Muslim Mormon Missionary

This week my companion and I met this super nice old Muslim lady that wants to teach us Housa, which.. I think it is like Arabic... but not? I am not really sure, but it is fun to learn! Asalaam aleikum. Alaah kieme Gobe. You know. Stufff like that. Then today, we were walking in Cape Coat and a man called us over. He was in a little argument with a Muslim man and asked me the "pastor" to clarify. I answered the question and apparently it was on the side of the Muslim man because he yelled "Thank you" very loud and went down and kissed my feet. That one is new.

Another good week in Nyenasi and we have some good progression going on. We got a referral for a man named Kwaku whose wife just died from the Branch President. It wasn't really supposed to be a referral, we just happened to run into him in the town and he mentioned that he was going to a man whose wife had died. I remembered an instruction from President Monson that we should go to people with a recent death or a recent birth and share the plan of salvation with them. We started teaching him and all was going well. A few days later we checked in with the President on how Kwaku was receiving the message and he said, "Oh you actually went to see him? I guess I forgot to tell you that he was a fetish priest and is really into juju." Wow... great.. just great. The last time we had seen Kwaku, he said that if we don't come back there would be a problem. Now we understood that that problem could be resolved by him actually turning us into frogs or something!! So. We went back. A little cautious. But Armed with the spirit. He told us that he had a big question for us and he has faith in us and with act on any answer we give him. He asked if killing someone with juju who did something bad was a sin. To sum up the 30 minute conversation with him was, Yes. Yes it is. One thing led to another and he loves the Plan of Salvation and committed to be baptized. God is a wonderful God.

On Saturday April 5, we had a movie night and watched the Mountain of the Lord. To add to the list of all the cool things that happened on April 6th, the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated. It was a nice Sacrament meeting with people bearing testimony of the temple and of the Restoration.

It is so marvelous that Jesus Christ loves us so much. Oh it is Wonderful. Wonderful to me.

Pic 1- My companion, Elder Bannerman and me outside the chapel

Pic 2- Us and a sweet Recent convert family. The baby loves missionaries and one her first words was "Elder"

Pic 3-Beautiful Nyenasi

Pic 4- Our Draft board we made by hand!!

Pic 5- My friend the hummingbird

This week has been yet another adventure!

This week has been yet another adventure!

Here is a few things.

While proselyting, we went to an investigator's house and no one was around except for a woman laying down by a tree. As we got closer, she sat up and started yelling at us and screaming. I was a little scared for a second until I saw that she was tied up to the tree... Wait. Who would tie someone to a tree?? Well. It is an everyday thing out here in the village.

People make the coolest things out of simple materials. In my mission, I have seen some cool stuff but this week one tops them! A Bike made out of bamboo!

We are teaching a sweet family, Clement and Victoria. The first time I met Victoria I told her that she had the same name as my junior sister. She got really happy and I showed her a picture of the Riehle

Victoria. Now I always call her "my junior sister". This week we went to teach them but they had not come back from their farm. Victoria has a little broom selling business. But not regular brooms. Ghana Brooms! Made from cutting bits of palm fronds! We sat there and just started making her brooms for her. When they came back and found us serving them they were so shocked and happy! The spirit was so sweet when we taught them after. Service is powerful!

Can't go to Ghana with out some sort of ailment. Right now I have this bacterial growth on my face under my nose. It is about the size of a thumbnail and looks like a Hitler Stash, which is a little

unfortunate. Luckily no one here knows who Hitler is and no one has made the connection. I have gotten some cream so it should be going away soon!

Ghana has a sweet game called Draft/Dam. It is alot like checkers but with some different rules and a 10x10 board. The biggest of which is that you have to be really extreme while playing, like slamming the pieces down and yelling expletives at your opponent. (I usually don't play with the last one.) Elder Bannerman and I enjoy playing (even though he is from Ghana and can kick my trash) So this Monday, we made our own Draft boards! It involved cutting out 100 pieces for the board and sanding and nailing and phew. It was work but they turned out really nice! I will send a picture next week!

All is Vell!

