Hey!

Talking to you guys was sweet. It's a weird thing that we are 1/3 done
with the calls part. Mother's day will come very soon.

Yesterday I went to bed and got up around 8 and just felt horrible. I
don't know if i've ever been so sleep deprived in my life. It was the
second night of little sleep and I was not the guy to screw with (even
talk to) on Sunday. Church was OK and Jennifer came to church! It was
good to see her and It seems like when she is there, there is some
kind of struggle going on inside of her. I'm not really sure what's
going on in there but I intend on finding out on Wednesday.

Life is pretty sweet here. This week we have like 3 ward and stake
parties to go to so that will be different. This seems to be the week
to party here in Kumasi.

Today we had a Red-red party here in Bantama. Red-red is like beans
and other stuff mixed together with red oil and fried plantain. It
would have been sweet if I hadn't eaten a huge thing of Fu-fu with
goat meat just an hour before. I was suffering today. We are still
here in Bantama so pray I'm able to get home tonight.

Well I love you all! It was nice hearing your voices but it's also
hard hanging up. We will meet soon though! Grandma asked me what I
would want to eat at next Christmas because everybody was complaining
about not having potatoes. I can't even remember what I liked back
there!

Till next week,
Love Elder Harris
ZOOMLION

Dear Mom,

Haha, people are funny. I'm in America! LET'S SUE! Well I'm glad you were able to deal out justice to pathetic people.

I'm stuck here in Asuoyeboah but we need to leave soon but that is OK, we'll be talking in a few days.

Yesterday we all took a horrible trip up to Sunyani for a Christmas gathering. The gathering itself was pretty sweet but this whole weekend has been frustrating due to our well beloved Zone Leaders. The hard thing was getting like 40 missionaries all the way to sunyani on public transportation the week before christmas. Overall we had fun though.

We have been given 5 extra cedi's in our sub this week to feed a family again. We aren't sure what we're going to do but it should be cool. I loved last Christmas last year but I don't really have any friends like Sister Yeah here in Abuakwa. We were thinking bout buying toffee(candy) for the whole branch but we shall see.

I'll be calling this week at sometime to set things up and get numbers (like grandma). I have the credit already so don't worry about that. I'm not sure which day I'll call yet but we will talk.

I'm tired right now and feeling a bit burned but that is all part of this. Such burning can be a good thing for sure.

Well, I'm going to go hitchhike back to abuakwa. I've hitchhiked a lot since getting here! One of these days someone's gonna pull a gun on me and Elder Rogers!!! haha, jk THIS IS GHANA!! Everyone else is at war in Africa but ghana is sweet!

I love you all!
Elder DaggerTawd (this is a new one - haha)

Dear Family,

Today we have transfer news but we don't know anything yet. Elder Wright is now the new assistant to President Sabey. That's crazy because he is Elder Lehr's mt. Our time is coming. Sometimes its too fast sometimes its too slow.

Well we just got transfer news. My apartment is staying the same and Elder Lehr will still be in Bantama with his companion. Elder Kamara is going now and Elder Christianson is replacing him... We still don't know about Elder Holmes' apartment. If that guy goes I'll be really mad. Well I'm not so happy right now, haha.

Today we had a fu-fu party with the zone. Sunyani came down to join us and we had a whole lot of fun. They opened up a new apartment up there and two here in Kumasi. I still don't know too much about who is here now.

Yesterday wasn't as great as last week. Out of the 6 or 7 investigators we were expecting, only 2 came to church. We had an important discussion with Sister Jennifer about what she needs to do and what she now believes. She told us that she thinks the church is true but it will take time to leave her church and come to ours. I wasn't satisfied with a some day I will come answer so I had her set specific goals for her progression. We gave her a month to clean up her affairs in her church and after that she can start preparing for baptism. This seemed to satisfy her but I'm scared she is just trying to tell us what we want to hear. It was apparent from our discussion that she understands very well Ephesians 4:5 which tells us that there is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. We will continue praying for her and helping the best we can. Emmanuel Ade seems to be progressing but he didn't come to church which is depressing to me. The two who did come were Brother John, and Frank. Both are referrals from a recent convert named Solomon. John wants to be baptized and we had to tell him that there are some steps that need to be taken. We'll teach him the restoration, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and some of the commandments. I don't plan on rushing anything with him. We had to meet with his mother and others in his family to dispel some nasty rumors about the church. We just sat there and answered question after question. I have great hope for him and for Frank, as well as a few others.

Thanks so much for the package again. Everything was sweet especially the camera. I'll try to send you the pics from the old camera but the CD I burned was lost and our guy who does it for us had his laptop stolen. Big bummer:( The new one is really sweet. I'm trying to save the other stuff for the days before Christmas but its not easy. Oreo's are now my favorite cookie:)

So Elder Rogers and I will be together at least one more transfer which is cool. I love the guy a lot. Looking over at his computer, he seems to have a lot more to say about this week then I do. I'm in a weird haze right now with transfers and all. I'm lacking in the sleep department also so if you want more info you can refer to his blog, haha.

Tony is now a full on member of the church. We weren't able to see him once this week and he still came to church! He is so awesome because he was just a random contact when we were looking for his brother. We are also teaching their friend across the street named Michael. He probably would have come to church but he traveled to Accra. We hope he will come back soon. You just never know with Accra. My second ever contact name Priscilla in Asokwa disappeared to Accra and never came back. At least she didn't tell us she did. Michael seems pretty solid though.

We have faced a problem in the branch since Elder Vanchiere left us. The membership is steadily dropping and I can't see any reason why. Of course all the blame gets put on the missionaries. When some try to come to us with the blame, I turn it around on them and ask well, how many times have you gone home teaching? Sometimes they just tick me off. I've been working my butt off here with the new people I'm trying to bring in. They need to get off their butts and do what the Lord has told them to do. We as the missionaries are trying but we can't keep the branch together. That's the responsibility of the members not us.

Well I'm sorry this is so short but I'm pretty tired. I love you all very much!

Elder Harris

Put your hands on the wheel

Let the golden age begin

Let the window down

Feel the moonlight on your skin

Let the desert wind

Cool your aching head

Let the weight of the world

Drift away instead

Oh These day I barely get by

I dont even try

Its a treacherous road

With a desolated view

Theres distant lights

But here theyre far and few

And the sun dont shine

Even when its day

You gotta drive all night

Just to feel like youre ok

These days I barely get by

I dont even try

BECK-The Golden Age

Hello!

Wow, it sounds like Christmas is coming along at home. Here it's still hot (getting hotter), muggy, and nobody seems to know Christmas is coming. We did see a gas station today with a big sign saying Merry Christmas on it but that was it. Nothing ever seems to change here, but I manage to make it Christmas in my mind. I got your package and Grandma's today. They are both pretty big so I am excited. Christmas will be tonight by the way. When given the choice to either lug the two packages back to Abuakwa or wait one day and just have the Sabey's bring them tomorrow, I chose to lug them. Bad choice now that I think about it, but come on! I want it now!

Today we spent the day playing football on a real full pitch. It was the best pitch I've played on in Ghana. Zone vs. Zone and we got killed in the second half, 4-nil. I'm pretty much wasted now which is why I'm suffering with the packages. We played with Elder Akoki and Hill. Hill goes home this transfer with Adjeifio. I'll definitely see Elder Hill again. That guy is pretty talented on the guitar, I'm told. We'll jam out in Utah one day.

After football we came back to the chapel in a taxi with all our stuff. Elder Holmes and I both sat in the front seat and as I got in I slammed the door on his fingers. He screamed and cussed a whole lot but I couldn't open the door because the handle was broken. I didn't even know what was going on. I just heard him screaming. We got back to Bantama and took a tro to Tanoso where we are now. We still need to get back to Abuakwa (which will be a freaking pain), and I'm still wearing the clothes I wore playing football underneath my Priesthood (because you know it's a requirement to wear it wherever we go no matter what we do, thank you white handbook). One big problem we have out here is the traffic. There is only one road coming out from Town that goes to Abuakwa. Everyone uses this road and they are now building a huge interchange thing right where this roundabout used to be. After 3 or 4 o'clock we have to fight for a car, pushing little old ladies out of way, and knocking people over. I usually will make a wall with my body while Elder Rogers jumps in and then I try to follow as best I can. You have to be fast though or else the guys jumping in through the back windows will take all the seats. It's really fun! You should come try it sometime.

This week we saw a small (small in the way it was done) miracle. This week the branch had their last temple trip of the year. Ever since we came here two months ago, we have had a recent convert lined up to go and that would complete the goal. Well, just a week before the trip we heard a nasty rumor that he had been having some trouble with the Word of Wisdom. I didn't really believe it but we mentioned it to the branch president anyway. We met this brother on the day he was supposed to be interviewed for a recommend, and he seemed nervous and guilty. In my head I said Holy Smokes there is nobody else that can go and there won't be another temple trip until after the goal is finished. We walked with him to the chapel and sat with him outside President Sarpong's office for a bit. He couldn't sit still so I decided to leave him for a bit and we went downstairs. I felt very nervous and didn't know what to do. I sat with Elder Rogers and we said a short prayer asking Heavenly Father to bless our friend that everything would be all right for him and to help us to find the best option to complete the goal. I felt much better but was still nervous as we walked upstairs where our brother was no where to be found. I don't know if he ever talked to President Sarpong but he was gone. Elder Mbong was there and had just talked to him. He told Elder Mbong that he wasn't going to the temple and left. I sat there and thought of different options. The only other guy was Felex, a young man who had just told me two days earlier that he couldn't go on the trip because he didn't have the money. He happened to be in line for interviews that night so I went over and asked him if he was going to the temple. At that point I was ready to go to the bank and pull out the 24 cedis needed for the trip. He told me yes he was and that he had already payed.

