Fufu Congolese

Hello everyone! I'm happy it's Monday! This week has been so much better than last week. I have been making some small improvements.

Last Monday, I was still very sick, so I didn't do a single thing but talk to my family, which made me happy.

Tuesday was the day I made a decent recovery. I was still sick, but I was feeling much better than the previous days. We had district council, and after that, we had appointments. We are teaching a man named Neilson, who has been coming to church quite faithfully. He works at a welding shop, and he is progressing well. Every time we go over to his shop, I tell him that I can weld and try to get him to let me, but he hasn't let me yet.

On Wednesday, I went and showed my companion a chop bar. We ate rice ball and ground nut soup. He fell in love with it and hasn't stopped talking about it yet. Also, that day, we got a random call from a guy named Nicholas. He lived in our area and said he wanted to meet with us. We met with him that evening, and he impressed us both. I had never met Nicholas before, but he had found a pamphlet with Elder Adu and my name and number on it. He said he is tired of all the Ghana churches. He spoke very little English, but with the help of a member and the Holy Ghost, we were able to teach him.

Thursday was a full day of proselyting. We are trying to find time for everyone. The Lord has blessed us with plenty of potentials, and the issue is having the time and stamina to meet with all of them. Not a bad problem to have. The people we are focusing on for this transfer are progressing well, and things are going well. In the evening, we headed to Mpraeso for an exchange with the district leader. So I got to spend the night with Elder Riley, his companion, and the district leader and his companion. It was a blast.

Friday was my exchange in Mpraeso. It was so nice to go see and proselyte in a different area. Just to see new people and new things made me happy. It was also awesome to hang out with other elders for the day. I helped a family pound fufu, and Elder Alger and I enjoyed some fufu with palm nut soup to polish off the day.

On Saturday, we were back in our own area. Earlier in the week, our sink tap had broken, so we had no water in the apartment for like 3 days, which sucked. But on Saturday, the plumber arrived and fixed the sink. Bless his heart. I have been in a fufu kick this entire week. All I have wanted to eat has been fufu. So we found a fufu restaurant. It was nice, and I will be going back there, but I took a video of the restaurant. I think you will like it.

Sunday was a great Sabbath day. We had three investigators come to church, one of them being Nicolas, the new guy we met on Wednesday. When we met him, he had questions about tithing, and we answered them and didn't think anything about it. He rolled up to church on Sunday and, after the service, told us he wanted to pay tithes. My jaw hit the floor. Most members don't pay tithes, so for an investigator that we met just a few days prior to want to pay tithing was pretty awesome. Plus, he is a farmer, and farmers make little to no money, so it was pretty tender that he was so willing to give what he did have.

I think that's all I have for this week. I have felt all of your prayers, and I have made a recovery from whatever sickness I was experiencing. It almost did me in, but I am so grateful for all of the love and support I have from all of you. Love and miss you all, and I'll talk to you next week.

Photos this week include:

Exchange with Elder Alger

The fufu joint

Me pounding fufu

I found a guy carrying around a wooden gun he made, so I got a picture with it.

Ghetto bridges in Mpraeso

An investigator's baby.

Holy Family Hospital

Hello everyone! How is everything going? Some people might be starting school up, so good luck!

This week started off really well. On Monday, we had a market day, so we went and got the essentials. Then we ate fufu with a new investor we have been teaching. Her name is Marium, and she is Muslim, but she seems to enjoy what we have to share with her. So, I hope and pray that it goes somewhere.

On Tuesday, we had a zone conference. So, Monday night, we had all of the Mpraeso elders and Akouasi elders come to our apartment and stay the night because the tro tro leaves at 5:30 am. So, we had about ten elders in our apartment. It was a full house! Zone Conference was awesome. I loved seeing all of my friends and people in the zone. The instruction was about going all in. So, pretty much just putting all of your efforts into becoming a consecrated missionary. It was a good time!

Wednesday, we hit the proselytizing hard. We made our rounds seeing all of our elect and teaching them lessons. They are progressing quite well. It was a pretty normal day, just trying to work hard.

Thursday was almost identical to Wednesday, except towards the end of Thursday, I started feeling pretty sick. I had a runny tummy and was feeling quite nauseous, but I endured through the night, not getting much sleep at all.

