Monday, March 5, 2018
RISE AND SHOUT, Gabe!
Mom: Notifications have been sent out, and Gabe found out today while checking his email, that he was accepted into BYU in Provo, Utah for the Fall 2018 semester. He is excited and we are so proud of him!!!
03-05-18 "1 me ko fie"
Well the day has come at long last. My final email. Whodda thunk?
This week has been a little crazy. We went for an exchange in Bibiani which is in the western region of Ghana, so now I have proselyted in 4 different regions in Ghana, how sweet is that! I was with my MTC guy, Elder Ridell and his companion, and we had a ton of fun! We only walked a few hundred meters and taught like 5 lessons, it was wonderful! :)
We have had rain almost every day this week, and now the mangoes are coming. They are everywhere, and I will totally miss mango season, how sad!!! Maybe I can grab one to take on the plane and bring home to eat, that would be awesome! :)))
Us and the Bantama zone leaders were assigned to teach all the ward mission leaders in the Bantama stake about how best we can work together. It was really, really successful, and we hope that it will continue on, because the meeting was really great. We talked about how best to work together, things we can talk about in our coordination meetings and other things. It was wonderful! I am sad that I won't get to see too much of the result, but I know that training was a great help! It was kinda nerve racking to stand in front of all the ward mission leaders in the stake and talk about how we can all work together, but we had prepared and the Spirit guided the questions and answers, so we are grateful. :)
We also finally were able to get our foot in the door with one of our recent convert's wife. She attends another church, and he has heard some horrible thing about the church which cause her to be not very friendly with us and not very open to listening to what we have to say. Well, we have been nice to her and tried to at least be friends, and yesterday we were able to go to her house and sit with both her and the husband and answer any question she had. She was apprehensive at first, but we felt like we should just start with the Restoration message. We did, and she was really listening by the end. I guess for my final email, I don't have much more to say than Jesus Christ is our Savior. The prophet Joseph Smith really was called of God, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God revealed to us in the last days. We taught those simple truths to Martha (the wife) and the Spirit was there with us to testify of the truth. We have the fullness of the gospel in our times. Here. Today. On the earth, and it can truly lead us back to our Heavenly Father. I have studied this gospel, and I have had questions for myself about this gospel that could not be answered, except it were by a Father in Heaven who loved his son (me) enough to answer him. I have had my doubts, and those doubts have been swept away and replaced with feelings of love and peace in my heart. I know that Jesus lives, that our Heavenly Father is always near us and He loves us, He called a prophet to teach us in this, our own time so that we may know how to live in eternal happiness again with Him.
I love this gospel, and can't wait to be home to continue with the work in another place and in another way. Friends, family, whoever, please read the Book of Mormon and ask your Father if it is true. I know He will answer. He always does.
Love,
Elder Wawro
Mom: Gabe's final sentence of today's email: "Well, I am off until America. Catch ya next week! Love you guys! :)"
This week has been a little crazy. We went for an exchange in Bibiani which is in the western region of Ghana, so now I have proselyted in 4 different regions in Ghana, how sweet is that! I was with my MTC guy, Elder Ridell and his companion, and we had a ton of fun! We only walked a few hundred meters and taught like 5 lessons, it was wonderful! :)
We have had rain almost every day this week, and now the mangoes are coming. They are everywhere, and I will totally miss mango season, how sad!!! Maybe I can grab one to take on the plane and bring home to eat, that would be awesome! :)))
Us and the Bantama zone leaders were assigned to teach all the ward mission leaders in the Bantama stake about how best we can work together. It was really, really successful, and we hope that it will continue on, because the meeting was really great. We talked about how best to work together, things we can talk about in our coordination meetings and other things. It was wonderful! I am sad that I won't get to see too much of the result, but I know that training was a great help! It was kinda nerve racking to stand in front of all the ward mission leaders in the stake and talk about how we can all work together, but we had prepared and the Spirit guided the questions and answers, so we are grateful. :)
We also finally were able to get our foot in the door with one of our recent convert's wife. She attends another church, and he has heard some horrible thing about the church which cause her to be not very friendly with us and not very open to listening to what we have to say. Well, we have been nice to her and tried to at least be friends, and yesterday we were able to go to her house and sit with both her and the husband and answer any question she had. She was apprehensive at first, but we felt like we should just start with the Restoration message. We did, and she was really listening by the end. I guess for my final email, I don't have much more to say than Jesus Christ is our Savior. The prophet Joseph Smith really was called of God, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God revealed to us in the last days. We taught those simple truths to Martha (the wife) and the Spirit was there with us to testify of the truth. We have the fullness of the gospel in our times. Here. Today. On the earth, and it can truly lead us back to our Heavenly Father. I have studied this gospel, and I have had questions for myself about this gospel that could not be answered, except it were by a Father in Heaven who loved his son (me) enough to answer him. I have had my doubts, and those doubts have been swept away and replaced with feelings of love and peace in my heart. I know that Jesus lives, that our Heavenly Father is always near us and He loves us, He called a prophet to teach us in this, our own time so that we may know how to live in eternal happiness again with Him.