I was amazed. Just two days ago, there was no way he could go. Now he could go and he had the money to pay for it. How? I don't know. Elder Mbong told me that we are VERY lucky, but I don't think so. I think that the Lord was doing his work and chose to bless us because we humbled ourselves and asked him for help. We would have taken this goal for granted if our first man went and there was no challenge for us. But now, we have learned a valuable lesson that I will never forget.

That wasn't the only blessing this week. After weeks of nobody showing up for church I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. Abuakwa is supposed to be the most fruitful area in the mission. I decided that missionary work is just hard anywhere you go and that every area has it's down times. Well this is true, but the Lord decided to bless us with 6 good people coming to church this week. I know the Lord is doing his work wherever the people are willing to except him. I've decided that even though we are weak and make a lot of mistakes, He is very good at it.

Well I just found out today that we will all be heading up to Sunyani for Christmas. I think it's all of Kumasi that is going. It will be cool because I just had a dream where we were going out there and the place looked like Oz. Perfect grass and farms with wooden fences and scarecrows. It wasn't hot but the sun was bright and beautiful. It was cool. I also had another dream where Jeremy and I were in our backyard by the pool. Balloons attached to strings in the ground were growing everywhere, and Murphy and Hannah kept getting tangled up in them. Everytime this happened they would break the strings and go floating up into the sky. We had to keep shooting them down with beebee guns. They would then fall into the pool. One time Murphy went up and we shot him down and then Hannah went up and we shot her balloons but Murphy came down again. I guess that he had gotten tangled up again but Hannah was nowhere to be found. I guess she just kept on floating up out of sight. Pretty sad actually.

So the work goes on. I'm not thinking about going home too much. Sometimes I just want this freaking thing to be finished and over but I'm chugging along. It's mostly when I'm walking around under a killer sun at 1 in the afternoon with nothing to go and nobody to see. Elder Rogers is sweet and my other friends are awesome. I hope everything is going well back home. I love you and hope to see you again! Haha, just kidding. Thanks so much for the packages! We'll talk in three weeks or so:)

Love Elder Harris
White Tiger

Hello Family,

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving this last week. It sounded sweet except for the whole dog attacking the small child thing. I'm sure Jake could take it though. All you have to do when any wild animal comes at you is hit it in the nose. Nothing likes to get hit in the nose.

So my last week was pretty awesome. We all went to get pizza at Chopsticks in town. More then twenty missionaries went and we enjoyed. I bought a big thing of Fanta and as I went to chug it down, the gas expanded and exploded out of my mouth. Elder Butler was like what the hell are you doing?(as he was laughing) I just looked like nothing happened and said yeah that is how it is. Deal with it. We spent the rest of the day with Elder Holmes, Lehr, Jaggi and Lehr's companion. We've been pretty much moving with Elder Holmes and Jaggi all weekend. I think things will go back to normal tomorrow;)

On Friday, I went on splits with Elder Adu-Gyamfi so that Elder Asiedu could interview Tony. We did some small contacting and then went with Elder Holmes to this recording studio and free styled with a bunch of rappers. To them our names aren't Elder Holmes, Jaggi, and Harris. Elder Holmes has a Twi name that means Warrior, Jaggi is Dr. J, and I'm White Tiger of course. It was a lot of fun. The place is kind of ghetto but Jaggi is now featured on a track that is supposedly on the radio here in Ghana. He did a pretty good job. I'm hoping to write a rap soon with Elder Holmes.

Tony's baptism went well despite the fact that the branch didn't plan for it at all. We brought the baptism date at PEC like two weeks before, but they obviously didn't think about it. At Sacrament meeting, President Sarpong announced that the baptism would be at the other chapel after service was over. He said that all leaders should attend. The very next announcement said they were having a leadership meeting right after service and that all leaders should attend. Hmm...that doesn't work does it? We just combined with Elder Holmes' baptism. Nobody from Abuakwa came, but it was still good. Tony was baptized by his friend Felex who is now a priest. It took him three tries to get it right. He kept leaving his elbow too high. It was pretty sweet.

Elder Rogers got his Christmas package already. It was pretty sweet and we now have a Christmas tree in our room. I have now tried the pretzel m&m's. They were pretty amazing.

So Tony will be confirmed this coming Sunday. He is still the only progressing investigator we have. Those who were progressing didn't come to church, so we were a little ticked off. I think Jennifer is sick though but we can't call them because we don't have any credit till tomorrow. I hope we can get them to come next week. We do have some promising referrals we started teaching this week. One lives really close to the church and came to church. We should see him tomorrow evening at Institute.

Well, I have to go. I'm glad your Thanksgiving was sweet. I know it wasn't as memorable as mine was though. I'll be 14 months on mission this Thursday! Christmas will be here very soon too. Elder Adjeifio goes home this transfer, then the Kiffers one transfer after that. Then Akoki (who is now AP if I didn't mention that before) goes in May. Then the Sabey's go home in July, then Lehr in August, Then It's my turn. It's very close some days and very far at other times. My son will be one year on mission before I leave:(
Well I love you and miss you! I'll be expecting your pictures.)

Love, Elder Harris

Hey family,

What's up? What's happening? I guess your right about Thanksgiving. I blame Elder Holmes who brought it up. I guess we've been away too long from the states.

This has been quite a day as usual. Pretty boring but I'm wasted now. Yesterday, Elder Thompson was emergency transferred down south so we have been left with only one zone leader. Knowing there was an extra bed, Elder Rogers and I went to stay the night with Elder Lehr, Kamara, and Lehr's companion. We all felt sick all night for some reason and kept going to the bathroom so none of us had any sleep. The rest of the day went as normal. We went to town, walked around, couldn't get a car back, went to the zone leader's apartment, waited, then fought for a car at the Sofaline roundabout. We are finally back in Abuakwa but I'm ready to pass out.

Anyways, this week as been pretty cool. We have been trying to work a little bit harder since our zone conference last week. I think we do pretty good but there is always room for improvement. Tony is preparing for baptism this next coming Sunday. He is pretty solid and ready to take the plunge. We are now teaching him about the plan of salvation. We have been dropping a lot of people but at the same time some cool people are being added to our teaching pool every day. One problem we have is the fact that we don't know many of the members. There is no substitute for a member oriented missionary program. We also have Jennifer and her sister, Rebbecca with whom we just finished the first lesson. Hopefully we can help them come to know it is true.

Yesterday we had a special video broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Sister Ann M. Dibb (who happens to be the prophets daughter if you didn't know, yeah she says that every talk), and President Boyd K. Packer all spoke to the entire continent of Africa. Their talks were powerful. Dallin H. Oaks started by saying how good some African traditions were then said but, and went through a long list of things that aren't appropriate as members of the church. He gave it to them for funerals, bride prices, male dominate marriages, waiting to get married till after you are finished with school and financially secure (huge problem here), and a host of other things that this continent deals with. Sister Ann Dibb gave a good talk, haha. As for President Packer, he actually stood through his long talk which everybody had a hard time understanding. He really is not looking good at all. Elder Jaggi said this could be the last time we ever hear from him again. It might be true. It was a sweet day for us.

As for the new groups opening up throughout Kumasi, I assume they will be under the direction of the Kumasi Stake presidency. The missionaries will have to do most of the conducting, speaking, and teaching. In Sunyani, Elder Vancherie and his companion Elder Tadeo take turns with the responsibilities each week. The kumasi groups will have more members though so it may not be so missionary oriented.

Well I don't have very much time. It sounds like your going to have a great holiday season. Nothing here really changes but it just feels like the holidays in your mind. One year ago I thought today would never come but it has. OK I love you all but I gotta go! Bye bye! :)

Elder Harris

Hello,

Well today has been pretty chill. We just went to P-day and left early for town. I'm still there so pray I get a car back to Abuakwa.

This week again has been pretty normal. We're dropping more people and picking others up. Tony came to church and we started teaching him the Plan of Salvation. His baptism was scheduled for Sunday the 14th but I decided to push it back to the 28th so that we don't end up having baptisms every Sunday. It's just easier for the branch to go all the way to the other Chapel where they have a font. Anyways he's rock solid so I have no fear. Afriyie, Tony's younger brother now has the Aaronic Priesthood and will start proselyting with us soon. He brought two referals last week but he got sick so we couldn't find their places. The work is moving on. Not a lot of people are progressing but we are working hard.

