Two Months Left

Hello Family and Friends!

I hope that you are all doing well! This past week we had Mission Tour and Finish Strong Meeting! It was really sweet! We are just trying to talk to as many people as we can in Asebu. It has been super great and I have learned a lot of good things! 

So our Group Goals for the May group our 75 Baptisms total then Averages  3.5 at Sacrament Meeting 4.5 with Baptism Date and 4 new investigators and as a group we are trying to give out 50 boxes of B.O.M. by the time we go home (So 2,000 Copies :) ) Yeah so it's like 10 per week and I have been trying to push that by 6 a day so that's cool! Oh I signed the shirt above Elder Day I put an arrow from him to me (Father next to him) and (Son) next to mine I am a proud son ha-ha and it happened next to be Elder Stulce so that was sweet!

WE HAVE NEW INVESTIGATROS!!! #so sweet! Ben, Esther, and Tina. President Interviews are this week and they should be great! I only have 2 months till I go home. Super weird, but let's not talk about that ha-ha.

Okay so you know the goal for the B.O.M. WE are supposed to give out t10 but we have been doing 6 a day and we got 27 placed this past week super sweet! 

Tina is a sweet woman and we are seeing her tomorrow, and we have a bunch of these small boys who come to church a lot so we are hoping for 4 on April 8th Ebenezer and his little brother, President's Son, and A Small boy named Kevin (That made me so happy when I heard his name :)) who stays with the Nyarko Family but we are going to follow up and see how long he will stay there. Ebenezer and President’s Son (Alex) came in their white shirts and Ties that we got them so I was happy. :)

Oh my companion's Birthday is next Monday and we have a district Activity at the Castle so it should be awesome!

I love you guys, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

Sorry for the delay, but I'm still here

Hello Family and Friends,

How are you doing? I hope that you are enjoying the spring weather. Everything is going okay in Asebu.

We had a hard week with no one at church and no one having a baptism date, but that's okay--this week should be better because we are going to continue to work hard. 

As for the good stuff I went on two exchanges this week: One with Elder Neville in Abakrampa and we celebrated a member’s birthday; then on Saturday Elder Momoh came with me to Asebu where we got fed by Salamatu (the Muslims) so it was great!  OH and I said goodbye to the Zone members leaving last Tuesday (including Elder Maumau) and now I just saw the new guys today.We also had a Mission Tour with Elder Stanfill of the African West Area Presidency on Wednesday.

As far as transfer news, I am staying! Wooo, so I have this transfer and 1 more, but who’s counting?

Have I told you about our Muslims?- We have this SWEET Muslim family and they don’t speak English and they feed us ALL the time, and it's HUGE not kidding at the HUGE part. It really touched me that Ghanaians truly are so friendly and kind even to complete strangers from a different religion (back home I’m not sure if we would do that to someone whom we didn't know, but the fact they did was pretty awesome) They are sweet! I am actually called Maghid and Elder Williams is Sedu (Our Muslim names) haha, and they  always say Maghid is here, you know so it's great. Truly sweet women!

Edward- Is good during the lessons that we teach him but.... has stopped coming to church :( Super frustration and heartbreaking. We really do not know what is going on (So we are going to try and figure that out) and he just needs a lot of prayers so that everything will be okay. We are just holding the whole "Baptism" thing out of the picture until we can help him. He used to be SO good, so I am just confused, but hopefully we can help him.

Samuel Otu- He did come to church for the first time the previous week ago. It was good, but he still doesn't feel that he has answer to know if the church is true or not, again I am frustrated and just hoping that he will get an answer; sometimes he listens to other missionaries who come to him, so to be honest he just needs to have Real Intent when he prays because I don't think he is willing to act. If God says this is the true church, then he would have to Leave Methodist Church and get baptized again with the proper authority, and I think he is just not willing to act. Hopefully he will get that answer but he needs a lot of prayers too.

President Amos's Family- SWEET family. To be honest more of the branch is Under a Year old (Most of them not all) and the recent converts are less active so it's hard at  times, but we have been really trying to focus on the members and strengthening them, specifically President Amos's Family. The wife is still selling alcohol, but we don't judge her, we jut are trying to show her love. We have been working really hard with Belinda, Christ, and Shelia (All of President Amos's Children who are less active as well) and this week was nice. I sat down with Shelia and we just talked about normal stuff this past Sunday and I didn't bring up "Oh why didn't you come to church". Instead I just listened and tried to show love, and I learned so much more about her and her sweet daughter Madjoa (Boyfriend is not in the picture, one-time thing I guess) and at the end of what we were discussing I said, "You know Shelia you are a good person" She responded emotionally; it was SO sweet. She really likes us there, and Elder Williams and I are trying to develop that relationship to be even stronger. I have learned Less Actives don't need a one-time moment of, "Why weren't you there at church" but rather just taking the time to know them, love, and then when the time is right, then share a gospel message that will bless their lives and help them.

