Getting Sick

Some great things happened this week, and not so great things as well.

Monday of course was P- Day and we were able to teach a young woman named Hannah.

The next day at our District Meeting Elder Tobler (one of The Cape Coast Zone Leaders) gave his final testimony and it was very nice, anf then after the meeting we took a photo as the Cape Coast Zone and that was cool! After that Elder Hodson and I did Supplies, and then we saw Domitilla and we went over the Restoration with her and that went well!

Wednesday was a slower day for Elder Hodson and I, but we were able to see the young girl named Gloria (Beverlyn's cousin) and go over the Book of Mormon. She likes us coming over and she is nice to teach, but we are having a hard getting her to come to church. That night we went to the Final FuFu dinner for the Missionaries going home and that was very great! The FuFu was SO good! I enjoyed it! I got to see Elder Tyson and that was sweet! I knew more of the missionaries in this group, so hearing their testimonies was really great!!! And it was neat to see what their mission meant to each and every one of them, and I will miss them but I know they will be doing great things.

Thursday was a nice day! Elder Hodson and I were able to see Gloria again and we went over Lesson 2 with some visuals to help and that was very sweet! We also stayed and met with Beverlyen and she taught us some things that she learned while she taught Seminary, and that was neat! That night we saw Christiana and of course she is doing very well! We just sat down and we talked with her, and reviewed small of Lesson 1 with her and next time we are planning on watching The Restoration with her so that should be neat!

Friday was nice as well! Elder Hodson and I did Supplies again and that's always an adventure. And I got my parents package so that was neat to actually pick that up :) But we got some good work done so that was great. That night we had PEC. Victor Got called to be The First Counselor in the Young Men's Presidency and he was there at PEC and it was SO cool to see him there already magnifying his calling! Then I officially started my exchange with Elder Griffin (After PEC) I was excited to go on my exchange with him and see how he was doing and it was a nice exchange, even though our appointments fell through.

 

Then Saturday rolled around. So Friday night I had some Indo Mie that a nice lady makes and it's pretty good and it has nice vegetables in it and so everything is fine, but in the middle of the night I got Runny Tummy (Diarrhea) Twice, and I thought "This is weird" and Saturday Morning I had Runny Tummy again and after that I just didn't feel good, and then I threw up small. I knew that I had to throw up more because  it was small but eventually I did throw up some more (I believe it was bad indo mie (because I could see the vegetable) so my stomach wasn't feeling too well, so Elder Hodson and I weren't able to proselyte. I was upset because I felt like I was wasting the Lord’s time, and I didn’t' want to do that. But Elder Hodson reminded me that we are all human and that the Lord understands when we get sick so that helped me out.

I saw this in a store and I knew you would get a kick out of it; knowing me.haha. 

Sunday I was feeling much much better and Elder Hodson and I went to church and that was great. Sister Stevenson and Sister Hanlon came and that was great! And they got to bear their testimonies along with Elder Griffin and that was sweet! We got this great referral a couple of days back for a guy named Sylvester, but we weren't able to see him so we had a slow day but we are really excited about him, and the work here in Nkanfoa! As we turn to the Lord in our daily affairs he will help us, and as we strive to do his will we will be blessed. I am reading in 3rd Nephi 12 when Jesus Christ appears and has been a great comfort to me, ( I also got a good marking key going on so that was exciting)  these past couple of days, and I know that as we turn to the Savior we will all be blessed.

I hope you all have a good week and I love you all so much! Keep Having fun adventures.

Love,

Elder Harward

Christiana's Baptism

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you all doing? I hope that you are enjoying life and that all is going well! Again I just want to thank you all for your wonderful letters each week. They truly are great and I love to hear from you guys.

Okay so as for this week it was a slower week, but it was pretty good.

Monday night- Elder Hodson, Elder Day, Elder Reyes, Elder Stulce, and I attended FHE with a sweet member named Teresa (She has two daughters and they are really  sweet) and she talked about Charity and it was a great lesson!

On Tuesday we had the MLC report and it was longer than normal, due to the fact that we got to watch the missionary broadcast: Teach Repentance, and Baptize Converts. It really was SO great! I guess it has been a long time since the church has done this, but what the general authorities spoke on were what we as missionaries needed to hear and that was so great. I loved the part with Elder David A. Bednar and how he talked about the Holy Ghost and how we needed to be actively listening always so that the Holy Ghost can help us what to say, because we can't touch the people's hearts, only the Holy Ghost can. It truly helped me see that I always need the Holy Ghost with me and to really pay attention to its promptings. After the broadcast we ate lunch and then the Zone Leaders talked to us and that was nice. Then Elder Hodson and I did as much as the supplies that we could that day. But that night we did see Christiana and made sure everything was good for her interview and she seemed very excited and that was very sweet!