Yesterday we had a zone conference which was a surprise because we thought it got canceled. Big things are going to happen in this mission and I'm excited to be here for it. Especially in Kumasi. The Kumasi Stake is huge. It has to be like 50 Km accross with only 8 places to worship. Coming to church is a huge problem for a lot of people. In Sunyani they are doing something new that President Sabey came up with. He reasoned with the area authorities saying instead of just going up there and trying one small group and wait till it grows, why don't we just start four separate groups. The groups will each have a pair of missionaries and will meet in their apartment. The apartments in Sunyani are big enough to hold such meetings. Soooooo if it is working there, why can't we do it here in Kumasi. Right now we have two pairs of missionaries in each ward or branch. Soon, with the addition of these types of apartments, instead of 8 places of worship, Kumasi will have 22 places of worship. Only one companionship per group, branch or ward. What will this do for Kumasi? It will blow up! Apartments are already getting ready to open and this next transfer their will be groups opening in Atonsu, Dabine (both of which were in my old area of Asokwa) and a number of different places. The goal is to finish and open the groups during the next 6 months. We could easily have a hundred missionaries in Kumasi very soon. I'm excited because one of President Sabey's goals was to split this mission. He doesn't mess around with goals.

The bat didn't taste bad at all. It was just weird. It was my idea to turn around and buy one but Elder Pinnell went all out. "Give me that," and he bit the head off and started to chew. He chewed it for like 5 mins until he just spit it out because it was a pain to chew. It was very tough and the tongue sticking out at me was a little awkward. Not to mention the eyes.

I had the chance to watch more of conference this week. I loved the opening by President. He made it pretty dang clear how important missionary work is for a priesthood holder. It is a priesthood DUTY. He pretty much smacked anybody who just wants to get the priesthood but doesn't want to except the responsibilities. What's it going to do for you if you don't use it? Its just a little thought that I had. The blessings are way better then the challenges that's for sure. I hate it when missionaries preach in their letters home so I'll stop now. I loved Elder Hollands talk of course. I shed a tear when he talked to his mom and his dad who died 34 years ago. I had similar feelings when President Monson spoke about this parents during the Sunday morning session. Each Priesthood session I watch gets better then the last. Maybe I'm just a little bit more on the page I need to be to feel the spirit. I hope that it gets better and better as I get better throughout my life. President Uchtdorf's talk on Pride was my favorite because it helped me to really know what I need to fight against in that regard. It's something I feel I need work on (that and temperence).

Well I think I'm going. I'm happy you all sent me some packages. I just want to get up and do a special dance for you all but that will have to wait. I writing a song called The Fox and Hound by the way. Its all about me the hound going after the Fox. I'm so clever!
Tell Grandma that the bat was tasty and that I'm going teach my first son (Sir Vladimir Kofi Akwasi Harris) to like it too:) I love you!

Love Elder Harris

P.S. I hope you sent me pictures;)

- Show quoted text -

I Ate A Bat Today

Dear Mom,

So I might be brief tonight, but we will see. It all depends on the Zone Leaders. We are still stuck in Adom which is in the center of town. We went to get a car for Abuakwa and it was absolute chaos. It was insane! When we first got there I pushed us onto a car going passed our place, but then I learned they were charging 1 cedi, so I said forget it. Big mistake! As we continued to wait more and more people kept coming and no cars to pick them up, so I basically screwed up. The Zone Leaders are still here so we are probably going to go with them and either stay there or take a 5 cedi drop in a taxi. It bad too because Elder Rogers got pushed into a big gutter with a splash. Yummy:(

I'm pretty tired. I played myself out at Bantama today. Elder Pinnell has been transferred to Boulkrum which is just about as far away from Abuakwa you can get in Kumasi. I will still get to see him every Monday though. Our new roomie is named Elder Marsan from Liberia. He is really cool, but kind of quiet. Now that Elder V is gone the apartment is pretty quiet. Oh well, at least I'm sleeping more. After P-day we all walked to Adom and looked around. I didn't even have to come here, but now we're stuck. I think for the next two months it's going to be crazy in town.

I ate a bat today. It was very tough and it was looking at me. Elder Pinnell ate the head like Ozzy Osbourne. He does have dark hair.

Yesterday we watched the Saturday Afternoon and Sunday morning sessions of conference. It was pretty sweet, but four hours is pretty long for most people. At the begining of the second session one guy got up and fast forwarded through the choir, the prayer, and THEN half way through President Eyring's talk. I wanted to get up and smack him but instead, I just walked out and took a breather. My favorites were Dallin H. Oaks, Elder Gong, That dude from the presiding bishopric (who nobody here could understand) and President Monson's talk. The coolest part was that we had 5 investigators who came and sat through the entire thing. One couldn't even understand the English but still, she sat there for the entire 4 hours. I didn't even think she would come. It was a good day for us.

Forget about 2 years. It's 11 months now. At the end of this week we will be half way through November and Christmas will be just around the corner. Yeah its a long time right now, but as soon as it passes your mind will squeeze it all into one memory which didn't seem to take long at all. It's a weird mental thing. I'll be sad to leave this place but let's face it, this work is kicking my butt a little bit. The book of Mormon is the best cure when I'm down. My testimony is the only thing keeping me grounded when the rains start to beat the crap out of me. I am enjoying myself though, lol.

As for the package you can send me anything you like. I like M&Ms. I hear they came out with some pretzel hybrid so maybe if that is still around. I also like Oreo's and Dots. :)

Minerals are Soda. They basically have Coke, Sprite, and Orange Fanta. They also have Malta and Alvaro which is a non-alcoholic malt based beverage with a twist of pear or pineapple.

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to the Zone Leader's Apartment. I love you all!

Elder Harris

THE JOY WE HELPED BRING THESE PEOPLE IS WORTH THE PAIN

Hello momma,

It sounds like your week kind of stunk. Sorry:( To brighten your spirit, someone told me a while back that I'm a guy who loves his momma and I would like to confirm that statement. I love you mom! I couldn't ask for a better.

Last night was Halloween. They don't celebrate Halloween here in Ghana so we had to make the best of it by buying a bunch of candy and minerals. We spent the night playing scum and talking doctrine with our beloved zone leaders. We had this great idea where we would dress up with werewolf masks and run around town. People would FREAK OUT. We would be sure to stay far from the church though, lol. Too bad the idea came too late:( I haven't had so much sugar in a very long time though and I went to bed feeling sick.

Last week we had a pretty average week. We put in some good numbers but nobody is really progressing except for Tony. We are hoping he will be baptized on the 14th. It all depends on what is going on with the Branch. Tony is progressing well. He already has a brother in the church and friends who live in the same house. He comes to church every week and he keeps his commitments. Go contacting!

Yesterday I dropped an investigator named Fosua. It was the first time that I actually had the opportunity to tell someone we can't come and visit them anymore. It was so awkward! It needed to be done though since she has been taught everything by the former elders and she still won't come to church. She thinks the teachings are good (i hear that a thousand times a day) but she isn't willing to act on them so if we teach her more we only will bring more condemnation. It was hard but liberating at the same time.

On Thursday we took a trip over to Stadium so that Elder Vanchiere could check it out. While I was there, I decided to head over and visit Sister Esther. When I knocked on the door, Sister Deborah (Elder Akoki's recent convert) and with big eyes said, "wow!" Hiding behind the door was Esther who freaked out and squeezed me in a big bear hug (she is no small woman). She was way excited to see us. It helped me to see that there is purpose to my being here in Ghana and the joy we helped bring these people is worth the pain. Esther is doing fine and is still active which makes me happier then I deserve since I had lost hope in her.

Today we received transfer news and Elder Vanchiere is leaving us which freaking sucks. The apartment will still be fun but it will back to normal mission fun (reading...). Elder Rogers is still with me which is sweet and I'm told Elder Pinnell is coming up to Kumasi. My father Elder Akoki is now an AP which blows my mind. It will be sweet because we'll be able to proselyte with him when he comes on splits. I love Akoki and it will be sweet to see that cioa french man again. Everything else is still the same for now.

Tomorrow I will have 11 months to go. This has been the fastest month yet on mission. Oh how I hope and pray I stay in this are for a long long long time. My companion is awesome. My Mt's are here. It's my hope that I will stay at least four more transfers and then finish my mission as a junior companion. That would be the best scenario:)

Well I'm pretty tired from a long day playing football and eating Fu-fu. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I'm just not feeling it. Today I was feeling it then a little rumble in my tummy told me that I wasn't. One day we were returning home when some guy yelled WHITE MAN and called us over. Usually that's the cue to ignore them but something told me not to so we walked over and introduced ourselves. He offered us a chair and we started our little opening. I said something like this: "We are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ and we have a message that is for everybody. The message is too long to share in just one visit so we would like to come back to visit you another day because you never know when an earthquake could come." I had intended to share our first discussion but my tummy decided that would be a bad idea. Earthquake is our code word for you know what's happening we need to get the frick back to the apartment. The guy we contacted didn't even notice. We took his number and rushed home.

That happens from time to time but at least I haven't pooped my pants yet (knock on wood). Elder Holmes did last week. Haha.

I'm going to go to bed now. I love you all! I hope you all had a great Halloween.

Love, Elder Harris

Ps. I love you Dad!

Epoch P-Day

Dear Family,

This has been a pretty epoch P-day. The Suame elders came out with our district to climb the "mountain," which you can see from our apartment. As we were walking some of us decided that we would take our own way and we just went straight up cross country. It was the most insane bush hiking I've ever done. At one point I was on a rock face with an 8 ft. drop behind me. I was stuck there holding onto a shrub so I wouldn't fall off. Elder Keller threw down some vines to pull me up. I got up and with one hand I was holding this shrub and with the other hand I was holding this vine. I was leaning back when Elder Keller started pulling me up. Then the vine snapped, and I almost went tumbling off this rock which would not have been cool. Luckily I caught myself and another vine got me up to the next flat spot. Finally we made it to the top and had to wade through thick bush to get to the top rock. It was a pretty fun day. The other people made it to the top but their way wasn't as cool. (He is his Father's son.)

