Easter Sunday

Hey Mom, Dad, Amanda,

Thank you very much for your letter. This past week or two while we've been teaching, people have been asking/telling Elder Omini about the conflict in Nigeria and he has been very defensive about it and keeps insisting that his country runs under a democratic system, and that nothing is wrong. A few days ago, he and I talked a little about it and he just said that he hopes nothing is going on, and that when he calls home for Mothers day he will talk more to his Dad and Mom about it. I decided to let him read the information you sent cause if something was happening in my country, I would want to know. He was thankful to read it and just wants to know about his specific state which is Calabar and maybe even Legos. Thanks so much again for sending those updates.

Well, Easter was actually a dud!!! We had two, not very serious members, both young men and then two random children at Church. Elder Alba spoke about the Atonement, and I spoke about the Savior's life. It went very well, but half way through the sacrament, the power went out, not an uncommon thing, but just at a very unfortunate time. We had planned to watch the Testaments which teaches of the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and talks about the Savior, His coming, His suffering and His death. It was pretty disappointing; (1) because we had a bunch of investigators that we invited that either bailed out the day before or the morning of, (2) the power went out and (3) it came back 10 min after Church was over so those members that were there, didn't have as much of an opportunity to strengthen their testimony.This past week has been very brutal as people either traveled out of the area for Easter, or they were too busy because of Easter to visit with us. We had an all-time low of only 19 lessons in Fiapre this week. Now I probably shouldn't complain because I'm sure in many missions around the world, it's tougher. We are truly blessed to be in such a prosperous land.

The members said the temple trip was amazing. We were not allowed to go with them to the temple because it is not in our mission. That was a rule given by the area seventy because of the un-fairness to other bordering missions. Please tell everyone thank you for their contributions.

Elder Omini LOVED his soccer jersey so much and we made a bunch of no bake cookies and got some homemade ice cream that one of our investigators knew how to make. He said it was the best birthday he had ever had.

Well, I hope and pray that everything is going well with my favorite sister, Amanda, and the amazing parents that raised her. Keep me posted on the boys.

It has not been easy to prepare, let alone find an entire family to baptize for our mission goal that ends on the 26th of June when Pres and Sis Sabey leave. I have never relied on the Lord more, and these next 8 weeks or so will test my faith in Him more than at any other time in my life. Selfishly, I want more then anything to leave Pres Sabey with our best work. Like Julius Campbell said in Remember the Titans, "Coach (God) this whole season (mission) you have demanded perfection from us, and up to now we have been perfect, because we have not lost. With all due respect...if its ok with you Coach Boone, we (GCCM Missionaries) would like to keep it that way."

"I will not move from this very spot until I have figured out what I need to do." (Pres Brigham Young, Mountain of the Lord) Shall we not go on is so great a cause!!!! I love my mission and can't imagine not serving a mission! Keep the faith and we will baptize an entire family. Keep the faith and anything is possible... I love you all and can't wait until Mothers Day.

Elder Hair

Countdown to Mother's Day!

Hey,

Things are great and I have been very excited about what has been happening in Sunyani. We had our first baptism in Fiapre and I will send pics on the next CD that I send home.

I can't imagine what I would do without you. As Mothers day approaches, I'm excited to speak to you all again. I am so happy you sent something for E. Omini's birthday. We are going on 4 transfers together and we will probably be together even longer. I have truly grown to love him and can't wait to see what else he is going to teach me.Chan, sorry for not wishing you a happy birthday. Amanda, I swear if you get married before I do... hahaha. I love you girl. I'm calling home in 3 weeks oh!!!!! Man it will be good to talk to you again. Don't forget to give me the number. I love you all and just want to let you know what I'm doing to have the greatest success as a missionary. Can't wait to talk more.

I'm learning much more Twi and can understand plenty now. We just had a very powerful fufu dinner that I will send pictures of. Alright... PEACE and enjoy your Easter.

Elder Hair

Without a doubt . . .

Family,

Every time we travel to Kumasi for a Zone Conference, Zone Activity, or interviews, we leave at 6 in the morning and don't get back until 10 or so in the evening. When that happens, we're given permission to write home on Tuesdays. Because Elder Omini's father has asked him not to email home for some sort of security reasons, I always feel bad when he has to wait while I email home.

