Ground Nut Soup, Kintombola, and All Africa Service Project!

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? I hope that you are doing well, and that you are excited to go back to school. I am sure that you guys are going to learn so much, and the Lord will help you along the way.

So as for this week it has been a pretty good week. Elder Nsenga made Ground Nut soup this week, a stew and rice mix and it was really good! He is always really creative when it comes to trying some new things. Sometimes he has been calling me Kintombola and I have been thinking it means White Guy. So I tell him Dabai “I am a black man” (To joke back at him you know) and he just laughs harder. Well the real meaning of Kintombola means Ballfloat (whatever that is) so he has been calling me Kwame Kintombola and so I call him Kintombola as well haha  :)

On Tuesday we had MLC report. I learned some new things to apply as a missionary work and it is always so great to learn and grow. Elder Nsenga and I also saw Sister Vida and we had a great lesson about the Temple.

On Wednesday we saw Mary and found out from Sister Wood that the father does NOT want her to be baptized :( We don't know why, but Sister Wood is going to a small village past Swedru to ask him in December and see if he will change his mind, so for now we will just pass by her, and see how she is doing. Elder Nsenga and I were able to see Brother Patrick (One of our members) and we had a good discussion with him. We also saw Francis and talked about Tithing and Fast Offerings. He is doing really well. His Baptism date for September 10th is looking really solid so that's great!

Thursday and Friday were pretty slow days unfortunately, but the zone leaders came down for an exchange on Friday so it was nice to see them, and we saw Sister Vida on Friday so that was good :) She is always so funny. Every time she sees me she yells Kwame Jata and I always say Mame Ekuwa (Mother Wednesday because she was born on Wednesday). Her family really is great!!

Saturday was All Africa Service Project! For the Cape Coast Stake we went to Ankaful Pysicatric Hospital (which is pretty close to Ntranoa) so the Elmina Zone, and Cape Coast Zones were there and we did some  good work. Elder Nsenga and I were at the front fixing the road with the holes. (We just filling the holes with dirt and smoothing it out, because usually they don't like to replace the whole road, just fix the holes). Elder Nsegna and I saw Francis again that night and we finished Lesson 4.

Sunday we received a referral from one of our members for a guy who is working next to the church, and we had a lesson with a guy named Melecon who actually works at Ankfaul Psychiatric Hospital, so that's cool. We also saw President Thompson's Nephew and we had a good lesson with him. :)

Anyways that is all for this week. I hope that you are all doing well, and I continue to pray for you all. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

In the 20's Club

Life in Ntranoa

Hello Family and Friends! I am now 20! Yay! So I am in the "Club" since Elder Nsenga is 25 so now we are 20 buddies ha-ha! I have A LOT of pictures this week from this past transfer to now so I hope you enjoy them!!!

This past week was a pretty good week, but also a bit slower but that's okay. Tuesday we had District Meeting and we welcomed Sister Thomas to the Abura District. I have thought about why we have 8 sisters in our district and I love them like my sisters. They remind me of Katie and Camille and I think that's part of the reason I am with these sisters: they remind me of my family back home.

The sisters work really hard and are doing really well. Sister Otusany and Sister Moneyi finish this transfer and Sister Ruskin finishes her mission the transfer after that, so it will be sad to see these missionaries go home. But in our district meeting I talked just small about change and improving (since it was my 20th birthday) allowing ourselves to change and improve every day and let the past be the past and continue to move on in Faith. I showed them the picture of “Jesus Christ Knocking on the Door”, illustrating Jesus Christ is just waiting on us, to let Him into our lives to change. After District meeting we had a small party! We brought drinks, popcorn, and biscuits! The Abgura Sisters made fried rice and chicken and brought Fan Ice and we played some games and it was sweet. The Abura Sisters even gave me a gift (which was a shirt and that was nice of them), and then they soaked me of course, so that was cool! :)

Wednesday came and I officially Turned 20! Wahoo! :) Some people from the zone wished me a happy birthday and that was nice of them. Otherwise it was a pretty normal day. We saw Otu (Whom we believe is a chief) and he was very defensive about Multiple Wives and, so it was only an okay lesson. (We really think he is a chief in another place.)  We also saw Sister Mary Menash and helped her small with her Family History which was SO cool! She is preparing names to go to the temple!! We also met a less active named Benjamin in Quarters and he is a sweet guy! He is 17 years old and seems like just a normal teenager ha-ha. I am sad that he doesn’t come to church but we tried just to be his friends and make him feel loved, so hopefully we can see him more.

