14 November 2016

14 November 2016

Well first I think that it is appropriate that we take some time to look back to what was going on 2 years ago on this very day. I was on my way to Ghana! Who would have ever thought that I would be sent here. But over these past two years I have come to know that I have been sent here for a reason by a prophet who receives true revelation from God. So this is where I am supposed to be at this time.  

Heres a few things about my week:

-We met a lady a few weeks ago on the street and just greeted her then and tried to set up an appointment with her. Because she was in a hurry, we weren't able to do so. We didn't get her name, where she lived, her number, or anything. The only thing that we knew about her was she lived in the area. We went back to the area a few days ago and I just couldn't stop thinking about this lady. I knew that we had to find her. So we prayed and started to hunt her down. We knocked on one door and no one answered. Then, we went to another apartment house. I knocked on the door and someone came out. Immediately the words "Is Esther here?" came out of my mouth. She said yeah and pointed to her door. Her name is Esther! How in the world did we find this lady??! We taught her. She may or may not be serious but what a tender mercy it is that we found her!

-I went on an exchange with Elder Ngoy two days in a row. One thing that I learned from him is how important it is to focus on the restoration and helping people gain a testimony about that and the Book of Mormon. Because that is not what he was doing! He just was teaching about the organization of Jesus Christs church by telling each person Christ called apostles and 70 others. And then he'd say, "If you find a church like this will you Join?" Every lesson we had in his area was like that. I feel like you should go a different way about teaching than he did. 

-The week was Jam packed full of lessons. Too many to even say because other missionaries will just get jealous.

-We worshiped in the new chapel this week. I didnt bear my testimony because there were too many people trying to get up to the pulpit. Everyone was so happy and it was awesome. The only problem with the chapel is that the investigators class is closest to the loud church thats right next to the chapel. All I could here was about 5 people in the church screaming "Holy Ghost Fire! Holy Ghost Fire!" over and over again. Its all good though. We were still able to learn. 

-And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men.

Thanks for everything. I love you guys. I love this work. The church is true. 

Elder Green 

8 August 2016

Hiiiiiii

I be a very busy missionary now! Lots of far places to ride the bike, many people to see, tons of distractions, limited energy. 

This week was another exciting week for me and Elder Babira. We had tons planned for this week. But unfortunately we werent able to accomplish everything because of what happened on wednesday. Our land lord decided to do lots of work inside our house on wednesday. We tried to fight back with him and insisted that we couldnt have them work today but he won. We couldnt proselyte the whole day because the workers were inside the house working the whole day. So i just studied and slept and called investigators and cleaned. 

Thursday the mission sent some workers to fix the toilet. The plumber was sooo late getting to our house. So half the day on thursday was wasted inside the house. 

Despite all the setbacks, we were able to have some success. We had a great lesson with a lady and her son named Dora and Juju. They came to church for the second week in a row and they came like 30 mins early! Most of my investigators arrive at church 40 mins late. So its a good sign. 

I went on splits with Theophilus all day on saturday. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy being with him. Hes always willing to proselyte whenever we need help. 

Peter is doing well. Its just hard to visit him as often as we need to with his work schedule. 

The new area is pretty cool. Theres some cool people we just need to extend a ton of baptism dates. By the end of this week we should have at least 15 people with a baptism date. 

The other day I read a conference talk "\which way do you face"

Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments (see Matthew 22:37–39).

• First, Mormon: “Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority fromGod; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16; emphasis added).
• Nephi: “Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto thoe who are not of the world” (1 Nephi 6:5).
• Captain Moroni: “Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but fr the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country” (Alma 60:36).

1 August 2016

I know most of you are curious about transfers so Ill tell you all whats going on with that. Right now living in the apartment and serving in the mamponse ward are: Elder Nilsson and me and Elder Perry and Elder Babira. Nilsson and Perry are getting transferred. Babira and I will become companions and no one new is coming. So they are combining the two areas and making the apartment a 2 man apartment. That means my teaching pool just doubled and we got tons of work to do! Im super excited and also a little stressed because ive never stayed in a 2 man apartment before and also now my area is huge and its going to take very careful planning to get things going. The ward is great though so they will be able to help us a lot.

