Climbing Mountains

Hello wonderful friends and family!

          Once again, a huge thank you to all of you who take time to write to me and to pray for me. I so need these letters each week, and I assure you that your prayers are felt. What a blessing to have such great support. 

          This week was a hard one, but it was a good one and I have learned and grown a lot! The people of Ghana are such an example to me. They have so little, and yet they are always grateful to God for what He has blessed them with. They teach me that I need to be more grateful for what I have been given. This week I suffered due to an ingrown toenail. It is a rather painful experience that I don't recommend to anyone. But I removed the bad part and it's healing. 

          Brother Deny continues to progress and even came to church for his second time! I really think the guy has a desire to be baptized and I look forward to that day! We are teaching some great families that I think could become very strong and faithful in the church. Our branch needs more families like that. On Wednesday we went to Brother Joshua's Plantain farm thinking we were going to help. Instead he just gave us a huge thing of plantains (like a cross between bananas and potatoes) and sent us on our way. I love that guy. He continues to sacrifice each Sunday to travel half an hour to church. The work here is progressing and I am loving it!

          Today we are having a district activity. Pancakes in the morning followed by hiking up a mountain. I hiked up that same mountain on Saturday for a branch health walk. It is so sweet! It's just like being in a movie! This is like serious jungle.

          This week I am grateful for my awesome dad. A happy late birthday to him. He has always been there for me. He is so funny and fun to be around. I miss watching movies and going on road trips with him. He is so hard working and dedicated to his family. I love you dad!

          I am out of time for the day, so know that I love and miss you all. The Savior lives and is there for you! Have a wonderful week.

Love, Elder Radmall

Questions from TeriAnn

Q. What is your favorite Ghanaian treat? 

Rock cakes!

Q. What do the kids do for fun there?

Soccer, soccer, and more soccer.

Q, What do members do for activities there?

Food Bazaars, proselyting activities, and health walks are the activities I have experienced thus far.

Q. What was the weirdest thing you saw this week?

Giant colorful bugs! Sadly it's very difficult to take pictures of them.

Q. How often do people come from the mission office?

Not all that often. Our missionary couple, the Brown's, travel there almost every week though. 

Q. Does the mission president ever come your way? 

Yes! He came to one of our district councils and one of our branch sacrament meetings.

Questions from Christie

Q. What was the most inspiring part of your week? 

Definitely church on Sunday. I felt the Spirit so strongly as I pondered my Savior's love for me and for everyone.

Q. What has been the most frustrating part?

I have dealt with some sickness this week, which made me a little discouraged and down at times. Luckily my mom packed me lots of drugs!

Q. What are the kids like?

They are all adorable and love to call me white man in Twi. They also like to tell me I have gum on my backside. Haha

Questions from mom

Q. Why were you out without a flashlight when you fell in the ditch full of ants?? 

I forgot in the apartment.

Q. Why were you out after dark? 

We were walking home from eating at a members house.

Q. Is that safe??

Maybe not, but I felt pretty safe.

Music from Ghana

Another Week Passes

Williams family

Best friend - George

Food Bazaar

Dear Family and Friends,

          This week has been another wonderful one! Ghana is just so great. This week we worked a lot with a man named William and his wife and daughter. They are very humble and God fearing people. In the middle of one of our lessons Brother William said his family will join the Latter Day Saints. Sweetness!! They didn't make it to church, but I am very hopeful for their family. Brother Aaron didn't come to church again, so we will sadly have to push him back yet again. A bit sad, but I know he will come around in the end! This week brought a lot more moments of total exhaustion which lead to me feeling pretty down, but as I look back at my week those were the moments when I grew and learned the most. Always remember that God knows what He is doing!

          This week our district had a food bazaar! It was all Ghanaian dishes and I loved it! I had mostly rice dishes, but everything looked so good. I also saw my first ever wild monkey while traveling in a trotro! How cool is that?? Eating is still pretty much my biggest hobby here in Ghana. I think about food way more than I really should. 

