4th Of July in Ghana

Well I love you guys!! know that I do love you so so much! I'm emailing during physical activity time because I don't want to have to wait another week but I'd rather just right one letter cause my time is few. But I'm ready to get out of here and get to the field. This place sucks.... Literally is spirit prison. it’s the same thing every day and never changes... I want a change. new people, agency, my own food, experiences. real teaching.... I literally sit at a desk for 12 hours a day and learn.... it gets old and the food like sauce has hair for (om the chicken in the sauce so the rice always has little hairs but I’m learning very much!!

The MTC Mission President and his wife invite the 5 of us Americans into their condo on the 4th during the night to have chocolate ice cream and hot fudge with cookies... honestly was heaven!! very nice to relax... their condo is like a small one room home also would be like a poor house in St.George but to me it’s really nice and air conditioned!! the chocolate is some of the best and all natural so you can only imagine! my fourth of July was nice and the only thing about this place is you never see any stars and I haven’t seen the moon yet... people here are getting malaria here left and right but I feel healthy and strong from all the vitamins and doxy! It helps with skin too! I'm getting used to the humidity and everything but ready to go! I’m ready to teach and have real investigators not a bunch of teachers... the spirit is always so strong though!!

I’m doing better and remembering my purpose!! Take care stay close to the lord, smile and love each other!! Hug each other goodnight every night and have family prayer!! Love you guy’s lots! Know if you hand my email out I’m probably not going to write to them ... time is short!!

Love You Lots,

 Elder Hill, your son, your brother, your friend

4th of July in the MTC

well I love you guys!! know that I do love you so so much! I'm emailing during physical activity time because I don't want to have to wait another week but I'd rather just right one letter cause my time is few. But I'm ready to get out of here and get to the field. This place sucks.... Literally is spirit prison. it’s the same thing every day and never changes... I want a change. new people, agency, my own food, experiences. real teaching.... I literally sit at a desk for 12 hours a day and learn.... it gets old and the food like sauce has hair for (om the chicken in the sauce so the rice always has little hairs but I’m learning very much!!

The mission president and his wife invite the 5 of us Americans into their condo on the 4th during the night to have chocolate ice cream and hot fudge with cookies... honestly was heaven!! very nice to relax... their condo is like a small one room home also would be like a poor house in St.George but to me it’s really nice and air conditioned!! the chocolate is some of the best and all natural so you can only imagine! My fourth of July was nice and the only thing about this place is you never see any stars and I haven’t seen the moon yet... people here are getting malaria here left and right but I feel healthy and strong from all the vitamins and doxy! It helps with skin too! I'm getting used to the humidity and everything but ready to go! I’m ready to teach and have real investigators not a bunch of teachers... the spirit is always so strong though!!

I’m doing better and remembering my purpose!! Take care stay close to the lord, smile and love each other!! Hug each other goodnight every night and have family prayer!! Love you guy’s lots! Know if you hand my email out I’m probably not going to write to them ... time is short!!

Elder Daniel Yirenya-Tawiah Addresses Area Devotional

Our Area Devotional speaker today was Elder Yirenya-Tawiah, Area 70 who is the physical facilities manager for the Africa West Area.  He was born in 1966, so that means he is 49 years old.  He joined the Church in 1988 at the age of 22 and had been invited to hear the discussions by a friend who was being taught by the missionaries.  He studied the Church for a year and during that time fell in love with the Book of Mormon.  Throughout the year, many teams of missionaries taught him but it was not until one team challenged him to pray and fast that his conversion went from an intellectual one where he was not preparing for baptism to a spiritual one in which he asked the missionaries to set up his baptism.  It is not enough to have good discussions but rather missionaries must see that the investigator has a spiritual connection. 

When he was about 8 years old his grandparents, who lived in a small village, asked his parents to send him to live with them.  However, they left him alone every day very early and did not return until late at night.  As such he had to fend for himself...cook his meals and work out his schedule for the days.  He was very angry about this for years, in fact until just a few years ago, when he realized that this experience had made him very independent and self confident.

Just a note about this group.  These 84 missionaries represent our 37th group since coming to the MTC 18 months ago.  They are from 17 different countries including Malawi and Namibia, two countries we have not seen often.  Twenty of these missionaries have been with us for six weeks learning French or English.  That in itself is remarkable because they now teach in their new language and do so quite well.  Twenty-nine of our missionaries are sisters, as pictured here and prior to coming to the MTC, 48 or fifty-seven percent of them had never been to the temple.  Now they all have.