Firefighter -5 June 2017

Dear America,

Face biscuit is a missionary thing and I don't have any idea if the Woods are going to Utah with Eric.

This week went by pretty quickly. We had a meeting in Kumasi, so that took two days out of our schedule. It always drains us when we have to travel because we don't get as much time to help the people in our area. 

One of our old investigators, Kenneth, was involved in a serious accident. He is a firefighter and was called on a scene where a petroleum tanker crashed. There were some explosions and the firefighters were called. When they came, they were trying to keep the fire under control and ward off thieves who were scavenging valuables from the wreckage. When they finally got things at a manageable condition, the tanker exploded again. Those tankers are sectioned into nine different compartments, and they were exploding one by one. They weren't prepared for this and they didn't know how many explosions there would be before it finished. Quite a few people were seriously burned. Kenneth was lucky and escaped with some minor burns on his face and more severe ones on his hands and arms. Not everyone is as lucky as him. We've gone there several times in the last week to show our concern and support for his family. We are praying that this trial will draw his family closer to God.

This Sunday we tried extra hard to help people be able to come to sacrament meeting. We went to their houses to help bring them to church. Before we made it to church, five investigators had already failed their commitment to come. But we were still blessed to have a few other ones show up who we hadn't visited.

I was listening to a few talks this week and they made me think more about the Sacrament. As we strive to improve and become more Christlike, the Sacrament is a great time to look back and reflect on how we've felt the power of the atonement; we can also look forward and set goals with God on how we will become better. The Sacrament is an ideal opportunity to ask our Heavenly Father what we need to improve on. We should really be doing this all week, but there's something special about this ordinance.

Love, Elder Nelson

Picture Week 29 May 2017

Dear America,

We met some very promising people this week but they disappointed us by not showing up to church. That's missionary life. This week the computers are really misbehaving so I have minimum time. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are a few thousand words:) Not necessarily in order....

Helping an old woman grind her cassava to make banku
Filling the baptismal font with buckets last week
Stirring shito (a spicy paste thing) for an investigator
Carrying a baby across the stream because his mother couldn't
Pictures with Elder Dadzie wearing a zalabia (spelling?), one of the northerners' characteristic clothing styles
Watching Elder Mutasi pound fufu for an investigator
Playing face biscuit during FHE with members
District pictures just before transfer
Avacado ice cream made by Elder Gallarde, a Filipino in the zone
The baptisms this week in our branch

Thanks for always emailing and keeping me updated!
Love, Elder Nelson

Seek Truth- 22 May 2017

Dear America,

This has been a productive week in Nkawkaw. We've followed up on some neat people who seem ready to listen and act on the message of the restored gospel. One is a lady named Ellen that lives close to us. We pass by her house every week on the way to chapel cleaning and to church. She usually greets us when we pass and a few weeks ago we invited her to come to church. We were surprised when she showed up at church the next day. She only speaks Twi, though, so it was a challenge for us to teach her. But we've been using Ghanaians to help us and she is very excited about the Church. She had a dream earlier that some white men dressed like missionaries brought her a gift that would bless her life. She's been learning the lessons and feeds us every blessed time we go there. I'm excited for her and her family:)

I wrote about Brother Boateng last week. This week we met him and he had a troubled countenance. We asked him how he was doing and he said that he was confused. His daughter has been sending him some videos that he had questions about. Oh great. Yeah, they were anti-Mormon videos. We've been seeing more and more of that recently even though Ghana is the last place where I would expect those things. It just shows you how widespread it's becoming. But we talked to him about the way to discern truth. Here's what I can advise:

Feelings from Satan

Doubt, fear, confusion, disgust, worry, loneliness, anger, outrage, disbelief

Feelings from God

Love, joy, peace, happiness, comfort, gentleness, faith, certainty, motivation

What feelings do you get when somebody starts talking about the church in a negative way? The Spirit won't ever lie to us. Elder Wood and I were easily able to identify the Spirit leaving as soon as Brother Boateng showed us a video. We stopped it and spent a while talking about how we can really find truth. There's a lot of crap in the world today, and we just. don't. need it. Stay away from it. The lowlifes who make that junk will never tell you to ask God or to learn for yourself. They have no qualms about intentionally deceiving you or manipulating you. 

