Last post of August

Hello my friends, family, and loved ones of all ages! (Even you Bunny.)

This week I had several great experiences! I am coming to love Ghana more and more! I am so grateful that I can be on a mission! :D

So first off, we have had power all week! That's 7 days of power! Power is such a blessing because the water pump works, our showers, and our fans that help us sleep! So that has been great :) Me and my companion have had many differences, but this week we worked them out, which has made us even closer friends. He is such a great trainer and has helped me learn so much! Missions really do help with your future like nothing else! You learn how to cope with someone who has different opinions than you, you learn how to manage money and time, the list goes on and on! I am finally to the point where I am very comfortable with the food. I can eat it with my hands really good now ;) One lady who always feeds us on Sunday always puts meat from a cow's head in her soup which took a while to get used to, but now it's not bad! She says it's from America. (haha!) For breakfast we usually have what is called "Bread and Egg" where you cook an egg and put it between bread. Then you press the bread on the pan so it cooks around it. So that is pretty good :) They also have strawberry milk mix that I buy most of the time for like..28cents? haha it's crazy to think about the how much I would be spending in America. This week the thing I missed a lot we're movies! I really had the urge to watch Sword in the Stone because as we we're cleaning the church on Sunday I was mopping while singing the dishes song which later turned to "to and fro, stop and go." which was hilarious to me. I make myself laugh way too much, people probably think I'm weird head. But it's okay :)

I'm going to answer questions early today!

Dado: Sorry I haven't talked about our apartment much! I will send pictures when I get the card reader :) It is pretty nice for Ghana standards! We have a gas stove, a refrigerator, a microwave, an iron, mosquito nets, fans, and desks! We do have another companionship living with us! Elder Morris and Elder Omokoh! I think there are 5 rooms all together in the apartment so it is pretty nice. My area is like 20 minutes to Accra so it is pretty urban, but there is no huge buildings or anything, but it has a decent amount of cars!

Yeah I cook! We bought pancake mix and I had it for my first month, so now I can make pancakes! I can also make African spaghetti which I will have to show you guys when I get back because it's pretty great! My companion is a great guy, he just has a whole different culture than me but I'm glad I got him! When he plays soccer he screams like a little girl which makes me laugh :) He has actually been a member all of his life! So we sing primary songs together and things which is great fun!

Momma: Yeah my convert is such a stud! He says he wants to be involved in everything so he can learn! He even bought himself nice shoes, and we taught him to how to tie a tie last week! He hopes they call him to be a teacher so he can learn. What a humble guy! I also gave out one book mark to a recent convert and a big picture to Obed. Also I don't need a stain pen :) I think the things you sent are good. Tell bro Scott thanks! These flip flops break so easy down here and I flippin loved those we bought from him! (see what I did there?) ;)

Redge: Happy Birthday Bro! You are now the age of my convert! So I’ll tell him that :D Your subject of your email made me laugh dang hard by the way. You should send me a picture of that tree!

Shandee: Shannee! Thanks for your email! Your drawings amaze me! Thanks for everything you said! :D

So I had a very spiritual experience this week. We we're teaching a less active member who had a brother who hated the church. He also had his only child die at child birth, so I had the opportunity to share about Carver, and about how Austin and Karen went through much much heartache, but because of the gospel, they are able to have more vision and comfort. But as I was bearing my testimony, and teaching him, I started being in tears, which is pretty rare for me since I do it so often now. But something touched me. That night, I realized that Carver is doing the same work I am doing! Just on the other side of the veil! I also felt that the reason I felt the spirit so strongly, is because Carver was testifying with me. Grandpa and Grandma Ballard we're testifying with me that the church is true, and that the Plan of Salvation is true. From that night on I will always remember that Carver and Grandma and Grandpa are testifying with me. This gives me so much comfort and still makes me a little teary. But I would like to testify that I know that the Plan of Salvation is true and real. I have felt it's truthfulness so much and I know that if we obey all of God's commandments that we will be blessed with eternal families, which is the greatest gift known in eternity. I know that what I am doing is right. I know that God knows. I know that Christ loves me and all of you. He is our master and our king, and our Brother. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Good news...and Bad...

Hello Family and Friends and Bunny!

Thank you so much for your emails! I even received your letters this week! If you want to make a missionary's day just send letters! Thanks Teag for telling me about scout camp! You looked like you were having fun in that hammock! Brooke! thanks for your letter too, it was great! Shandee! Good night you are so good at drawing! Thanks for drawing Ike for me and for everything you said! Thanks for the pictures of the fam and everything! It's nice to see your faces!  

