New Companion-Elder Jones

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? :) I hope you are all had a great Christmas and have had fun playing in the snow. I LOVED talking with you and skyping on Christmas Day. 

Last week Elder Jones and I had an okay week. He is a great guy you know? He has a pretty serious girlfriend back home and I kind of make fun of him for it because he tells me he is not getting married till 2020, but I think it will be more like 2018 ha-ha!

So Monday came around and we had a zone activity at the Winneba Chapel. We played some games and ate some fried rice so that was a lot of fun! I am not good at playing football like the Ghanaians,  but it was fun!

On Tuesday Elder Jones and I had a slow day, but we did see Bianaca and met a group of guys and had a nice lesson with them and that was really nice!

Wednesday was another slow day, but Elder Jones and I did see a less active named Delove and pretty cool story actually, is that Delove is Theopolius' younger brother. Crazy right? Well he told us flat out that he knew he was less active due to boarding for S.H.S. but he promised that he would be better especially since he vacated from school and that was pretty nice.

Thursday rolled around and Elder Jones and I saw Martha and she is doing really and is just super sweet.

On Friday I got the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Griffin! So he is Elder Wightman's companion and he came with me to my area and he is just 2 transfers behind me (so in Elder Montgomery's group) and it was a really slow day .Everything fell through, which was tough, but we did our best to talk to everyone we met and actually we saw this kid and he was playing football and we played with him and he was saying" give me money, my mother died,  my father died" and of course we could tell he was lying, but we did get some pictures together and I got to wear his hat for a second ha-ha! Elder Griffin is a cool guy who is 19 years old and he actually is going to SUU to become a doctor/Side career in Acting, so that's cool!

On Saturday our whole zone was in Winneba for Leadership training/ Carols Night... Okay so on  the way there though we took a tro as always  but we got through some bumpy parts because they don't  repave roads often, but we hit this bump and we got airborne for like a second or less and it was fun! Riding in Tros is like riding in Roller Coasters :) You never know what to expect. But eventually we got to the meeting and the Accra west missionaries are there and they make plans with the wards there and President Hill talks to them about their plans and he seems like he is going to do a lot of great things! That night we had Carols Night and the missionaries actually sung and that was fun! I also got some I am proud to be Mormon bracelets and I gave some to our recent converts  (I kept one for myself) but it was a fun night!

On Sunday it was a good day at church.  Paa Joe came to church \which was good! SO we will hope the best for him :) we saw Georgina and Elizabeth and talked about the Book of Mormon and it was really good, and we saw Isaac Ampnosh but he was drunk and we gave him the "We won't be coming back" type of deal but I hope the best for him and that he will follow Jesus Christ. We told him that when he come s to church then we will go and see him again. That night we saw Stella and we went over some commandments and that was really great!

That's all from this week! This week we had zone conference for Christmas (the zone is did a gift exchange in the morning and then we got to call home :))  So this week is going to be a good week, and hopefully I can serve these people and truly remember the Savior always. I hope you all have a happy holiday. 

Love,

Elder Harward

Matilda's Baptism and Goodbye Elder Montgomery

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? Are you all excited for Christmas? :) I love it when they play Christmas music here in Ghana because it reminds me a little bit of home. So guess what? It's Hamattan! (Or the Dry Season) It has officially started as of Friday. I was looking at the air and I was thinking "Why is it so foggy?" But Elder Wightman explained that it's the dust from the Sahara Desert blowing over here and so and it will last for a couple of months or so. So it's foggy every day kind of reminding me of winter, but definitely not anything close to what you guys are experiencing. 

Okay so as for this week!  On Monday we had a zone activity at Winneba Beach! We had A LOT of fun and Elder Montgomery and I brought our Christmas Hats and took pictures on top of the boat and we had a good time. That night Elder Montgomery and I went to FHE with Elder Wightman and Elder Kavilata to Brother Fred and His family's home. They made us DELICIOUS FuFu with Light soup and I really enjoyed it! (They make REALLY good Light soup) After wards we only had a small time but Elder Kavilata and Elder Montgomery said good bye and Brother Fred shared a great scripture in Mosiah about being born on God and it was a nice FHE.

On Tuesday we had District Meeting and Elder Larsen (Our Zone leader) gave one of his lasts instructions and it was on remembering and he really focused on Lesson 1 and the points of Lesson 1 and what we can do to improve as missionaries and that was a really neat lesson! After that Elder Montgomery and I saw Matilida in the evening and we just finished up Lesson 4 with her and Matilde is doing really well. After That Elder Montgomery and I saw Sister Vida and Theolopus and we just watched Finding Faith In Christ with them because we thought they were leaving soon, but Theodosius told us that he didn't want to Sister Vida to travel in December and so they won't do the Knocking or Bride Price until January 1st so hopefully all will go well with that, but we just really wanted them to keep pressing forward and really follow the savior.

We saw this little girl who had a SUU shirt. I asked her if she knew what her shirt meant, but she didn't. But it made me think of home.