          This week I am grateful for music. Music has brought me a lot of comfort and peace in some of my darker moments. Whenever you feel down,  just sing a hymn and tell me it doesn't make you feel at least a little better. 

          I don't have much time today, but know as always that I love and miss you all. I hope you continue to feel my prayers as I continue to feel yours. Have a super week!

Love, Elder Radmall

Questions from mom.

 1.     How is Deny coming along?

He is doing great! He sadly couldn't make it to church yesterday, but he did come to the food bazaar! He has great questions and wants to learn the truth.

2.    Why were the baptisms that were supposed to happen today postponed??

Because the people weren't able to come to church. They have to attend church at least three times before being baptized. That is the rule President Heid has set.

3.    Do they sell mousetraps in Ghana?  Or should I send you some of mine??

Haha they probably do, but I don't mind the little guy. He just shows up every now and again.

4.     What is an Arizona lemonade?

An absolutely delicious drink that is sold most places in America. It's hard to come by here in Ghana.

Questions from TeriAnn.

1. What was your favorite thing you ate this week? 

I had rice balls with delicious soup, and it's my new favorite!

2. What was your least favorite thing you ate this week? 

Beef that was pretty much like eating leather.

3. Have you been sick yet? 

Not really. Cross my fingers that it stays that way!

4. What is the weather like right now? 

Hot... that about sums it up. Haha it rains maybe once a week.

5. Have you been to any "nicer" home or areas there or is that not something you will see there? 

There are some nicer areas like around where we live. Not everyone lives in a tin shack!

6. How is sleeping in the mosquito net and do you get hot at night?

It's not all that bad. A bit annoying, but worth it. They have fans for everyone to sleep with at night, but I don't use mine. I get too cold with it on. I am pretty much the only missionary who doesn't use it actually.

Travels to Accra!

Dearest Family and Friends,

          It has been a busy and exhausting week full of travelling. Elder Grissignon and I were once again blessed to come in contact with a lot of amazing people. Ghana is such a great place! On Wednesday we needed to be in two places at once, so we went on splits with some ward members. Elder Grissignon was in Nkurakan while I went to Huhunya with Brother Emmanuel. It is definitely a confidence builder for me to go on splits. My companion is such a great teacher, and I often wonder how I will manage when he leaves. But as I went with Brother Emmanuel to teach to humble people of Huhunya, I was blessed to have my mouth filled as I opened it. That wouldn't have been possible without God sending the Spirit to reveal to me the things that I should say. On Thursday we went to a zone conference in Accra! I think there were three different zones there. President and Sister Heid addressed us. It was pretty fantastic. Then on Friday we traveled to Accra again so my companion could renew his non-citizen ID. I got to hang out with President Heid at the mission home. He and his wife are so kind and chill! He even gave me an Arizona Lemonade, which isn't cheap here in Ghana. Friday night we had a missionary fireside which was followed by a branch proselyting activity on Saturday morning. Sadly we didn't have a great turnout, but it was an awesome experience to witness those who participated uniting to share the light of the Gospel with others. We were planning on having some baptisms this Sunday, but they will sadly have to be postponed for one week. I am excited to get out and work this week!

          This week we got a new friend in our apartment! I call him Mighty Mouse. He shows up every now and again. He even jumped off of a shelf at one of the missionaries in our apartment. He is pretty great. Next to our apartment there is a big fancy church where they like to have all nighter preaching sessions. When I say preaching sessions, I mean that shout gibberish into a microphone with weird music playing for several hours. The first night I arrived in Koforidua, I thought it was some kind of Satan worship. There are a lot of churches here that do the same thing. Most of them are lead by "prophets". It is definitely different from America. One of the more interesting experiences I have on a pretty regular basis, is when we are teaching a woman and her child starts to cry, so naturally she begins breast feeding the child without any sort of covering. You try to continue with the lesson, but it is incredibly weird and makes me want to run away.