This week was the most interesting week of my life! There was a really bad event, then a really good event. So before I share the bad event I just want to tell everyone not to worry and to not freak out. :D When we went to zone training we went and bought pizza which was great! (not even close to normal pizza but still dang good!) when we came home, we found our bags and books scattered everywhere! We were robbed.

But before you freak out, just know everything is okay and we are all safe and everything is secure, and it is very rare. My first thought was to look into stuff and re organize everything but we had to leave it so people could take pictures of the evidence. So we went out to teach that day, but we were not focused at all, we just kept talking about the robbery. When we finally got home we looked through everything. I feel really bad for one of the other elders because they stole a whole hard drive from them full of pictures of a year being on his mission! They stole some expensive jewelry from my companion who bought it for his mom which was really sad. But for me I was pretty lucky because I didn't have much pictures but they stole my head lamp, my extra memory card, my card reader (so I can't send pictures until I get a new one.), my bleach..? and of course they stole my beloved flip flops! Agh! But everything was okay, we ended up cracking tons of jokes about it. Some of the things they stole were really dumb, they stole our powdered milk, and all of the hot chocolate mix in the apartment. So that was pretty funny :)

So I hope you aren't freaking out, it is super rare to be robbed and everyone is fine. :) But because of that trial God blessed us with success and a Baptism! I got to Baptize Obed on Saturday! He is really cool and fits in to the church so well. When he came to church on Sunday he was asking questions and giving comments, he really loves the gospel! That moment he entered the water was such a special experience for me. When we were changing he said simply "Elda Ballad, that was very good." That baptism helped me so much and gave me so much comfort. I love this gospel so much, it can change lives, and I get to be a part of it! I know that Christ and God are watching over his missionaries and that the Spirit testifies of the truth we are teaching! I know that God lives, I know that God blesses us through trials. I know that if we push forward with a steadfastness in Christ we shall not fall. I am learning so much, I know that my mission will shape me into the person God wants me to be!

Culture Fact: I found out some slang they use! When people are really emphasizing something they put an O on the end of the word! Like I almost hit a guy with my bike and he said "Oh, Sorry-o!" They also say "Chawley" (like Charlie in a British accent.) which means "Friend" but they use it in the place of "I tell you what." like if they say "I saw a car yesterday that was red, Chawley it was nice!"

Questions answered: Austin, I really like their money here! The bills are called cedis (like saying CDs) and the coins are called pecweis (pay-sway-z) they have a 1 cedi coin as well as a bill. They also have 2 5 10 20 50 cedi bills which are different colors and sizes, so it is super easy to take the right bill out of your wallet! The value of 1 cedi is 33.5 cents. So everything here is super super cheap. Like I can buy a loaf of bread for a dollar basically. So that's always nice. Our sub for the month is 360 cedis so it's a good amount if we want to buy extra fruit or treats :D

Momma: I am super used to the food now, but somethings are so spicy I can feel my ears burning!  Something new I had was yam (which is just like a boiled potato without mashing it,) and soup that had fish mixed with tomatoes which was very nice, and of course we ate it with our hands :) But don't worry they have us wash our hands first. Also I can eat waaay more food that I used to, I ate a whole pizza by myself which has never been done by me. (probably cause this pizza was expensive and I didn't want to waste it.) Or I ate an egg sandwich that was the size of my head. But I am exercising and biking everyday so I think I will be okay with weight for now :) Also I wore my long sleeved shirt last Sunday and about died so I won't be using that shirt again on a normal day.

Okay family and friends I love you! Congrats Logan on your call! I knew that you would be learning a language! Also Elder Kidd is in my district now so he is Kyson's cousin which is cool. Sorry for no pictures... :'( good heavens lovey I’ve been nabbed! have a great week! I love you all! I am doing fine and am learning so much!

Before I go I have another cool experience! This man stopped us on our bikes, his name is Stelecon. He said that he has always wondered about our church and that something touched his heart to talk to us! The next day we taught him and he believed everything! Even though we only taught him the first lesson, he said that he wanted to go on a mission! He came to church yesterday and loved it! It's so cool that God prepares people to receive the gospel like that! Anyways I’ll keep you updated about him! :)

I love being a Missionary!

-Elder Ballard 

Best week yet!

Hello Family!

Thank you so much for your wonderful emails, advice, support, and spiritual thoughts! They help me be rejuvenated for the next week! Something i found is that days are pretty long, but holy fetch weeks go by fast!