I love this gospel, and can't wait to be home to continue with the work in another place and in another way. Friends, family, whoever, please read the Book of Mormon and ask your Father if it is true. I know He will answer. He always does.
Love,
Elder Wawro
Mom: Gabe's final sentence of today's email: "Well, I am off until America. Catch ya next week! Love you guys! :)"
02-26-18 "2 - Nyame Adom, Nsuo aba biem" (By God's grace, the rain has come again)
Hallelujah, the rain has come again! After many months of Harmattan and 'brown-ness', the rain has come to clean up the trees, the gutters, and all the dust! :) We had the first heavy rain this Thursday I think. I left my window open though so my mattress got a little wet! :) hahahaha but I dried it out, so no worries. I am just pumped to have the rain coming again!
I spent last Monday in Kwamo visiting bishop's house before Patrick, Jude, and Timothy go on their missions. It was sad to see them go, but it was soooo good to see them for what might have been my last time. :) We had a lot of fun, and laughed a whole lot, and then we left. Bittersweet, but I have much more 'bitter-sweet-ness' ahead of me, so I gotta get used to it.
We sent off one of our ward members Phillip this week. He is going to Abudjan West Mission in Ivory Coast. He was getting pretty homesick at his party and shed some tears. Hard to see, because it wasn't too long ago that I was in the same position crying before I left. He was ready to rock though when the party was over and was very excited for his adventure ahead of him! :)
Elder White got sick this week. Kinda rough, he had Cata or a cold, and it was killin' him. We stayed in on Saturday so he could rest. I got lots done in the house while we were there, but now he is feeling better which is wonderful! :)
Sunday we had 2 fm's at the same house. Elder White wanted to go home and get some rest after church, but one woman, Sis. Ernestina invited us over right after church. We explained about Elder White's sickness, and she said that she had already prepared the food so it wouldn't take long. Well. We ate the first meal right when we got there, and it was empesi (boiled plantain) and tomato stew. We finished and asked to take our leave, and they said yeah just wait a bit. Thats when the sounds of fufu started and we knew we were dead. An hour alter we ate a massive fufu which was delicious, but man, we felt like dying! :) hahaha God bless that woman's heart though, that was so sweet of her to do that for us! :)
I had a great study this week in the war chapters of the Book of Mormon, and what impacted me this week was the character of the Stripling Warriors and their example of obedience. What stuck out to me was that they were just young men who wanted to defend their families from evil. Here are some scriptures to understand who they are:
20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him. (Alma 53:20-21)
21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them. (Alma 57:21)
25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.
26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.
