Thank you for the money, it will go to good use…dad says im too skinny so ive gotta change that.
Today we had a zone fufu party! A member prepared all the soup and chicken and we pounded the cassava and plantain after playing soccer with ward 1 and ward 2. Yes I said ward because on Sunday Assin Fosu became a STAKE! Woo! It was a sweet day. President Carden, the area president and Elder Mensah of the seventy (from Takoradi) and the temple president and president Sabey and their wives came and most of the addressed us. It was sweet to hear and learn from them, even if I had to stand in the back on the stage fighting to even look at them while they spoke….there was just so many people there. My branch president became the new stake president! He’s a sweet guy! He loves having us over and gets mad when we don’t come eat his food since he has a son on mission and knows that members are feeding him, so he has to contribute. We don’t mind! Plus, I got to see all of the members from Twifo Praso! They were so happy to see me again haha. Kasim came running up and about killed me with his hug ha. I was caught off guard. I love them though so it was great seeing them.
Sooo there was a sweet temple trek! Man it sounds like it was amazing! Wish I could have been there, I want pictures! Even if you have to email them, do it! You’re right about how the girls need to do things without their parents….it’s kind of like moving out going off to college, it’s a test of testimony instead of relying on mommy and daddys, just on a smaller scale. Next generation of great YM and YW in Silverstone ward has come! That’s sweet about the testimony meeting being such a powerful one. I hope they will always remember how they felt about the temple that day. I remember a powerful testimony meeting at the San Diego temple on our priest trip to cali!! From that day on I knew it was where I need to be. Im jealous…I can’t go to the temple for 5 months and 2 weeks…I didn’t know how long I had left until I read bug’s email! Dang her! Just leave the counting alone for now, wait until its days! ?
Do you have landons address? Or his email? Same with Kayla, you have hers? I need to write them! Matt wrote me and blair an email telling us how lazy and trunky we are since we don’t write to him anymore haha. Then he wrote something in Spanish and translated it just for me, blair probably loved that. All 3 of these guys will be spittin Spanish when we come home. Don’t worry, matt said they will force me to learn it.
I read these emails yesterday but then the internet crashed so im replying today. As for right now we don’t have any baptism dates, mostly because we are working with member families, helping them to prepare to go to the temple to seal their families! The hard part is getting them to legalize their marriage, plan for a small ceremony, and getting the money to actually go to the temple….oh yeah, did I mention this goal ends in june? We’ve got 4 months to finish that and baptize someone who has a family member in the church. Could any other mission do this? President told us that the Lord doesn’t just want these people to benefit from this goal, but us as missionaries. We get to learn the importance of sealings. President is convinced that the main reason the Lord sends us on missions at this age and time in our lives is to prepare us for marriage. Everything we do is with a companion….one that we didn’t get to choose. This is perfect practice and sometimes its freakin hard and most times its sweet!
Wow, Sorry to hear about Rachel! I hope she gets better! I pray that she will be just fine. Her new child will definitely make the sickness worth it! Happy birthday Jacob! This might be the first time ive said happy birthday to a member of our family in an email ha. Im terrible with remembering things like that.
I wish I could be there to help you in all the ways I didn’t when I was at home. Ive got a lot to prove when I go home, I hope im ready for those 5 months to be finished!...Not yet, still working at it!
Love, Elder Lehr
Nobody ever told me Josh Howells had a call! And now he's leaving! Thats so awesome!! I just love that family! Was his mom as hysterical as you get?? Hahaha im just kidding!
Pres Utchdorf in a State Stake Conference!! You guys are so lucky! Thats awesome you got to hear from him. And it sounds like the same advice that we have been given since forever! Its very simple advice but a lot of us members have a hard time just DOING it. I can definitely see that we need more missionaries, there are so many areas jsut in our mission where president sabey could use more, but we just dont have that many to do what he could do with this mission. Its frustrating im sure.
It looks like speeding tickets run in the family! Hahaha im not the only lead foot! Hehe. Tine is lucky that i lead the way in tickets so that if she ever got one it wouldnt be as big of a deal to you and dad! It worked! :)
Oh no....you poor guys with no dryer!! What will you even do now?? Atleast you can dry your clothes inside where nobody can see, but we hang it on lines outside and of course they always get blown off into the mud and we've gotta rewash em. You would think by now we would of gotten clothes pins (yes i bought some for when i came but they are gone now).
Sorry i cant be there to help with the funerals!! Im coming very soon ha! As sad as it is to see anybody pass away, its so good to hear that she was about to go to the temple and worthy to go!! SHE DID IT! We should be happy because of that!!
So this week we have been preparing florence for her baptism which happened yesterday!! WOO! It was awesome. We combined our baptism with branch 2. It went really well, except that the power went off right when we got to the chapel so that means, no pump to fill the font.....dont worry, the young men in our branch are powerful!! They took a bunch of buckets and went across the road to fill them and carried them back (on their heads of course) until it was atleast passed the knees. It was still difficult to do the baptism cuz the water was so low, but it worked out! Also, more exciting news... This next sunday is the district conference and they are going to announce that they have applied and been accepted by the First Presidency to become a Stake!! Everyone was so excited because they have been working very hard at accomplishing that goal. Branch presidents have dont wonders in this area, sending 25 or so elders out on missions, sending so many people to the temple and of course this area is known for the amount of baptisms each month! These people are working so hard, they deserve this! President Sabey has been telling them that if they want to be a stake they need to start doing things as a stake and that they need to look like a stake, so they fired the custodians that are paid for by the church and started using members to clean the chapels and mow the grass and keep everything in order. Its been sweet! A few members of the area presidency and another general authority will be at the conference this weekend and im sure President Sabey will also be there. It will be an awesome conference! They will prepare tons of food to celebrate afterwards!! (fast sunday being the following week haha).
So i said the good news first, now for the not so good news....yesterday morning the assistants called me and told me that there will be some emergency transfers that will happen today (monday). Elder Speechly and Fawole left this morning. Speechly is going to Sunyane and Fawole to Sekondi (Takoradi). Everyone was kinda shocked and wondered what the heck is going on, but i guess its all because they have moved all of the foreign missionaires from Ivory Coast and made Togo/Benin their mission and they had too many missionaries so they sent the missionaries from that mission that were from Accra area to come to our mission. So we got 3 extra missionaries from their mission that showed up on saturday and now today they will be with their new companions in their new areas in their new mission. Kinda sad for them, no more learning or speaking french. We are getting Elders Gibson and Dodd (i think thats how you spell his name) in the place of Speechly and Fawole. They are on the way here right now...I hope they are ready to play some football because we are going to play against branch 1 and 2 today at 3! Itll be sweet especially cuz they talk a lot of smack and think us obrunees cant play! We'll show them! haha.
Well i am doing great and loving life, knock on wood i havent gotten malaria in 8 months or so!! YA!! Dont ask me if i sleep in a net or take my meds, i dont want to lie! :D I love you guys! Cant believe Feb is over already! Bring on March!
Love Elder Lehr