Friday, I was beat. After not sleeping the night before and hitting the bathroom about every hour, I couldn't really do much. But I still managed to proselytize most of the day. I was feeling so sick, so I called Sister Moomey, our mission nurse. She instructed me to go to the Holy Family Hospital. So that night, I packed a few things and went to the hospital. Now, I have been to the hospital once when I was not sick, and it wasn't a great experience. Now going when I'm really sick only made the experience worse. I finally was able to check in after 45 minutes of sitting there. They took all my vitals and put me in line to see a doctor. After about an hour of waiting, I was able to get into the office. The doctor sat me down, asked me my symptoms, and I told her all of the problems I had and things I have been doing to try and help myself. She said, "OK," and then told me to go to the pharmacy, and they will give me meds. I tried asking questions to maybe find out what I was being prescribed, but I couldn't get a clear English answer. Anyway, after trying to pry for a minute, I realized this wasn't going anywhere, so I just went to go get the meds to see what they are. This hospital is all outdoors except for the emergency room and the doctor's office. So, I went to the pharmacy, and the way it works is when you check-in, you are given an identity card. When the doctor prescribes you something, they prescribe it to your name on the computer. You give the lady working the pharmacy counter your card. She will look you up and give you a receipt. Now, before you can have your medication, you have to walk over to the other side of the hospital with the receipt you were given and pay for your meds at the bank stand. It's super ghetto. Anyway, I got my receipt and made my way to the bank portion of the hospital. The banker wasn't in, so I waited probably about 5 minutes, and he showed up, thank goodness, but of course, there was a line of people. As I wait in line, my sickness worsens quickly. However, I want to pay for my meds and get them quickly, hoping they will help me. Finally, my turn comes, and I hand my receipt to the banker. Sweat drips from my forehead, and tunnel vision sets in. Clearly, something is wrong, so I ask Elder Willden, my companion, to get me some water. As soon as he leaves, I pass out, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the ER. Nurses surround me, and I have an IV attached, which I think is filled with saline. I try to figure out what happened, but nobody speaks English. I'm grateful to be awake and alive, but I'm lost and don't know where my companion is. Elder Willden tries to find me water but can't in the hospital. He goes to a small shop across the street and eventually finds me. Fortunately, being the only white people, it's easy to find where I am. The reason for my passing out is low blood sugar, and food won't stay in my stomach long enough to help. After an hour, I get discharged and get my medication. Sister Moomey tells me not to take the meds as they're all wrong and won't help. I rest as much as possible that night, but it's not much.

The miracle I experienced is that before I blacked out, I met Jordan, who wanted to know more about the church. After I woke up and got stable, the nurses and doctors who were helping me asked many questions about the church, and despite being weak, the Lord enabled me to answer every one of them. We even walked away with a few new phone numbers.

On Saturday, I rested most of the day except for a few hours of proselytizing, which was a terrible idea. I came back and slept. On Sunday, we had a baptism for my brother Joseph, whom Elder Adu and I found last transfer, and for the branch president's daughter, Olivia. I'm proud and happy for both, especially Joseph, who has found someone to teach within 24 hours of becoming a member.

Overall, I'm still very sick, but I have good people taking care of me, and I'm grateful for all the prayers from everyone. They have blessed me tremendously, and things could have been much worse. I'm also thankful for guardian angels who protect me. Don't worry about me; I'm thriving, but I would love your continued prayers. I love all of you, and I'll talk to you next week!

~Elder Gilbert

Pictures from this week:

I made crepes for breakfast one morning. They were great.

Eating Fufu with our new investor, Mariam.

Ghana church making noise.

Baptism photos.

Pork Chops

Hello everyone! I hope all is well and that you are enjoying the last bit of summer before it ends.

Things have been good for me. It's been cloudy and cool, which is a nice change from the scorching heat. There's been a lot going on lately. I've really been putting my nose to the grindstone and getting things done, so here are a few highlights from the week!

Monday was a good day. We didn't do much, which was nice. We pounded fufu with Clementina and called it a day. It was awesome.

Tuesday we had district council and a ton of appointments, so it was a super busy day. We were able to accomplish everything. We met a new contact named Solomon. He's a cool dude and he works at the Fan Milk store that sells bagged ice cream. Every time we go to teach him, we get a nice treat! It's the little things that make you happy.

Wednesday was a wild day. I have been wanting some nice pork meat, which is impossible to find because of the heavy Muslim population. But I asked around and found a member who has a pig he was getting ready to kill, and he was willing to sell us some of the meat I wanted. Somehow I ended up being the butcher! If I had known this, I would not have been in proselyting clothes because I got blood all over me. But it is what it is. I helped the member kill the pig, burn the hair off, and cut it all up. It was a process and a half, and not having the correct tools made it much more difficult. I was okay with everything, but my companion was a little horrified with the process. All I'm going to say is be thankful that you can go to the store and buy nice, clean, refrigerated meat.

