Dinner With a Crunch

Contacting Activity

Hello beloved family and friends!

          I hope that you all had a splendid week! Elder Kambwiri and I had a wonderful week.  The Lord truly poured out blessings upon us.  We were able to work very effectively with members in our ward and it yielded some great fruits.  On Sunday we were filled with joy to see five of our investigators come to worship with us!  Two of them are planning to be baptized this week, and the other three are quickly progressing in the Gospel. The two preparing for baptism are Sister Theresa (a 65 year old woman who has been coming to church for several months now) and Jennifer (a 15 year old girl whose brother is a member). They are both awesome and I can't wait to see them enter the waters of baptism and make those sacred covenants with God. I will let you know how it goes!

          Wednesday was a holiday in Ghana. It was African Union Day. I don't get it though. From what I have heard, Ghana is the only country in Africa that really celebrates it. Anyways, in honor of the holiday all of the missionaries from our zone had a mass contacting activity with a nearby branch. It was cool to see so many members and missionaries (around 60) going around and inviting people to learn more about the Savior. Afterwards we all met at the stake center to enjoy rice and banku! 

          Last night our bishop invited us over to his home. When I first met him I thought he was a pretty cold and somewhat rude man, but I have come to realize that he is really a very Christlike person. You just have to force him to be your friend. We had an awesome time playing with his adorable kids. His wife prepared us some delicious banku and okro stew. That's a very typical meal I have eaten many times before, but this time something was different. There was crab in the stew. Like whole crabs. And here in Ghana they don't take the meat out of the shell. You eat everything. It was dinner with a crunch! The food was all delicious though. I even gave some Starbursts to the kids and they were in love with them.

          What a blessing it is to participate in this great work, and to see the hand of God changing people's lives.  This Gospel truly does bring blessings that can't be found anywhere else.  Of course, Satan does his best to try and deceive us with his counterfeits.  He makes the things of this world seem like the only way to be happy, but those who have experienced the power of the Atonement know that nothing Satan throws our way can ever compare to the Savior's love.  It is only through Jesus Christ that we can enjoy true peace and happiness, both in this life and in the life to come.  What could be more fulfilling than to help others know "to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." 

          That is all I have time for this week! I love and miss all of you so much. Thanks for being awesome and inspiring me to keep going forward from week to week. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Radmall

 Beach Selfie

Kwadjo (the bishop's son)

Questions from Mom:

Q. Is there anything you learned or experienced in Ghana this week that was new or surprised you?

Not really. Eating an entire crab I guess.

Q. How many youth 12 to 18 are in your ward?

I think maybe around 20 who are active.

Q. When did you feel the spirit this week?

I really felt the Spirit as I partook of the sacrament and reflected upon the Savior's life. I love Sundays!

Q. Did you have more baptisms in Koforidua than you have in Nungua?

Not really. I had 4 in Koforidua and after this week I will already be up to 3 in Nungua after two months.

Q. Do you travel from Nungua to any villages to teach?

We have Sakumono village that we ride to, but it isn't the same as the villages in Koforidua. This one is more developed.

Q. Favorite scripture this week?

Joshua 1:9

Questions from TeriAnn:

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

At the beach today there was some random dude building a pile of dirt. Later we learned he was building a ramp he could run and do flips off of. He was quite impressive.

Q. How do you receive your spending money on your mission and what forms of payments do you use to pay for everything?

We have a debit card and we get cash at an ATM every four weeks. We pay for everything with cash. That is the only way to pay for things in Ghana.

Q. What did you do today for P-day?

We went and enjoyed the beach for a while. It was awesome.

Q. What is the biggest challenge missionaries in your area face?

We have some struggles working with our members. They have had some bad experiences with missionaries and most of them are very busy. 

Q. What is the bishop of the Ward in your area like?

He is a lawyer and he isn't super friendly, but he always follows through on what he says and he is so devoted to his family.

Q. What is the typical family size in the areas you have served?

Usually people have between 4-6 children. Every once in a while you run into a family with multiple wives and lots of children.

Questions from Christie:

Q. Who do you feel really accepted what you taught this week? 

Sister Theresa. I love that lady. She lives in a very tiny wooden hut with her daughter's family. She is so humble and so willing to live and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Q. What made you laugh this week? 

Our bishop's son Kwadjo. He is a one year old who loves to wear a giant helmet and ride his tricycle around the house. It is endless entertainment.

Q. What was the hardest part of your week? 

This week was pretty physically demanding, but God provided a way as always!

Q. Did you get rained on this week? 

Yes! It rained quite a bit at the beginning of the week, but nothing too bad.

Q. Did you eat dog this week (haha, Addie hasn't asked for a while)? 

Haha not this week. Only the crab.