From October 31st, 2016

Catching up...

This cafe in the mountains is AWFUL...so probably no pictures for a while unless I travel to Kumasi.  Sorry in advance if it seems to take forever for me to respond.  The internet today is decent, but the computer here doesn't recognize my USB or my cameera.  I will be in the mountains for a hile.  I will just try to send pictures and video from Kumasi or when we come down the mountain and email in town.

Mom, thanks for the Halloween candy pictures.  Aww man, I miss the Halloween rush.  Nothing like that in Ghana.  I miss handing out the candy to kids, because I usually ate all the good stuff before the trick or treaters got there.  Ha ha!  I definitely miss my sweets.  Just looking at the candy bowl makes me a little hungry for a sweet tooth!  :)

So, you asked about HOW I got to my new area in the mountains.  We took a tro for like 3 hours to Nkawkaw and then a taxi up the mountain.

I'm enjoying being a trainer, but it's also challenging.  I ask to become a better missionary and then get nervous about the challenges that I face and the responsibility I have been given.  But, this has really reminded me of how God gives us trials and challenges to make us better.

To start, this week's travel was insane! We left Wednesday morning from Sunyani to go to Kumasi and pick up our new companions. While on the way, they told us our companions were coming a day late, so Elder Fotu and I were put together and sent to Buokrom in UST Zone. It was his old area and they had extra mats for us to sleep on. I loved getting to know Elder Fotu, because he is AWESOME. Maybe someday I will get to serve with him, he is a powerful missionary! We spent Thursday proselyting in his old area which was cool to see how happy people were to see him!  Then Friday morning, we went to Kumasi to pick up our new companions.

At the Mission home, the MTC group I was in had 5 of us training which was sweet to get to see all my buddies.  It is strange to think that just a few months ago, I was the new missionary in the mission home. It was sweet, I got Elder Oshilaja from Nigeria. He is really quiet and I think he is just adjusting. I don't know a whole lot about him, but he is ready to work! Next week will be full of good things about him.

My apartment is sweet, we all get along and we each have our own bathroom which is nice for sure. The weather is awesome here. The clouds pass right at our level, so in the mornings, there is a ton of fog! It is really sweet to see :)

Our chapel is gorgeous and the view is super gorgeous! I am truly blessed.

This week I have focused on Ether 12:27 about how God can strengthen our weaknesses so that they can become our strengths. I really have studied this because I am super nervous about the responsibility to train!!!  Yikes! But I know that God will help me to overcome my weaknesses to become a better missionary!

A little about my new companion: Member since 8, his parents and brothers aren't members, but he and his sisters are.

My apartment is a little house in the woods.  It has 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms (2 full)

The branch building is split into 2 buildings...one has the offices and the other has the chapel and the primary room below.  We live a 5 minutes walk away from the chapel

No shopping yet, the bread is freaking expensive here which is annoying, but we haven't done too much shopping yet, we will tomorrow when my companion gets his money from the mission.

The weather is amazing. It isn't very humid, the sun doesn't feel like fire when it is out, and I feel a little cold at night which is awesome!

Being the senior companion is sweet I guess. I haven't had a whole lot of chances at directing much, but it is nice to have a little more control of things!

Biggest challenge of training so far is either my companion being super quiet or not knowing the area very well at all... :)

Love you guys, more next week! :)