Temple Tuesday

May 19, 2014

What a week guess it is starting all over again! Feels like groundhog day sometimes haha the only difference is right now it is raining... Sweet!!!! Except no one will want us to come.... still it is a lot cooler outside :):):) blessings all around.

We remade the video 'how animals eat their food.' today. Our Apartment was a disaster. Good thing we keep some of the old boxes that carry Book of Mormon and pamphlets. My acting abilities are at an all time high... haha not.

Our week was a lot of finding and not always the best results. We really were making our best effort to find and teach. Had a couple days that not a lot worked out, guess that is how it goes sometimes haha. Still we found some pretty cool people! :) 

One guy we contacted seemed really smart and we were so excited to go back. When we came we found that he had read part of the Restoration pamphlet, up until were it says 'They were all wrong'. Nothing after that. So when we came to him he finished us for 'preaching church.' Tried to soften his heart and did all we could, but never got in the door. Right after, a guy was walking past, stopped to talk to him and set up an appointment for later. Turns out it was his son! I notice that a lot of missionary work puts you somewhere to meet someone else.

We came to teach him just yesterday. We were contacting again and I passed this sign that said 'Delali's Spot' (Spot in Ghana means bar, there is a ton of them). I realized I had forgotten to call him back so we did and he was ready! The lesson we had was great and he actually prayed to ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet at the end of the lesson! That is like the 2nd time in my whole mission!!!! Now we are just worried that Delali will have some heavy opposition from his father.Still that opposition could work perfectly to make him solid and strong.

Gifty passed her interview and is all ready for a baptism this Saturday! Really excited for her, she has a serious desire to repent from all her old transgressions and it is sweet being the ones who get to help her. We took some pictures with her and her son and the rest of their family that I attached. They call it the gorilla face. In Ghana the 'racist' way to call someone white or black is by adding pig to white and monkey to black. So don't do that haha

Her little sister, Rebecca (the one I baptized a couple months ago), got in a argument with another recent convert, Calvin (my first baptism in Ho). By argument I mean they punched each other and Elder Henderson had to dive in and get them in a head lock... So the youth had some... trouble this week but we talked with Calvin about being 'the man'. He felt that he hadn't started it and was upset. I told him 'Never hit a girl, ever period.' Some tough love and it worked out. I got a call from him saying he had gone to apologize and took some of his friends to go to. That kid is really trying his best against all the adversity he has at home (i.e. no father, not a lot of mother support, lives with his grandma who is a full time drunk). He is a stud!!

Rebecca's family too has a lot of difficulties, really the problem started at home and just ended with the two of them. I have a hard time being angry with them when where they come from is the major reason why this happened.

Nana Ama is doing well and connecting with the young singles. She always comes to YSA and institute now, you can tell it makes a big difference. Derricks came to it as well. This week was really empty on Saturday but one of the ysa girls was flirting with him... so flirt to convert right?? but he has such a packed schedule of classes on Sunday that it is difficult to have him at all three hours of church. His school has a small staff and so he has to come whenever they are around basically. We will see if things can change, hopefully soon.

Met some other good people this week, some of them knew missionaries in Accra years ago. A little early to be sure, but I think they will be able to make some good progress. Jonas prayed about the book of mormon and the spirit was so strong when he did! I was so happy! :) Anthony Met Sister missionaries in Accra and they just gave him a book of Mormon and never saw him again. When we taught him he really liked it, and towards the end was like 'do you have some book like the Book of Mormon? I've read from it before but don't really know what it is about.'............ YES WE DO HAVE SUCH A BOOK!! haha we were pretty pumped. 

Elder Turley and I have been doing good. He is still learning the area but I think he is trying his best and it is good to work with him. Some things I learned from being with Elder Monday have really helped out. Glad I learned some of those things now and not later. Your companions are your wife in training.

The temple was wonderful though and I wish that I could keep on going back through. The gratitude, the attitudes and personalities really struck me this time. Seeing the plan after having studied it much more extensively was really special. The temple is such an incredible blessing and I am grateful we have one in our mission. Seeing the contrast in there and the land we serve in was so night and day I just wish everyone could experience it once.

The Temple is the house of God, he is there. If you can, than: GO. Find yourself where you belong. Take those names that are waiting to join you. Those on the other side will bless and help you as you bless and help them. There is no place on earth as magnificent and perfected as the Lord's Temple. Until we find ourselves within, and equally immersed in the Book of Mormon, we are not having all the blessings we could have!

I love you all from Ghana and Back and to... ETERNITY-the everlasting life in our Heavenly Father's presence.

Elder Van Wagoner