Wednesday and Thursday were both pretty slow days but Elder Montgomery and I were able to see Matilde both Days. On Wednesday Elder Montgomery and I stayed for Mutual and Elder Montgomery taught the youth how to sing and I did a small role play where I was an old man and the youth came over and were showing to me service and that was fun. As for Matilde on Wednesday we finished Lesson 5 and Thursday we interviewed the Baptismal interview questions and got her information and she really understood it and truly was ready for Baptism. (We also confirmed her Mother's permission to baptize her so that was amazing!!!) On Friday I went on exchanges with Elder Kavilata and that's when Hamattan started and it was a good day. It was a holiday (Farmer's day) and everybody was gone so our appointments fell through but we did go to Richards Baptismal Interview and he passed! After that the family brought out Cocotena (Face the Wall) which is like a softer FuFu but it's weird because the dough is hot and not the soup but it was pretty good! Elder Wightman and Elder Montgomery came right as we were eating and Matilde Passed her Interview and she asked Elder Montgomery to baptize her and that was really neat!!!

 

Finally it was Saturday and our apartment went to Chapel Cleaning in the Morning and then came back home and did our studies and eventually we Had Matilde’s and Richard's Baptisms (We combined with 3rd ward0 and it was SO great! The service was spiritual (I got to talk on the Holy Ghost) and the Holy Ghost really was testifying there at the service and it was so great. I am SO grateful that Elder Montgomery and I get to be an instrument in the Lord's hands because it is his work and if we listen to the spirit and follow its promptings we will always find those who the lord needs us to find. After the baptism our district headed to Ryan's Restaurant to await Transfer news and our zone is last (Winenba) so it takes a while but after we eat us all split up and we got back to the apartment. We sit down and then we go the call from the zone leaders, so here we go.... I am staying yay! I wasn't surprised by that, but my new c companions name is Elder Jones. There are two Elder Jones in the Mission and I know both (One is my in my MTC group and one is in the office) so I don't know who is coming but I ready to work hard these last 6 weeks before Accra West comes in. (This is the last transfer I will be here for sure because next transfer everyone goes for sure). I Was Sad to see Montgomery go but that night we took our Christmas Pictures and they are awesome! (Did you see the lights in the background!? IT really is looking like Christmas!)

On Sunday we had Fast and Testimony Meeting. Matilda was confirmed a member and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost and it was amazing! Elder Montgomery gave his last testimony and it was sad, and the ward will miss him. After Church we had to go home and Get Elder Montgomery y Packed because he was leaving on Monday then on Wednesday (which is usually when people switch around) but after he got packed, we headed over to Aboso to have a party with the other Elders and it was fun!

Our District

Today I actually said goodbye to Elder Montgomery and that was hard. I will miss him, but I learned so much from him and we had some great moments together. I know he is going to do great things in Liberia and that the Lord has great things in store for him. Anyways that is all here from me. I I hope you all have a good week! Enjoy the weather okay? :)

Love,

Elder Harward

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? It feels weird to think that the holidays are here. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I want you all to know that I am thankful for all of you guys and hope the best for you all. :)

This week we had a Zone Activity at the Zone Leader's chapel and we roasted a pig! Elder Kaivelta and Elder Kano took care of the cooking while the rest of us talked and played games at the chapel. We played dodge ball as districts and had a tournament, but unfortunately our district got out pretty fast ha-ha but it  was still fun! After wards we had some of the pig and some yams and it was delicious.

Roasting a pig in Cape Coast (from an earlier event)

 This week we also visited Elizabeth who lives right by the chapel. I don't believe I have mentioned her before. But we had a gospel conversation over there a little while ago and today was our first lesson with her. She seemed really excited and had very good questions, and said she would come to church on Sunday. After that lesson we saw Bianca and she actually lives by one of our members (Sister Vivian) and has a little shop and we went over lesson 1 with her,  but the kids got out of school so we didn't finish all of it, and so next time she asked us if we could come earlier and we said yes.

Some of our investigators in Swedru

 On Wednesday Elder Montgomery and I had kind of a slow day. We were heading to our first appointment when Bishop Wallace (Bishop of 3rd Ward) called and said we had to go back to our apartment and put out an empty gas tank for a driver to pick up and deliver to some of the Sister Missionaries in Winneba. So we traveled back to the apartment and put the gas tank out, and luckily we were in time because the driver came and picked it up 5 minutes after we arrived. Finally Elder Montgomery and I head back out and we shared a first lesson with a potential investigator named Isaac Benson and we addressed his concerns regarding Purgatory, Heaven and Hell and we gave him a Lesson 2 pamphlet. We were going through it small, but we didn't get very far; however, he seems excited to learn and grow. After that we Saw Mercy and she lives in a compound with some of our investigators (Specifically Comfort and Teresa) and we went over lesson 1 and she seemed to really enjoy it, but said she wouldn't be at church which is okay because we will be back to see her soon.

Some of the roads we travel

This week we also met with Bright who likes to ask questions A LOT and he kind of goes all over the place, so it's hard to have a set lesson with him because of his questions. But Elder Montgomery and I did our best to answer his questions and it looks like he really is interested in the Law of Chasity and the Word of Wisdom and we told him we would go over both of them on Sunday. We had to give him the low down about meeting him, because he lives outside of our Center of Strength (30 minutes of walking Distance any direction from the Chapel) and he isn't a referral from a member and hasn't been coming to church, so we  can't teach him out in Happy Home until he comes to church from now on. He said he would.

