Hello everyone! I love to see that home has been getting so much snow. I'm sure y'all are sick of it, but this too shall pass. Anyways, on the other side of the world, it was a great week. Lots of new adventures took place, so let me tell you about it.
First off, I was transferred out of Tamale and into my new area of Sefwi Bekwai Humjibre! This area is 100% opposite of Tamale, and I am seriously in love with this place. So, Bekwai is about 3 hours south of Kumasi. It's another 30-minute Pragya ride into Humjibre. The missionary apartment is in Bekwai because it is the closest decent-sized town to Humjibre. A few of the reasons I love Humjibre so much are because, one, this place is a VILLAGE! Every day I get to travel 30 minutes deep into the jungle to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So cool! Also, everyone in Humjibre is a farmer, so I feel right at home. Farmers don't make much money, especially in Ghana, and even less because they are in the middle of the jungle. So, basically, seka no dey plenty, and because of that, the people here are so humble and so willing to listen to what you have to say. I believe it is because they recognize their reliance on God to see them through every day. They already know that it is by God's grace that they have food to eat and a place to sleep. It's truly an experience. Also, this place is just freaking beautiful. I missed all of the lush green forest. So, I am happy to be back.
My new companion is Elder Kennedy. He is from Liberia. He is super cool, and I'm pumped to spend some time with him.
One of the cool things about Humjibre is that when I got here, the church went from a group to a branch! So, for right now, we worship in a schoolhouse. This week we upgraded to plastic chairs, and it is much better than the short school desks they were using before. So, luckily, I only got to worship with the wooden school desks for one week. Those things are not comfortable.
Also, this week we had a baptism for our sister Afua Kyeiwaa and her three kids. They are an awesome family who are truly centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One tough aspect of southern areas is no one speaks any English, and I only speak so much Twi. Once my vocabulary runs out, we have to tote around a translator to teach our investigators. And this family was one of those cases. Communication may be difficult at times, but you can still see the righteous desires of others.
The church is trying to rent a building for us to worship in. So, my companion and I got to go put up the church signboard. It was pretty easy work, but the Ghana sun and the heat made it a little worse, and we were sweating buckets, but we got it done!
This week in my personal studies, I have been bouncing around from studying the New Testament to studying the Prophets' talks from past general conferences.
Something that I have learned is that in a world that is so obsessed with material items and needing to have this and that, we are really missing the big picture. Sure, it is nice to have nice material possessions, and for some things, it is necessary. But let's take a gander at the big picture for a second.
We will all eventually die. It depends on how we live our lives and what we do during our time on Earth, whether we will obtain eternal salvation. I firmly believe that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenant path can provide us with this salvation. Even if you possess everything in the world, such as millions of dollars in the bank, 14 cars, 9 houses, and a brand new iPhone, you still won't have salvation unless you follow Jesus Christ and make a covenant or a promise with God. This reminds me of a scripture in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 5:8, which states that "there is no other name given whereby salvation cometh." Therefore, I urge you to focus on the one thing that will give you eternal salvation, something that goes beyond the grave, and that is Jesus Christ.
We can only take our knowledge with us to the grave. In a world that is so focused on material possessions, I encourage you to be different and focus on eternal salvation. Anyways, I have spent way too long staring at this phone! So I hope you all enjoy your week, and once again, I appreciate the feedback that you give me. Thank you! ~Elder Gilbert
Photos this week:
Snails
Palmnuts
Schoolhouse Chapel
Carrying chairs for church
New companion
A few pictures from around my area, including:
Installing a new signboard
Banku
Roasted plantain
