I had Christmas down in Africa!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! 

First off, I'm sorry I don't have my Christmas photos for you today... I will try to send them to my mother later and maybe she can upload to Facebook or something but there won't be any in this email.

There's not much to report on proselyting wise this week. We did get the whole zone together and carol outside of the supermarket in town on Christmas Eve. That was pretty cool. Elder Renfroe hooked his laptop up to a tv and we played the church's nativity videos between carols. It was fun. Afterwards we were given like 100 pamphlets and handed them all out to people. It was powerful.

Also we had a stake Christmas activity where all of the branches put on a little skit and/or musical piece. That was really fun to watch. 

Kintampo Falls was really cool too! Maybe you all will eventually get to see pictures of it.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to another powerful week in Tamale! Have a Happy New Year everyone! I'll see you in 2017!

(Here is an excerpt of a description of the Christmas Eve caroling event outside the supermarket from Elder Renfroe. He and his wife look after the missionaries in Tamale, and basically keep them alive.)

"Today the missionaries and us gathered at Melcoms, the closest thing there is in town to a store of any kind and I think they liken themselves as the Walmart of Tamale. Uh, no. But, there we were nestled into a corner of a courtyard in front of the store, perfectly situated in the focal point of a solar oven. It got so hot, my iPhone quit working...

As we formed up to prepare for our sort of concert, a loud speaker was blaring African music with a bass note that occasionally hit a frequency well below human hearing level yet, somehow was at the same harmonic frequency as my intestines. It shook my belly like a bowl full of jelly. This little shop was advertising their special sale that was just in time for Christmas. I sat and wondered as we waited for the people from Melcoms to bring out a television and a power cord for our piano, how were we going to get them to be quiet long enough for us to do our thing. I went over and asked them if they could shut it off at 2:30 so we could sing Christmas carols. I really don't think she had any idea what I was talking about. It could have been because the music was deafening, or it was becase she spoke very little English, or she was Muslim (I figured that out because she had her head covered just like everyone else in the room.) or it was a combination of all of those things. I thought she said she would turn it off, but it didn't sound convincing to me. As we are roasting in the heat, surrounded by Muslims, pummeled by the incessant music, and worrying whether Melcoms would really bring the TV, I thought there is no way this is going to happen. Then I thought, this will be interesting how the Lord works this out. Sure enough, the TV came and miracle of miracles, not only did the music shut off, but Jerilyn went over and asked if we could use a microphone hooked to their speaker and we would mention them to the audience. Did I mention that she is the peacemaker in the family. The music stopped and I was handed a microphone. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we are not the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but we are Mormons here to sing you a few Christmas carols and tell you the story of Christmas.'

 We sang and played the short videos of Christ's advent that have recently been produced by the church, interwoven with carols. Muslim kids sat around and watched, people paused, heads were turned, and some stayed for the whole 35 minute presentation. Afterward, the missionaries did what they do best and started talking to people. It was great. It was miraculous."

To Techiman we fly!!!

Hello everyone! I'm emailing a little early today because we are about to go down to Techiman for Zone Conference... We will be spending the night there and returning tomorrow. Since we get an hour and a half to email I'm taking this half hour to write this email and I'll send pictures and individual emails during the hour I have when I get down to Techiman.

This week was pretty good, since many of you are asking I just want to get this out of the way, Ghana is a safe place. My life has not once been in danger in spite of the election and everything going on so no worries. Haha. #resteasymom Plus the election has now passed peacefully so there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

We kinda hit a bump in the road with Steven this week. He's frustrated at the "lack of faith" that he sees in the Saints up here and is convinced that the true church of God should be filled with people that are already holy and sanctified. We are spending a lot of time talking about the principle of agency and the importance of repentance with him to help him understand that if everyone were perfect it would defeat the purpose of the church in the first place. But it turns out, we found out his mental challenges extend further than insomnia so getting through to him is going to be a big challenge. #challengeaccepted

Also I'm singing at zone conference tomorrow! I'll be singing the song "Believe" from the Polar Express I'm sure a video will be in order. #Thatonesforyoumom

In other news, we will be stopping at Kentampa Falls on the way down to Techiman and that opens the door for some pretty sweet pictures at the waterfall, so that is why I'm waiting until I get down there to send any pictures.

