Hey
Hey Family!
Wow. This has been one of the craziest and most changing weeks of my whole life! I honestly don't know where to start!
The Food:
The only things I have eaten since I've been out in the field are Rice, Beans, some egg stew stuff, bread, and oatmeal. Oh, and some chicken gizzard. ("Who wants the gizzard?" "I do!" "Too Bad!") Love it. I will be experiencing my first real native food on Tuesday. Fufu... I'm.. Excited..?
No fruits or vegetables yet! I heard the pineapple here is amazing though! Heard. No milk. It's pretty expensive I guess. I got a wonderful water bottle from Sister Grahm in the MTC that has a super filter in it, so that's really nice.
Living Quarters:
It's an apartment... Concrete. and.. yeah. Walking into it, I was immediately shocked. Not much there at all! I opened a cupboard in the kitchen and about cried... More cockroaches than I could ever imagine! Everywhere. I also saw a massive spider on the wall, and again, almost cried. My companion and the other missionaries just laughed. There are 4 of us, 2 to a room. My companion is from Kenya, and the other two are from Kenya, and Etheopia. Our beds have these massive nets over them that tuck under the mattress. We have them to keep misquitos, and other insects out. As you can imagine, this has quickly become my sanctuary. My companion is super awesome though. He has been here for almost a year, and is very very enthusiastic! I love him so much already.
The Area:
I am currently serving in a place called Kasoa. It's almost two hours away from Accra, and it is absolutely amazing. The poverty here is crazy... I was IMMEDIATELY humbled. I no longer viewed our apartment as a crap poor place. On the contrary, our apartment is on the high high end of things. There are people everywhere. Walking, riding on top of cars, and laying on the ground. It's very sad.. We ride our bikes on the side of the road with cars and traffic completely around us. It was really scary the first time, but I constantly have a prayer in my heart, and I know the Lord will protect us. There are shacks all over the place. Most people sell out of them, but some people live in them. Our area is huge! We ride our bikes over pretty great distances to get to Investigators and what not.
The People:
Black. I have seen a total of 3 white people not including the missionaries at the transfers. There are little naked black kids running everywhere! When I ride my bike past them, they all start crying "Obroni!" "Obroni!" It means White! Haha I love it! Everyone here speaks Twi. I am picking up some of it already, and am excited to learn more! Women don't care to cover up much.. It's just part of the culture here, and will take some serious getting used to. 3/4 of the women also walk around and work with a baby wrapped around them. It's super cool!
The Work:
The work is absolutely amazing! We baptized 3 people on Saturday! It was so so sweet. I loved seeing them enter the waters of Baptism, and make that covenant.We are teaching a bunch of people right now though! Lack of Investigators is not the problem here in Kasoa. The problem is that everyone loves, and fears God. Walking down the street you will see shop names like: "Christ Salon", "By His Grace Clothing", or "God Market" It's very interesting stuff. People love to sit down and hear about God, and Jesus Christ. So we as missionaries are strictly instructed to find the elect. We are told to search for the people who have been prepared by God. Those willing to change their lives by making sacred and everlasting covenants with him. I love teaching people! My companion is awesome! He is teaching me so much. I absolutely love seeing the change in people's hearts. Seeing their eyes light up with a new and serious hope. That's what it's all about!
I miss you all like crazy... I think about you all the time, and just wish you could be out here with me! That would be the only thing I would change. Know I'm praying for you! I pray that the Lord will bless our Family, and those that come in contact with you. I am excited to see the changes in all your lives. Continue to pray. Continue to read the scriptures. Especially the Book of Mormon. It is a huge part in conversion and repentance! It has all we need. Study it!!
I love you all! I'm excited to start sharing some conversion stories with you! I know that this work is absolutely of God, and that he watches out for his missionaries. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life, and for the blessing it has been to grow up in the church. Can't wait to hear from you all again.
Loveage!!
