Out with the old, in with the slightly less old.

Hello blessed family and friends!

I am pleased to announce that Rex has received the Aaronic Priesthood! I'm super excited about that! He and Rose are both still going strong in the church and I don't foresee any major problems so...yay! #yay

Also, I'm finally done with training which means from here on out #anythingcanhappen at each transfer.  As for me, I'm staying here in Tamale. My dear companion, Elder Amakye, is going to spend his last transfer in Ofinso, which is an area near Kumasi. My new companion will be Elder Prior! #justwait

So Elder Prior is from Salem, and is also the cousin of Sister Morley. For those of you who don't know Sister Morley...Elder Prior is Rich Morely's (director of ALA) nephew. So...this should be fun. #connections My understanding is he goes home sometime in May or June, I think...hence my subject heading. #hence

As for the singing...we didn't really do any tracting this week, so I don't have anything to report. And the current state of our investigators has not changed...so...basically it was a slow proselyting week. We did have one experience that was pretty interesting, though...

We were just walking out of a lesson when we were approached by Naomi. She pulled the two of us aside and confessed that she had seen us come and go several times and that "God told her to speak to us." #finally The problem is that she is a student and left for school this week. And since her school is a boarding school (basically a prison) and doesn't let her leave for church on Sundays, we probably are never going to see her again. We ended up leaving her with a restoration pamphlet and a copy of the Book of Mormon and said to call us if she has any questions. It was basically all we could do. We were really disappointed.

Anyway...that's pretty much all the news I have for you guys today. I love you all.

P.S. I find it funny reading some of my friend's missionary emails and them talking about how they found a lizard or a rat in their apartments and I'm over here in Ghana chasing goats out of my kitchen. #3rdworldproblems

Kintampo Falls

Brother Rex received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday.

Elder Henderson sporting the haircut his companion, Elder Amakye gave him.

Oh man, the church is true!

You guys! This week was crazy! I don't even know where to begin. #indecisiveness

Basically, the church is true. So... yeah that's good news! #yayforthegospel

So Steven has moved to the Kanvilli area and thus will continue to be taught by the Sisters. And also our less active family has moved to Vitin and thus will continue to be taught by our district leader... so basically we were left this week with honestly not much to do aside from finding.

The problem was that since I got here our finding attempts have just been dismal. So I sought some council from the mission president who suggested I sing to the people I tract. #mightaswelltry You guys we exceeded all of our finding related goals this week AND more than doubled our New Investigator goal! #listentoyourmissionpresident

Among those new investigators is a family of 8! Gabriel Sr., Comfort, Mary, Fred, Alice, Enoch, Isaac and Gabriel Jr.. When we first met them we were pleased to find out that Alice and Mary are also singers. And they were all super receptive to us! However only four of them have accepted baptismal dates so far, but never fear the #singingmissionary is ready and prepared to help these people get converted! The addition of this family to our branch would be HUGE! We really want this... haha.

In other news this is my last week of training and it's also transfer week so anything can happen... officially.

Thank you all so much for your emails. I love you all! Please send prayers eastward for this family!

Elder Henderson

2017...The Year Jimmy Was in Africa

Hey there blessed family and friends! It's getting late and I have to return to my apartment very soon so unfortunately I won't be able to do many personal emails today.

First off, New Years has been very interesting! Proselyting has been dismal because everyone has been at their own church... Everyone, that is, except for the Latter-Day Saints. We had a whopping three members at Sacrament Meeting yesterday which may be an all time low for the mission. The good news is that those members included a less-active family that are on the brink of re-activation! So yay for missionary work! #yay

I also had two FM's (Free Meals) today... which is why I'm emailing so late. One was at 3:00 where we had rice balls and groundnut soup and the other was at 4:30 where we had all you can eat rice, pasta, and chicken. It was delicious but we put down so much food. Like... I'm talking we ate SO MUCH! #yayformyinevitablerunnytummy 

The first FM was with one of the members of our district presidency and the second was with the acting-president of the Tamale Rotary Club. I guess sometime the transfer before I arrived in the Tamale zone did a service project for the Rotary Club helping them with a blood drive they were organizing. As a result they were able to collect almost 400 pints of blood. The FM today was to express gratitude for that. (Even though most of us weren't even there when the service project took place) #Yayforreapingthefruitsofsomeoneelseslabor It was fun and delicious but I've lost almost 20 pounds since coming to Ghana and now I feel like tonight I gained it all back. #yayforcalories

Many of you are curious about Steven so just to let you all know, he is progressing well and should be baptized by the end of the month. We've had to postpone his date to the 22nd but we shouldn't have a problem getting him there. It's great to see him looking forward and eager to be baptized.

It's weird to think that when I look back at my life and reflect on 2017 it will be "The year I was on a mission." My mind is honestly still in October (when I left) and it might stay that way my whole mission (especially since I will also be returning home in October) but I seriously can't believe that it has already been three months since I left home. And I can already say with infinitely more surety that this truly is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. A mission is for everyone. If you are on the fence about serving a mission, I would encourage you to do it. There is nothing else in this world that you could do that would be better. Whenever I get discouraged or homesick, (and believe me I do) #everymissionarydoes I just remind myself that there is absolutely nowhere else in the world that I would rather be than in Africa right now, teaching people about my church from back in Utah. The convert baptismal ceremony is really an amazing thing to witness but for me the most special part of a convert baptism is the part people don't typically think of... It's the confirmation that happens the next day. Every time someone is confirmed a member of the church, the realm of the influence of Christ expands further and further and God's kingdom becomes more firmly established. It is my prayer and my prophesy that one day Tamale with experience the same devotion and organization that the church has in Utah. I love you all so much and I can't wait to get the New Year started. 

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