 I learned more this week than any other time in my mission so far! On Tuesday when my companion was training me he said something that was very bold and hurt a little, but it changed my whole view on my mission. He said "Companion (African Elders always call their companions that instead of "Elder") there is something that you haven't realized. That is, that you are a servant of the lord. You have to start being serious. No more just going by, you aren't a boy anymore, that ended when you came on a mission. Now you are a man, and need to start acting like one."

So when he told me this I was hurt at first, but everything changed after he said that. I really was serious when I was teaching and when I did role plays.  I listened more to my investigators, and finally realized that I am called by God to represent Christ.

This realization affected my whole week for the better. I stopped being shy around people! One day we got 6 new investigators because we just went out to find people! Also something that was very exciting for me was that 7 of our investigators came to church! seven! We invited 15, but still! Austin you are right that getting people to church brings joy! It makes you feel that your whole week payed off. Also one of the first investigators I met (His name is Obed) came for his third time yesterday and is getting baptized by me this week! He's the one in the picture! Obed is one of the most humblest people I know! He says that he loves the Book of Mormon so much and reads it before work and after work before bed! He is such a great guy and I am honored to be the one to baptize him! I will send you pictures of us in the baptismal clothes next week.

Mom guessed it, we did do the Mormon Helping Hands service project on Saturday! We all wore vests and went to the beach to clean up garbage or "rubbish" as people call it here. Basically what we did was gathered like 25 bags full of garbage into a pile and burned it. Woot! While the rubbish was burning we went farther down the beach where we went last week. One thing that was very interesting to me about the fisherman is that they take a fishing net attached to a rope  2 miles out into the ocean. Then have lots of people pull on the rope all day until it comes to shore full of fish. So when we went up to the beach we saw these fisherman and people pulling on the ropes. So about half of us decided to help them pull. It was fun to see the people's faces as a white man came to help pull. Some of the people were scared that I hurt my hands because they turned red, but I just had to tell them "It's normal, it's normal!" :) what an adventure! That is me pulling on the rope in the second picture.

So a funny thing that happened this week was that we were waiting for an investigator to come in her house so I kind of laid back and closed my eyes. I didn't think it was possible to be tired all the time! Basically what happened is I fell asleep right before she came, and my companion just let me sleep while he taught! How embarrassing!

Another funny thing is that I have been pretty good at learning phrases in 2 local languages (Twi and Ga) mostly just greetings but people are really surprised that can say them haha. So one time we were teaching an investigator who sells drinks, and so a drink truck came up and was restocking the shop. One man in the back of the truck said "Hey Brofonu! How are you?" (brofonu means white man in Ga) So i said "I'm fine! Toyoteh!(which means how are you)" then he said "I'm fine!" not realizing I said it in Ga. Then he realized and said "Queh!!" which is what people say when they are surprised, so it's just fun to surprise people. :)

Sometimes I just think about random things and I just bust out laughing! I thought about Me and Redge's recording where he says "I'm Phil!" and I laughed so hard. Or I just think of movies like it's a wonderful life when Mary's mom is shocked about them kissing and runs off. Little things like that :)

Culture Fact: Africans use their middle fingers to point. This was kind of weird to me at first but I just learned to accept it and move on, same with the other culture shocks.

Questions answered:

Dad:  in that one picture of my ward, he isn't on stilts he is just really tall.

Redge: Yeah I send emails in a cafe, there’s a generator outside running right now so that there's power. Thanks for the advice about uploading photos!

Austin: People don't really use slang unless it is in their own language. But some say Queh or English swear words... but yeah maybe I will learn more as time goes by.

Great Cherokee costumes Dylan and Nat!

By the way the other picture is me about to cook some Idomen or Ramen. They have such huge packs here!

I love you family! Thanks for everything! Hope this week is better for you! I am getting better and better every day! Here's a scripture I found! 3 Nephi:28 9-10

Have a great week!

-Elder Ballard

The Danger of Biking

Hello everyone!

I can't  believe I've already been out for a month! This week was probably the hardest week yet but I have learned so much! This week I really focused on listening to people as we teach and has helped me a ton with teaching because if you know how they are feeling the spirit can come in and help you know what to say! Anyways the hardest day this week was Friday. Almost all of our appointments fell through and it just wasn't a good day. The worst part of it thought was when we were biking home really fast and my bike petals shifted way bad. So my shoe went right in between the front wheel and the tire brace. Being the tanks they are, my shoe stopped the wheel instantly, acting as a very powerful front brake... Next thing I feel is my back wheel fly over my head! I did a front flip on a bike! :D I landed on my knees and hands which was good. It was such a hard hit though that I thought I broke my wrists! But they were fine, just a little sore :) Also when I flew my pamphlets flew everywhere so that was funny. This one woman who saw me yelled "Ayee!" But as I started riding again everyone who saw me kept repeating "sorry, sorry." Again I know that God protects his missionaries haha. At the time I didn't think it was funny, but now I wish that I got it on video because I don't even know what happened! So that was the hardest day, but with trials there are always blessings!

