Sunburnt Guy In Africa

Well, it's been another week! If you just want to look at the photos, I have a link down at the bottom, but you are all invited to read. Man, it was a super busy week. So I said last week we are at the beginning of the rainy season, and that is the truth. It has rained every other day here. The rain storms are really quite cool. One minute it will be 100 degrees and clear skies, and 10 minutes later, it's pouring rain. This email is going to be fairly long, so bear with me, and I hope you enjoy.

This week, I had district council on Tuesday morning, so the elders from the neighboring town came down, and we had our meeting. I have been missing American food something fierce. So I forked up some cash and bought the only decent hamburger I could find, and man, I have been enjoying it. One of the elders in our apartment is about 1 year and 6 months into his mission, so he has some connections if we are in need of some American food. But it comes at a cost. The hamburger was about 80 cedis for 4 lbs, that's about $13 American dollars, so really it's not that bad, but that's a pretty penny here. My apartment provided the hamburger, and the elders from the neighboring town provided the cheese, which was hard for them to find, and when they did find cheddar cheese, they had to buy a 10 lbs block of it for about 210 cedis. But hey, I got to enjoy a cheeseburger while in Africa, totally worth it.

So I didn't know this, but white people have a totally different type of hair than Africans, so there isn't a barber in all of Ghana that could cut my hair without destroying it. Thankfully, Elder Riley came in clutch with some hair clippers, so I slapped a trash bag on, and he went crazy. Man, he gave me the best fade an Idaho boy could ask for. It actually looks really good, considering it was done under the one light bulb in the apartment.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we had an exchange with the elders that came from Npraeso (the neighboring town), and it's beautiful up there. I got some pictures I will include of it down below in the link, but it was definitely cool to learn a different teaching style and to meet new people. On Thursday, I had another exchange, but with the zone leaders. It was in my area, so I went and talked to all of the people that I have been teaching.

For my spiritual message this week, I'm going to talk a little bit about Satan and how he seeks the misery of all mankind. When we follow the temptations of Satan, we limit our choices. Imagine you are on a seashore, and there is a sign that states, "danger- whirlpool, no swimming allowed here." We may think that is a restriction, but is it? We still have many choices. We are free to swim somewhere else, walk along the seashore, pick up seashells, watch the sunset, go home, and we are also free to ignore the sign and swim in the dangerous place. But once the whirlpool or Satan has us in its grasp and we are pulled under, we have very few choices. We can try to escape or call for help, but we may drown. Even though we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose our consequence. With that being said, we can choose how tight of a grip Satan has on our lives. And I'm speaking from experience, I could have chosen to walk along the shore and watch the sunset, but instead, I ignored the sign because I thought the whirlpool looked kind of fun. I got dragged in and spun around a few times, and luckily, God was able to hear my cry for help. In conclusion, listen to the "warning signs"; they are everywhere, you just need to listen or watch for them. Life is much better when you have a choice, and also, don't let Satan have a chance to drag you down into the water because once he does, it's hard to get back out.

Anyways, that's all that's on my mind this week until next time!

For this week's photos, I have one of me getting a haircut, a few scenery photos, and a bag of water. They are called water sachets here, and it's how we drink a good 90% of our water. They are super convenient, and when you are thirsty, just bite the corner and sip. For the food, Jollof rice with chicken and cabbage, Wagashi, which is made with milk, it's kind of like a cheese curd but the African version. The picture with me and my companion with drinks, the drink is called Sobalo, it's made with hibiscus and other flowers and ginger, it's super spicy and one of my all-time favorite drinks. Now we also went to minister to the sick at the hospital this week. For any of you that have seen MASH, the hospital reminded me of MASH, all the beds super close together.

Sunburnt Guy In Africa

It's been another week! Time is cruising along. This week was eventful and honestly full of some pretty great memories. It's almost rainy season here in Nkawkaw, so it has cooled down slightly, but the humidity has gotten much worse. But the cooler temps combat the humidity fairly well. Something cool that happened was I had never seen a cockroach in my life until two nights ago. I stay in a four-man apartment, and we are always up chatting. It was getting fairly late around 10:30 on Saturday evening, and Elder Riley walked into the kitchen. My companion and I were in bed, almost asleep by this time, and we hear a scream followed by Elder Riley's croc flying into the hallway at about the speed of light. I get up and rush to see what was going on. Well, he had walked into the kitchen and saw a big roach, so he tried to kill it. But apparently, those suckers can fly, so it scared him, and he just started throwing his shoes in an attempt to kill it (it's a pretty noble move, in my opinion). I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that there was a live roach in the house, so we decided to go hunting. Elder Riley's weapon of choice was his croc, and my weapon of choice was a nice stick. Elder Bloomfield held a flashlight. We each had an important and equal role with one objective in mind: find and kill. So we set off into the depths of our cabinets, looking like a bunch of cavemen, only to find there wasn't one cockroach; there were many of them. I don't get scared too easily, but when there is a family of cockroaches flying directly toward your face, things get a little WESTERN. We fought and battled till about midnight. We had a pile of dead cockroaches, but we weren't able to get them all. That's a job for another day, but in the end, I think we came out on top!

