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!

May 30th, 2016

All the missionaries in the zone are part of the council that we have once a month. Elder Odera is from Kenya and has a cool accent and today when I get home, he is teaching me how to make "chipati" which is almost like a thick tortilla.  :)

I finished up both my books this week and have begun the monster sized "Jesus the Christ" book so maybe in a month or two I will have finished it.  :)

I made a video this morning going through my week so check the blog sometime today and watch (video below).  :)

Right now, I am listening to Justin Timberlake at the internet cafe...the owner is blasting it, so I am getting a taste of home.  :)

I am going to pick up a set of hair clippers today so I can touch up my hair before Zone Conference when I will see President. I got my package today from the office Elders which is why I am emailing really early because we had to meet them in town this morning.  :)

Life in Africa is really awesome.  I miss some stuff from home, but I am grateful for the many things I have been blessed with now and before I came.  I have a new appreciation for America.  Traveling to the less industrialized areas of the world really changes your view on the world for sure.

To those who are not members of my church, I read a book this week that is directed for the nonmembers of our church, so that they can get a better understanding of what we teach and a little bit of why we are the way we are.  The book is called "Our Search for Happiness" and it really sheds some light on why Latter-Day Saints are the way they are. :)

Mom:  No pictures this week, but there is a LONG 20-minute video of Gabe recording his mission week.  Please excuse the burping.  Goodness...LOL

VIDEO:

May 23rd, 2016

Mom: Busy week trying to finish up the last of school and processing seminary, so I'm going to post last week's email and this morning's email today.

This week was a very trying week for me.  We basically started from zero this week as we baptized many last week, so we have begun to do some finding and contacting of people in the area as well as seeing some referrals from our recent converts. At one point this week, we were teaching a whole family and all their kids, so it was like 5 adults and all their kids which reminded me of Alma and Amulek as they taught many many people, so that was a sweet experience!

We had zone council this week which was really awesome, but I definitely could pick out the disobedient from the obedient. Most of our zone is full of old people, so half former zone leaders and half missionaries who are going home soon.  It's interesting to see those who magnified their callings and those who haven't. But it was a really cool experience to get to be part of a zone council that I knew what was going on!  :)

I had sweet bloody knuckles this week after washing, but my knuckles are getting stronger so hopefully today they won't bleed too bad :)

We got a new Elder in our apartment, Elder Odera, and we did not get along well at the start of this week. We got in a little fight about work because he doesn't work much and is a little lazy, but regardless, we fought about work and he was a little rude and I was rude back which was not good at all. Although I may have been justified in some of the things I said, that was not a correct situation. I thought about it a lot before I went to bed that night about how I was right, but as I woke up, I knew I had to humble myself and apologize.  I prayed for charity and courage, and went to apologize.  He is 23 months on his mission and I am almost 3 months, but still I felt bad about what I said.  I went up, shook his hand, looked him in the eye and just said I was really sorry for what I said last night.  He said it was okay, and as I left, I felt very peaceful about the whole thing.  I had made right what was wrong and we get along great now.  I learned an important lesson about forgiveness as I humbled myself and apologized.  Our relationship was saved, no matter how much we don't get along, I showed my love for him as I apologized, all because of a simple apology.  This applies to everyone on the earth, no matter how right you may be, "it is better to foster an environment of love and nurturing than to be right...let us let love conquer pride." -Dieter F Uchtdorf

I had a patience test as well this week as one of our investigators blew off his baptism for a job appointment he got last minute.  We got up early to get everything ready for his baptism and 2 hours after his scheduled time, he called and said he was out of town.

So, since Aunt Wanda's moving (to Colorado), THAT MEANS I CAN VISIT AND SNOWBOARD WHEN I GET BACK!  :)  You never know how much you appreciate something until you don't have it.  Ask me how I know.  :)  But for sure she will appreciate her mom much more when she is not around.

Side note: If you can send a church history book every package or every other package, that would be really sweet.  :) I love reading about church history and such and I have finished almost both the small books of the missionary library.  :)

NICE JOB KYLE!  And love you too grandma, and I love hearing from you :)

PICTURES:

I am in love with Kalyppo as it is my alternative for soda! 

