my week was a good one, i'm very excited. today is transfer news. i had really been hoping to stay, and i didnt feel like i'd go at all. we just got the call from the assistants, and i'm staying! elder sintim is leaving my apartment and elder matheson, my mt who i have only seen one time since the mtc is coming to be in my apartment.
there is also another missionary in my zone named elder dadegnon going to kumasi. also, elder ekaette is training!! i can't believe he will turn one year this transfer. i still don't know most of transfer news yet though. but i'm excited, i'm gunna have another grandson! haha
anyways, this week entailed alot of exchanges. on tuesday i went with elders chewaka (ethipoia) and haderlie (wyoming) and on friday i went with elders dodd and meinzer (both utah), then on saturday i went with elder darrow. they're all doin well...
we were only able to go to our area a couple of times this week, but we did have a really cool lesson with comfort okwori. we reviewed the restoration story, which we taught the time before. we emphasized the priesthood and how it was restored, and she really liked it alot. we havent been able to meet with her all that consistantly, and it' s mostly because she's VERY pregnant. she's big. she cant come to church cause of it, and cant meet with us often cause of it. she's in her ninth month and i wouldnt be surprised if three of em came out of her.
anyway, she told us that if she wasnt interested in our message she would just tell us she didnt have time for us, but she said she really likes it. she said the only reason she hasnt come to church is the pregnancy. in ghana here after a woman gives birth she won't go to church for at least one month after. so i wonder if i'll even be in the area long enough to see her baptised, but i feel strongly that she will. she is one of the most prepared people i've taught. this week were gunna slam her with the book of mormon, i'm soooo stoked to teach her about it!!
the thing that i'm happiest about this week is joel. joel was able to progress alot this week. on tuesday we went to teach joel and he wasnt yet back from school. surprisingly, his dad was there, though. elder halling and his companions have taught him in the past, and he has grown to like the book of mormon alot. he is NEVER at home though, because of work. so before i came to the area, they started teaching joel when they couldnt meet his father in the house. in my four months here, this past tuesday was the first time i've ever seen the father in the house.
so we sat down and had a lesson, reading from the book of mormon with him in 3 n 11. he opened up alot to us. he told us about like 2 a hour conversation that he had with joel this past sunday after he got back from worshipping with us. they talked about the things he's learning and joel told him all about it. they talked about how much trouble his mother is giving him about meeting with us, and how a ton of his relatives are too. then he basically told joel that he has his permission to fellowship with us. he said that, he as the father, can do that. and on top of that, he said that joel is 18 years old so he can make his own decision. he told joel that anytime anyone gives him trouble about it, he should refer that person to him and he'll take care of it for him. he basically told us that all of the people who give joel trouble don't know anything about the church, they've only heard rumors and bad things about it. he himself likes the church alot, especially the book of mormon.
so we were pretty happy about that lesson. then we came back on saturday, i was with elder darrow this time. this turned out to be another SWEET lesson. the past reading assignment we gave joel was about the law of chastity, alma 39. then on sunday, in the last hour, they talked about that topic in class. during the lesson saturday, joel also opened up alot. he talked about how he's done some bad stuff in the past. he said that even though in the past we havent particularly discussed any topic similar to the bad things he's done, he has been feeling super guilty. he said it's constantly on his mind. he proceeded to tell us about how he didnt necessarily take us all that serious at first, but eventually he began to. he said that each time we come, he can't stop thinking about whatever we talk about , and he basically thinks about it until he has a big headache (his brother told him that maybe the headaches are because the things we are teaching him are bad...haha). he said that in the last 2 or 3 months he has cleaned himself up from the bad stuff he was doing all on his own. this kid is sweet.
at the end of the lesson i asked joel about whether or not he felt like he'd be able to continue to worship with us every week. he quickly responded yes. then i asked him how he felt about baptism. he basically said that by all means, he can be baptised soon, adding that he didnt want it to be too soon because he believes that when someone is baptised they should not go back to their old ways. what an answer right??
so joel's doing really well! elder sintim and elder darrow (i guess its elder matheson and elder darrow now...) have a baptism at the end of november, so we might be able to add joel (and emanuella) to that one, but we havent really talked to him about a date yet. if he feels like he'll be ready that fast we'll do it.
if we did have him for that november baptism, it would be probably the most powerful group of baptism of my mission, because the other two candidates that the other missionaries are teaching are super super legit. they have a kid named patrick who is really really funny and very smart. and they also have this guy named isaac mah who is the tightest one out of the group. his wife and two children are living in utah and got baptised there. they told him to meet with missionaries here. to make a long story short, they have had extremely difficult lives as refugees from liberia, the wife and kids were able to get to america on a refugee travel abroad program but he's still working on getting there. he is basically changing his ENTIRE life around to join the church. i honestly am not sure if i've seen a man sacrafice so much to join the church. so if we had a baptism of emanualla, joel, patrick, and isaac it would really be something. but we'll see what the Lord has in store for us.
could you do me a favor and forward elder and sister lamb's email address to (former elder) nathan halling?? i don't have the lamb's address, and i got an email from him today asking for it.
so i thought a little bit about birthday, christmas ideas. please understand that i will be happy with anything you send. the only thing i really want is another journal. i hope to finish this journal at the end of the year and start a new one in january. beyond that i don't really care too much. I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOU, MOTHER. YOU DO ALOT FOR ME, I WILL BE HAPPY WITH ANYTHING I GET AND I LOVE YOU.
some other ideas i thought of include - the new gc ensign, a calander (whether it is one with printed out photos of me, or one bought in the store, i'll be needing a new one), motab cd's (no more ipods allowed, the apt is a little quiet), voice recordings from the fam, pic's, etc. elder darrow's parents send him this tuna fish stuff. they are little packages of pre mixed tuna fish that are ready to eat from the package that are way good. ties are sweet too.
thats about it, though. anything and everything i get will be much appreciated! i love you, thanks for everything!! let me know what i can do better for you (beyond sending pictures home, that one i know and i will do better).
well, that's all i have for today. love you guys!!
