Thanksgiving

Hey Everyone!!! 

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving week! I know I did! :D Thanks for all your warm emails! 

This week my companion went on an exchange to Accra so I was with Elder Roberts for two days! Then on Thursday I was determined to make my taste buds cry with happiness. So I splurged and bought a half of a chicken! Then I took out my dehydrated mashed potatoes, gravy, and chili! Let me tell you it was so fetching good! Me and Elder Roberts were so thankful! It's crazy that this is also my last Thanksgiving in Ghana as well! I'm glad I could make it memorable and festive :) 

As far as the rest of the week went, it went pretty good! I wish more lessons happened but it was still good. The highlight of the week for me personally other than Thanksgiving was Sunday! I guess it always is but this one was special!

We have been going to the district center these past few weeks so we haven't taken the sacrament for that long! So this Sunday was so wonderful. When I took the sacrament I really did feel a peace come over me. I know that the sacrament is so important. Also Christiana was confirmed! So I also got to see her take the sacrament her first time and smile (She said she didn't want to take it until she's baptized.) so it was wonderful to see her smile and be happy. Our mission is also focusing on service so we've been trying to serve everyone we see. I got to wash a member's dishes and fan their charcoal stove for them! I also got to fan for an investigator but it was by force because she didn't want me too. She wouldn't even let me put peanuts in a bag for her! Anyways I love doing service so much! Especially when it involves food...;)

This week it's a short letter with no pictures... So sorry for that. It's the cafe I'm in so yeah. Next week I'll make sure to send you great pictures.

Well everyone, I want you to know that God loves all of you. I want to tell you that I know that the sacrament is so important for us and that it really makes us clean again! I really felt that this week. I know that this gospel is true and that this is really Christ's church on earth. I love you all so much! On to December! 

Love you! 

-Elder Ballard 

A Baptism!

Hello Everyone! I love you! Okay, that about covers it. Have a good week! Just kidding.

Man this week was a cup of sunshine and a half! (Literally! It's super hot!) at the first of the week I was kinda sad and stressed, but In the end I was so happy and relieved! After like 2 years of being taught CHRISTIANA GOT BAPTIZED! It was so awesome! Nothing makes a missionary happier than a baptism of someone who you've been teaching for months! (Well, the exception of a sealing. But still!) Man when she got in the water I (quietly) high fived the missionaries around me because I couldn't hold it in. It was also super cool since we combined our branches together and had a combined baptism of 6 people! So it was just a great Sunday. Before the baptism we watched the Africa West Area broadcast which was sweet! Elder Dube (who was baptized by my mission president ((supposedly?)) spoke about replacing our father's traditions with gospel traditions. Then Elder Gary E. Stevenson spoke (I shook his hand before!) about how "True happiness doesn't come from circumstance, but by righteousness." so that really touched me to hear, because that's exactly how the saints here in West Africa are. They hardly have temporal things but they are leading in spiritual things! It was so cool to feel like I'm a part of them since I've lived like an African for so long. 

Other than that, my week was pretty normal :) Baptism kind of recharges your spiritual battery to find more people. Which I seriously needed! Everyday on mission my testimony has been strengthened! It's such a wonderful feeling! I am so happy to be a part of the building up of the kingdom. 

I just want to testify that this... is indeed... The Church of Jesus Christ. I know it, and I can now say that I can't deny it. 

I am so excited to call you guys next month! Plus happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I just want to tell you several things that I'm grateful for since I'm in Africa right now:

I am grateful for: Snow, grass, carpet, cheese, boneless meat, clothes dryer, Walmart, family, Doritos, bacon, potatoes, paved roads, constant electricity, and The Book of Mormon. Just to name a couple. :) Thanks so much for your love and care towards me! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week and may us all be grateful for what we have. I think I'll try and make a special dinner on Thursday :) 

Love you! 

Twi of the Month"

Ko Fa Turkey No Bra me di

"Go take turkey and bring it back so I can eat it"

-Elder Ballard 

Zone Conference

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! It was nice to hear from some of you!

