Monday, March 28, 2016

It's hard to say goodbye...

Elder Liera, Nyampong, Beall & Goodrich
We got transfer news this week. I'm leaving Amasaman tomorrow. I honestly don't know how I feel about that. I've said for so long that I want to leave and see somewhere new and have a little change but now that it's happening I don't want to leave. Amasaman has become my home and the members here have accepted me as family and taken such good care of me. I don't want to leave them anymore. I'm also leaving behind some great investigators that I've been looking for for months now. They're all progressing so well and should be getting baptized here in the next month. I really wanted to see the deacons quorum president's mom get baptized. She's so ready and accepts everything we teach so fast I just didn't have enough time to get her in the water. It's funny how after over 6 months here and 2 transfers in this area I'm regretting not having enough time. My new area should be great though. I am going to the Buduburam area which is a Liberian Refugee Camp.  My new companion is Elder P. He is from my MTC group. We are going to be co-equal companions. Elder Wallin is also in that apartment. We're going to have the best time ever. Beall is getting transferred too. He's going to the bush, an area called Oda. It's kind of like a city in the bush so he should enjoy it. He's getting a good companion and I know he'll do great. Liera goes home tomorrow too. I'm really sad to see him go. I've loved being around him a lot and become great friends with him. He'll be missed here in Ghana but I hope he enjoys home. That's really all I have to talk about this week, the transfer had kind of thrown me off and made me reflect on my time here. Sorry I don't have more to say. 

Sister Matilda helping out the missionaries, repairing Elder Beall's backpack (she is a seamstress)


Monday, March 21, 2016

Investigators!!

March 15-21

Tuesday. Today we went out teaching with a young man in the ward named Elvis. He is 15 years old. He was supposed to come with us to see a classmate of his that is our investigator, however when we got to the boy's house he wasn't there. He knew we were coming but still left. After that our next few appointments fell through as well. Elvis showed us a members place and then we went to visit his family. They fed us and we played some monopoly with them. It was a pretty fun night. I personally love spending time with members. Unfortunately Elvis and his family live a long ways away and we had to bike home in light out. It took us just over an hour but we did it and didn't die.

Wednesday. Today we went out to Sapeiman. It's a tough area, lots of JWs out there. But we wanted to be able to visit the Kubi family tonight. The Kubi family is probably my favorite in the ward. On our way to go visit them we picked up some drinks. Just a 1.5L Coke and Sprite. Sister Kubi made us some amazing rice and stew and gave us some of the Coke as well. When we finished all the food, she brought out even more of it. I thought Beall was going to have to roll me home. After we ate, Brother Kubi showed us some pictures from his mission and his travels. He has traveled most of the world. The only big place he hasn't been is the US. Again our ride home was in the dark and took is an hour or so but it was worth it.

Thursday. Today we went out to a place we've never been before. We got stuck there longer than we wanted to and ended up missing our dinner appointment with the Letsu family. We called them an hour before we were supposed to be there and explained so everything was fine, we rescheduled for another day next week. We got a little rain in the evening too. It forced us in just a little earlier than usual but it didn't effect our day much.

Friday. We were in most of the day. It rained all last night and again all morning. It kept us inside for quite a while. Beall never did get out but I did. Liera is having some eye troubled so Nyampong asked if I would accompany him to Ofankor so that he could do an interview. I took a break from my guitar practice so that I could go with him. We got there to find the man hadn't come home from work yet so we went to the mall. Elder Touhri and Elder Lambson brought the man to us at the mall once he got home. We all ate food and did an interview and just had a good time. I was glad I had the chance to go.

Saturday. It wasn't really an exciting day. We didn't get to see many people because most of our appointments fell through. But we tried. We were in Kpobikorpe for the day and we've really had struggles in that area recently. We more or less just bike in circles out there now trying to find someone to teach. We did have a fun evening though. We broke out our game of risk to quench our thirst for world domination. Unfortunately I got a bad spot to start and went out quickly. I used my newfound guitar skills to play and sing Viva La Vida by Coldplay while the others continued to play. If anyone is familiar with the lyrics of the song then you'd understand why I chose that one. If not then go listen to it really well and you'll understand the irony of it. I need to practice my risk skills so that I can kick trash next time.

