This week I'll just answer Dad's questions:
Have you had a recent teaching moment where something went well… or not well? Well this week we taught a few lessons where I had the distinct impression that the investigators didn't really comprehend everything we taught, but they definitely felt the Spirit. Ghanaians are funny. They aren't really good learners, but they're happy to sit and listen. We had one lesson where we took a return missionary member with us and he talked for three solid hours while we sat. The family that we were teaching probably doesn't remember anything, but they loved the way that he answered their questions and preached to them. They came to church on Sunday, so it all worked out for good.
How do you work with members? Do they open homes for discussions, join you at discussions, invite investigators, or any other support unique to Africa? We usually don't take people to a member's house for a lesson, but we can take them with us to visit an investigator if we plan it. Sometimes we can get them to bring the investigators to church with them.
How many people live in your area? How many members in your ward / branch? Active members? How many youth aged 12-18? Active youth? I have no idea how many people live in my area..... you can access Google maps, so you can probably get a better idea than I can. Just search Nkawkaw. We have an average sacrament attendance of between 30-50 people. 20 at the beginning of sacrament meeting and 50 at the end.
Have you had Malaria? Have you had other illnesses you’ve been advised not to tell your mother about? Are there monstrous bugs, snakes, spiders or other that would be shocking? I still haven't gotten malaria, and it's been a long, long time since I really got sick. The last time I threw up was about a month ago and it happened because I didn't eat enough food with my doxycycline (malaria prevention pill). Yeah, there are weird bugs here. We saw one last week that looked like an alien. It looked like something from a movie.
Have you felt answers to prayer, or seen the hand of the Lord in someone’s life recently? Sometimes when you feel really discouraged as a missionary, something small will happen that is just enough to keep you going. After many failures, you'll be ready to give up but then you get one small success. Often it feels like we don't make a difference in the big picture but then God reminds you that His plan requires simple things. It's like the talk about the currant bush who the gardener cut down. "I don't want you to be a shade tree, etc. I want you to be a currant bush." It's enough to just do what you can.
Any advice for Pace who is living with other teenage boys away from home in primitive conditions? Keep good habits. Things can get sketchy when guys room together away from home, especially when they aren't mature. So don't compromise your habits. Read your scriptures. Say your prayers. Go to bed at a reasonable time. And feel free to tell them when they're being stupid. They probably just need a reminder.
Sorry for the slightly lame email. I'm working on writing better ones.
Love, Elder Nelson
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