Goodbye Green Hill

Hey everyone!! How has your week been?  This week has been quite busy trying to get the area ready for sisters and there have been some other programs as well.  This week started of really good as we had a zone conference.  President Stevenson instructed us and it was quite inspiring.  He talked about how we can have 'astonishment' when we look back at the things that we will accomplish... how to have astonishing results.  We looked at two examples: the people at the waters of Mormon and the people of Melchizedek.  It was really good.  Another highlight was on Friday when we were able to go to the Croffie's and help make a cement patio in the front of their house.  That was a lot of fun hard work.  I was so hungry that the fufu they gave us afterwards I ate all of mine and my companion's (since he doesn't really like fufu).  Sooooooo good!  It was fun.  Then on Saturday the branch held a going away party for us.  They pounded more fufu than I have ever seen in my life and they killed a goat for us.  It was really nice.  The sad part is that I started getting sick.  It is a baptism curse... every time we have a baptism I get sick.  Just kidding, but we had a baptism after that for Francis Ayensu.  A sweet kid who we have been working a bit with.  He will be a good member.  But then that night we received transfer news and I will be going to Assin Foso to be with Elder Ripplinger on Wednesday.  The only part of the mission that I haven't seen yet and I hear that the power and water isn't all that great.  It is one of the more bushy parts of the mission.  It will be fun though.  You will get to hear my experiences from there next week!  But yeah... then I woke up Sunday, still sick, but I lost my voice.  I could barely speak and it comes out like a whisper.  Kind of stinks trying to teach and talk to people when you can't really speak.  But oh well... my voice is back today, just very very deep and I still have a runny nose.  This week has been good though.  There will be two sisters training in Green Hill next transfer.  But yeah!  Love you all and hope that you have a good week!  

Love,

Elder Walston

Always an Adventure

Hey everyone!  How has the week been?  It has been an interesting week for us elders here in Green Hill.  We all kept quite busy.  On Wednesday I was able to go back to Nkanfoa on exchanges again.  This time I went with Elder Stoddard.  We had a day full of walking and it was quite tiring but one cool thing that happened is that the elders there had been trying to get mutual activities started there and we had an activity where we played football with the young men.  We were trying to teach them how to play frisbee but some crazy elder accidentally broke the frisbee.  I felt bad that I broke it but we all enjoyed and had a good time.  It was a very good turnout.  It was fun to be able to be with the young men in Nkanfoa again.  But then on Friday some bad news came.  We found out that all four of us elders here in Green Hill will be transferred out of here on April 1. They are bringing sisters here next week so I have one more week in Green Hill and I will have one more area left.  I will find out all of that news on Saturday.  But the members were very sad to hear all about that.  So were we the missionaries.  But it is all well.  This upcoming week will mostly be preparing the area for the sisters to come in and move on with the work that we have been doing these last few months.  But we will have one last baptism before we go this weekend for Francis Ayensu.  That will be sweet.  But I love you all! The working is continually progressing! One step in front of another.

Love ya!

Elder Walston

Yeah!! Keepin' busy!

Hey everyone!  How has the week been for all of you?  This week has been pretty good for us.  We were blessed this last week as on Thursday as we were able to visit with Elder Dube.  He instructed us on a lot of things, but the main focus was to how to help the missionary work go forward the best.  One interesting thing that he told us is that to be exactly obedient we should always study the Book of Mormon first.  It is something that is so important for us.  Elder Dube is the last person in the area presidency that I have been able to meet now.  It was really cool.  He is very different in person than I imagined.  We also had a meeting with him of the zone and district leaders before the meeting that was very good and inspiring.  But yeah... I was able to be on such a spiritual high and then Friday morning all ready to go I woke up early and went running with Elder Jensen and I rolled my ankle.  So... I was out of commission for two days.  I hurt my foot pretty bad but it is doing better now.  It is just a little swollen and purple.  It is all good though, because I was at least able to make it to the baptism that we had on Saturday. We had two baptisms on Saturday for Faustina and Priscilla.  It was sweet.  It was so cool to be able to see all the hard work that they have put in pay off.  They are two sweet sisters. But yeah... Gotta go! I love you all and I hope that you have a great week!
Elder Walston

Keepin' Busy

Hey all!  Hope that you week went well!  It was quite busy here this last week.  We celebrated Kristi's birthday here as it was also the birthday of Ghana with their 58th Anniversary of the independence on March 6th.  I was also on exchanges that day with Elder Loader.  That was a good day.  I also went on exchanges on Wednesday with Elder Egunza.  It is weird being with a different person every other day, but it is also cool to see different elders.  It is nice that my companion and I will get to be together most of this coming week.  I am pretty excitted for this upcoming week because Elder Dube will be coming to visit us here in Cape Coast on Thuirsday.  That will be sweet to hear from him.  But the work is here in Green Hill is going well.  We will be holding a baptismal service this week which will be exciting.  One of the people being baptized, Priscilla, even went to the branch temple trip that we had last month even though she could not enter.  She loved just being able to go to the temple site and being there and lucky enough for her, the YSA here in Green Hill are planning a temple trip in three weeks so she will be able to go then.  Then there are a few other sweet people we are working with.  March will be a very good month.  We are seeing a lot of the work we are putting in to pay off.  We saw 9 of our investigators who we are working hard on come to church this last week plus two of the kids we are slowly working with.  It was sweet.  Sweet is the work!

This week I have been waking up a little early to go running and work out.  I worked out 6 days this week and went running 5 days this week.  It is nice having Elder Jensen in the apartment as he motivates me to do so.  I gives me a boost during the day.  I have also been making myself smoothies with the fresh fruit here.  It is all good.  Enjoying in Green Hill.

Well... I love you guys!!  Have a great week!

Elder Walston

March is here once again...

Hey everyone!  Hope that everyone is keeping safe and out of trouble back home.  This week has been good.  We were on exchanges a lot this week so my companion and I only were able to spend four days this week together. :(  But it was fun I am not complaining at all, because I was able to go with Elder McKeon on exchanges.  It has been awhile since I was last with him, 6 months ago, but he is now the Zone Leader here in Cape Coast so we were able to be together.  I went with him on Wednesday... it felt just like the old days back in Kojokrom.  But on Tuesday I was able to instruct on time.  Time is something that is so important and it is something that we can either waste away or something that we can use to our advantage.  In the Missionary Handbook it encourages us to use it fully and wisely.  This applies to each of us.  We must make sure that we take advantage of the time that the Lord has given us.  Then on Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder McKeon and that went very well.  We had a good day and were able to accomplish quite a bit.  That was fun.  Then Thursday was a rather stressful day as I was able to do five baptismal interviews and only one of them spoke English, and she was eight years old!  But it was good.  It is hard to get a good feel of their readiness when it is all through translations.  But it was good and they were all able to be baptized on Saturday. Then on Friday I went on exchanges with Elder Tobler.  We enjoyed a day in Green Hill together.  I made him brownies and pizza and that was quite enjoyable.  The on Saturday we went on exchanges with Elder McKeon again because there were some things that they had to deal with.  But yeah... it was good.  Then today, we had a District Activity where we got together and played some basketball at one of the parks here in Cape Coast.  That was way fun, but I ended up getting a little sun burnt.  And I am still as terrible as I ever was back home at basketball.... but I still enjoyed it and had fun.  

Well... this has been my week!  Love you all and I hope that you have a good week!

Elder Walston