Ensign (church magazine) this week and he has been loving it!!! While we were teaching Teddy this week he was eating a clove of garlic... no joke its was gross. it burns his fat haha. By the looks of him... its not working too hot. 

Elder Larsen came over to have splits with the other elders in the apartment and he was sunburnt! Turns out he went to do a service project for some guys who weld security bars here! He was wearing shorts and they gave him sunglasses for his eyes! It was hilarious! His legs and face are so burnt and now he has a nice sunglasses tanline from it! poor Utah boy. its not easy to be white here. 

We went to the mission home to play some football on the grass and have breakfast! It's defiantly a bonus to have the assistants in your zone! 

We talked to the group this week about doing member missionary work and getting all of them to just talk to one person this week about the church or even inviting them to meet the missionaries. We will see how it goes. I love these members so much!

We gave Forester a Preach my Gospel a week after his bapstism and he is reading through all the lessons and the whole thing!! it was sweet to teach him about temples and eternal marriage. His friend Kweku was there for the lesson and he has 3 kids but his wife passed away. He is a super sweet guy too it's just been difficult to get work all together. Right now he doesn't have a job, he is just helping Forester so he gets some chop money. But he was asking questions about the temple. We have been trying to teach him but he just doesn't want it right now. But he has a Book of Mormon and is reading it! Small small we will keep working with him.

Loving Ghana still!!! 

Love all you as well

 Love Elder Hodges