Because of Him

Hey There,

This week was nice and really spiritual. Our Mission President showed us this video during Zone Conference the other week and I was reflecting on it a lot this past week. It is called Because of Him. Here is how it goes...

IT WAS UNTHINKABLE, IMPOSSIBLE, UNFATHOMABLE, UNPRECEDENTED. 
A SINGLE ACT THAT CHANGED HISTORY.   POSSIBILITY.   DESTINY.

HE WAS A CARPENTER, A TEACHER, AN OUTCAST, A LEADER.

YET HE DID WHAT NO CARPENTER, TEACHER, OUTCAST, LEADER HAD EVER DONE.

LIKE ALL WHO PRECEDED HIM, HE LIVED, AND HE DIED, BUT UNLIKE ALL WHO PRECEDED HIM... HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD.  HE LIVED AGAIN.  HE LIVES.
AND BECAUSE HE LIVES... YOU AND I AND ALL WILL LIVE AGAIN.

BECAUSE OF HIM.

Weekly Email - Week 40

Hey Everyone!

This last week was pretty chill. Nothing too much happened, but some good things did come out of it.

On Wednesday, we had a Zone Conference with two other zones and it was really nice. We met at a chapel that is very close. I remember when I use to travel 4 hours to Techiman from Tamale for a Zone Conference. Now a days all I have to do is walk up the street and attend the meeting.

During the Zone Conference, we talked about how we can become better teachers of the gospel and what tools will help us so that we can be more effective. Some of the points that I got out of it were: 1. Teach the doctrine simply but clearly. 2. Teach the lessons in less than 45 minutes if you expect them to want you to come back.  I have come to know that these people’s time is very valuable and if I go and teach a lesson that is taking and hour or more... the person will most likely not want me to come back because his expectation for the next visit will be that I need that same amount of time. 3. Use the tools that God has provided like the Book of Mormon. There are a few very important points in history concerning religion as Latter-Day Saints - 1) The Church being established originally by Jesus Himself when he was on the Earth. 2) The great Apostasy that followed the death of Jesus and the apostles therefore losing that most important priesthood that God gave to man. 3) The appearance of God and Jesus Christ in this dispensation of time to the prophet Joseph Smith.  4) The coming forth of the Book of Mormon. 5) The restoration of the Priesthood.  These 5 things are very important to all of us.  I would like to take note on the order that these things happened starting with Joseph Smith.  He first prayed to God and received his answer verbally from the Son's mouth.  The very next thing that Heavenly Father does is direct Joseph to the golden plates.  During the translating process of the plates, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery prayed.  Then the priesthood was restored and given to them.  It is interesting how the Book of Mormon played/plays such an important role in the Lord's church.  So now when I am teaching people, instead of proving what I say is true with the Bible, I try to teach them through the Book Of Mormon.

My apologies for the late email!

Ya so I apologize for not emailing yesterday.. it was due to me not being responsible financially and also for Ghana not having power in the area that we email and the place's generator was being worked on... so I am now emailing today.

So for this last week, not too much happened, but I will try to recall the good and tell you about it.

Sunday - Our investigator O was confirmed a member and was given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He was sooo happy at church and wanted to go and bear his testimony but it was not fast and testimony meeting so the bishop said to just wait hahaha. He is a cool guy and always loves to tell us that he wants to become one of us as missionaries.

Monday- We missionaries in the ward (6 elders) played a little 3 on 3 basketball even after the sun went down so that was pretty interesting and really fun. It was pretty funny when you saw someone pass the ball, but you could never see where the ball was... so we were just running around the court goofing off and trying to get it in the hoop since it was so dark.

Dumso Dumso in Ghana and New PICS

Hey Jack! 

Last night I was thinking about Duck Dynasty and thinking about Dr. Pepper and all that good stuff. But lets be real.. all those things are just temporal in this life... but to be honest those things are also necessities for me.  haha. How are yall doin? I dont know why but this last week has felt like a full month. It was just dragging. Finally Sunday rolled around and we were able to baptize this 29 year old man.  We found him when I needed my hair cut. Happens that he lives in his barbering shop and lives off of the small money he makes cutting hair. Yesterday when we baptized him, I have never seen Him so happy and so at peace. I also was super happy and can tell that this gospel is what he was been needing his entire life. Now he finally has it and I have the opportunity to watch how it starts to change his life and see how it blesses his life. He has a girl friend in a different region of Ghana who is very ill. All the little money that he makes, he sends it to her to help her family pay for the hospital bills. He has had twins with the girl friend and is planning on marrying her but he does not have money to pay the bride price. He told me that he knows that after he is baptized and receives the Holy Ghost, that he knows that his situation will get better and that God will help his learn English so that he can get a better job. Right now he only speaks the local language Twi. I cant believe the faith of some of these recent converts. It really does strengthen my testimony as well.

15-9-14

Hey Everyone!

This week was pretty cool but just an average week. My companion and I are continually enjoying each others presence and it feels like we are not really companions but more like good friends. Everyday we go out at 11:00 and come back to the apartment by 8:00 pm and during the full day we crack jokes and talk about life and are just great friends. Being good friends with Elder Agbeko has improved our teaching unity as we are teaching the Gospel to our investigators.

Everyday that I wake up brings new challenges and each night that I go to bed I am able to take an accountability during my nightly prayer of how I faced each of the challenges/trials that Heavenly Father put in my path. Sometimes the challenges are simple and nothing much like patience but other times the challenges can be significant. One thing that I love knowing is that the Lord is bound to keep His promises as long as I am doing what he wants. Lately I have been studying about what conditions we can enter into His kingdom and I have found that it is based upon obedience. If we simply obey His commandments, we are entitled to his blessings.

As my companion and I teach the lessons to our investigators, this last week especially, we have felt the spirit so strongly. My companion have tried our very best to just take up our cross and do what the Lord expects of us and to tell you the truth, it is not too fun or easy but in the end, the blessings come and the Lord helps us immensely in this work.

This upcoming Sunday we are expecting to baptize two of our contacted investigators but I fear that one of them might not pass his interview because of the word of wisdom. I will continue fasting and praying for Him that he will have the will power to stop the addiction that he is fighting. I know that he can do it with the help of our Heavenly Father.

I love you all so very much and Hope that you all are doing well. Hopefully there will be something more next week but until then... Peace!

Love you all,

Elder Cornelius

Ghana let you know whats up time... haha (I just had to)

Well I would love to share all about church and about all the spiritual things they talk about, but Heavenly Father has not given me the gift of tongues just yet. Every meeting and word they speak is in Twi and I can not understand it yet. So therefore all the spiritual inspiration that I can get is from the scriptures that they use because they are still in the English hahaha. I will tell you that we are starting to have more and more success as a companionship considering that we had 4 investigators at church at 9:00 sharp and one more came around 9:15 which is awesome!

So that was cool to see them at church on time and looking really nice and prepared for sacrament meeting.

Mom and Gary - thanks for the reminder about Gettysburg... because I had totally forgotten everything that is in those history books haha. How was that? It seems like you guys enjoyed your little journey down there. I think that is pretty cool that you got to be in the 360 degree art thing you call a cyclorama. I didnt even know such a thing existed but sounds pretty cool. You should explain what the events are a little better or it might just be me but I dont understand the concept or the idea of what happens and why. Also, keep me updated with Faye and make sure if you extend commitments or invitations that you follow up on them.

Pics - Service project and church