Finally i am able to get on a computer that works! Sorry!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD MOM AND TINE TOMORROW!! :D No I'm not THAT much of a loser brother and son.
I'm doing great! Yes I'm back in Kumasi and both me and my companion are brand new in the area. We are in Bantama, where the ward just split so that's sweet! At least it wont be like Asokwa!! :D My companion is elder Marsan from Liberia! He is freakin right!! I love this guy! We will enjoy this transfer and hopefully the next few transfers! This is the place in Kumasi i was always wishing id serve. I'm in the zone leaders apartment. There are 6 sisters in my district...3 brand new ones. They are sweet! It seems like everyone in Kumasi is just sweet.
The package i got was the year mark one with sweet food and pictures! And the leaf and a-corn from Carthage and Nauvoo. It was sweet to see new pictures of my family!!! Sorry your pictures are coming, i promise!! :D
This week Ive really gained a testimony about how president does transfers. He really does follow the Spirit and does it right! I am always put with someone or in an area for certain reasons. The last two transfers in Praso was basically for these 2 ladies we found contacting who always wanted to come to church. They have had problems their whole lives, lots of personal stuff i wont mention. We helped them through it and now 2 months after their baptism they went to the temple to do baptisms and fell in love with the temple. One of them, Bridget, always goes to Accra to buy things for selling at market and is now getting a Temple recommend so she can stop by the temple every other week. I couldn't believe it when she told us that that is what she wanted to do. I felt amazing. Shes been my favorite convert since Bounti and Harrison in Asokwa! I loved when she told us about her temple experience. And now our new mission goal is to help recent converts do missionary work and also help prepare these recent converts to do their ancestors names in the temple! I'm so stoked for this goal, this is what its all about!! :D We are helping to change lives and strengthen these recent converts testimonies about missionary work and the temple! I love it.
Happy birthday dad and mom and tine!! I didn't forget! I promise!! It wasn't my fault, we were even in Cape Coast last week, internet was down. So hope your bdays were sweet!! Do anything special!! Tine you are turning 17 tomorrow?! What?? My little sister is a senior and 17 and dating often?! When did all of this happen....haha. Enjoy it now, real life will come haha.
I wish i could be there with Landon!! It reminds me of how HIGH our family was all around the time of my call and stuff...remember that cloud 9 we were on with everything?! It was such a sweet feeling, the hard work of being ready and worthy of a mission all paid off! I love that kid!
What pictures did you see on e. Speechly's blog?? I love that guy!! Probably one of my best friends on mission, he was in Assin Foso on the Cape Coast--Kumasi road. He is sweet!! Pictures will come!! PROMISE!! Oh and elder Evans goes home at the end of this six weeks, he went to school at Mojave so near marks house, not too bad. I'm sending the stuff down to him this week Friday so it will get to him. Hope you enjoy it!! :D Oh and today we found the fastest internet cafe in Ghana!! ITS LIKE HOME!!! So hopefully in the next few weeks ill be able to take some time loading pictures, its just an expensive cafe! :(
I am loving life...mission is sweet, just pluggin along. Gotta contact all this week...the guys in our area last transfer, one was going home and the other DID WORK in this one area and they are pretty much baptized so we need new people. Oh and that same elder kinda built a house for this member whose house burned down last year.... He is kinda legit. Its freakin sweet!! Cant believe he had a whole house built in like 4-5 months. He's done well. He was upset to leave this area haha. Its a sweet area...the members speak really good English and the ward actually functions on its own really well. I love it!
I know that our Father in heaven always knows what he is doing....even if we might question it, its right! The second we just accept it and go along for the ride with a good attitude, the better off we will be. I love this gospel. Its changed my life and I've seen it change so many while I've been here. Its all about the Book of Mormon. Its just so straight forward and the Spirit just blasts you if you take the time to read and study it! :D So i was really disappointed this week only because our temple trip was canceled by the area office. I was working my butt off to make this temple trip sweet!! But i guess i just need to keep this up til i go with the mission president next august. I love you guys.
Talk to ya next week!
Love Cody
THE FAM!
This week has been sweeeet to say the least. We have 10 people that we gave a baptism date to....6 for this Saturday and 4 or more for next months! I love being in this area, it feels good to see someone accept the gospel openly and repent quickly when they learn what is right. I cant describe the feeling. Its just SWEET! Its a lot better this week then last week when it comes to the comp. Its a lot more enjoyable in the apartment now haha.
Today, p-day, has been SWEET!!! We came to Assin Foso around 1 and played volleyball against Assin Foso branch 1. They actually beat us 4 straight games...it surprised me to see athletes haha. They were pretty good and we were uhh...ya haha. Then we went back to their apartment and ate a HUGE rice and chicken and stew!! It was delish!! Tonight we are staying the night in their apartment for the mission tour tomorrow!! Elder Sitati from the area presidency will be teaching us! Cant wait for that, always good to have a a good boost! This week will fly by for sure! Baptism interviews on Thursday and possibly Friday....baptism Saturday, then Sunday....weeks over and Monday will be transfer news....NEW AREA WO HO!! (New area is here!) We'll see what happens haha.