We went on exchanges with Mpraeso this week. I was with Elder Mbir, a Ghanaian (in the pictures). On Saturday we fixed the signpost for the chapel.

To quote an EFY song, "Life is good, eternal life is better!"

Love,

Elder Nelson

Yeah, This is Elder Nelson 15 May 2017

Dear America,

It was great to call home FOR THE LAST TIME and it brought me a lot more anxiety than I thought it would. I was pretty nervous for most of the day leading up to the call. But it was good to talk with everybody for a few minutes.

This week we had zone conference. We went to Kumasi to a meeting with three other zones. Everything went smoothly, which was a big relief. During the conference we talked a lot about Christlike attributes and what we can do to become more Christlike missionaries. President Cosgrave seemed really happy, despite having car problems and having to sleep the night in Techiman and drive to Kumasi early in the morning and arrive late for the zone conference. President and Sister Cosgrave are amazing. If there's anyone that's qualified to teach about acquiring Christlike attributes, it's them.

In the past few weeks we've spent quite a bit of time working with a member to help us translate between Twi and English. The member's name is Brother Boateng. He's an older gentleman (around 70), a recent convert of barely one year, the second counselor in the branch presidencey, and a joy to work with. He doesn't know an incredible amount about the Church, but he has a testimony and he a has a love for the gospel. While we've been working with him, we've found out that he has a lot of friends in this area. He already knows most of the people we're teaching. Those he doesn't know, he quickly becomes friends with. If we ever have an appointment that we need help with, we can call him even if it's a little bit last-minute. We're blessed to have the help of members like Brother Boateng.

On Sunday we had a few unexpected visitors come to church. They are people that we've invited to come but that didn't seem too committed to actually keeping that commitment. One man came in bright red and blue African wear. He looked like he could be an African Spider-man. We were pleasantly surprised. It's great to see people's lives being touched where we don't expect it.

Love, Elder Nelson

The Baptism of Moses 9 May 2017

Dear America,

Congratulations on Porter's mission call!!! I'm so proud.

The internet cafes in our area were having problems yesterday, so we got special permission to email today instead.

This week an investigator named Moses was baptized with his family by the other companionship in our branch. He has a pretty neat conversion story, so I'll share it. Moses works in a bank and his coworker is a member of the Church. They were friendly with each other, and eventually she invited him to a Relief Society activity that the Church was having. Now in the first place, who invites a grown man to a Relief Society activity? But she did and it turned out that they were the first people there. They started cleaning the chapel and arranging the chairs for the activity when he noticed a copy of the Liahona on a table. He had the strongest urge to pick it up and read it (although he had the newspaper with him because he had been planning to sneakily read the newspaper instead of paying attention in the activity). He read a little bit before the activity and was very impressed by the quality and diversity of the articles. He put it down until the activity finished and then resumed his reading while the others were cleaning up. When it was time to go, he wanted to take the magazine home with him. He put it in his bag and was on his way home when he felt guilty for stealing from a church. He returned to the chapel but was overjoyed when the members informed him that he could keep the Liahona. When he finished reading it, he knew that the church that published it must be special in a good way. He contacted his coworker--who had since moved--and got the location of our chapel. He showed up on Sunday morning ready for church.

Of course, the missionaries jumped on him and started teaching. His big problem, however, concerned the topic of baptism. Moses was a deeply rooted Catholic and refused to be baptized again. He believed that his previous baptism was effective. The missionaries tried and tried but could not find a way to resolve his concerns. So they told him to pray about it. A few days later, we met him on the road. He greeted us with his huge, characteristic smile, and asked us if we were ready to here the good news. We asked him what news and he responded that he was going to be baptized. When he had prayed, he had a dream in which he was working on a large plantation. The side of the plantation that he was on was barren and had no work for him to do. The other side was fruitful and needed much labor. To get to the other side, however, he needed to cross through a deep stream that separated the two. Moses told us that he believed that God has a lot of work for him to do, but he evidently needed to get baptized before he could begin. We were so happy. Since that time, he has read a ton of Church materials and really prepared himself to be a member.

Dreams don't always solve problems, but apparently inspired dreams are much more common here than what I'm used to back home. Ghana....