Basketball at the temple site
Sunday. During church today we were given 3 referrals that will be baptized in the next 2-5 weeks. They are  2 young men and a young women that everyone thought had already been baptized.  As well as a woman who contacted us because she wants to join the church becuase of her friends that are already members!  These are people who are totally prepared and the only thing stopping them now is having to take the missionary discussions from us. With that in mind we are now trying to teach everything to them as quick as we can. It's going to be tough but fun. We went to visit the deacons quorum president's mom tonight. She isn't baptized but should be here in just the next few weeks. She knows everything, she believes everything, and she's ready to act now. I'm excited for her to take that step.   The rest of the evening I spent practicing the guitar and stuff.

Monday. We played basketball again today. We had a ton more people there though. I got to hang out with Reeves and Wallin a ton. I miss those guys a lot. But we had fun balling and then eating lunch together. We ate and then just sat and talked for a solid 2 hours. It's nice to get together and do that every once and a while. Afterwards Beall and I made our way home but we had to wait for the light to come back before we could cafe. And now here we are.


Monday, March 14, 2016

Rain & Elder Rasband

March 8-14

Elder Beall, Nyampong & Goodrich
Tuesday. We got rained out again. Just as we got ready to head out a massive storm came rolling over the mountain. We got kinda scared so we went back inside. Not 5 minutes after we did it started pouring. It rained out our entire day. One problem with the rain is that even if it rains for just a few minutes, no one will do anything all day. Everyone sleeps when it rains. All appointments get canceled and no one answers the door when you knock. It's lame. This time it did rain on is all day though. It was off and on for about 4-5 hours. We used the time wisely. We napped, we studied, I practiced the guitar a little bit. With rainy season setting in I feel like I'll be getting a lot more guitar practice than most. Nyampong also taught me how to make a really nice stew today. I'm going to have to try making it some time. 
Storms rolling in 

Wednesday. The highlight of today was not what I expected it to be. While we were out and about, doing our thing, we got a phone call from the APs. They said they wanted to go on an exchange with us and would be coming to pick us up at 9:00 this evening to take us back to their place. I don't know what prompted this sudden desire to do an exchange but they want an exchange. We ended up needing to skip PEC that night so that we could pack up a few things for our overnight stay at the APs apartment. They were late picking us up so we didn't actually get to their place until 10:15. We went straight to bed. 

Thursday. Apparently the APs think we're horrible missionaries or something because at 6:40 they came in to make sure we were awake. Then at 8:00 they came in to make sure we were dressed and studying. I kind of wanted to tell them that what we are doing is our own affair but I guess in a way it's their job to check on us like that. When it came time for companionship study they wanted us to do it all together. It was more like Elder Obasogie just lectured all of us and I didn't learn much from it. It wasn't really study. I then spent the morning with Elder Taylor. Not the one that was once my companion but a different one. We contacted for 4 hours and didn't teach one lesson. After lunch I went with Elder Obasogie. This time we just walked from failed appointment to failed appointment. I taught only one lesson in the 4 hours that I was with him. A pretty rough day. Once it was over, the APs didn't have anything to say to us. I think that's because there was nothing they could teach us from what we did. I felt kind of bad for them but it happens. They took us back home and I got to sleep in my own bed again, it was joyous. 

Friday. We had a small problem this morning. Light went off and we were out of water. Well we had water in our bottom tank but not the tank we use. To use that water we have to pump it up into out top tank. To do that we need light to turn on our pump. So no light and no water means no shower and no cleaning dishes to eat. Basically we are stuck waiting for light to come back. Other than that it was just another normal day. At least we didn't have to proselyte with the APs again. It was fun and good for sure but I hate not being in my own area. Just knowing that I'm not assigned to that area makes me care less for it. Now if it had been an old area of mine then I'd never want to leave. Anyways, it felt good to be back in my area. We had a pretty good day. Nothing too exciting or scary or just plain weird. I even got a chance to practice the guitar a little bit. I'm improving slowly but surely. 


Saturday. We got some more crappy weather today. It started out as just a very boisterous morning. That's manageable. Undesirable but manageable. However even that started to get worse on us so our proselyting was cut short. Thankfully we weren't in one of our far areas, we were just in  Pokuase. I ended up just drinking Magic Malt (4 cans of it) and playing the guitar while singing. I'm surprised Beall didn't kill me or something. Even more surprising was that Nyampong didn't kill me. Much to our surprise, the APs called yet again. This time they needed either Liera or Nyampong. Elder Ntumba's companion, Elder Campbell, has decided to go home. I think he's the group from December but I don't know. I do know he hasn't been out more than 3 or 4 transfers. It's sad to see him going home so early. Nyampong was asked to go be Ntumba's companion just until Monday. That means Beall, Liera, and I are in a threesome for a few days. 
Sunday. It was weird having just 3 people in the apartment this morning. We used to have 6 so the lack of activity is a little strange.  We had one investigator and 5 less actives come out to church today.  Our investigator is named Isaac, his brother is one of the less actives we have been working with.  He is 20 years old and has recently moved to Accra from the Volta Region. After church we just hung out with Liera. Later on in the evening, Ntumba and Nyampong came back to stay the night with us and prepare for our day tomorrow

