August 27

Mother,

Hello, how are you doing this week? That is good that you met Elder Smith!! He is so sweet I love him; I hope that he is doing well.But anyways I am glad that you were able to get to see him and know him some. How long did he stay at the house for? It’s true I used to have a big bucket full of food. Now I just have a bag hahah. I still have a lot but not as much as I used to. He is such a nice an awesome guy. As you can see I’m still a crazy guy sometimes. I really have changed a lot and am loving my time here. This week they split the branch where I am at. So now they are having two branches in Obuasi. We are going to get to open the new branch when they find a building but until then we will still be in he same place. President took us out for dinner at this really nice place it was awesome!! I love the president and the Zolls. One of the branch members just went to the mtc he is there with Elder Hintze, the member emailed me and sent a picture of all of them. He is looking like he is doing well. So everything is going really well. I will now share some experiences I had this week. So this week was the most spiritual week of my life. I have worked really hard on my mission but this week we worked extra hard we stepped up to a new level. I don’t know something really changed in me my whole mission I have tried to become better each week. But this week it was different I really was determined to have an awesome week, and become better. These last couple of weeks I have read my patriartical blessing everyday. I have a lot of blessings that it promises if I am faithful will come out of my mission. I felt as some of them haven’t really happened yet.  Like I said last week to be extra ordinary you have to do things extraordinary or prepare that way or practice that way. The spirit really touched me and helped to know these things will all come to pass I just need to make it happen and allow them to happen. So it all changed on Monday. I cleaned everything. I folded everything and just cleaned up my whole place. Then it went on to Tuesday. I had one of the best personal study times I have had my whole mission. So that all led in to the whole week. We were exact obedient to the T. We were teaching seven lessons a day, getting 10 numbers a day of new investigators. It was funny one night my companion was so happy we were just rejoicing for help that God has given us this week. We were walking home and it was dark he was singing I think called to serve loud and like snapping and dancing it was funny these guys probably thought we were crazy.  we were seriously so happy, and full of the spirit of God. The whole week it was like this just happy as ever, knowing that God is blessing so much and it wasn’t us doing this but we were instruments in the hand of God. Then something happened Friday. We had scheduled 8 appointments that day. That morning I was by six like always and we did a hard leg work out and I was just dead tired. Well that day everyone failed us but 2 people, what a crappy day it was we were trying to walk around and to contact but we were just so tired. It was a rough day. I wondered why this would happen. We being exact obedient missionaries and still all these people are failing us. After being a little angry and impatient I realized this is happening for a reason. I needed to know why this trial had come. God gives us trials to make us strong. Sometimes are disobedience brings us trials too. But for this we were being obedient. So really thought that whole night why. I didn’t get it. The next morning something hit me and I knew exactly why that happened. I really learned a strong lesson out of this that morning. It changed my attitude again I was full of the spirit and ready to go out and work. We were seeing my favorite investigator we just contacted. His name is David he just finished college is very humble and smart. I have been praying for him hard to be touched by the spirit. Well this day a miracle happened. One thing I know is when you are exact obedient miracles happen. WE were teaching him about God and Christ and his baptism. We were teaching him the spirit was so strong bearing testimony and you could see that he was feeling the spirit. All of the sudden I look and one our members, was down where we are. I asked him to come and sit with us and help us teach. He came and heard our teachings and was like wait elder francom I want to bear testimony. So he did and it was strong and David really felt the spirit that day, later that lesson we invited him to church. Then after we invited him to be baptized. He accepted both. I know if we keep our faith he will progress and with the help of our heavenly father he will be baptized. The crazy story about the member is he lives 7 miles away from where we were. He was waiting around for his interview which was coming in about 2 hours at church. But the place we were wasn’t even close to the church and we were in a corner, in this house which is in the middle of nowhere. It was truly a miracle God really blessed us that day and if I wouldn’t have learned that wonderful lesson it wouldn’t have happened. The member used to be a catholic to so he bore testimony about that. David came to church and loved it. We are just praying and hoping he will continue to exercise his faith. I know God is with us when we are obedient especially when we are exact obedient. I had the most spiritual week of my life. It was amazing. The church is true and I am sorry this email was so long but I hope you understand how powerful of an experience it was. God truly led that man to us. We never called him or anything that was the first time he said he has ever been to that place before. Well anyways I love you all!!! Thank you for everything I haven’t got the package yet but I might get it tonight when we go to Kumasi.