27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually. (Alma 57:25-27)
These young men were preserved by the Hand of God because they were strictly obedient in every command and were trusted to uphold everything that was handed to them. I learned from this that simple obedience is the best protection. They were not mighty warriors physically, but spiritually, they were unmatched. Because of that, they were able to defeat the strongest army of the Lamanites and many more armies, not because of their own strength, but because they were strong in obedience to the commandments. I love the Stripling warriors. :)
Elder Wawro
I spent last Monday in Kwamo visiting bishop's house before Patrick, Jude, and Timothy go on their missions. It was sad to see them go, but it was soooo good to see them for what might have been my last time. :) We had a lot of fun, and laughed a whole lot, and then we left. Bittersweet, but I have much more 'bitter-sweet-ness' ahead of me, so I gotta get used to it.
We sent off one of our ward members Phillip this week. He is going to Abudjan West Mission in Ivory Coast. He was getting pretty homesick at his party and shed some tears. Hard to see, because it wasn't too long ago that I was in the same position crying before I left. He was ready to rock though when the party was over and was very excited for his adventure ahead of him! :)
Elder White got sick this week. Kinda rough, he had Cata or a cold, and it was killin' him. We stayed in on Saturday so he could rest. I got lots done in the house while we were there, but now he is feeling better which is wonderful! :)
Sunday we had 2 fm's at the same house. Elder White wanted to go home and get some rest after church, but one woman, Sis. Ernestina invited us over right after church. We explained about Elder White's sickness, and she said that she had already prepared the food so it wouldn't take long. Well. We ate the first meal right when we got there, and it was empesi (boiled plantain) and tomato stew. We finished and asked to take our leave, and they said yeah just wait a bit. Thats when the sounds of fufu started and we knew we were dead. An hour alter we ate a massive fufu which was delicious, but man, we felt like dying! :) hahaha God bless that woman's heart though, that was so sweet of her to do that for us! :)
I had a great study this week in the war chapters of the Book of Mormon, and what impacted me this week was the character of the Stripling Warriors and their example of obedience. What stuck out to me was that they were just young men who wanted to defend their families from evil. Here are some scriptures to understand who they are:
20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him. (Alma 53:20-21)
21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them. (Alma 57:21)
25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.
26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.
27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually. (Alma 57:25-27)
These young men were preserved by the Hand of God because they were strictly obedient in every command and were trusted to uphold everything that was handed to them. I learned from this that simple obedience is the best protection. They were not mighty warriors physically, but spiritually, they were unmatched. Because of that, they were able to defeat the strongest army of the Lamanites and many more armies, not because of their own strength, but because they were strong in obedience to the commandments. I love the Stripling warriors. :)
Elder Wawro
02-19-18 "3"
Well this week, we had some fun!
Monday, we played ping pong with the Elders in our zone just before our zone conference. We had tons of fun, and it was a really great activity despite the lack of much food or drinks, etc... We had a ton of fun, I got to play a bit, but I am not the best at ping pong! :) hahaha
I bore my final testimony at our zone conference as well. Weird to think it is all coming to a close here soon. We focused a lot on the Book of Mormon and finding new investigators. We are working to find ways to use it better in our work because it really can change someone's life!
Afterwards, we went to KFC (the Ghana equivalent of going to a nice restaurant) and turns out, President Cosgrave was there also! He spotted our group 100 cedis and we were so grateful! :))) We met the security guard and gave him a Book of Mormon which he began to read almost immediately after we gave it to him, how cool is that!?
I got to go on an exchange with Elder Yates this week also, we are in the same MTC group, meaning we came to Ghana at the same time, so we had a lot of fun. He is a great example and a great teacher so I was able to learn a lot from him. :)
We met with the stake president this week also to discuss missionary work, and the plan now is to have us as zone leaders to teach a training to the ward mission leaders and ward missionaries on how best we can work together. The stake president is President Appiah and he is a wonderful leader.
We also were able to baptize our investigator Andra this week. She has been learning with us for about 2 months now, and lives with one of our members. So great to have her join that family in her house, but also, this church family as well. :) No better feeling than to be welcome by 50 other member of the church at your baptism! :)
I read a sweet scripture this week from the Book of Mormon in Alma. It is when captain Moroni has just cornered the Lamanite leader. Moroni says something really awesome to him now that he has beaten him. He says first that they don't like to shed blood, but are only fighting for their families and their religion, and because of their faith in Christ they had won. Then he says:
4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.
