I devoured all the jerky you guys sent me along with the chocolate. SEND MORE CHOCOLATE! YUM! Thanks tons. Tonight I'm going to eat the sour patch kids. Man I haven't had anything sweet for months, except those sweet sweet kit kat ripoff things we have that are dipped in white waxy chocolate. I bought the store out of them muahaha! They are like wafers meets kit kat meets less chocolate, still delectable.
So this week was cool. We started off by having my companion fall down on his bicycle multiple times. He fell down and got a scrape on his hand, oh wait I mean 'severe injury' on his hand haha (see photo). Elder Cobbinah never played any sports or nothing like that so he isn't used to hmm healing...? can't find the word... You understand what i'm saying haha. So later on I snapped him when he wasn't looking while he was picking at his cut and looking at it really close, he was confused at this scab stuff and what was happening. He needed a cone of shame, ya know the one they put on doggies or cats after they get stitches haha. It brings me joy, every day my companion becomes more and more of a tuff person. A lot of stuff is new to him but he is doing a good job.
We first had to go in a group of 3 with me, Elder Cobbinah and Elder Zadi because Elder Rampe finished his mission and went home. We were in a group of 3 for only 1 day so no biggie. Groups of 3 blow for teaching! Anywho he picked up his new companion Elder Collings from Texas. However he recently moved to San Diego with his family but he went to BYU for 2 years. Man well he is rad. He speaks geek. He is a physics computer engineering major but used to play football in high school and used to have killer long hair. He also can sing along to every Metallica song ever. We took the same religion classes at BYU and know the same stuff. We stay up at night and talk about stuff. For instance he made me aware that now the cookie monster had been forced to eat vegetables and then at the end he can down a cookie. NONSENSE! We talked for awhile on the matter and it was fun. He reminds me of hmm a nice computer techy guy that knows his Dilbert but also understands the importance of football. Well rounded geek. Maybe thats why I get along with him so well, it is like you and dad combined. He will be a great help to this district.
Man when he talked he used some big words that I have not heard for a long time. He also kept going "huh?" when I was trying to explain some stuff because of the phrases we use.
(Man I like Elder Collings. He used to play football in High School but he is a physics computer engineering major guy at BYU and he knows the words to EVERY MetallicA song. Sweetness!)
Well anywho we were going to interview our investigator Rallins for baptism, however when he called his father to get his birthday his father freaked out and forbid him from joining the church. Rallins is 20 years old and stays with his mother, divorced from his father, however his father is paying for his schooling. His dad said that if he joined the church that he would not pay for his schooling and he would cease to be his son. Man it is like BYU, they gotcha right by the scholarship. I didn't know what to do. Rallins mother just told him to do it and join because he knows it is true. Rallins mother has come before but for the past 4 weeks has been traveling to funerals in different regions so she doesn't have a date for baptism as of yet, we gotta wait for the funerals to die down (boom boom crash! get it?)
Well we don't know what to do. We brought our ward mission leader, who is Rallins friend, over to talk to him and Rallins said that he would join once he is finished with his schooling in 1 or 2 years. Boo! We are still trying to find out what to do but we will see.
These long distance father things really suck. They have no problem with them going to any other church except ours. I pray that everything will work out with Rallins. You guys pray for Rallins too okay?
We had a really cool experience on Sunday. We went and shared with Samuel at church and then went over to his house and watched that Book of Mormon video 'The Testaments." Man that movie makes everybody cry. Freaking had to do the whole pretend like I'm wiping sweat from my forehead with my handky and wipe my eyes haha. Anywho I was quizzing Samuel about what was going on in the video and he knew most of it. I even asked him why the girl in the video believed in Christ, he said it was because she read the scriptures and listened to the prophet. The mom, who is less active, was sitting with us and it touched her. After the movie we talked about family scripture study and family prayer. She committed to do it everyday with her family, she even said that was a great reason on why she fell away. The whole family, including little 3 year old, was happy and it felt right. The Holy Ghost was definitely there. We closed with a kneeling prayer which the mother offered to give. It was great.
Man we have been getting a lot more referrals lately. We have been going over to families and trying to serve them and stuff and we are trying to make friends with them. We also focused our finding efforts to another location called "zero" kinda by the Darko's house and by the Bishops. We visited the Darko family and got 2 referrals, one of which we smacked with a baptismal date. I hope that it'll work out. The guy seems sweet. He was always wondering about the church. The traffic is bad in our area so he always takes a tro-tro to Odorkor and walks to the Mallam junction in which he passes by the church everyday and was wondering about it.
After teaching the referrals we were riding around and saw a woman with a baby on her back weeding her front yard with a shovel. I offered to help and she politely declined and kept weeding. I said, "nonsense!" and took the shovel from her and started weeding. I then had my companion collect a machete and start hacking down some of the weeds as well. We weeded her whole front yard. I miss yard work. I was happy because my companion needs to do some nice hard yard work and get some more blisters ;) She was happy and got some chairs for us so we could share something with her. She had 2 young boys and the baby with her and we shared about Joseph Smith. We are going back on Tuesday. Sweet!
Looks like all that raking those thousands of pounds of rocks with dad and weeding with grandma on the massive hill have paid off. Grandma Carol would be proud.
What really has been sucking is that we are finding a huge amount of people to teach. They are all reading and coming to know that the Book of Mormon is true etc. However they are not coming to church. I have heard excuse upon excuse ranging from funerals, toe problems, they felt weak etc. Remember the whole world cup footballers and how they flop down and grab their ankle and scream in agony then they instantly are healed and can spring back up with a smile and run around with a smile AFTER the penalty is called, well it is like that with church-going. I am hoping that we can get these people with baptismal dates who know the Book of Mormon is true, to church. Well surprisingly enough we are having another leadership training meeting on Wednesday with a focus on 'church attendance.' Man this church works with revelation like crazy. It is like whenever we have a problem we will have a way to attend to the problem practically given to us on a silver platter whether it be in a meeting or reading it from the living prophet and 12 Apostles etc. Man it is sweet.
Wow mom is the quilt master. Sorry-o that you went to just donate something and then you get smacked with a calling haha. You really do have talents busting out of your ears so be happy. When much is given much is required. Drats haha. Those school bags you make are AWESOME! I want the one with dragons on it! Man those are sweet. Well glad everything is cool with you guys at home. Uncle Davey looks good. Tell him, "akwaaba" for me! Then you can bleet at him once for him, tell him it is from the Ghana goats in my area. Man well this email is going to be short. I was duking it out with the internet today and I didn't make a lot of notes in my planner on what to write. Usually I jot stuff down during the week that I want to tell you but I've just been running around sweating this week and didn't write anything down. Don't worry, this week coming I'll writcha some good stuff.
Well I gotta run. Love you guys a lot. I'm still here in McCarthy Hills so don't worry about me. Hope dad is doing well with football and everything. You guys rock. I love you all. Talk to you next week.
Love you
Elder Bills
p.s. Thanks for the preemptive potato shipment. I love you haha.
Here are some photos:
Man even the West Africa area general authorities do the customary solemn mug shot, haha.
McCarthy Hills
