Hello my people!

Here is a little video of Mary Mills I was able to upload.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN6hme7p4y4

Also here is one of Jeremiah. This is Vida's son, they are members that stay next door to Salome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7k5vtzLq9k

I also uploaded some pictures.

Well this week was pretty cool. The highlight was that we got to meet our new mission presdient. President Judd came on Wednesday or Thursday this week. We met him on Friday at our Zone Leaders council meeting. It was his real first day. I met him outside the mission home and he came up and attempted to give me an African handshake with the snap (failed haha). The first words he said was, "Elder Bills, your mother cares quite a lot about you." The man sounds like Elder Bednar. Then we went inside the mission home and Sis Judd opened the door and read my name tag and went, "HEY! I KNOW YOUR MOM!" and started jumping around. She is super perky and outgoing. Her hair is shockingly white. She reminds me of the high school girls from home.

Anywho President Judd has a different style than President Smith does, and this is a good thing. Different times, different style, different is okay. (see Garth Algar breathing into a brown paper bag going, "we fear change"). Man the guy is so spiritual. He came in and talked small using some big words that I have not heard for awhile haha. He taught us about everything having an opposite. He talked about tensions opposite being sustension. Both of these are good. Tension is okay, kinda like lots of different gages of strings and them being pulled at the right tension makes a guitar play (President knew his audience haha) also sustaining your leader is good. He also said that there are 2 things he doesn't want. Contention and abdication. Contention meaning disagreement with hard feelings and evil speaking, and abdication meaning that we just don't speak up because we don't want any fighting. He drew this chart on the board. Very scholarly like. I like him.

He then talked about goal setting and wanted us to make sure we didn't go past the mark. We need to seek Heavenly Fathers will on what goal to set or how many He want's us to baptize that month. Not just as many as possible because they might miss the mark, but the right amount. Sometimes this might mean more or less than we have set. So we all went home and prayed again and really tried to discern what was God's will (President Judd didn't even say anything but let us council and this came out, somehow he directed the meeting by inviting the Spirit and it guided it. Man he has got us in the palm of his hand haha) .

Well trying to find out what the will of God is not an easy thing to do. It is a process. It is like when the Brother of Jared, Mahonri (or something right?), went and prayed about how to get light in the barges. God said, "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" So God just didn't instantly tell him the answer. So the Bro of Jared went and pondered, studied and then proposed an idea to Heavenly Father and asked, "if it be right." God accepted it and touched the 'idea' with His finger. So we decided to try the same. We took a lot of numbers into account and then pondered the ward and branch strength and prayed multiple times about it over a period of 3 days. We came up with a number that we feel was what Heavenly Father wanted. I felt a burning inside and knew that this was right.

President Judd is a good man. His wife is a good person. You would like them. The first day they were there they wired the house for wireless internet. They used a flat touchscreen computer as notes and a planner when they were giving instruction.

Sister Judd introduced them, she is a cryer. She talked about how they met at SUU and how her kids are musicians. She then said, "I saw a CD of you on the counter and saw that it was a duet with Megan Schramm! She was my daughters roommate in college!" Small world eh?

Well President Judd has now taken over the position and will do a great job. We were all afraid with the leadership change but were comforted after feeling the Spirit when he spoke to us. It will be different but okay.

The big thing is that he is playing basketball today with the missionaries that live at the mission home. He is a young guy. In his 50s.

Well anywho all is well. I will learn much from him even though I only have a small time with him. Elder Berry had his book. I'll probably buy it when I get home.

Anywho he talked about how studying will be very important. So we have upped our study seriousness and are studying hard.

Well anywho at church we had an all time high of 7! Man Elder Boyd and I are doing great. We had 11 member present lessons and only 10 other lessons. However the people are coming and are progressing. It is great. Our ward leaders love us. Elder Boyd makes sure that we are always shiny and clean when we go to church, which helps.

