Dear America,
The power was finally on for long enough for me to cut my hair on Saturday night. I've been waiting for WEEKS. Another thing I've been doing is gathering ingredients to make kind of an apple cobbler...thing.... for Elder Opio's farewell and late Thanksgiving hurrah at Elder Opio's request. In fact, I totally forgot that Thanksgiving was a thing until Elder Gibson reminded me. We were on a companionship exchange. Yes, I'm in the same zone as Elder Gibson. He's one of the zone leaders. He's from Sugar-Salem, Idaho. We have quite a bit in common. He says that he played football with Zack Bennett a lot in high school. So I guess he's cool. Haha it was neat to be with another white companion. Pretty much everyone assumed that we had no idea what we were doing, even though Elder Gibson has been here for a long time.
Here's my astute realization for the week: A lot of people wouldn't be happy in the Celestial Kingdom. They don't want to work that hard. Especially around here; people assure us that they have faith and they know that everything we say is true, but they can't muster the effort to keep any commitments. It reminds me that the same spirit that possesses you in this life will have power over you in the next as well. And here's what gets me: They'll be perfectly content in the Telestial Kingdom or whatever. They will get exactly what they wanted. A place to chill and relax forever, never really understanding what joy and happiness they could have. Because that joy comes with responsibility, and they don't want to have to deal with it. Whatever. They have agency.
I'm still learning more about my companion.
Elder Antwi: Cape Coast
Although the request was made for longer letters, I only have an hour. Trust me, I'm typing as fast as I can.
I'm glad to hear all the fun things! I've made it through week 3, which is one of the 'humps', according to dad.
The power was finally on for long enough for me to cut my hair on Saturday night. I've been waiting for WEEKS. Another thing I've been doing is gathering ingredients to make kind of an apple cobbler...thing.... for Elder Opio's farewell and late Thanksgiving hurrah at Elder Opio's request. In fact, I totally forgot that Thanksgiving was a thing until Elder Gibson reminded me. We were on a companionship exchange. Yes, I'm in the same zone as Elder Gibson. He's one of the zone leaders. He's from Sugar-Salem, Idaho. We have quite a bit in common. He says that he played football with Zack Bennett a lot in high school. So I guess he's cool. Haha it was neat to be with another white companion. Pretty much everyone assumed that we had no idea what we were doing, even though Elder Gibson has been here for a long time.
Here in Kronum, people love to feed the obroni and see what he thinks of the dishes. I've really enjoyed everything that they've given me. Except for some of the drinks, I've had to muscle through a few of those with a smile. Some of the foods I've had so far: fufu, a rice ball version of fufu, banku, some fish bones, some chicken bones, rice with soup, ga beans (gari+beans), plantains, moldy bread (my fault, and I got pretty sick), and last but not least, sobolo. Sobolo is a very special drink. I've had it twice so far, and depending on who makes it it can be wonderful or it takes some getting used to. Sobolo is made from several different fruit juices, mostly pineapple and orange. But. It has ginger in it as well. So much ginger. So much ginger that it burns your throat and your eyes on the way down. This is probably the closest thing I've ever had to fire whiskey. But it's really good if you can get some with a little less kick. The ginger kind of acts like carbonation, making your mouth tingle a bit. It's definitely something I'm making in America.
Here's my astute realization for the week: A lot of people wouldn't be happy in the Celestial Kingdom. They don't want to work that hard. Especially around here; people assure us that they have faith and they know that everything we say is true, but they can't muster the effort to keep any commitments. It reminds me that the same spirit that possesses you in this life will have power over you in the next as well. And here's what gets me: They'll be perfectly content in the Telestial Kingdom or whatever. They will get exactly what they wanted. A place to chill and relax forever, never really understanding what joy and happiness they could have. Because that joy comes with responsibility, and they don't want to have to deal with it. Whatever. They have agency.
And they'll be totally content not to have to worry about being perfect.
The weirdest moment this week happened as we were having a discussion with a woman about the Restoration. Her five-year-old son kept interrupting and complaining, so she started breastfeeding him. So........eye contact.
Elder Antwi: Cape Coast
Elder Opio: Uganda
Elder Ilunga: DR Congo
Love,
Elder Nelson
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