Choose Joy

My heart is full of gratitude today after speaking with Conner.  The last couple of weeks have been a little hard for him.  Serving a mission is one of the most rewarding and most challenging things one can do. Conner is resilient and full of optimism.  We had a wonderful gospel conversation as we spoke about challenges in life and the blessings those challenges can bring.  So often we pray that things will go our way but in reality we should be praying for the Lord's will and to know what we should be learning from the obstacles that are before us.  We are all here to grow, to learn and be refined.  Jeffrey R. Holland said in reference to our Savior, "How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never easy for Him?"  Life is full of challenges but there is peace and joy to be found in each day regardless of those challenges.  
That peace comes form an eternal perspective and comes as we set ourselves aside and focus on lifting others.  That is exactly what Conner is doing and I am grateful for his example.  Conner is missed and thought about everyday.  However, he knows and I know that he is exactly where he should be striving to live his best life as he serves those around him.  Today and everyday we will choose joy as we focus on our blessings and on He who gave us all things! -Mom

Conner's email home:

The last week was pretty average for Ghana.  This week was drier, but it is dumping right now.  The rain here is very unpredictable.  I thought it was not going to rain here this morning when I hung up all my pants on the clothes line before I left this morning.  I guess that is just life here in Ghana.  The last Sunday we had several new people come to church.  One of them spoke to another pair of missionaries last week and they hadn't given us her information yet.  She did not know were the chapel was, but she felt like if she got in a taxi and told him to just drive she would find it.  It worked!  She went straight there and had a great experience at church.  Things like that just happen all the time here.  Someone else who came to church yesterday for the first time was a Rastafarian, I think that is how you spell it! They are Ghana's equivalent of a hippie I guess.  They study the Bible a lot.  They also wear a stone in their beards that they never shave. They drill a hole in the stone and tie it onto themselves using beard hair under their chin.  It is supposed to be a fulfillment of some sort of prophecy in the Bible or something.  They typically love missionaries but almost all of them have two major issues that keep them from joining the church.  This man rode a bike for an hour one way to our chapel.  He is going to be meeting with the bishop here and is working hard to give up his two addictions.  The atonement and the grace that comes from it is really working within him.  Being here in Ghana can be exceptionally hard, but to be able to help the people here change into better people, makes it all worth it.  Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone back home enjoys it!  Halloween marks the 3 month mark since I left home.  In some ways it has gone by slow but I still can't believe it has already been three months.  I am grateful to be out here!

Elder Garrison