Thursday we saw Francis Ampiah and he is understanding the Word of Wisdom which is great! And we talked about the Law of Chasity and Obedience, and Following the Prophet. Elder Nsenga and I then talked to President Thompson about some concerns and challenges we are facing in Ntranoa and we got some really good advice and a referral for his nephew Isaac Penti who is 14 and is now living with them, so that's really sweet!

Friday and Saturday were pretty slow days. We saw Brother Evans on Friday and we just had a nice talk to him. He is moving to Elmina soon, but he says he will still come to our branch, (Hopefully that will be soon because he hasn't been to church in a long time :(  But it was a good talk.

Saturday we saw Florence Awuni and we had a great lesson with her on Authority and we asked her to pray about Priesthood Authority. We asked her if she came to know this is true, she would be baptized and she said yes! So hopefully she got an answer to her question so she can be baptized (She could use some prayers right now).

Sunday was a good day at church, and PEC was a nice discussion about the ward and how to avoid the problems of people asking us for money. (There have been missionaries in the past who have given money to ward members which is cool, but now it’s a culture of asking and we had 3 women specifically wanted to talk to me privately about money issues. I just can't get involved nor have that kind of money to help. So Elder Nsenga and I have a plan that if anyone wants to talk to me privately, he will always be there because they won't talk about money if he is around. I am grateful for him :) The branch is really good, we just want the members to know we are just here to fulfill our purpose and not to get involved in matters like that, even though it is really sad at times. We just want to encourage them to go to the ward for help.

After PEC we had FuFu with Sister Fransica and her two daughters celebrating our August Birthdays. Let me just say Groundnut soup is pretty great!!! :) One of my favorites for sure.

Anyways that's all for the week!! :) I hope that you are all doing well, and I continue to pray for all of you and hope that you are all doing well. Stay strong :)

Love,

Elder Harward

Elder Kiiza is gone and now we are Two!

Hello Family and Friends! So first off a shout out to Camille and Sam for getting engaged! :) I am so happy for you guys!!

We don't usually get around this way, but it was a fun ride while it lasted. 

This week it was a bit of a slower week.Tuesday was a nice day. Elder Kiiza was saying his goodbyes, so it was "his day" for what he needed to do, and who he wanted to say goodbye to.Then on Wednesday Elder Nsenga and I said goodbye to Elder Kiiza and that was sad (I have pictures, but I can't send my pictures for some reason, so hopefully next week. Sorry :(  He is a great guy, and I learned some really good things from him in our short time together. I also got to see the August group at the station: Elder Wightman, Elder Stulce, Elder Hannemann all those guys. They really were a great group. Some of my favorite people for sure, and I will miss them. After we dropped of Elder Kiiza Elder Nsenga and I headed to Ntranoa had some FuFu and saw Francis and we had a nice lesson with him on Lesson 3. 

Thursday and Friday were both pretty slow days. We saw Brother Otu again and talked about the Book of Mormon. Very intelligent man, reminds me of Dad. It was a good lesson, and he seems to be doing well. On Friday we saw Francis and talked about the Word of Wisdom. He was so open this lesson! (YES!!!) He really didn't like the whole no Coffee and tea thing, but it was nice because he was honest telling us how he liked Cowbell Coffee. We talked about the dangers of both and modern revelation and committed him to pray and talk to Brother Ampiah. Questions are (usually) always good because that means he really is learning and wanting to improve.

Saturday another slow day unfortunately, but we saw Samuel Dadzie and went through lesson 1 again (As he is a recent convert) He gets distracted so easily so it's hard to teach him but we managed to get through okay and then I gave him 1 cedi to go and get some Pollo (This woman made some hot ones of the bread and it was really good, so he was happy).