There is a wonderful promise in this scripture. God will support, keep, and preserve us "so long as we are faithful unto him." We have the Lord's promised blessings If we are faithful to Him. Maybe that means by reading our scriptures, praying daily, paying tithes when it is hard, or something as small as acting on those promptings given to us by the Holy Ghost, we are guaranteed the Lord's help in our life.
17 For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers. Alma 37:17
Love you all,
Elder Wawro
Monday, we played ping pong with the Elders in our zone just before our zone conference. We had tons of fun, and it was a really great activity despite the lack of much food or drinks, etc... We had a ton of fun, I got to play a bit, but I am not the best at ping pong! :) hahaha
I bore my final testimony at our zone conference as well. Weird to think it is all coming to a close here soon. We focused a lot on the Book of Mormon and finding new investigators. We are working to find ways to use it better in our work because it really can change someone's life!
Afterwards, we went to KFC (the Ghana equivalent of going to a nice restaurant) and turns out, President Cosgrave was there also! He spotted our group 100 cedis and we were so grateful! :))) We met the security guard and gave him a Book of Mormon which he began to read almost immediately after we gave it to him, how cool is that!?
I got to go on an exchange with Elder Yates this week also, we are in the same MTC group, meaning we came to Ghana at the same time, so we had a lot of fun. He is a great example and a great teacher so I was able to learn a lot from him. :)
We met with the stake president this week also to discuss missionary work, and the plan now is to have us as zone leaders to teach a training to the ward mission leaders and ward missionaries on how best we can work together. The stake president is President Appiah and he is a wonderful leader.
We also were able to baptize our investigator Andra this week. She has been learning with us for about 2 months now, and lives with one of our members. So great to have her join that family in her house, but also, this church family as well. :) No better feeling than to be welcome by 50 other member of the church at your baptism! :)
I read a sweet scripture this week from the Book of Mormon in Alma. It is when captain Moroni has just cornered the Lamanite leader. Moroni says something really awesome to him now that he has beaten him. He says first that they don't like to shed blood, but are only fighting for their families and their religion, and because of their faith in Christ they had won. Then he says:
4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.
There is a wonderful promise in this scripture. God will support, keep, and preserve us "so long as we are faithful unto him." We have the Lord's promised blessings If we are faithful to Him. Maybe that means by reading our scriptures, praying daily, paying tithes when it is hard, or something as small as acting on those promptings given to us by the Holy Ghost, we are guaranteed the Lord's help in our life.
17 For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers. Alma 37:17
Love you all,
Elder Wawro
02-12-18 "4-fufuo kesee be ku me (big fufu will kill me!)"
Wow, what a busy week!
This famous singer here named Ebony died this week which was sad, she has a few good songs that are super popular that we hear all the time. The censorship here in Ghana is a bit different than the US, so we got to see the detailed pictures of what happened. She was in a car wreck because somebody put a pile of sand that blocked part of the road, driver swerved and hit a big VIP bus. They died instantly so that is good. Really sad though, it is the big news around here.
I bought a bottled Sprite here, and got a sweet surprise of someone's chewed gum in the bottom. Of course, I found that after I drank all of it, no wonder it tasted a little funny! :) hahahahahahaha! I love it!
This man Emmanuel was recently baptized here, and he got hold of some false doctrine about the Latter-Day Saints. Anyways, it made him pretty angry, so he has told us that he will go to the President of Kumasi here and speak to him about getting the correct idea about the LDS to the people here. He is so wonderful and has such a passion for the truth!
We had MLC this week too, it was a little different this time, we sat in a council the whole time kinda like the new church curriculum, and it was pretty great to talk about the mission and things we can do to improve. Always spiritual.