Wednesday- Elder Hodson and I were in the office. President Stevenson gave us permission to work that day due to the long MLC report on Tuesday, and that way we could get everything done. It was a nice day! And that night I went on an exchange with Elder Reyes and that was very sweet! (We were also joined by Elder Adams and Elder Kalanga) We saw Abigail and sadly we found out that she is going to be in Abrua for a while for Nursing School (So we won't be able to teach her for a little while so we are going to refer her) but hopefully all goes well for her!

Thursday- Elder Hodson and I made popcorn again for weekly planning! :) We were then able to see Francis (Ha-ha he really doesn't want to come to church) and we tried talking to him again and encourage him, so hopefully he will come. Then we had Coordination Meeting with Brother Aborahborah and that was nice. After Coordination President Stevenson came and interviewed Christiana and... she passed!

Friday then rolled around and Elder Hodson and I did Supplies again :) I like picking up the mail and packages that's always fun, and we get to shop for supplies so that's always cool! After that we had PEC and our Bishop (Bishop Ewudze) and he is SO great! He always asks us why we aren't contributing or what ideas we have for the ward. He also said at the end of PEC "WE are Winning, We are winning, because the Church is True" He kept going but he is really great! That night Elder Hodson and I saw Christiana and made sure everything was okay for her baptism and she was excited and she asked if Bishop Ewudze could perform it and we called him and he said he would!

 

Saturday was a nice day! Christiana called us in the morning and talked to us about how excited she was and that was so sweet! Unfortunately our plans to see some people when we went out fell through but Elder Hodson and I went to the Chapel at 3:00 and Helped Brother Aborahborah with getting everything ready, and Christiana showed up very early so that was great! We had a lot of missionaries there to support here and it was really sweet and the spirit was really strong there. After that we had a Transfer News Party (This was only a 4 week transfer due to the fact that we need to be on the MTC schedule now because they increased the MTC time to 3 weeks so the transfer got cut two weeks, and now every transfer after that will be normal, it'll just be that the missionaries who came before this change will go two weeks early when they go home) at the Mission home and President and Sister Stevenson came for a little bit so that was cool. Of course Elder Hodson and I are staying together so that's nice. :) Elder Stulce is our new Assistant to the president. Elder Day is actually staying (I was surprised) and is the Finance Secretary and he will be with Elder Griffin (He is coming to the office! he also is another Finance Secretary) and Elder Reyes so that will be sweet!!!!

Sunday- Was Valentine's Day, and I told the apartment that I loved them ha-ha, and they asked me about my date and I just said the Savior (I know a cheesy answer) but that's all good! Christiana was confirmed a member and that was sweet! The spirit was really strong and it was so great! The rest of the day Elder Adams and Elder Kalgana were with us so Elder Hodson and I split up and Elder Kalanga and I were together and we saw this young woman named Charity who we have been trying to meet a while, and it was a sweet lesson! That night we also saw Christiana and just made sure she was doing well!

Elder Hodson and I are now trying to work with some of our other investigators because our two powerful investigators are baptized so now we have no one with a baptismal date, but we have great recent converts and less actives to work with so it should be some great work ahead of us! And for Valentine’s Day I just have a small though which is just on Charity. I thought I know what love is but Charity is the Noblest, Kindest, of Love The pure love of Christ (In Moroni Chapter 7 verse 44 to the end) and when I prepared my instruction I really learned that charity is deeper than just "I love you" It's the pure love of Christ and that's something I need to strive for every day, and it's the kind of love my parents have for each other, and I hope to develop that kind of love one day. That's just a small thought from me.

I hope you all have a great week, and I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Harward

Another Baptism and Proselyting in the Hills of Nkanfoa

Hello Family and Friends! It is great to be writing to you all once again, and now we are in the great month of February! I hope you are all still enjoying the weather (Snow) and are all doing well!

 

Okay so as for this past week it was good! Monday night we were able to see A-Boss (A security guard for the mission home) and we read some of the Book of Mormon with him and that was good, and then we saw Christiana and we talked about the temple and she is doing well.

