You would respond by saying "yah-yea", which pretty much just means thank you, or i accept your compliment....something like that, it's hard to explain. Anyways, the mission has been going well! This last week was really really hard some days. I was just worn to the point and worked to the point that I couldn't talk to teach without tearing up. I just got really stressed out. I knew I needed to work, but I just felt worn to the ground, and like my companion is, he NEVER stops working. ...but anyways, things that happened this last week! :) To be honest, it just feels like the same things every week! Although, there's been some things I've been wanting to mention that I usually wouldn't because it seems so normal to me, but I'm sure you guys would like to hear! So first, we were riding down a street and there was a car coming our way, after the car passed us, we heard a loud "SMACK!" and looked back. The car hit a little goat (they're all little here though, pigmy goats) and we just saw the goat come tumbling out from behind the car. The driver just slowed down almost to a stop, but then just kept going. The goat got back up and started bleating and then just walked out of the road as if nothing happened. Then the other night we were riding bicycles when a bat hit my companion in the face. It was funny, he just yelled "Whoa!" and stopped on his bike. He said "a bat just hit me in the face. ouch, that hurt....ok, let's go". So many things here are like that. But no one here sees them as anything out of the normal. So we got to watch General Conference this last Sunday. Just the morning session, but man, President Monson is so funny! His facial expressions are hilarious!
Let's see, the pictures I sent are: a little kid that always comes running to me in the compound. Another little baby called "Kwesi" (sunday born, just like me!). Pictures from the Koforidua Games (me running). Our daily lunch (rice and stew with a hard-boiled egg that we just suck from a little plastic bag). \
So those couches and ironing board is actually another "lounge room" in the apartment. It's funny, when I took all those pictures of the apartment, everything looked a ton cleaner and nicer than it actually is, but all is well!
Today at 11:30 we went over to a members house for some Fufu. Man! I am beginning to just LOVE fufu. I think my stomach is twice the size it was when I came because I can eat just about twice as much. If i tried to eat what I did today at the beginning of my mission, I definitely would have thrown up, haha. So I'm trying to learn the Twi (chwee) more because the people accept you more when you know Twi, so I'm getting better. It's a very simple and unspecific language. We once asked someone (in english) "Who are you washing that backpack for?" and they replied "I am washing it for someone". They tell you that as if they just answered your question! haha! It's so funny. The old people here can be really funny too. They're very kind, especially the old women who just sit around and watch everything that goes by. They love it when we greet them and they always are happy to see us. Everyone always tells us, "oh, you are preaching the word of God. That is good, that is good. God will bless you". And most of the time when you ask an adult how they are doing they say "oh, by His grace [I'm fine]". They love to say that God does everything for them and that they are nothing. Which is a very humble outlook, but it can sometimes be hard when it comes to making commitments, because they say "oh, if God permits". If you want to add emphasis to what you're saying, you either say "Why!" after saying something like thank you. or just add an "Ohhhh" to the end of a word. Even with English words we do it. For example, we always say "Mornin'-ohh" or if we said thank you in Twi, we'd say "Medasi (thank you) why!" It's pretty sweet!
I love the letters from home and I miss times like seeing cars sliding all over the roads! I'd kill for a freezing cold day in Ghana! It's hot here, and sweating is what I do best! :) The scrapbooking sounds sweet! Yeah, I spent like 7 bucks on some candy, juice, and cookies! we enjoyed that day! I think I've finally just given into the Ghanaian way! I'm starting to speak their pigeon english instinctly, and I even teach like that. The work is hard, and I sometimes get to the point where I just want take a break, but I know that I'd regret it later if I did. I'm learning what"real" hard work is, and it's not easy! But it brings so much understanding and learning about who I am, what I'm capable of, and what I can do if I really put myself to the test. I think about the effort and endurance I made while I was at home and I wished i would have pushed myself until I couldn't go anymore, because here I've been pushed farther than I ever thought I could go, and I've learned sooooo much through that. Working hard has become a blessing, and I feel like the scriptures are all starting to make sense and the puzzle pieces are coming together! Serving a mission is so sweet, and I can see how it will be the best two years "for" my life (as some guy in general conference said). I'm growing faster that I even knew I could, and it's all a little overwhelming at times, but I think I'm in for a big change during these two years, and I don't want to miss any of it! I love it even though it's hard, which is a concept that I've never really understood, but I'm starting to get the feel for it now! :)
Questions! We actually got our temple date changed to the 17th, so next Thursday. Transfers for us are on December 7th, but after I'm finished training it will be very 6 weeks for transfers. The debit card is working well! I took out around 40 cedis, which I think I calculated was like 28 dollars. Yeah, the fufu tastes pretty much the same everywhere you go. The soups are the only things that change. Sometimes you get some nasty fish in your soup, and other times you get some delicious snails, or chicken! We ate a soup the other night that looked like green swamp water. It didn't taste too far from it either, haha. As far as comparing my mission to the "Best Two Years" movie, I think they were living in luxury! haha. There's not much of your regular comforts here, and whenever we teach people, we're usually sitting on wooden stools only a foot off the ground. Occasionally we get to sit in a plastic lawn chair though! :) The hard times that happen in the best two years, and on my mission, are kind of just something you have to experience to even realize what it really is like. But it's so worth every second. The work is going well, and I'm becoming a stronger person from it. I wish I had more opportunities to sing, but I don't really. I sing in our apartment during some free time before bed, just to the hymn tracks that are downloaded on the mp3 player, but I wish I got to sing more often. Elder Nembaware wants to sing with me in a sacrament meeting, so we might sing this sunday for sacrament meeting, we'll see how it goes. There's someone who already plays the piano on Sundays from the branch, so I just play during lunch when we go take our food and eat at the chapel, so that's nice :) All of the old people do live with their grandkids or just their kids, and they're always just lounging around and love giving their opinion and talking to everyone who will talk to them, they're all so sweet. The old men especially love telling you what you need to do and how you need to do it, haha. Anyways, my time is gone, so I'll see you guys next week! I love getting your letters! :) thanks! I love you Mom!
---Elder Littlefield
No comments:
Post a Comment