A crossroad we frequently pass to get to certain parts of the city

 We also followed up with Fredrick and the Restoration DVD we left him, and he said everything is true! Awesome right!? However he doesn't connect that we are THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH and doesn't understand  why baptism is necessary,  but somehow he committed to December 5th for Baptism and for coming to church on Sunday (which he REALLY needs to do).

Toward the end of the week we traveled to Cape Coast to have the doctors look at my toe, Yay! However we had to wait for the tro to fill for an hour,  but during that time we meet some people from Germany and Switzerland who were Oboruni and they were very nice. They are here for 3 months or less and it's for nursing and they asked about us and they asked how long we are staying here. We said 2 years they said, "Wow that's  too long" ha-ha.

Our address

Our street with a water tank

Our apartment

The doctor said that he wanted to do a small surgery on my toe and get the toe nail fixed but the doctor who could preform the operation wouldn't be in until the next morning, so Elder Montgomery and I got to stay in Cape Coast with the Assistants and that was very nice. They did the toe surgery to get my ingrown toe nail, and of course, Elder Montgomery  was making fun of me for the dress that I had to put on but he actually got to see the surgery. He told me that the ingrown nail was small but the root was big,  but now everything is good with my toe. :)

Now the numbness in my toe is wearing off so I can start to feel the pain now but we were able to go back to work and finish off the week. We visited with Daniel and His Family, teaching them lesson 2 and committing them to be baptized on January 9th (It definitely is a little far a way but we want to make sure that Abigail and her kids attend church enough times and to be fully prepared to make that covenant). After that we saw Stella! We  reviewed Lesson 1 with her and committed her to be baptized on December 5th! That is very close so we are going to do our best to help her be ready for that date.

On Sunday Elder Montgomery and I  tried to pick up some investigators for church but Elizabeth said she wouldn't be able to come until 2 and we tried to pick up Daniel and his Family, but Abigail was going somewhere and the kids had a birthday party, so they weren't able to come. However we did have 3 investigators come to church: Stella, Matilda, and Abina so that was nice.

Unfortunately neither Bright nor Fredrick came to church. We may have to resort to the D.O.D (Do or Die) Lesson with them. Which is sad but hopefully with time, these people will be ready for the gospel and I hope the best for them. Sunday is still a work day for us. So after Church Elder Montgomery and I were able to see Matilida and we went over Lesson 2 with her and we committed her to be baptized on December 5th!

Elder Montgomery and I are going to work hard this next week to make sure Stella and Matilda will be ready and hopefully things will work out. (We just need to get her mother's permission and then we will be good to go). As far as Stella goes, we went over the Book of Mormon Prayer with the Holy Ghost small and then went over Lesson 2. Everything is going well so far so hopefully things will work out for her and her baptism.

So that's all from this week. I hope you have recovered from eating all those potatoes and rolls. I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

Service Project, In-Grown-toe Nail, and New Mission Boundries

Hello Family and Friends! I hope you are preparing yourself for Thanksgiving and I hope you are all enjoying the cold weather! Thank you all SO SO much for your letters and support, it really means a lot to me.

How we get around: by tro tro

This week we went to Brother Fred's house with the 3rd Ward Elders and we had FuFu with Light Soup. Ha-ha it was really good but I had some cuts on my hands from hand washing so it was a little difficult for me to put my hands into the hot soup but it still was very good! In the lesson I talked about Alma Chapter 5 verse 26. I really have been thinking a lot about this scripture and it's a pretty famous scripture. This is Alma the Younger speaking and is the High Priest over the Church, and he just gave up his judgment seat to go forth and preach repentance unto the people because they are not being too righteous. He says in verse 26 "And now behold, I say unto you my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" I LOVE this scripture. I taught them how this scripture how it really applies to all of us. We need to continue progressing in the gospel and if we have felt a change of heart in our lives, we need to continue to have that change of heart, and desire to do no evil, but really having a desire to follow Jesus Christ always. I also should be striving always to continue to change my heart and to follow the savior, and that it's not just for these 2 years but every single day I need to continue to have a change of heart for the rest of my live and really do the will that Heavenly Father asks of me.

Getting a haircut. Mom couldn't have done it better.

This week was my first Service Project since I have been out here so I was really excited to go! So our apartment left early in the morning (7:00) and we headed to Akwomokrom and met the other Elders at the chapel and then we started walking to the place. Elder Larsen (One of our Zone Leaders) explained that there was this really old guy who is a member but he can't walk to well and can't come to church and he would like some help with his yard and cleaning it up. So we got to walk to his house. But his house was pretty far ha-ha! We walked out for about half an hour from Akwomokrom! We were joking that the Zone Leaders were making us walk to Winneba (I hope you have a map) but eventually we arrived and we cleaned up this old man's yard. He tried to give us money and he eventually forced it into Elder Larsen’s hand and he said a nice prayer. After the service project we went to an investigator and she was making us FuFu with Light soup! Yummy. So we were excited but she was a little behind, so we sat in the shade, but turns out there is a school right by her home and all these kids started coming around us and then I started to chase the kids (They are afraid of Abrunis) but after that the kids started to chase... ME! Ha-ha it was SO fun! And there were at least 200 of them chasing me and then we played some games with them with the other elders and it was really fun. Finally we had the delicious FuFu with Light soup.