Sunday was fast Sunday and Elder Nsenga and I got to bless the sacrament. I haven't blessed in a long time so I was nervous, but it seemed to go okay. After that we had Branch council. We got some good direction for Francis and Priscilla so that was nice. We went to see Ana B (The woman who asked us about our tags)  and after that her mother joined us in for the lesson. Very intelligent again. Asked about American Indians and if they knew that they were descendants from Lehi (Never been asked that before) but it was a good lesson. We committed them to pray so hopefully they will do so.

That's all about it for the week! I turn 20 on Wednesday, I am so excited!!! :) This next week should be a better week, so things are going well here. Fun fact about Elder Nsenga is that he is 25 years old. So it's like I am with Katie because he is her age haha, so I told him when I turn 20 I will be in "The 20 club" so that will be fun!!!! I hope that you are all having a good week, and I am always praying and hoping the best for you! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Harward

Re: Simeo, The Spiders are finally dead, Transfer News( Now down to 2), and Forgiveness.

P.S. Yeah I killed two huge big spiders that have been haunting me forever. #Finally Free!!!! 

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? I hope that all is going well for you! I also hope that you are enjoying the weather and getting lots of fun in the sun ha-ha :)

Okay so as for this week it was a really nice week,

Tuesday we had a combined District Meeting and Sister Ruskin instructed us, and it was on Charity and love. It was really good! I received some new insights from her instruction, and I thought about all of my companions. To all of them I say a BIG thank you for always showing me charity and for always treating well. Heavenly Father has always known which companion I need at the right time, and it's been pretty incredible for him to know that. So thank you all of my companions for helping me learn and grow. I know I needed the attributes that you have taught me. :) After District Meeting we got to eat FuFu (Yes!) and then we saw Francis and then we have 2 children of Record coming up this next month so we saw Brother Nyarko's daughter, so we just talked to her and said hi.

Wednesday was a nice day. We saw Sister Wood's Daughter Mary (She is one of the Children of Record) and that was nice. Then we saw some new people named Otu and Padmore (in Koful) so it was really nice. Also we taught Polycarp (Sister Millicent's Husband) He just came back from Upper East Region or Somewhere, and he is Roman Catholic and has O desire to change and it was like that throughout the lesson on Temples and Families. Sister Millicent is really struggling with him because he just drinks and vomits and sleeps and does that day after day and anyway it's pretty complicated but hopefully thinks will work out, so she can provide for her family.

Thursday we went to Simeo! We got to see Brother Evans who is a less active and he admitted it, but we had a good lesson with him sharing with him our favorite scriptures from the B.O.M. and it was sweet!

Friday was a little bit slower but we saw Louisa Quantson whom we thought was a child of record but she will get baptized next year so that's good!

Saturday was nice! We saw a Young woman named Ana who stopped because she loved our tags and wanted to get some so she can use them for her church. We told her honestly that we don't know about that information and explained our purpose to her and had a nice lesson with her; hopefully she prays about what we taught her. Then we saw Sister Vida and Mary and reviewed Lesson 1 with them. They are so great! I love them so much. They are a great family. Then we saw Francis Ampiah but he wasn't doing well and we didn't get too far in Lesson 3 when we just stopped. He wasn't feeling it and he seemed frustrated when we asked him why because his baptism is something we have been working on, so he just said okay to August but that's not the point. We want him to be baptized but we are also his friend so we want to help him to the best of our ability and really help in whatever his concern is so hopefully we can figure it out.

So that night we received Transfer new. Elder Kiiza is going so it will just be me and Elder Nsenga and then the 8 Abura Sisters. SO we are going to enjoy. I have never served in just a 2 man apartment but it will be great, and we will have some fun together Elder Nsenga and I :)

Sunday was a great day for me. The actual day was slow, and we only Saw Priscilla and we got over her concern of the Word of Wisdom and went in to Tithing small so that was good. But the really cool part for me was during Priesthood and Relief Society. President Thompson talked about Forgiveness. It was SO great! There has been some drama in relief society and on Sunday they just addressed it, and specifically two women shook hands at the end of it (I guess during the lessons they bring in their own personal problems into the lesson and it creates drama and everything) but a lot of people left in tears after that meeting, and it was really neat for me to see. I LOVE the concept of forgiveness and starting new.

