Phone Call from the Mission President

Elder Omini (from Nigeria) and I have been assigned to open one of the new areas in Sunyani. I could not believe it when President Sabey called to talk to me. He told me we will be opening a new branch and holding Sacrament Meeting in our apartment. We will be contacting and working with the few members already in our new branch boundaries. Since we can't give out callings, we will just be giving out small assignments like washing the Sacrament cloth, passing out the hymn books, and greeting at the door. I am excited for the unknown, but I am scared at the same time. I know that this is a serious and amazing calling from the Lord and that He will be with us every step of the way. It will take me approximately 7 hours to get to Sunyani. We will be the farthest missionaries north in the mission, and there will be just the two of us in the apartment.

Last week, we gave an investigator the assignment to read 1 Nephi and told him we would come back this week to go over it with him. When we started the lesson, he opened a notebook to a page and a half of notes he had taken about his reading assignment. Our faces got really excited as he proceeded, without us asking him, to read through his notes of how he understood what he had read. Those are the experiences that get me excited about the work.

Many of the people here do not mind praying even on the first visit. Though not members of the Church, they were taught how to pray. During their prayers, they often say, "let us not be just the hearers of the word but also the doers." It blows my mind how prepared the people of Ghana are to hear our message.

Amanda, tears came to my eyes as I read what Steven sent. I hope that he will one day be a member of this true Church. Please tell him that I love him, and am thinking about him as I teach "his people" here in Africa...haha.

On Wednesday, we had apartment checks by the Mission President and his wife. During the checks, President Sabey did something that apparently he has never done before. He checked our area books. When he finished, he looked at us and said, "these two books are the best that I have seen. Keep up the good work Elders." Obedience leads to more blessings than you will have room enough to receive.

President Uchtdorf's talk on Pride in the Priesthood session is my favorite talk so far. Please read it again. In fact, all of Priesthood session was probably the best I have heard. (Even though as a YM I was asleep for many of the Priesthood talks, hahaha)

This week we had a funeral for one of our recent converts who died at age 70. Bart Plange was baptized only 3 months ago. We were asked to help set up tents and chairs for the funeral. The family was very grateful. They even offered us some very "expensive" alcohol to drink after we were done. We laughed and told them that we did not drink. A traditional funeral begins on Friday when they have the wake, Saturday where they have the burial, and Sunday where people come and give food/drinks/money and so on and pay their respects. On Thursday however, they bring the body and lay it on a mat in the house with a cloth over the face and private parts to "sleep" one last night in the family house. Elder Jepson and I were asked to go inside to grab some things. When we walked in, there he was laying on the floor... a dead man...the first dead person I've seen. Wow, was that an experience. We went back that night, and the body was dressed up like a king, sitting in a chair next to a bed, with white powder on his face. It was one of the strangest things I have ever been a part of.

The Lord continues to bless me! Keep up the good work Mom and Dad. You are still young and have a lot to do.

Love,

Elder Hair

P.S. Elder Leko is going to Cape Coast to be a Zone Leader

Excerpts from Spencer's latest email . .

Life is great! I had fun describing Thanksgiving this week to the two Africans in our apartment. There are 4 of us, Elder Leko (Uganda), Elder Jeppsen (Sugar City), and Elder Elephonia (Nigeria).

Sacrament Meeting will be held in the living room of the missionaries' apartments in several newly opened areas until they can get a suitable place to build a chapel. In the beginning, the missionaries will be conducting the meetings.

This week, we met a man named Michael at a mineral store (soda pop store). He wants us to continue teaching him, and plans to come to church next Sunday.

One of our favorite members is a single mom with one little boy. She just lost her job and is now selling her shoes and extra clothing, which she carries around on her head, until she is able to find another job. Most of the Ghanaians we teach don't even have electricity.

I think I was a little naive before I came on my mission thinking that every missionary would be ready to follow all of the rules. Being an obedient missionary is a lot easier than a disobedient one, so it puzzles me sometimes why those things happen when we are serving the Lord in any calling in the Church. In this mission, there are about 20 different cultures that sometimes clash. That is our struggle. There are people to teach, baptisms every month, but what we really need is exact obedience from the missionaries. I know that's a bold statement, but it's how I feel.

This week while walking by the Catholic Cathedral in Elmina, there must have been 200 kids, between the ages of 6 and 9, that just got out of school. Many of them started yelling "obronie" when they saw me. Man was it funny. As we continued to walk, I had 2 kids on every finger of my hand and a swarm of others that couldn't find a space. I love the little children here.

