Home Sweet Home

Conner arrived home from Ghana! Tears of joy where shed by all as we greeted him at the airport. We are grateful Conner chose to serve and our hearts are forever changed. 

The Last Email on Mission

Hello everybody! This is my last email. I got to Ghana 2 years ago Sunday. I go home this Thursday. I am writing this today because I went to the temple today. It was so good to be back there and to feel the spirit in the temple. I will attach some pictures. I also had a baptism this Sunday. It was a great way to finish my last day in the mission field. I left that area with 12 people set to be baptized at the end of the month. I am glad that the work will keep going when I leave. It was sad to say goodbye to so many people that I have received charity, the pure love of Christ, for. 

I don't know what to say about going home because it doesn't feel real. I have loved my Savior and His work. Words are never enough to describe truth and the feelings of this Gospel. I am so grateful for the Spirit who has taught me to feel more deeply. I look forward to what the future holds. I hope to be able to help the people in Africa in other ways when I return home. May God bless y'all. 

Elder Garrison

A Crazy Week

This last week we have been super busy. We are trying to work 2 big areas with only the 3 of us. We are getting a lot of work done, but there is always more to do. In Tema Newtown, 10 people have committed to be baptized. I am unsure if I will be here to see any of them enter into the water, but that doesn't matter to me. I am so happy to have planted and watered the seeds of faith in so many people in the short time that I have been here in Tema Newtown. 

The work has also become more complicated. Elder Winfield wasn't feeling well after a lesson on Sunday. We went back to the apartment and he started throwing up. He couldn't keep anything down, and was getting worse and worse. The mission nurse told us to go to the hospital. We gave him a blessing and we left for the hospital at around 9:30 at night. I do not like African hospitals. They are understaffed and are gross. You can hear the rats running through the ceiling. We left him there at around midnight. 

We had a Zone pday the next day, so we went to that. It was fun and it was good to see the zone one last time before I go home. We got a call from Elder Winfield at around 2pm saying that the hospital wasn't taking care of him. He hadn't seen anyone in hours and they did not provide food or have a way for him to buy food. We rushed over there and got him some food. He was feeling better, but still had a hard time walking. He still hadn't seen a doctor. It turns out there was only one doctor in the entire hospital, and they would have taken until this morning before the doctor would have been able to see him. In the mean time the nurses would have continued to have given him random antibiotics and things to rack up our hospital bill. 

We switched hospitals and he was able to see a doctor. It turns out that he had typhoid fever and maybe a stomach ulcer. Elder Winfield has about 5 medications he is taking, but he is back in the apartment and he feels a lot better. There are always surprises and things that keep us on the edge of our seats out here in Africa. 

I am going home in 9 days! I only have 1 more pday left. I am excited to come home and see you all. I hope you all have a great week and I will see you all soon! 

Elder Garrison

Zone P-Day

Two More Weeks!

 Hello everyone! 

These last few weeks have been crazy. First thing I will say is that today is my p-day this week instead of Monday. Elder Bray was sick almost the entirety of the week before last. He felt awful and Africa is a hard enough place to live when it isn't paired with being sick. He was a good guy and I will miss him. I wish he had been able to have stuck it out. I dropped him off in Accra Thursday morning and he headed home. I ended up being Elder Zizu's and Elder Schrieff's companion for a day. The next day we had interviews with President Young. That was when I found out that they were switching my companions after the interview. I have been staying with Elders Cordon and Elder Winfield. They are the Zone Leaders. Actually Elder Winfield and I go way back to our very first district on our missions. I am glad to be finishing my mission with him. We go to my area in Tema Newtown to work a few times a week. Otherwise we are in their area. 

I have real testimony that this is the Lord's work. I have done about the least amount of work in my area this last transfer than in any of my pervious ones. We still have 9 people on date for baptism (a personal record) and 6 of them came to church last Sunday. How in the world this is still working doesn't really make any sense to me. I am not sure if I will see their baptisms but they will be baptized.

I only have two more p-days left on my mission. I will be home in 2 more weeks! I am excited to be heading home. I am not checking out early, but I feel like my work is mostly done here in Africa. I can't wait to see you all!

I also just found out that not everyone on my list is getting these emails every time. I am sorry if you haven't received any of these in a while. 

Elder Garrison

Elder Bray

4 More Mondays

This last week was a super busy week. Monday night we went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Cordon, and I really liked him. He is from Guatemala. In fact, his government didn't send a plane to Ghana during the Covid lock down, so he was the only obroni in the mission until we got back. It was fun talking to him. 

Wednesday we went to the area office. Elder Bray met with Elder Kacher of the seventy. I got to meet him, and I am always impressed with General Authorities of the church. They have set apart the rest of their lives to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you can feel how the Atonement has shaped them. 

Thursday we had Zone Conference. It was probably the most spiritual one that I have had on the mission. It had little to do with the message that was shared but the spirit which was felt. It was my last Zone Conference so I had an opportunity to bear my testimony. I have always thought about bearing my testimony at Zone Conference. What kind of person will I be when I am about to go home? I could feel the spirit whisper to me some of the ways that I have changed for the better on my mission as I bore my testimony. I am grateful for that experience. 

Friday we went on another exchange. I went with Elder Chiadikaobi, a Nigerian who has been out for less than 6 months. We met a family of 7 who seemed very excited to learn more. They seemed to be excited when they saw the Book of Mormon. The father, Prince, was captivated by it and really wanted to read it. I pray that things continue to go well and they get baptized before I leave. 

Sunday, we had a multi-Stake Conference. They split the Ashaman and Tema Stakes to make a new Stake called the Bethlehem stake. (A stake has many wards and branches in them. They typically include well over a thousand members). What was cool for me about all of this, was that I have served in all of these stakes. In fact, the Bishop in my first area is now the new Stake President of the Bethlehem Stake. I am glad to have played my very small role in helping this historical and monumental moment happen in this part of the world. 

I love y'all! I hope each of you are doing well! Let me know how you are doing. I hope to see all of you in a month. 

-Elder Garrison

Conner and Elder Bray

New Companion

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. We had a two mission devotional with Elder Vincent of the Presidency of the seventy and heard Elder Martinez of the seventy speak. Elder Vincent called us to repentance, but he did it in an uplifting and loving way. You can always feel the power those men hold when you get to see them up close. We also had transfers. Elder Kankam is moving to Volta Region. I will miss him! My new companion is Elder Bray. He is a few time state champ wrestler from Utah. He has only been on mission for one transfer. I am excited to finish my mission with him. We are working hard and getting a lot of lessons in. I don't have too much time to email. Love y'all. 

-Elder Garrison

Three Baptisms

We spoke with Conner and he has had a great week.  They had three baptisms on Saturday.  He has enjoyed his current companion but will have a new companion this week.  He has several people to teach this week and is working hard the last 7 weeks of his mission. He didn’t send an email this week but was able to send some pictures.  All is well!!