Elder Evans is going home next transfer so ill send some stuff with him if he has room, especially some CDs!!!! Pictures and videos and jazz....YA Be excited!!
This last week we have begun incorporating the new training from the first presidency that has come. Its sweet and definitely inspired. We focus a lot more on having our investigators thinking more about making a covenant of baptism....even from the first or second lesson we will talk about helping them make a covenant with God in the waters of baptism. Most people it will work for, others we just wont bring it up til we are further a long. Its good...we get to see who is serious and who isn't and move on from there. I love it.
Ive been working a lot this week on making my prayers more meaningful. Its not easy to do every single prayer during the day. It takes effort to really think about the things i want to discuss with my Father in Heaven and then be heartfelt as I speak to Him. I love the Spirit it has brought into my daily work! :D I know prayer is real.
I love you guys. Have a good week! :D
Love, Cody
What a sweet feeling it was to read the family emails this week. Ive been yearning for them a little more this week then in the past. Its been a tough week. My comp is a Nazi and its driving me crazy, no worries though, I'm being patient as i can be with only a few sarcastic comments thrown in that he probably will never understand since sarcasm doesn't exist here haha. We are definitely working hard, we gave another 4 people baptism dates and there will be maybe 4 more this week to all be baptized the 18th. One man sticks out in my mind,Bro Tanko. He is my favorite branch member's father and has had a lot of word of wisdom problems for the last year but is now getting over them and is ready to be baptized. The sweet thing about it is that his son, Kasim, is not in town and doesn't know about it yet!! When he gets back he'll learn that his dad is being baptized! Cant wait to see his face, he's been praying for his family to accept the church. Just after his father becomes a member it will be a lot easier to teach the wife. I love missionary work. This has gotta be the sweetest thing, to see people change all because you helped them feel the Spirit in a lesson or helped teach them to read the Book of Mormon or pray. I love it. This is what keeps me going.
This week I've spent a lot of time with elder Kouakou since elder Bentum was going to Cape Coast for some training thing that is specifically from the brethren and it is for every mission. Its sweet! I cant wait to start focusing more on these things they have for us.
Yeah, everyone is being exactly obedient now that we got hammered!! Its a lot easier to do when everyone else is also making an effort. It'll be sweet to see how well our mission does because of all this obedience, since we are already working miracles. Elder Chime (zone leader) said that our zone had 40 baptisms last week and that didn't count our district at all and our baptism will be a good one in two
weeks....we are just being blessed with success. Sorry for all those missions having hard times, keep up the door knocking cuz the baptisms are ranking in in Africa. In a few weeks a new area opens up! It'll be sweet! Our mission is looking to be split within the next year or two, crazy.
Grandma you crack me up! Waiving your hands at my family to sit by you since you got there NOT LATE and saved seats....hahaha. Pres Richards on the stand smiling....i can see it now!
I got the package with that elders garments! Thank you so much!! He will be so happy for those! :D
I agree with you mom, I want to be like Job buuuut....the trials i have now our enough!! haha. Watch out for what you say! Or even think! The Lord knows...
LANDON IS GOING TO ARGENTINA!!! FREAK MAN!! THATS SWEET LANDON!!! 4 best friends....3 Spanish speaking....they better teach me!! Matthew told me he could have me fluent in like 6 months haha. Man, i miss these guys!
BYU is too legit for the mountain west this year huh? I hope they get smashed....it'll be replayed all night long on sportscenter....every 30 minutes BYU loses again. Im stoked the braves are in first!! Finally....after a long 5-6 years. Go bobby cox!
You sure you guys need pictures of me?? You did just fine without them this last year hahaha. I'm joking mom, calm down, don't hit the computer. They will come in the near future! haha.
Well i love you guys so much. Keep working hard....it will all pay off! Trials will never cease, its just a matter of strengthening ourselves to get through them, holding on to what we have already learned. Yesterday was one of the sweetest lessons I've ever had. We went to a less-active part-member family and taught the member who is the mother of the family, Sis Diana. We opened up to Alma 7 and talked
about the Atonement and how Christ has suffered all of our pains, afflictions, sicknesses, etc. and the reason He had to go through all of those things was so the He could know how to succor us. I bore my testimony to her telling her how i felt because of that sacrifice He made for me and how I owe my whole life to the Savior because of it. The Atonement changes my whole look on life, it helps me work harder,
be more patient and loving especially to my sweet (add sarcasm here)companion. The Spirit was definitely in that lesson and helped each of us feel the ways we needed to change. She promised us she would be at church this week, and i silently promised my Father in Heaven that i would be more patient to my companion and try to help him in the areas he needs it, etc. I love days like this. :D
Have a good week!
Elder Cody Lehr
