It is so crazy to hear about what has been going on back home and in people lives. Seems like I did make an impact on people wherever I went haha. But I am grateful for you letters and for the time spent to talk to me. Whenever I read an email from you, I always start smiling and laughing and everyone around keeps staring at me but whatever.
So this first week has been absolutely CRAZY!!! I have seen so much and have heard so much that I cant do anything but just accept it and move on. I also want to say that this letter is going to have errors and is going to be short because I would like to upload photos and I have to email my mission president.
So the journey started out by us leaving the Mission Presidents house and driving to a bus station where we waited 3 hours for a bus to Tamale. The bus ride was nice and a good rest that was well needed. The ride to Tamale only took 6 hours from Kumasi. So as you can imagine we are no where near Kumasi. The exact area if you want to google map where I am walking around and teaching people the gospel is Lamashigu in Tamale. It is such a far walk from the place where we stay (the chapel).
Anyway, we finally arrived in our home which is the chapel and you cannot believe the number of spiders!!! They are freaking everywhere and it seems like the place is haunted. There is only electricity in one room which is the chapel room where we hold sacrament meetings. Our room had no light or fan and the kitchen had no light and the bathroom had no light. So, you can imagine two people running around with flashlights in their mouths trying to cook and not touch any spider webs. It is just so different than anything you could imagine. The next day that we woke up and my Companion/trainer Elder Ekpo and I took brooms and took most of the spider webs down and killed about 20 or more. After a while we got tired of looking up so we started looking down while we swept and mopped the entire place.
On Saturday, Cooper came and gave us light!!! He rewired the entire building while we were contacting people and while we were trying to find new investigators. So, currently we have light in the entire building but the light is very faint and not good.... but it is better than nothing. You should have seen our faces and seen how happy we were to just have electricity!
My trainer Elder Ekpo is a pretty cool guy. He is from Nigeria and actually speaks american english (somewhat) but I can totally understand him. I love that he cares about me and about how much I know and want to learn. He is really awesome and loving towards everyone. One problem here in Tamale is that EVERYONE is Muslim and does not want to hear about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or the message that we have to bring them, which is only the truth, but we are still trying to stay positive. I can not describe how hot it is here. Just imagine Texas or Arizona, but that when you step outside you feel like you are already burnt and red. Like litterally you step outside and you start sweating. It is just not fair. But I have learned that the more I sweat and work the more the Lord will bless me and the people I love. I have had some neat experiences with contacting people but I will only tell you about one because of time.
We walked up to this mud house looking place and knocked on their wooden door that was about to fall down. This man comes to the door and invites us to the back of the house (which was unpleasant because we wanted shade) and gave us a seat. We started teaching about how the Lord's true gospel has been restored back on this earth and he was all like hold on... and he went and grabbed his entire family so that they could listen and participate. So guess who comes out.. BOB MARLEY hahah I wish but no it was this guy who was drunk and some of his daughters. So we continue to teach the lesson and the drunk guy keeps interupting and saying how he is religious and wants to know more and the dad keeps telling him to shutup and they end up in an argument over nothing. W did end up giving them a pamphlet about the word of wisdom (for those non-members it is a pamphlet talking about drinking and smoking and the things that are harmful to the body) and they accepted it and the drunk guy then starts reading it allowed in the sloppiest voice and most drunk voice that you could imagine. haha. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing at this guy. Oh and did I tell you that it was not even 11:00 am yet and he was already drunk.
There are just some crazy things here in Tamale, Ghana like goats everywhere and trash everywhere. Like it would be impossible for you to try walking across town without stepping on a peice of trash or without running into a wild goat. People also call me salaminga which means white boy or white man. It is funny to them to hear me speak, even though I don't think I sound weird.
How about i just upload photos to tell the rest about how things are going.
1. More holiness give me,
More strivings within,
More patience in suff'ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.
2. More gratitude give me,
More trust trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.
3. More purity give me,
More strength to o'ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy--
More, Savior, like thee.
I could use more of all of those things.
Love,
Elder Cornelius