On Friday, we met a prophet from the church "True Faith" which was interesting, but he was so curious about the Book of Mormon, so he was fairly receptive to us. At the end of our lesson, his prophet showed up and asked to speak to him, so we will see how it all goes this week when we meet again! :) hahahaha! :)
We visited our clerk this week, his house is dang nice, like crazy nice. Tall ceilings, somehow American style. Anyways, we saw them, and their 2 younger sisters are Chanelle and Shantay. They are so cute, and we had tons of fun getting to know them! :)
Well my thought of the week is about God's plan for us. I was reading in Alma 42:16-24 which talks about the harmony of God's plan. The Law, Justice, and Mercy, and how one part cannot be without the other in the plan, for example:
Law and justice (no mercy) = nobody lives with God, all are imperfect. Impossible.
Law and mercy (no justice) = Everybody goes to heaven, regardless of their deeds. Easy. No learning.
Justice and mercy (no law) = Doesn't make sense, no rules. No plan. No progress.
This is explained here in the Book of Mormon:
17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?
18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.
19 Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?
20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.
21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?
So, the two parts must be there in the plan. It can't just be that everybody goes regardless of their good or evil deeds, as that wouldn't be just and then God wouldn't be just. It also means that there has to be a way for mercy to be provided for us despite our weakness. That mercy comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without Him, God's plan is useless because all His children would be lost, but with Him, we are able to be saved on conditions of repentance and good works:
22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
We must learn of the Lord's plan for us, and we must understand what He requires of us so that we may be able to repent sufficiently. Only those who are truly humble and really repent of their sins can be saved. We are so blessed to have this knowledge from the Book of Mormon so that we may be instructed sufficiently to know the Lord so that at the last day, He will say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant" because of all the good works we have done and all the evil we have repented from.
Love you all,
Elder Wawro 😇
This famous singer here named Ebony died this week which was sad, she has a few good songs that are super popular that we hear all the time. The censorship here in Ghana is a bit different than the US, so we got to see the detailed pictures of what happened. She was in a car wreck because somebody put a pile of sand that blocked part of the road, driver swerved and hit a big VIP bus. They died instantly so that is good. Really sad though, it is the big news around here.
I bought a bottled Sprite here, and got a sweet surprise of someone's chewed gum in the bottom. Of course, I found that after I drank all of it, no wonder it tasted a little funny! :) hahahahahahaha! I love it!
This man Emmanuel was recently baptized here, and he got hold of some false doctrine about the Latter-Day Saints. Anyways, it made him pretty angry, so he has told us that he will go to the President of Kumasi here and speak to him about getting the correct idea about the LDS to the people here. He is so wonderful and has such a passion for the truth!
We had MLC this week too, it was a little different this time, we sat in a council the whole time kinda like the new church curriculum, and it was pretty great to talk about the mission and things we can do to improve. Always spiritual.
On Friday, we met a prophet from the church "True Faith" which was interesting, but he was so curious about the Book of Mormon, so he was fairly receptive to us. At the end of our lesson, his prophet showed up and asked to speak to him, so we will see how it all goes this week when we meet again! :) hahahaha! :)
We visited our clerk this week, his house is dang nice, like crazy nice. Tall ceilings, somehow American style. Anyways, we saw them, and their 2 younger sisters are Chanelle and Shantay. They are so cute, and we had tons of fun getting to know them! :)
Well my thought of the week is about God's plan for us. I was reading in Alma 42:16-24 which talks about the harmony of God's plan. The Law, Justice, and Mercy, and how one part cannot be without the other in the plan, for example:
Law and justice (no mercy) = nobody lives with God, all are imperfect. Impossible.
Law and mercy (no justice) = Everybody goes to heaven, regardless of their deeds. Easy. No learning.
Justice and mercy (no law) = Doesn't make sense, no rules. No plan. No progress.
This is explained here in the Book of Mormon:
17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?
18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.
19 Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?
20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.
21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?
