Thanksgiving Week!

We were able to chat with Conner this morning!  Jared was able to talk to him before work and Cameron was home and able to talk with him.  Conner wants to know everything about Cameron's wrestling season.  Conner said they had 10 missionaries stay over at their apartment on Sunday evening and they had a Turkey Bowl and played football.  Conner said he and his companion did not play as they stayed behind and cooked for all the missionaries.  He said it is so hot there right now that they only played for about 30 minutes.  It most certainly does not feel like November to him!  I also spoke to Conner's companion.  He is such a kind guy.  Conner said they are walking about 10 miles a day.  His legs are no longer sore and he said he has been getting up early to exercise.  They had a stake conference last week and he said he was blessed to be able to hear his Mission President speak.  All is well!

Conner's weekly email:

This week was a pretty unremarkable week compared to what I was thinking it was going to be. Elder Matakaiongo is still with me so that is great.  I have not idea what is happening with that but that is alright.  I did make some pizza last Tuesday.  Our zone leaders had a small oven and I had some pizza dough and sauce sent to me by an awesome person back home.  It turned out pretty good considering the instructions were in Fahrenheit and the oven is celsius.  Also they don't make a lot of cheese here, but we had some of the finely shredded parmesan that we put on afterwards though.  It is funny that they don't make too much cheese here because they have cows walking on the roads everywhere all the time.  The cows also have like this saggy camel hump thing on their backs.  They are very different from the cows back home.  The other thing I got last week was a mango.  It was slightly smaller than a full size American football. It was sweet.  I think my favorite thing in Ghana, outside of the people, is the fruit.  You can buy the best tasting softball sized pineapples for about 20 cents in American money.  It is 60 cents for a full sized one.  I think the only thing food wise I don't like anymore is when they use a lot of pepper.  Last week we ate a stew that was almost all pepper.  It messed my stomach up, but I'll get used to eating that too.  Elder Matakaiongo has taught me how to eat his peoples food too.  That stuff is the bomb.  I'll make it for you guys when I get back.  As far as the work is going we have some awesome referrals and we contacted two families.  I really am hoping that they can progress toward baptism, but we will see what they chose to do.  Anyways, I hope all of you have an amazing Thanksgiving.  Enjoy that turkey and pie for me.  Let me know what you all are up to.  I'll talk to you all next week.

Elder Garrison

This Crazy Week

All the Missionaries in the Ghana Accra Mission.
They were together this past week for a devotional with Elder Patrick Kearon and Elder Nash.

Conner's Weekly Email:

This last week we had transfers and I was supposed to get a new companion, then after some small confusion and a few phone calls to the president, I still don't know what is going to happen in my area.  It is a little stressful not knowing who and when I will start living and working with someone new but that is just another day in field.  We also had to all go to Accra, a 3 hour drive due to traffic, for a devotional.  It was really cool.  There was even another mission there.  Elder Nash and Elder Kearon from the First Quorum of the Seventy and two other area 70's spoke to us.  Elder Nash and his wife stressed how everyone needs to use the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Spirit, and Enduring to the end, everyday to achieve success and to leave a legacy for our children to follow. The spin he put on it was unique and entertaining.  Elder Kearon (from London) and his wife spoke about exact obedience, especially with the morning routine.  I think my new favorite chapters in scripture are John 14 and 15.  I really felt the Spirit as such inspired men tried to impart wisdom to us.  As far as the work is going, things are starting to slow down. I hope that all the work we have done and the seeds we planted will lead to us or others to reap in this area.  I love the people here and I hope that they gain a desire to begin working out their salvation.  We teach how and give guidance but the change they make comes from within.  I know that only through that restored gospel of Jesus Christ they and all of us can find peace not as the world gives but as He gives(John 14:27).  I hope everything back home is going great and that everyone is enjoying life.

Love,

Elder Garrison 

A really exciting week!

Today is Veteran's Day so Lindy and Elise were home from school and able to speak with Conner.  He was on a "Trotro" or bus going to the Internet cafe.  They report each week to their mission president via email.  Conner said he can't decide if the people of Ghana are the best drivers in the World or the worst!  He said the Trotro is a 12 passenger van that has been stripped down and has bench seats put it in so 15 people can squeeze in.  He said there are no seatbelts and children sit on laps.  He said at first it made him nervous as vehicles drive inches apart but now it just seems normal to him.  
Conner and his companion went with some other missionaries and cooked a pig today.  He said meat is expensive to buy in Ghana so it is a treat.  Some of the Tongan missionaries are leaving so Conner said this might be the last time they do this for awhile.  He often cooks eggs and eats bread as it is only $1.00 a loaf.  
Conner sounded happy and upbeat.  He said things have been going well.  