Monday. Today we got to meet an apostle. Elder Rasband came to speak to our mission and the Accra mission together. It was incredible. He shook all of our hands and talked to each of us for just a few seconds. He spoke to us on missionary calls and the revelation that goes into them and the divinity of them. It was absolutely incredible. You could feel the spirit and the love that radiated from him as he stood before us. Definitely a day that I will never forget. Once we finished there we went home and now to the cafe for some emailing. 

February 23-29

Feb 23-29

Tuesday. The wash lady came today because she forgot to come yesterday. We had to get all our laundry together and ready to be washed. I got lucky. I didn't think I was going to have clean clothes to wear but I found some. We went out to an area called Kpobikorpe today. We have a recent convert and a few investigators out there so we spent a good little while there. I feel like everything went well. We had a great lesson with the recent convert, Sister Becky. She has been reading from the Book of Mormon lately and since the new year we have been teaching her from it. We started at the beginning and now we are in 2 Nephi. We just hit the Isaiah chapters though and not only is she having a tough time understanding it, but we are having a tough time teaching it. That doesn't bode well for our scripture studies. But with the help of the spirit we were able to deliver what I believe was a strong message. 

Wednesday. Kochevar, Liera, and Nyampong left to go to a district council meeting today. So Beall and I went about our day as normal. I worked out again and ate and got ready for the day. I'm starting to work out morning and evening so that I can burn off all this fat that I've put on. We went out to Sapeiman today. We didn't have much luck with the people that we wanted to teach so we explored and contacted most of the day. Later in the afternoon we went to visit the Kubi family. Brother Appiah wasn't there but the rest of the family was so we spent some time with them. They own a bread factory so I'm sure you can imagine what they gave us to eat. Bread and malt. That's what they give us every single time we go there. It's a good thing I like malt. Beall is a different story though. He just tries not to spit the malt out while drinking. The Kubi family is awesome and I love spending time with them. 

Thursday. Not much exciting happened today. It was mainly just a lot of failed appointments. We were in Kpobikorpe and Pobiman today. I'm pretty sure we just ended up greeting everyone that we wanted to teach. When I say greet I mean we just knocked and said hi and asked how they were doing. Greeting someone is a big deal here. Neighbors will avoid talking to each other for years just because there was one day that they passed on the street and forgot to greet. So if we can at least stop and say hi, even if the person is busy, it's better than not seeing them at all. That's what we did almost all day. 

Friday. We were back in Sapeiman again today. We had a scary moment when we couldn't find any chop bars for lunch. We were looking for rice, it's one of the safest things to eat from a chop bar, but we couldn't find anyone selling it. The only food we could find was banku. So after much prayer asking for health and safety from the evils of chop bar banku we ate. It was only one of the scariest things that I've ever done in my life. After lunch we went out and tried to visit a less active member and a few investigators around him. We met these two girls in a shop that we taught. I don't think they're interested in the gospel as much as they are in white guys and having a half white baby. This evening we were able to go and find the house of our new bishop. He lives in Sapeiman but I don't think it should count as Sapeiman. It's forever and a half away from anything. We had another member show us the house. We got there just as it started to rain so we stayed and chatted for a while. I think the rainy season is coming back. It's a good thing too, we haven't had rain since September or October. 

Saturday. We again went to Kpobikorpe today. Thankfully we found rice today. We have a chop bar there that we eat at multiple times a week. They make decent rice, and by that I mean it hasn't killed me yet so it must be alright. We visited a few investigators that we haven't seen in a while. They were decently receptive but I could see why they were dropped in the first place. Really it wasn't too exciting today. Just normal. 

Sunday. Church was pretty normal. We had a couple investigators and 4 less actives come to church today. After church the Keele's came bearing gifts. They brought me my 3 packages that have been in the mail. I was so excited! Packages are beautiful. Just seeing that white padded envelope almost puts me in tears every time. I got home and opened them first thing. Beall finally got to eat fufu today. No one prepared it for us, we made it ourselves. It was so much fun. After church all of us missionaries went home to pound and prepare the soup. I must say, we pounded out some pretty dang good fufu and Nyampong made some incredible ground nut soup. We had fun, ate, partied, and got fat on fufu. Afterwards we were to meet some members for yet another meal. I think we could have just rolled home if we wanted. We slept well and full. 