Sister H. came to church this Sunday. We met with her and she again read the place we left her. She asked us a question along the lines of "why do you say you have the fullness of the gospel? Are all the other churches wrong then?" I then had her turn to Mark 7:16, a verse I knew her bible didn't have because she was using a Good News Bible that omits some verses sometimes. She was like, "AH it is not here. WHY WHY WHY? I wouldn't have bought this bible if I knew it did this." We then had her read 1 Nephi 13 about the apostasy. She is sweet. We shared with her about the Sabbath and the importance of coming to church, even if it rains. She came! IT rained before and after church but there was like 1 golden hour where it didn't rain before church! So our people came. She sat next to sis Mills. Good times. She cooked some food for us this week. It was pretty good!

We then had 6 other people come this Sunday. Fx. is a man who has come for 4-5 times. I have only taught him 2x's as he was one of Elder Wollenziens investigators. He is a very learned person who is searching for the truth. He should get baptized pretty soon once he comes to know how awesome the Book of Mormon is.

His grandmother is a white lady from Poland. We talked to her and she was really nice. She has lived here since the 70's. Well anywho she wasn't really interested in the message and was dodging us kinda. Man i'm glad I am serving a mission here. White people are usually 'busy' or 'closed' and reserved. The Africans are kind and open and willing to listen to the Spirit.

Well a lot of stories but not enough time!!!

I loaded up a lot of photos and some videos for you so you should be happy.

Glad everyone is being blessed at home. Glad the stadium of fire is going on strong. Man brad paisley woulda been a blast I bet, not as cool as being here though! Man glad Mike did a cool solo with a wah. WAH ON! Glad Drew did a cool solo as well. They look happy. And that stage looks sick!

Man stop loading me up haha. Man I gotta sweet clean car now, new phone etc. GEE I feel spoiled haha. Well as you said, much is given much is expected. I'll come home and hopefully hit the ground running (with a pit stop to mcDonalds first).

I love this gospel. The church is so true. I love you all. Thanks so much for your emails and stuff. Keep on rockin' at home.

Talk to you guys later!

Our water pipe sprung a leak. We came home and the whole place was wet because it was spraying with super pressure. We managed to push the knob down and then we wrapped the thing like a mad person. I ended it off with a clove hitch. Ah boyscout 101.

Some little kids on the way to Janet's house. This is in a place called Ablekuman. She lives behind these trees.

Our new mission president. President Judd and Sister Judd. Man they are cool. The mission will do well with them. Sister Judd ran up to me and said, "HEY I KNOW YOUR MOM!"

The stool was so small. Elder Boyd was pretending to be punished by sitting in the corner on the small stool. To bad I didn't have a dunce cap.

Little bridge thingies like this are all over the place. No cars can really get to where we go sometimes.

This is our investigat​​or Sis. H. She is really cool. She always reads what we leave her.

Mike was on the TV again. He is pretty famous now.



More pounding and driving.





Sneaking some cassava. Man it was good cassava. Tasted like a sweet potato.



Pounding fufu. Elder Boyd learned how to drive it(which means turn it). Don't worry I will stick to the pounding. I don't wanna get my hand smacked haha








Odorkor



This is us posing with our laundry bags by sis Abena's house.

Sister Abena, baby, Sister Kalu, Arabena.

Hi, I am holding a massive coconut.

I also am holding a massive coconut.

We are eating our coconuts now. This is sister Dzineku. Sister Baddoo's mom. She is a temple worker.

Sis Dzineku is really cool. We are teaching her niece S.

This is N. She lives with her brothers and sisters who are members. She is preparing to get baptized. We invited the neighbor to come and eat with us because the rice was too much!



A whole massive load of rice!!





Doing Bro S's daughters hair.






This is Clemment and his sister Charity. They are members. Clemment is the brother of our investigat​or N. Clemment is a very kind man and always comes to church.



Clemment was given the priesthood by bro Baidoo I think so this is his line of authority. First guy I have seen that has one.



Looks great.



We need some work in our hairstyling skills.