Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Being in one of the biggest Gold towns in Ghana, Gold is all around. I went outside one morning to shine my shoes (as well as I can. Not much is left of these shoes nowadays) And our landlord who lives upstairs was just coming home from sleeping in the bush for 2 days. He says he has something to show me and tosses it from the stairs. It was only a giant piece of Gold about the size of an iphone and weighed about like 1000000 business cards. With the gold price being about 1260$ per ounce, I was holding about 25000$ of gold in my hand. Yes. Selfies were taken.

With said Gold miners in the town, a certain member who is a Gold company manager had Frankincense and Myrrh shipped straight from Israel because he wanted to see what it was like. It was not cheap. So now I have a true perspective, on Christ's birth. Joseph and Mary were happy campers for those gifts.

Also, the same Landlord invited us to come to his Gold mining spot to see how they do it. So lets just say, now I know how to drive a giant excavator and where to find gold nuggets. Useful skills for the future... And we got to cross barley into Ashante region. And no President. We did not cross mission boundaries.

This week has been so odd because not all of it was spent proselyting. I was on the phone so much that they called me, "Bishop." The house we are meeting in for church is a Gold company (owned by Bishop at BYU) and they have been letting us meet in it. Because of some disagreement between landlord and the company, we were told on Wednesday that we would not be able to meet at that house again. So the second half of this week was spent running around town looking for a place that the group could meet this Sunday. We went everywhere and everywhere and the Lord Provided so much. Miracles happened and windows of heaven were opened. We got the landlord to calm down and let us meet one last time and we also found a place that we can meet temporarily for the next few weeks and we found a potential place that the church could rent for a chapel. And... best of all, our pleading for a baptismal font payed of and this week we got shipped up a colapsable baptism font. Made specially by a past misson President in Nigeria, President Karikari (which I totally know people with that name at home.) I works like a metal box with a canvas to hold the water. It will do its job well.

Brethren and Sisters. Be Prepared. You never know when you might give a talk in Sacrament meeting.

This place being a gold town has attracted some few foreigners. By a few foreigners, I mean TONNES of Chinese people. WOW. We have a member who works with them and has learned how to cook Chinese food and made us some. Seemed pretty legit. Got to eat with chopsticks. 

Had a sweet conversation with a very educated Muslim man who had many valid questions about Christianity. Questions like, "Why do Christians preach one thing at church and then do something else?" "Why do Christians have so many contradicting doctrines?" Valid questions. By the end of our conversation, after testifying the truths found in our church, He asked, "Why is your church so different than the other Christian churches? I like your church." Who knows what God has in store for this man, but I am satisfied that he will definitely accept the restored gospel when he has the chance in the spirit world.

love it

Return Home Better Men. RHBM

Settlers of Dunkwa

From being bored in the Nyenasi as few months ago and straining to remember the rules, I made a Settlers of Catan game. Now as a four man appartment, Settlers of Dunkwa was whipped out today for a epic settling battle. That is... if we remembered the rules right.

But we have been working hard too! This week we got to take the exciting 2 and a half hour ride with road like unto a roller coaster, without protective head rests. Each bump brought a new and improved angle of which to be bounced. The bumps on our heads did not affect the unbumpable testimony in our hearts. We only have to go down once a month, so my head will have time to heal.

My new duties as a District leader also brings its fair share of bumps and bruises, but again-the testimony: unbumpable.

We have been working and contacting and working and serving and working and sweating and working this week, with which we were payed off by the Lord by having 60 members at church 17 of which were investigators. The small living room of which we currently worship had the missionaries and one or two members worshiping... outside. The chairs and benches and stools and couches were finished putting us in the nosebleeds. Probably on the best church services I have ever attended.

After hearing this, the mission president is, in his words, "turning the heat", for a chapel and a baptismal font. But even with out them, it will not change the church being true and the actuality of the restoration of the Priesthood. 

Elder Riehle

Dunkwa Paradise

Dunkwa (pronounced Dunk-WOW) is probably.... THE GREATEST place in this mission. Maybe the world. Not sure. I have only been here for about 4 days but I have seen life. I have seen the work. 

I broke my mission record. 120 gospel conversation in 4 days. Pretty hard to beat. But still on it. IT IS SO EASY. 

Everywhere we go- 

people want to know-

who these guys with white shirts on

who have the gospel glow.

Seriously, we have had so many people walk up to us and ask us, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Well, hello best question ever. And that has been happening about 20 times a day. People are so shocked to see us (especially that I am speaking their language) and want to know more!

Our area is 4 hours away from the mission home and 2.5 hours from any church congregation. The road in between which is BY FAR the worst road I have ever been on. It is a dirt road that you have to go like 5 miles an hour on for 2.5 hours. So we are very stranded out here. 2 of the other guys with me, Elder Halterman (who was evacuated from Sierra Leone) and my MT Elder Moffit, were just the office elders, so we got the hook ups on the boxes of pamphlets and Book of Mormons. Two boxes of each. AKA enjoyinggggg. I have given out more Restoration pamphlets in my life. 

There are about 35ish members here who some have been waiting for the church to come to this place for 2-3 years. To see the excitement for the gospel they have, is so humbling. All of them have 10 referalls each, so we have our work cut out for us. The most amazing thing has been while we have been walking and a lady yelled, "Elders of Zion!!!" and ran to us SO HAPPY to see us. She said she had been waiting for us for 3 years and was almost to tears knowing that the restored gospel is in here reach again. 

Already there are about 10 people ready to be baptized and it should be some more soon. Right now we don't have a baptismal font.  The surrounding areas are some of the best gold mining areas in the country so the river is not clean at alll. So no using a river like earlier in my mission. We have been looking for a pool, pit, pond, anything that holds water. We might be digging our own font pretty soon. 

I am with my past Ghanaian companion, Elder Bannerman and I have learned ALOT more Twi since we were together. So right now we can pretty much talk to any person with out speaking English. 

Our house is right next to our currant meeting house which is a large sized room in a MASSIVE gold company house which a number of members live in. It is the first time I have ever seen Big washing machines, personal indoor ovens, AC for every room and massive couches in a persons house in Ghana. And all they said we can use. What makes this awesome place a heaven on earth is that the house is owned by an American... from Utah... who is a member... and was a BYU Bishop. What?? He will be coming soon. And the company cook, a powerful return missionary has already told him to bring plenty American food for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. This guy is also a professional pizza maker. Umm What? This place is awesome. We are blessed. 

It has been so great to see the light of the restored gospel in peoples eyes, even those not yet members. The Spirit has helped me so much to be BOLD to anyone and everyone who will listen to my voice. I have seen the Lord's hands in the work. Every child is loved by Our Father in Heaven. 

It is all true. 

Elder Riehle