Obusam Dwonso - "Devil's Urine"

This week has been a week of trials and learning. But, that is life forever and ever! My companion stayed home a day this week which was sad, but I got to spend some time with Elder Boyce and Kangwa, which was super fun! That's where I learned my new phrase about alcohol, or the 'devils urine'. :)

We had a tree frog in our house this week! I love tree frogs, they are 100 times cooler than toads we have in Texas. We caught her/him and named it Quinley. We played with it for some time, watched it hop around and played with it for some time, and then Elder Kangwa said he would let it go. Turns out, he put it in a box and it jumped out in our house somewhere, so maybe I will be sleeping with frogs this week... :)

We have been playing a ton of rugby and Frisbee these past few weeks with Elder Boyce. It has been soooo fun, I miss playing Frisbee and I love playing rugby. Never heard much about it, but with my islander companions and now Elder Boyce in the house, I am learning my fair share of rugby! :)

Koffi was confirmed this week, how great! He has been doing wonderful, and he came to teach with us this week! He is so so wonderful :) 

We visited one of our members this week, Samuel, and he had on a Kroger shirt! Of all the shirts, Kroger! :)  I explained what it was and grabbed a picture, it was hilarious! :)

Well, I got the voice recorder to work in the computer, so hopefully it will all work out and you can hear some pieces of my life in Mpraeso! :)

We had a great experience this week. We had a guy named Prince come up to us and tell us his uncle was a branch president a few hours away, and that we should learn with him. We taught him about the Restoration and it was sooo powerful. We came back  a few days later and he had answered all the questions in the back of the pamphlet, and started to read the Book of Mormon. We came back again a few days later and his friend happened to join us, and he testified of the Book of Mormon and how it was from God and how it teaches of Jesus Christ. Truly he is receiving his answer to his prayer as he is acting on what he is being invited to do. It is soooo awesome to see what happens when people want to know the truth and they do their own part. They read and pray and come to church, and the answer comes infinitely faster, as they show God that they really do want to know the truth. So true for all of us, that as we pray and ask for answers and help, we also need to do our part and show our desire to know. Miracles are happening here in Mpraeso, and I am glad to be a part of it.

Love you guys,

Elder Wawro

PICTURES!!

(It's been a while since we've shared pics from Gabe, but some came through today.  We aren't sure the time or location on all of them, but YAY!!)

3/13/17, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! "Awo dah paa" (wish you a happy birthday)

First and Foremost,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. I LOVE YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST MOM EVER! :)))))))))))))

Well. 1 year has come and gone, and I don't know where all the time is going!! It really is running by, and I am learning so much as the days go by. Missionary work is the best! :)

We had a rough start to the week this week. Our week was okay to start, lots of proselyting and teaching preparing our progressing investigators. Thursday, we went to our recent convert's house to continue the lessons with her and she kicked us out of her house, and said she would never come back to church. Somehow, her family says that they won't help her financially because she "is walking with white men" and that we should help her. She then proceeded to talk about how she can't work because she is sick and such, and can't read the Book of Mormon because it gives her headaches. She told us to go, so I bore my testimony to her about the Book of Mormon and about Joseph Smith and we left. She threw her Book of Mormon on the street after we left, and others told her if she didn't want it, she should just bring it back to us. So, she followed us and brought us back all her books from the church and left us. So that was a rough start, I was totally crushed the rest of the day, so I fasted for my own strength, and also for her that her heart would be softened and she wouldn't abandon the truth just for money.

Then, Friday, our powerful investigator Adams left to work in Kumasi for some weeks, so we won't be teaching him anymore, and have referred him to missionaries in Kumasi. Also sad, but not the end!

We have gotten a better modem for the chapel, and it is working GREAT! I have had no connection problems yet, and it is working really fast! :))))

WE haven't celebrated my 1 year mark yet, I am not sure what we are going to do yet honestly... Something low key, some really have a big celebration, but I think we will just eat some food, have a good time, and maybe get some more ties! :))))

Our investigator Koffi is doing sooooo well! He is wonderful, he always invites his friends to learn with us, and he really wants to learn the scripture better. We have helped him to find a way to mark his scriptures so that he remembers, and I gave him a complete set of scriptures that I have had for sometime. Maybe someday he will go and serve a mission! That would be sooooo coool! :) So, I hope he can use these scriptures if he chooses to go, that would be AWESOME. He is being baptized this week, so we are excited for him! :))

In light of our experience with out recent convert, i was crushed, and I felt so horrible and let down the rest of the day. I came back home and studied the scriptures to find peace, and as always, God did direct me to where I could find peace. I read about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, as He has suffered all things for us, and i went to Isaiah 53:3-5

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 4 ¶Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

I love this scripture, and it really helped me to understand that Christ has already suffered for all of our sufferings, he knows our griefs and our sorrows, and "with His stripes we are healed". I know that He did suffer for us, and that He can carry us in our times of distress, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder Wawro

3/6/17 "Allatta Oko Kumasi" -The pepper seller (Elder Oshilaja) has gone to Kumasi

Goodbye Elder Oshilaja! :) I will miss you my son! :') Off to Kumasi to be with my former companion!