We had Asebu Conference this weekended it was nice, the Stake Choir came to sing for us so it was really sweet. 

 As for me I am too hot, like as I am writing you I am sweating a lot. I don't know, but today is just hot, but that's normal haha.

On Thursday our apartment got Fumigated so we were in Abura Dunkwa and got to spend the night there, so that was nice. On Friday I was on an Exchange with Elder Neville and he is a great guy. He is from Idaho, and he will go home this year September. He is a really good trumpet player by the way so that's cool. I learned some really great things from him. On Sunday we taught the youth/Primary since no teacher came and we had no investigators come to church. God has a body that was all I tried to teach them and that He is our Heavenly Father.  After Church we got fed twice, once with Rice then FuFu (But my companion hates fuFu) so I just ate the FuFu alone so it was nice haha.

Anyways that's all I love you all Bre Bre (A lot)

Love,

Elder Harward

Hello Family and Friends! What a week it has been! I hope that everything is well for you guys at home! I thought about what Ghana would be like with snow but I don't think the people would like it. They get cold and really it's still hot so that would be interesting if it happened huh? Sorry for not writing the last week, but hopefully this email will be good!

For this week it was a pretty interesting week! On Camille's and Sam's Wedding (The 14th) we received the news that my companion was going, so he got to say goodbye's to some people on Sunday up to Tuesday. Then on Wednesday I received... Elder Williams! He is getting to one year on mission (In June) He is from England which is SO cool so I have been talking like a British man with him but I am not very good haha (I will send you a picture of him next week) He is a convert of 2 1/2 years (joined the church when he was 19) and is 21 years old now. He actually has a degree (A Bachelor's Degree I guess England Education you Graduate Faster or something) in guess what...  English Literature and Creative Writing (Dad would love him). He is a pretty sweet guy and we get along well.

So then on Thursday we went to farm for Auntie Alice and she made us FuFu like always but she is so funny because she called her soup in-purity soup so the other elders and I were joking about it later. She is just so old and the way she prepares her food is not the most sanitary but we still eat it, because it's bad to leave food in Ghana (Super Disrespectful) but if she goes into the woods somewhere we can just chuck some of it out, and she doesn't notice so that's cool ,but I try to finish mine and not throw it but it's hard not to. I usually have finished it (Even though it takes me a while) and I haven't died so that's great.

I should Elder Williams some of the members throughout the rest of the week and Edward came to church on Sunday and that was great! He is progressing well. (Keep him in your prayers please) but actually on Saturday we had a fun time. We went to Farm in Abura Dunkwa for the Abura Dunkwa's Investigator named Grace and we waled FOREVER to get to her farm (7 kilometers according to her from her house to the farm) so we walked and walked and walked and then we farmed the Corn and Weeded. Afterwards she feed us HUGE Bonku (Not kidding) like 1 filled me up but she is smarter than Auntie Alice so she just waited and watched us. I was able to finish the second  one but it was a struggle. But it was really sweet, and she is a great woman. Then After we headed out the farm I got to carry some of the corn on my head and it was so great!!! Super Hard, but sweet. I started with a big bag, then carried a medium bag on my head, then I just could only carry the small yellow bag. Carrying stuff on my head was SO hard but SO cool and great, by the time we got to her house I was SUPER tired, I wanted to just sleep but we took a picture and then headed back to ABK for a baptismal Interview I got to do for a boy named Isaac (I had no time to change so I just did it in my mofity) He will be baptized this next week due to water issues so that will be great! We were out from 7 to 7 that day so it was pretty tiring afterwards. Anyways that is all for this week. I love you all, and hope that you have a great week, and keep having fun adventures.

Love,

Elder Harward

P.S. Shout out to Camille and Sam for getting Married! I throughout about you guys the whole day. Families really can be together forever and I am so grateful for the Priesthood and the Temple that make it possible. Love you both!!!!! (Hopefully you guys got my letter as well, that I sent to you).

Happy (late) New Year

Hello Family and Friends!

Afish ye a pa!! (Merry Christmas) and then you would say a fin come to me (May the next year bless you as well) and Happy New Year! Sorry for not writing last week but before that was great with Christmas and calling home. I even got Christmas Lights that sing and it was the bomb! We had a really nice week. I also got to go to Abura Dunkwa with Elder Taylor for an Exchange and that was really sweet.

