This week our list of accomplishments includes helping missionaries get new non-citizen ID cards, filing a police report for one lost ID card, running up and down on transfer day, fixing a printer, receiving supplies for the mission, taking the Techiman missionaries to the tro station, making sure that Tamale had bust tickets, and getting the mail. All of that happened in the space of two days, which was crazy but really inspiring to see how it all fit together exactly right. God does look out for us. The craziest thing was definitely the one where a missionary lost their ID card and we had to get a police report and the new card all while in the middle of transferring missionaries. There was also another time when we were rushing to take some missionaries back to their area and found a big mountain right in the middle of the road. Random.
We stopped by a long-time investigator family this week. The parents are not married, so they can't be baptized. But the wife and some of the children usually come to church. We met one of the children, Jessica, who qualifies for baptism but hasn't been ready yet even though she's been taught by plenty of missionaries. We a long time discussing with her about what she wants and found out that she doesn't feel like the missionaries have been helping her personally, they've just been pushing her to be baptized. This is a surprisingly common feeling from investigators. They don't grasp how important this is for them. But I got to understand her and I ended up making a deal with her that I would answer her questions and wouldn't push her to be baptized if she kept all of her commitments (to read, pray, come to church, etc). The way I see it, this is a real win-win situation because anyone who will "do his will, he shall know of the doctrine" and end up having the desire to come closer to God. So as long as she continues to keep her commitments, she will definitely end up being baptized when she feels ready.
I had another ear infection this week (#2 of my mission, the last was over a year ago). It was swollen and I couldn't hear very well and I lived off of painkillers for a few days, including transfer. It was the worst possible time for it to happen, but after a priesthood blessing everything turned out fine.
Something that made all of us laugh this week (it's the kind of thing you laugh about a little while after it happens) was at the end of transfer day when we were sending Techiman to their station. The Techiman station is right in Kejetia, the heart and slums and market of Kumasi. It's a dreaded place if you're in a hurry. Or if you value your sanity. We drove down inside and after spending a long time in traffic, we found a place to park and unload all of the luggage for the missionaries. Unfortunately, the road ends long before the station. So here we are carrying heavyweight luggage through the busiest place in Kumasi with people yelling at us and jostling us with an ear infection and a headache. We arrived at the station and dumped these sweaty, overwhelmed missionaries by the tro to wait while they loaded up the luggage. We watched in amusement as the frightened new missionaries discovered that the tros here don't worry about fitting the luggage inside the car, they just tie it onto the back with some string (picture attatched). We laughed about it afterward with President and Sister Cosgrave.
There was an all-Africa service project this week where every unit of the Church in Africa organized some type of service. We went to clean up a small hospital on the outskirts of the branch boundaries. Quite a few members showed up, so we consider it a success. Elder Crane and I ended up cutting down weeds with cutlasses, which we definitely did not expect to do (hence why we showed up in our white shirts and ties) but we did it enthusiastically anyway.
Love, Elder Nelson
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