The work continues to move forward at a very rapid pace here in Ghana and the other West Africa
nations. We continue to be in awe as we feel the humble and receptive spirits of these wonderful
people. Most branches of the mission or wards anticipate at least 50 Ghanaian converts this year -
they are so faithful after the acceptance of the gospel. We were in a fast and testimony meeting today
for the Atonsu Group, which is part of the Asokwa Ward, which is a part of the Dichemso Stake. The
group is a vibrant group of 200 plus members. There are many who are highly educated and have
families, which is not the norm here in this country. There was never a pause between testimonies as
the members were quick to come forward and share their love for the gospel and their desire to live the
commandments of the Lord.
We just completed another round of zone conferences. We now have 8 mission zones and we
combined them into three conferences. Dad spent time in each conference teaching the missionaries
the importance of loving their investigators, their companions, their leaders and the Ghanaian people
in general, because that is what the Savior does and would expect us to do. He shared a portion of
Brooke’s latest letter from her mission site, with the missionaries. (Hope she doesn’t mind, but we felt
that it was inspiring and appropriate for the occasion.) Mom shared her testimony and the love that we
have for the Ghanaian people, the African Missionaries, all of the children and the gospel.
Of course we still have the role of parents away from home – giving haircuts, feeding the missionaries
and hemming and repairing their pants. We cannot seem to get enough of these missionaries. They
make us want to be better when we see their goodness and dedication.
In the next few weeks we will see the formation of two or three districts in the mission, which has taken
a lot of work to put in place. Such districts, with new branches in each, will set the stage for stakes to be
formed in the not too distant future. The growth is phenomenal. The only thing that slows the work is
the ability to find leaders for each of the new units – but the Lord provides.
We continue to love the children and take a picture at each opportunity. This Sunday morning the three
little girls next door arrived at our door step an hour before meeting time all dressed up for church.
We were not going to the ward that they attend, but we entertained them (or we should say they
entertained us) for a half hour before we dropped them off at their ward and we traveled on to another
branch of the church. (See picture below of them in the back seat of our car.)
We even caught a non-member wedding party at a very nice location for pictures - it was unusual in this
country where such dress and celebration is not common. It was pleasing to the eye and the camera –
see below.
We love all of you and look forward to being with you in a very few weeks.
Love Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Rodney, Mary Joyce
Dad cutting Elder Taylor’s hair – recognize the pictures on the wall?
Elders playing Uno after breakfast at the Palmer’s
A lavish wedding party -
 |
 |
 |
Wedding Party – picture time!
Zone Conference – Bantama Meeting House – the Assistants are instructing.
 |
 |
Zone Conference - Techiman
Sister missionaries and Sister Olson, Sister Holmes, Sister Reiss and Sister Palmer
Another Zone Conference – Just kidding!!! In Techiman.
Typical Cattle that we frequently see lining the roadways – where’s the beef? Look skinny?
Assistants to the Mission President – Elder Macheke (So. Africa) and Elder Evbouwan (Nigeria)
Two favorite elders – Elder Levi who aspires to be a medical surgeon (Nigeria), and Elder Taylor (US).
Elizabeth, Joyce and Lynette in the back seat of our vehicle
Four nice looking teenage girls from the Atonsu Group after church today
Common scene along the roads that we travel
Adobe Home in a village
Street vendors – they line most streets in the villages and towns – they love white bread.
No comments:
Post a Comment