What a week!!!

We have been so busy, it really didn't seem like my 1 year mark mattered. We enjoyed some fried rice which has become the "lobster dish" of GCC missionaries.

A member killed a chicken and cleaned it, then I showed Elder Saili how I've learned to cook it. I cut it into pieces and boiled it, adding some of my own mean spices. I'll kill a chicken and make the same dish for you when I get home. haha

We have too many people to visit and not enough time to visit them. I don't remember if I said that last week, but it is not easy. Elder Saili and I had some pretty powerful lessons this week. I don't know how to explain it, but we've reached a point where we feel at ease with investigators and they seem to feel the same with us. It doesn't matter the age, gender, or religion. We still
have a lot to learn, but like the feeling of confidence that comes when we're teaching.

We had a sweet lesson with Jenna's younger brother and sister. Their mother, however, is the one I want to tell you about. She was a devout Presbyterian for 20 years. She paid offerings and did more for her church then most other members. She fell very sick and couldn't go to church for 3-4 weeks. The pastor came by but didn't believe she was truly sick so he kind of chastised her and left. She was not very happy but just let it roll off her shoulders. She is now learning about the Church small small, and this week we are going to have some of the Relief Society visiting teachers visit Jenna and try to include her mom in the lesson. I gave her mom a For The Strength of Youth Pamphlet this week, and she loved it!

We've also been teaching an 18 year old boy named Emmanuel, who has been sneaking out of the house to take the lessons and come to Church. His parents did not want him to have anything to do with us because people were saying that we worship the devil and "call upon" saints. You would be surprised what people say about the Church. We had about 15 mins to explain and answer questions about the Church to his mom after she found out he was sneaking out. We have taught her the first two lessons and invited her to be baptized on Sep 24th along with Emmanuel and his 11 year old sister, Vera. We were so excited when she came to Church and was warmly welcomed by the members. It was testimony Sunday, and with my broken Twi I bore my testimony and saw her laughing. That was a good sign!

I have grown very close to the people here as I have continued to learn more of the language small. The Lord has blessed us in our time of need. I love the Gospel and Church very much. My testimony of the temple grows more and more every day. I always get emotional when we teach the temple to our investigators. I love this area just as I have all of my areas. I have grown spiritually and physically. I'm getting taller!

Love Elder Hair