This week was one of those crazy awesome fast weird weeks. So I'm excited to tell you all about it! I'll try to at least, my back space key is broken off and resembles a mini mechanical bull so we'll see how it goes :D 

First off on Tuesday we had a multi-zone zone conference which was amazing! Our mission president spoke along with his wife, plus the assistants! I also got to see some of my friends who I haven't seen in a while! We learned so many good things and we prepared fun skits again! So we did a fun one from the book of Joshua. Can you guess what I did? Yep I played the keyboard with Skyrim music again. I think we got the most laughs out of them which means we're pretty okay. ;) I love zone conferences! (pictures attached) 

The other fun thing we had was district conference! It was so fun to hear tons of people singing hymns again! Especially when they're all African! But the coolest thing is that Christiana came with Ebeneezer to both sessions! (Saturday and Sunday) Then we taught her on Sunday evening and it went so well! At the first of the lesson we all shared what we learned from conference. When Christiana shared hers she said "When I was at the conference I was just thinking 'Why haven't I been baptized yet? Why am I waiting?' It was like I was lost. I was even wondering if I could be baptized right after the meeting." 

We could just see how much she has changed and that she's finally been converted. It's amazing what can happen to someone if they go to a place where the spirit is. That's the happiest moment of being a missionary is seeing your labor producing fruit. After that we talked about the Sacrament and she totally understood it. The J-Dubs told her that only certain people can take the sacrament once a year. So we cleared up that lie of Satan :) I am so grateful that we can do something every week to help us to always remember Jesus Christ! I need to be better at not taking the sacrament for granted. Christiana will be baptized this week! So I'll send the pictures next week. 

I am so grateful to be here. My companion is getting used to the food and stuff really well. He's even speaking a little twi! I just know that God is so wonderful. One little adorable member baby named Rosemary has a Twi name which is Nyame Dea which means "God is good." I know that is true. I know that If we obey the commandments of God that we be happy. I can promise you that by experience.

I love you all so much and I can't believe November is half over! What the wacka?

Love you all! I hope all these pictures come through! Have a great week!

-Elder Keaton Ballard 

This is AFRICA!

Good Morning America! (It's 5:30 pm here) Thank you so so so much for all of your emails! they melted my heart a couple times in a good way! It's so good to hear from all of you and to know that you are doing great and that God loves you as much (if not more) than I do! 

 

We have soccer jerseys but we don't play...

Banku and groundnut soup- (an investigator fed us! Such nice people!)

This week was a super cool one! At least the end of it. At the beginning of the week it was a little slow because we kinda just talked to people and didn't really get many lessons. But the good thing is that we were able to show Christiana the Restoration video! You'd think that a regular missionary would just bring his handy-dandy-ipad (not notebook) to show it to someone. Well as we always say in this mission "This is AFRICA!" So we hauled our bulky DVD player along with my speaker to her place. It turned out really good! Except there's a church right in their compound that loves to scream I mean, worship with unknown tongues! For example yelling: "Habababababababa harrharhahabababa" over and over. Silly Geese. :D But I think while we were watching they were just giving a sermon while yelling our Savior's name into the mike as loud as they could, so it wasn't too bad. Bless their hearts :) But it really turned out good. Christiana was able to understand more about the translation of the Book of Mormon. During the lesson one of their friends Anthony (who won't even touch the Book of Mormon) came so we said "Fetch! (with ruff ruffman)" in our heads. But again it went really well. After the whole discussion my very well experienced companion invited her to be baptized perfectly, and she accepted! So she'll be baptized on the 19th of this month so we're super excited for her, I think she's finally seeing the truth and the fruits of this church and how it can bless her :)

At the end of the week we had a wonderful surprise! Our branch president handed us a stack of little papers which were referrals from members! He asked all the members to write down someone who they can show us to and they all did! Plus, get this, Christiana showed us three people! She's already like a missionary! It was so cool to see! We are also going to another area which is far from our main area to teach with our branch clerk! So in other words the work is moving forward in Suhum! I'm excited to see how this week will turn out! We also have a Zone conference this week which is exciting as well! 

This week was a huge testimony to me that God's work will never stop, there's no possible way it can stop. In these days we have been promised that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will never be lost again! What a comfort to know! I am so grateful for the gospel and for all the happiness it brings! The church is true and the book is blue! (at least the version we give out) Thanks so much for all your emails again! For those of you who are going through trials, God loves you even if you don't think so. Jesus Christ has felt what you are feeling. I can testify that in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

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Love you all! Have a great week! 

 

-Elder Keaton Ballard