Tender mercies

Ever since Jesse's mission call arrived, people have been coming to us with information, experiences, news, connections, and stories about Ghana. Virtually all of the information we are receiving is positive and exciting. The church is growing in Ghana. In fact in some areas, the missionaries have so many people to teach they don't have time enough to do it all. Ghanaians often come up TO THEM and ask to be taught the Gospel. So the missionaries actually spend time teaching rather than knocking doors.

Through the LDS Missionary Moms e-mail group, we've heard from many parents of missionaries currently serving in West Africa. They are telling us the most amazing stories of faith and progress. The humble people of Ghana are truly prepared to hear the message of Jesus Christ.

The Davis family in our ward invited us to their home on May 4th for a wonderful Family Home Evening. Sister Davis' parents, Norm and Sharon Noorda, are returned missionaries having served in Africa. They gave us a great presentation - we learned so much! They LOVED their time in Africa, and spent much of it in Ghana. Brother and Sister Noorda set up a beautiful display of African artifacts as well as narrated a slide presentation of photos they took. They presented Jesse with a necktie that was handmade by their Ghanaian friend, Emmanuel. What a great evening it was!

Jesse has made a new friend recently through friends they have in common. Cody Lehr is from Las Vegas, opened his mission call the same day as Jesse, and is going to the same mission on the same day! They are keeping in touch through phone calls and texting, as well as lunch appointments as they prepare for the day they fly together to the Ghana MTC.

We feel blessed to have already learned so much about Jesse's upcoming missionary experience. It is one of the Lord's tender mercies to have people placed all around us to help us navigate this experience. As in any mission, there are of course challenges and concerns. But thankfully from what we are hearing, the good far outweighs the not-so-good. And Jesse looks forward to a rewarding and worthwhile mission.