This past Sunday, our ward had its Primary program. It was probably the most entertaining thing I have seen in a very long time. The kids had their parts memorized, and when they sang, they sang loud. Most of the scriptures they quoted were not easy or short. These kids are dedicated and these members are incredible. The theme was Latter-Day Prophets, and they taught us about each one. They spoke clearly and in English so we could all understand. The whole ward laughed at the funny parts and those kids who were shy stole the show. I love my ward and I love my area. I love this work and I love the people that we teach. Without the Gospel in my life, I would be nothing. The Lord lives and is guiding this Church today through President Monson. “O Come All Ye Faithful” is my phrase for this month that I will share with our investigators, but especially our recent converts. All of the three that were baptized were confirmed last week and man was that a sight to see.

I love you all,

Elder Hair

Love it when it rains!

Things are great!!

We had another sweet rainstorm this week. You would have loved it and some of the sunsets that I see. It’s amazing the things that we take for granted.

Randy Darko's baptism is on the 19th. He is prepared and has already become a missionary. He has a friend from work named Karim whose Dad is Muslim and Mom is Christian. Karim has been trying to decide which faith to believe. Before we even met with Karim, Randy talked to him about the Church. He gave him the Plan of Salvation Pamphlet and the Book of Mormon based on the questions he had. That night he read the whole pamphlet and all of the introduction and testimonies of the Book of Mormon. Now remember, this is still before we even met him. Karim then prayed about what he read asking whether or not it was all true. That night he had a dream about the war in heaven, and how Satan and Jesus presented their two plans and God chose Christ to come to the earth. Karim has been attending the Muslim church and does not yet know much about Christianity. You can only imagine how we felt when we first met Karim and heard of his experience.

This week we incorporated something new to our list of creative ways to build trust with the people we encounter. Each day we see kids playing---chasing a small torn up ball, or just playing other games. I decided no matter how dirty or sweaty I get, I was going to play with them. It has been one of the most amazing weeks. Many of the smaller children are scared of white men, so it's fun when their Moms bring them to us just to try and scare them. But soon they warm up to us. On Sunday, I was asked to teach the 14-15 year old kids. The topic was obedience. I ended up using a soccer analogy because that is what all Africans enjoy.

I love you all very much and my love for the Gospel and the Savior grows stronger each day I teach about them.

Elder Ihwi

Elder Leko and I have been looking for more opportunities to serve. I know that as we teach to meet our goals, and serve at the same time, we will be blessed as a companionship and as a mission. Something that Elder Leko and I pray for almost daily is that we can work to be the best companionship in the mission. I hope that doesn't sound selfish, but it has helped us be obedient to the mission rules.

We had seven baptisms this past Friday. The first was Kofi, who was so scared he held onto me for dear life. When he came out of the water, he gasped and everyone laughed. It was pretty funny.

We played soccer with some little kids today outside of our apartment, and man was it fun. When they call me "Obronie" (white man), I say "Obebenie" which is what they call themselves, (black man), and they all laugh.

I love this area. The Lord has truly blessed me.

Love,

Elder Ihwi

We were chased by two dogs this week. Man it was crazy. One day as we were getting ready to leave the apartment one of the craziest storms hit Elmina. You would not believe the wind and rain. We went out on our porch and watched the rain, then went out to work and got really muddy.

We had another amazing week with our investigator, Randy, and will have our first baptisms this Friday. Hannah Burns 28, Phillip Condour 22, Coffee Bordou 8, and Isaac Bordou 12. Two were great member referrals, and two were from a part member family.

I'm learning the language, Krra ka Krra with rolled Rs like Spanish. This has really helped me to get in homes especially because I am an Obronie. The food has an acquired taste and I have grown to love it with all the many local spices. If Mom saw the markets where we shopped she would probably croak. I like the rice, spaghetti, eggs, FuFu, Bonku, bean stew, and many other things.

For about two weeks now my companion and I have been looking for a lady by the name of Anti-Bedoo (age 60) who was a referral from one of our young sisters. We were directed to a place, but they said they didn't know her and sent us somewhere else. It went like that for almost two weeks. At the end of the first week, I woke up at 4 in the morning after having a dream that we had found Anti-Bedoo and had begun teaching her. I didn't know where she lived, even what she looked like. I just knew that I had spoken with her. We continued to look for her, but near the end of the second week I was losing hope. I began to think my dream was nothing and that we were never going to find her. This past Sunday, we were on our way home and my companion... (what a man! what a trainer! what a blessing! and what a friend!) Said "hey, let's try to find Anti-Bedoo one more time." We found some people who knew someone by that name. We went straight there, walked in, and...found Anti-Bedoo. As we spoke with her and her two other sisters, I had a warm feeling inside as if I had already spoken to this women. I was so thankful that Heavenly Father had answered my prayer. That is just one of the amazing examples of how the Lord has blessed me. As the lesson went on, a very funny thing happened. One of the other sisters who had been asking me questions said, "You are a great boy, I can see that you love your God and that you are doing his work. When you return home, you can take one of my daughters with you." I just laughed!