-Elder Bradley
Wow. This has been one of the craziest and most changing weeks of my whole life! I honestly don't know where to start!
The Food:
The only things I have eaten since I've been out in the field are Rice, Beans, some egg stew stuff, bread, and oatmeal. Oh, and some chicken gizzard. ("Who wants the gizzard?" "I do!" "Too Bad!") Love it. I will be experiencing my first real native food on Tuesday. Fufu... I'm.. Excited..?
No fruits or vegetables yet! I heard the pineapple here is amazing though! Heard. No milk. It's pretty expensive I guess. I got a wonderful water bottle from Sister Grahm in the MTC that has a super filter in it, so that's really nice.
Living Quarters:
It's an apartment... Concrete. and.. yeah. Walking into it, I was immediately shocked. Not much there at all! I opened a cupboard in the kitchen and about cried... More cockroaches than I could ever imagine! Everywhere. I also saw a massive spider on the wall, and again, almost cried. My companion and the other missionaries just laughed. There are 4 of us, 2 to a room. My companion is from Kenya, and the other two are from Kenya, and Etheopia. Our beds have these massive nets over them that tuck under the mattress. We have them to keep misquitos, and other insects out. As you can imagine, this has quickly become my sanctuary. My companion is super awesome though. He has been here for almost a year, and is very very enthusiastic! I love him so much already.
The Area:
I am currently serving in a place called Kasoa. It's almost two hours away from Accra, and it is absolutely amazing. The poverty here is crazy... I was IMMEDIATELY humbled. I no longer viewed our apartment as a crap poor place. On the contrary, our apartment is on the high high end of things. There are people everywhere. Walking, riding on top of cars, and laying on the ground. It's very sad.. We ride our bikes on the side of the road with cars and traffic completely around us. It was really scary the first time, but I constantly have a prayer in my heart, and I know the Lord will protect us. There are shacks all over the place. Most people sell out of them, but some people live in them. Our area is huge! We ride our bikes over pretty great distances to get to Investigators and what not.
The People:
Black. I have seen a total of 3 white people not including the missionaries at the transfers. There are little naked black kids running everywhere! When I ride my bike past them, they all start crying "Obroni!" "Obroni!" It means White! Haha I love it! Everyone here speaks Twi. I am picking up some of it already, and am excited to learn more! Women don't care to cover up much.. It's just part of the culture here, and will take some serious getting used to. 3/4 of the women also walk around and work with a baby wrapped around them. It's super cool!
The Work:
The work is absolutely amazing! We baptized 3 people on Saturday! It was so so sweet. I loved seeing them enter the waters of Baptism, and make that covenant.We are teaching a bunch of people right now though! Lack of Investigators is not the problem here in Kasoa. The problem is that everyone loves, and fears God. Walking down the street you will see shop names like: "Christ Salon", "By His Grace Clothing", or "God Market" It's very interesting stuff. People love to sit down and hear about God, and Jesus Christ. So we as missionaries are strictly instructed to find the elect. We are told to search for the people who have been prepared by God. Those willing to change their lives by making sacred and everlasting covenants with him. I love teaching people! My companion is awesome! He is teaching me so much. I absolutely love seeing the change in people's hearts. Seeing their eyes light up with a new and serious hope. That's what it's all about!
I miss you all like crazy... I think about you all the time, and just wish you could be out here with me! That would be the only thing I would change. Know I'm praying for you! I pray that the Lord will bless our Family, and those that come in contact with you. I am excited to see the changes in all your lives. Continue to pray. Continue to read the scriptures. Especially the Book of Mormon. It is a huge part in conversion and repentance! It has all we need. Study it!!
I love you all! I'm excited to start sharing some conversion stories with you! I know that this work is absolutely of God, and that he watches out for his missionaries. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life, and for the blessing it has been to grow up in the church. Can't wait to hear from you all again.
Loveage!!
-Elder Bradley
No comments:
Post a Comment