Hello everyone! It was another wonderful week. It was transfer week, so there was a lot that went on, and I have plenty to share.
To start off, I stayed in my area of Nkawkaw, but I was given a new companion. His name is Elder Adu; he's native to Ghana and is actually about an hour away from his home. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I was on a mission only an hour away from home! So, props to him. So far, he's way cool. The reason the name of the email this week is "cowboys and Africans" is because the first thing Elder Adu did when he got to the apartment was to look at the pictures I have taped to the wall. One of them is me and my buddies all dressed up, and we have our cowboy hats on. He says, "Wow! I thought it was supposed to be cowboys and Indians, not cowboys and Africans." That is how I know we are going to get along great! I think we are going to have a great time this transfer. It's interesting to have to get adjusted to new people again. It's not a bad thing by any means, but I feel like I just got comfortable, and they throw me another curveball. But it is what it is. I better get used to it now because I've got a long road of readjusting ahead of me.
On another note, I had one of the biggest testimony building experiences yet. I testify to you that God is real. If you are willing to keep His commandments, He is willing to bless you, even when you think the odds aren't riding with you. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. Anything is possible. To start off the story, I first need to explain how you go about getting power in Ghana. If you want power, you have to prepay for that power. So, about every two weeks, we go and buy two weeks' worth of power. How much we use depends on how fast our power runs out. It's no big deal if you run out of power; we buy one day of reserve power. So we know that when we run out, we have one day to buy more. To buy more power, you just run down to the prepay shack and pay the dude. There is a credit card that you give the power guy along with the prepaid money. He types something into his computer, gives you the card back, and you are good to go. The only thing you have to do now is when you get back to the apartment, you need to swipe the power card on the meter, and it allows the power to come into the house. Also, when you run out of your main power and you want to access the reserve, you swipe the card again, and it will turn on reserve power.
So, with all that being said, this is where the story gets interesting. We ran out of power last Monday, so we swiped the card and turned on the reserve power on Monday at noon. That means we would run out of reserve power on Tuesday at noon. No big deal, we planned on buying power on Tuesday. Keep in mind that transfer day was Wednesday, and Elder Bloomfield was leaving on transfer. So, Tuesday was the day before he left, and it was the day to pack his things and say goodbye to everyone before he leaves.
As we were going about our business on Tuesday, scrambling to see everyone he wanted to say goodbye to, we forgot to buy power. We returned to the apartment in the evening, only to remember that we completely spaced out on buying power. We got home around 8:30 pm or so, and the prepay shacks close at about 5 pm. So, there was no way to buy some this late at night. We found ourselves in a sticky situation; no power at night means no fan, and that means no sleep. Not to mention, Elder Bloomfield had yet to pack his things, so that was going to take place in the dark.
Saddened and a little ticked off by the situation, we figured that we ought to quit our pouting, humble ourselves before the Lord, and say a prayer asking for His help. And so we did. In the prayer, we explained the situation and asked that if it be according to Thy will, that a miracle may be worked. When the prayer was over, I swiped the prepay card, and nothing happened. I was a little saddened but not surprised. I put the card back in my wallet and turned my back to the meter. As Elder Bloomfield and I were about to walk into the house, the meter clicked, and the lights came on! We were running on God's power, baby! We looked at each other in shock and pure awe. We just witnessed a miracle.
Immediately after we were done freaking out about how cool that was, we took to our knees and thanked the good Lord above. The power lasted all night, and as soon as we got up to head to transfers, the power ran out. God was blessing us, and I love how the power only lasted as long as we needed it. I promise you that the Lord is much closer to us than we think He is. If I hadn't come on my mission, I would have never realized this. God only wants to help us, but we must first want to follow His commandments first. And when we do, I promise you we are blessed. I know He lives, and I assure you that miracles don't only happen to certain people; they happen to everyone. I encourage you, if you aren't living your life in accordance with God's teachings, to change! Change so you can also experience these miracles and feel God's love. We were given these commandments for a reason. And oh, how blessed we can be if we choose to follow them.
3 Nephi 12:19-20 says, "And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled. Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
I hope you all enjoyed my letter this week, and I love and miss you all. Until next week,
Sincerely - Elder Gilbert
For my pictures this week I have a few before Elder Bloomfield left pictures with members. Elder Riley found a wig and we all put it on and took pictures but it definitely looked best on him. My new companion. Mainstreet of Nkawkaw. Me and some wonderful branch members.