Elder Harward and his Zone leaders

Getting some love from the Zone Leaders

On Friday Elder Montgomery and I traveled to Cape Coast! Fun! We actually went to DIS (Doctors In Service) for them to look at my ingrown toe nail. I tried digging it out myself (and if you are lucky you can get it without getting your toe infected) but my toed got infected. So I took some antibiotics but the doctor wants to see it in a week so we shall see ha-ha but I am doing well still! Funny thing was that Elder Day Elder Kiplinger and Elder Stole picked us up. I haven't seen Elder Day for a little while and it was cool to see him again, and they took us to Medallion Pizza and we had chicken pizza which was really good.

Cape Coast

Saturday we helped the Zone Leaders find a pig guy so we can have a pig for our zone activity and then we went to Bishop Wallace’s (Bishop of 3rd ward) father’s funeral and he wanted all the missionaries to attend. So we did and we were there to offer support and encouragement. After the funeral service Elder Montgomery was not feeling well at all and it wasn't looking good, so we went home and I called some people and made sure it he was okay. Then I did some cleaning, and slept for a small time while he was trying to rest and make sure he was okay. He got better enough to attend Steven’s baptism for 3rd ward and we had a great time seeing this new member so happy!

Swag

On Sunday we watched General Conference!!!! We only got to watch it small but it made Elder Montgomery and me really happy!!! I am hoping to read it all because we only got through 5 talks in English and the first part was in Fanta so I didn’t understand Jeffery R. Holland :( but I am going to try and read all of it . After that we meet with a guy named Isaac for the first time and that was really cool and then Elder Montgomery and I headed to Sister Vida and Theolopus for Jollof and we helped her cook it and it was SO good! We had a small lesson on the plan of salvation after that just up to Adam and Eve and the fall but it was so good!






Elder Harward and Elder Montgomery


Okay so as for Mission News here we go: As of January 20th 20`16 the Accra West Mission will take over the Winneba Stake and its areas. So basically the cape Coast mission is getting a little smaller and the Accra West Mission is getting brighter. I forwarded a message from President Stevenson to my parents if you want to look at it and what it says. But basically our whole zone will be splitting up to new areas for sure in January so that is sad but also exciting because President is opening up new Ares and the work is going to be so great! It will be sad to leave Swedru but I know it’s the Lords will and I am grateful that I get to serve and love all of the people hear and I can't wait to see where I can help more people next.



Elder Montgomery and I are doing well! He is as great guy, and our companionship has grown so much these weeks and we are having so much fun together during the work. IT will be sad to see him go but I know he will be a great instrument in the hands of the Lord.

This is how we get around. But I wish

That is about it for this week. I hope you are all doing well. I love you all and continue to pray for you all. Stay strong!


Love,


Elder Harward






Hello Family and Friends! I hope all of you are doing well, and I appreciate all the letters you send me.


P.S. We also had interviews, one person at a time met with President Stevenson. It was a really great interview and instruction session and I learned a lot. Oh, and on Sunday we had 3 investigators come to church. Paa Joe his soon to be wife Abina, and Matilda. (We actually saw Paa Joe at his shop before he came so small small hopefully he will start to not work on the Sabbath). Unfortunately Vida's baby Marion got burned on her leg due to some hot water, so that's why she wasn't there today but after church we went over to her home and made sure she was okay and she is doing much better! One more thing: On P-Day we had a ping pong tournament and I got 2nd place, pretty cool right?


So that's all from Swedru here in Ghana! I hope you are all doing well and that everything is going well. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!


Love,





Elder Harward

Beach Rugby, Missionary Work, and Pizza in Africa.

Hello Family and Friends!

 I hope that you are all doing well, and I hope you are enjoying the weather. It feels weird that we are here in November because it still feels like June but the work here is going well.

Okay so this week a slow one. On Monday we had a Zone Activity at Winneba Beach and it was a lot of fun! I actually played some Rugby on the beach although I wasn't good at it, but it was fun! And I actually got a little sunburned and wet but it was fun! Don't worry...no swimming. I will send pictures of that event all through this letter. That night our FHE with the LA woe’s fell through due to some miscommunication.

On Tuesday we had District meeting and received great instruction from Elder Wightman (our District Leader. I'll get a picture of him and his companion soon) He talked about Hymn #335 Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy comparing how we are the lower lights along the shore and how we need to help all those we can make it safely to the harbor. We should keep our lights on so that we may always be a representative of Jesus Christ. Elder Montgomery and I also attended Ward Council where we made a Progress Record and made photo copies so the ward council members could see our progress and goals as missionaries.

On Wednesday our Quorum President Brother Charles had some referrals for us (Awesome right?) and we went to their houses and met one (Kolby) and we set up a time for Friday. We also did a service project for the Kick Polio out of Ghana Campaign. So we volunteered this last Sunday­­­­­ to go around to people and let them know that if they have children 5 years and younger they qualify for the free Polio vaccine at the health center. We also went to Dannie’s house and we saw his Mother and she said we could start teaching the family together, so we set up a time for Saturday and that was awesome.

