Sunday August 25, 2013

Today was a payday for some of our missionaries as we witnessed 6 individuals baptized after Sacrament meeting in the Nsawam Branch of the Church.  After the baptism we went with two young ladies, one a nursery school teacher, Gifty & her friend Gwen to visit a member family at their home and invite them to come back to the fold.  We visited with the sister but because she was cooking fish, and the family makes their living selling the cooked fish we offered to come back at another time.  The picture shown is the yard of this sister. The family lives in nothing more than a board shack with a tarp and some corrugated steel roofing to keep the elements out.

On Sunday there is a lot less traffic and it only takes 1 hour to get to our assigned branch.  Our branch president, Thompson, takes the trotro with his family to church.  He is hoping we can give him a ride, as he lives along the path we take to church.   We have noticed the miracle of the gospel is that those who adopt the ways of the Lord and really live the gospel, have better lives.  It reminds me of a statement made by President Ezra T.Benson in 1985 and quoted by Elder Packer since.  "The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold men by changing their environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."   We can witness that it will take the gospel to bless this nation. The concern I see is there are many false prophets and false Christ's here, in Ghana and the people know not where to find the gospel in its purity. The Book of Mormon defines priest-craft in 2 Nephi 26:29 and this land seems to be full of it and the people yearning for the gospel and Christ in their lives are fooled by those making their living selling the gospel and their craftiness.   ...."that men peach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and the praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." The work of spreading the gospel is so important to this people, they want so very much to find His path.  

The rest of the week was pretty exciting and stressful, we had 18 new missionaries come on Transfer Day. Before that came we had to have 4 new apartments, which are hard to find here.  Finding the right price along with a bathroom, windows and little niceties like that. Then we have to furnish that and have it all ready for the missionaries. President and the A P's (Assistants to the President) figure out who and where the new missionaries will be.

These are our AP's They look like they are ready for anything. One is a young man from Ghana and one is a young man from Idaho. The one from Ghana is going home in a month and we will miss him. It seems like all our missionaries get along very well, sometimes the cross culture is better. We got 15 new North American Missionaries so we are getting to be at least 40 % white to 60% black. Our new missionaries we just got, were all just 18 and just graduated from High School. I think we are going to have a little more homesickness and mom's that miss their boys than when they used to have to be 19.

Talk about homesickness, our 12th grandchild is due today... nothing yet... if you want just 1 more week little girl, you can be born on Grandma's birthday. But for your mom's sake you better come sooner!!!

Look for the Ghana Accra West Mission on Face Book and Like us.

These are a few of the new Elders with their new companions. They have just had lunch and a great talk from President Hill and Sister Hill and they are off to learn the life of a missionary.