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
Elder Harris, Portia and Gordella
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
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;)
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;)
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