dear family and friends!
wow, i sure am grateful to be able to hear from each of
you each week.
It really is a blessing to have this opportunity to
correspond so often, i always feel uplifted and inspired after my short time
emailing. Thank you for taking the time to write me and encourage me!
I love to hear from everyone!
We had some noteworthy activities this week that are
worth mentioning.
First, my companion and i were able to visit a village
this week which was so incredibly awesome! I think you have heard me rave about
how fun it is visiting villages, mainly because the people are so excited to
hear why you are there and what you have to say. most of the villagers are
uneducated and are mainly farmers. We get to take some members to translate and
just have a blast teaching everyone! Most of the time, they are mainly
interested in the new white guy in town, but ill use any help i can to teach
them.
There is a young adult recent convert in my branch who
referred us to her father who lives out in this village. he doesnt speak a lick
of english but is obviously very receptive to spiritual truths, not blinded by
worldly perceptions and opinions. He is such a meek and humble man, not
deceived by his own education and wisdom. When we teach him, he is able to
instantly recognize the doctrine we teach as true. it seems as though his conscience instantly and eagerly
consumes the doctrine we share with him. It is hard for us to help him
understand a need for a restoration or to help him understand the uniqueness of
our message, but he readily accepts our teaching of Christ and the Plan of
Salvation. We didnt have time to teach anyone in the village this past week
except this member's father, but we have planned to return this week and spend
the majority of the day first helping him with some small service project in
the morning and then teaching all those interested that afternoon. We are
pretty pumped for that day!
I should also include that many of the children find us
quite...peculiar. They literally live in a small village of less
than 100 people, thus they are a bit intimidated by our fair skin and strangely
colored eyes. I would be too! none the less, their parents enjoy watching their
scared children run and hide from us. sometimes they force the kicking and
screaming child to come and touch us. some days it is humorous, others it is
quite annoying and frustrating. i savor the experience because i know that
sure aint happening to me back in houston!
Another miracle happened this week. I recall mentioning a couple we began teaching a few weeks back due to a "wrong turn" we made out in the bush. We have been working hard to get the husband to take the lead and come to church. We were pretty much ecstatic when brother E walked into the chapel for the last ten minutes of sacrament meeting. who cares that his wife didnt make it, HE CAME! for the first time! and he loved the teaching. He was able to stay for all three meetings and come to find out, he is related to like 3 different families in our branch!? what the!? anyways, i suspect that he missed the traditional west african dancing/ drum beating/ holy ghost fire/ gift of tongues worship, but he expressed his deep appreciation for the teaching he received. To be honest, our church meetings really are quite borings comparatively... but every single investigator i have ever had come to church has commented how much they enjoy our way of teaching. We go to church to uplift each other and share testimonies, and to enrich our understanding of the gospel, not to dance and be merely entertained. I find it very interesting.
ANYWAYS, we are so much looking forward to the upcoming
weeks to see what will happen to this beautiful young couple. Their kids sure
love us, and we hope that maybe a bit of banana bread and few extra visits
from members/ relatives will ensure their attendance next week at church! pray
for them!
My companion and i have been so lucky to begin teaching a
young boy who has recently come to live with our branch president. The people
he was living with earlier were mistreating him and basically forcing him to be
their slave. He is a 12 year old boy who is super small, maybe 4 feet and less
than 100 lbs? Our branch president was able to "adopt" him and now the boy stays in their house and
helps the empty nesters. He is going to school as before he wasnt being
educated. He has also been attending church and has been very interested. This
week we were able to sit down with this young boy and
teach him who God is, explain to him his relationship to God and what God
expects from him. It was such a blessed experience for me! have you ever been
able to ask someone "who is God?" and have them reply, "I have
heard of him, but i dont know who he is.". I was so grateful to have been
able to then teach him about his Father in Heaven, about Jesus Christ and the
need for him to follow Christ's example. He is so excited to learn more! :)
Another interesting note: an elder in our apartment has a
pedometer and recently starting using it. we also went on an exchange and turns
out we take an average of roughly 20,000 steps per day. no idea what that is in
relative to normal life, but im hoping that its a lot because recently my
companion and i have been literally exhausted each and every day. like, i
think we almost fainted last night on our way home, walking in the dark.
I went on some exchanges with the new missionaries in our
district this week, that was a lot of fun. They reminded me how different the
culture is here in west africa and how different ghana is from home.
They also helped me recognize at how AWESOME i am getting
at basic twi!! that was such a huge boost to me. Now that i was alone and had
to take the lead in all twi situations, i was actually able to do it!
of course, not much more than normal greetings and simple
questions, but i recognized that all my efforts and prayers have been answered.
Im learning, small small! thank heavens! :)
Well, we have a blessed week to look forward to. Im
excited to see what the Lord has in store for my companion and I. We have been
finding success here a little and there a little, what more can we ask for :)
My studies recently have helped me understand how perfect and pure Christ's
love is for us, insomuch that he sacrificed anything and everything to enable
our eternal happiness. I have been seriously reflecting how deep my love is in
return. am i willing to do things I dont initially want to do for the people I
love, particularly Christ?
What am i willing to do to show my love for those around
me? I have been learning so much about true love as I have studied what Christ
has done for us and those He ministered to. I am grateful to have this
opportunity to have so much time devoted to studying the scriptures and
dedicating my entire life to follow their instructions. All too soon I am aware
that my life will be full of concerns and problems, so right now I am trying to
appreciate the simplicity and magnitude of my calling. how wonderful it is to
be a full time missionary.
If you're wondering whats happening to me this week, you
can rest assured that i am simply witnessing the Lord work in power and great
glory as He gathers the elect into this, His kingdom. Till next week!
love,
Elder Fairwell
ps now that i have found a computer that is free of
virus', i can upload more photos! and so hopefully ill start being able to send
some more visuals of my african paradise...
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