Happy new year! (fireworks go boom, Bruce Springstein 'born in the usa' starts playing, etc)
This week we found a bunch of new people to teach. It is good but somehow not so good because we had to stop visiting some people because they were not moving forward. This really sucks to do because they choose not to do what is right, when you know they are capable of so much more and they are just putting off their own happiness. We are having a lot of really good kids come to church each week and love learning, however their parents are choosing to not come or to not keep their commitments such as reading, coming to church, keep the commandments etc. It really is a blow but finding and meeting new people is fun too.
I realized something the other day. I was studying in the 'preach my gospel' book (new book they are having the missionaries use) and there was a quote about 'it takes true intelligence to take a complicated subject and teach it simply so a small child can understand.' I am teaching the small children with their parents and I'll ask the small toothless child a question and the kid will nail it with the right answer while the parents are giving me answers all over the place. I seem to have the intelligence to teach a young child but teaching the adults is another story... I'll work on that.
New years was somehow hard because everyone was drunk! Yargh! Alcohol really destroys people and makes people act dumb and makes them terrible to be around. We ran down to our church building on new years night because they were having a party. We ate some free food and listened to some tunes and watched some dance groups dance and stuff.
It was a singles activity but we felt like it was the 'safe' place to be, away from all the boozers. Plus there was free food. Eh eh? So anywho you know DOWN WITH BOOZE! Ah man I don't even want to talk about how many times people have asked me, "so the bible teaches us that drinking is okay. It is just bad to booze." I then ask them to show me in the scriptures where it says that and then it gets their brains turning. I have been bold with them saying that they are trying to justify sin with man-made doctrines which are false.
We are going to baptize Akwartey and his son Savior (11) on Saturday.
Akwartey other son is the cutest thing in the whole world, just lost his front teeth. His name is Bright (6 years old). He comes to church and primary. He cant reach the soap dispensers so I get soap in my hand and then tell him to give me 5. I have been sitting with his dad, Akwartey, during sacrament and Bright gets kinda squiggly. I then break out the picture book and have him count the stars in the firmament haha. He will do that for awhile, then he fell asleep on me; however I don't have a comfortable arm so he begins to wiggle around again. I'll get a picture of this kid and then send it to you.
holt!) how to play some country things. He has been here about a year and needs to learn how to play and sing 'country roads' or something before he goes home. He is doing well.
So sis Florence made us some wicked okra stew today. We went to the Kaneshi market and bought all the stuff and she taught us how to make it. She really rocks. She then gave us some of the best banku I have ever had. YUM! The Kaneshi market is an experience. It is like an endless mass of people selling stuff you have never seen in your life. Now I know what the food is, I know what is safe and what is bad. Like the butcher shop, just stay away. They don't refrigerate anything and it has been out since 5 this morning and stay away from the guys who kill and sell the goat, they swear at you and stuff. No good comes from goats! Also stay away from things already chopped because they might not have washed them. So today we bought a buncha tomatoes, peppers, okra, red palm oil and a big ol yam the size of a 2x4. Elder Holt is a good cook and sis Florence is teaching us small small so we will enjoy.
Well i'm pretty sure we are going to win the clean apartment award (they award a group each transfer and give us a nummy treat and a certificate. Oh Goodie! Gold Star! But really, it is usually banana bread so I'm all down.) Elder Holt and I are clean nazis (no soup for you). Lahiem!
I'm doing good. No sickness or nothing. Working hard. Companion is working hard. He even said that this week was 'the hardest he has worked on his mission.' Elder Riding was a good hard worker. We worked until we almost died. Each night we would come home and just fall asleep on the bed. I was so tired that I had to force myself to stay up so I can brush and floss these beauties (smiles like tom cruise).
By the way, SMFS (send more floss soon).Thanks grandma Patsy for your letter. I got all vaklempt while reading it. Twalk amongst yourselves.(see mike myers snl skit)
Also I read something in D&C 6 about how important it is to not run faster than you are able. Also they say that same thing in Alma. This doesn't mean wimp out. I took this to mean that my brain can only learn so much at one time and that it is important to learn piece by piece rather than one big slab at a time. I want people to progress instantly, but most of the time it is a process. Slow and steady is healthy, just like not gaining and losing weight in a really short time. I need to wait for people to change and look at each small success as something great and important. I sure do like it when people change instantly though haha. Also I wanted to be a super missionary and understand all the doctrine about everything but realized that there is sooo much, so I will have to learn grace by grace, precept by precept (darn it haha). But this is the way I learned guitar, piece by piece. I am now grateful for the guitar because it didn't come naturally and I have to work my buns off to play stuff. Just like the gospel, I have to think really hard and let it all settle but now it is all starting to make sense and I am enjoying it. I am so glad I have the gospel.
The church is true. I have a lot of cool journal stories that are too long to write down here, but I'm almost done with this first journal so I could ship it home to yall soon along with this wooden hand this rasta guy carved for me. It is a hand holding an egg representing the worth of a woman. It looks cool.
Talk to ya next week.
Kaneshie market
Kaneshie Market
Kaneshie Market
