Mom, I am glad you had a great birthday on Saturday. I was thinking about you.
No one in the mission owns a clothing shop. If we want any mission shirts or anything, we have to travel to Kumasi to order it and then pick it up. I have a tie but it doesn't have my name on it because it came before I got here. It says "Helgesen's son". The sweater vest is not my thing, and it is really hot to wear here, so I don't wear it often, just zone activities. (We asked him about the sweater vest he's wearing in the picture and in some pictures that Sister Homles posted.)
 |
A terrific picture from Sister Holmes at their interviews
I love all the pictures she takes and posts. It is so nice to see his smile!! |
 |
| Elder Ashby's Fan Club |
We have access to butter, but it is expensive. I did find some chocolate frosting last week that I might use. (We sent him some frosting recipes for frosting using granulated sugar) I know that you can make an oven if you fill a large pot with water and then put a smaller one in it. Our cookware selection is not so good. We have 2 semi-decent frying pans, a ton of pots that are rarely used and a crappy spatula that breaks the egg yoke every time you try to flip it. If I want a fried egg, I just combine it in a bowl and pour it in. We have decided that pancake cakes work very well, so I think I will just do that. Thanks for the tips though. (We sent some tips on baking in a large pot on a rack of some kind. Without water though.) We ate our burgers this week, they were really good, they lasted about 3 or 4 days. We have 2 more packs of beef so we think we might make a chili next. I bought a microwave. One of our investigators sells used appliances and got a new supply. She wanted to give it to us for free but we insisted on giving her something so I gave her a 20. So I have a microwave for my entire mission if I want. At the end I will sell it to another missionary.
(I told him that if he has a microwave then he could microwave a cake. He said they have Tupperware that he could use.)
We have a few restaurants, mainly in Anyinam, one of our proselyting areas, but I don't know the cost. There are fried rice stands everywhere which are good and fufu and banku shops but we never go there because everyone gives you fufu. Other good food you can buy on the street are like roasted plantain which are kind of sweet in a bland sort of way. Close to the house is the Muslim lady who makes the fried yams and plantains. We go there for lunch a lot. I haven't recieved any packages yet. They could be in Kumasi or not here yet, I am not sure.
This week was kind of the same thing as usual except for meetings. We were shooting for 70 lessons, but only got 60, still really good but not our goal. On Wednesday, some of the zone was interviewed, not me. We talked with Sister Holmes while we waited for it to end. It killed our day but was fun. On Friday, we had a meeting with the Obuasi district presidency (the people over the branches, kind of like a stake presidency but if President Holmes is the equivalent of the stake pres, they are the middle guys). Elder Williams is one of the zone leaders here in Obuasi. We talked small.
I also got my hair cut
on Friday. My trimmers suck for real hair and the numbers aren't the same as a barber shop #2. So a small part of the side of my head is really short. I borrowed Helgesen's clippers to finish the rest. It looks good. I have pics if the internet is fast enough today.
 |
His first mission hair cut he gave himself.
(He didn't show a picture of the short side.) |
We watched the S
unday morning session of conference in English in church yesterday. It was cool. A lot of talks about sustaining the prophet and the Atonement. Today, we went for a hike up a mountain, or large hill if you prefer. It started out like the inside of Adams Canyon but ended up going straight up a hill.
(Adams Canyon is a popular hike at home) The hike was probably a couple of miles. 5 of us made it almost up to the top but decided that the grass was going to be to high to see anything and turned around. Hiking in mud and slick plants is different. We were slipping and sliding all down the hill. We had some good laughs though. It was fun. I decided that I really miss mountains. We ate fried fish, chicken and french fries afterward.
 |
| Hiking on his P-Day |
 |
| the jungle part of the hike |
 |
| View of Obuasi from the top of the hill |
We saw Jonah again. He was walking back from a store, still limping and in pain but a whole lot better. He said he is leaving again but I think he'll be back eventually.
I wish sometimes I could interpret dreams. Some of our investigators tell us of dreams they have about entering the church or with us in a dream but we do not understand just what it means. One investigator that we met just after I arrived and who I have only met once told us that she had a dream that I was lost and looking for the other elders at the church. She took me there but wouldn't go in. She has had other dreams like that before. They refuse to come to church because they always have a "program" at their church and "have" to attend.
I have had a kid from the Catholic Church whose mom is one of our investigators tell me that he won't believe any picture of Christ because there were no cameras then. I told him all pictures are guesses, or interpretations, and that in the Sistine Chapel there is a picture of God and Adam but that is a guess too. But he believes you can't see Jesus. I lead a lot of discussions. Lesson 1 I know like the back of my hand. Lesson 2 is long and sometimes raises a lot of questions. Lesson 3 is the make or break lesson for the baptism commitment.
Your guy's week sounds fun. Cordy sounds like she is having fun in school and work sounds fun for mom and dad.
I love you all, and hope you have a good week.
No comments:
Post a Comment