Guava is actually very good.  :)

Picture sent of missionaries emailing home on Monday/P-Day, sent from internet cafe.
I can imagine how empty this place must be on the other weekdays...ha ha

VIDEO:

Calling home for Mother's Day!
(Sorry for using the word 'crappy'.  LOL)

 

Tuesday, May 10th, 2016 Video

Enjoying a REAL bowl of Fruit Loops with a box of milk!  LOL!  Shopped at "Palace", the local American grocery store.  Please excuse the eating and slurping during the video.  Ha ha...goodness!  And do you like his homemade haircut?  :)

(P.S. One 'cedi' is about the same as $.25 cents U.S.)

 

"And you may ask, how do you wash clothes in Africa?"  Ha ha!

10 Baptisms!

My time is really short so I will keep it brief! The internet is really slow here so my pictures and such aren't loading very fast, but hopefully some will come through!  Ugh. The internet is soooo slow.   I tried to put more pics and video on and cancel the less important ones. If the pics and videos would load faster, you could see more stuff I have done!

This week we had 10 baptisms!  It was really awesome and half of them are referrals from the members!   :) It was really awesome and even President was speechless when we told him! The Wardles and the Haladays came (senior couples) and they loved it!  :) It was really awesome.  The best part of my week was definitely the baptisms.  Everything went well except the baptisms started an hour late because we run on 'Ghana' time so that was fun... haha!  Testing my patience, but all is well.  My week was insane, we had to finish up the lessons with everybody and have our district leader interview everybody, but we got it all done.  :)  With the 10 baptisms, there was a family of 5 and the other 5 were investigators.  

We just came back from a zone soccer game which was really fun! It was the first time I have played soccer since the MTC so hopefully we will do that more often.  :)

So happy my package from home came.  If it's packaged correctly, it shouldn't go through customs.  I get 1 'freebie' where the mission home pays for it, but if any more come, I will have to pay customs... yikes.  I FINALLY GOT THE PACKAGE THOUGH!!!  And mom, I think everything you sent made it!  :)  (Including the pink honorary-groomsman tie from Carina's wedding!  See pictures below!)

Thanks for sending a second package - I can't wait to get it.  THANK YOU AND I AM PUMPED.  Zone council is every 2nd Tuesday of the month, so if you send a package the last week of the month, I should be able to get it at zone council.  :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARINA :)))))

Anyways, I also gave myself a haircut last Monday which was interesting since the hair clippers died halfway through the hair cut (sorry Kevin) so I will have to purchase some here at Melcoms which will be a little expensive, but not too bad!  :)

Derek, to answer your email - YES I MISS MY BEARD.  Shaving is really tough and only gets tougher because I have to shave every single day!!!!!! Yes, I do miss my Oreos and milk, and soggy is the only way to go man, what are you talking about?!  :) But I did get some Oreos from mom and we had boxed milk at the apartment so I got to enjoy some.  :)  Right now, I am at 12 baptisms in my area and it is sweet!  :)  Aye, I will remember buddy, don't you worry.  :)

Anyways, hopefully soon I can write more, but this week I had like 10000 things to do on the computer!  Yikes!

Love ya and miss you guys,

Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

Happy Birthday! Happy Mother's Day!

 

This week was really crazy!  We had stake conference yesterday (Sunday) which was focused on how the members can help the missionaries and such, which was awesome and we had tons of investigators there too!  :)

We have a ton of powerful investigators who are keeping commitments, like prayer, reading the Book of Mormon and such, which is really awesome to see how it is changing their lives.

I finally got the call that my package from home came in.  It had gone through customs so I will inherently be missing some items, but as long as I get the tie from Carina's wedding (honorary groomsman!) I'll be happy.  But hopefully I will get it next week!  :)  The package you sent finally made it!!!!  I got a special call from Elder Halladay at the office that it came in, but he asked for me to pass the message on that it was pretty expensive to pick up and that the customs people dug through it so we will see, but only those padded envelopes don't get checked, so those are by far the best option!  :)

I can barely play hymn #100 on the piano after practicing for about 30 minutes a day to play one hymn, but it is coming along well! :)

We went to KFC today (Monday) to celebrate my 19th birthday which was REALLY expensive and the only American place in Africa that is legit food.  But it was so so soooo good :)

 

 

 

  