Love,

Elder Ihwi

Hair's the latest . . .(highlights from Spencer's most recent letter home)

The weather in Elmina is hot, and I've already noticed that I've lost some weight! I have enjoyed the little time that I put in each morning and night doing situps and pushups. I will be a lean, mean, fighting machine when I get home. I've been told the apartment that Elder Leko and I have is one of the few that's completely sealed with screens, and that it's OK to sleep without a net. I do see lots of mosquitoes!!! One I saw the other day was the size of a quarter.

While walking up "Java Hill" to an appointment, we saw an investigator that was pounding Fufu, so we stopped and asked if she needed any help. She said no, but I went up to her cement hut she calls home and grabbed the pistil which is a 4 foot long, 5 inch wide log, and started to pound Fufu for about 20 min. Elder Leko took several pictures while I was pounding. There were lots of kids and parents that had gathered around to watch. I heard them all yelling Obronie and other words in Fante. When I was done, I was tired, but tried hard not to show it! Her mother said, "Eh, an Obronie that can pound, and better than any I've seen in a while---you will now eat." They brought out the food in a bowl for my comp and I to share. There was the Fufu, light soup which is the spiciest thing I have ever had, and two cooked fish with the eye balls taken out. It looked nasty, but tasted quite good. We ate it all and moved on with the day. I woke up in the morning and started feeling bad. I went into the bathroom and. . .(we'll spare everyone Spencer's detailed description of what happened next).

I love the work and service we can do for others, and I know we will be blessed for it. We went out that day even though I still wasn't feeling too well. As we left the apartment, I realized that my back bike tire was spoiled, so we had to walk to get that fixed. The guy that fixed it was probably 25 or so. He asked us lots of questions about why we were in Ghana. After we talked I pulled out my money to pay him but he said... No, you are missionaries, for you it's free.

Our ward covers a pretty large area. Some of our members have to walk or catch a Tro Tro about 45 min from the chapel. We have about 30 primary children who are all very dear to my heart. We have been teaching a guy named Randy. He's 25 and one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Please keep him in your prayers. After we taught him the first lesson, we asked him to read the first 3 pages of the Restoration pamphlet. He read the whole pamphlet through twice. What a man! He then came to Church this week and was more active in the conversations during Priesthood and the investigator class then anyone. He's a very smart guy.

I love the Ghanaian people. They are not afraid to speak their minds, and the local leaders are great.

Love you all!!!

Elder Ihwi

Hair's the latest . . .

Our investigators are really great. We have been teaching 21 - 25 lessons each week and have been able to contact and meet so many people. They are very receptive to learning anything that deals with Jesus Christ. The hard part is catching them at a time when they are not cooking, cleaning, working, or out of town. We have been helping out in any way we can, and I may be building a reputation in Elmina as the best American Fufu pounder in Ghana.

The policemen here will stop our taxis for no reason, and the only way for the driver to get out of it is to bribe them with money. Our taxi driver today saw that he was going to get pulled over and got some money ready to pay the policeman who then let us go. I could not believe what I was watching.

My companion, Elder Leko, just hit his year mark and has been an amazing companion.

Because I am paying to send an email, and I don't have long, it is hard to respond, but dearelder.com is the best way for anyone to send me an email.

Our ultimate goal is eternal life and that is what I want with all of our family.

Love you all,

Elder Ihwi

Dear Family,

We did not get to watch general conference. We’ll have to wait until the mission sends us the CD and conference issue. Our ward has about 120 attending and the members are great. We had six investigators yesterday at Church, and man it was good to see all of them there. We have a baptismal date planned for all 6 and I would really appreciate it if you would keep them in your prayers.

This week we contacted some guys that are 20 and 21 and set up an appointment to visit them. They took us up the highest hill in Elmina where their apartment was. When we walked in, man was I scared. It was dark and they had just one mattress on the floor and a TV that had a music video playing. As we began teaching them, the atmosphere changed. They answered questions and it turned out to be an amazing experience. We went back at the end of the week and taught them again. This time it went even better. They asked lots of questions and we’ve developed a good friendship. I have never been shown so many cool handshakes in my life.