Elder Mau Mau and I (friends from high school)

As for this past week it was really nice! My companion bought this red Christmas hat and it was pretty funny (I didn't get a picture of it) because he looked like a cow girl so it was funny haha. As for the week we have  been really trying to work with the members (Recent Converts and Less Actives) and that has been really great and I love to get to know them. I also got to go on exchange with Elder Peterson in ABK and see the work there and it  is great. They are doing great work there, and I am excited for them. Our District is all within Branches so that's cool so we have some work to do but it's exciting. 

And we are into 2017!!! Church was really nice, especially to partake of the sacrament was really great. My companion did some electrion stuff back home (Cool right?) so he fixed our Branch President's fan and he set up the Microphone for our stand which is great, and he will help our New Branch Clerk (Our Current one is less active) with his duties when President Amos calls a new one, so that's great. We had President Interviews on Saturday and it was nice to meet with Sister Stevenson and President Stevenson. They are SO great! I love my mission president and his wife, they are so cool, and inspiring. Any ways that is all for the week. Oh side not our Branch President's Family is less active (Crazy right) The Wife and 5 of the children don't come any more it's just one strong son, and two young boys and President Amos himself so we are trying to work with them, and help them. :) We have some work to do but with some work things will work out, so that's exciting! 

I hope that you all have a great new year into 2017 and "Remember Lots wife" and keep moving forward because "The savior doesn't care about where you have been, but where you ARE WILLING TO  GO." Sorry I can't remember the references. Have a great week and keep having fun adventures!

Love,

Elder Harward

Love is Never a Waste of Time and TRANSFERS!

Hello Family and Friends! This week was AWESOME!!! :) Truly it was.

Monday we ran into the Supply Elders and guess what? You know Sylvester from Nkanofa the one Elder Hodson and I dropped? Well he is baptized and he has the Aaronic Priesthood and is helping the missionaries!! I guess it wasn't our time to help him. He was a GREAT guy! But when we were teaching with him we just couldn't get him to church and we just felt blocked, but I showed him to Elder Johnson and now he is a member. Our "Love truly wasn't a waste of time" Some people just need time to figure things out and Elder Simpson and Elder Johnson helped him with that so that was cool! 

Tuesday- we found out where our less active member (Sister Hilda) stays! we found her on her street and she took us to her place and we were able to talk to her about Prayer. One member told us, “Oh she is a less active”, but we have to treat our less active members like a new investigator (Lots of love, NO judging, and help them understand our purpose to help), so it was a really nice lesson with her. Then we saw Sister Patience (Brother Ninson's older daughter) and she accepted a Baptism Date!!!! :) SO excited, I never thought I would see the day that she accepted that, but the husband and her are splitting up (Not my preferred option because of the children, but this way she can be happy) and she is ready to  get baptized!!! WOOO!!! SO happy; it's hard to describe, but truly ALL of the months we spent trying to help other really in the end has helped, because "Love truly is never a waste of time." Then we saw Brother Ninson and went with him through the Baptism Interview questions and everything went well!!!

Later in the week Elder Yao and I headed to Ankaful to baptism interview for Sister Johnny and Sister Nyangoma and it went really well. Her name was Abigail and I guess there was some of the sister missionaries who went home, called her and told her to start meeting with Sister Johnny and Sister Nyganmoa, and she did and it was this time that she was ready. After the interview we saw Brother Ninson and talked to him about the Temple and The Priesthood. He asked us "The church is good, so why do so many people fall away" I didn't have an adequate answer for him, but the church really is good and I was SO happy that he realized that. We also got a referral of a woman named Naomi who is usually at this school, so we were going to see her (We talked to her a few days before) but she looked at us as if she REALLY did not want to meet with us, so we decided maybe next time we will try to see her. But "Love truly is never a waste of time" so if it means just saying hello or a simple handshake, people's hearts will eventually be touched. Even if we won't see the fruits of our efforts. We went to the Baptism for Sister Nyangoma and and Sister Johnny and it was great!!! Really great to see both of these woman getting baptized! Then we went back and gave Brother Ninson the "game plan" for Saturday and made sure that everything was okay.

Saturday was Brother Ninson's Baptism!!! SO great, we went 1 hour so that way they could be prepared for the Baptism at 4:00 P.M. Sister Millicent on the way gave us PPP handkerchiefs so that was cool. She even put it on my head, but we didn't wear it too long so that way we don't get into trouble with Politics, but I did keep it because it is cool :) Okay so Brother Ninson and his whole family came (Sister Patience included) and The Elmina Zone Leaders came to combine with us because they don't have any clothes, so we had 3 people baptized on Saturday! The cool part was one of the Guys being baptized (from Elmina Ward) knew Brother Ninson very well! His name was Kobina Adjei and I guessed they BOTH used to go to the same church but know they have both stopped and got baptized on the SAME DAY! For me it touched me that the Lord does know us and he knows what we need, and what can help us follow him. "Love truly is never a waste of time " (We got fed FuFu 3 times from Sister Vida and her family so we were pretty full Saturday evening)

