Ghana!!!!!

Hey everyone!  This week was sweet! On Wednesday we had our interviews with President Stevenson and that was sweet.  He tried to advise me on what I should do when I go home, but he somehow confused me a little more.  I think that I will just leave it to when I get home to decide.  But it was good.... we were instructed by the Zone Leader and by the Assistants on working more with members and the recent converts and less actives as that is how the most success will come.  It was really good but the best part was that they let us watch Meet the Mormons.  That was a really good documentary that had some good stories about different members of the church.  It was really weird to see everything from back home though.  It was sweet though.  One of the other cool things that we have been able to do this week is that we have been working with one of the families in the ward quite a bit.  Two of them are very active members but three are less active.  We have been talking to them and trying to get them to strengthen their testimonies.  One of the less active members even came to church this week.  But it has sparked a lot of conversions even just between Elder Ripplinger and I.  We have been talking about some of the things that we want with life... even families.  We see so many families that are disconnected here in Ghana and that completely affects everyone involved.  Family units are one of the most important things in this gospel.  They can hold us together and help us to go forward. 

One thing that I have been able to do a lot this week is to read my patriarchal blessing and that is something that I would recommend everyone to do.  There is such power within and it has been able to help me greatly.

Another thing that I pondered deeply this week was as I partook of the sacrament I felt the spirit deeply.  I pondered "Am I worthy to partake of the sacrament"  So many times we just go on with life and we are just in the swing of things.  Maybe we aren't doing anything bad, but are we striving to do better and on that constant quest of improvement and repentance.  We must make sure that we are on that quest.  I hope that all made sense.

The work here in Assin Foso is going well.  We have one investigator who is doing very, Kofi.  He doesn't speak any English but is a sweet man.  He is a farmer.  It is cool.  We have to have a lot of help up here with translations as only about half of the investigators that we have speak English.  Twi is the language here and since I spent the last 18 months in Fante land it is a little different but at least they are very similar languages so it isn't ridiculously hard to go back and forth.  But it has been fun!  I love the people here!

Well... I love you all and I hope that you all have a great week!  Hope that you enjoy the pictures I sent!  I had to catch up since it had been awhile since I last sent them!  LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Elder Walston

Pictures from Green Hill:

Hey everyone!  This week has been pretty good.  Rainy season is starting to kick in as  it has rained four of the last five days now, but that is all part of the work.  It is nice because it cools everything down while it is raining, but when the sun comes back out it is just as blistering hot and more humid. The sad thing is that I am getting cold here too much when it rains.  I guess that I have adapted to the Ghanaian weather too much. I had one of the members up here in Foso making fun of me because I was saying that I was too cold and it was one of the warmer days that week!  I even had goose bumps.  But it is all good.  Not too much all happened this week.  One of my investigators from Green Hill was baptized on Saturday, Leticia.  She was the wife of a recent convert that we had been teaching and had all prepared for baptism.  Sunday was pretty bad in way of attendance for church especially since it was our ward conference.  It was an out right down-pour Sunday morning and so most of the people took that as an excuse of not to come to church.  Only about maybe 60% of the people who came the previous week came yesterday. :/  But it was good!  Afterwards we had two massive plates of jollof rice... MASSIVE.... it hurt my stomach but when they insist that you eat, you eat! Well I get to have my last interview with President this week before my exit interview... I am excited to be able to speak with him.  It is always an enjoyable time!  Well I love you all!  Yebeshia!

Elder Walston

Akwaaba Assin Foso!

Hello all!  This week has been a wonderful week.  It is always hard to say good-bye especially to those that you love but Tuesday was full of saying good-byes and making sure that the sisters would have a smooth transition coming into Green Hill.  It was good though... we had a little enjoyment from some of the members on Tuesday... lots of nice food. :)  But then Wednesday was the crazy transfer day... took about two hours before I was up here in Assin Foso.  I am here with Elder Ripplinger who is from West Jordan, Utah.  He is a cool guy... he is taller than I and was a basketball player in high school.  I think that we will have a good time up here in Foso together.  We cover Assin Foso First Ward, just the two of us.... first time it is like that for me since my training.  But Wednesday we went out into the area and met some people.  My companion has only been here for six weeks so one of my big goals is to get us to know the members real well and be able to work with them effectively.  That has been a bit of this week.  It has been really hot here and none of the investigators were free either because they were doing things for Easter so we did a lot of contacting as well this weekend.  But it was fun... I have really been enjoying everything.

Well... the network has been terrible and I have to go so have a great week!!  Love you all!!

Elder Walston

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