I am starting to build up relationships with some of the people here in Nkawkaw. It's getting easier for me to communicate and understand what people are saying, although I do not speak Twi. I am learning every day, and I can now greet people in Twi. I may have a lot to learn, but just as my dad says, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

It is crazy to me how much the gospel can change lives, and how prayers are truly answered. We are teaching a preacher named Frank from a different church. We contacted him on the streets. At first, he didn't seem interested in our message, but we insisted and set a time to meet up and talk. We served Frank first by fetching his water for him. Then, we left him with a small gospel message and a Book of Mormon. We asked him to read and pray and to ask for himself if the things we teach are true.

The next day, we got a call from Frank. He would like to meet up with us again and has questions about the Book of Mormon. Come to find out, he had read a good chunk of the book and testified to us that he knew these things to be true. I find it amazing how God works. Frank is a pastor, and his job is to preach. He is a devout member of a completely different church but decided that all he knew was wrong. He cannot come to our church as of right now because preaching his sermons on Sundays is how he makes money to feed his family. We teach him almost daily, and I have faith that he will further come unto Christ.

Anyways, enough of that! For this week's photos, I put them into a Google Drive. So, if you would just click the link, it will take you to an album with all of my photos on it. There are a few pictures of food. The picture with the red oil is a peanut stew which is enjoyed with yam, and the other is kenke, which is fermented cornmeal ball and a fish stew to accompany it. There is a video of me scared to death in this ghetto taxi that was at a discounted price to ride in, and I know why it was discounted. There was smoke from the engine rolling into the cab through the vents. It was an experience to say the least. The picture of me and my companion with the matching ties is a picture of us with Frank. And there are also videos of me and Elder Bloomfield peeling yam and grinding up onion for the peanut stew.

I hope you all enjoy. I love and miss you all. Until next time.

The White Guy In Africa!

Wow! This place is wild! I am finally out of the MTC, and I have been in the mission field for about a week, and that has made all the difference. I was sent to the Nkawkaw area, which is pronounced like "New Coco," area which is about three hours southeast of Kumasi. I love it here. Life is definitely not the same here as it is in the States. There are so many things that I took for granted in the States.

Plumbing is definitely something that I miss, although I am getting pretty good at bucket showers and having to bucket water to flush the toilet. Most of the transportation is done by foot. I call it driving my "lamborfeeties." Every now and then, we will take a tro-tro, which is basically a super ghetto taxi. There are no rules for driving here, so it's just total chaos. No speed limits, no turning signals. It's actually kind of cool to learn how to live without many of the everyday things we have in America. The power is not reliable here at all. We don't have power like 60% of the time, but it's all good. Who needs lights anyway? The only light I actually need in my life is the light of God.

The food here is very different. I am still eating a ton of rice and a lot of fish. Plantains are popular, along with yams and eggs. Fufu is the main Ghanaian dish. It's not too bad, honestly, but it takes some getting used to for sure. The food is extremely spicy, especially the food called "pepe." It's basically a pico but crazy spicy, and they put pepe on literally everything. There have been times where sweat is pouring from my forehead, my nose is running, and I can't breathe nor taste the food cause it's so hot, but I'm getting used to it, so that's a positive.

I am very blessed for the companion I received. I got paired with Elder Bloomfield from Arizona. He's the coolest, and we get along great. I appreciate him showing me the ropes of Africa. If it weren't for him, I would be a little lost country boy. Also, a big thanks to my zone leader, Elder Riley, whose uncle was my boss in the States. God's hand has definitely been a part of this transfer. If I could explain Ghana in a few words, it would be hot, ghetto, and fun. I am so blessed and excited to continue my mission here in Ghana. Although I may miss the States and the many luxuries that come with living there, this is the place that I need to be. God has a plan for each of us, and I have seen His hand in my life many times since I have been here. Africa is wild, and there are big things happening here every day. I love being able to see the change in people's lives who are willing to listen to our message of the gospel. One of the topics in the Preach My Gospel book is "the gospel blesses individuals and families," and oh, how it truly does. The ones who are willing to listen to our message have dramatic change in their life from bad to good. I love this gospel and the spirit and blessings that it brings. I love and miss you all. I appreciate all of the good words and wishes that I have been emailed. I'm sorry if this email was too long. I just had a lot of things to say! I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will talk to you next time!

The first few photos are of my area. I haven't gotten any photos of the market yet, but I will here soon. The first food photo I have is of the main dish in Ghana fufu. Also I got to see elder Crossley at transfer it was good to talk to him and see someone that I knew! There is also a picture of some of the wonderful artwork from here in Africa!

White Guy In Africa

Hello from Africa! I have been at this MTC for two weeks now, and it has been an experience to say the least. It has also been the slowest two weeks of my entire life. It has been the biggest mental struggle of my life, but I am working my way through it with a lot of help from the Lord. We have been kept in the MTC the whole time, so I haven't been able to get out and experience anything yet. But I will be leaving for the field in a week, and I have never been so excited for something. I am ready to get out of this MTC. It has been an amazing learning experience. I start my day at 6:30 am, sit in class all day, and get back to my room at about 9:30 pm. Although I sit in class all day, I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of this wonderful religion.

The food here is kind of crazy. We eat a lot of rice and chicken, a lot of fish, and goat soup is very popular too. None of it tastes too bad, but I am definitely not used to it yet. But I imagine I will be adjusted to everything here shortly! In conclusion, I am so very grateful for this experience. I love this religion, and the spirit that I feel here is unlike any other I have ever felt before. The spirit is so very strong, and although I may struggle sometimes, I know that this is where I am supposed to be at this time in my life, and that has been confirmed to me time and time again. Until next time - Sincerely, The white guy in Africa.