Love you all! I'll see you in Techiman!

One of these things is not like the other...

Hello from Tamale, dearest friends and family. This has been a crazy week!

First off... It was election week in Ghana. #yaypatriotism The people here are very passionate about politics. They campaign by riding their motorcycles very fast and burning their engines very loudly down the street as they wear gear for their party and sometimes wear masks and stuff. Pretty interesting and pretty scary sometimes. #gladthatsover We spent pretty much every evening sheltered in our apartment this week because of all the big public demonstrations and violent threats if their candidate didn't win. So basically we didn't do a ton of proselyting this week. I am happy to report however that our shelter in place was purely cautionary and nothing ever got out of hand... at least not in Tamale. And luckily elections are only every four years so I will not be seeing anything like this again for the rest of my mission.

Also, Elder Effiong returned with his new greenie! Elder Woplah, from Liberia. So if you put two and two together... I am now the only white guy in our apartment. #minority

Also, this week we met Pastor Nat. Allow me to enlighten you on the background of Pastor Nat... He was baptized a member of the church in 1997 and has been inactive ever since. Missionaries have been trying to reactivate him for 17 years. The man has since become the Pastor of a local church here in Tamale hence his name, Pastor Nat. Every now and then though he will come to church out of his own free will so that he can meet with the missionaries. He showed up last Sunday and we introduced ourselves and offered to meet with him not knowing that he was a member. But we figured he was serious because he fully participated in church that day and had an extensive knowledge of our doctrines. When we met with him we got this background and he told us he loves the LDS church and the missionaries because of our devotion to our faith, but he just disagrees with a few pieces of doctrine. He then proceeded to start a heated argument on how our church doctrines contradict what is in the Bible. Basically he was trapping us. I wasn't too happy about that. We are however, going to meet with him again to see if we can help him understand that this draw he feels to the missionaries is the spirit testifying the truth of our message. And that the proof of the true doctrines of Jesus Christ is not found in the Bible, but the proof is in fact the Book of Mormon. But with 17 years of missionary experience, I doubt he will be open enough to the spirit to accept that as an answer. It's definitely worth a shot though.

In other news we've got water! Had it all week. The problem was that because we are in the dry season, the city water doesn't have enough pressure to travel up the pipe into our water tank. So my main man Brother Abraham (with the help of Brother Renfroe) brought 4 55 gallon drums full of water and are refilling the tank every few days now, so we should have consistent water for the rest of our time here... hopefully. #knockonwood

That's all for this week! Pictures should be coming in just a few minutes! Love you all! 

Elder Henderson

Surprise!!!

What!? Elder Henderson is emailing on a Saturday!? Bet you didn't see that one coming! You better watch out because I'm sneaky...like a puma...#noonehereissafe #transferweeksoimemailingearly

Before you ask, the answer is YES...we lost water in our apartment again. And not only did we lose water right at the same time we ran out of drinking water...but so did the rest of the missionaries in Tamale. Water went out with a bang this week. #afflictions

As a matter of fact, we barely proselyted on Wednesday because we were with brother Abraham trying to resolve the problem so we wouldn't...ya know...die (Brother Abraham is the groundskeeper for all of the missionary apartments in Tamale. Wednesday was a rough day for him). And no...we still don't have running water. #Maybetomorrow

 Also, I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISMS TODAY!!! It was pretty exciting! Brother Rex and Sister Rose bother were baptized by yours truly as well as one of Elder Christensen and Elder Effiong's investigators. Fun side story: The other Elders' investigator is a lot bigger than I am and when I was pulling him out of the water my foot slipped and we both went tumbling down. #firstbaptism #baptismstillcounted It was a very powerful experience.

Also, #sorrymom but I forgot my camera as I was coming to email today so I don't have pictures. But never fear because we should be back briefly on Monday. So I can upload my pictures then.