Monday. We went to play basketball yet again. It was fun. We had a pretty good turnout this time and even some guys from the Accra mission came. Unfortunately Wallin wasn't able to come. It's always more enjoyable when Wallin and Barr come. Barr to is unavailable because he's way out in Winneba. Maybe next transfer we can get Barr and Martineau close enough to come again. After ball we went to the mall and ate lunch. We stuffed ourselves on chicken burgers and I drank some Mountain Dew from Dubai. Not the same we American Mountain Dew but still alright. After lunch we showered and went to the Internet cafe. I spent the whole time trying to figure out my new iPod so I didn't get my email off, that's why it's coming in this week. 

March 1-7

March 1-7

Tuesday. Best day ever. Rainy season has come and today it showed. Just as we were all walking out of the apartment, a giant wall of dust hit us. We ran to get our clothes off of the clothes line and take them inside. By the time we finished it was staring to sprinkle a little bit. That sprinkle turned into a rain that I could have easily showered in. So Kochevar and I did the most logical thing in the world, we put on our shorts or whatevers and went out to play in the rain. We played catch, laid down in the 4 inches of water on the ground, and climbed into our landlords polytank or water tank. It was so awesome. And it rained all day long. It didn't let up until late in the evening. Once it did let up we all went to the mall together and got pizza. It was a pretty great day. 

Wednesday. Again we got some rain. It kept us in most of the day this time and so we were only able to proselyte for a little while. We went and saw a few people but it wasn't to great of a day. Not much that we could do. Half days of rain just suck but full rain days are awesome. 

Thursday. We had our zone training meeting today. It was a "specialized" zone training though. The APs came along with President Snow and Sister Snow. They ended up kind of taking over the whole meeting. Liera said he had a bunch of stuff prepared, I saw him practicing it, but he didn't get to teach or say anything. The APs and President Snow just chastised us for 4 hours. I really want to support Snow and get on board with the things he's doing but he's making it so hard. He wants to change things abut the way we teach and do things but he isn't willing to go out and see what it's like to teach here. A lot of missionaries aren't happy about the things we are doing. I learned President Snow isn't from St. George though. After the meeting we ate dinner at the mall and then went on home. Because of the length of the meeting we got home really late and so we just got ready for bed and whatnot. 

Friday. We worked hard today. Since we haven't had a chance to do much this week we decided to step up our game. We did a lot today and even more in the evening. We didn't get home until after 9:00 this evening. I was dead tired and ready to just crash. We barely even ate because we were just running around like crazy today. Honestly it's all just a blur to me now. Fortunately there wasn't any more rain today. 

Saturday. Another busy day today. We started out the day by cleaning the chapel. Beall and I did our part by mopping everything. It was just us and 2 members of the elders quorum that were there to clean. It proved miserable but definitely worth it. Once we finished we biked out to Sapeiman to teach. We did eat lunch today so that was a bright spot. We almost got caught in a big rain storm. Right as we got to an investigators place it hit. We taught her and then prepared to go out in the rain to the next place. As we did the rain completely stopped. As soon as we got to the next place it started up again. This happening to us 3 or 4 times throughout the day. Our last stop was visiting the Kubi family and Bishop Sakpaku and his family. We had a great tine with them but it got late and we had to start biking home. We got home right at 9:00. I was really surprised that we didn't die on the ride home but we didn't. We had planned to stop and greet Brother James and Sister Matilda but there were white people in Matilda's shop so we got scared and just went home. 

Sunday. After church we basically just partied with Kochevar. We went to visit James and Matilda. They cooked us dinner and we all had a great time together. Once we finished with them we met with our land lord, Brother Amofah, and his family. They too wanted to have a small party for Kochevar before he left. We talked and ate snacks and spent a good chunk of time with them. Once we were finally all together in the apartment we just sat and talked to Kochevar while he packed his bags. Honestly it was a sad moment for me. 

Monday. Today we just had a lazy morning. Beall and I were supposed to meet a few guys at the West Hills Mall but we kept delaying it because I didn't want to say bye to Koch. I finally did and we went to the mall. After the mall we came to the cafe to email. I'm going to miss Kochevar so much. That guy has been a role model and great friend of mine since the day I met him. It's hard seeing friends leave.