So, the two parts must be there in the plan. It can't just be that everybody goes regardless of their good or evil deeds, as that wouldn't be just and then God wouldn't be just. It also means that there has to be a way for mercy to be provided for us despite our weakness. That mercy comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without Him, God's plan is useless because all His children would be lost, but with Him, we are able to be saved on conditions of repentance and good works:
22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
We must learn of the Lord's plan for us, and we must understand what He requires of us so that we may be able to repent sufficiently. Only those who are truly humble and really repent of their sins can be saved. We are so blessed to have this knowledge from the Book of Mormon so that we may be instructed sufficiently to know the Lord so that at the last day, He will say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant" because of all the good works we have done and all the evil we have repented from.
Love you all,
Elder Wawro 😇
02-05-18 "5 0sorry aout the keyboard in advace"
Mom: I decided to copy and paste Gabe's letter this week and not clean it up, so you can see how crazy the keyboard he uses is and how different his access to good technology is...missing/broken parts surely show up in his emails. Be grateful for our U.S. equipment. :) Happy deciphering - I'll add the cleaned up version below it! LOL
wow, time is running.
this eek was my last week of Kwamo and my first week in abuakwa wth elder white. we are enjoying! to close out my time in kwamo, vida at bshops place asked if i could make soecakes for them, so we made some dang good cake, and it turned out really really great!
wednesda was transfer day, adn it went smoothy, no issuie there, haelujah.
thursday to sunday was retty goo dthoughm, i got to meet most of the investigators heer in abuakwa, so that is sweet! they have smo powerful peopl we can ork ith, so i am excited for that!! :) THere is a man here who was recently baptized named emanuel who lived in Teaxs afor 17 years in oyhuston. how sweet is hat??
SUnday was sad, it wasnt a inviting as kwamo was but then again it is my first week here, and i had sent almost 8 month in kwamo, so i guess that was xpected. we have a few embers whio hae invited us over in the eek o viit them, so i am glad we have some who want us to visit them :)
we fetched water this morning for a woman who has trouble with her legs, wha a sweet oportunity, felt aesome to do so. Ton sof the locals were laughing at u because they never see white eople fethcing wter, glasd we could make their day! :)
it i normal here for people to get xonfused abotu the church becaue o the ord saints. in ti , it means calling dead souls and worshippin tghem, so i have ebeen looking for a scriture that about sums u the true maning of the word saint and i found an awesome scriture s with the help of ELDSer White!:
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever. (2 Nephi 9:18)
i love how imple the scriptue explains the saints, thos who believed in Christ, enduerd the crosses of the world, and were not ashamed iof it. These are they who will hae truer happiness and thier joy shall be fu foreer! :) i love it. catch ya next week.
***************
Wow, time is running.
This eek was my last week of Kwamo and my first week in Abuakwa with Elder White. We are enjoying! To close out my time in Kwamo, Vida at Bishop's place asked if I could make some cakes for them, so we made some dang good cake, and it turned out really really great!
Wednesday was transfer day, and it went smoothy, no issues there, hallelujah.
Thursday to Sunday was pretty good though, I got to meet most of the investigators here in Abuakwa, so that is sweet! They have some powerful people we can work with, so I am excited for that!! :) There is a man here who was recently baptized named Emanuel who lived in Texas for 17 years in Houston. How sweet is that??
Sunday was sad, it wasn't as inviting as Kwamo was but then again it is my first week here, and I had spent almost 8 months in Kwamo, so I guess that was expected. We have a few members who have invited us over in the week to visit them, so I am glad we have some who want us to visit them. :)
We fetched water this morning for a woman who has trouble with her legs, what a sweet opportunity, felt awesome to do so. Tons of the locals were laughing at us because they never see white people fetching water! Glad we could make their day! :)
It is normal here for people to get confused about the church because of the word Saints. In Twi, means calling dead souls and worshiping them, so I have been looking for a scripture that about sums up the true meaning of the word saint and I found an awesome scripture with the help of Elder White:
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever. (2 Nephi 9:18)
I love how simple the scripture explains the saints, those who believed in Christ, endured the crosses of the world, and were not ashamed of it. These are they who will have truer happiness and their joy shall be full forever! :) I love it. Catch ya next week.