The plan was to then ride our bikes to town which would have been insane but we all said forget that. I'm pretty sure more then one of us would have been smacked by a tro tro or two. Maybe we'll do it next week;)

This week has been pretty normal. More and more people keep getting added to our teaching pool. Only one is very serious at this point but with time we will find some more. People just come to us most of the time. Aseyeboa's chapel is right on the road so every time someone just shows up to their church we get a referral. Tony expressed (bear with me if I'm repeating myself) the joy that he feels when we come to teach him and every time he opens the Book of Mormon. He was such a random contact it makes me smile to know he is progressing. It can happen!

Yesterday I went to church in my suit jacket. We live underneath the chapel so it wasn't a problem at all. I started greeting people in the chapel and one older man looking really surprised said simply "Elegant!" Brother Emmanuel and Afriyie were confirmed. I always love it when my recent converts receive the Holy Ghost because there is always a marked difference in how they respond to our teaching. They always understand everything better then ever before. Those who were a little bit stubborn are always a little bit more humble and submissive. It is a sweet feeling to know they are progressing.

I get made fun of here because I say sweet too much. You may experience this when I return. I blame Elder Ekaette.

It's raining there huh? It's still raining a lot here every night. We were afraid that it was going to rain on Sunday and nobody would have come for their confirmations. It sounds nice there though. Don't you ever get sick of all the sunshine? I've had enough sun to last me 20 years. The funny thing is I'm way tan from the neck up and the elbows down.

I am freezing my butt off in this internet cafe:(

All right so I figured I should start preparing your heart now while there is still plenty of time. Elder Vanchiere owns a big house boat down at Lake Powell. We figure that the longer we wait the colder the water will be. So, all of our MT's will be heading out there a week or two after we come home. How long? A few days. How much? I'm not sure yet. It will be a lot of fun though.

As for Christmas I do need some certain things. Well, my camera died this week:( Why, I'm not sure but it stinks. Something is wrong with the lens I think. I couldn't think of a better Christmas present though! I also need socks. And conference audio (if your feeling generous). Mostly I just need the camera. I put all my photos on a CD so they should be on their way soon, possibly next Monday. You have two choices for the camera: Casio Exilim 12.1 mega pixels or Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 mega pixels. Whichever is better for you:) Beggers can't be choosers but I guess it doesn't hurt to give you options. THANK YOU:)

Freak I'm cold!

Will they really eat a little dog?

I'm sad you didn't get to see Gene Simmons. I think Jeremy saw him once or am I mistaken?

The power went out one night this week and it just happened to be the one FREAKING hot night of the week. I suffered all night long.

The crazy people are progressing small small. This one lady gives us these crazy looks that always make me feel way uncomfortable but she is still cool.

Well that's all for now. I'm going to sleep. Mark this as one of the best P-days ever in Ghana.

I love you all!
Elder Harris

Ps. OH YEAH! I got your package! It was way cool. The music was awesome. Elder Mbong loves it. There's this one song that I love where there's all this screaming and then one guy just beats on this giant drum: AHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM. It was sweet. :) Thank you so much! (I have no idea what he is talking about. Jeremy did you stick one your CD's in there?? - haha.)

Dear Family,

First of all your emails were sweet this week. Thank you for the advice, it will really help.

The work this week has really been picking up. I underestimated what an amazing area this really is. Opportunities just kind of come our way when we go out looking for them. It wasn't like that in either Achiese or Asokwa. I've never been so busy before. It's a good thing that Elder Rogers is such an organized guy because it is kind of hard to keep track of all the potential investigators we have met during the past two weeks.

We taught brother Tony during church this week and invited him to be baptized two weeks from now. He is a solid kid and once investigators get to church, the branch pounces on them and makes it impossible to escape. Not that they force them or anything but they are way good at helping my investigators feel welcome and at home. Tony also has his brother and a few friends who are now members so I'm sure that he will feel at home. Nobody else is progressing as quickly but we have a few that seem serious about our message. I don't care about numbers but it feels good to actually report decent averages.

Today we took a trip out to Asokwa. It was really funny because we didn't tell Sister Yaa we were coming. As I walked into their compound, this old woman we saw every day got up, ran over and squeezed me in a big hug. Yeah it was kind of awkward but not as awkward as when the same woman basically punched Elder Lehr in the face. They were all very excited to see us after 5 months. Sister Yaa is still the same as when we left her. She was finally able to receive her patriarchal blessing which was sweet since it was something that we helped her to accept. She always had a hard time trusting anybody and I think we were able to help her a little bit. We also tried to see Brother Kennedy but he wasn't around so we went to see Andy. Andy was the first man I ever taught on my mission outside of the MTC. That seems like so long ago but at the same time it feels like yesterday. He was busy working so we just went to town and took a Tro Tro back to Abuakwa.

We had our Branch Conference this weekend. There is talk about splitting the branch into two instead of making it a ward. I think the problem is space in the rented house we use for a chapel (it also happens to be our apartment). The conference was really lame for us but it was great for the members. Tony came with his brother which was sweet and another investigator named Solomon came. The bishop of Asokwa ward also came with his wife and his son Koffi. Koffi is the most troublesome boy who ever lived but he is also the most loving kid in the world. It was good to see Sister Nicole (the bishop's wife). She was another of my favorite members here in Ghana.

I'm in a pretty good mood this week. The stress is already starting to melt away. Part of me is just realizing that I can't be so concerned about what he thinks of me. (He can be so hard on himself.) Sure I want to be a good example and everything, but if I make mistakes who cares? He will understand when he is the one training a newbie. Also, Elder Rogers is a freaking good missionary. Where I am lacking in anything he picks me up. He might still be learning to teach the lessons, but in everything else is way better then I ever was as a greenie.

Well I'm pretty wasted right now. I'm going home to sleep. Elder Rogers is giving his first instruction in district meeting tomorrow which should be pretty interesting. My first instruction was about prayer. I basically reuse my instructions every time I get transferred so I only have like three or four that I've written out. I've used President Eyring's talk called God Helps the Faithful Priesthood Holder three times now in different settings. I love that talk.

Anyway I'm out of time now. I love you all. I really did like your emails!:)

Love Elder Harris

Songs to remember: Red Oyster Cult, Guster

Dear Family,

BAMF stands for Brother Anxiously Maturing Ferociously.

Well another week has gone by and things are starting to pick up. The weight of training is still a heavy burden but I am still having fun. If I am not enjoying my mission, I'm doing something wrong. When I first came I thought it was going to be work, work, work. We work hard, then we play hard.

Elder Rogers is already a changed person since I first met him. He still has some American in him, but that will go with time. He is now in the coolest zone in the entire mission and I hope he enjoys himself because things will probably never be as good. We get along almost all the time, lol. I was reading my journal from the days when Elder Akoki was training me. I wrote that my companion and I got along great but sometimes, especially when he turned around to ask me if I was ready for companion study, I just wanted to hurt him. I'm sure Elder Rogers feels the same way about me sometimes, but over all we love each other. You can't choose your father or your sons so you might as well love them.

This past week has been full of mixed emotions. Some days I wake up ready to enjoy myself, because I only have a year to go in Ghana. The same day, I'll take a short nap at lunch time and wake up feeling like every part of me wants to be home RIGHT NOW. I have an entire year to be here. None of me wants to go home, but sometimes I just want to be finished and home. I hope that makes sense. I've just been stressed out like never before because everything is on my head. Today has been pretty sweet though. We went to Bantama, then hung out in town where we bought some Dr. Pepper and a new guitar for Elder Vanchierie. Elder Vancherie, Elder Mbong, Elder Holmes, Elder Yaggi, Elder Rogers, and I always move together in a group. We are all in the same district so we are pretty tight. This is the coolest district and zone I have ever had. Overall, I am enjoying myself even though my patience is being pushed to the max for a multitude of different reasons (my companion isn't one of them).

We had a baptism yesterday that was completely crazy. We have to do all our baptisms at the Asuoyeboa chapel so everybody gets shipped out in a tro tro right after church. Asuoyeboa was having their own baptism so tons of people were there. The original plan was to have our own service right after theirs ended. However, the other bishopric came out and started rushing our candidates telling us that they had to join their service. Everybody was so uptight since there were tons of people there. I was mad because they were acting as if the members were a paying audience who had to be kept happy. Now when you ask the people who were baptized for Abuakwa what their baptism was like what will they say? Well, I don't really know, I got there and I was rushed to the water to be dunked. It was just bad. Elder Rogers did get to do his first baptisms though. He did well except for when he was trying to hold their head instead of their back. Africans don't get around water very much so they are hard to baptize. Instead of helping you out by bending their knees, they straighten their legs and pretty much freak out. It's like trying to dunk a scared cat. Other then that, Elder Rogers did well.

We baptized a kid named Afriyie and his brother Tony attended the service. We contacted Tony at this house when Afriyie wasn't around. After the service, Elder Rogers asked Tony if he wanted this for himself one day. Tony told him that he would definitely want to be baptized one day. He hasn't been taught anything, but I'm sure the day will come very soon.

