I'll have to be pretty quick, our email just started working, not sure why but the mylds thing was down in our whole mission. Still we have to get somethings done still and hurry to some appointments. Mom could you forward the pictures that have Elder Ezieme inside to his email?
It was another awesome week here and I feel like we got some great things accomplished. My companions have shown me a lot, that always show me that my future companion will need to be somebody with a desire to do the Lord's work. Elder Beckett is a great Elder to serve with because he really has that desire. i.e. his efforts in trying to prepare a great zone meeting and in thinking of new ways we can contact. We decided to try three new methods of contacting this week. Should be fun to: sing when we are going to get rejected, ask strangers to take pics with us, and then to invite baptism within the first moments of contacting :)
We contacted everyone we could this week and have had some crazy conversations, good and bad, met some lady who was whispering under her breath after she would talk and the spirit most definitely said 'leave now'. But also met the coolest guy who, although crippled, was excited to know more about the church because of all the service he has seen the church do.
We have worked with some less actives that we found contacting this week and are seeing some small progress. One is Elizabeth, we saw her in her window and then she ducked down, the small boy came and told us she was sleeping. So we sat outside and sang hymns for like 20 minutes and she came out hahah just asked her a thousand questions about her self and she opened up small when we asked about hair dressing and her baby. Told her we would come and disturb again, and we surely did haha. Came again and she told us 'o myae busy kakraa, pakyo etre' (please i'm busy small, come next time). We just started talking about random life things and she opened up a lot this time! Great talk about families, hopefully we will have more to share next week about the less actives.
During the last week we some sweet lessons with Benjamin! That guy is coming along so well. The members always call him J.j. Rawlings hahaha he has a beard just like the guy! But he actually has called and texted us! Then during one lesson he told us how he had questions because some friends asked which church he went to and told them 'The church of latter-days... I mean Jesus Christ of latter-days'. That is the usual name of the church in Ghana. No one calls us 'mormons' it's always 'latter-days!' (except for the random white guy in tema who randomly showed up as we contacted people and said we were not 'born again Christians' today).
Speaking of the man, as we calmly tried to share to those that heard that we know Christ lives, some thoughts came to me.
Never at anytime in my life have I been more certain that Jesus Christ lives. Each time I read the scriptures (scriptures that no other church can provide, or explain correctly), see the church videos, or read the words of the living prophets the Spirit testifies with great power.
In Ghana people are soaked, drenched, saturated in preachings of the deceptions created by man. It is the most incredible thing to ask the right questions and have someone open up that they don't know what we believe in Christ, or something that they don't understand about him and then get to testify of the Restored Doctrine of Christ.
All of us should be bold in our declaration of the resurrected, living Jesus Christ, and His Restored Gospel. He does live, 'in the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.. As he died to make men holy, let us LIVE TO MAKE MEN FREE, while God is marching on!"
He does live. He did come to his former tomb and spoke to one of the first to seek him on that day. Can you imagine how incredible that moment was? She, consumed in her grief, confusion, hopelessness, hears the voice of the 'Good Shepherd calling her name".
'Mary',
was all he said. How special it would have been! To witness his love for her, his desire to comfort and to bless. And it is not her alone.
As I sat in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, I prayed sincerely that day for a special time. We sang "Jesus, once of Humble Birth". As the song carried on I thought about all that I wanted to rid myself of, to repent of, to become and do. Then the Spirit burned and said, "This is the very reason HE has done all these things". "once all things he meekly bore, now those things he'll bare no more! now those things he'll bare no more".
I'll add my voice to all those who testified before. I know the Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, LIVES. HE LIVES, I know that my redeemer LIVES.
I love you all from Ghana and Back and to Eternity. and he loves you beyond all that.
Elder Van Wagoner
p.s.
we taught a man this week and used the example of a man who has built a house. Wouldn't that man know every detail of the house? I explained that when I made videos at home I noticed every mistake and every detail we worked on.
The creator knows us perfectly. That is why he has done all these things. He lives and loves us to the end :)
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