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)