The work is moving forward in Abuakwa. We found about eight investigators this week so we're getting more busy. Some are downright crazy so we're going to have some fun breaking Elder Rogers in. He can teach really well so I'm not afraid for him. He will probably end of being my favorite companion on mission which is hard to say because Elder Akoki and Elder Buah were BAMFs (Brother Anxiously Maturing Ferociously).

That's all for now. I have more to write next week since there is a lot planned for the next few days. Our temple trip got canceled so you should all go to make up for it. Instead we are having a special training day at the temple. We are going to learn about doing family history work and marriage. It should be awesome but... well it's not the same thing. Keep us in your prayers and remember your boring life is not boring to us on mission. Just tell us everything;)

I love you all!
Elder Harris

Ps.

It won't be long before another day
We're gonna have a good time
And no one's gonna take that time away
You can stay as long as you like

So close your eyes,
you can close your eyes, it's all right
I don't know no love songs,
and I can't sing the blues any more
But I can sing this song,
and you can sing this song
when I'm gone

I'm just a soul who's intentions are good...

Dear Family,

I've made it. I am now over the hill. Exactly one year from now I will be on a plane home from Accra. It is a really strange feeling because where I was looking back to how life was before mission, I now think to how it will be when I come home. My optimism for the future is higher and I have more confidence in myself then ever before.

We enjoyed this weekend. My Mt's in this zone are: Elder Thompson, Elder Vancherie, Elder Holmes, Sister Affrani, Sister Owuna, and myself. That's pretty much everyone who matters except Elder Pinnell and Elder Jeppesen. Sorry for them cause I know they probably suffered. We went to a new pizza place on Saturday with the whole zone. The pizza was much better then what i've had before but a mental block kept me from enjoying it. I couldn't eat the meat and I gave a few pieces to the African Elders who came, but at least I never threw up! I do have a slight cold today but that's about it. I feel really sorry for the new elders because our whole focus has been on one year, one year, one year. The poor guys are at one month now, 23 more to go. We all went through the same thing though. I had to listen to Elder Adjei say he's going home for 6 months. The time will come when Elder Rogers can make jokes about how young his own son is.

Other then our celebration, we are moving ahead small small. We gave Elder Eke a call in Takaradi to see if we have missed anyone who should be baptized on the 10th. Turns out there is a guy named Nana Koffi who we had never met before. Elder Vancherie and I went to find his house and he is a really cool guy. We already have three candidates for baptism this Sunday which feels like a lot to me, but in this area it's not a lot at all. Elder Vancherie has seen this branch start from nothing and grow to 150 members in just one year. I'm finally seeing why this country is so amazing. We still don't have a lot of people to teach but we are still meeting new people and receiving referrals. I refuse to contact because I know that eventually we will have enough referals to fill our teaching pool. That's how cool this members are here. Elder Vancherie and Elder Mbong have really been helping out too since I have no clue how to get around the area.

Overall training itself really sucks. Elder Rogers is freaking awesome and being with him is great but the training part is really hard. The stupid thing is that every time something goes wrong, like a failed appointment, It feels like it's my fault. Then you get that look from your companion saying, "What do we do now?" Well, I DON'T KNOW! Luckily I have a whole support group to help me out, haha. Elder Lehr is always around, Elder Vancherie and I have heart to hearts every single night, and Elder Holmes is going through the exact same thing right now. I think Elder Rogers also understands, in a small measure, what I'm going through and has been patient even when my grumpy, want to kill something, attitude comes out. That song by The Animals is perfect for me. It goes: I'm just a soul who's intentions are good, Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood. My bad side comes out sometimes but I hope it hasn't been too bad. :)

What's General Conference?

The mission is starting to expand. Four elders have been sent to Sunyani which is about 2 hours from Kumasi. Elder Russel, Elder Bahme, Elder Ayim, and one other Elder are starting the church there from nothing. They are probably the biggest BAMFs in the whole mission. President Sabey really knew who would be up for the challenge. I'm told more apartments are being built and soon more Elders will go up. I really hope I won't have to, because I'm really enjoying myself here. This zone is freaking sweet and I don't think it could ever get better.

Well, I don't have much else for you today. I'm way stoked for this next year. The third lap is the hardest lap to push through but President told me last week that the next year will go twice as fast as the first. For all you waiting just hang on for a short time and I will be back soon. I love you all!

Elder Harris
ZoomLion

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Well, since it has been such a long time, my email will probably be really long. Today is P-Day and P-Day is always awesome. It's extra sweet because we didn't have to go to town since we went on Thursday. We went to Bantama for the first time in 4 and a half months. It rained so we just hung out for a while. It was pretty fun.

Not much has happened since we last talked. Agykum, a recent convert has been showing us some of the people the older Elders were teaching. We are now preparing like 3 people for baptism and we are preparing someone for our new goal. I don't know if I mentioned the new goal but it is a tough one. By the end of February every missionary (now i'm feeling like i've told you this already) need to baptize a referral from a recent convert and then help a recent convert prepare names and go to the temple in Accra. Yeah its a way difficult goal but it's already set up for us in this area.

So we've only taught one lesson so far but it was cool. Elder Rogers is going to be just fine. I let him take some of the questions and he did a good job. I told him that all he has to do is tell them what he knows. The cool thing is that as time goes on he will know more and more and he will become a great teacher and a great missionary. We haven't gotten lost yet but I'm sure it will come. I can find my way anywhere (I call it my gift) so we don't have to worry too much. Sunday was sweet. We both got up to bear our testimonies and even though he was a little nervous, Elder Rogers did a great job. Sure he talked too fast but that will go away with time and practice. Then he will sound just as ridiculous as the rest of us;)

Elder Vancherie and I are a match made in heaven. We are just on the same page. We are perfecting the art of making fake mustaches out of the hair we cut off missionaries' heads. It is gross but way awesome at the same time. We are going to pay a recent convert to paint a painting of the four of us as mythical creatures (half man half animal). I'm planning on being a fish with a trident. Either that or a white tiger of course. We are going to hang it in our boring dining room. We pretty much just feed off each other.

I can't remember the weirdest thing I ever ate. Maybe pig's feet. Or chicken feet. Fu-fu is sweet but weird. Elder Rogers is already sick of the same crap we eat everyday. He'll get used to rice, egg sandwiches, indomie, chicken and rice, jollof (which is rice), and oats. I don't care. I just like to get full.

All right I'm finished for today. I'm feeling good and ready to go. My hump day is this week. One year ago I was giving my farewell talk and hanging out with friends. That day was a day of hard goodbyes but time has flown since then. Prepare the way for me because I am coming. And behold, I come quickly.

Elder Harris

BACK IN KUMASI

Good morning!

So you're probably thinking why I've been such a terrible son, not emailing for 3 weeks. I've a got a really good excuse though! The power was out for two weeks and when I went to email on Monday the line wasn't working in Cape Coast. It was all right though cause Elder Lehr and I got to talk to two member girls from Utah for an hour. It was just refreshing even though American accents sound terrible.

SO you never guess where I'm at now! Kumasi. Not only that but I am now training Elder Rogers from St. George. This has been the sweetest transfer because all my favorite people (minus one or two) have come with me. Elders Thompson, Holmes, Vancherie, Russell, Bahme, and I are all in the same zone. I even took Elder Lehr with me. He and I will always be in the same zone. I'm now living in Abuakwa with Elder Vancherie and his companion (I don't know his name yet:/). Elder Butler is going to be a Zone Leader in Dichemso and I also brought Elder Asiedu and Elder Buah with me to Kumasi. Poor Elder Agama is still in the village.

Yesterday was crazy. We drove down in a tro-tro to Cape Coast and had to wait a couple hours for everyone to get to the station. Elder Lehr and I hung out with Elder Akoki and Elder Adiefio who we may never seen again. President brought Elder Rogers and the rest of the poor suckers to meet us there. One guy who is being trained by Elder Holmes looked like he was going to throw up. On the way up the bus was driving really really slow and it finally died in Abuasi. We had to wait 2 hours for another bus to pick us up so we all got up to go explore. Of course the greenies didn't want to leave the safety of the bus so we didn't go to far. Finally we got a new bus and we got to Kumasi at around nine. Elder Ekaette was so excited ( I wouldn't send him anything again by the way, he's getting spoiled) it was really funny.

I'm so excited to be back in Kumasi. Elder Lehr, Me and Elder Butler all left at the same time and came back yesterday. We decided it's the best place in the mission. Yeah I'm a little bit nervous to be training in a new area but this place is sweet. I once asked Elder Wolfgram what it was like here and all he said was it is like heaven. Elder Rogers is a sweet guy and humble too. He's way on fire which is kind of funny. He did the exact same thing I did on my first morning which was get fully dressed in Priesthood before breakfast. Nobody does that. I can remember looking around at my roommates and thinking oh. This is going to be a sweet transfer.

I'm still alive. Emails should be more regular now that I'm out of the Jungle. Achiese was sweet but I'm happy to be back. I'm coming up to the hump and it's all going to be downhill from there. Elder White, my grandfather, died yesterday (went home) and is now enjoying himself in the states. Next is Elder Adjeifio, then the Kiffers, then Elder Akoki, then Elder Lehr and I'm going. With so many Mt's in our zone we are going to enjoy on our year day. I think they want Pizza. They claim to have found a better cheaper place but I'm still nervous. Pizza=Something bad coming your way. I think I'll be all right though.