 For me I am starting new this transfer and for my 20th birthday just to let my faults go and just follow Jesus Christ. To anybody who I have hurt I am really sorry and I hope that you can forgive me one day, and for me I am letting everything in the past stay there. I love you all so much, and I love forgiveness because it goes hand in hand with charity and with loving every body. Thank you to my companions for always forgiving me and for being kind to me. I love you guys so much! Thank you for all that you do! I hope that you all have a great week okay? Keep having lots of fun adventures :)

Love,

Elder Harward

Another week here in Ntranoa with some ups and downs

Hello Family and Friends! How are you all doing? I am sorry that I am really low on time, so I apologize to those who I won't be able to write this week, but I really appreciate all the love and support you guys give me. I will respond to you all next week! :)

Okay for this week I will just share some of the Highlights:

Monday we had a Zone Activity at Abura Chapel and that was nice. Musical Chairs, Dancing, all that fun stuff! It was a blast. Oh and I treated my companions to fried rice from the expensive place and we enjoyed pa pa!

Tuesday was a nice day. Sister Otusanya instructed us on what she learned on her mission, and it was really neat. (She goes home next transfer) She is a really great missionary, and is a hard worker. We had District Meeting in NTranoa due to the lack of keys in Abura but it was fun! Okay so after district Meeting we saw Sister millicents referral Paula and that was nice. She is a really sweet woman, and we had a nice lesson.

On Wednesday we met Monica's Mother Mame Adjoa and that was really sweeet!

Friday the Abura Sister's had 4 baptisms. So we went to the baptisms and it was really great. The Abura sisters are doing well, and I got to interview 2 of them (A young man named Norris and a small girl named Elena). I really feel the spirit there.

Sunday was a good and a hard day. It was hard because Ninson didn't come to church Again.... We feel that he is not understanding our message so that's hard but we talked to the ward about it in PEC so hopefully we can help him. Also Priscilla didn't come. We talked to her about the Word of Wisdom and she has troubles. She likes tea and doesn’t understand the sacrament because of the Law of Moses with sacrifices so she believes Pig is evil (Her mother is an S. D. A. so that's where she gets some of the beliefs) and she backed out of her baptism date for August 20th. She did say September so that was nice. She has a lot of questions which is good because she is being open now about our teaching which is good. Sam disappointed us in for the 3rd time this week with not meeting with us, and patience told us she would go to her church on Sunday. :( Sad days this week for sure. But Elder Nsenga, Elder Kiiza, and I know that we have some work to do so that's good. We also received 2 more referrals this week, so that was great. But we could use your prayers for our investigators. :) Francis is doing well, and so are our recent converts so that's good! Hopefully we can help them. But just a quick thought I had this week. Heavenly father really knows us individually and knows what we need. It really hit me this week more than ever. I don't know what these people need but He does, and He knows all of us perfectly and loves us so much and as we turn to Him He will help us in what we need to do.

I hope you all have a great week. I love you all so much and I hope that all is going well for you all. Have a great week okay?

Love,

Elder Harward

One of the most powerful moments I have had on my mission.

Hello Family and Friends! Being in a three-some has definitely been interesting. DR. Congo, Uganda, and the U.S. so all 3 of us are from different places so that's interesting.

Tuesday I was asked to speak about District Meetings and Companion Exchanges and what I learned from the Instruction. I enjoyed President Stevenson's Instruction (As usual when he talks) about Leadership in the Church, and he just said we get called and released. He really wanted us to get out of the mentality that "Oh I will be a leader my whole mission because I am a district leader or whatever" and that really got me. I thought to myself well I probably won't be a leader my whole mission, I just got to be who the Lord wants me to be, and be happy with that. That night, Elder Nsenga, Elder Kiiza, and I saw Francis Ampiah and we talked about the Book of Mormon. It was a sweet Lesson!! The spirit was really strong, and he is doing really well, and believes that we are sharing is true. (Super pumped!) We also met this new guy named Jacob and that was cool.