Thursday we met a monkey named Kilo. He's a pimp, but he's scared of white people. He warmed up to us, though.

Friday was packed with appointments. We have found a few promising people who are looking to come closer to Jesus Christ. The good thing for them is we have exactly what they need!

Saturday was awesome. We went farming with a member who has a big farm in the jungle where he farms plantain, coco, cassava, yam, and okra. We headed for the hills at 7:00 am and worked there until about 11:00 am. We planted about 50 plantain trees. It was great. It was also cool to just be in the mountains again. It's rainforest, so it's not the same, but it's what I've got. There's a super cool tree we found that they call a rope tree, and it apparently has some really cool medical purposes. But it doesn't grow like a normal tree. It grows vertically and winds up and around other trees. He also had a nice trapping setup where he traps bushmeat. After we were done with the farm, we did our normal proselyting and ended the day at 8:00 pm, so a solid 13 hours of work made for a good day.

Sunday we had three investigators come to church, which is always nice. After church, we did some service and called it a day.

All in all, it was a packed week, but it was so good. I've been studying in 3rd Nephi, and I'm right at the point of Jesus Christ's death. I love to see how seamlessly the Bible and the Book of Mormon match up. Right at the time of Jesus' death is where it is most prominent to me. I love having such a valuable tool in such a crazy modern day.

I hope you all enjoy the new week, and I will talk to you all next time.

~Elder Gilbert

This week's photos:

A video of the rope tree and a few pictures of me and my companion sitting on it, and some with me and the member in front of it.

Butchering up the pig.

Kilo the pimp monkey.

Beautiful sunset.

A video of the farm work. I was digging holes for plantain trees.

And if you are queasy, I would suggest not watching the video of the pig being butchered.

Also, a picture of me cleaning the meat before I froze it.

Bingo, Bango, Zongo

Hello everyone! I'm so happy it's Monday. It's been a crazy week, and I am in need of this rest.

Monday, we were supposed to head to the market to buy foodstuffs, but no one in the mission had any money. I think it was a holiday in Utah, and the banks were closed, but it turned out to be a blessing because we all got new companions on Wednesday, so we just ended up going to the market with them.

Tuesday was my last day with Elder Adu. I really enjoyed having him as a companion. I sure will miss him, but life moves on. I will take everything he taught me, put it to use, and hopefully, I will get to see him again. I had a blast with him, and I made memories I will never forget.

Wednesday was the big day. I woke up at 4 am and picked a tro tro to Kumasi. I got to the mission office and went to a trainer's meeting with President. He talked about the importance of exact obedience. After that, my trainee was assigned to me. His name is Elder Willden from Pleasant View, Utah. He's super cool. We enjoy a lot of the same things and have a lot of the same views. He's a pimp. I'm excited to train him.

Thursday, we went to the market, picked up all the necessary things, and got to introduce him to all that crazy. He was slightly overwhelmed after seeing the market. But I explained to him that by going to the market, we are literally jumping right into the fire, so it only gets better from there. Other than that, he's handling stuff like a champ! I'm so happy I had the same experiences, so I can help him the best way possible.

Friday to Sunday, I'm just showing Elder Willden the reins and trying not to think about the Preston Rodeo. I'm honestly happy that it's over so I can stop thinking about it because that was painful. I only gotta miss one more rodeo. But we were grinding pretty hard this week. We have been spending a ton of time in Zongo. That's where all of the Muslims live, so the work is hard, but we have found some people who are interested, so we will see how that goes.

Anyways, super busy, super fun week. I've been working hard and keeping things moving forward. That's all I got for this week. Talk to you next time! ~Elder Gilbert

Photos and videos:

Eating Kenkey - it's fermented corn dough. It's kind of like banku, but they let it ferment longer, so it's much more sour. It's mostly eaten with Pepe and fish.

I made Bonku. I first had to mix all the corn powder with my hand and then stir it. We got to enjoy Bonku after we made it with Pepe, onion, and sardine. It was good.

We gave haircuts on Saturday night. I gave up on having hair; it's too hot, so I got a buzz cut.

Pounding fufu - it looks way easy, but it's actually pretty difficult. You gotta time it just right, so you don't smash some fingers.