Today we are going to town to buy food and stuff and we are going to explore the area a little bit. It's kind of awkward because we are both new and don't know anybody. I think we are already preparing three people for baptism who I haven't met. I think we might play basketball later in the day.

All right that's all for now. I'll be emailing on Monday. If it's not too late I was hoping you could send me some led pencils and colored pencils. If it is too late it can wait till later. Pray for me please! I love you all,

Elder Harris

BEST WEEK IN SOME TIME

Dear Family,

This week has been the best week in some time. Sunday night we found
out who would be going to the Leadership Training meetings for Zone
Leaders, District Leaders, future leaders, and future trainers. I
wasn't going. Or so I thought. I got called at 6am on Tuesday and was
told to get dressed in 15 minutes because I was going to Cape Coast. I
was mad at first but it turned out great. The meetings lasted
till 2pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and focused on how to become
better missionaries. It was nothing new. All it did was focus us on
the most important things we should be doing for our investigators in
our lessons. It is a truly inspired program from the brethren upstairs
and has already helped us in our teaching. I guess the main focus was
on teaching people not lessons. Listening more, pondering, asking good
questions, talking about baptism, were just a few of the things we
have started doing. I have been on fire since last Monday and it has
already paid off.

The sucky part is that there is a really good chance that I could
train during the next transfer. I'm not saying that is a sure thing,
but it looks likely since Elder Buah has been here so long. If I'm
lucky we'll both be transferred and I'll be a junior companion again!
YAY! But I guess I've got to serve as a leader eventually, on mission
or after.

That has really been the big event of the week. Assin Fosu District
had a big football tournament that we went to on Saturday.
The tournament was pretty fun to go to but I
didn't get to play. It was still cool to see all the other branches in
the District. I'm told that it will soon be turned into a stake but
Achiese will not qualify to be a ward. I'm looking forward to the
future of the branch though because we have been working with some
really good future leaders.

I knew Earth Wind and Fire would be sweet. That bass player is
freaking crazy even if he's crazy old too. Who all went? 45 people?
Was it a church group?

So President Klenk interviewed Jeremy with a member of the Seventy?
Which seventy was it? That would be an interesting interview! I hope
President knows what he is doing. You can't force someone to go on a
mission and I wouldn't have liked it at all. It might help him though.

We are all trying to be a little bit better at being missionaries here
in Ghana. I believe that last weeks incident happened at a perfect
time for the mission. I've made some mistakes but I'm trying harder.
I'm excited for the future!

Don't ever worry about rambling in your letters or emails. I want to
hear everything! Little or small. Exciting or boring. I'm very far
away and those things are sweet to me. I love you all very much! I
hope you are getting my letters! I'm hearing bad things about
California which have really made me mad, but there's not much I can
do here. I guess our vote doesn't mean anything anymore. lol

I'm out of time! I love you all! Tell Jeremy that I emailed him last
week! Bye Bye!

Elder Harris
Aka Drew

HAPPY, BUT HEAVY DAYS

Hello!

These days are happy but heavy days for all of us in the mission. One of my favorite Elders in the mission was sent home last week for disobedience. I could tell that President was truly heartbroken but he knew what he had to do. Today he brought the fire for the first time since I came to ghana and made it very clear that the Lord does not want those who struggle with the things that most of our missionaries struggle with in this mission. New rules have also been added to help us follow the white hand book. This was all needed I feel and will be a good thing for me and everyone else but I mourn for that missionary who only had three weeks left.

Today we had a match against Takoradi and Secondi zones and got handled. They had plenty of subs while we had to play the whole time. We kept up with them for the the first half and got killed in the second. It was a lot of fun since I got to see Elder Peterson and Elder Tracy again. It's going to suck since we will no longer get to travel out of the zone for activities anymore. Now I'm going to rot in Assin Fosu. It's all right except for the fact that all the guys who made the zone fun are now being sent away.

Last week we had our first specialized training with President Sabey. He taught us some princepals of Leadership in the church that every one in the church should know. The first princepal was that we should never aspire for any leadership position in the mission or in the church. Leadership is not required for the Celestial Kingdom and aspiring for leadership implies that we are trying to take the honor unto ourselves. The second princepal is that we should not try to figure out who may become the next leader in the church and we certainly should not talk about it with others. Doing such shows disrespect for the way God chooses His leaders and we should remember that His thoughts are not our thoughts. There are many reasons for both of these principals.

Things are going good here despite our crapy Mondays. I wrote and sent some letters for you guys this week so be excited. Sorry about the speeding ticket Jeremy. I refuse to drive to Six Flags ever. Too much bad stuff has happened, all of which has to do with the car. Six Flags is sweet. I hope you guys had fun. How much was the ticket? I'm glad you were able to have a great B-day mom! Grandma told me about how busy the month of August is and it sounds like your all having a great time! What is Granville? Mexican food sounds really good to me right now.

The Fishy beans showed up again and this time I ate it and liked it. It was a lot better with rice that's for sure. I finally found out how to cook rice. It takes a long time but it's pretty easy. It is a lot cheaper too so I don't have to spend so much money on Indomie. It is also a lot more filling.

The Weather has been pretty sweet lately. Its been really cool and the rain comes almost everyday but not very hard. We can usually still prosylite which is really sweet. We still don't have many people to teach, but we are still working with some progressing investigators and recent converts who will really help this branch. I really do have a good feeling about the future of this area.

So there are going to be some cool things happening soon. First we are starting the new traiing sessions for prospective leaders. I didn't get invited to this weeks session so hurray! Does that mean I won't be a leader? Absolutely not (bummer). I may be invited in the future but we shall see. On the 14th of September (can you believe it's going to be September?) Elder Sitati of the Seventy will be visiting the mission. He's not hard to miss in the Ensign with all the seventies. We then will be visiting the Temple during the First week of October which is by far the best news of all. We then will also be having a Christmas party at some point. We will be busy durning the coming months!

I'm coming up fast on the halfway mark and I can't believe how fast time has gone. If there was anything I would want to happen to me during the next year it would be getting transfered closer to my Mt's. I really love those guys especially Elder Thompson, Jeppesen, and Pinnell. I'm going to work harder at becoming a better missionary. I don't want to end up like Elder So and So who wrote a moving letter to the mission which President read for us today. It told us to be obedient.

I love you all.

Elder Harris

"I'm Happy!"-Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Ps I'm just going to write a letter to Jeremy, lol

Ornery as ever - Good to see nothing has changed ; )

Hello!

Yeah it's been two whole weeks and I promise it's been harder for me
then for you. Last week we went to Praso River and afterwards Elder
Buah wasn't feeling well so we just went home.

This has been one heck of a day. It was both really fun and sucky at
the same time. Today we had a big football tourny at Cape with 4 zones
and Fosu place 2nd. It was really fun and I feel amazingly beat up.
Afterwards though we find out that our zone leaders forgot our
subsistence in fosu so we had to drive all the way there to pick it
up. Well since they already had their sub, the people who were
supposed to meet us and let us into their apartment stayed in cape to,
"print pictures, and shop." What freaking tools. I won't tell all the
details from this freaking day but I will say that I've been more
angry today then on my whole mission. I don't have much time now to
type and your very lucky your getting an email today.

Transfers were big around the mission but Acheise is still the same
(poor elder buah). It's going to be tough but It will work out. I
won't be surprized to be training next transfer If I don't get
transfered to Sunyani which opens up next month or so.

I'm rushing now:(

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!! You're the very best Mom a guy could ask for!
I hope you have a nice day without me (It will be hard;)). My b-day
was lame. I celebrated with light out and failed appointments! Just
know that I love you and miss you very much! Have fun!!

E,W, and Fire!!! I am freaking jealous!

I love you ! sorry about this whole mess:( tell jeremy that I will
write back to his email next week.

BYE BYE

Dear Family,

That's sweet that you finally got my pictures. Sorry it took so long but I'm sure you were satisfied. I'm pretty sure the memory card got fried at some point but I can fix it once I format it. I guess those photos are just gone from history. I've been looking at some of them lately and I realized that it all may seem strange to you but everything is completely normal for me. The black dancer was Elder Ekaette.

So they finally put up my plaque huh? Which picture did they use? I wish they sent the canon one earlier, lol.

I got your B-Day package a couple of days ago! Elder Dunford brought it into my room which surprised me since all I saw at first were his white finger tips. My favorite thing was the tiger! I handed out all the wristbands except a few that my companions wanted. It was funny cause I pulled them out for all the kids and Elder Agama was like I'll take this one and now they all have their own. The book is pretty amazing. I've read about 200 pgs since Thursday. I feel like I'm actually starting to understand who Joseph Smith really was. I'm getting to the part just before the Kirtland Temple was dedicated and the things they saw were amazing. Everything else in the package is now gone, lol. OH yeah the capo was really sweet too!

I got a letter from Heather Jolley today that was ripped to shreds. I got most of it but some parts were cut off including the return address. It took like 7 months for the letter I sent to get to her! If you could get her new address from the Jolley's that would much appreciated.