Sunday was really great. Sister Vida and Brother Ninson came to church early for the confirmation and it went so well. (I just bought some ties for Brother Ninson so he could look really nice because he doesn't have a tie). Sister Vida was in tears during the baptism and at the confirmation so it was really cool to see how this family’s life has been changed. Sister Patience came (Like I said doing REALLY well) and Mary Eshoun came so that was nice. We are determined to help Mary Eshoun because she is the only member of her family who is not part of the church, but every visit we try to help and one day she will get there :) After church we saw Chief Amako and he has some strange questions (Almost 2 years in the church) about women needing to cover their head (1st Corinthians 11) and we explained to him later on the chapter Paul says that we don't do this in church and the women's hair is given her for a covering so she doesn't need to, I am not saying this in good terms but look at it from 12-16 and it makes sense, but he was still being a bit stubborn about it, but we are trying to help him because "Love truly is never a waste of time". We want to help him receive the Melchizedek Priesthood so hopefully we can help him. Then we went to see Brother Ninson and they fed us FuFu this time with PALM NUT SOUP!!!!  :) SO good, much better than a chop bar. Patience's children were funny because they were trying to sell their flip flops for 2000 and 5000 (20 pesweas and 50 pesweas) a lot of people use the old currency so sometimes they will say 1 million but they mean 100 Ghana. So I find that interesting. (Did I explain this before? I can't remember). 

Anyways it was really nice to meet with them. There is this dance for the couples of the Church for the Cape Coast Stake, and they are going to have lots of fun I guess for Best Dress Couple, Funniest Couple etc. But the price is 70 ghana. (More than a lot of people can afford) so that's sad but Brother Ampiah told us he is going to pay for Sister Vida and Brother Ninson!!! SO neat! We haven't told them yet, we are waiting for him to tell them, but they would be the Funniest Couple for sure! SO sweet, so I am so excited that they will get to go because Mame was telling me that they won't go because of the money but I know she will enjoy it :) Brother Ampiah is really great and his "Love truly is never a waste of time". Oh we have this small girl we are working with named Eunice and her grandparents, so hopefully we can get permission for the Granddaughter (She keeps telling us she wants to be baptized) and then hopefully the grandfather will move back and then they will be baptized. They have been taught before and like the church, it's just his work situation that makes him stay in Kumasi, so hopefully he can move down here he told us by next year, so hopefully he can do that, but we will keep working "

By now you know my thought for you guys today is just to remember, "Love truly is never a waste of time" We can do SO much good by just the small things that we do, and eventually we will touch people's lives. I loved Grandma's letter because she and her friends comforted one of their friends that was crying, telling her it's going to be okay, even they didn't know the situation. what a GREAT example of LOVE! Very simple, and yet probably made this one sister feel really loved and cared for, so I challenge you all just to do the small things, even if you may not see the result we have a lot of people who need to feel that love, so I am going to try to be better and just show all the love I can, even if people don't like me or don't accept our message, one day all things will work out and everyone will come to the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel. What I am truy grateful for is the Savior's love (And for him completely) and because his "Love truly is never a waste of time" I get to help my fellow brothers and Sisters feel that love, so let's all do some good, not just for thanksgiving, or Christmas, but when we FEEL really prompted that we need to help someone, "let's us reach down to the hands that hang hopelessly down" (PMG Chapter 6 Hope, Neal A. Maxwell I believe) WE can do it, I have seen it in multiple ways, the one's that become good, and those that may not like us, but as we do I can promise that we will becoming who our savior wants us to become. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, I hope you can feel that, and I appreciate all the support you have given me. I wish I can tell you how much all of your letters and support mean to me, but just know that your love is helping me become better, and help others feel that love. Have a great week okay? :)

Lots of Love,

Elder Harward

Addendum

Lately I have not been drinking enough water so I got sick (Throwing up and Terrible headache) (I did get a priesthood blessing and it was truly inspired and from the Lord) and the doctor at DIS said, “Drink more water”, haha so I have been better at that. That night my companion got the call that he is going to train a new missionary! He is excited and I am too, so he went to the mission home on Friday and had his meeting and I chilled with the Zone Leaders until he got back and that was nice. Saturday I got  the call that I am leaving for Asebu!!!! it's in Yamoransa so I will still email in Cape Coast which is nice. It's a branch and they just got a good building and electricity, so that's nice! They should be getting water soon too! I will be in the Yamoransa Zone (No sisters all elders) and still a district leader so that will be cool. My companion is from Ghana named Elder Oforikuma and I will see him tomorrow (Tomorrow is our transfers) Saturday and Sunday we had Stake Conference and it was really nice, and I learned some really great things about the Savior and about Repentance.