Some highlights:

Tuesday- We found out that this member stayed very close to where we live so we decided to give her a call to see if we could visit her. She was at home. Right when we got there, she gave us a list of ingredients she needed and she gave us some money. She told us to go to the market and buy her all of those things. So we went back to the house, got a ride from our LA land lord in his 2017 Toyota Siena. Mom you gotta upgrade your mini van to the one i rode in. Then we picked up the stuff (a whole chicken, onions, spices, pigs feet, etc.) When we got back she taught us how to make nice groundnut soup for fufu. Then we ate it and it was so delicious! We spent 6 hours with that member and we werent sure if we were using our time correctly but then right after we left, we met her neighbor right next door. She seems so prepared and we had a great lesson with her. She came to church yesterday and was testifying of how true Joseph Smith is in gospel principles class. I am so happy that we decided to help the member cook so we were able to find this new serious investigator.

Every day at 12 pm Elder Nilsson and I has had a companionship prayer to find new investigators. I have seen the many blessings of prayer and going to our Heavenly Father when in need. He hears our prayers and He is always helping us as we seek for guidance. Each day we have done this, we have found a new person to teach! What a blessing!
Doctrine and Covenants 33:7-13
 7 Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the field is white already to harvest; wherefore, thrust in your sickles, and reap with all your might, mind, and strength.
 8 Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness.
 9 Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you.
 10 Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
 11 Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.
 12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
 13 And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
I promise that as we open our mouths to the people around us and do as the Lord expects us to do (which is to share the gospel), Your testimony will be strengthened and you will have the spirit with you always. 

Peter is still doing well. We werent able to meet with him at all for like a week straight because of his work schedule. But we had a very great lesson with him to prepare for his baptism. He trusts us so much and we were able to help him with a couple things and the spirit was so strong.

This is all that my fingers will allow me to type for today. I hope you enjoy your last weeks of summer. I hope that you remember to watch the Olympics. Are they on yet? I also hope that you all will remember to Pray and to remember and watch for the many blessings in your eeveryday lives. I promise you that they are there.

With much love,

Elder Green

77 degrees is cold: 25 July 2016

Chai I hope all of you guys are enjoying your summer. I am here dying in the freezing 77 degree weather that we have had the past couple nights. Everyone here have huge winter coats on and its so funny to see that this is freezing for them. 

The highlight of the week was when Margaret and Praise were baptized yesterday. It was super stressful. Margaret was supposed to be baptized on saturday and then praise was supposed to be baptized this coming saturday. But when we showed up to the church on saturday, we found out that the font was empty. Why? Because we had no power for a day and a half and no power=no water flowing. So we then biked as fast as our little legs could pedal over to Margaret and her family to tell them to not come to the church anymore. The whole family was ready and everything but luckily we caught them at their house. Then later that day we had the baptism interview for Praise and she is doing well. Elder Nilsson and I decided to have them baptized on the same day (they are sister in laws). 

So we had the baptism after church and it was a pretty good service. The only problem was the opening song we sang was a mens choir song and the topic was men receiving the priesthood. But it was good :)

Today we roasted another pig. President and Sister Simpson came. Sister Simpson was born in Fiji i believe. So they enjoyed it. 

Transfers are next week so we shall see what happens. 

I think I am finally starting to understand the purpose of Preach My Gospel. Its all about becoming converted yourself and then helping others toward conversion. We need to understand the gospel, not just on a scholastic level, but with a heart-changing level. A spiritual level. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way. Preach My Gospel is a tool to allow missionaries to become converted to HIM.  Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

I love what this Gospel has done for me. I hope I can continue to increase in my knowledge and my faith. I hope I can continue to find others to bring to the Path. I love you all! I seek to do the Lord's work. I am learning so much. Have a great week!

Elder Green

18 July 2016

Hey. Good morning. I hope that all is going well for you people and I send my greetings to everyone.

This is my week:

Benada-

-Bro Parbey really helped us out today. He is so missionary minded all the time and its great! For his job he goes around and sells drugs to drug stores and other shops around the area. Because of this he is always sharing the gospel to all the people he meets. He gave us two referrals and they seem to be pretty solid. We had a great lesson with them I hope. Most of the lesson was just him talking in their language so I had no clue what was being said. But I was there to bear my testimony so it was a successful lesson :)

-We finished up the lessons with margaret. Shes doing great and is ready for her baptism. 

PEC was actually successful today. The missionaries are instructing the members on wednesday about member missionary work. so today we got it all planned out.