So this week has been pretty typical. I'm anticipating a new companion this week but we won't know until later today. I'm still hoping for no leadership positions. There's no possibility for training because the MTC was closed for July. 3 Zone leaders are leaving and one AP so there might be a lot of changes. I'm thinking Elder Buah will be called to be a Zone Leader. He or Elder Lehr. I'm hoping to stay right where I'm at. I just hope my new companion will be a good guy who is ready to translate everything I say.

We are planning to baptize Brother Amos's wife Hagar and her son Wisdom a week from Saturday. Amos just looks like a future leader in his tie and white shirt. I wouldn't be surprized if they make him the branch president in a couple of years.

I'm in Cape Coast today for a free P-Day. I pulled out 75 cedis today to pay for some football boots and duty. The hardest part is living off subsistence when the prices for everything go up every day. Hopefully they are going to raise the subsistence but it hasn't happened yet. If dad could just keep the card at 200 that would be sweet. I'm getting better at managing my money but I'm still learning what I can buy, lol.

The most exciting thing that happened this last week was in a crazy cool dream. I was BATMAN! There was this underground boxing ring where they were gonna start beating up on this girl. It was held underground in a cave with a pool and the ring. This water fall fell into the pool that was like 200 feet high through this tunnel headed up to the surface. I was up at the top all dressed up and I dived off the water fall into the pool. It took a long time to fall and I remember feeling the drop out and the water as I fell through the waterfall into the pool. I swam and jumped into the ring and beat the heck out of all these thugs in the ring and saved the girl. Yeah it was sweet!

All right I have to run! I'm out of time. I'll let you know about transfers next week! I love you all!

Elder Harris

Dear Mom,

I just spent the day playing with a bunch of crocodiles not too far from Twifo Praso. It was at this nice resort with a big lake full of crocks. The rules aren't the same here so we were up close and personal with them. I've got a good video of me feeding one some chicken and another where it turns on Elder Lehr and Thompson. Elder Lehr didn't know what to do so he just stands there for a few seconds before getting away. We saw one big crock near the path we were walking on and Elder Chime threw this big stick at it. We all got excited as he tried to kill the stick. Crocks are so much fun!

On the way back we couldn't get a car so we had to walk a few miles before this old dude picked us up. I hitch-hiked for the first time in my life! Luckily he was pretty cool and we're not dead or robbed. Anyways today was pretty sweet despite the fact we had to say goodbye to Elder Carton who is leaving for the mission home on Monday. It feels so wierd when people go home.

I still remember the last fair I went to. I think we went with Tom and the Horgans. Maybe there was somebody else too but I don't remember. By far my favorite animal here is Mr. Pig. He's this big hog who hangs out near our recent converts house. Sometimes we round a corner and boom, there's Mr. Pig sniffing around in the bushes. He's just a cool cat!

This has been a pretty exciting week for Achiese. Elder Asiedu and Elder Agama both had malaria and they were down all week long. Elder Agama now has pink eye and looks terrible! We also had interviews with President on Wednesday. He announced that a new policy has been announced from Salt Lake where we will now only have zone conferences and interviews once every quarter. It freaking sucks, but I guess I'll get used to it. Instead of conferences, we will now how missionary training. Oh well everything comes from above so I'll except it no matter how tough it will be for me.

This week itself has been a spiritually uplifting week. Nothing was really different, I just felt happy and optimistic about everything. President told me that the best thing I could do for this branch was help strengthen the future leaders we have just baptized. I felt the spirit whisper to me as we taught Amos and as I prayed at the end of the lesson. I felt that he would be a great leader in the church and that he would really make a diffence in the area. It was a wonderfull feeling that I was greatfull to recieve. I had a similar feeling as we taught an investigator named Robert the same day. The lord is preparing to do something in this branch in the near future. I won't be here to see it, but I know that I can help prepare.

Last weeks email was me in one of my bad moods. I really felt down but the Lord has really been helping me to jut get over it. This week I have really felt at home here in Ghana. It's a strange feeling to say the least.

I'm starting to have hope for this goal. Our investigators are starting to progress. Especially Brother Robert, Sister Adua, and Daniel. We also were walking by this house we contacted during the World Cup but they were busy then so we couldn't teach them. Elder Buah has been praying they would call us over one day and they finally did. We taught the whole family with is always sweet, and then we came the next day as well. It's too early to tell, but I have a really good feeling about them. Such feelings were hard to come by in Asokwa. Maybe that's why nothing ever happened there, lol. Anyways, I'm not scared for transfers anymore. The Lord will provide if I get a new companion.

You don't have to worry about Elder Buah. Don't judge him either because he is one of the best men I have ever met and by far the coolest Ghanain ever. I have found that if I move he will move also even if he is tired. If I have to move a little bit earlier then normal then so be it. It is HARD to be in his position and I know how it feels. I'm interested for transfers cause I'm pretty sure something new is coming.

Well I'm in a good mood this week. I hope it lasts but I know it won't. That's when the real tests come and in a way that's what I really need. I need that fire to burn the little guy out of me! Kory was right about mission, but the joy far exceeds the pain and I thank the Lord everyday for it.

I love you guys!
Elder Harris

Dear Family,

Wow, it sounds like there is a lot going on back home! I'm here in
Fosu and it has been a really boring day. Yeah, we did nothing. I
think I'm going to crazy out in Achiese. Oh well we have interviews
this week so it should chop the week in half pretty well.

We did watch a little bit of that video with Brother Stevens on the
horse with some of the zone today. When I realized what it was I was
like, "Yeah, I know him." Everyone was impressed:)

There really hasn't been much going on during the past week. We
haven't been doing to much work since we can't find people to teach.
Elder Buah is tired and I really don't know how to motivate him. I'm
not really the type to say BUAH get off your butt and let's work! So
I've been doing a lot of staying in the apartment and staring at the
wall till I feel like killing something. I did teach the guys how to
play Egyptian Rat Screw and it has really revolutionized our card
playing. At first the other guys were really slow and I dominated but
now they are starting to catch up. The only problem is that they slap
SO HARD. My hand usually slips right under theirs and they crush my
fingers every time. I told them its too much!

This week I had a strange experience. I guess its not that strange but
it came out of nowhere on Wednesday or Thursday. I was staring at the
wall, this time on my bed, and I started to think about home. Then a
thought came to me that everything was changing at home and nothing
would ever be the way it was again. All of a sudden I felt sad.
Freaking sad. But then a reassuring thought came to me. THAT'S OK!!!
Who cares? Really? I felt the spirit witness to my soul that
everything is going to be OK even if things are different. I can take
anything if I can make it through what I'm going through now.

We did get to do a couple service projects at the chapel! Our lawn is
huge and it hasn't been mowed since I first got here because the
person in charge got hit by big palm branch. This was the same guy
who's house fell down. I wanted to say that's what happens when your
house is made of mud but that would be mean I guess. Anyways we went
to help our clerk who's shouldering the responsibility. My job was to
trim these bushes that circle the huge parking lot that nobody uses.
All I had were these crappy dull shears that barely worked unless I
closed them with all my strength. It took me about an hour and a half
to get all the way around these hedges. When I was finished I could
barely open my hands and they were bruised for a few days. I can still
feel the pain a little bit today. It took us hours to finish the lawn
too because the mower doesn't have that sweet switch that makes it
pull itself. You just have to go back and forth with the grass
shooting out at your legs. It was a lot more fun then staring at the
wall in the apartment!

We are teaching a few people that seem like they could progress.
Sister Adua has prayed once about our message and she says she thinks
it's true. That's great but we are going to get her a Book of Mormon
so that her faith can begin to grow. Brother Robert is a cool future
leader who likes our message but he travels all the time and it's hard
to get him at home. We also have this guy named Daniel who has the
sweetest little girls. Every time we start to pray they run over and
fold their arm with their eyes closed tight. We are also teaching
Brother Amos along with his wife, Hagar. Amos was sustained to receive
the Aaronic Priesthood last Sunday, so he should be able to baptize
Hagar and her other son Wisdom.

All right don't be mad but I'm mailing the pictures today! YAY!!!
HAPPY DAY!!! PICTURES!!!!

All right I've got to go! I'm going to the post office then I'm going
to buy stuff for my weekly stew. I'm not really doing all that bad in
Achiese. It's just tough sometimes!

I love you all! BYE BYE

ELDER HARRIS

Dear Mother,

I got your package this week and it was sweet. I wrote a letter about it and sent it today. I also sent you a little present with it! Be excited! I ate the spam in a day. Same with the tuna. I was thinking, hmm...am I going to like this stuff? It was awesome! Who knew! The seasoning was perfect too.

Today we came to Cape Coast and played some kickball with the Cape Coast Zone. Afterwards we played football. I am sunburned:( I thought we were playing indoor games but I was wrong. It was still a lot of fun. P-day is the best day of the week cause I actually get to see other people. I'm also able to make new freinds down here away from Kumasi. One Elder is trying to get us to consider renting an apartment with him so we can go to UVU. It's just something to think about I guess. The good part is that I'm getting home in October so I'm gonna have to wait to go to school anyway (not sure what I'll do about insurance:/). I'm not thinking about home but the idea of being with a bunch of Cape Coast guys sounds cool.

This weekend we had a baptism for Brother Amos and his son Vincent and also a girl named Gifty. It was sweet except for the fact that when the Branch President was late we called him and he said he was on his way from Fosu. When we called him again the phone was switched off. He never showed up! It was ridiculous. We had to run to his house and pick up his keys so we could get the baptismal clothes out of the President's office. It was pretty stupid.

