Dear Family,
Another week has come flying by, it really seems like just yesterday that I was thinking what I could write about and here I already am doing the same thing again. This past week has really been a good one. Elder Thomas and I were able to go on a couple adventures and other exciting great news we got our washing machine back! Yippee!! More exciting than that though, is yesterday we baptized 5 awesome investigators. Since I don't have a really awesome story this week I figured I would just tell a little but about those 5 people we baptized and the experiences I've had with them.
To start off with is Joseph Adjei. Joseph is awesome. I've been working with him since about the first weeks of being transferred here. Elder Draniikamate and I were given a referral and we were trying to find a good time to visit him. It seemed an impossible task. He lived quite far away from where we normally proselyte and really neither of us had any idea where he was staying. We tried really hard to find time to met him but things just never worked right. Finally we made an effort to go and meet him and with a bit of struggle, confusion and a lot of walking we came to his home and he invited us inside. We began with just the usual get to know you stuff and we learned that his older sister is a member in another ward in Accra and that he had attended the church once with her and then the ward there sent his number on to us in Kasoa. We then just decided to jump right into the Restoration. The lesson that followed was probably one of the most powerful lessons of my entire mission and to be honest I'm not even sure why. It just really seemed that my companion and I were really teaching from our heart not from our head. As the lesson came to a close he just sat there thinking. He then kind of nodded his head and said, "I understand." We gave him an invitation to pray and know it is true and to be baptized. He happily accepted and we left him with our testimonies. On the way out my companion just just says, "Elder Smith, that was awesome! I've never taught a lesson like that!" I just responded, "Neither have I." We didn't use any fancy words, or convincing arguments to convince him of what we were saying was true. Rather we felt the power of the Holy Ghost speaking through us in the clearest and simplest way we could. He came to church a week later and we continued to teach him until yesterday was the long awaited day of his baptism. All of us had been looking forward to that day for quite some time.
Next on the list is Cynthia. Cynthia is a really funny story. So one day Elder Draniikamate and I were on the way to our Bishops home when we got stopped by a young girl. She then told us that she wanted us to come and teach her and she wanted to be a member of our church. So we told her okay we are going to one place and we will come right back. So we went and came back to sit with her. Much to my astonishment as she came and sat down she pulled out her King James Bible published by our church and a rubber wristband that said, "I'm proud to be a mormon." I was completely confused. Then to make it even worse after we prayed we asked if she has any questions and she says, "Yeah, I want to know more about Joseph Smith." I then jumped to the conclusion that this was a joke and she was already a member. Well as it turned out her older brother is in another ward and has been giving her all of those things and teaching her about the church. Basically from that day on she was ready to be baptized. She already knew it was all true, she just needed to be formally taught and baptized. Well anyways this girl is super awesome and sweet. Ever since day one she was asking us when she would be baptized. I love that girl, she is awesome.
Now last but not least is Medrak, Sammy, and James. These are three of the stubbornest kids I've ever met. Well mostly Sammy and James. They are 11 and 13 and can not sit still for more than 5 minutes. We've been teaching them with the Atta Mamme family and the 3 kids we baptized last month. Medrak honestly is my favorite. Every time he see's us he runs up to us and gives us a big hug. I think he has come to church every Sunday since I met him. Despite them being stubborn and loud they are awesome. I love those kids. I was really happy for them to be baptized this week.
Well everything in this letter has been about baptism. Why? Because baptisms are awesome. Not much feels better as a missionary then having baptisms. Here in Ghana we have a ton of them but they never lose their importance and excitement to me. I love it so much. Especially to see how happy they all are when they are baptized. It is sweet.
Love,
Elder Smith