I made this Picasa thingie so I could load pictures faster instead of having to use facebook. If you want a big one of something, just let me know and I'll email it to you in big format. Elder Callings showed me how to do it. Live long and prosper geek sign.
So this week started off with a big disappointment, not really but just something funny. Elder Callings told me the U of U outed from the same conference as BYU and that there will be no more BYU vs. Utah game in football. COME ON! These things were great, all the BYU fans yelling things that they normally wouldn't yell, people fighting in the parking lots, U of U people huckin' beer cans at BYU football parents, BYU people returning fire with Shasta cans, the BYU staff having to shrink wrap all the statues on campus so nobody would vandalize them (the shrink-wrapped statues are art themselves in a way. All the sophisticated art majors go "oh i see, so much meaning" while touching their chin in contemplation at the hooligan shielded statues and signs), no more scoffing at each other while watching the game on the extra large TV at the Anderson's house, even the BYU and Utah insults will eventually die down. These insults have been handed down from generation to generation, grandpa Bob even taught me some that I still use today.
E.G.
Q :What is the difference between a U of U graduate and a large pizza?
A : The large pizza can feed a family.
(no offense against University of Utah. Great school, I think everyone in my family has gone there for one reason or another.)
These fun jokes will eventually die off until they exist no more, oh well. There really are more important things in life than football. It reminds me of the kids that go to Disneyland and get bored so they go to the fantasy land and play X - box. STOOPID! Well such is life, we are surrounded by awesomeness and we sometimes choose to do the not so awesome, nintendo games, football games etc.
I do love football games though, it is in the blood. Since the dawn of time, mankind has been building giant arenas to watch buff dudes with armor duke it out, always with some sort of meat on a stick being sold. Compare BYU football games with the Coliseum and gladiators haha. It is fun but sometimes there are more important things.
I think that is a big culture traditional thing (of Utah) that will die off. I'm kinda understanding why my Ghanaian people have a hard time leaving their traditions because it is something they have grown to just do. Now taken there is a big difference between a rivalry football game and living in sin because you can't afford the bride price, but just leaving traditions is kinda hmm not easy all the time (haha sounds like a politician, "these things are not easy all the time sometimes mostly often but rarely.")
Being out on mission I have recognized the more important things in life and it all involves THE FAMILY. Having Elder Callings in the apartment has somehow brought me to an awareness of how my brain has shifted. The light might go off (electricity) and he would be somehow upset because that means no fans, we have to take showers out of a bucket (because the water can't make it upstairs without our water pump that runs on electricity), the food you just bought and put in the fridge will probably go bad etc. These things that used to be a big deal are no longer a big deal. I hate to say that I have developed a lot of apathy concerning most things. "waters off, lights are off, food is spoiled, oh well lets go." The most important thing is to be with the family. We are trying hard to get the families united in my area.
We have been making friends with the members and trying to get referrals so we can help bring in their family. We successfully found a man who had a less active daughter named Opal. Bro Labeen. told me about Opal when we were visiting him. Opal is his wifes sister. Elder Cobbinah and I went and visited Opal, came and knocked on the door at 7:30 at night haha and talked to her. She is 13 and kinda stubborn but we invited her to church and then I called bro Labeen as we were with her and he was so happy and we arranged for Bro Labeen and his wife to come to church with Opal. She came and it was great. After church we went and set an appointment to meet with Opal's father. We visited him on Wednesday and he told us that he only had about 10 min and kept asking how long it would take etc. We started and spent just a small 10 min and said we would close and come back later; however he insisted that we continue to share with him about the Book of Mormon. We shared another small little bit and said that we would come back later; however he wanted to learn more about Joseph Smith. We then challenged him to be baptized and he accepted. He was unable to come to church because the old man, grandpa around 70 years old who lives in a different place, sent him to do something but he called and told the Labeen family that he wasn't going to make it but is coming this week. This is one of those important things in life, bringing the family into the gospel. The best thing you could do would be to share this eternally benefiting message with those who you love, especially your family. Sorry for the rambling haha.