So...we got a referral from the branch mission leader in Kanvilli (Branch in Northern district of Tamale. My branch, Education Ridge, is in the South West district). His name is brother Steven. He's very powerful. He's the first new serious investigator we've gotten. He's already told us he wants to be baptized within the month. We had a neat experience with him in our second lesson where he asked us if we have the priesthood why we don't heal the sick. We then kindly explained that we do, but we don't solicit opportunities to do so because whether the healing works is based on the receiver's faith. He then confessed to us that he was na insomniac and that it was affecting his work and preventing him from getting paid. He asked us to bless him. It was a very VERY powerful experience. We haven't seen him since then (Thursday) so I'll be looking forward to following up with him next week.

Also, I FINALLY TRIED FUFU. It is by far my favorite Ghanaian food. Much better than kinke! #bleh I also tried teezet. It was somewhere between kinke and fufu. One thing I've learned is that all the staple dishes here (kinke, fufu, teezet, bonku)are all basically the same thing, some just taste better for some reason. #idk Anyway...I love and miss you all! I'm also looking forward to another 6 weeks spent in Tamale. This is truly an amazing place.

Love you!

The shirt one of our recent converts, John Mark, made me. The material is authentic angelina.

First time trying fufu! #delicious

#Squadgoals #tamalesouthwestdistrict #lastdistrictmeetingtogether

Me, Rex, Rose, and Elder Amakye right before the baptism

Glad Tidings of Great Joy!

I've got great news, everyone! We've had running water and a working pump almost all week! It feels so good to take a real shower again, I can't even tell you.

Also, I've got pictures this week! So that's pretty exciting.

I went on my first exchange this week to the Vitin Branch with my District Leader, Elder Nelson. He's a very powerful missionary. He's also another Idaho boy. As a matter of fact, that night we tried to make Idahoan mashed potatoes for dinner using only Ghanaian resources. I would not recommend attempting that to anyone because it was freaking nasty. #Idahodoesnotbelonginghana

Also, We were able to meet with Brother Rex again this week and we have rescheduled his baptism for this Saturday. He will be baptized with Sister Rose (the wife of one of our recent converts). These will be my first two baptisms on the mission, so that's pretty exciting! In our last discussion with Brother Rex, he seemed kind of closed off and not really wanting to talk. I felt impressed to tell him that the closer he got to his baptism, Satan would try to put stumbling blocks in his way and divert his attention from serving Christ. That the adversary will do everything in his power to keep him from being baptized. I promised him that if he devotes himself to Christ and lives the laws that we had been teaching that the devil would have no such power. He looked at me after that and said, "Wow. Thank you." The spirit was SO STRONG!! #spirit Since that lesson, he has seemed much more comfortable with his decision and much more serious about his baptism. I expect with no doubt he will be baptized this week.
Also, we had District Conference this Sunday and President and Sister Cosgrave were up here. That was pretty cool. We got all but one of our progressing investigators to come! #itsonly3butstill

It was at the Picorna Hotel which is the nicest place I have seen in Ghana so far. There's also a restaurant nearby that's owned by a white European and rumor has it that it sells not just pizza, but CALZONES!!! #calzone #illletyouknowhowitis #itsinmyarea #hallelujah

Oh yeah, and district conference was pretty good, but I had trouble hearing because of the massive fans that they had to keep everyone cool. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Tamale is pretty hot.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love you all so much!

Brother John, a recent convert who received the Priesthood on Sunday

Elder Christensen and me doing laundry

Reunited with the MTC squad at mid-transfer training in Kumasi

My new furry friend I found

Crikey!

Hello Dearest Friends and Family!

You've got a very happy Elder emailing you today! Ghana is really starting to grow on me!

