9/29/2014
So everything in Ghana is Christian
related. Above almost every shop you will see by his grace hair salon, or Gods
gifts key cutting service, on the back of every tro tro or taxi you will see God’s
Grace, or Jesus's Love, it’s really cool. Well on the back of a car I saw
this No Jesus...No swag I freaking loved it!! Family it sounded like you
all had a very good week. I actually had the worst urge the other day to
go to Burgers Etc. I was glad you were able to get out and go to the
hills and go to rock creek store. Dad it sounds like work is okay and everything is moving along pretty
well. Mom don’t worry about the computers they will settle down.
How are your classes? Are the kids okay? How is baseball?
Basketball? Baseball? Mom I will be honest I kind of want to know what is
going on back home with those things. I am glad you all had a great week
I love you all very much!!
This week was a very good week for
me and Elder Bangi. It was full of excitement and some spiritual
experiences. We are trying to work a little harder, it’s been hard to
balance things but we will get it figured out. Elder Bangi and I are
doing really good, I love that guy, and we are always laughing and having a
good time. So to begin transfer news they are here. Elder Bangi and
I are staying together, so that means two more months I will be with him it
will be good, I am happy with that!! The only change is Elder Jensen is
going to my last area, to be the district leader there, so that will be hard to
not have him anymore but the district is still really cool!!
I am so excited for conference!! I
always look forward to hearing the Apostles and the Prophets!! They are truly
special witnesses of Christ....I remember when Bednar came and I heard his
testimony, WOW they are truly Apostles and have that authority, I love
President Monson very much!! I read that book you sent me and I have developed
a new love for him. I will be so happy to hear his counsel this week!! I
beg as you listen to the talks don’t try to remember everything they say,
remember what the spirit tells you to do!!
This week was awesome!! We were able
to help Sister M into the waters of Baptism on Saturday, it was so awesome, and
she was just shining with the spirit!! Usually we try to get a lot of members
there and none came this week and at first I was greatly devastated, but M kind of just wanted a small spiritual experience and she got it, it was really
nice!! She has been super prepared, as I did the practice interview with her, I
said M what was the role of Joseph Smith, she said oh he brought back our
saviors church to the earth!! I was so happy for her!! Well we had an okay week
as far as being able to see our investigators, J is still very stubborn
so we are going to have to not see her as much as we used too, I hate doing
that especially when she has received an answer to her prayer but we have to
find those who have been prepared more! We will continue to pray for her.
This week we are going to focus on finding more people to teach and help
more progress, we have done okay but our people aren’t really progressing
towards baptism it’s very hard in Ghana you really have to learn to balance
things.
I had a very spiritual
experience this Saturday, one that was probably the coolest on my
mission. In this mission we are just like the old school missionaries, we
walk and knock on every gate to find people to teach. Well we were going
to an appointment later at night on Saturday, and on the way there was a woman
who was petting this dog, she had a baby on her back and her son with
her. Well I stopped my companion kept riding and I said is this your dog,
she replied with a yes. So we chatted small and she asked what church I
was from. I told her and she said she had been to a wedding at our temple
but didn’t go in! I explained the church to her and what we do as
missionaries. Well I started to bring out the restoration pamphlet and
she said you know what Elder Carson my husband died three months ago.
Well the spirit just took over it was so dang cool. I said you know
sister G I was going to share this with you but when we come we will discuss
how in that temple you visited we can be sealed to our family forever, which
means you will see your husband again, and can be sealed to him for eternity,
when I finished she was tearing up. For Africans to show emotion it is
very hard to see, I have never seen them cry unless I was at a funeral.
Like at church if you start crying they laugh haha its weird so it was cool to
see her feel the spirit that way, and it was just a contact...we will see her
tomorrow:) You know that is how the spirit works for me, I didn’t have
this super strong impression to stop but over something as little as a dog the
spirit and our heavenly father was able to help me plant a seed.
Also Yesterday at church we were
going to leave but we had a recent convert take my companions bike so we were
waiting for some time, well some time turned into a couple hours and Elder
Jensen and our companions were getting a little frustrated. As we were
sitting in the sacrament room a woman came to the front door then started to
leave, well again usually we don’t mind them but I decided to call for her, she
told me she was looking for the missionaries. So we brought her in and
sat her down, by this time we had been waiting for 4 hours. She opened up
to us and explained that she is in a different ward and was baptized in
December. She started to cry as she explained her situation here.
People in Ghana see missionaries as just super great people so they always come
to us. She basically said that she is from Nigeria and was going to marry
a guy and he brought her here to Ghana. This is where she met the
missionaries and was baptized. Well as she has been here the guy is just
a bum and is doing not good things so she wants to leave, he doesn’t care but
she has to wait to get paid at the end of the year. Overall she just
needed someone to talk to, she just cried as she talked to us. Well we
have a very good member that has a bunch of apartments so we took her to him
plus he is a great member that helps us when we run into stuff like this so we don’t
face any precautions. We gave her the option of staying there until the
year ends. Well long story short we handed her off to the ward and she
was very happy. She told us she was very relieved and very happy!!
What was amazing was we never stay that long at church but for some reason we
did, and we were able to help that woman! It was pretty neat I was
thankful to be able to help her!!
Well that was my week family!! I
love you all very much and am so grateful for you all! I miss you like crazy
but we just have to do what we have done one more time and I am home!
Time goes by way too fast! I pray for you each every single night! I love
you all very much!! Thank you for the emails! Tell me everything that is
happening at home!! I love you all very much!!
Love you all tons!!!:)
Elder Carson Elder Duke