The next day in the morning I felt so sore, and I just didn't think I could go on strong. But since the power has been on for like 6 days (which is a miracle in itself!) I got to shower without a bucket which is always nice. We taught lots of people and I felt the spirit really strong!

So I just wrote a whole story but the internet just deleted it so I will try to tell you another time. :(

Funny things I thought of this week:

There are tons of roosters here so whenever one crows I think of Nat quoting Dr. Marvin "Cock...A Doodle DOO!"

The music here is like the same beat and style of "Angel" by shaggy and Raymond but once I heard someone playing "Time after Time." the song off of Napoleon Dynamite during the dance scene which was just weird because the music didn't fit the scenery at all haha.

  

Austin: The toilets are nice in the missionary apartments, but there are just sewage gutters everywhere where people just urinate into whenever they want.

And also mom my iPod has no songs on it so that's a bummer.

I'll try to answer your questions better next week. I am just scared to press "Save Draft" again.

Fun Ghana Fact: It is custom to greet people no matter what if you pass them when you are walking. Otherwise it is rude, the people here are so nice!

I love you family and friends! Thanks so much for your support and love! It is so nice getting all the spiritual thoughts from you!

-Elder Ballard

Christiansborg Zone

Pday on the beach

Ice cream, Pineapples and Oreos

Hello everyone!!! Thanks so much for your emails and everything! They give me so much strength! By the way I am typing on the stickiest keyboard I have ever seen :O This week I really realized that missions are hard! You can't just be happy all the time! But that's how life is, we go through trials and they make us stronger! Even though it has been hard, I have felt Christ's love so much! This week we committed 9 people to come to church but only 3 came which is still okay, but as a missionary you want people to progress in the gospel so bad!

Fried rice..with a chicken leg!  I miss meat!

Anyways, my biggest trial this week was homesickness, not just of people, but of food. I wanted mashed potatoes and gravy so bad, or even a PB&J! Count your many blessings Teag and Brig :) Even though it is hard, everyday i am getting more used to it!


The kids always keep my spirit alive! Teaching the gospel is such a   privilege! People hear are so accepting because almost everyone is a Christian! Everyone is so nice as well! When people don't have anything, they make sure you have enough, it's so crazy! Oh by the way i kind of dropped the accent because they can understand me if i just talk slow... So I must have sounded like a moron for the first week. (White guys talking like black guys sound like idiots.) So I'm going to keep this letter short so i can send pictures, but everything is fine, don't worry about me :)

White pineapple (celestial pineapple!)

 Every letter I send I will give you a fun fact about the culture. Fun Fact: Garbage trucks here play ice cream truck music so that people know it is coming. When I first heard it, i was like "Ice cream!" Then I looked and it was a garbage truck ;P it kinda cracked me up though :)

So when you see the picture of me holding the pineapple read 1 Nephi 8:11-12


 Thanks so much family and friends! Your emails help me so much! Hurrah for Israel! -Elder
Ballard

p.s.  This American elder showed me where I can get pancake mix and peanut butter! Yes! :D here's some answers or more info about my mission. So about the power: The power is on for like a day, then it turns off for a day. So I get to shower with a bucket when it's off which is so cold but an adventure! Haha :) New food I had: I had fried rice this week which was so good! But it's a little pricey so my companion just wants to get fufu, so i'm like "okay.." just kidding haha I sweat so much holy fetch... I know I said I didn't sweat but holy cow... I'm like soaked :O I bike everyday and I feel like I'm in shape! So my legs are gonna be buff probably! just kidding. I haven't helped with music in church yet, they already have a musician, but people aren't really good at keeping time or tone here so whatever haha.

Can you find the cream in the Oreo cookie? This is the ward I go to! It is so cool to see that the church doesn't change anywhere! Whenever i see a white person I'm like whoa! Haha, a missionary friend named Elder Akisi said "God is an artist. You know why?" I said no. then he said "Because he made you white and me black." :) God truly loves all his Children! :D the church is true family! I know it! I love you!