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