Kumasi Sports Stadium

Sorry again, I got on email way early for you guys (5am Texas time).  We have a soccer game at the stadium and since our apartment is way far away, we had to come early.  Dropbox is being way stupid today, so I got a whopping 3 pictures uploaded.  I hope next week you will get to see the rest.  (Mom: actually, only one picture uploaded.  LOL!)

Love you guys and the package you sent :)  Those Crystal Light 2-quart drink mixes were sweetness and I am still enjoying those.  :)

My beard growth is ridiculous!!!  Every morning when I wake up, I am like "what in the heck is going on?!"  But the razors that came in my package are SWEET.  Sometimes Elders come up to me and ask if I forgot to shave, but I am obedient and shave every morning, but dang it grows fast and thick.  I will take a picture this week!

No early-morning seminary here, they do seminary Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening because the schools here start at like 630ish.  Sometimes we drop in and say hello which is sweet, but they don't have early morning seminary! :)

Man.  I can eat fufu pretty well now.  Elder V can take like handfuls at a time and swallow them no problem, but so far I can swallow like golf ball sized fufu, so I am getting better!

In the apartment, there are 4 of us.  Me, Elder V, Elder Mutasi (district leader), and Elder Odera. The other 2 are good guys.  :)

Fufu is really soft, almost like mashed potatoes, so it doesn't need to be chewed.  I suppose you could chew if you wanted, but it isn't necessary, and they eat it way fast, so if you chew it takes more time! 

We speak twi a little bit here and there and lots of the people think it's hilarious that I can speak a little and understand some, so it is a good laugh for everybody.  :)  There is definitely a need, most of the younger kids go to school and learn English, but people that are like 30 and older barely speak any so it is good to learn.  :)

Ahhhhhh, Elder V loves the watch!  I will have to show you his old one because it is a mess.  :)  We met the office elders in Kejetia, so we just met them and they brought the package.  :)

Today I have 1.5 hours so I will write as much as possible!! Sorry I am emailing early again, we have a Zone vs. Zone futbol tournament today at THE KUMASI SPORTS STADIUM!!!  I am way pumped especially because a lot of our Elders in our zone love futbol as much as i do :)))

(Baba Yara Sports Stadium, aka Kumasi Sports Stadium, Google images)

To start, I will share a really sweet experience I had.

Every week we buy and pass Sister Amilia, who owns the shop by our apartment.  We came by one night after a really rough day on the streets and many appointments that fell through, and stopped to grab some bread and eggs. I was really bummed about our day and was low in spirit when we came by.  We usually stop and hang out and talk a little bit, but this night was a little different.  She has 4 kids, 3 of which can walk and a little baby. Her kids had music on, dancing like their favorite dancers and dancing to their favorite music and laughing a lot.  :)  We all laughed and had a great time for 15 minutes or so as the kids all had a dance-off and joked around.  It was a really humbling experience.  Even though this family is struggling to get by and I am sure have many other struggles, they were spending time as a family laughing and joking and dancing. It was really awesome to see because most of the people of Ghana really appreciate their families.  I cant really put in words how happy it made me feel to see them having a good time as a family and laughing and how much it brightened my day, but it was awesome.  So maybe this week, take your family out to get some ice cream or have a dance-off with your kids, but family is really important.  The memories that kids and family members really remember are the ones that are spontaneous and the ones where the family is all together laughing and having a good time.  Find some time this week to just laugh with your family whether that's washing the car as family, or getting ice cream, it is so important to laugh as a family and spend time with each other.

Anyways, this week was sweet!  I saw my first rainbow and it was friggin sweet!  We had a baptism of a man named Brother Dorman and he was awesome because he was on time!  Here in Ghana, if you want to meet someone at 9, then you say 8 and they come close to 9.  It drives me crazy because I hate being late, but that is okay! 

We met these kids on the road who were about to race and as they began, the kid who was saying go said, "On your mark.... JACKSET... Go".  Hahahahhahaah!  :) It was so friggin funny to hear "jackset"!  Reminded me of the game 'telephone' where you say a word and at the end of the circle it is something way different!  Anyways, just a funny experience of the week.  :)

Elder Odera taught me how to make "chipati" this week!  It is basically a tortilla, just a little thicker and a little less salty, but it was really cool to learn and it is really simple.  :) So I am buying the supplies this week so I can make my own.  :))

I have knocked out most of the Book of Mormon this week, and last night, I read the last chapters of Alma.  It is really awesome to see how some people react to war and trials and how others react. The people of God began to pray mightily, build up their weakest cities so they became strong, formed defenses and towers to defend from and were watching always for the enemy so they could protect their people.  The people of God are led by men who always pray and always remember God and his mercy.  I read about the stripling warriors who were raised by faithful mothers which built their faith so much, that wherever they went, the armies of the righteous were relieved when they arrived.  The best part is, because of their faith, not a single one of them was killed, even when they faced some of the most brutal of enemies. This really relates to our lives.  When tough times come, do we pray?  Do we strengthen our weak areas where the devil is trying to break us?  Are we following those men called by God to lead us?  Do we put full faith in God that we will make it through whatever is thrown our way?  I invite those who haven't read the Book of Mormon before, to just go read the last 10 or 15 chapters of Alma and see what sticks out to you. It is amazing to see how the Words of God apply differently to everybody, but somehow all teach the same message.  Man. The Book of Mormon is true and if you don't think so, go and pray about it, and have the missionaries come share a short lesson about the Book of Mormon because I know 1000% that if you pray to know, God will answer your prayer just as he has answered millions of others.

I burned through most of my EZ-cheese from the care package this week... oops... It was way delicious for sure, and I made use of every drop!  :)

This week, somebody left a window open at church and a small family of birds made a nest!  So there should be a video coming of me catching bird in the chapel which is way awesome and something I have never done before!  Only in Africa right?  :)

I can officially play hymn 100 "Nearer My God to Thee" without too many errors, but man I am still way terrible at the piano... :)

That's it for this week, I miss snowboarding especially when it is way hot, I miss seeing the family, but I wouldn't trade the blessings I have for anything in the world :)

Love you guys,

Elder Wawro

PICTURE:

Just one lonely picture came through this week

No story behind it, just a cute cat.  LOL!