Email #13 (Tamale) Surprise Visitor from the U.S.

Hey once again,

I have been doing personal emails lately and have not enough time do them anymore so I will go back to my old way of sending one email to everyone so that I can fit in more information and detail.

I want to start off by saying "thank you" for all the cool updates that you give me and for keeping me on my toes, so to speak. I cannot believe all the mission calls that are being received, both at BYU-I and at my home ward.  Wow the Lord is hastening his work!

Senior Missionaries - What a Week!

Dear Family and Friends,

What a week we have had.  We haven't had a real P-Day for several weeks.  We just have to wash clothes and clean when we can.

Sister Okrah is doing well and working up to her last day which is in about a week.  We left Tamale on Tuesday morning and had a good drive to Techiman.  Of course we had to make a few stops for cows and all the wondering goats.

Email #12 (Tamale) Happy Birthday Mom

Dear my beloved brothers and sisters,

I cant express how hot it is here!  I am glad to hear that this is the hottest month here in Tamale and that after this month it will only get cooler.

Our investigators have a pattern now it seems. First we teach and teach and then they finally come to church. After church, they will read their Book of Mormon for some time and quit. Then after we get them to come to church again and prepare for baptism and everything is set, they just somehow and for some reason fall away and don't keep their commitments and they stop coming to church and answering the phone and they start to disrespect you. This has happened with 4 of our investigators. That is 4 baptisms that I would have by now but Satan is holding them firm and these people we teach cannot withstand Satan with the little knowledge that they have. It is just frustrating. I spoke to the Mission president because our chapel is a 35 minute walk from the main road and no taxi can drop them off in front of the chapel, unless they pay 10 cedis.  No investigator is going to pay that and no investigator is willing to walk that distance for church especially when their regular church is super close to them. The location of this chapel is making it hard to keep the work progressing. But it is a rental and hopefully in the next 7 months there will be one built and established by the main road. That will make the work much easier.

Senior Missionaries - Orphanage and Tamale

Dear Family and Friends,

For P-Day this week we moved the remaining blocks from the front to the

back.  It was a lot of work.  The Elders really enjoy doing things
together so they kept each other going.

Email #11 (Tamale) Hello Parents

Hello my fellow parents...

Thank you so much for the heart touching emails. I actually took time to read them this week and I want to take some time to reply to them.

Mom- Thank you so much for pushing me to be the "one priest at activities and the only person at church on time."  I know that you have really tried your best in raising your kids and I think I want to share with you that you do not need to try so hard anymore.  Allow the Lord to step in and pull the yoke with you.  Especially when you are trying to guide Britt back into the church. I have given my testimony and words of encouragement to some friends and hope they will start to see the importance and the need to serve a mission.  The Lord has them in His hands and not mine.  I want to encourage you to continue reading the Book of Mormon and learning the gospel. I am currently in 3rd Nephi and holy cow do I feel like I am getting to know the Book of Mormon.  I want you to be able to say the people's names and the stories that go along with them... who cares about the years and the places but really understand the story and how the scriptures can apply to your life.  I hope that Arizona went well and that your time in Texas will be well worth it! Tell the family that Bobby says "hello and chop some good brisket for me!" The thought of eating smoked meat is making my mouth water haha. Love Ya!

Email #10 (Tamale) Holy Heat!

Hello once again.

This is just going to be a summarized email because this computer is a little slow and outdated but it is cool.

As far as toughness goes.. Yup it still is hard as can be here. The Tamale sun is not easy and is only getting hotter, but as the sun gets hotter... I only get stronger... and more burnt. I have been working out small small and I think I will soon be a different man, a skinnier man! But don't get too excited because as you know I will eat everything that I can because I Love food! I have found this cool gym place and I dont remember if I told you about it last time but it is cool to work out with these HUGE guys who only lift all day, everyday. So there is little Salaminga (white man) with his roughly 20 pound weights doing curls and next to me is this man who is curling about 80 pounds.. ya its pretty cool haha. These guys just laugh at me but then I think to my self that my job in Ghana is not to get ripped but to serve God ... and survive.

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