It's a boy!

Greetings dearest friends and family!

Transfer news came this last Friday. Elder Otieno will be leaving to Techiman and I will be staying here in Offinso and training! #imgonnabeafather That, by the way, means I will be staying in Offinso until at least August. #weird President Cosgrave told me that there are only two new Elders coming to the mission this transfer, an American and a Nigerian. So this should be interesting. The only other Elder who is training is Elder Porritt who just got released as an Assistant to the President. President told me that the only requirements for training are that you must:

1. Be EXACTLY obedient

2. Have PERFECT love for you companion.

#noproblem #highstandards

So for those of you unaware to this fact (probably all of you) what constitutes lawful marriage in Ghana is super relative. We have this investigator, Mary, who has been prepared and is ready for baptism. But we, for the last several weeks, have been trying to work out whether her marriage to one of our branch members is actually considered lawful and can be recognized by the church to help qualify her for baptism. A traditional Ghanaian marriage consists of:

1. The Knocking (When the prospective husband asks for permission from the bride's parents)

2. The Bride Price (The bride's parents determine a price which the husband must pay to marry their daughter)

3. The Ceremony itself.  (Optional and not necessary to be considered lawful marriage)

The requirements for marriage we are given to judge by as missionaries is that the Knocking must have taken place and at least some of the bride price must be paid. That binds the marriage legally. The issue here is that a lot of people are moving away from the primitiveness of the Bride Price and that's case here. In which case the Knocking is the only real step that can be taken towards marriage. (Which in the eyes of the law is sound as long as both families are agreed on the notion of no Bride Price.) That's the case with Mary right now. What we've been trying to determine is if she is "married enough" to be baptized. Confused? So am I! But it should all work out fine in the end. #neverfearbaptismishere

Also, funny story, we were at an FM (free meal) at the Relief Society President's house and she asked us why missionaries are always so excited to get free food even when it's not very good. Elder Otieno responded by saying, "Because all missionaries are terrible cooks." #truestory.

You guys, that's all I've got for you today. Don't worry I'll have lots more for you next week with my new companion. Much love!

Elder Henderson