First off:

Kumasi was great! I got to go to KFC while I was there and it was fantastic. Also, mid-transfer training was really good! President and Sister Cosgrave spent a lot of time emphasizing the importance of using the Book of Mormon with our investigators. This was a huge relief to myself and many other Elders in the mission, as that seems to be a hard concept for some of the African Elders to grasp...they LOVE their New Testament. Also, while I was there I got to weigh myself again and I've already lost 10 pounds since I left the MTC! So that was pretty crazy to find out. #dontworrymomimnotstarving #itsallthatbikeriding

Elders Morford and Henderson at mid-transfer training in Kumasi

Also, I'm sure many of you have been wondering what I miss the most since leaving the states (Aside from all you lovely people). And the answers are as follows:
    
     Contact lenses
     American food in general
     Temple attendance 

So there you have it. Those are the things I missed the most this week. Also, for those of you interested in knowing this...we lost water again last Tuesday and we haven't gotten it back since. #dontworrymomimnotdying Our good old handyman Brother Abraham has been supplying us with tanks of water so we've been doing just fine. I'm starting to get really good at taking bucket baths.

Because we were in Kumasi most of the week I don't really have any updates proselyting wise...we were not able to get any new investigators this week. But in the little contacting we did, we did have a Muslim tell us he wants to come to church and ask for our number. He said he wants us to teach him and "maybe we can convince him to be baptized." So we just might be scheduling an interview with him and the Zone Leaders pretty soon. His name is Brother Muhammad. #gofigure

This Sunday we had a special broadcast to the Africa West area where Elder Clayton (Presidency of the Seventy), Elder Dube (Of the Seventy), Sister Stevens (First Counselor Relief Society) and Elder Stevenson all spoke. It was really good! The general theme of the broadcast was that the Doctrine of Christ helps you through hard times. And basically that by adhering to Christ's teachings He will make your burdens light. I can testify that that is true! Oh boy, can I testify that that is true!

Last thing! We had our Zone Activity today! We went up to the Paga Crocodile Pond and took some pretty legit pictures with a crocodile! It was sick! Paga is right on the Northern border of Ghana and it was kinda funny because after we were done our driver started going north and we accidentally left the country for a few minutes...#whoops. There was also a very nice man sitting next to me on the trotro who gave me very detailed instructions on how to get through Mali and Libya into Spain. #themoreyouknow

Example of a trotro (an old van used for public transportation)

 

I love you all!

"Silminga Hello!"

Hello everyone! First off, I'm sorry I don't have pictures this week. I email from an internet cafe and so sometimes the option to upload pictures is not available... luckily I'm going down to Kumasi this week for mid-transfer training and our Mission Home has wifi so I will be able to send my mother my pictures from there.

This week was a roller-coaster!

After a couple days of no water in the apartment and living off only the trashcan full of water that Elder Renfroe brought us, our water has returned and supposedly is here to stay! #yes! We will see, but we haven't had any problems yet, so that's good!

My diet has switched from rice to yams and gari [made from cassava flakes], then we dip those in either cabbage stew or tomato and sardine stew. #lotsofstew I'm starting to get the hang of this whole Ghana thing finally, except for the fact that I'm still not really picking up the language at all. #thisisntreallyanenglishmission And a lot of you have been asking and the answer is no...No one can understand me while I'm teaching. haha! But it's all good. They usually get the idea. #teachingbythespirit.

Also, we did have a few heartbreaks this week. Brother Rex did not show up for his baptismal interview on Saturday and we haven't been able to get a hold of him since then. So that was pretty frustrating. He was supposed to be baptized on Sunday right after church (that's how they do it here), but he has disappeared. Also, we were teaching our Relief Society President's less active daughter, Sister Mercy, and trying to get her to start coming back to church. We came back a few days later to hear that she had converted to Islam. That was really sad. Our poor Relief Society President was heartbroken.

On the upside, I got to teach Primary in our branch this week. I stand by my word that the little kids here are the most adorable things on the planet. We learned about why it is important to be reverent in sacrament meeting. #verypowerfullesson

That's all I've got for you this week! Much love to you all!

Dirt...dirt everywhere!

Hello friends and family! It's so good to email you all again! Here's what I've learned so far:

Tamale is a very difficult area for several reasons...

1. The population is almost entirely Muslim. This is hard because first off, we aren't even allowed to teach Muslims without special permission and that's if they even want to hear your message so that makes it very hard to find people to teach.

2. Bicycles... our area is very far away from our apartment and so we have to bike 3-4 miles just to get to our area. And it always seems our bikes are never functioning correctly. Haha there is always something wrong with them. We waste a lot of time during the week getting them repaired.

