Moving, Working, and Driving

Hello Family and Friends!

What a crazy week it has been. How are you all doing!? I hope you all doing well.

 This week I said goodbye to Swedru and that was really hard. I love the people there so much, and I really loved serving there. I had a hard time saying goodbye to Brother Frank especially because I met him since day one. I know that the Lord has great things in store for him and I know that the Lord needed me to go and serve some other wonderful people. 

Saying goodbye to my Swedru acquaintances

So I left Swedru and headed to Cape Coast, but on the way we stopped in Winneba to have our MLC report as a zone. Funny story: When we first arrived in Winneba, the mission van pulled up and it was the new missionaries (The new missionaries always stop at Winneba for a bathroom break).  And guess who I found... Toa! I guess I should say Elder Muawau, and it was so cool to see him and to say hi. Maybe I will see him around sometime!

 

We arrived in Cape Coast at what’s called "the Castle Apartment" (it's where an old mission couple used to stay) and my actual apartment was right next door! I stayed in the Castle Apartment for the night with the Halos (a mission couple in our mission) and we had a small testimony meeting and then we had some small snacks and then we all headed off to bed).

The next morning I just walked downstairs because my apartment was just right there, so I put my bags in and said hi to everyone. So now I am with Elder Hodson who is from Pleasant Grove Utah and is 19 years old. He wants to be a Police Officer when he goes home and wants to go to UVU. So Elder Hodson and I went with the other office elders and to drop off Elder Jones at the station and pick up Elder Ryes (He is going to be replacing Elder Day) so he is the new Mission Secretary and Elder Day is for sure leaving next Transfer; it will be interesting to see where he goes.

 Later Elder Hodson spent all of the day in the office sorting through mail and packages and getting everything ready for the entire mission (It’s definitely lot of work). Normally we wouldn't be in the office on Wednesday, but Elder Hodson and Elder Jones got behind because of transfers, so we just needed to get caught up, and it also gave me an idea of what a Supply Elder is like:  we deal with the mail, letters/pouch, packages, and supplies to missionaries’ apartments. We get the supplies and get them all ready and a guy named Jesse drives out to the missionaries and brings it to them. So we proselyte every day, but on Tuesdays and Fridays we are in the office from 12:00 to 6:00 getting the mail/packages, and doing the supplies and then we proselyte from 6 going. The other Elders (The mission secretary Elder Reyes/Elder Day and The Finance Secretary are in the office every day and only proselyte from 6 to 9, so Elder Hodson and I are the full time missionaries in Nkanfoa, and then the other Elders work with less- actives and members when they can, but we are all in the same ward together, so that's pretty cool! Later that night we got to sit in on FuFu for the missionaries going home and we got ice cream and it was really nice.

 

The area where I am currently serving

Thursday was my first day proselyting in Nkanfoa (I would say it like this in-con-fwa). It took me some time to get the name right. But we saw two of our powerful investigators, Victor and Christiana,  who have come to church 5 times and are very consistent. They both are super sweet and they both have baptismal dates for February. Victor February 5^th, and Christia February 13th. I also met a nice woman named Abigail who is also very sweet.

Friday was a little intense. So Elder Hodson and I go back to the Office and I had to watch the driving videos so I could drive in Cape Coast for the packages/mail and stuff like that (Elder Hodson doesn't have his international license, so I am the only one who can drive out of the two of us) so I watched the videos and then President Stevenson approved me to drive, and that was nice. So I got to drive in Africa! Sweet right! I got to do some practice around some loops and Nkanfoa. It's a pretty big truck, but it was nice and scary at the same time. Africa driving is different than America. But Sister Stevenson actually needed some stuff in Cape Coast and we had to take her. She made us some lunch before we headed out and then she sat up in from with me and we headed to cape coast. Now I was just driving around in the neighborhoods, but the distance to Cape Coast is similar to West Valley to Salt Lake City. Because I am driving Sister Stevenson and it's my first time going there... I was SO nervous! I have never been that stressed out in my life, but everything was okay. Ghanaian drivers are very aggressive it's a very “my way” type of system so you have to be very cautious and patient at times. But everything was good and Sister Stevenson said it was all good, although she said I need to put on sunscreen Haha :)

 After we took Sister Stevenson we had to go back to Cape Coast and we went to the mail place and picked up the mail/packages and that was fun! I am getting better at driving small small, so it will be okay. I also got Grandma's Package and it was SO SO SO great!!!!! I loved it, so thank you grandma :) Later that night we went to PEC with all the Elders and Bishop Iwuzuse. !

Saturday was a great day: We had 6 lessons and I got to meet some more members:  A woman named Agness, and Gloria and a man named Albert. We got some fired rice at the end of the night and that was fun. Also I met this woman named Gifty, who is a member kind of less active and she actually got me wet small because she was pretending to be an investigator but she is very funny.

Onion Rings

 On Sunday I bore my testimony and Sister Stevenson came to ward (she comes sometimes) and she also bore her testimony and it was very good). I don't remember all of the members’ names and the investigators, but the work here is sweet so I am very excited to learn to grow here.

This next week I get to instruct and give a baptismal interview. Yay! Haha I am pretty nervous and stressed, but it's good. I have never been this stressed out in my life, but I am taking it one day a time and everything is going well. :) I know that as we turn to the Savior all things are possible, and as we rely upon his atonement we can start to become who God wants us to be. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

P.S. Office life is sweet because I get to know immediately if a package or letter arrives for me because we are in charge of that, so that's pretty cool :)