 On Tuesday I was nervous, really nervous. I instructed for the first time at District Meeting and it was a combined District Meeting, so it was in front of the whole zone and that was kind of scary. But it seemed okay, and the Elders and Sisters seemed to enjoy it. I talked about truly being converted to the gospel and used the Anti-Nephi-Lehis for examples (They are just really great, and are one of my favorite people in the Book of Mormon) and it was nice. I definitely am not the most adequate speaker but I felt good afterword. After that Elder Hodson and I did supplies and then I got to do my first Baptismal Interview for a young girl named Riah (Green Hill Sisters) and it was so sweet! She really was prepared for the gospel and I was so excited for her to make that covenant with our heavenly father. It was a good day!

Wednesday was a nice day of proselyting. We met this new guy named Evans and we taught him small, and he seemed really excited about the gospel. That night I got to go on my first exchange, and I went with Elder Stucle! (He is a cool guy) and is our Finance Secretary and I can only go for 3 hours at night (due to their duties and all) but it was sweet. We saw Abigail, and a guy named Albert (he was a very serious investigator but one or two things came up and he really stopped with the church) (Oh and I used one of the public toilets (For peeing; they have different ones for pooing, but we don't go in those; we use the nice toilets at the mission home or the church, or are apartment.

 

Thursday was Weekly Planning! I was feeling a little down so I was like let's make POPCORN! And we did and we sat on a mattress and did our Weekly Planning and it was great! The popcorn made me really happy :) but after that we had a slower day but we did teach Victor and Christiana and that was very sweet, and they are doing really well. We also saw our less active young man named Francis and he is a cool guy; he just doesn't like coming to church, but small small he will get there!

Friday- Elder Hodson and I just did supplies and got them ready for the apartments: we separated the packages by zone and we have all the supplies into two piles in different rooms, Central Region and Western Region and then we organized it by zone and apartment and it was fun!

Saturday was a nice day, and I got to walk up some crazy hills. Nkanfoa is so hilly. It's like you are hiking one minute, walking the next minute, up and down and its fun! Definitely different from Swedru where it was just flat, but I got some nice pictures of the view so hopefully you will all get to see them! Elder Hodson and I got the chance to go out with Elder Kalanga (Elder Adams my MT's companion. Elder Adams had to get his appendix out so they are just resting here for a little bit until he gets better) and that was nice! Elder Hodson and I also got to see how Ghanaians fetch their water and they all wait at this pump and they all take turns for this water and they get buckets and buckets of water for cooking and bathing and sometimes they have to fetch water every day and that is crazy! Plumbing truly is a blessing.

Sunday- Was good! Victor and Christiana showed up and we got to watch a video from the Africa West Presidency on their goals for 2016, and apparently the Second Counselor in the primary and the First Counselor in the Relief Society for the church came and stopped by but Elder Hodson and I were with Victor reviewing baptismal questions and President got to interview him and he passed!!!!! So his baptism is this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. so hopefully it will go well! We also saw Hannah and Agnes (Two other investigators who haven't come to church yet) and we saw Francis again, and I gave him a pen to motivate him for church. So we shall see ha-ha!

But the work here is great. We are just trying to look for referrals and use the members as much as possible! I hope everything is going well for you guys at home. And don't be afraid to call the missionaries in your home ward: they totally need you. I just saw that the 4th ward has some, and I know they could use all the help they can get. It doesn’t have to be big, but I am sure they would appreciate it :) I love you guys so much and I hope the best for you all. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? I hope you are all doing well, and that you are enjoying life, and having lots of fun adventures!!

Okay so as for this week it was a great week!

Monday of course was P- Day.

Tuesday was District Meeting, and my second time at instructing. This time I chose Charity. I don't know why but I just felt like that west the right one to choose and personally I learned a lot about it, and what I need to do to have charity more in my life. At the end of my instruction I gave the district the Christ like Attribute Activity so they personally can find out what they should work one. Then Elder Hodson and I did supplies: Pick up the mail/packages, organize the mail/packages/ pamphlets shop for more supplies fun stuff like that. :) That night I went on my second exchange with Elder Day, and I wanted to see what the other Elder's proselyting night was like and it was interesting. They visit members and less active, and it was a good night!

