A week not to be forgotten!

Conner and I were able to message back and forth today!  Despite the difficult week, he seems positive and optimistic. We spoke about those being taught the gospel for the wrong motives.  He mentioned that this could happen anywhere in the world.  All we can do is teach and offer.  The rest is up to the other person to decide what to do with the information they receive. He is really enjoying his companion and is happy to have a friend in him!  
Below is a link to a video.  Click to learn more about what Conner is teaching in Ghana and to know that you can receive guidance in your own life.

Conner's email this week:

Everything that was not normal missionary work began on Thursday last week. We went to Accra that night for the zone conference the next day. I think it was the first time I have slept with an A/C since I left the MTC last August. This was especially nice because my back and chest are covered in heat rash. It is not a sunburn, and I guess you get it when you sweat too much. Everyone in the apartment has at least a little, so it was nice to let our skin have a break from the heat. Friday we went to zone conference, and we got our smartphones!!! I am really excited for it because of all the new ways to teach and find. Because we are missionaries, we had to learn how to use certain apps so we didn't leave until 4 in the afternoon. We didn't get back until 9. The drive took extra long because of traffic caused by a funeral(I will talk about this later). Normally this is not really a big deal, but during zone conference, I started to not feel well. I am not 100% sure if I had food poisoning from something I ate a few days ago or if I had the flu. That was an awful journey to make crammed shoulder to shoulder in the back seat of a trotro. Honestly, I am just glad that I didn't test positive for malaria. I did make a very speedy recovery though, only missing Saturday fully and being able to attend church and do a few hours of work on Sunday. That was a miracle. 

While I love being able to serve the Lord full time here in Ghana, it can be hard sometimes. Trying to go out every day with the hot Ghanaian sun beating down on you. Never finding anymore shelter than the shade of a tree from the scorching heat. Sweating so much that your skin begins to become raw. Teaching people that only want to take advantage and get some money.  These things at times make me feel like throwing in the towel. But how could I when our Saviour went through worse much worse for me. He didn't sweat water for me, but great drops of blood. He didn't bare the hot sun, but rather the pains of the world. These include but never limited to those caused by physical suffering, mental illness, and emotional trauma. Regardless of who you are or where you are from, he has felt it. Then He overcame it. This is our message to the world. All can come unto Christ and have their burdens lightened, have peace given unto them, and to become perfected by Him. All he asks is that you learn of Him, listen to His words and walk in the meekness of His Spirit. D&C 19:23. The path is simple in theory and hard in practice. However to get started you simply go online and get your self a free digital copy of the Book of Mormon, or look for the local missionaries. Things for me have gotten better. We just got new standing fans for the apartment, and I have figured out how to better treat the heat rash. I am also almost completely fine from my sickness now and will be able to put in a complete day's work tomorrow. 

Remember that funeral that I said held up the traffic. Well, apparently a tribal king in our area died. Around here there is a lot of what the locals call juju. Which is basically idolatry. They have stone carvings and flowers and think other things they worship. The royalty is all tied up in the juju traditions. When a king dies it is a big deal. We saw some funeral parties around the apartment. Looking at things from the outside the only difference between a party and a funeral is that they wear red and black to the funeral. A lot of light polls in town have red and black streamers on them right now. About half the people are wearing the red. These things are cool but how they choose the next queen mother or king father is crazy. The juju leaders I guess go pray to the gods to know who the next ruler is. They apparently keep the answer secret because, according to the person I talked to, nobody wants to be the one chosen. They have to deal with a lot of stuff apparently, however, I am not exactly sure what. So these juju men go ahead and wait for the funeral events. When they see the person chosen there they grab them and throw powder on him. If they escape at this point they are supposed to go mad. We have encountered a mad man who did do that in the past though. Anyways if they don't escape these juju people grab a lamb and slit its throat on the feet of this person. Once this has happened you have replaced the previous king. This is a simplified version of this and I don't know if I have all the stuff right about this custom, but i thought some of you might be interested. Anyways I had better sign off. 

Elder Garrison