Good afternoon/ Morning FAMILY!

Sounds like another crazy week for everyone especially with Tine's JFDI and Karlis softball. Always exciting things at our house haha. I am definitely using projection and enthusiasm, but mostly pronunciation because they speak English here kind of like they are from the UK, so maybe ill have a sweet accent when i come home, hopefully i don't sound like a retard too much. This week went so fast and was jam packed. It was a mission tour week which means a member of the area presidency comes to speak to all the missionaries and check out the mission. So President Dixon came to Kumasi on Thursday. He is incredible. He has been a general authority for 18 years on 4 different continents including china and India and Pakistan! Served in Buenos Aires! and a mission president in Mexico. He lost his right arm to cancer just before serving a mission when he was "young." Its crazy! He had to learn how to do everything with his left arm and he called it a blessing! And said that in the resurrection he isn't going to know what to do with a right arm! haha. Funny guy. It was a powerful meeting, he talked a lot about DnC 50 where it talks about teaching by the Spirit and the people being taught are learning by the Spirit and everyone is edified! One thing i really remembered was when he said that when you know that everyone in the lesson is feeling the spirit don't be afraid to commit the person or people to make covenants! I had that same experience the next day!! Elder Clements and i were teaching some college aged guys and everyone was feeling it so strong so we committed them to baptism after they've prayed to know that these things are true. They said yes! Haha, imagine that. It was a good testimony builder for me! :) Great experience. Those same guys came to church yesterday so that was what made our week!

I'm so excited about KEL!! Go Elder Winder! That's awesome! He'll love it.

And about Tine's leadership training! I WANT VIDEO OF HER GRADUATION! :D

This morning our zone went to the cultural center here in Kumasi which was interesting. They showed us a lot of cool things like how they make the Kentay cloth and pottery and woodcarvings. There is this disabled guy who has a shop and he paints incredible paintings of Africa theme and he does it all by using a paintbrush....IN HIS MOUTH! Pretty cool, cant really bargain his prices so we didn't buy anything from him haha. Sweet paintings though! It was cool to actually DO something for P-day instead of stay in the apt. all day long. Next week we are supposed to play football or volley-pong, which is ironically volleyball and ping-pong mixed. Its pretty sweet.

The Lord works in mysterious ways....but they wouldn't seem so mysterious if we were closer to our Father in Heaven. If I've learned anything so far its that the Lord is so willing to provide and even to work miracles in our lives and in the lives of others. But i haven't always been the one to think that they could happen to me or in front of my eyes. Wow have I been wrong?! If I would just be submissive to His will and ask for blessings upon those we are teaching or searching for, He would provide. Its amazing how easy that is right? Haha. I love this work. I love my family. You guys are always on my mind. I miss you so much. This is what I'm supposed to be doing though, so might as well be the best that i can be while I'm here. :)

Hope you have a good week :D

Love Elder Lehr

My beloved family!

I miss you guys like crazy and am always thinking about what you guys are up to and how crazy life back at home still is. There is never time to relax at the Lehr home. I miss that. Anyways, Mission life is going haha. This last week was really frustrating probably just because yesterday at church there was 26 people there when the Sacrament mtg started. It was pathetic and sad. I miss my home ward :(. Besides that stuff, we have been teaching a few guys that are mechanics and always bugged us mostly cuz we are white but we decided to teach them at least once and after the whole "America" thing people always go through with us, we taught a good lesson and they responded pretty well so we are going back again. You just never know who the Lord has prepared.

Elder Clements and I decided that even though we've had a frustrating week (He's still been sick til Thursday), we were not going to let that get to us. So we stuck tape to our fingers and stuck a whole bunch of cockroaches that are in our kitchen and flung them into a metal cup and started lighting the contents inside the cup on fire! Typical boys, i thought missions were supposed to help us grow up and mature, oh well. That doesn't include washing our sheets in a bucket and using our feet (clean feet) to stomp all over the wash. We didn't expect it but we ended up mopping the floor too with all the soapy water which was needed. I guess it's true what people have said about missionaries, we just go crazy in the apartment and do the stupidest things, but hey if it makes time go by faster when a companion is sick then so be it! I don't have much else to say this week, except President Dixon is coming to Kumasi on Thursday and so we'll have a zone conference with him and that should be exciting and uplifting! We have been so lucky to hear from general authorities every couple of months it seems like. :)

Well i love you guys so much and i cant wait for my bday, wait, nothing really exciting when it comes to b-days. If I'm still here then the Kiffers said they'll make a cake, if not then they'll still make it. I just wont be here to eat it. haha kinda like E. Adjeifio when he got transferred near his bday. You asked what else I want in my birthday package---I'd like some mashed potatoes and my patriarchal blessing and airheads and skittles and SNACK FOOD!!! Wheat thins or cheese its!!!! Put in anything that you'd want to have if you were stranded in a 3rd world country with nothing to MUNCH ON!! :D

You guys are awesome!! And if you ever get frustrated or just have a hard day, turn to the scriptures, it's full of stories about members of Christ's church having hard days. Elder Holland told us that if we had a hard day then SO WHAT!! Welcome to the church! :D Encouraging words...i know. Grin and bare it!

Love you all! Write me please! :D I sent out like 35 letters a few months ago....got 4 back. ouch!

Love,
Elder Lehr