Wednesday- We had President Interviews. I got to actually go in the office for a bit and that was hard, because it was like being home and yet I felt uncomfortable because it wasn't home anymore, but I got to see the office gang again and that was nice :) We had to get a taxi back and we walked into Nkanfoa and that was hard, and I saw Francis and I just wanted to go and talk to him and say "Congratulations for your baptism on Saturday I am so excited for you!!!!" But I didn't, and it was really hard for me. But I also know that I wasn't supposed to be there for him anymore. Elder Simpson is supposed to help him, and he was the one that needed to be there, and I had to accept that fact. But I was really happy for him, and I know he is doing the right thing!

Thursday was a bit slower but we did see Priscilla! and we finished Lesson 2! She is doing really well!

Friday came around and we saw some new people namely two woman named Regina and Francisca. Then we saw Ninson (Vida's Husband). I LOVE this family. Like they are really great. They make me laugh, and we had a good time tonight with some dancing, and they are just great to be around. Vida and Ninson have 3 daughters. Mary, Patience (Both who are older and have two kids of their own. Mary lives in the same compound as the family and Patience lives in another compound near there but comes over a lot and then we have Small Mary. So Small Mary and Vida are Recent Converts, but we are working on Ninson and Patience since she was the one that brought the missionaries to the family) and Small Mary. But they are really sweet, and we had a nice lesson just talking about the Book of Mormon and he said that he just needs to come to church to really make a decision but he believes the Book of Mormon is true because it's "Simiple" (Progress!!) it was nice. Then we saw Francis Ampiah again and just read with him from the Book of Mormon in Alma 7 helping him understand that the B.O.M. will have significance in his life. It was a nice lesson.

Saturday we saw some of other investigators who we haven't seen in a while, and we saw Sister Woods little girl (She claims her to be her daughter since she took her in) And it was a nice lesson.

Sunday. I loved it. We saw some people who we haven't seen in a while and we had a couple of our investigators come to church and that was great! We even saw Priscilla Since she was sick, and we had a small lesson with her. Okay so small spiritual thought came when we taught Patience.. She used to be very serious in the discussions and with meeting with the missionaries. She even came to church 3 times. But before I came something happened, and she has been coming since. Well we sat down with her and we started over. Had a nice beginning and she was like "you want me to come to church right" But I said we want you and your family to be together forever and sealed in the Temple. It was a really great lesson. I loved when we got to Joseph Smith and just telling the first vision in his own words was so powerful and the spirit was so strong, and we committed her to pray right then (Because she said that she feels good about our church from the past visits when she came) and she did! She prayed to see if Joseph Smith really was a prophet of god, and I just really felt the spirit tell me that Yes, He really is a prophet. I don't know if she felt anything but I really felt the spirit there confirm at least to me that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of god. It was a neat miracle to me to see this lesson happen and my heart was touched. I love testifying about Joseph Smith and about Families. It really is so great.

One of the most powerful moments I have had on my mission. I know that the spirit touched her heart, I just hoped she listens, because at least I was touched.

Just one more thought that I had this past week. I have been feeling inadequate as far as I can't please everyone and that's hard for me to swallow. I want everyone to like me and I want to just be everything. And I came to myself on Thursday and I thought I just won't please everybody and that's OKAY. :) I can only be me. I hope that I am friends with my companions and the people here on mission but I know that I annoy people and I am not the perfect person so it's okay if people don't love me or like me. I will just show more love and do the best I can :)

Anyways I love you all. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harward

Elder Park Leaves and Continued Work in Three-some

 

Ntranoa is an interesting place. It is near three prisons and one or so mental hospitals, so I guess that is pretty cool. Last week Elder Kiiza and I went to the Ampiah Home (one of our members) and there were prisoners. They were dressed in dark blue outfits and were just ponding the FuFu for a party and the prison officer was in the corner on his phone just chilling. I was like WHAT? These are criminals just pounding some food, and the officer is just chilling. Elder Kiiza was telling me they have to be very good to be outside, so they won't hurt anyone. But I still am little on edge when they get near. I guess they get hired to work like that, but they have to be super well behaved.