This week we had a sweet zone activity that I was pretty worried about but everything clicked together nicely. I got so sunburned. Collars are killing me right now.

Love, Elder Nelson the elder

How Ye Hear- 1 May 2017

Dear America,

This week went by more quickly. We got to spend more time in our area than usual because we didn't have to run around and solve peoples' problems. It felt really good. At the beginning of the week things were kind of slow, but they sped up a lot at the end. We took members out with us for a few days in a row and ended up having a lot of success. We talked to a man on the street named Alex who told us where his house was and that we should come visit him on Sunday evening. He seemed semi-interested, so we went on Sunday to find that he had been waiting anxiously for us to come. He was very eager to listen to us. Sometimes an investigator like that brightens your whole week.

Are you still allergic to mosquito bites? I'm definitely not as allergic as I was before. My reaction to them is pretty average.

How are your shoes holding up? They'll last until I get home, but not much longer. I'll have to get new clothes when I get home. All of my shirts, pants, and shoes will be destroyed.

What scriptures have impressed you recently? I've been finishing Jesus the Christ recently and I love it. I'm also reading in Luke. Luke 8 contains one of the nicest parables in scripture, the parable of the sower. I usually like to read it in Matthew, but there are some nice differences in Luke's account. The parable is given, and then the explanation begins in verse 11. When you look at the explanation, you see four different types of hearing. Those who 1) hear and nothing else, 2) hear and receive, 3) hear and go forth in the world, and 4) hear the word and keep it. The parable ends with this caution in verse 18: Take heed therefore how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. This is especially applicable in a place where everybody is willing to listen to the missionaries, but few are willing to keep commitments.

Love, Elder Nelson

Sometimes I'm Grateful for Questions

Dear America,

Sorry about last week's email. I was kind of scattered. This week has been increasingly scattered, but I think I'm getting better at handling it.

What recipes do you use most often? Lately I've loved making no-bake cookies and putting them in the freezer. I also make tortillas with slight differences because it's a common east African food called japati and it goes with anything. Groundnut soup and vegetable stew are regular preparation day foods for me.

Do you have a budget for meals / expenses, or just try to be cheap? I don't even have to try to be cheap, it comes naturally (thanks, parents). I always end the week with a large amount of subsistence left over. So right now I'm looking for ways to burn money productively.

Do you use mom’s cookbook (answer tactfully). Yes.

Do you have any advice about living away from home? About living in an apartment with 3 other guys? Just do more than your fair share to help, like in cleaning. As soon as you use something, wash it and then don't be surprised when you have to wash more because someone didn't. I'm not sure I could really give you good advice for living away from home unless you've done it.

Do all the kids go to school? At what age? Are there any sports leagues for kids? Do people have pets? Most kids go to school at a very young age, maybe two or three. Even younger if the parents are busy. Unless the family is very poor. Most kids play football (soccer) with their friends, and most of the schools have a semi-official team, but organized competition doesn't really exist. You just gather on Saturday or Sunday and play with whoever shows up to the pitch. Some people have dogs or cats, but they feed them whatever the people are eating so I don't know if they count as true pets. And they don't wash the dogs. Or pet them.

What’s something you’ve laughed about recently? Tell us about your companion from South Africa. What do you foresee being a culture shock coming back home? One of the elders from Kenya in our apartment usually makes me chuckle. He's ready to go home and sometimes I need some of his sarcasm/experience. I don't know why, but it relieves my stress occasionally. Elder Wood from South Africa is cool. Most people call him obroni because he's pretty pale for an African. He's a good footballer and thoughtful. Sometimes he doesn't tell me what he's thinking, though, so I have to guess at it. But he's really tolerant and willing to work and grow. I've realized recently that I'm really going to have a hard time with the food when I get back, as much as I might try not to. But also with the culture. And not being special at all. Here it's pretty easy to be friends with people. Life doesn't work that way in the US.

I'm happy to hear that Drew is doing well on scripture study. His talk a few weeks ago was great. As pertaining to birthday presents, just put the money in the account. I'm anticipating a few expenses (like cavities) will be pending when I get back. l don't care about money right now, but I'm sure I'll be forced to when I'm home. It's kind of a depressing answer but I'm happy right now:)