August 20

Mother,

Mom how are you doing? How are school preparations going? How is traveling the world without me? I am doing well, things are going good.   I always play Come Thou Fount on my music player Sue sent me, I love that song. I am happy that you were able to go to Elder Briggs homecoming, He is a sweet guy. It was funny Elder Smith emailed me this week. He sent two pictures. One was with him hugging a white girl, the other one was of a plate with steak and mash potatoes and stuff. I was laughing pretty hard. Elder Hernandez is definitely the funniest guy on my mission. He didn’t tell you any of the funny stories we had together? My area is about 2 to 2 and half hours away from the mission home. It’s the second farthest area away.  So I am training a Ghanaian. He is awesome his name is Elder Appiah. He is a nice and humble guy.  It’s funny he lives like 2 hours from the area we are in now. He has already seen one of his friends and he saw his mother. She was riding away in a car but he got to say hi to her. So I got the packages from you and Cindy! They were all really nice and loved them and appreciate them. Tell Cindy thanks.   So things are still going, some are tough some are sweet. One thing I know that is very true though, is when you are going through trials and hard times it’s when you are closest to our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t just leave me alone. All though sometimes I just have to get through things by myself to test my faith, but at the end it strengthens me and helps me to grow. One other thing I was thinking about a lot this week too is, in order to be extra ordinary in anything you do, you have to do something extra ordinary. When you see missionaries come back home some have changed a lot and some changed small and some not at all. I thought when I came that mission was just going to change me and my life. But as a song says, change doesn’t start with the letter C it starts with me. Anyway in order for me to grow up and be extra ordinary it starts with me to do something extra ordinary. I have to work at it all I can to change, change just won’t happen. Anyway I am working on becoming the best missionary, man, and future father I can be. It’s going to be me, and how dedicated I am will be what I am. I thank you for everything. I love you mom. Have an awesome week!!!

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more pictures

Zone conference 

Carrying the water to the font

August 13

Mother,

I am doing really fine. We had another successful and hard week.  That is awesome about the baby. I can’t wait to see her. She is so dang cute. It was funny this week this girl in the branch she is like 13 years old she has been begging me to see the family, she is so funny. She always asks about you guys. She wants to be my sister, well anyways I finally brought her the pictures after her asking me forever, and then she wanted one she said if I gave her a picture she would give me something. So I gave her one and then she gave me this teddy bear that says I love you on it. It was funny the Bolls were at our church this Sunday so I hurried and hid it in my back pack so they didn’t think I was having a girlfriend in Ghana hahaha. Any way wow what a wonderful experience I had this week that I will share with you. So anyway nothing goes right in Ghana if you didn’t know that already. So they built a font at our branch and got it all done. But then they didn’t realize we didn’t have a water to fill it up our branch is up on the hill far up so the wale they dug, when they got like 60 feet down there still wasn’t water. So yeah, it was Saturday the day before the baptism still no water they promised we would have water, but nothing works out here. So me, Elder Lemor, two of our investigators that I paid to work with us, and the branch president bucketed water in for 4 hours. This bucketing water in was not easy either. I’ll try and let you picture it. So I would say maybe down by the Perkins we were getting this water which is far, I’m carrying like I would say 8 gallons of water in this bucket on top of my head I have pics of it but anyway, we would have to come all the way up the hill just like our street it really is just  like it but instead there is rocks and dirt and a bunch of black people laughing at you cause they think it’s funny obruni (Whiteman) can carry a bucket of water on their head like them. So we did this for 4 hours in the morning. I was dead, it was like trying to fill up Laura's sweeeeeeeet swimming pool by bucketing it from Perkins it toooook forever!!!!!!! But after 4 hours we were really about 1/4 of the way done, but at twelve this guy came and was like we will have pipes up to the font so you guys need to stop. So we did, then it came about 7 at night. Still nothing happened, no water so then me and Sagers decided we needed to fetch water again, so this time we were walking up the hill in the dark tripping over rocks cause you can’t see at all. By the time I got my bucket to the font at least half of the water was spilled on me.  My shoes are still not dry, but anyway we were doing this till midnight!!!! I spent 8 hours bucketing water for our baptism the funny part about it was we only got it half full. Sunday came what a sweet day on my mission it honestly was probably happiest moment I felt in my life. Beating Bingham when down by 8 in the state playoffs was pretty sweet, but  seeing 8 people enter the waters of baptism and make a covenant with God, there is nothing like it. Living the Gospel and doing exactly what our heavenly father would want me to do brings true happiness. Seeing all the hard work pay off and seeing the happiness all of those 8 people felt that day was an experience I won’t ever forget. The Zolls came up for it all and I videoed a lot of it, they said they were going to put it all on facebook so you will have to look. It is sweet to hear that everyone back at home is doing well.  Zone conference went well; the spirit really helped me out in my talk. I think it really went well. The zone conference was awesome. It was the best one I have been too. This new president is awesome and so is his wife. Every couple missionary here is just awesome. The Zolls especially, they come out to Obuasi quite a bit and help us out. Elder Zoll knows how hard this area is so he is always helping us out. They are going to split the branch in 2 weeks so that will be sweet. I am still applying the cream. I will be for the rest of my mission. Elder smith will be calling you hopefully one Wednesday or Thursday. I hope you can go to elder Briggs and elder Smiths farewell. Make sure that you talk to them after and introduce yourself to them. I love them both.  O yah I got the packages this week!!!! Thank you so much mom they were so sweet. I loved them so much!!!!! YOu are the best; I thank you for all you do. thank you mother talk to the Zolls on face book they have been with us a lot they are awesome you will have to go to their homecoming when they get home!! Love you so much!!!