          This week I am grateful for milk. Here is Ghana dairy is scarce. You can't even buy real milk anywhere that I have seen. I just want milkshakes and ice cream and so much more that has milk in it. I have decided that I will drink nothing but milk for one week when I get home. Okay, that's a lie, but everyone enjoy something with milk for me this week!

          Anyways, I am so grateful for all of you and for the opportunity that God has given me to be a full-time missionary. The blessings have already been so apparent in my life. I see the light of my Savior filling myself and so many others each day. I pray that all of you may have that same light in your own lives so that you can "let your light so shine before man". I love you guys and hope that you have a wonderful week full of milk.

          Love, Elder Radmall

The BoM!!!

 Bryan made pancakes!

 Goats!

 Elder Radmall, Brother Emmanuel, Elder Grissignon

Dear family and friends,

          Can you believe it?? Tomorrow will mark two months that I have been out on my mission! I am already almost ten percent of the way through this wonderful journey. It has been another fantastic week. I don't know if I have ever worked harder in my whole life. This mission thing is so humbling and rewarding. This week we worked in a little town about fifteen minutes from Koforidua called Nkurakan (pronounced in-kra-kine). There are some sweet people there to share the Gospel with. We will start going there every Wednesday and then going to Huhunya every Friday. One of the men we met there was Deny. He was very accepting of our message and even came to church on Sunday. Then, on Sunday night, he unexpectedly called us. He let us know that he felt he needed to be baptized and to serve a mission... are you kidding me?!?! How cool is that? He is an awesome guy and we hope to baptize him in October. We also are looking forward to baptizing a man named Aaron this month. He is a golden investigator and usually gives an hour long sermon every time we meet. Haha he is the best. We had a very sweet experience where we were asked to bless a woman who has been suffering from some nasty blisters under her arm for several weeks. We found out a couple of days after giving the blessing that she was healed! The priesthood is such a wonderful blessing. I am glad it is on the earth today.

          I made pancakes from scratch, and they were delicious. Actually, they were some of the best pancakes I have ever had. I have decided that Coke and Pepsi are taking over the world. They are sold in every little shop here in Ghana. It's ridiculous. You can get a nice cold Fanta, but I can't even get a glass of real milk! Everybody in Ghana has a cell phone, which I found interesting. It is definitely a blessing to us as missionaries because it makes it so much easier to contact people throughout the day. A fun fact about Ghana, women here don't really shave at all. It is disgusting. I don't like seeing women with beards.

          This week I am grateful for the Book of Mormon. I have really been focusing on using it to help others in their conversion. As I've done so I have realized just how significant the Book of Mormon is in my own conversion. I can honestly say that without a knowledge that it is a true book, I would not be here today. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is the keystone to my own testimony. Several years ago as I started to read it for my first time, I quickly fell in love with the teachings that lie within. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and because I have a testimony of that book, I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He restored the true church of Jesus Christ to the earth today. I would encourage all of you to read it for yourselves. If you have already read it, read it again. It will bless your life.

          I hope that all of you are absolutely loving life. God is so good and blesses all of His children in so many ways. Mom and dad, I am glad you were able to get some sweet new carpets this week. Now I will have a styling house to come home to. TeriAnn thanks for getting me that milkshake. I hope you all had a blast with Mazie's baby blessing! I wish I could have been there in person, but I was sure there in spirit. I continue to pray for you all and I hope that this week is great for you. I love you all!

Love, Elder Radmall

Questions from TeriAnn

Who is your favorite member there? 

Sister Rosslyn and Sister Janet who do sooo much for us!

How is the bike riding going? 

Some days it's great, other days I don't like it at all, but I am getting some sweet calves!

Where do you grocery shop and what do you buy? 

At any little shop on the side of the road. I buy bread, eggs, rice, water, laundry soap, oats, and anything else I might need.

Do you do anything fun with your zone or district? 

We meet at the church and play games almost every p-day which is super!