On Thursday after Weekly Planning Elder Montgomery and I went out to Happy Home. We really wanted to see this guy named Bright (who was taught by Elder Collings and Elder Day) and we tried calling him, but unfortunately we couldn't reach him, and we don't know where he lives yet, so we weren't able to meet with him. But as we went to Happy Home there was this SWEET old woman who sells fruit and she is so great! Her name is Mama Abina (In Ghana you call everyone your mother if they are older than you, but if they are around your age you call them Sister) So Mama Abina is really sweet and she always gives us extra fruit even when we pay her very little. She reminds me of Grandma! She can't speak English at all but we speak to her small and she tries to call a translator over for us so we can have a full conversation, and it is so great. (I will try to get a picture with her because she is great!) So we are in Happy Home and we drop of a Book of Mormon at Hannah's house and some chocolate (We made a promise we would bring her some) but she wasn't home so we gave it to her brother but eventually we did have a lesson with Linda (Did I mention her?) She lives by Brother Billy and is in S.H.S., so last year of High School and she is a very active member in her church but is willing to learn, and seems excited. We went over with her Lesson 3 due to her concerns on the Sacrament and how we perform baptisms and it was a good lesson! 

As for Friday it was another slow day but we did have some success! We went with Brother Charles to Visit Kolby and unfortunately he wasn't home, and we tried his other referral and that person wasn't there, so that was sad. But he is a great guy and he tells us that he will keep looking for people for us to teach, and that we can use him if we need to, and that is so great! So after that Elder Montgomery and I picked up Brother Frank and we went to See Paa Joe and his Wife Abina and that was really exciting. We reviewed with them Lesson 1, (except for Abina because this was the first time she was taught, because she doesn’t speak or understand English at all, so Brother Frank was a BIG help). And it went really well, and they seemed to understand it well. Then Elder Montgomery and I traveled back to Happy Home because Hannah called and was happy for the gift and she wanted to meet with us again, so we asked if tonight was okay and she said yes. So we go over to Happy Home and we are about an hour or so early so we explored Happy Home area for a bit, because it's pretty big. While there we walked left as far as we could and we met Ellen who knows Sister Gabriella and knew Elder Collins and Elder Day and that was exciting for us because she seems to be a good potential investigator Then we traveled back to the junction where Hannah and Sister Gabriella’s place is, and we traveled to the right as far we could but we couldn't get far because of a dog kept growling at us and he looked very s\serious so we were only able to see one person, and she was very sweet to us. So finally we meet with Hannah and she actually fed us with rice and stew and that was nice. SO while we are eating Hannah turns on the televisio and guess what? Lost comes on! *(crazy right) This is the Season 3 finale where Charlie dies and it was towards the end and it was sad, but it made me think that I would start that series over when I get home ha-ha! Anyways eventually we get to the lesson and turned the TV to silent (Hannah didn't want it off) and we did Lesson 1. Elder Montgomery and I thought it was a great lesson! We really felt that our teaching style and flow between points really allowed the spirit to be here, however... she was totally disconnected. She was lying down and she didn't want to kneel for the prayers and really didn't seem like she wanted to learn and that was sad (She is very active Pentecost member) we invited her to church and she said no, which was surprising. It was that straightforward because most people will lie to you but it was good she was honest, but it's really sad to her interest in the gospel decrease. So we are giving her one more shot before we stop because she is not progressing at this time but hopefully things will work out.

On Saturday Elder Montgomery and I took Florence (A member in 3rd ward) to go with us to teach Daniel and his family and it was a great lesson! We went over lesson 1 with them and  gave them the Book of Mormon and Abigail (the Mother) was really excited and seemed  very interested in learning about the gospel and her children are so great as well and have potential to grow as well in the gospel. We have Daniel (15) Enoch (12) Sarah (8) Moses (5) and Elizabeth (1 year old) and they have really great potential. Their father doesn’t live with them and I am not sure why but they are a great family and we committed them to read and pray and Abigail gave a great prayer at the end of the lesson so that was awesome! After that l­­­­­esson we saw Bismarck (who was a referral from the Zone Leaders) and he actually works across from Paa Joe and we had no idea! He is very excited to learn and read all of the Pamphlet the zone Leader’s gave him and wanted more and we gave a lesson 2 pamphlet and we promised to give him Book a Mormon on Sunday when we meet him again and he seems like he has great potential!