Below is this weeks email:

I have only a short time to email this weeks I apologize for any grammar mistakes.  We have not received transfer new yet, so I will let everyone know who my companion is next week.  We did receive some great news though, we are becoming a technology mission.  We should get smart phones in the next few months.  It will make teaching really nice.  We can start using videos and contacting will become much easier.  I am super excited for that.  As far as the work is going, we have had a few setbacks but we are making progress.  Last week we taught 14 new people! I found myself teaching five people at a time.  I could feel the Spirit help me as I answered the questions of those susceptible, and they eventually opened up and agreed to read the Book of Mormon.  We will see what happens, but I have done my part so far.  I really felt good this last week.  I as going to send pictures but I ran out of time.  We had a massive lightning storm last night and we are having random blackouts more than usual.  I hope everything back home is going well.

Elder Garrison

Another week!

Below is Conner's email update.  He sounded good today and is well.  I am grateful to be able to speak with him each Monday and for the meaningful conversations we have.  He truly is growing so much.

This last week was a little slower for the work but that is to be expected sometimes.  I am excited for this next week though, we have received some awesome referrals from some of the members.  I am also hoping that those we have been teaching will do the last few steps to get into the waters of baptism.  In doing so they will be able to partake of the blessings that come from promises you make with baptism.  Only by doing so can you receive a better kind of happiness than what you have now.
As far as the weather is concerned, it was extra hot this week.  It was raining all around us so the humidity was up, but there were no clouds to cover us from the sun.  We were baking pretty good.  This next Sunday we get transfer news.  Elder Matakaiongo is probably going to leave but anything could happen.  We will not be together after this transfer though.  Elder Matakaiongo is a good guy and we have had a lot of laughs together.  There is always something exciting or nerve racking around the corner to keep things interesting around here.  I am really enjoying it out here right now.  I hope things back home are going well.

Elder Garrison

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

A good couple of weeks!

Conner with some missionaries at Zone Conference

Baboons!

Zone Conference-  Missionaries from all over the World singing the mission song!

Below is Conner's email update:

Sorry I didn't email everyone last week.  We had some things we had to get done.  The highlights for last week include roasting pig over a fire and getting my first baptism!  We had been working with a 10 year old named Julia for the last couple weeks.  Her parents are members and she had been active in church for a while now.  We are going to confirm her on Sunday.  We had more people scheduled for baptism, but they were out of town for the interviews.  We will hopefully get them into the water next week.  Today we roasted two pigs.  We bought them Friday and kept them alive at the zone leaders apartment.  It was comical running around trying to catch them today.  We then killed and gutted them.  We had a big fire so the pigs only took a few hours to cook.  Tongans sure know how to cook pig good.  We also cooked chicken underground.  We also had zone conference last week.  We learned a lot about how to better fulfill our duties as representatives of Jesus Christ.  We also saw baboons on the road getting there.  It was in the "Bush" so I saw a little different scenery.  I want to serve there.  I hope everything back home is going great.  Let me know how you are doing.  Hopefully I can get me photos sent this week too.

Elder Garrison

 

Ether 12:27

We always look forward to hearing from Conner each Monday.  He spent his day doing lots of laundry and cleaning his apartment before heading out to the internet cafe today.  He said our washing machine at home is so nice and is one of the things we take for granted.  Below are a couple of pictures from the training he mentioned in this weeks email.

Conner's email:

The other trainees that have been out one transfer and I went back to Accra

and received further instruction from President Keyes. It was great. I was able

to fix a few things and I could see the difference in my ability to teach this last

week. I am certainly not perfect, and that is very evident here in Ghana. At first,

I found it very discouraging. As I have been out here though, I have found the

promise in Ether 12:27 ring true. “And if men come unto me I will show unto them

their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my

grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble

themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become

strong unto them.” I not call my teaching strong yet, it has become stronger. The

things that I struggled with at first being out here continue to become easier. This

has become exceptionally true as I have called upon the Lord for help in prayer.

Another highlight this week was general conference. We watched all the sessions

except Sunday afternoon on Sunday. It was a very long day, but it was worth it. I left

feeling more inspired and encouraged. I hope everything is going well for everyone

back home. I realized today that there are 37 people in this group email.  If anyone wants out, if you want me to add anyone, or if you have any questions please sent me an email.

Love,

Elder Garrison