Nyinasi Life

A whole new life now! I have moved to a small village with a new companion, Elder Bannerman from Accra, the capital city of Ghana. My new village is called Nyinasi (En-yeah-nah-see). It is a bit bigger

than Eshiem but it is much much much more isolated. We are a good 30 minutes from the nearest small town, Twifo Praso and another 2 hours from the city, Cape Coast. This being said, life is very very different now. The apartment has spotty running water which comes from a well which is not potable. We have to use pure water sachets for most things. The power is also spotty. I think it has been off for at least a few hours every day. The network? Zero. Even, we have to check in every night so that they know that we are alive! To do this, we have to walk to a nearby dirt mound, stand on our tip toes and hope we can get a sliver of network. We also have to call the mission president every few days so that he can know if we are still breathing!

I have been transferred to Central Region, Home of the Twi People. So my whole mission speaking Fante has helped me only a little no that I am in a village that only speaks Twi. My companion is fluent so everything I say has to be translated. I can count on one hand how many English conversations I have had. Fante and Twi are very similar but there are some big differences. I say something in Fante and they just look blankly back at me. Then my companion (using the companion spirit gift of discernment) translates what I am actually trying to say. Every lesson is translated and it is a completely different teaching style when my companion actually knows what fully they are saying. I am working on it.

Being so isolated, everyone are farmers!! Everyone has at least 2 farms what feels like a 10 mile radius! Already I have gone to farm twice! First time, was to a recent converts plantain farm. Sweet! We

got to run around with machetes and be whacking down plantain leaves! The second time was planting corn. They asked, "Do you know how to plant corn?" I say, "I have seen the Restoration movie, so of course!" Little did I know all those times watching that movie I was preparing my self for farm labor in West Africa.

This week we had to get permission from some parents of some investigators getting baptized. The investigators live in Nyinasi but the parents live in Ehboboi, about an  hour and a half walk away. To

cut down the time we got bikes! There are not many areas in the mission that can use bikes. We had the adventure of our lives. We went up huge rocky hills... with out gears. and Down mountains... with out

breaks. Just to make things even more fun, I got a flat tire and my pedal fell off on the way back. And oh, it was raining too.

Basically, I m having the time of my life. The work is going so well and God is blessing us so much. I wont be able to send pictures except for once a month because the computers I am on now are toooo slowww.

Till we meet again.

Moved Again

Somewhat a shocking week. As the last week of the transfer, the thought was that my companion would be going and I would be staying to take over. But the surprising news is that both of us will be leaving and two brand new missionaries will be coming in our stead. This will be the 3rd time this has happened to Eshiem and so this time I am making sure I am leaving a massive amount of information so that no sheep are lost. We have been teaching some sweet people there, but with no cell network, we don't have phone numbers for them. So Sunday, I took the Branch Mission Leader around to every single one of our investigators/potential investigators and I am drawing a map and writing about each one of them. I will not let any of God's children be lost just because I didn't tell the new missionaries about them!! I will be praying so hard for all of them by name. I know the Good Shepherd will never let one of his sheep be lost. 

I will be going to a place in Central Region called Praso. It is the infamous place in the mission as the place with out water or power or cell reception (unless you are standing on top of the house or in a tree) and no electricity!  Woohoo! Those are just the stories, how it really is I don't know. I'll be going right to another lovely village and I will be serving with a companion from Ghana! So hello Fluent Elder Riehle! Here I come!

If I don't send emails for the next few weeks, don't worry. I am alive but just in a 3rd world village in Ghana!

Alma 22:4 Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him to another way. He has gone to the land of [Praso] to teach the [Fante] people.

Me and my Ghana Grandmother in Eshiem

A record breaking 16 bodies in a taxi! Most of them are small girls.. but Still. They even still invited us to join!

The village that I will forever love. Just make sure you don't blink or you will miss it. Walk 5 minutes down this road and you have seen it all!

Happy 57 Birthday for Ghana

This past Thursday, 6 March, was the Ghana Independence Day! There would have been plenty celebrations if a massive rain storm had not came and blew everything away! 