So on Sunday we have church, and Elder Montgomery and I go to Lord's house to pick him up. (We have been trying to meet with him all week since the drunk night but it was unsuccessful and he wasn't home) and he wasn't home, so that was sad but we picked up Brother Frank and went to chruch We had 3 investagators attend church: Vida, Abina, and Matilida (we actually gave Matilida a Book of Mormon and told her we would like to meet and start teaching her but we need the mother’s permission, so we are just waiting on that for now), and that was exciting, but we have some work to do. It's exciting to at how much we can learn and grow. So after church we were supposed to see Sister Vida and Theolopus on our usual day but Theolopus was working and Vida was going to Wawa’s to see her Mother so Elder Montgomery and I went home and had lunch, and then went to see Bismarck, We told him we wanted to meet him at the chapel and we saw him as he was closing his brother's shop and we gave him the Book of Mormon and wrote our information down and he said he would be at the chapel. SO we go to the chapel and we wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. And then it's 6; 45 and we go down to see if he needs any help but we get down there and the shop was closed, so we got back to the chapel and waited, and finally at 7:00 we decided to go home because we knew he wasn't coming, and that was sad, but we will follow up and find out where he lives so we can personally go there instead. Although while we were waiting Elder Montgomery and I were telling each other jokes and that was fun! So Elder Montgomery and I close our day and week and we talked about what these first 6 weeks were like and what we could improve on, and we made goals and we are pumped for these next 6 weeks and they should be great!  Then we went to the zone Leaders’ house\ small to celebrate Elder Larsen’s 21st birthday! It was fun and we had some brownies and then we headed home.

Today is Monday Yay! and we did our wash and cleaned the apartment small. For Lunch Elder Wightman wanted to go to Rayna’s restaurant (his first name is Ryan) so he could take a picture with the sign and the sign looked like it had..... PIZZA!!!!!! And it did!!!!! So I got the Chicken Pizza, and it was SO good! I mean it's not like at home but for pizza it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. 

 Now that we are in November the Liajona will come out and I can read the General Conference talks and I am SO excited just because there is so much that I need to improve on, and learn. I really have been trying now to really rely upon the Lord because I get stressed sometimes and I think what can I do to make it better? But I haven't relied upon the lord (Elder Wightman gave me that great advice) and it is so true, and I really want to improve on that, because as I do so I know that the Lord will help me through all of life’s difficult moments, so always turn to Him. Because we need not be alone, and as we are humbled and turn to Him he will help us and encircle us in his arms of love. One of my favorite hymns right now Is Where Can I Turn for Peace. The lyrics are so powerful and they mean a lot to me, and maybe they will help you guys out as well.  Well that is all from hear in Swedru! I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying life, and the weather. Keep me updated on all of your fun adventures! I love you all! Until next week! Stay Strong,

Elder Harward

A miracle, and Stake Conference Week: Two Posts

Hello Family and Friends!

It's so great to write you all once again, and I hope you are all doing well! This week Elder Montgomery updated our board and it is looking pretty great.

Elder Harward's Planner and Inspiring Scriptural Thought

Okay so as for this week it was really interesting actually. On Monday I actually didn't eat any food at all (not a good idea) because of all  the washing I had to do, and our kitchen just got cleaned, so I thought I could wait until  6:00 PM until FHE with Fred and his family to eat and drink. Throughout the day I start to not feel well, and I started to get a sore throat, then a headache, then a fever and so when I was emailing you guys last week, I wasn't doing too well. So eventually Elder Montgomery and I went to Brother Fred's house to meet with the other Elder's (Elder Kavilata and Elder Wightman). They were serving Kan Kae with Okra stew and it was good, but my fever had increased and I just was feeling really bad, and I couldn’t eat a whole lot. So during dinner we watched Legacy which was good, and afterwards we had a nice FHE and then we started to head home. I still wasn't feeling great and the other elders could tell I wasn't feeling good and eventually they sat me down at this little shop and got me a sprite just so I could try to feel better because I was starting to get dizzy. Eventually I was able to get up and go to the road and get in a taxi to go home to our apartment. The wind actually felt chilly (and for Ghana it is never cold, so that tells you I wasn’t feeling well).  At home Montgomery and I closed our day and I eventually asked for a priesthood blessing. I felt that if I had enough faith that I could be better and not be sick, and guess what? A Miracle happened. I got better! Awesome right? I started to get better within the next two days and now I feel fine. And I KNOW that it is because of the Priesthood power that my fellow elders carried that really helped me that night, and I am so glad that they were worthy to hold that priesthood. It was a testimony builder to me that God does know us and that priesthood power is real.

Elder Harward and Elder Montgomery enjoying the fresh ocean breeze in Cape Coast. 

Tuesday we had District meeting once again and it was great! And I got my packages from my family. Thanks guys. :) So that really made my day! And after district meeting and lunch we met we were able to have a couple of lessons (one with Fredrick one with Teresa, one with the Lawe's and one with this member named Asoman) so it was pretty good. On Wednesday we were supposed to have our pebbling fixed for our shower, so we were waiting for this guy but I guess we got the wrong information and he was coming Thursday morning instead, so we were only able to go to Mutual that night but it was really good!

On Thursday we were able to meet with Johanna! Which was exciting to see her again, and we gave her a lesson 2 pamphlet, but we actually think she is a recent convert in 3rd ward. Ha-ha, so on Thursday we are going to ask her for sure. We looked at the other Elder's area book and it matches her descriptions, so it looks like she might be a member. I am so happy if she is a member of the church, but I am a little sad though that she might not be an investigator anymore) so after we saw Johanna we saw Amy and we reviewed the Plan of Salvation with her and it was really good. We committed her to church and unfortunately she said she couldn't come but we are hoping this week on Friday (because she is traveling to Durkwa until then) that we will meet with her and have her come to Stake Conference. That night we actually met with Sister Belinda (our less active) and we really tried to show our love and concern for her and we committed her to church this Sunday. She said she would come, but she didn't, but we'll keep trying!