Elder Nsenga and I, and some more shots of the Koful. I will have to take some pictures of Ntranoa and Amisano so you can see what they look like. I am sorry that there is not so many pictures this week. I will try to send some more next week. Love you. :)

 

Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday I was with Elder Park in the house being with him and going to DIS and getting his toe bandaged. We played some card  games and talked. He is from Orem Utah and went to Timpanogas High School where he was on Student Council his sophomore and Senior Year. He did Ballroom Dance, as well as Cross Country, and of course is stronger than me (No shocker there... Every person I have lived with is bigger than me expect for Elder Kiiza; he is the only exception ha-ha :)

 

Tuesday was our first time in the Abura District. So it's us and the Abura Sisters (7 of them) so it reminds me of Katie and Camille and I think of them when I see them.  

 

 Elder Nsenga and Elder Kiiza and I have been switching who stays home with Eder Park so that's nice. We got a referral of this young man named Dennis who lives by the chapel, so we started teaching. And our Progressing Investigator Priscilla is doing okay. We weren't able to teach her this week because she was busy, but she is really sweet. We also have an investigator named Sam who is a lecturer at UCC (University of Cape Coast) and he is a really interesting guy. 

Our apartment and our washing machine.

  

Sunday was a nice day because of Fast Sunday. I am getting better at remembering names now so that's nice! But Elder Nsenga is from Democratic Republic of Congo or as he says it DR. Congo (Doctor Congo) because it's an abbreviation of the full name, and he is 25 years old and he is a cool guy. Elder Kiiza is from Uganda and is 23 years old and has only been a member for 3 years!!!! Crazy! But he has a powerful conversion story and he actually did baptisms for the dead for his Father. His cousin is the only other member in his family. Having three companions is pretty cool! I gave all my companions nicknames. Elder Park is Bench (Because of Park Bench) Then Elder Kiiza is Pizza (Kiiza da Piiza ha-ha), and Elder Nsenga is Doc because he is from DR. Congo so it's been great so far to get to know them :)

 

 But life in Ntranoa is so great, and I love just how green it is, and it's so quiet so that's nice. I have named the big tree the Tree of Life because I am sure that must be what our Heavenly Father's Love feels like--so huge and incredible. I love being here, and I love being a missionary. Just a thought for today. I actually took this thought from Elder Stulce's Sticky note he had in his room. "The more we learn of the Savior, the more we will love the Savior, and the greater increase to serve Him will happen." I LOVE That. We just need to learn (Scripture study, and Church Attendance) and then we have that increase of love, and then we just serve out of love of our Savior because He did it ALL. I love learning about Him, and I hope to continue to learn more about Him, so I will love Him deeper, and serve Him with all of my heart.

 

Anyways I love you all. I hope you have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Harward

P.S. Here's a joke. What did the two walls say to each other? I'll meet you at the CORNER" Hahaha!

Update from This week:

 Sorry I only got an hour today because it's Wednesday and we tried to email on Monday but it was too busy and Tuesday the Internet was down, but today we got a chance to email, but we decided to only take an hour so we can go back and proselyte for a small time. This past week was nice. We had MLC on Wednesday and I got to go (being a District Leader) and I learned a lot. One thing I learned from President Stevenson was we get called and then we get released so eventually I will get released or do whatever the Lord's will is. I instructed on Tuesday on Companion ship Unity, how to use it, and how we want our companions to be our best friends even after mission. Wednesday Elder Park left for the U.S. His foot got too bad and now I am in a 3-some! It's still great and I sent you a picture. Please apologize to everyone for my lack of time this week, but next week should be better,

I love you so much, thank you for all that you do, including my birthday packages. It means so much to me: :) 

I'll talk to you next week okay?

Love 

Elder Harward