It's Ghana Be a Great Two Years!: Led by the Spirit

Hello Everyone!!! I am so happy to have received all of your emails and support! This week went by very fast for me! It's crazy how fast time goes if you are working all the time! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying life! This is such a great time to live in! I am so glad that I get the chance to be a missionary! It is such a blessing to be able to learn and change by so many spiritual experiences!

I could finally send these pictures of Elder Tawodzera so you can see what he looks like! He's almost 23, but I’m taller than him which is nice :D

3rd companion, Elder Tawodzera from Zimbabwe

This week was pretty great! Elder Tawodzera is getting more used to things and is doing well. We went finding a lot this week so that we could teach more people which was fun. It's crazy how much the Lord guides you when you are a missionary. This week when our appointment failed and we didn't have anyone to see. I decided to just walk down a road in our area and find people. I felt like Nephi when he said "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (See 1 Nephi 4:6) So I kept walking not knowing where to go. I just took turns that I didn't take before and just kept moving forward. Then as we came across a more open area we saw a man who was sitting there looking at his phone. I started walking up to him not really knowing that I would talk to him. Then we introduced ourselves, but before we could tell him that we were missionaries. He said to us "Can I get you some chairs?" Then we said yes and waited for him to come. His name was Edward who is a Methodist. He is very intelligent. He told us that his father just passed away and that they were preparing for the funeral. Then we started the lesson on the Plan of Salvation. As we taught and shared scriptures, he said "Wow! I have never seen this before in my life." and was really interested. It is fun to teach him because he asks very hard questions that help us both learn from each other. Hopefully as we continue teaching, he will be able to come to church.

This experience just really showed me that as a missionary, you aren't really relying on your own knowledge. You literally have to give everything you have to the Lord. But as you do that, the spirit can be with you and guide you to see who God wants you to see. I still love to sing the hymn Lead Kindly Light. "Lead kindly light, amid encircling gloom, lead thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home. Lead thou me on! Take thou my feet, I do not ask to see, the distant scene, one step enough for me." This hymn has really helped me on my mission. Especially when I don't know what to do, or if I feel that I am lost. All we need to do is to trust in God and keep taking steps forward. As we do that, God will guide us to where he needs us to be. I have seen this principle work so many times in my life. I know that it is true! Another thing we learned in church is that a principle is something we can do ourselves, but an ordinance is something we need someone else to do for us. We can have our own faith, but we can't perform our own baptism. God is trying to show us that, we can't go to heaven by ourselves, we have to take that pride away from us. We have to learn to rely on Christ. Without relying on Christ, we become as the natural man, who is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam and will be forever and ever, UNLESS he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man, and becometh a Saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord. (See Mosiah 3:19) So that is my message today. We shouldn't rely on ourselves. As we do all that we can do, we should keep moving forward and let God lead us to where he needs us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

So there were some other funny things that happened this week. I had a dream that me and Tanner were called as office elders, but I couldn't drive stick, so Tanner had to drive everywhere. :D Also Elder Conduanne, is really funny, he is the Portuguese speaker from Mozambique. After he ate a fan ice. (Which is like a little packet of ice cream) He said "I wonder what the expiration date is." and started looking at the back. I'm so glad that I have hilarious roommates to help me keep laughing :)

Culture Corner: The whole Zone went to a member’s 1 year old baby's birthday party and it was crazy! They had a DJ and gave us so much food and soda. They even had a cake! Which is super rare here! But there was lots of people so we didn't get a piece... Just kidding. :) It is just crazy that people have such a big party for someone so young! The party must have cost so much money! But I guess it is just part of the culture!

Well Family and Friends. I love you so much and I am praying for all of you! Thank you so much for your support! You really do make me a better missionary and I am so grateful for that! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Ballard