In the Service of Our Fellow Beings

 P-day hike last week.

Making coffee cake at a member's home.

Dear Family and Friends

I hope that you have all had a splendid week! This week the Lord put us to work. It was awesome! 

Over the last few weeks I have been praying for the Lord to help us find opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters.  This week, He answered those prayers.  We have a wonderful sister in our branch who has been a member of the church for just over a year.  She has a great family and she sacrifices so much to take care of them.  One of her children is severely crippled meaning that much of her time has to be spent caring for him.  She asked us if we could help her build a small kiosk by her home so that she could sell foodstuff while looking after her family.  On Wednesday we rallied a group of elders together and went to work.  Building a small kiosk out of scrap proved to be more of a challenge than we had originally anticipated, but with a lot of nails, sweat, and hard work we did it.  The spirit of service was definitely with us and I felt delighted to know that God had made us instruments in His hands to do some good in the world. 

On Saturday we were blessed with yet another opportunity to do some service. Our Relief Society President wants to lay cement around her entire house. We were invited to join the Elder's Quorum in filling the area with dirt before laying the cement. The EQ President and one other person turned up. I guess it was a good thing we went! We spent about 4 hours shoveling dirt into wheelbarrows and moving it to the house. I think I drank over 6 liters of water that day, and I probably sweat even more than that. I also have a really nice tan line. It is so humbling to think that the Savior gave His entire life to serving others including myself. How grateful I am for Him and His example.

General Conference was awesome! We went to our stake center on Sunday to watch a recording of the Saturday afternoon and Priesthood sessions. I loved all of the talks and learned something from each of them. Hearing President Monson was especially powerful for me. As he spoke about charity and loving others I thought of how he has done that his entire life. He is the perfect example of Christlike service and love. The Spirit testified to me that he is indeed God's living prophet. I look forward to reading the rest of the talks as they are made available. Another awesome moment from conference was in the Priesthood session when they announced who was directing the choir! At first I couldn't believe my ears. It was Mr. Taylor, my choir teacher. I felt like I was back in high school watching him lead the music. After conference we were invited to a members house to eat my favorite food. Rice balls and groundnut soup! It was a great Sabbath day. 

I am so grateful to be a full time missionary in the beautiful land of Ghana. My time is quickly running out. I am excited to come home to family and friends, but a part of my heart will always remain with the people here. I am eternally grateful for my family and for the joy and gladness they bring to my life. I am grateful that because of the Savior we can be together forever. I have a testimony that Jesus is the Christ. He lives and loves us all. His love is perfect and without bounds. No matter where we are or what we have done we are not beyond His reach. His arms are always outstretched, ready to receive any who will come unto Him. He offers healing and peace to all mankind. I love Him. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Radmall

 The service team.

Moving dirt.

Questions from Mom:

Q. Have you seen any new scorpions??  I read about scorpions in Ghana and most of them are not lethal!!

No new scorpions! We only saw a small snake in our compound this week. ;)

Q. How is Elder Beck feeling about leaving?

He is excited to see his family, but sad to leave so many good people behind. I will miss the guy. This is his last week! 

Q. What was your most spiritual moment this week?

I guess just listening to God's servants speak. I felt that their words were meant for me and my needs. 

Q. Who is your favorite member of the branch and why?

I don't think I have a favorite. There are too many good people here to pick a favorite. But Sister Josephine is pretty awesome. She is a sister who is married to a man from England. He served his mission here and then came back and married her in the Ghana temple. He works in the UK so he isn't around all that much. Josephine is just funny and kind. She is also a very good cook! 

Q. How is your back??

My back is great. A little sore from shoveling dirt, but otherwise fine. 

Q. Who can we pray for this week?

This week I would appreciate prayers on behalf of Sister Doris and her fiance. She is one of our investigators who desperately wants to be baptized, but her parents don't want her to marry the man she is living with. This week we sat down with her and her fiance and they are going to approach her parents again with the help of our branch president. 

 The finished kiosk.

Sister Antoinette with Elder Beck and Elder Radmall