Wukuada-

-One crazy thing happened today. There was a lady who I thought was dying. She just came out of her house and she was shaking and then she started to bleed and foam at the mouth. Then she collapsed on the ground and had a seizure. I didnt know what to do but no one was doing anything to help her. So i rolled her over on her side because she was laying on her back. The people we were teaching at that moment expected us to just carry on with the lesson. But we left and told them to take her to the hospital. Well, The next day we checked for her and they said she was perfectly fine and she was selling on the roadside. WHAT?

Yawada

-So at church two sundays ago, one of my investigators got really offended. She left church early and said that she is never coming to this church again. Today we finally got to meet with her and tried to solve the problem. Ive been thinking alot about how to help her concern and now i realize i shouldnt really try to find out why she is offended but i should help her to understand the Atonement. 

-Also this morning the second councilor in the bishopric called us and said hes coming to proselyte with us all day. So we had him all day. It was sweet papa. 

-I talked to someone who was a member since 1980 and was baptized in Ghana. Hes probably one of five people still living thats been a member for that long. He has some great stories. He was invited to the church by a Muslim.

Kwasiada-

-Great turnout at church. 

-Had a great lesson with Robert about the Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong.

Elder Green

May 16 2016: One Year Mark (six months late)

I woke up one morning and got a bunch of calls from the people in my MTC wishing me happy 18 months. But they forgot I actually only turned 1 year hahaha. So now the countdown finally begins. Its gonna be a great year and Im so happy I have one more year instead of only six more months left!

I hope everyone had a chill week like me. So to start off I just want to let everyone know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will reach every soul that is here in Mamponse. If you dont want to hear this very special message that I bear witness of, I would suggest that you leave Ghana. because eventually its going to come to your ear if you stay here! I have gained a personal testimony that I need to start to talk with everyone. Everyone that calls me "Obroni", everyone that is in the house of my investigators or members, everyone who looks at me. This Gospel is for everyone. One day, a family stopped me and my companion and asked us if we only preach to the rich. We sat down with them and explained to them that their Heavenly father loves them so much and blessed be the poor. No matter what situation we are in or how we are, This gospel can bless you. 

We are teaching this girl who does not speak any english. She has a sister that translates during the lessons for us. We asked her why she decided to start coming to the church. Her response was that she came to receive forgiveness of her sins. I dont know about you guys, but thats why i go to church too. The church is for the sinners. As we come with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we can partake of the sacrament. This is a huge blessing for us to be able to remember our Savior and to renew those special covenants we have made at baptism as well as any other covenant we have made with God in our lives. 

We are starting to see the goodness and blessings of working with members. On sunday we had four of the YSAs come proselyting with us right after church for the whole day. Three of them were all RMs and the other one teaches with us every day so they all know what they are doing. As we were out, we saw some less actives and other members houses. We sat down with them and had a small lesson at each place. I was shocked because most of the houses we visited, i pass right by every single day and I had no idea a member stayed there. Now we have a lot more people to serve and work with. We also took the members to our investigators. We let the YSA lead each lesson and they definitely rocked it and helped our investigators a ton. We were also able to get a few referrals because they are starting to trust me and Elder Nilsson more. Hopefully we will do well with the trust and responsibility the ward is giving us at this time. 

This week I have been studying our purpose in this life. 

 24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

We know that we have a place prepared for us after this life. So we need to prepare because we will be meeting God. That brings me to another sctipture and it teaches us how we can prepare. Revelation 3:21. Just follow Jesus Christ and overcome the sins and temptations. And 1 corinthians 10:13 tells us that there is nothing too hard for us to overcome. So for me, I want to sit next to Heavenly father and Jesus Christ on their thrones. thats a pretty great promise to us if we are faithful. 

I love you all and have a great week!ju

April 23 2016: Back in the mission field

1. The flights were long and tiring. All of the planes were pretty much full so there wasnt any room to be comfortable. The flight to Amsterdam, an old lady fell and started to seize a bit right behind where i was sitting. They had to announce on the plane and ask if there were any doctors on board. Why dont they have doctors working on the fights? it makes me more scared to fly now. The ride to Ghana was interesting. It was my first time to interact with a ghanaian besides linda since i have been home. it was cool and it made me feel better and happy to be going back. 

