WHAT a week!!

where to start... it has been so wonderful!

Lets see, the beginning of this week was our zone training meeting, my last to direct as a zone leader because i found out saturday that I've BEEN CALLED TO TRAIN A NEW MISSIONARY!! :) so the beginning of this transfer i will be released as a zone leader and be a DL in an area called Ashtown, Kasoa. Im pumped! next transfer, after i've learned the area i will receive my new trainee.  TOO EASY!!! im not sure if we are receiving any new missionaries from the states that trasfer but ill letcha know when i learn more!

Anyways, Wednesday was very exciting because it rained for the first time in Kaneshie since November. Wow, it was such a wonderful experience! that evening, around 6 when the sun was going down, it looked as if dark clouds were forming but we brushed the thought of rain off since we hadnt seen rain for months... the power was out in our apartment, and it was exceptionally hot that night i might add, so as we went to bed around 10:30 and laid in the sweatiness of our room, we were very much grateful when huge gusts of wind suddenly came into the room. I was mostly asleep and only woke enough to be grateful for the sudden coolness but didnt think more of it. around 11:00, i somwhow awoke feeling a little wet and subconsciously determined that it must be raining and thought to myself, "wow, thats wonderful! and this rain is cooling me off!" upon which i immediately returned to my wonderful sleep... (my bed is next to the window.) Around 11:30 i awoke feeling a bit uncomfortably wet, to which i realized that it was RAINING! seriously raining! pouring! and that my entire body was SOAKED! haha not with sweat like usual but RAIN! haha so i immediately got up and tried to close the shutter like windows we have in my room, unfortunately most of them dont close all the way and thus i continued to get a nice refreshing spray of water for the next 45 minutes... i wont mention the part about cursing the house and the windows for not closing and ghana for getting me wet and the rain for coming at such a bad time and ECG for turnig the power off blah blah blah. Once the wind stopped blowing the rain into my bed, i was able to lay my towel down on my soaked sheets and sleep peacefully throught the night. at least i awoke refreshed!

Friday the 13th i went on a wonderful exchange with my buddy from south africa, elder santhos. it sure was a lot of fun and actually, we had wonderful success!

Valentines day was nothing special other than TEACHING 8 LESSONS like usual! too easy!

Sunday was wonderful, we baptized brother emmanuel and Juah-shim in knee deep water. unfortunately the man baptizing from the ward was somehow inexperienced, combined with the fear of water from the boys and the low level of water in the font, so it took about 10 tries each for them to get compltetely immured.. it was entertaining...? haha we were just glad all went well.

We also were so blessed to have 4 additional investigators besides the boys at church and 3 less active members we have been working with attend sacrament meeting. Thats the most i've had since coming to ghana! it was so great. It feels so rewarding to leave an area 'better than i found it' although i dont think it anything i've done that has made this area fruitful... its the Lords work and its so rewarding to be a part of it!  I was told by president hill that Ashtown was originally fruitful, but has recently had some few problems here and there which we discussed and hope to smooth em out... so i sure hope by the time i leave my last area it too will be stronger! life is good!

Lastly, today we spent the entire day killing, cleaning, roasting and eating a pig... it was my last shabang here in this zone with some other missoinaries in the zone plus an islander who spear headed the pig roasting. man, it was so incredibly tiring and fun, im so wonderfully happy and awfully full and sick feeling from the large portion of meat we ate. I havent enjoyed such incredibly tender and sweet meat for months... life is good again!

anyways, i think  my time is up... but i love this work. I have a testimony that the Lord is more involved in our lives than we are sometimes aware of. I believe and know that He watches over and cares about each decision we make and desires to lead us successfully home to him. I am sp grateful for the gospel plan he has given you and I to help us travel safely home, and i couldnt be happier in my assignment to share it with others. Let us all press on in our individual callings to move the Lord's work forward! till next weeek,

Elder Fairwell