Dear everyone,
I am still alive
here in M---, and I am very sorry that I wasn't able to make contact earlier.
Here is the excuse... The whole town was out of power for five days, so we
never had the chance to e-mail. We even had a problem yesterday when we went to
the internet cafes in town (and even when we traveled to Kumasi) but I will
explain all of the troubles in due time. For now, let me move on.
Directly after I
e-mailed home two weeks ago, the week started to turn sour mostly due to the
fact that my companion and I hit a little rough spot over something small and
stupid, so we decided to have an emergency companion exchange. Elder R--- (the
other American in the apartment) and I went out to proselyte together on
Tuesday, and the day went by really quickly. We contacted 9 different people
and taught 5 lessons, so everything went pretty well. I'm breezing over most of
the details because I have a limited time to e-mail at the moment, but it
sufficeth me to say that people were more eager to talk to mienu obronies (two
white-men) than an African and an American. We had a whole drove of children
following us at one time, and there was a moment when we held out our hands and
they all reached for us. The children are always excited to see us, so we have
to have long-suffering and patience with their chants and cries that will never
die down. I have found that long-suffering is a Christ-like attribute that I
really have to work on. Thankfully, my trainer and I made amends at the end of
the day, and the following days only had small spots of contention that we
solved during our companionship inventory on Friday. I wish I could say more
about that week as there were a lot of growing experiences, but I have to move
on to the most recent one.
As I said, the
whole town was out of power for five days. This means that we had to rely on
our supply of water that we store in our refrigerator for just that type of
scenario, and when that ran out we had to climb on top of the water tower to
draw water up from it like a well. Trust me, it wasn't fun. I never thought
that I would ever have to work to get water, just because it is so easily
accessible in the US. Now, we had a really nice stew that was sitting in the
refrigerator and would have fed us for two weeks (it was in a large pot) but it
spoiled because it was not cold enough to stay fresh. The meat turned rancid
and we had to throw it all away, which meant that we were literally throwing
cash in the trash. That day wasn't a happy day. I started to dwell upon
everything bad that was happening and I felt like going home, but then I started
to pray. I prayed for strength to get through the week and I prayed that I
would be able to have long-suffering, and then I started to read the
scriptures. I made sure to have a constant prayer in my heart the next day and
the day after, and then I started to become happy. Even though the power was
out throughout the whole town, I could feel a power growing within me. There
was no light around me, but a light was shining from within. I found that I was
reading from the scriptures more and studying church doctrine (since I couldn't
iron and do anything else at night) so I would be more prepared to teach our
investigators. As I was reading, the thought came into my mind that even though
the power was out, I still had the ability to read the words of God and His
love for all of us on earth. I thought about how the products of men can never
be relied on, but the things of God will always be there. Even though I can't
rely on power here, I can always read the scriptures. Even though I can't rely
on water, I can always pray. What a blessing that is, to know that God will
always be there for us. This knowledge and insight that I had helped me to get
through the rest of the week, and I grew in strength.
On Sunday (I guess
it was last week) we had another baptism. That means that I already have two
baptisms! I can't believe that the work is going forward so well. Sometimes, it
feels as if I have to be Superman to battle through the week, but when all is
said and done I look back and say "Well, that was easy." Truly, if
you just press forward and just focus on the time at hand, everything will
start to work out. As you pray and keep a prayer in your heart, the trails that
look like boulders in your path just turn to dust, and then all you have to do
is blow it all away. The Lord will give you strength if only you make the first
step to move forward. We can only move forward when we have faith. I have been
using the following metaphor when teaching about faith. Faith is a man. When
faith exercises, he grows stronger and can hold a heavier weight. If he is
using the same weights each time and never changes his routine, then he stops
growing. When faith stops exercising altogether, he becomes bedridden and it
takes a lot of effort to get him moving again. Faith is an action, a force of
power. When we read our scriptures, pray, obey the commandments, attend church,
and strive to have a better outlook on life without complaining about our
surrounding circumstances, we grow in faith. When we read the same scriptures
each day and never try to go deeper in our studying, we stop growing. When we
start to skip days and throw away these good habits altogether, then our faith
becomes bedridden. I encourage everyone reading this to have the desire to
grow, and then you will have the strength to carry heavier burdens.
I used to think,
"This mission is a hard thing," but I stopped thinking it after I
remembered the complaints of Laman and Lemuel. Now I think, "This mission
is easy with the Lord by my side." Truly, it is in our hands to make
something hard or easy. If we try to rely on our own efforts and our own
knowledge, we will constantly fall short and think that the task that is asked
of us is impossible. However, when we pray and seek guidance from the Lord and
show that we are willing to listen, we will be lifted up and He will carry us
to the finish line. I am very grateful for this mission and for the trials that
I have been forced to face, because it just means that I am being put through a
refining fire. I love and embrace this gospel and the lessons that we learn as
we hold strong to the word of God. As one of our investigators said, "Missionary
work must be divine."
Sincerely,
Elder Twede
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(--- denotes edited names, … denotes edited personal content)
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