This week I have thought a lot about looking out for others before caring about myself. Saturday night, we had closed for the day and were walking the long 30 minute walk to the apartment. As we were going it was slowly getting darker at a normal pace, but in the distance we saw a dark black sky looming towards us. With faith we said we would be able to make it home before it hit, but God had other plans. We were walking up a big hill and the wind started to pick up and it got very very dark. When the rain started picking up, I wanted to start bolting towards the house to prevent myself from getting wet. But like I said, God had other plans. A woman a bit down the hill was struggling to run with two large bags and a baby on her back. I turned around and went down and took the bags from her and started to run. For what felt like a long time, the woman and I ran through the indiscernible paths through the plantain trees with my tiny torch light. I ran with her all the way till I got to her house and I put the thing inside and ran away. Along the way, I got that her name is Mary and that she was leaving in the morning to another town. In the rush, there wasn't really enough time to explain to her that I was a missionary from the True church on the Earth, but hopefully Mary will never forget the guy in the white shirt and tie that ran her home in the Hurricane. 

This week we made preparations for the baptism we postponed last Sunday. We made sure Friday that the font (which is out side the chapel) in Eshiem would be full and ready for Sunday. All was well! Water was on! Font was full! But.... Sunday morning. Water was off and the Font was not filled. We found out that a leak along the side allowed all the water to spill out and there was no water with in 5 mile radius to replace it. But alas! All was not lost! We happened to be having another baptism planned for the same day in the other ward, Nketsiekrom. So after, church in Eshiem, we made a little branch caravan of taxis down the road and was able to complete the baptism. God always has a plan and all we have to do is humbly follow it.

"A life lived for others is a life worthwhile" Albert Einstein 

Elder Riehle

NO Light. NO Water. NO Problem

Sometimes, you never appreciate something till it is gone. This week we have on and off power and no water! I was amazed how much having no water really changes... everything! Water is life!

This week were preparing for the baptism of our good friend Elvis who lives in Eshiem. This would have been the first baptism in the village for about 6 months and the first one to happen in their new baptismal font. Notice I said "would have." The baptism was unable to come on because, well, there was no water. And water is pretty important for baptism. We tried to think of alternatives, but for some reason, buying water bottles seemed to be a bad idea. It would have meant buying 400 water bottles! So we had to push it off till next week.

Not having water was ok until we ran out of dishes and we had to wash our clothes. That's when we did end up buying the water sachets bags and went on excursions to find neighbors with wells. I have never been so conscience about water before!

I learned a big lesson this week. Anything can be a crisis, but that is your choice. Not having water was tough, yes, but I know that we can live. Life goes on. It can be a crisis if an investigator doesn't come to church, OR we can be cool-headed and think about how to help solve their concerns. Don't let life be a crisis, go out into life and smile and it shall be well. Or in Fante, Obeyeye. We ran into this ridiculous pastor who said all this blasphemy about the church and Joseph Smith and rambled on for a loooong time. I just smiled and bore testimony and as he was leaving he said to me, "I like your communication. Keep smiling, It is working." He also said he had had seen me on the street (In Takoradi, the really big city) and recognized me because he remembered my smile.

So smile and wave, boys! Just smile and wave!

D&C 123 Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our paths 

It's a Me-Eat-Dog World

Every day I see new things and find a new part of Ghana that I hadn't seen before! This week I got to try dog! Now I can say that I really went to Ghana. That is added to my list of dolphin, shark and rat. I seem to still be alive...

This week was again just another week of Ghana ups and downs. Our investigators are on it and the members are as always giving their well intentioned support.

This Saturday, I got a call from the Bishop asking if I could speak in sacrament meeting for a "missionary moment for 10 minutes." It is not really normal, but it was a fun little try. I started with the prepared notes I had speaking.. well.. English. The only language I can really speak. And I could see heads bobbing and other heads turned to the windows listening to the loud drum beats coming from the Church across the street. I realized I needed to change something to put some umph into the meeting. How about a white guy speaking a scarce African Dialect? That should do it. So I went off script and just started saying the things I know how to say. I bore my testimony, talked about missionary work and invited them to be missionaries themselves... Or at least I think I did... The Spirit worked its stuff and the message was put across.

This week I got the sweet news that my favorite older sister, Alex, is engaged to my new brother, Logan. It will be happening while I am still gone and it has really hit me that... Life moves on with out me! I mean everyone knows that I am the center of the universe, but I guess it still means that they can still live their life. I will never ever be a little kid playing with my sister in the playroom ever again. Life is so short and so precious. We have to live to our full potential everyday! We have no time to waste. How lucky am I to have 2 whole years to serve the Lord. What a lucky, blessed (and modest) guy I am! 

Live life in the fullest. Everyday is a new day.

Colossians 3:23- Live your live for God- Not man!

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"