Monday, August 11, 2014

Week One of the 6th Transfer

Hey there!
I would like to thank all of you for sending so many emails this week and keeping me up to date even though I am not the best at doing the same for you.
It looks like all the missionaries out in the MTC or in the mission field right now are starting to realize how powerful the spirit of the Lord is and how essential it is in our lives. I love to see how others are starting to see the impact of the gospel on people’s lives.
This last week was pretty interesting mentally, spiritually and physically. I saw my last companion, Elder Noble, leave the mission.  He received his last words of advice from the mission president and then drove with the assistants to the airport to head home.  This was an elder who served a little over 2 years and did it honorably. He really did teach me a lot about myself and how I can improve. I hope that I can apply those attributes into my missionary work and into my life so that I can shape myself to be a better man. It definitely was a weird feeling when you say good-bye for the last time in someone's life. It made me a little homesick, but you know me . . . that lasted for just a minute. So, I sent Elder Noble off in a taxi to the assistants after the mission home last Monday, after that I was in a threesome with other missionaries until Wednesday when I was able to receive my new companion Elder Agbeko. Elder Agbeko is from Boise, Idaho.  His dad was born in Ghana and then moved to the US.  His mom is from the US.  So he is a half cast and also half Ghanian. He is also one of the missionaries that entered the MTC the same day I did. So that is pretty cool that we already have something in common and know each other a little.

Also maybe some of you have heard of the ebola crisis.  This is a disease that is nothing to joke around with. Just this last transfer, Sierra Leone and Liberia evacuated all missionaries because the whole countries are on shut down.  In our apartment, we now have six missionaries instead of four.  Five Americans and 1 from South Africa. The South African is just brand new to mission and is in his training. One of the missionaries that we got is coming from Sierra Leone and is one year on mission. So it is pretty cool to hear the stories and talk with him. The only problematic situation we are having is that we have 1 toilet, 1 shower, and 3 buckets (for the shower water that we have to go and fetch), and 1 stove with 2 burners. In the mornings, you can imagine how it looks with 6 people running around trying to make breakfast and shower and get ready for the day.  It’s a little chaotic.
So I do have some bad news and good news!!! Bad- I was using my camera to film some of the recent convert testimonies and conversion stories that we will be using for a devotional. The idea was to film all of the recent converts and then show the video that would be compiled during the devotional and try to get the ward excited about missionary work and to help less actives. Just yesterday, I gave the memory card to the ward mission leader so that he could upload all of the videos to his laptop and compile them to make a video. Turns out his laptop had a virus (Trojan) and it just destroyed my memory card and everything that was on it. Some of the things that were on it were: Baptism photos, Elder Nobles departure, and a ton of photos of the activities that we did. So that was pretty frustrating that I cannot catch a break with the technology here in Africa.
But on the bright side - the 3 baptisms did go through and I felt like "John the Baptist.”  Haha  All three of the converts are doing well and are starting to give us some powerful referrals. This last Sunday was ward conference so they were not able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost but this Sunday, they should receive it. 

I know that my Savior Lives and is helping direct this work in Ghana and in my area. This gospel is no joke because it blesses lives on the daily. I know that through the eternal principal of obedience and work, we can achieve the highest reward of receiving all that the Father hath. God bless all of you reading this message and make it a priority to just be obedient despite how hard it is. Jesus suffered all things patiently and had already been through what we are experiencing. Just look at His example and follow it. It is simple. If we do that, the blessing that will come are numberless.

I love you all and pray that you all are doing great. Enjoy this week and I will check in next week with more.

Elder Cornelius                                                                               

Twi name: Kofi Owusu :) 

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