Then we went to 'Palace' which is the local American grocery store where everything is a bit expensive, but it has some American foods there and I even got a box of Fruit Loops!!  AND A BOTTLE OF IBC ROOT BEER WHAAAATTTT!??!?!?!?!?!?!?  :D

 

 

We ran to Melcoms (local home store) and bought USB drives and such, I got to call home which made me cry TBH hearing mom for the first time in 2 months, but it was really good.  :)   (Side story from mom:  A local member was passing along the message to him to call home at 2:30pm our time instead of 5pm which we'd previously arranged, because he would be talking to us at 10pm in Africa and we didn't want him to stay up that late.  Unfortunately, the message 2:30pm 'our time' wasn't passed along, so Gabe called us at 2:30pm his time (9:30am our time) when we weren't all together and prepared to talk.  I answered the phone seeing that it was from Ghana and was SO excited to talk to him, but told him we weren't all together then so could he talk to me now and then again this afternoon when all the family was there, or would that be against the rules and cut into his hour of talk time?  He said it would cut into his time later, so I had to let him go quickly so we didn't waste any of his minutes.  Talk about HARD!  I got off the phone and cried for 30 minutes...heartbreaking to know that he was excited to call after not hearing our voices for two months, only to talk for two minutes and have to call again later.  I heard it in his voice and lost it.  It was a hard day until we all were able to talk to him again at the REAL 2:30pm.  #bigmomtears)

This week I have had a cold or some bad allergies which bites, but I can effectively shoot snot without hitting my shoes and stuff, so I guess that's another skill I have learned while in Africa! Hahahahaaaa!  :)

I finished off the last of Uncle Bruce's cookies this week which is sad, but oh well.  ;)  See the video of me opening their package!!



Happy 19th birthday to me, it was awesome reading a bunch of emails today.  :) So thank you everyone for writing.  :)

Thoughts for the next package you send or ones in the future:

Tic-Tacs to remind me of dad
Small tool set - screwdriver set with some pliers, the basics
Small pack of cotton balls
Mini peanut butter dipping packets
Gummy bears
Mini good smelling candles
Toenail clippers and a nail file
A tennis ball or racket ball
Mashed potatoes should come in like every package :))))))
--So, why potatoes?
--Potatoes are
1) REALLY FRIGGING EXPENSIVE (if they aren't already spoiled) and
2) because they are delicious and only require us to boil water.  :)

Hope you love the videos and pics from the week and sorry for the short email!


Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

Emailing home today (Monday!)

 Found one of our family favorite juices!!!!

 

Cousin Haley Wawro and her brother, Christian Wawro, are both performers with the BYU "Young Ambassadors" and they happen to be in another part of Africa right now.  Cool to be in the same country right now! 

 

VIDEOS:

Package from Aunt Holly and Uncle Bruce!

Buying a sache' of water & shopping in the market;

Sorry about the sideways video!

Walking and talking;
Heading to the bus ("tro-tro")

More Videos!

I made a bunch of videos this week because I got too lazy to write in my journal, so enjoy!

Sorry, mom - I still haven't received your package.  The office Elders are going tomorrow morning to check on it.  I got one from Aunt Holly and Uncle Bruce (thank you!!), but none from home.  :(  I have been really stressing about it because it has the tie for Carina's wedding in it, but the package HAS STILL NOT COME IN YET.  Ugh.  But regardless, Life is good.  :)

The videos you sent me came  through.  :)  That makes me happy, but a little sad because I  miss Brit's goofiness.  :)

This week has been super sweet! Elder V. and I are really good friends, and we goof around all the time.  :)  This week I have been in a much better mood after my sickness and stress and whatnot, so that has been quite a blessing. We joke around and laugh all the time, push each other around and play little jokes, which makes the stress much easier to deal with for sure.

This week, we found this lady who cooks egg and bread, so basically, she mixes a bunch of vegetables and eggs together, cooks it and puts it between some bread which she cooks as well! :) It is delicious, and I have had like 6 this week... Oops... :)

We have 8-9 people that have chosen to be baptized on the 14th which is gonna be AWESOME.

