"MaEyehye" - I am hot!

This week had been so crazy busy! Wowowowowow!

We had 2 exchanges this week which gave us only 4 days in our area, so that was crazy trying to plan all of that but it went pretty well. First, we went up to Agona's district council to drop off some supplies and see the missionaries there. I went with Elder Tu'I'Onetoa (Tonga) and Elder Tsekpoh (Ghana). They are so sweet and we had a great day. They are such great missionaries!

Then on Saturday, we had exchanges with the assistants. I went with my MTC mate, Elder Osi-Kuffour. We had a pretty good day, some few let downs, but we had great fried rice at the end of the day at bishops house, so we were enjoying! We met a bunch of people, not many who were really free, but we shared a few quick messages!  :)

I also got a big stack of letters from Grandma this week. Holy. Awesome. Love you Grandma, means a lot, and I love the letters :)

Sorry about last week though, the internet died while we were on so my weekly letter didn't send, so I apologize in advance! I wrote it again, so I will send out the email from last week so you can read that too.  :)

Lastly, this week I was really thinking about my life, and if I know about Jesus Christ, or if I am coming to know Him. It really hit me if I really knew Him or not, so I focused a lot of my study on Jesus Christ. My answer came from the Book of Mormon, and the actual Section in the Book of Mormon written by Moroni (his son) which reads:

25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

I love the simplicity of the message that Moroni is getting at here. First, when we have questions in our hearts, we must not doubt our faith in Christ. I don't remember who said it, but one of the Apostles said, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" and that thought kept resounding in my head. Also, verse 27 is great. Just like we learned from the recent conference, that we must also be doing what is right and working for our answers before we receive. Our prayers can be answered as we believe, and don't doubt, but serve the Lord with all our Heart. I had the chance to bear my testimony in this past Sacrament meeting, and I felt the powerful witness that Jesus Christ truly did die for me as we sang the hymn 191:

1. Behold the great Redeemer die,
A broken law to satisfy.
He dies a sacrifice for sin,He dies a sacrifice for sin,
That man may live and glory win.

2. While guilty men his pains deride,
They pierce his hands and feet and side;
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
They crown his head with plaited thorns.

3. Although in agony he hung,
No murm’ring word escaped his tongue.
His high commission to fulfill,
His high commission to fulfill,
He magnified his Father’s will.

4. “Father, from me remove this cup.
Yet, if thou wilt, I’ll drink it up.
I’ve done the work thou gavest me,
I’ve done the work thou gavest me;
Receive my spirit unto thee.”

5. He died, and at the awful sight
The sun in shame withdrew its light!
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed,
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed
In dread response, “A God has died!”

6. He lives—he lives. We humbly now
Around these sacred symbols bow
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
To do his will and live his praise.
Jesus Christ truly has died for each of us, and it is our responsibility to come unto Him with all our hearts and do the things that we need to do to live with Him again.

Love,

Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

Only one picture came through this week from Gabe - it's always so good to see him.

10/02/17 - No Email, Pictures Only

(Mom:  The Ghana internet gave out today so we didn't get much from Gabe, but his pictures DID go through so we'll share those)
UPDATE:  He shared last week's email with us, so I've added and updated the original posting.

Adjuma Hyease

This week has been amazing. Sad to send Elder Burdge home this Monday, but we have kicked off the week with some fun!

I spent Tuesday with Elder Ajike and Elder White in Ejisu which was pretty fun, we saw a few people and some members, had some great food, then came home so Elder Ajike could pack some things. Nothing terribly exciting on Tuesday, but a fun time with Elder White and Ajike.

Wednesday was nuts! It was transfer day, so we headed out the door by 8 to be there by 9. We arrived and the day begun, I was paying for taxis for the zone members, shipping people off to their new areas and getting to see a lot of new faces. The longer I am here, the less people I know which is really weird to think. I feel like I just got here! Anyways, I spent most of the day at Metro Mass, where the bus drivers were on strike this week, so it was pretty crowded with tro tros to take people where they needed to go. Good business for the tro tros though : )  We had a new zone leader training for Elder Erickson at 3 which we went to and then they fed us and sent us on our way!  : ) We had a good amount of traffic on the way back, but eventually we arrived back home.

Thursday was awesome, it was one of the few times on my mission where my new companion was just ready to get out there and work right from the get go. Elder Erickson is awesome, and he is such a hard worker! We have had some serious success thus far. We had a ton of people just come out of the woodwork as we both set our minds to work our hardest. We had a great couple of days together!