 

Wednesday was a good day! Elder Kalanga and I went on an exchange because he wanted to proselyte, but Elder Adams can't go out until the next transfer so my companion stayed with him. We actually went past the mission home small (The place is called New Cite) and we saw a potential investigator named Emmanuel. He attends the Methodist church, and works in Cape Coast, and seems like a nice guy. It was a pretty good first lesson and he invited us back, so hopefully all will go well for him. While Elder Kalanga and I were out we saw a pipe broken and all the people were going for free water from the pipe, so I took some pictures. It really is interesting how people here in Ghana collect their water. (Did I ever tell you how interesting Nkanfoa is? During the day Nkanfoa is pretty quiet, because a lot of people just travel 10 or so minutes to Cape Coast and work there) and then at night it's pretty busy because people usually come back from Cape Coast and it gets very interesting ha-ha.) Anyways Elder Kalanga and I saw Abigail that night. She is a member of the Pentecost church and she is very active there. She has a date in Swedru who she is dating who is a member, so she is interested in the church, but has lots of questions on life after death, which are very deep and doctrinal. We saw here and we gave her a lesson from the Doctrine and Covenants to help her with the three kingdoms of glory and we read small passages from section 76 and it was pretty good! It's very interesting because most people we teach this, it's very simple but for her it's very complex and doctrinal, so it's quite a challenge ha-ha, but it was good!

Thursday was a good day but a little bit slower. Elder Hodson and I were able to see Cecilia/Phillip (Both Recent Converts Mother and son) and we reviewed Lesson 2 with them and it was nice, and then we saw Christiana and we just talked about Missionary Work and Service and that was good!

Okay so Friday was interesting! We normally see Victor on Thursday, but he asked us for Friday right before we do supplies so we said it was cool. The other Elders had to leave early for a service project in Mankessim so they took the van, and left us the truck but they locked us in. Ha-ha so Elder Hodson and I are stuck in our compound and we can't see Victor, but luckily he calls us and shows up to our compound and opens it for us ha-ha! We had a good lesson with him! He asked if he could choose some hymns for his baptism and we told him of course! We then just reviewed small the end of Lesson 5 and then we asked him who he would like to baptize him, and he said he didn't care who did it. So Elder Hodson and I decided we would talk about it later. So then we just did supplies for the rest of the day which was fun! I think I am doing better at driving but I am not sure ha-ha! That night Elder Hodson said that I should do it (because I told him I never baptized someone) and that it would be neat for me to have my first one.

Saturday rolled around and it was a great day! We saw Francis and encouraged he to come to the service and to church tomorrow and it was sweet! Then we had Victor's Baptism at 4:00 P.M. We sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer, Love at Home, Oh My Father and a couple others but it was really neat to see how much he loved the gospel and the hymns. Then we had the service, and I was really nervous to baptize him, but everything went well, and I was happy for Victor and the step he was taking to follow Jesus Christ. Even some of his friends came to support him and that was very nice of them. After the baptism we were supposed to have a movie night, but it got changed to Sunday evening so Elder Hodson and I decided to go and see Abigail. We got there and we started talking small, and we got on to the subject of Food, and my Companion said "Palm Nut Soup is my favorite" and she said "oh really, I just made some, so you have to stay and have some" so of course we said yes. Then we got to go in and have Delicious FuFu with Palm Nut soup aka Abenkyen. I included a picture :) She put beans in the soup and it was SO SO good!! The fish, and chicken were also nice! Afterwards we had a nice discussion about service and trying to resolve any of her concerns. But She told us flat out that she would come to church (we didn't remind her) and that was so sweet! SO it was a great lesson!

On Sunday a miracle happened- Abigail came to church! Man it was so sweet!! That was a big step for her, and I am SO excited for her, so hopefully it will go well for her. And it was fast Sunday and Victor got confirmed and he bore his testimony! He also got the Aaronic Priesthood and it was a nice day. Afterwards we just talked to Victor small and then we saw Christiana at her place which is up a hill.... So it’s pretty tiring but it’s keeping me in shape. We just reviewed the baptismal questions and she is doing well! We then walked up around Nkanfoa up some more hill’s (its very hilly) and we got to see Edward our Youth Member and that was cool. We then met up with the other missionaries at the Quartsons (Sweet Members) to learn how to make Cabbage Stew/ Bean Stew. It looked very nice although I am not sure if I remembered all the steps ha-ha! After that we had movie night and we watched Free Town! Hey it was so good! I really enjoyed. Okay the last part of the movie when they are about to go on the freighter and you see a bus called Metro Mass and they go and they start talking to people with stuff on their head? That bus is just a Ghana thing. Metro Mas is a bus company in Ghana and the other elders decided that they probably filmed that part in Ghana, and it wouldn't surprise me because people sell stuff on their head all the time, so it's very common. Anyways I loved the missionaries desire to preach the gospel even when their lives were in danger. It was a great movie!

Well that's all for this week! I am excited to see how the work goes, and Christiana’s Baptism is this Saturday so it should go well!!! I hope you are all doing well and that you all keep having lots of fun adventures! Have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Harward