2. The only time that i have cried was at the memphis airport. And I only cried small because I sat by a member (it was a real tender mercy). I sure did want to cry but he talked to me and calmed me down the whole entire time 

3. My new companion is Elder Nilsson. He is from Utah and is 19 years old. He is about 7 months on mission. Elder Nilsson is another answer to my prayers. He is really helping me adjust to this lifestyle again. We are getting along just fine and are working hard together. 

4. My new area is Momponse. It is in the Lartebiakorshie stake. Im close to the area i was in before oda. Maybe a 5 minute drive away. It is nice. It is the city but doesnt seem very cityish. Maybe right now I just think every place is the bush hahaha

5. I have seen a few old people but havent seen my best buds yet. It was so nice to talk to them on the phone and they still consider me their MTC mate so its all good. 

6. Okay the heat is absolutely TERRIBLE. The first night i slept in the APs apartment and they have lots of extra supplies for the mission. So I slept with 5 fans blowing right on me and i sweat like a pig in the oven! I didnt sleep at all haha but now i am able to sleep okay. I just sweet so much and i dont think ill ever get used to the heat again. 

7. I was pretty homesick the first two days. It is going to be a bigger adjustment than i was expecting. I think i felt more homesick than the first time coming here. I dont know why. What made me really homesick was when i bought a burger my first night here it tasted nothing like what a burger should taste like. And its so hard to finish my food because It tastes weird again. But small small, I will adjust. Oh and I miss you and my family tons. Just want to tell you guys about everything right when something cool happens. 

8. I got to Ghana at around 8 or 9 at night. Then the APs and President Snow picked me up. I talked to President for about 3 minutes and then went with the APs to their place for the night. Then I proselyted with them in their area for the next morning and then they dropped me off at my new place. 

9. So far i have only met my new mission president for about five minutes and I have not met Sister Snow yet. They seem to be great and I am looking forward to getting to know them more before they go home. 

10. The Keels washed all of my clothes for me and repacked and cleaned all my stuff the day before I got back. It is so nice and i really appreaciate what they did. It would not have been so great if they didnt. They are so amazing. 

11. My feelings about being back: Why am i here? Is it really possible for me to adjust to these conditions again? Its hot! I really feel like this is where I need to be. I have small doubts but I know they will go away as i work and study and am here for a bit more. 

The most interesting thing that has happened so far is probably everything. I feel the spirit so much and it is so great. I am so happy and am excited to see how i can fully serve everyone here. All the missionaries are looking up to me now and watching what i do now that i am back. This is a great opprotunity for me to be a great influence on them and help the mission grow and become stronger. The church is so true and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to receive full blessings and Happiness. I cant wait to share this great message with everyone and to be able to talk and teach by the spirit all day every day. 

On saturday we taught a lesson to some small girls like 14 and 15 years old. They came to church last week but then they said they dont believe it because people said if you go to a certain room in the chapel, you will become rich. I dont understand why people would want to share rumors about the church. That is how satan works though. after they said that, we bore strong testimony of this church and how we know it is true. It kind of shocked me and Elder Nilsson because the spirit was SO strong!!! There was no way that i can deny what my companion said to be true. It was an amazing feeling and the most spiritual experience so far these days here. 

Mission Interuption

Well it is now May and there has been a bit of time pass since the last post. In mid October, the mission president called to tell us that Elder Green was sick and needed to come home to get treatment. So, two days later we picked Elder Green up from the airport. The doctors in Ghana indicated that it was likely a gall bladder issue and would need his gall bladder removed. President Hill did not want that procedure done in Ghana.

Elder Green came home on a Monday and was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday. Nope, not gall bladder. More tests. Well maybe it is gall bladder. Nope, tests still come back negative for gall bladder issues. After a few days in the hospital he was finally diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Yep, he got the immunization (1st dose) so this should not have happened, but he was in the small fraction of those that still get Hep A even with the immunization.

Doctor indicated that he would recover quickly, but doctor from mission department told us to expect a few months. Well, six months later, Elder Green returned to Ghana. He is back and glad to be back. He will serve one more year so he will have been in Ghana for the full two years.

While home, he was able to go out with the local missionaries a lot and teach with them. It was very hard for him to be home when he wanted to be back on his mission in Ghana, but he survived and made it back to the field (that is the shortened version, because it was really hard for him to be at home when he wanted to be in Ghana so bad...I can't share his feelings adequately so I don't even try).

This blog is now back up and live.

Steve Green (Dad)