3. The heat. It's really really hot here. I think the average temperature ranges right around 40 degrees Celsius, so... yeah riding bikes in the hot sun is pretty hard.

4. The dust. I had a dream a few weeks before I got my call that I was called to St. George. I"m thinking what I actually saw was Tamale. Not only is the dirt everywhere but we have to ride through it in order to get anywhere so that makes it really hard to keep things clean and stuff.

Other than that, Ghana is lit! We got 4 new investigators this last week. Brothers Lucas and David and Sister Esther we found while contacting. They are a very powerful family and have a lot of faith in Christ. They all agreed to baptism in the first lesson so that was pretty cool.

Then Sister Rose is the wife of a recent convert. We also started teaching her this week. It's pretty difficult because she doesn't speak English very well she only speaks dogbanny (the local language in Tamale) so it's very hard for her to understand what I am saying.

The little kids here are adorable! Everywhere I go they just want to say hi! In dogbanny "silminga" means "white man" so everywhere I go I can here them shouting, "Silminga hello!" It's pretty cute.

I can honestly say that I'm only 2 and a half weeks in the field and this is already the hardest thing I've ever done. I know the Lord gives us trials so that we can become stronger and I'm trying to embrace that. I've already been so humbled by everything here. The living conditions, the people, the food. I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you all. I love you all so much and miss you dearly.

Hello from Ghana!

Hey everyone! I received a warm akwaaba (welcome) in Kumasi on Wednesday. We were however 6ish hours behind schedule because after about two hours of flying over the Atlantic ocean our pilot announced that our plane was having mechanical issues and we would have to return New York. Kind of a nerve racking three hours... but we knew we were in good hands.

I need to apologize to my family, I don't have any pictures for you this week because I don't have the right kind of adapter. I will have it by next week and then I will send more pictures.

 

Also, I don't have a lot of time to email so I won't be able to respond to everyone but I do read all my emails and I love getting pictures from everyone so please continue to love me.

I'm currently serving in Tamale (8 hour bus ride from Kumasi) and oh boy is it HOT!!! I have not stopped sweating since the moment I got here. #mystenchismyglory #sweatisthecologneofsuccess My trainer is Elder Amakye (Ah-mah-chay) he is from Cape Coast. He's very powerful in spirit and in teaching. My apartment is pretty nice but we keep having power and water problems which I guess is something I'll just have to get used to.

 

President and Sister Cosgrave are also very powerful. I love them and am so looking forward to working with them for the next two years.

Also, after a month of being a missionary I finally get to start proselyting tonight! Yesterday we had to catch up on training so we didn't get a chance two and Saturday was spent traveling from Kumasi to here so... yeah. I'm pretty anxious to get started.

The food here is actually pretty good. You just have to get accustomed to all the rice and the spiciness. #runnytummyisarealthing But yeah I haven't had anything sketchy to eat yet so that hopefully brings my mother some comfort.

Also, if I have learned anything it is that Ghana is a very safe place. I was asking one of the Assistants, Elder Hill, about it and just replied with, "Stand ye in holy places." So I will.

That's really all I've got for you. I'm kinda relying on my friends and family to let me know if I left anything out and I'll try to update you next week. I'm doing very well! Can't wait to get to work! I love you all!

October 19, 2016

Hello everyone! My time here in the MTC is just flying by! One of the sisters in my zone described best when she said, "It feels like I got here yesterday, but it also feels like I've been here for a year!" Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement, and while I don't have enough time to respond to everyone, I always read everything and I save all the pictures you send me so keep them coming!

I've been doing much better in every regard except that I was a little under the weather the past few days. I ended up in the clinic to get to the bottom of some stomach pain I was having. (Personally, I blame the food.) But aside from that I'm so happy and I'm so excited to get out of here and make it to Ghana!

