Baptisms!

Hello Everyone!!!

Man I can't believe it's the 8th month of the year! Time flies like a potato at an FFA concert! This week was super awesome! It's one of those weeks where you just smile at everyone no matter how they're looking at you! Oh, well I guess that's how it is all the time. Anyways tons of miracles happened this week that strengthened my testimony. I hope I have told you about our investigator Robert.

Baptism of Robert (Guy with glasses) Samuel
 and his twin boys Phillip and James

Robert was the really intelligent 40 year old man who was referred to the church through his eye doctor. When we were teaching him he asked so many good questions that no one else would ask. Once we were teaching him about Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. As the discussion kept going we taught him how the bible isn't complete and how it says that "God repented" and stuff so he said. "Well, if it was incomplete, then God would have told Joseph Smith to correct it's errors." So on like the third lesson we taught him about Joseph Smith Translation which was awesome. He is also the only investigator I've ever seen who fills out the questions in the back of the pamphlets. We gave him the Testimony of Joseph Smith pamphlet which was the thing that interested him the most. He told us "Other churches just talk about how God spoke to them once and told them to teach something, but with Joseph Smith, his experience was documented specifically and it wasn't his only experience with heavenly messengers. Therefore his experience with God is unprecedented." (He's very intelligent.) As he was reading the Book of Mormon he was marking it and everything. At that point he told us that he knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon has really brought him closer to God. So we asked him if he wanted to be baptized but he didn't understand why he had to be baptized again. So the next lesson I brought my line of authority! (I knew it would come in handy!) So we explained him about it and he finally understood. Then he asked "Okay, so what's the book of Moses?" Then we taught him about the Pearl of Great Price. :) After that he was like "Okay, Joseph Smith couldn't make this up. I want to be baptized." So we said when would be a good day for you? Then he said "Sunday will be fine." After the lesson me and my companion did the cotton eyed joe and smiled for the rest of the day. Robert's testimony made me realize even more how true the church is and that Joseph Smith really was a prophet.

We also were able to prepare a guy named Samuel and his two boys who were prepared from the start. A member told them about the church, they came once and wanted to be baptized. So this week we had 4 baptisms! I was so happy and grateful that everything happened without something going wrong! We had to do 4 records, interviews, and clean and fill the font. But everything worked out and we're so happy! I'm so glad I wasn't transferred yet. My trainer goes home next week which is weird! Anyways I know that God prepares his children for the gospel and that if we try, he can prepare us to answer their questions. Thanks for all of your love and care towards me and all the missionaries! I wanna give a shout out to my sister Natalee for her birthday tomorrow!!! Wooo!

Love you all so much!

Twi of the Week!

Meh Bo! "I'll beat you!"

Thanks again! Have a great week!

-Elder Ballard

Our Chapel! Probably one of
 the nicest chapels in Ghana

Me with a palm leaf hat and a spoon being shoved in my mouth

A typical compound or "Family House"
 a whole family usually stays together along with
 extended family with different houses close to each other.