Ghana be the Best Two Years: Afihyia Paa! Merry Christmas! In Peanut town!

I hope all is well across the pond! It has been here. The Christmas season has come and gone and it came in a whisper. Christmas is just another day in Ghana and most celebrating had to be done on the inside rather than the out. No Santa, no presents, no lights, no songs. We did have a Christmas tree thought! Made fully out of balloons by yours truly! We ended up giving it to a family and they just loved it! Even with the country not joining with our celebration, we tried to have as much Christmas as we could! Most of it was just normal proselyting but we went out and ate TONNES of food at a member's house and I made cherry cobbler at night. It was a nice time to see, after all of the bright and shiny things have been taken away, what Christmas is really about.

Some pretty big news is that they sad day has come where I had to leave sweet little Agona. I am now in Nketsiekrom and Eshiem! Nketsiekrom in Fante literally means "peanut town" but I havent seen any increase of peanuts... It is a large town with a lot of work to do. Eshiem is a TEENY village that we have to travel to a few times a week. The town is smaller than a normal high school campus and has about 200 people in it. The tiny branch there (with a real building and a baptismal font!!) has about 40 members. Only 19 of which were able to come to church on Sunday... I have high hopes for my village and many improvements will happen to the missionary work that is currently happening. My companion is Elder Wamono from Uganda! We are having a blast and half learning each others cultures. I am learning Swahili!

People in Esheim are not too exposed to people of the Caucasian race and me being of that race apparently makes me Jesus. Or so some insane old man said. I told him. I am not Jesus.

Isaiah 9:10 For unto us a child is born, for unto us a child is given!

Elder Riehle