The Font

august 6

MOther!!!

Your favorite missionary is doing really well.  I also had another really good week. Everything is going well. I hope everyone doesn’t think I am like dying in Africa. I am really loving my time here and everything is going well. It’s just that sometimes times get hard. So about my rash I don’t think it is going to go away. I will just have to treat it the best I can. It’s just something I will have to deal with and hope it doesn’t get any worse. But for the water it is always dirty. That is what we wash our clothes and bathe in. It’s funny cause we were thinking of having our baptism this week in the river out here, and president said the water is to dirty. Then one of the elders was like do you see what we bathe and wash our clothes in? it is the same thing. Anyway we drink clean water but we don’t wash in clean but that is okay it gets us clean enough. Yeah mission has its ups and downs but overall the good definitely outweighs the bad and I love to be here. That is awesome I am so happy that all of you fasted for me this week. I really love all of you and your support and your care for me. It really means so much to me. The zone conference is this Wednesday, so I am still preparing my talk. The mission president will be there and probably around 40 missionaries. So that will be a sweet experience. I am learning to love this area, the mission president told the mission this is the hardest area but things are going great. I didn’t love the area so much at first but I am really learning to love it. I heard that the girl was baptized in my last area; I also found out that two sweet people we contacted are getting baptized on the 22nd of this month too. It’s awesome!!! We again had ten investigators come to church it was powerful. I will tell you two cool experiences that happened this week. So I think I told you a while ago there are these little kids that come with us to church each week. One of them is twelve years old and his name is Joel. He is such a smart and nice and sweet kid. He loves the church and loves the missionaries. Well we gave him a book of Mormon and we haven’t taught him anything just because he is so young and it’s not good to baptize little kids just cause if they grow up and don’t come its better they weren’t baptized. But on Sunday he came with his Book of Mormon, and I was kinda just joking and was like so Joel how far you are on your reading the book of Mormon. He turns the pages open and opens to page 50. I thought there was no way so I asked him to explain it to me, he understands it and told me so many things about what happened in the first 50 pages, it was so awesome. He told us he loves the Book of Mormon and loves reading it. So I think we will start teaching him small and help him keep coming to church. I think if we will continue overtime he will come a strong member of the church someday and will likely go on a mission if we continue to help him. He is so sweet. The next is we are teaching this family we contacted and we contacted the wife. We later found out she has a husband who is paralyzed from the waist down. He doesn’t have a wheel chair or anything so he can never leave the house he just sits there all day every day; I would probably say he hasn’t left his house for many years. But anyways he is looking for a church that will care for him and take him to church. The wife has come to church 3 weeks in a row. So this week we were determined to get this man who loves God to come to church. He just can’t do it himself. So me and Elder Sagers went to his house early in the morning and we got him and we picked him up and carried him up to the church. We took him in a taxi but the taxi can’t get to our church cause the road is so crappy and it’s up on the mountain so we carried him. It was a sweet experience and the members really loved it too and were so warm and welcoming to him. They all saw the example we set and kinda saw they can help out others too. Right now they are doing well and helping with the missionary work. So we took him home and he just loved church. He showed so much gratitude towards us. He was so happy; I have never seen him smile like that before. He asked us if we would come and do it again next week. So now we have a new responsibility to carry this man to church. His name is Akwasi. Anyway that is what missionary work is all about, knowing that what you are doing can change a man and his life, plus many others lives. I know that this is exactly what God wants me to do. This guy bore a powerful testimony this week, he is a returned missionary. He talked about how he can doubt that he was borne from his mother but he can’t know for sure because he doesn’t physically remember it, but he said one thing he has no doubt that this is the lord’s church. This is the church that Jesus Christ will come down and build. It’s true I don’t know many things and I can doubt many things in life. But one thing I can’t doubt in life is that the church is true!! Why can’t I doubt it cause I have gotten on my knees and I have prayed and asked God. He has helped me to know many times that this is his church. I bear testimony that this is Gods church and Jesus Christ is the head of the church. He directs the church through revelation and that when he comes again he will come and help this true church forward. I love you all and thank you for all you do. If I didn’t answer the questions sorry!!!!By the way got the mail well I am getting it tonight so I think it is okay to send the scriptures.