Had my mission miracle this week. We taught this woman named Cynthia and she is Ghanaian. She said she lives with an Obroni, so that was cool. We had a good lesson and she said she would come to church with us. We called her again on Saturday and she said we were welcome to come! Anyways, we went and we met her husband. We have seen him from a distance, but this time it was up close and personal! I was low key terrified to talk to him, most Obronis are somehow rude and don't like to talk to or greet you here. But he was really nice, and sat in with us in the lesson. He has been here for 4 years now, and he has seen us before walking around. We had a pretty powerful lesson and gave him a Book of Mormon. He likewise committed to come to church which was conference day). AND. HE. CAME. TO. CHURCH. WITH. HIS. BOOK. OF. MORMON. Holy awesome, first time I have ever heard of someone having an Obroni come to church ever! : ) It was great, and he said he would come again next week and that we could meet him on Saturday. Kwamo really is the promised land!

We also taught Sister Sofia’s family this week again. This time we sat with the father and he really is deadset on his own belief even when we show him what the scriptures say and how it really should be. He was rather stubborn, so we are sad for that, but we will try again this week and try a new approach to get him to understand! 

General conference was awesome. I was a little distracted dealing with kids and making sure everything was going alright, so I missed a few talks, but there were a few themes that I saw that were really meaningful to me.

1.     Serving others

2.     Being humble no matter your circumstance

3.     Sustaining your church leaders

4.     Staying faithful to your covenants

It is interesting to see what the church really needs to hear and improve on throughout the world.  My favorite topic was about serving others and doing good to all men. There are so many blessings promised to those who live their lives serving others. As a missionary, we serve all day in the service of the Lord, but this theme of conference was especially meaningful to me. I will be looking for more opportunities every day to serve someone one way or another. I love the feelings I get when I am serving people, and I know that as we do so with a pure heart, we will be filled with Charity. May we all follow the counsel of our prophet to reach out to someone in need and serve them.

Love,

Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

With is new companion, Elder Erickson.  He REALLY likes serving with him!

 

Here's the nasty filter he mentioned a couple weeks back.  Yikes!

 

09/25-17 - "Abo Sen? - What says the time?"

Time is flying. I've got 4 transfers left before I'm home. That is terrifying.  Sent Elder Burdge home today, and it as a rough goodbye. Love that guy, and soon he will be enjoying the USA! :)

We had a great week this week. We were able to find a family this week and they are really sweet! The mother is somewhat stubborn, but the kids really like to have us over.  :) The member we brought with us really connected with them, and he and one of the daughters started a Book of Mormon reading competition this week, so that is exciting for them. The investigator is on 1 Nehpi 3 last time we talked, and that was Saturday morning, and she just called to see how we were doing and to tell us about her reading. We are blessed! :)

We had a night where we got pizza for the apartment for Elder Burdge's last week as a missionary in Ghana.  We got drinks and pizza and some cookies and enjoyed our night. Other than that, we were fed every day and sometimes 2  times in a day. Holy awesome. I wish every area was good at feeding missionaries, it means a lot to us, but I am sure Mom likes to know the members are taking care of us.  :)

One of the young women who loves to have us over and cooks for us is Sister Comfort, and she got her mission call this week!  She is going to Congo to speak French!  She is really excited to go, and we were so excited for her to open it, we were actually able to be there when she opened it! :) Funny though, her older brother who is a returned missionary opened it on the way over to bring it to her... lame.  Oh well. Anyways, it was awesome to see!  :)

Lastly, I "baked" some cookies at our Bishop's house this week and it was a hit!  They weren't quite the same as back home, but I got to use a propane oven which was a little better than the coal oven.  Everyone loved them, and wanted to make them again, so we shall see how it all goes! :)  Mama Wawro's cookies strike again!  :)

I had some sweet studies this week. I have been praying a lot lately, and I was struggling to understand why this and why that and why can't I have my answer now, and the Lord answered my prayers in a way that I hadn't thought of with this scripture:

11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

I was a little impatient this week on my prayers, and after I read this scripture (in a divinely placed spot) I understod that not all my questions need to be answered right this minute, or even this week, but that "Surely these things shall be made know unto you". I felt a peace and  calm come to me as I just let go what I felt like needed to happen and accepted God's plan and His time frame for me. It is funny how every time I think I have gotten really good at something, I am humbled to build once again. The Lord is truly mindful of me, and I am grateful to continue to learn more of Him as a missionary and as His son.

Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

09/18/17 - "Algae Water Anyone?"

What a powerful week we have had. The Lord had blessed us this week!

We started the week with zone conference and it was awesome. We and the UST Zone Leaders got to instruct on how baptismal services should go, and things that we should and should not do. Recently, there has been a problem about taking pictures in the middle of the service and also of people demonstrating the ordinance at the service, so we got a chance to teach about the sacred nature of ordinances and how they apply to the baptismal service.  It was sweet.  Then we had an awesome instruction over the Book of Mormon, which we prepared for by reading the talk "a Miraculous Miracle" from President Nelson. Great talk by the way, that will really help you understand the Book of Mormon for sure because it did for mine. 