Our first is Brother G. and his family, and they love the Gospel.  They love seeing us come by and teach and they gather the family to listen.  There are 5 that are old enough to be baptized, and this week they said, "we are ready" which just makes my heart and Spirit sooo happy.  :)

Next is Bro. D.  He is way cool, and he lives like 2, almost 3 miles away, but he is worth the walk 10000000%.  This week we answered more questions he had asked previously to pastors which they couldn't answer, but we could.  Super sweet when your investigator says, "My pastor couldn't answer that, but the Book of Mormon does."  And he said also that he was ready for baptism!!!!  He is probably my favorite investigator so far!  :)

We had insane rain this week (see video below).  It kept us in our apartment from 3pm-8pm and then our day was over, it was insane.  I was grumpy because we didn't do any missionary work, but it couldn't be helped.  So we watched some church videos and some D&C videos :)

I have been practicing for like 30 minutes a day on the piano, sometimes more, and today I will play for like 2 hours... yikes.... But I can play the top hand of the easy songs, but until I can read like a master, I won't move on to the lower hand.  PIANO IS WAY HARD.
 
This week I had a little bit of sickness, we had some sardines from a can which is rather popular, and after I ate it I did not feel good at all!  But it passed after much prayer, so it was all good, but I can check that off my bucket list right?  Ha ha

We ran to the culture center which I thought was gonna be super busy and bunches of souvenirs, but it wasn't busy, and only like 3 shops were open, so that was bummer. 
I heard of a missionary last week that sent a package home for only 305 cedis!!!  It was 14 POUNDS TOO!!!! :D  So maybe I'll send a package like once a year with a bunch of little gifts for everybody :) 

Africa is sweet, the food is getting better, and the missionary work is way awesome!

My testimony has really grown this week as I read about how the Lord blesses those who always remember him.  In the last few chapters it talks about the people of ALMA who were in bondage to the Lamanites and fought 3 times to be free to no avail.  They were even killed if they were seen praying.  Yikes.  But even still in their time of need, they prayed always in their hearts and found a way to keep the commandments no matter the consequence.  Then because of their obedience, they walked right out of the city because everybody was asleep!  Only through the Lord were they saved.  This absolutely applies to us.  No matter the situation, Heavenly Father will provide a way for us to keep the commandments (1 Nephi 3:7).  Just like a wise man always said, "Faith and Obedience and the Lord will be with you" (thanks, dad!!!).  I have seen this so many times.  Elder V. and I always strive for exact obedience and we are very blessed because of it.

BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING.  We Americans are very blessed for everything in everything.  Always be grateful and thank Heavenly Father for even the tough times, because that is when we grow the most.  And always remember that this life is very short, so if you have strange food you don't like, have a tough situation, or even miss out on something, just know that all things are for our experience.  :)

On Sunday for Mothers' Day, I was hoping to call at like 5 or 6 your time so I could talk to grandpa and grandma for like 5 minutes or so, because we only get an hour.  (So, it will be like 11pm my time Sunday night!)


Elder Wawro

PICTURES:

Saved money and purchased a simple keyboard to learn and practice, so that I can play hymns here

 So.  Many.  Bugs.

Ghana Maps

Egg and bread stack

Animals everywhere - cats, dogs, chickens, and goats, I like taking pictures of them.  

This was a baby goat that was so cute, I had to take a picture!

There are like 3 kinds of mango's here, and this one is massive!

Fruit juice box!

Milk!

Apple Juice!

Tasty cupcake and drink

Funny pic of Elder V. posing with some crazy local attire

VIDEOS:

Crazy Rainstorm!

Not a 'tornado' but a 'dust-nado' ha ha!

Apartment evacuation...roach infestation.  You've been warned...ha ha

A day in the life of a missionary...

A day in the life of a missionary, Part II...with some funny one-liners

1. The name of the grocery store is "Rip-You-Off Supermarket
2. And we live right down the street from a nightclub...
3. Part the roach-sea

April 25th - No letter, just pics

(Mom) My apologies - I am a week behind in sharing Gabe's updates.  Carina's wedding is just a few days away and we had an extremely busy week.  Gabe wasn't able to be on long, but I did get a few pictures from him - here they are.  :)

Ice pops are a hit in any country!

I believe this is Gabe's "Washing Machine"

Gabe wanted to know how to make rice and BBQ sausage, one of his favorite recipes at home.  :)

It looks like he figured it out.  :)

With his companion, Elder V, and Godfred, a great guy from their ward who is really helpful and that they like hanging out with