I am in an area where I have a bike that the mission supplies. My comp is a convert from a part member family. He is very well educated and wants to study architecture and build homes.

P-day was great. I shop at the local markets and have been making cabbage or bean stew with chicken that we buy from a member and put that on rice or noodles. The stew usually lasts about a week or so.

This past week, a sister from our ward printed my name in Fante "Ihwi" on the back of my Ghana soccer jersey.

Amanda, that’s so exciting about your cross country races!! I hope your battle wounds aren’t too bad. I’m glad you are having the “time of your life.” When introducing myself, I've had a fun time talking about my brothers and little sister.

I have to pay each time we come to use the internet, so I don’t have a long time to write. I love you all very much!

First Email Home!

Aquava!!! How are you.

Thank you (Madasi) so much for your letters of encouragement. Dad, I was able to go to the Accra Temple twice and I loved it. My first area is Elmina, which is an old fishing village right on the coast. My apartment is 2 min walking distance from the coast and if I climb to the top floor I can see the ocean and palm trees not far off in the distance. My trainer is Elder Leko from Uganda. He is one of the most powerful men that I have ever met. We are in an apartment with another set of missionaries. One of them, Elder Jeppsen is from Idaho and knows a lot of the same people that I do from school.

This week has been amazing. I have truly been able to see why I have been called to this specific area as my first area. Once engulfed in the work, things go by so quickly. This week, after an appointment, my comp and I were walking to a member's shop where we left our bikes. Downtown Elmina can be hilly in some areas and so while we were walking down a stony hill, we saw lots of kids dancing under a tent. Lots of parents were sitting along the side watching and bobbing their heads to the music. As we walked by, all of the kids yelled "Obrunie," which means "white boy." I started to dance along with them and man you would not believe there eyes. The parents stood up and danced as well while the kids kept yelling "Obrunie." They followed my comp and I until we went around the corner and could not hear the music anymore. That was Saturday, and I just had a feeling that everything was going to be OK, and that it was going to be easy for me to love these good people.

Two of our investigators, Regina and Diana came to Church for the first time. We had only taught them the first lesson, but they contributed more then most of the members. I am so excited to continue to teach them.

Mom, do you remember that Ghanaian that was in my ward at school and lived in the dorms? His name is Alphe, and his house here in Ghana is in the same apartment complex as ours. I saw him here the first Sunday that I arrived. His Dad invited us over for dinner. He's a very knowlegable man with a strong testimony. Alphe will head back to the States in the middle of November to put in his mission papers. Man it was so good to see a familiar face.

I am eating lots of oatmeal for breakfast (I know, I love oatmeal now), and rice with a chicken tomato and vegetable stew that I made. I had Fufu for the first time today at our Fufu party for the Zone at the Sisters apartment. The AP's and the Mission President and his wife came. It was very good. I pounded Fufu for the first time and all of the Elders got mad at me because I did not mess it up. Must be that Hair family athleticism! I am so excited to be in this Zone and to get to know everyone better. We are going to Tacaratie next week to play that Zone in a football (soccer) match. On Tuesday, we traveled out to a small village where the Patriarch and many of the members live. It took us about 45 minutes to ride there on our bikes. We passed several different villages along the way. There were many hills so it was fun. We got to our appointment but the lady was very busy cooking and could not visit with us. We left her with a short message and rode back to town. It rained all the way. It felt like a little slice of heaven.

In my first letter to President Sabey today I expressed to him how I am excited to come up with ways to build the trust of the people. I want to learn some greetings so they will listen to me because I am an Obrunie that is trying to understand their culture. Church was amazing and I could not believe how powerful the members sang the Church hymns. Back home we don't even come close. I am beginning to see why it is important to put your whole heart and soul and most importantly your TRUST in our Heavenly Father. I have never prayed harder in my life and I have never felt the ups and downs that I have felt on the mission. Nothing could have prepared me for the culture shock of an African mission. I am so grateful for the classes that I took and the studying that I did beforehand. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for the constant love and encouragement to prepare me for my mission. I love Ghana. I love the people, and most importantly I love my Savior.

Love,

Elder Hair

Ghana Bound!

Thursday, 2 September 2010

Depart St Louis 9:15AM
Arrive JFK 12:50PM

Depart JFK 4:20PM
Arrive Accra, Ghana 7:30AM (3 September)