I also got real sick this week. We have some filters on our Polytank (tank of water for our house), and one of them is not really checked that often because it is kinda in a weird spot. Anyways, there was some algae in the water, so I decided to change it. The night after I changed it, I had some serious stomach cramps and runny tummy, which was not terribly fun. We stayed in Thursday, I took some meds, and got some advice from the Dearings. I have recovered, but I will have to send a picture of the filter next week, it is disgusting. The funny part is, that it was the wrong filter in the filter case on the Polytank. A missionary put the wrong filter inside, one that was for filtering our drinking water instead for the ground water. But, all is well now, I am of good health, and back to eating my fufu.  :)

Lastly we had the baptisms for Sisters Carrine, Rebecca, and Charlotte (the bishops granddaughter) and also Bro Alfred. It was so cool. Charlotte was baptized a long time ago, but they lost the record, so we remade the record and baptized her again.  Carrine and Rebecca we have been learning with for some time,and they were really excited for their baptism!  :) They were all confirmed on Sunday, and there was a visible change in he countenances of them.  Carrine is usually pretty quiet and not too happy, but after church, she was just smiling and happy and said she felt really really happy inside. What a sweet testimony to me of the power of the Holy Ghost. I love Kwamo.

I also had great studies this week in the Book of Mormon. I have set my reading schedule to read the Book of Mormon a few times more before I come home, and I started this week! I read in 1 Nephi 4 and it is interesting what insights I have gained because really, I have read this section of scripture tons, and I always get to learn something new.  :) This is when Nephi is commanded to kill Laban, much like David and Goliath. He is hesitant to do so because he has never shed blood before. But this is what stuck out to me:

13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.

16 And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass.

17 And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit

I learned a little more about how the Spirit works with us on occasion. In Nephi's case, I love that the Spirit was able to teach him through a logical train of thought. First Nephi is hesitant to carry out the command because he doesn't fully understand why. Then, the Spirit teaches him by bringing some thoughts to his mind by helping him remember, and then by putting the pieces of the puzzle together for him so that he would understand and obey.  I love this because it is not always a burning in the bosom when the Spirit is guiding us. Sometimes we are guided and directed by our thoughts, and by just doing what is good in our lives.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten.

I know this is true, and I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder  Wawro

-No Pictures Came Thru This Week-

9/11/17 - Another Week in Kwamo

This week has been rather uneventful as compared to my other weeks, so it may be short. I am also at the computer with a broken space bar, so sorry in advance!  :) 
(Mom: don't worry, I clean up the emails before posting.  LOL!)

This week, we had MLC again, and it was awesome as always. We were instructed about how to be better leaders by example and how to give correction to missionaries who need it. It was so great, and definitely learned all about charity and love, as well as firmness and obedience. It is so interesting to see how big the difference is in a missionary's life just by obedience to the mission rules and having a positive attitude about the work.  Seriously, miracles happen with a positive mind and a desire to follow God's commandments.

We designed some zone shirts this week which should be awesome.  We will pick them up tonight, but they are pretty simple, and I got to design them on Photoshop which is really interesting since it has been ages since I used photoshop!  :)

We got some more bread from Mama Blessing this week too! She is seriously so sweet! She made us 2 loaves of wheat bread and some little wheat rolls from her bakery. They were dang nice too, i ate like 9 of the 12... Oops... But they were delicious!  :)

We are planning to baptize Sis. Carrine and Sis. Rebecca this week. They are sisters, and they have been coming to church a ton, even before I came, so they are excited.  It is always fascinating to me to hear how they got their answers to their prayers to know if what we share is true. One said she just felt like"YES" and the other said that it just feels right to her. We are pretty excited to have their baptism, especially as this will be the last for Elder Burdge before he goes home on the 26th.

Last, we watched the Restoration video with Rebecca and Carrine and their family, and it was a very spiritual experience for us. We started the movie, and I was full of the Spirit. Just felt like it was coursing through my body. Anyways, as we watched, it was dead silent for most of the time, and then as we got to the actual First Vision, the Spirit was so strongin the room. Just a continual testimony to me that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration, and that we are all blessed because of his simple prayer.  I will leave the link to watch the video, especially for those who may not be members, to at least watch this video, and prayerfully open your heart to its message. It is 20 minutes of time, but I know it can change a life.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2008-06-01-the-restoration?category=topics/joseph-smith&lang=eng


Love,

Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

When you're sick and aren't leaving home, this is the opposite of a clean-shaven missionary.  LOL!  They definitely cleaned up when feeling better and going out in public.  Five days growth for Elder Wawro; four days for Elder Burdge.

American donuts from a new mall in Kumasi!

When you've gotta clean blinds but you can't reach the top...  

You sit on Gabe's shoulders.  LOL 

Mosquito Nets

 

His version of Taco Salad?