Yo. Remember the man with the leopard print shirt and we celebrated Elder Rampe's going home party at his house with apple pie and ice cream. Well HE CAME to church on Sunday. They put him in the temple prep class and he is going to his hometown this Wednesday to collect all of his families information for the temple work. It was sweet. Elder Cobbinah just got done praying for our investigators to show up, done in an empty classroom, and I saw him come in. It was sweet. He was kinda slow coming in but Elder Cobbinah and Elder Zadi ran up and greeted him. Then he was walking towards sacrament but then started moseying around so I went and nabbed him and plopped him down in sacrament. I even had people move so he could sit next to his wife, it caused a big scene but that's okay. Remember that sitting with your family in church in Ghana doesn't happen much, I'm not really sure why, so I pushed everyone out of the way and plopped him down right next to his wife. It felt right. He is now excited and happy. He even shaved all his scruff and looked happy.
Well this week I had to run out to a town called Tchokome (cho-ko-may) towards the beach. I had to go and interview a man named Redeemer. The town is right on the coast and all the houses are made outta straw and mud and stuff. It is like a little tiki village thingie, except everyone has cellphones... Hard to explain. Most of the huts don't have electricity so we are having a hard time figuring out how they charge the cellphones. But it is a cool little place. Most of the people in the little community were from the Ewe (A-WAY) tribe so it is hard to communicate with the old ladies and stuff because I can only speak some small Twi. Ewe has a lot of "buh" sounds, even more than Ga does. Go online and listen to it if you can find it, you'll know what I mean.
Me out in Tchekome. The beach is literally 'a stones throw' away. Doing the interview at the beach was an interesting experience. There are a lot of members that stay out there, however it is too far from the chapel to proselyte there normally, so we only can go out there every once in a while.
I am going back tomorrow going on splits with Elder Collings because we found 2 more kids who are of age, who's brothers and sisters are strong members, but they are not baptized. I'm going to do some little kid interviews. These are always fun but challenging.
For example I was interviewing an 11-year-old who's 25-year-old bro's and sisters are members and he didn't understand repentance. I tried to teach it but it wasn't working so I just took his tie off his head and threw it in my bag (like I swiped it). Then I had him explain the process of what I had to do to make "no more sin." He did great.
I asked him if he knew Joseph Smith was a true prophet and he said yes; however he just explained the Joseph Smith 1st vision etc, he didn't explain how he knew. I then asked him if he knew the Book of Mormon was true and he said "yes!" I asked him why he knew and he said because he read it and it talks about Jesus. I asked him that "what if somebody told you that the Book of Mormon is not true and is a bad book, what would you say?" He said that "I'd tell them that they were wrong because I have read it and know that it is true." It was awesome.
Well I'm doing good. I have been busy working with my companion to help him learn that we must do things that are hard work and are not always fun. For instance if I say "yo. We need to fill out the area book. I'll fill out half while you shower and then you can fill out the other half while I shower. Deal?" He then says that he is tired and wants me to do it all. I then have to somehow wrestle him into doing it and it doesn't work out so I end up having to do it while he gets offended that I tried to make him do something un-fun like an area book and then he goes on a hunger strike sometimes accompanied by a vow a silence. The hunger strike really doesn't work in Africa haha. Also he sometimes forgets that I am the guy with extra money from home to chop with (chop shop is a small food stand) and if he doesn't spend his sub carefully, he has to borrow money from me haha. So if he wants to eat, he needs to do the area book - muahaha! oh well, hopefully he will grow up small small with each companion and go home a man.
Well sorry britt that you had a bad week getting a cold. I laughed so much at your email mom on how the Holy Ghost prompted you to do all those things that only you do in order to help out. I'll write you next week about how everything I am studying is involved around being proactive/looking ahead. It is really cool.
So the whole football stadium sang happy birthday to Dad? They really like him down there at his High School. He is a good papa there and for me ;)
Well I gotta run. Love you all.
Head butt britt butt for me!
p.s. baptism for Daniel coming up on Saturday!!!