Elder Wawro
wow, time is running.
this eek was my last week of Kwamo and my first week in abuakwa wth elder white. we are enjoying! to close out my time in kwamo, vida at bshops place asked if i could make soecakes for them, so we made some dang good cake, and it turned out really really great!
wednesda was transfer day, adn it went smoothy, no issuie there, haelujah.
thursday to sunday was retty goo dthoughm, i got to meet most of the investigators heer in abuakwa, so that is sweet! they have smo powerful peopl we can ork ith, so i am excited for that!! :) THere is a man here who was recently baptized named emanuel who lived in Teaxs afor 17 years in oyhuston. how sweet is hat??
SUnday was sad, it wasnt a inviting as kwamo was but then again it is my first week here, and i had sent almost 8 month in kwamo, so i guess that was xpected. we have a few embers whio hae invited us over in the eek o viit them, so i am glad we have some who want us to visit them :)
we fetched water this morning for a woman who has trouble with her legs, wha a sweet oportunity, felt aesome to do so. Ton sof the locals were laughing at u because they never see white eople fethcing wter, glasd we could make their day! :)
it i normal here for people to get xonfused abotu the church becaue o the ord saints. in ti , it means calling dead souls and worshippin tghem, so i have ebeen looking for a scriture that about sums u the true maning of the word saint and i found an awesome scriture s with the help of ELDSer White!:
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever. (2 Nephi 9:18)
i love how imple the scriptue explains the saints, thos who believed in Christ, enduerd the crosses of the world, and were not ashamed iof it. These are they who will hae truer happiness and thier joy shall be fu foreer! :) i love it. catch ya next week.
***************
Wow, time is running.
This eek was my last week of Kwamo and my first week in Abuakwa with Elder White. We are enjoying! To close out my time in Kwamo, Vida at Bishop's place asked if I could make some cakes for them, so we made some dang good cake, and it turned out really really great!
Wednesday was transfer day, and it went smoothy, no issues there, hallelujah.
Thursday to Sunday was pretty good though, I got to meet most of the investigators here in Abuakwa, so that is sweet! They have some powerful people we can work with, so I am excited for that!! :) There is a man here who was recently baptized named Emanuel who lived in Texas for 17 years in Houston. How sweet is that??
Sunday was sad, it wasn't as inviting as Kwamo was but then again it is my first week here, and I had spent almost 8 months in Kwamo, so I guess that was expected. We have a few members who have invited us over in the week to visit them, so I am glad we have some who want us to visit them. :)
We fetched water this morning for a woman who has trouble with her legs, what a sweet opportunity, felt awesome to do so. Tons of the locals were laughing at us because they never see white people fetching water! Glad we could make their day! :)
It is normal here for people to get confused about the church because of the word Saints. In Twi, means calling dead souls and worshiping them, so I have been looking for a scripture that about sums up the true meaning of the word saint and I found an awesome scripture with the help of Elder White:
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever. (2 Nephi 9:18)
I love how simple the scripture explains the saints, those who believed in Christ, endured the crosses of the world, and were not ashamed of it. These are they who will have truer happiness and their joy shall be full forever! :) I love it. Catch ya next week.
Elder Wawro
01-29-18 "Abusuaafoo - my family"
Another sweet week here in Kwamo, but looks like the last! I will be transferred to Abuakwa, Asuo Yeboah Zone to be with my guy, ELDER WHITE. How sweet is that?! We lived in the same apartment for 6 months, spent 6 weeks apart, and now will serve 6 weeks together before I go home! :) I am beyond excited!
We taught a man named Abednigo this week. He came to church with one of our families, and he happened to be one of their nephews. We visited him after church and he was so grateful for us taking time to go and visit him. He took the message so well, and as he escorted us out, he said he was grateful that we had finally brought the truth to him, because he has been searching for a very long time for the truth and he finally felt like God answered his prayer when he visited us. It is such a blessing to serve as a missionary, seriously.