 

Pretty much every day here is the same and they all kind of blend together so it's hard for me to give details. Basically my days consist of lots of class and lots of teaching our TRCs. One of the people Elder Guevara and I are teaching is from Madagascar! She's very shy and quiet and doesn't appear to have any real interest in the Gospel. But we can fix that! #we'llusethespirit

 

I finally got my travel itinerary! I'll leave Tuesday morning so this will be the last email I send from the MTC. Yes that's right children, next time you hear from me I will be in Africa... boom.  We'll fly from Salt Lake City to JFK and then from JFK to Accra. As far as I know it is just the four of us on that flight so that's pretty awesome! #18hoursofflying

I wish I had more to tell you but that is pretty much it! I'm working hard and I feel like I'm improving every day! I've got a testimony that as you put your whole soul into your work the Lord will sustain you. 

I love you all!​​​​​​

October 12, 2016

Dear family and friends,

I'm so excited that I finally get to email you all! Here in the MTC my P-days are on Wednesdays so I had to wait a whole week before sending anything. It's been agony because so much has happened that I want to talk about!

First off, I just wanted to say that I am so excited to get out of here and go to Ghana so I can be less likely to get sick.  Also, life here is just really busy and filled with the anxiety and desire to get to where I was called. When I think that I have been here for a full week my first thought is, "That's so crazy!" because it just seems impossible that I could have already been here for that long. On the other hand my whole MTC experience so far has felt like one LONG ETERNAL DAY. But that's not to say that some pretty amazing stuff has happened.

My first day here was actually very stressful, mostly because nobody tells you what to do. You are given absolutely no briefings on what to expect. They just throw you into the lions den and say, "Don't leave, no high-fiving the sisters, be in bed by 10:00." The first few days were really a lot to take in. I'm so grateful for it all though because by Sunday my drive was totally restored and now I feel invigorated to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone I meet. I met my companion, Elder Guevara on my way into the MTC. Very first thing I said to him, "Hey! My mom facebook stalked your mom!" #awesomefirstimpressions But it's cool because we are tight now and he has a really strong testimony of Jesus Christ. When we teach our investigators and he gets off about his own self conversion and starts teaching by the spirit... It's truly amazing everyone! 

I also met our roommates Elder Stirling and Elder Banta, who are the only other Elders going to Kumasi with us in two weeks. In our District we also have Elder Callister and Elder Griener who are going to Rochester, New York, and Sisters Mathias, Brandt, Stevenson, and Mitchell, who are all going to Spokane.

The food here is terrible by the way. I'm taking it as preparation for Ghana... My first meal was delicious and everything after that has been sorely disappointing.

I also love our teacher Sister Greenall, she got back from her mission in Dallas, Texas four months ago and she is so good at getting all of us to dig deep and teach by the spirit. When I heard she went to Dallas I was like, "No way! Do you know Sister Klinkowski?" and she was like, "Yeah I know Sister Klinkowski!" So... shout out to you Kendra!

Also last night we had our first "Devo" and Elder Bednar came! He taught an amazing lesson on how we should learn and apply the lessons we are taught by the prophets because whether it be by the mouths of the prophets or the direct word of the Lord, it is the same. I learned a lot from Elder Bednar, but honestly I was mostly excited that I got to sing to him as a part of the MTC Choir! And in the choir I sat next to none other than the great Elder Leach himself! It was so fun. He seems to be doing really well. If only I could read his name tag... (It's in Croatian and/or Serbian, depending on how he feels that day.) #perksofspeakingenglish I also found Sister Camilla Morley walking into the MTC today. I gave her a nice warm welcome the MTC veteran way. #weekoldveteran

I love the emails I've been getting from my family and friends and I want more! Please guys feel free to send me pictures, spiritual thoughts, or even just let me know what is going on. I'm doing great and I want to know that you all are too!

You guys, this is the true church of Jesus Christ! After the first few days here, (which were pretty rough) I really felt my faith being tested. But on Sunday I had the opportunity to watch a talk by Elder Bednar that is only available to Missionaries in Training. I learned that mere faith and a testimony isn't enough to experience conversion, and that is so true. In order to experience true conversion we must first inhabit the character of Christ by turning outward to others when we would normally turn inward selfishly. If we can accomplish this, our faith, will become knowledge. Truly an amazing principle.

I love you all! I look forward to getting more emails! ​​​​