800 M

Playing games with some local kids

Half way.
Dear Family, 

It’s weird to think that I have been out for one year. The third lap (in a 1600 M race) is always the most gutsy, and it makes or breaks the race so here we go. 

This week was good. It started with us ending our cafe session and going to teach this awesome new investigator named Rita. Rita is Bro. Archibald's wife's sister. She is from the upper east region, a city called Bolgatonga. She speaks Fra-fra and English. I am trying to learn some fra-fra now though. So we were having this really awesome lesson with her and the phone rang in my pocket. I silenced it, I don't ever answer the phone in lessons. It was the Korle-bu missionaries calling me, and they called me again. Again I silenced the phone. Then they called me again and sent me a text that said, "Please answer the phone, my companion is in the hospital" I then told Elder Pohlsander to excuse me for a minute and asked Rita to excuse me as well. Elder Fryar had vomited and nearly passed out on his way home from the cafe and his companion Elder Msomi took him to the nearest clinic and they hooked him up to an IV. Elder Msomi called me and asked me if we could come to help him. We finished our lesson with Sister Rita and then hustled over to the clinic. We were met by Irastus and a few other members of the Korle-bu ward and they had just finished giving him a blessing. They didn’t think that we would get there that fast. so we visited with Elder Fryar for a little bit, and he decided that he wanted to stay at the hospital for the night so Elder Msomi and I went to their apartment in Mamprobi to get his and Elder Fryar's stuff. I didn’t get to bed that night until like 12. But it was fun to talk to Elder Fryar in his hallucinogenic state about his cafe session just before. That was an adventure. 

 

Whatever dinner is (some noodle concoction) it's served on a banana leaf...
also really love that scripture bag on the left!

We have been working hard to find new people to teach and we discovered this family in Soko near to where Leslie lives. They are Methodists and Joseph and Belinda have 3 little girls ages 12, 8, and one really young one I want to say she's like 4 or 5. They are a super nice family and we will be seeing them this coming week a lot. Also we met another family who stays in the same compound as Bro. Wellington. Bro. Wellington has been a member for a really long time and has served in both the bishopric and the stake presidency. He is awesome. So he will be helping us with the teaching of Dorin and her husband. I didn't catch his name because I was trying to get Dorin to let me help her pound fufu. I have been working really hard at getting Ghanaians to believe that I can prepare fufu, once they let me start pounding they know that I can do it, but they are always a little anxious about it. I would be too if my fingers were in danger of getting obliterated. She was a funny little lady and I spoke a lot of Twi with her and all her neighbors came out so see the obruni ka twi. Asemole. 

With Sister and President Simpson.

Today we just got finished roasting a pig. This time was a lot better than the first time. We were a lot more organized about it and were able to get more bang for our buck. The pig was almost 2x the size as last time. We invited President and Sister Simpson and they enjoyed with us. While we were waiting for the pig to cook I organized an ultimate Frisbee game on a nearby football pitch. It was located in a school compound so on the left side of the football field was a two story building with balconies on both floors and on the right side of the pitch there was a one story school with a lot of kids on the porch and there was a building behind the goal post facing the north that had a bunch of kids in it. As we were picking teams the kids came out of school and stood shoulder to shoulder filling the balcony and came and swarmed the edges of the pitch. I turned to Elder Cartwright and said, "I feel like I’m in a gladiator match...” It really felt like we were in a stadium full of Ghanaian kids in orange and khaki uniforms. We started to play. It got pretty intense pretty fast, me and Elder Taunuu had an awesome run and scored in about 10 seconds from the kick off. Then Elder Barr and Stilson gave it a run. Elder Barr threw the Frisbee toward Elder Stilson but it was a far throw and Stilson was running for it and slipped in the mud close to the in-zone. You could hear all the crowd of kids roar "Ahhhhh!" and then he missed "OOhhhhh!!" It was epic. Then we chopped pig and chicken and rice and salad and potato salad.

Last night was the best affliction week finale I have ever had. there have been times on my mission where I have had nothing but a three cedi half a loaf of bread to fill my stomach for the day on Sunday, but this Sunday we had 4 families invite us to their house to eat with them. It was crazy cuz we have been planning this for the last few weeks with 2 of them: The Mensah family, and Cindy's family. But then Bishop Chris invited us to his place after church as well. It was sister Ramie Mensah's birthday, which is a big deal, and also it was Brother Kenneth's birthday (that’s sister Cindy’s husband) and we were racing all over Mamprobi to get to those houses in a timely manner. Brother Ken is an awesome guy and I really look up to him a lot. Sister Cindy asked me if I would prepare some sort of a program for the party, kind of last second, but isn't that cool that that is part of the celebration here? She wanted me to find some scriptures to read and a hymn to sing. The birthday party started with an opening and closing prayer. Cool huh? Brother ken was baptized about a year ago and is such an awesome example to me of what it says in the family proclamation to the world the characteristics of a father should be. To provide, preside and protect. He is humble and doesn't have extensive scriptural knowledge. But he loves his wife and takes really good care of her and his kid, flourish. I look up to him a lot. 

 

Cute little guys trying on Elder Peters cap.

Elder Pohlsander is so good at finding stuff. We were walking down the street one day and just talking on the way to see somebody and he veered right and pointed in the gutter and said, "Hey! Its 50 peswes!" then this lady ran out from her shop and stuck her hand in the gutter and got it out and held it up triumphantly. And we continued on. He is also really good at noticing little details in things. I am pretty sure that I will be here in Lartebiokorshie for at least one more transfer. I pray that I get to stay at least. So far I haven't been wrong in predicting that I will be transferred. I always know if I will stay or go. 

I have been evaluating myself and thinking and talking a lot about the good things of the past year and the things I could do better on and while we were walking to our house today I was talking to elder pohlsander about it and he said, "you need to stop trying to be like Elder Sharp, or whoever you think was awesome, you just need to be Elder Peters, cuz that’s who you are best at being!" I thought that was really good advice. I really enjoy Elder Pohlsander's company.

On Saturday night I finished reading and taking really good notes in the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission. I fell short of my goal, but I decided that taking it slow and really focusing on the stories and the lessons you can learn from them and linking them to other scriptures was a better way to learn and apply the gospel. I went out on our balcony that night and prayed about the truth of the Book of Mormon and I was reminded of the first time I did that. It was cool to see how Moroni's promise works not only the first time, but again, and again.

I have now started the New Testament, and the Twi Book of Mormon.

Studying hard, and reading in Twi.

Congratulations to Alex Tanner and Kaity Datwyler on their mission calls! Indonesia and Russia, that's so cool!!!

Elders Pohlsander and Perry doing really well and have recovered just fine this past week. Neither one can ride a bike very well, but they are both out proselyting so that's good.

Dad you asked if I EVER had anywhere to go with air conditioning. Ya we do, President's house, nowhere else really. Elder Ferrin has to pack his sweater when we go there otherwise he will freeze. It does get pretty cold in there.

I love you all, nyamhyrou!

Love, Elder Peters