To start on a good note, I got these sweet ties made from African cloth, and they are sooo sweet! I get some made like every week, because these seamstresses are really really great! :))))

I got some sweet pictures of Elder Kangwa and Elder Boyce wrestling this week also! Elder Kangwa jokingly provokes him and Elder Boyce locked him up in like 3 seconds! XD hahahaah! Those 2 are hilarious!!!! XD Hahahahaaaa!

I got 3 letters from Grandma this week, always gives me a big grin :)) I guess someone is doing some marketing, I got this thing called "Oil Packets".  Basically a small one-time use of oil that you can carry in your wallet or bag without having to carry an oil vial. So I got one of those here in Ghana! Interesting gift, but a good idea if you don't like carrying a vial. (see James 5:14)

Elder Nortey-Annan is my new companion here in Mpraeso. He has 3 months to go home, So, this week, I worked him from Tuesday to all Wednesday and half of Thursday until he fainted on Thursday. We were just teaching a lesson and he fell out of the chair. I thought he was joking, but after 5 seconds, there was a problem. So we woke him up with some water, and got him into a taxi to our house. We carried him inside and called Sis. Wardle, the mission nurse. They came the next day and took him to the hospital for some blood-work, and he had a virus. He then rested for 3 days straight, and seriously I was going crazy in the house.  Yikes! He seems to be walking okay now, so tomorrow, we will get back to work.  Hallelujah.

To end on a spiritual note, I had a thought that just made sense to me this week. You know how all through life they say, "Study the scriptures with a question." This week I applied that, and wow, my study was totally different! It was like I couldn't get enough of the scriptures! I had some questions from investigators and some of my own, and it totally enhanced my study. I guess I did have a few more hours to study, but truly, I can testify that studying with some thoughts and questions really will increase our learning from the scriptures! As it says in 1 Nephi:

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

And also,

23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

I know that if we study the scriptures with some questions or thoughts we have had, the Spirit can really piece everything together for our understanding as we "hold fast unto the Word of God" and "Liken the scriptures unto us" as I have had a wonderful experience this week! I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you guys,

Elder Wawro

2/27/17 - "Nsuo be to" - The rain is coming!

Mom:  I previously posted that we didn't get a big weekly email from Gabe last week.  Turns out, he sent it but not everyone received it.  #ilovetechnology

Hallelujah, we are getting rain here finally! It has been a few months since we have had rain, and we are starting the rainy season here pretty soon! :)

This week was full of crazy experiences.

First, we had our District ties made by some sweet seamstresses, and they turned out great! SO I made a bunch more of different fabric!

We also watched the child of one of our investigators get nicked by a car and sent to the doctor's office to get a bandage on his head for his bleeding. That was not a sweet experience for us, we were too far away to help, he got hit, the driver grabbed him and took him straight to the doctors.

On another crazy note, we had hail this week! It was the first time I have seen hail in Ghana, and it was so cool! My companion had never seen hail before, so I got the chance to explain a little about how hail forms and how sweet the creations of God are! He really has made a perfect world for us to enjoy some of the small things in life like hail in Africa! :)

Elder Boyce made fried Oreos today! I have never had fried Oreos before, and he made some that were really awesome! Totally unhealthy, but they were amazing! :)

Also, on the topic of food, my family knows that biscuits and gravy is my favorite breakfast food, and turns out, it is also Elder Boyce's favorite breakfast food! He had a gravy packet and some seasonings from home, so we enjoyed a nice bread and gravy breakfast. It was so so so delicious.  Wowowowow.  Also, shout-out to Montana for the Alpine Touch seasoning that is great! :)

We got transfer news this week! Elder Oshilaja is going to Kumasi to be with my former companion Elder Naawu. And I am staying here in Mpraeso to get Elder Nortey-Annan from Ghana, my trainer's former companion. Everything looks pretty connected, but I think it will be sweet!  I am really sad to see Elder Oshilaja go, he has been my favorite companion so far. He is hilarious, we get along really well, and can just talk about anything even if we are from different sides of the world. I love him, and I will surely miss him  :"(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! :)

For my spiritual thought, I read in the book of John about some of his disciples in Chapter 6 who decide to go their own way:

66 ¶From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

I coupled this with the talk from Brad Wilcox about the Grace of Jesus Christ and how at the Judgement Day, it will be less of a clipboard checklist test, but more of Christ beckoning us to stay, and to repent. This scripture really touched my heart. I can't imagine these disciples who had walked with Jesus and learned with Him and saw His miracles, turned and walked another way after there was a misunderstanding over some doctrine. I can't imagine Jesus Christ turning to me after someone close has left Christ, and Him saying, "Will ye also go away?". I hope that all of us who follow Jesus Christ can say as did Peter, "to whom shall we go?  Thou hast the words of eternal life." I know that we have the words of eternal life here on earth through living prophets from the time of Joseph Smith to our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson. Let us all stand firm and steadfast in our testimonies of Jesus Christ, so that someday, we will stand before Him and be given mercy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This I know is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.