On Friday Elder Montgomery and I and the other Elders in our Apartment traveled to Cape Coast for our Follow-up Trainer's Meeting, and we went to the European Store (which is so great!) and we got some little snacks (and do you know they sell actually chocolate? They sell Snickers, pretty cool huh? It's like an American Store, so lots of fun stuff). After that we went to the meeting and we had Jollof which was really good and I learned so much from the meeting, and I hope to really improve. After the meeting all of us went to this little shop in Cape Coast that Elder Wightman knows and we got some sweet Keinkea Ties and they are awesome! So Friday we were in Cape Coast all Day.

On Saturday everything fell through except for our lesson with Fredrick and that was really great to see him. It was sad to see all of our appointments fail, but we will keep trying and working hard, and following up with people. We actually went to a nice chop bar (it's called secret corner) and I got some nice Fu Fu and that was really great!

So Sunday was Fast Sunday! IT was really great, and I loved partaking of the sacrament. My companion and I actually bore our testimonies; unfortunately we only had 2 investigators show up for church (one is 15 and she goes to young women and the other doesn’t speak English well, it's actually Paa Joes's soon to be wife) so we didn’t have any investigator class (or gospel essentials) and that was sad, but we talked with Brother Jude and we discussed what we could to get the work moving forward and that was nice. So after church we were going to break our fast but we had an appointment in Happy home, so we just decided to wait to break our fast and we went and we actually met this woman and a guy named Bright (he was taught before but couldn't be baptized because he traveled). The woman wanted to partake of the sacrament but couldn't because she is tasking care for her mother and it was so great that the Lord put these people in our path for us. Such a miracle! SO after meeting them we go down and we break our fast with Jollof from Sister Gabriella and Hannah and then we have a small lesson with Sister Hannah and that was really great!

Today is Monday and we had a District Activity! Super Fun! We went to the Akwomokrom Chapel and we played Kickball and Dodgeball and it was really great! It was a lot of fun, and today is actually my companion’s birthday and Elder Larse and Elder Brown got him Wet for his birthday, so that was funny ha-ha! And tonight we are having an FHE with Sister Vida and Theolopus so it should be great!

 So the work here is going well, but we also have a LOT of work to do because of church attendance and with people keeping commitments, but it should be well, and it should be okay! And this week is Stake Conference so that should be sweet! I am really excited to learn and grow from that! The Lord truly does know us and our needs, we just need to turn to Him always in prayer and scripture study and he will help us if we are humble and turn to Him. I hope you all enjoyed General Conference, and will continue to apply the talks given into your lives daily. I hope you all have a great week, and I will talk to you later. Love you all!

Love,

Elder Harward

Ma Jo (Good Evening here from Ghana) Hello Family and Friends! I hope you are all are safe and are doing well! This week has been a good week, and it was also inspiring.

So Monday night we had FHE with Sister Vida and Theolopus and that was SO good. I truly love this family. They are so great. We gave a scripture thought and started over with the lessons (For Sister Vida)  starting with Lesson 1 on the Restoration and we really gave our support for the Knocking and the Bride Price, so I REALLY am hoping that it will all work out and that Theolopus can baptize her. Did I mention their 5 month old Baby named Marion? She is so great and she is a great healthy baby. I hope the best for that family!

As for Tuesday, unfortunately it was a slow day, but we did have a lesson with Lord. (Did I mention him?) I believe I did, but he stays right by our apartment and he was taught by Elder Lebaron a while back and we addressed his drinking problem and set some goals with him so that he will be able to overcome his habit, and that was a great lesson! Elder Montgomery and I also had some nice gospel conversations by ADB Bank and it was a nice day!

 On Wednesday I went on an Exchange with Elder Kavilata (I'll get a picture with him soon so you can see him) and we had a good day. We wanted to get our gifts for our companions (because it was their birthday this week and we got Elder Wightman a Football Jersey and I got my Companion a nice Ghanaian shirt (It's pretty cool!) And that was really great, and then after our little shopping, we had our first lesson with Franics. He was a potential investigator that we met and he stays right by Brother Frank, so we found out where he lives and then went to the church to have the lesson with Brother Frank and we gave him Lesson 1. We also gave him a pamphlet and committed him to prayer, so hopefully all will go well with him. So after that lesson we meet with Isaac, who is an older gentleman. Isaac was also a potential investigator and when we met with him, he talked a lot about how he can't go between Pentecost and the LDS church because it's not right, but he said he would go to the LDS church and serve there, and that was really neat. But what was really neat was when Elder Kavilata gave him the Lesson 1 Pamphlet he started to cry and the spirit really testified to him that this is the true church upon the face of the earth; it was so neat!!! After that Lesson we had a small scripture thought with Brother Alex. We just wanted to make sure that he was planning on coming to Stake Conference and to make sure he is doing well, and he told us he is doing well and that he would come to Stake Conference and that was really great!

On Thursday Elder Montgomery and I had another pretty good day. In the morning we met with Lord again and this time talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Lesson 3) and really focused on Repentance and committed him to read Alma 7 in the Book of Mormon and overall it was a great lesson! Then towards the end of the night we met again with Isaac. I was really excited to see him again because of Wednesday and we started with Lesson 1 and we went through that small and he had questions about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and Elder Montgomery and I did our best to answer his questions and to help him progress and we committed him to continue to continue reading the pamphlet and then we set up a time for Friday.