Our recent convert, Emmanuel got us some leather bags made this week. It was such a wonderful thing, my bag is getting a little bit old, so I was looking for a new one and he said he would get it for me. Elder Erickson also got one, but they are really good, and very strong. I love it. :)
A while back, I mentioned some things about Beatrice and her little brother Sammy. Well this week, he asked his mother again if he could be baptized, and she said yes and signed the form! That was a miracle, and he will be baptized in February.
Well, I had my last Sunday as well, and I didn't even cry, how about that! :) hahaaa
I took like 100 pictures though with a bunch of my closest friends. We got fed twice on Sunday and will get fed twice today as well, and tomorrow is my last day in Kwamo. Luckily, I will be able to visit Kwamo before I go because it is in Kumasi and not too far away, hallelujah! :)
We got a great question this week from one of our deacons named Seth, "how can I be my best self?" This question prompted a lot of deep thinking. My first thought came from Matthew 10:39:
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
My other thought came from the story of Nephi. When he was young, he was a good kid, but after he prayed (1 Nephi 2:16), he became a powerful example of faith and trusting in the Lord, no matter the challenge or trial. We tied that to ourselves, if we are able to give up our lives to the Lord and do all he asks with faith, then we are able to become "our best self", or better yet, who the Lord wants us to become. Simply, if we are humble and obedient, then we can become instruments in God's hands.
I think of the account of Alma the Younger. He had a very successful life, not really the Lord's way though. He had much success in the way he spoke and had close friends, he might have thought he was at his best. But, later in Mosiah we see that he had a mighty change of heart after an angel called him to repentance. He then spent the rest of his days preaching the word of God and repairing all the wrongs he had done to the church, and by doing so, he became who the Lord needed him to become. There is a lesson in these stories for each of us and how we can become our best selves, we can only learn them if we are reading the Book of Mormon! :)
Love, Elder Wawro
We taught a man named Abednigo this week. He came to church with one of our families, and he happened to be one of their nephews. We visited him after church and he was so grateful for us taking time to go and visit him. He took the message so well, and as he escorted us out, he said he was grateful that we had finally brought the truth to him, because he has been searching for a very long time for the truth and he finally felt like God answered his prayer when he visited us. It is such a blessing to serve as a missionary, seriously.
Our recent convert, Emmanuel got us some leather bags made this week. It was such a wonderful thing, my bag is getting a little bit old, so I was looking for a new one and he said he would get it for me. Elder Erickson also got one, but they are really good, and very strong. I love it. :)
A while back, I mentioned some things about Beatrice and her little brother Sammy. Well this week, he asked his mother again if he could be baptized, and she said yes and signed the form! That was a miracle, and he will be baptized in February.
Well, I had my last Sunday as well, and I didn't even cry, how about that! :) hahaaa
I took like 100 pictures though with a bunch of my closest friends. We got fed twice on Sunday and will get fed twice today as well, and tomorrow is my last day in Kwamo. Luckily, I will be able to visit Kwamo before I go because it is in Kumasi and not too far away, hallelujah! :)
We got a great question this week from one of our deacons named Seth, "how can I be my best self?" This question prompted a lot of deep thinking. My first thought came from Matthew 10:39:
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
My other thought came from the story of Nephi. When he was young, he was a good kid, but after he prayed (1 Nephi 2:16), he became a powerful example of faith and trusting in the Lord, no matter the challenge or trial. We tied that to ourselves, if we are able to give up our lives to the Lord and do all he asks with faith, then we are able to become "our best self", or better yet, who the Lord wants us to become. Simply, if we are humble and obedient, then we can become instruments in God's hands.
I think of the account of Alma the Younger. He had a very successful life, not really the Lord's way though. He had much success in the way he spoke and had close friends, he might have thought he was at his best. But, later in Mosiah we see that he had a mighty change of heart after an angel called him to repentance. He then spent the rest of his days preaching the word of God and repairing all the wrongs he had done to the church, and by doing so, he became who the Lord needed him to become. There is a lesson in these stories for each of us and how we can become our best selves, we can only learn them if we are reading the Book of Mormon! :)
Love, Elder Wawro
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