Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is generally quite a bit different for missionaries in Ghana than it is back home. Back home we usually eat a big meal and just hang around with family... well here, we went out and proselyted because they dont actually celebrate Thanksgiving. Elder Fotu, a few other Elders and I lucked out. There are a few members in some of the wards close by that are from the States that were celebrating with us and decided to invite us over. So we had the typical American Thanksgiving feast. It was amazing. (I will attach some pictures.) 

The other main event that happened this week was that we had the chance to go and do the missionary Christmas music devotional in Adenta (my first area). That was awesome because I was able to see a whole bunch more of my members from my old ward. We sang and then went over and visited a couple on our way back to our area. It was an awesome time. 

Reflecting back this week, I have to realize how thankful I am for everything that i have because of thanksgiving.... I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to be able to come to Ghana. I am grateful for the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the chance that I have to share it with others. I am grateful for my family and friends and the support that they give me in my life. Most of all, I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the ability that is given to me through it, to be able to be forgiven of my sins and shortcomings. I know that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church here on the earth. I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you and miss you all.

Love,

Elder Williams

Turkey bowl (good ole American football), Rootbeer, and Mountain Dew!!

Well, It is another Monday! I hope you all have had a great week?

This week wasn't too eventful! I got my xray results back and my wrist is not broken (thank goodness) and it has started hurting less and less everyday! Well, the Christmas choir that we have been practicing for had its first performance. We sounded awesome!! My favorite song that we did was a small mens choir version of Carol of the Bells... we did it a cappella and it sounded amazing! That was a ton of fun! 

On the way back from our practice in Accra I was told about an American store that sold some sodas that you cant find on the streets here, so we stopped by and I stocked up on some A&W rootbeer,

Mug rootbeer, and some good old Mtn. Dew!! 

Today was also super fun! We had a Turkey Bowl (American Football tournament) and so I finally got to play some football! My team took second in a triple over time in the championship game... but I did make a touchdown catch to tie the game in the last minute!

So that was pretty cool! But we are going to have a busy week this next week, so I will be sure to take some pictures!! 

Have a great week everyone!

(Here are some pictures from this week and last... sorry I couldnt get my camera to work last week)

Love,

Elder Williams

subject headings are for chumps.... (or, spiders, responsibilities and car clippings...)

Well, It is Monday again! That means all of you lucky people get another email from me!! 

So this week was pretty exciting! Not really for missionary work, but it was exciting in some other ways! 

Tuesday wasnt very exciting, we went and attended District council in the morning and then tried to deep clean our apartment (we have an ant infestation, so we have been trying to get rid of those..)

Wednesday we went out and did some contacting and met a guy named Freeman... He is a super cool guy that actually lives out of our area, so we wont get to teach him again, but he was super interested in learning about the Book of Mormon! So we got to refer him to some other Elders....

(this is where the excitment comes into play...) 

Thursday was the day for interviews with President Keyes... My interview was really different this time... rather than asking about me like he usually does, he was asking me about my companion and how he is doing... This got me thinking later that night that I need to keep putting others first... like more than I am right now... one thing that President said that I liked was "Elder Fotu is now your responsibility... The Lord trusts you enough to put his mission in your hands"... that was pretty scary/cool/weird to hear... on our way back to our area, I had a car drive up and clip my right wrist! that was pretty cool!

Friday I woke up and my wrist was swollen and I couldnt bend it without it hurting... so we ended up going to the mission nurse to have her take a look at it... it turns out that i may have broken it while playing soccer a while back and the car just broke it some more... I dont have the xray report yet, but that is what it is seeming like! 

Saturday we had our Christmas choir practice and afterwards we went to the Accra mall for lunch. So I got to eat at Burger King! It is amazing how similar it seems to back home... but in a good way.. 

Sunday after church, our bishop invited us over for lunch/dinner... and his wife is from Montana, so they cooked us up some nice "American" food for dinner... so we enjoyed some roast beef with roast carrots, onions, potatoes, some rolls, some cool whip jello salad with oranges in it, some deviled eggs, and she even attempted to make some tongan watermelon drink for Elder Fotu... That was a super good meal.... 

Monday (today) Elder Olsen, a few other elders and I went up and hiked to some water falls in Aburi. It is super fun to go hiking through the jungle... we didnt see any snakes or any super cool animals.... but we saw some massive spiders (like 5-6 inches) some super cool spiderwebs that went through a group of trees, a whole ton of lizards, and a bunch of snails... on our way back it started pouring rain... so we rushed back and Elder Fotu and all of his Tongan Friends had made some Umu for us (where they bury some charcoal and the meat) so we enjoyed some really nice chicken...

Well... I hope this is a good enough weekly report for you all! Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Williams

Halloween, Fresh from the MTC, and a Brand New Area to Top it All Off!!

So like i said last week, This week was transfer week!

So on Halloween day, all 4 people in my apartment moved out.

Elder Maddox and Elder Nnana got a new apartment in their area, Elder Shaw

got sent out to the bush, and I got my brand new companion!! Straight from the MTC! His name is Elder Fotu and he is from Tonga! He is about 2 inches shorter than me and about 30 lbs heavier... so we are some pretty big dudes walking around Adjei Kojo (which just so happens to be the most dangerous area in our mission.) but hey, we are pretty intimidating (or so I think!)

So we moved into the new apartment in Adjei Kojo. It just so happens to be the biggest apartment in the mission... but, it only has My companion and I in it. So it feels a bit empty. But we are enjoying! The ward is pretty interesting. The bishop attended Utah State University where he met his wife from Montana! they seem like really cool people and I cant wait to get to know them a little bit better!

Elder Fotu is a super cool but super quiet guy. He is just learning English (he speaks Tongan) but he is super funny when he does open his mouth. He likes to point out scriptures out of the Book of Mormon out of context to me just to make me laugh sometimes... so yeah... he is funny... He had his first ball of banku this week... I will send a picture...

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Williams