Friday was Elder Wightman’s Birthday so in the morning he opened his package from his parents and Elder Kavilata gave him his Jersey and I gave Elder Montgomery his Ghanaian shirt and he really liked it! So on Friday Elder Montgomery and I met with Fredrick and Isaac again. For Fredrick we addressed his questions and his concerns and really focused on attending church and praying, and he seems to be doing well, but he doesn’t want to keep commitments so hopefully he will start to progress! So that night we met with Isaac and I was excited to see him again and to have another great lesson with him. However when he came to the church he was drunk. We could smell the alcohol on him, and I was pretty sad that he had a drinking problem. I had no idea he drank but Brother Frank told me he is a pretty heavy drinker. We didn't really progress anywhere with him because he asked the same questions as yesterday and he couldn't remember that we answered those questions yesterday, so that was sad, and it was hard to make any progress. I won't deny, I was pretty frustrated after that lesson. However Elder Montgomery and I still think he has great potential and we are trying to meet with him this next week so hopefully it will go well. At the end of the night our apartment went to Secret Corner (The Chop Bar we go to the most, because it's really good and the people are really nice) and we celebrated Elder Wightman and Elder Montgomery's birthdays and that was a lot of fun!

On Saturday we had Stake Conference and that was a neat experience because we had a visit from a member of the Seventy and he actually is the Africa West President, and his name is Elder Curtis.

You could tell he had the spirit with him when he talked.  President Stevenson also spoke and his testimony was really powerful. He was kind of emotional but when he testified about the Savior I could just really feel of his love and the assurity he knew that the Savior lives and that was a great moment for me. After that Session we had some lunch and then we attended the Adult Session (Which I guess was a little weird to me that I am an adult now, but pretty cool) and it was really great and I learned a lot, especially about Member Missionary Work, and from Elder Curtis who talked about the Ward Council and how effective it can be when the members of the ward council serves their fellow brothers and Sisters. He actually role played an actual Ward Council and it was really neat. I honestly didn't know we had this, but it really does help the ward and really allows the ward to focus on the people that need to be rescued not just the agenda items on a list. Anyways it was a great lesson! After Stake Conference Elder Montgomery and I had dinner back at our apartment. We called Lord because we wanted to meet with him again this week but he said he was out of the house, so Elder Montgomery and I went out and finished some shopping we had to do before Sunday's night party and we met up with the other Elder's in our District at our apartment for Transfer News. As for Transfer News (I wasn't nervous at all because I am training Elder Montgomery, so we won't be going anywhere until we finish training at the end of the next transfer) so, nothing too exciting happened. But now we are starting the 8 week transfer and I will be here at least until the beginning of December. YAY!!  We are getting a New Zone Leader (Elder Boamah finished his mission this transfer) and our District is getting split, so now we have 5 districts in our zone so that's pretty cool!

As for Sunday we had the General Session of Stake Conference. Elder Montgomery and I picked up Theolopus and Brother Frank and then we headed off to Winneba. It was a great Stake Conference but it was SO full. It went clear to the back of the chapel and up on the small stage and it was cool to see how many people came to really feel of the spirit and to listen to the speakers. The Stake President Spoke and then two adults spoke from various wards. Then Sister Stevenson spoke. The whole time she spoke all I could think about was Mom, because she looks like mom and is very sweet, and had such a powerful testimony. Then President Stevenson spoke, then Sister Curtis, then Elder Curtis himself and overall it was a great stake conference and I learned a lot. We actually had 3 investigators attend Stake Conference so that was great! (Sister Vida, Stella, and Abina- Paa Joe's soon to be wife). After the conference Elder Montgomery, Brother Frank, and I headed back to Swedru and we dropped of Brother Frank and headed home. Then Elder Montgomery and I got ready and headed to Aboso for our District Activity. So we had a district Sleep over at Aboso and it was a lot of fun. We brought two mattresses over and we roasted some hot dogs, we fried some chicken, and had some sausage and candy that night. I probably ate too much ha-ha, but it was fun and we played some games and it was fun.

President Stevenson, Elder Harward's Mission President

Monday was a great day! In the morning after the activity we made brownies for breakfast and had a wrestling match on the mattresses. Granted I am the weakest person in our District so of course I was out of the "Tournament" right at the beginning but it was a fun activity. So after that we all traveled home and we did our washing and we got ready and then we tried to email. The lights went off so we decided to come back on Tuesday and finish. But that night we had a great FHE with Sister Joyclen, Kelly (her 12 year old son who is really cool) and Brother Frank. We had Jollof and talked. Then we talked about The Gospel of Jesus Christ and did an object lesson with some pencils where you could break one pencil easily and two pencils easily but when you rely upon the Savior then you wouldn't break (so with lots of the pencils and we had a screwdriver duck taped to the pencils and that was just showing that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless your lives. It won't be easy and there still will be trials, but that we still can do it.)

Anyway that's all for this week. I hope you are all doing well, and I wish the best for you. Stay Strong. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Harward