First transfer is over

Hello everyone,

I had a dream last night that I was home and Dad was driving missionaries from Idaho around in a motor home and I was teaching them how to make toast on a stove.  They weren't understanding it.  Weird.  Anyway,  my first transfer is finished.   Today starts number 2.  There is around 16 or 17 transfers in 2 years.  I won't be transfered until after my training.  Helgesen will probably be transfered after this transfer and me the next one.  So I will be in Obuasi through the new year most likely.  I will be getting a hair cut this week.  It isn't really long, just shaggy, and I wear my hat all day so you can't tell.  But it is longer than I like so I will ask Helgesen to give me a haircut. 

     I don't think that the Africans really know about Halloween because I had to explain it to our neighbor.  (We asked him if people in Ghana celebrate Halloween or the Day of the Dead)  We will carve some watermelons.  I am still trying to decide what to carve.  I will send you a picture of them.

     Adams got his washer on Wednesday.  It is nice.  Better than hand washing.  The head scarf was just something a girl at a house we were at had with her that we were wearing. (He sent the selfie with him wearing it last week)  I don't think Obuasi really gets those winds.  (We asked about the hot dry desert winds)  We are the farthest South.  Tamale will defiantly.  Poor Elder Vause. (An elder in his MTC group) 

      Lizards are everywhere and I have never seen them get eaten.  Smashed, yes.  I'm sure that they do get eaten, or eat each other but I don't know. (He had mentioned seeing lots of lizards a few weeks ago so we asked if they get eaten for food)  That one was about a foot long.  That size is about the biggest I've seen. 

foot long lizard outside his window

     I am looking forward to those packages. (We sent birthday and Christmas packages to him this week)  If they say Christmas on it, Sister Holmes will hold it until then.  I got mail the other day.  All of Grandma's letters and some of your guy's and Jaimie's.  I think it takes about a month for mail to get here. 

    My week was pretty good.  I had specialized training on Wednesday.  I saw Lawson, Verdoni and Snow there, and 20 others that went to the Ghana MTC.  It was good, learned a lot and the food was good.  Last week we met a man named Temple of God.  No kidding.  Temple is an evangelist from Nigeria who lives in our area.  We taught him lesson one last week and he took us to all his friends and by the end was sharing scriptures.  On Tuesday, we met with him again and gave him a Book of Mormon.  We took him out contacting and met one woman.  He had been reading the pamphlet and taught most of lesson one.  He left out prophets of old times but we got it in at the end.  He even introduced Joseph Smith and would have kept going if I hadn't cut in and did the First Vision.  He even tried to give a baptism date, it was last weeks challenge but we fixed it.  The only problem was he kept saying "Church of Christ" and we would correct him.  By the end he had it right.  He came to church yesterday and I think he enjoyed it.  Another guy we met a few weeks ago is named Jonah.  He had a stroke a while ago and his right arm and leg were not so good.  We taught him lesson one and Book of Mormon before but felt that we should teach priesthood blessings instead of lesson 2 this time.  He had been going to different pastors to pray for him but was upset that they wanted money from him.  I got to give him a blessing that day.  It was cool.  Afterward, he told us that his uncle was coming to take him away for help with his leg.  I don't think that we will see him again, but if he gets better, I hope he keeps investigating the church.

     I promised that I would tell you guys my bathroom story.  A few weeks ago, our bathroom door knob got unaligned and wouldn't pull the latch and the keys were inside.  We have the best bathroom in the apartment so most of our shower supplies were inside and towels and music players.  It sucked.  Adams eventually rammed the door hard enough that the weak point in the door, right along the knob where the detail starts, cracked and folded enough for the latch to come out.  the door is still there, but it won't close unless you wedge the top part in the door jam.  At some point, we will probably have to pay for it, but there was nothing else we could do.  So that is our bathroom mishap.

I hope you guys have a good week.  Enjoy Halloween.  I love you guys a lot.

Love, Warner

We asked him during a little bit of email chatting how the language was coming.  He said, "I understand Twi small small." 

mahoya pa - I'm good

ahotefo - saint

asempricafro - missionary

medaci - thank you

baco -one

   (he was spelling these as close to their sound as he could)

He also said he had a recipe for us to try.  A rice and stew that is one of his favorites.

"The stew is made like pasta sauce, sort of.  It is made of tomato sauce, oil (vegetable oil is the only one we have here), any vegetable you want, like carrots yams or potatoes.  And a lot of pepper.  The small red pepper they call Pepe.  The spice level is around that of Francisco's (a favorite Mexican restaurant of his).  you get a bowl of rice and put it on top.  Add whatever seasoning you might like in it.  You usually put some sort of meat in the stew like chicken, goat or beef."   (We asked about proportions and he said they don't measure anything there)