So even though we as a district completed the goal, the mission hasn't yet. That means that they could potentially send me a missionary who hasn't completed it yet and that would be bad. We really don't have any serious backups. We some people but they are always busy and one is flat out crazy. The hard part was the fact that Elder Buah has been in this tiny village for almost 9 months. He's seen everything and everyone. It was really hard to find new people but we did. We he goes (and he probably will), contacting won't be hard for my companion and I since we can basically start over. Elder Buah and I really don't have that many people to teach right now but we are still moving forward small small. We only have till the end of September to complete the goal. Transfers are the week before my B-day.

So are you gonna let Jeremy drive? That is one long trip from California to South Dakota. It would probably be a 3 hour plane flight;) I hope everything goes well along the way. I guess the wheather will be nice at that time of year.

So when I was transfered I was able to fit everything in my two smaller bags. That meant I could just stick the medium bag inside the big bag and instead of carrying three bags I only had to carry two. Yeah it was sweet. Don't worry about sending me random stuff. Random is my nature as you can see by the drawings I sent you. When I start drawing I have no idea where its going. I usually start with a nose and I just go with it. This week I drew a picture of an old lady and I stuck her way up in the clouds on a dark night. She was just begining to fall so I wrote: Gram Gram found herself in a tight spot. I also loved the jokes you sent that one time. The meat in the mashed potatoes was my favorite. Thanks for sending me the stuff I asked for it was awesome!

Well I'm going back to my Jungle. Back to Achiese the Fabulous Bush. I'm tired and warn out and ready to go to sleep. The weather sounds amazing back home. I would feel right at home! I love you all and miss you.

Love Elder Harris,

Song to be remembered: "Free me, Right now" -Foo Fighters

Dear Family,

It took 30 minutes to load up the site today. Man I miss the cafe in
Kumasi! It was right in the stadium and the internet was faster then
the one we had at home. Oh well, I'm in the jungle now so I should be
happy I even have internet!

Kory is home which is just feels ridiculous. It has now been a year
since I opened up my mission call. I'll never forget because it was
the same day Michael Jackson died. More then one person's prayers were
answered that day...(bad joke, sorry) Anyways it sounds like he had it
WAY rougher then I've got it right now. I had malaria last week, big
deal! I wish I could learn languages like he can too! What language
did he speak? Is there more then one in Cambodia? I have to assume
there is. We have at least 4 major dialects in our mission alone. The
only language I was ever good at was ASL and I've forgotten most of it
cause I don't know any deaf people! I still might want to do that for
a career but we'll see.

ANYWAYS, The World Cup ended last night with Spain as the victors.
Nobody really cared. We spent the night searching for more people for
the goal. It felt weird since it was our last opportunity to find
people. I'm nervous about this one. We really don't have a whole lot
of people. The hardest part was finding places Elder Buah hasn't been.
This village is so tiny. Our goal will probably be complete by this
week but I'm really afraid for transfers. The Lord will provide as He
has done so often in the past. It just amazes me sometimes.

We had a huge combined Zone Conference this week. Everybody but Kumasi
was there and it was really cool to see everybody again. I don't think
that there's a closer 4 people then the original Asokwa Elder's.
Elder Adjeifio only has 4 more transfers until he dies! President
Sabey's son Tyler just finished his mission in Argentina so he gave a
talk. It was pretty sweet. I'm not sure if he has even been home yet!
Elder Dunford and others gave their farewell testimonies. Elder
Dunford gave a talk about sacrifice and how pointless it is to give a
sacrifice that isn't from the heart. I really wish I could teach like
him. Elder Mason is also going home which is crazy cause he was on the
bus with us on the way from Accra to Kumasi. He was my zone leader for
7 and a half months. GO HOME, get out of here! I'm just waiting for
Akoki to leave then I'm out of here;) It was by far the best Zone
Conference I've been to.

I miss Murphy.

Brother Amos came to church today with a tie on. I laughed because
just a few weeks ago he wasn't coming to church and he said he would
NEVER wear a tie. It's too much like a rope around the neck. Now's
he's getting baptized with his son on Saturday and we are trying to
work out the baptism of his wife. Their other son is also coming to
church. That makes me happy! lol

We had a small fire in our kitchen this week. One of the electrical
outlets blew up burned up the wall. Luckily we were still around or
else we probably would have lost the kitchen. It's all fixed now so
there's no worries.

I forgot to mention the family goal. It was completed last Sunday with
Elder Jeppesen. What I didn't know was that with four weeks to go 33
missionaries still hadn't baptized their family. With three weeks to
go 33 missionaries still needed a family. If you were to ask anyone
who is familiar with missionary work if 33 missionaries could baptize
a husband and a wife at the same time in three weeks, they would
probably tell you it is impossible. The Lord provided though and we
completed it. I'm extremely grateful for the Lords help in completing
their goals. If I'm learning anything on mission it is that NOTHING is
impossible with the Lord.

I'm sorry I have to run. Hopefully I'll write more next week. I'm
sending your pictures today so be excited! I love you all and miss
you!

Dear Family,

Today is Monday. We got to hang out and play football with Abura Zone. We got killed but I actually didn't play too bad today. Nobody is faster then me that is sure and I'm the only one willing to sacrifice everything to get to the ball. Its funny cause when I'm running I still here my Dad yelling HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE in my head. It's pretty sweet cause we get to hang out with Akoki and Adjeifio more often. President's son played with us. He just finished his mission in Argentina (sorry, they were just eliminated) and he's visiting for a few weeks. I'm not sure if he's even been home yet.

So I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this woman named Esther in Kumasi. She was found by Akoki and White months before I came and we were still working on her when I left. Well, SHE'S GETTING BAPTIZED!!! I don't think I've ever been more suprized on my whole mission. This woman was NOT anywhere near baptism. She was a liar and never came to church. But now, she has finally come to church. I'm just afraid that she will fall away but I'm sure the Elders there know what they are doing. Elder Ekaette told me watch, after you leave she will be baptized. I laughed at him then.

This week we committed Brother Amos for baptism. To our suprize he and his wife with their children came to church. I've never seen her before but Elder Buah says they used to teach her. Their son Vincent is super smart and will be baptized with his father on the 17th. This will wrap up the football goal for Elder Buah and I. Now I'm only afraid for transfers.

Transfers came this week and nobody in Achiese is moving. There are plenty of changes in Foso and Praso though. Poor Elder Stats was complaining about his area and was begging President to move him and now he's training in UST. That's why I told Briana that she should never even ask for a new area cause you'll get screwed. The Lord likes to make you realize that your situation really wasn't that bad. So I'm with Elder Buah for one more transfer at least and I'm pretty sure he will leave. At the end of this transfer he will be 9 months in the village. That's a really long long time!

Well some small sickness has hit the apartment and Elder Buah and I were down for most of this week. Don't worry it was nothing big. We are all fine now. We really didn't do anything this week at all! Ghana lost to Uruaguay which was really sad. Nobody was dancing outside our house this time. Still they did do pretty well for an African nation. Now I'm rooting for Spain or the Netherlands but I don't really care all that much anymore. We only have some small time left to contact so we need to work hard. President put it a good way today: We need to be in a position where we know we tried our hardest. Even though we pretty much have our goal finished, you never know what could happen!

As for the family goal, the deadline was yesterday. Every missionary in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission was able to baptise a Husband and Wife family. ALL OF THEM! THAT IS AMAZING!! Now I don't say that to boast. What I'm pointing out is what the Lord can do when he commands and we obey. He has done so much for this mission that I can not even begin to describe it all. I am extremely gratefull to Him that I have had the opportunity to be part of such mighty miracles!

Well I'm looking forward to our Zone Conference this Wednesday. Four zones are meeting together which is something that rarely happens. I'm both excited and nervous to see what happens.

Independence Day sounds like it was fun if not very exciting. Are you guys not going to have your reunion thing anymore? Say hello back to the Morrison's for me. If you see them I guess:) I love the Hollywood Bowl. I got to see the Police, The Who, and Radiohead there. Radiohead was the best one only because the crowd wasn't old. The Police pretty much changed what kind of music I was into for the next year and even now. What's wrong with the pot smoking? You should have been at the Radiohead concert! There was one guy yelling ACID ACID ACID. I killed him.

Sorry for the band thing. That's what happens when you only get ONE song. Sometimes you just need to get warmed up and that takes a little time. Playing on your guitar with no amp in the back just doesn't cut it. Oh well. At least you have an opportunity to be on stage still! Oh my day will come again.

So I'm in Cape today. Hopefully next week I'll mail those pictures! Yes you should be excited. I just hope the DVDs work. Maybe I'll get a chance to test them at the church this week. They got this nice new computer for records and stuff that nobody knows how to use. These villagers expect the missionaries to do everything but I refuse. I won't do anything I know they are perfectly capable of learning themselves. I'll help them out from time to time but I won't become the assistant clerk. It's not my duty.

Well I wrote a lot letters this week. They all went out today so be excited! Briana leave's this week so I sent one to Matt and the family. Hopefully it gets there!

All right, thats all I have this week. I love you all!

Love, Elder Harris

Ps. Jordan's a stud!!!