I know without doubt that for Elder Omini and me, our missionary efforts have not been in vain. We have had the toughest 4 months in our lives. We have received many rejections and ups and downs. Last week a man shut the gate in our face yelling that we could never change his mind, and that our doctrines are completely different. E. Omini and I looked at each other and said...OK, and walked on to our next lesson. Then, this week we went to a lesson with two of our most serious investigators, George 55, and Kofi 71. Both elders in their church and best friends. We read with them Mosiah 18:8-10. When George read in verse 10, "if this be the desire of your hearts," I looked right in their eyes and said, "I know without a doubt that you know that this is the only true Church on this earth. Don't you dare deny these truths, and I know that the windows of heaven will open and blessings will pour out that you will not have room enough to receive them." George then looked at Kofi and then back at me and while waving the BOM out in front of him, he said, "Brother Hair, the seed that you and Brother Omini have set into my heart will never be taken away. I know without a doubt that these things are true." He then told us that within their culture they can't just drop and leave their church position. They will need to set some things aside so that in the shortest time possible give up all of their responsibilities and become full-fledged members of Jesus Christ's Restored Church. The spirit was strong!!!!!

I've seen so much and I cannot express to you in any better words then those from PMG to be "exactly obedient".

Our Father in Heaven is in control. Satan's turn is over. He has been in Sunyani and Fiapre for tooooooo long corrupting these amazing people. It's our time. I love this work and although we have some very difficult days, I know that these things are true and no one will change my mind. I pray for protection every day and for the courage to move on in faith. I love you all and hope that things are well at home.

Love

Elder Hair

Wati? Mati.

Dear Family,

Thank you for the updates from General Conference and the encouraging words. Elder Omini is doing very well and was very excited for the info on the election in Nigeria. As I finish my 3rd transfer with him I have come to love him more than anything.

Thanks for the photos. Dad you're looking younger and Amanda you're looking older. For you, Dad it must be because I'm no longer there to give you any hair pulling hassles, and Amanda, it must be because I am no longer there to wrestle with you and make you smaller by twisting you into a pretzel. haha Good pics, please send more.

Man, I love Ghana. Time is flying! I am loving the work and becoming very attached to the people in Fiapre. They are now very familiar with us, so they are very friendly now that they know we are going to stay.

Mom, thank you for preparing another package. I would love some swedish fish, skittles, or starburst, and maybe some of those small drink mix powders. Missionaries here use those to change up the whole drinking water every day thing. And most important, pictures from anyone would be great! Wati? Mati.

I love you all. Thank you for everything.

Elder Hair

First Sunyani Unit Conference

It blows my mind how much my testimony has grown over the past 7 months. I love the Lord more now than anything in the world. I have been blessed with good companions. We work hard and we try to be patient when we aren't always successful. Although I miss and think/talk about you all the time, I know my responsibility as a missionary and as a member of our family. I love the work that is going on here. I've been in Fiapre now longer than I was in my first area, Elmina, and I would not be surprised if I stay here quite a bit longer.

This week we had our first Unit Conference with all four units and man it was incredible! Four of our serious investigators attended the conference. Three of them have baptismal dates for the 16th as well as two others who were not there. I am so excited and truly have been able to see the fruits of our labors. It has literally been the hardest thing I've done in my life. The sun is overbearing all the time, but when we teach a good lesson, our spirits rise and life is good again. I am continuing to pick up more of the Twi dialect which has been one of the biggest ice breakers. Even though they might speak to my Nigerian companion first, once they realize that he doesn't know a lick of Twi, they look back at me and laugh, and then talk small to me. It's crazy that I can understand much of what they're saying and talk small.

As time goes on, I continue to get more and more excited about what lies ahead. Time is flying by. I can't believe March is almost over. We played B-Ball against some Ghanaians this P-day. It felt good to get back on the court again. It's Elder Omini's birthday on the 15th of April. We are going to get him a sweet jersey, and man he is going to be so excited! I have learned a lot about his family and the country of Nigeria. If you could send some news about the current situation in Nigeria, especially Calabar, I would love to be able to share it with E. Omini. His father told him to not email home while on his mission and without question he has obeyed. I can see it's been rough on him, even though he tries to hide it. His Dad was a powerful JW missionary who was converted, becoming one of the first LDS missionaries in Nigeria. I have grown to love E. Omini and respect him for who he is, even though we are very different in many ways...but we have the Church in common. Elders Omini and Hair in front of the house where they live and hold Sunday meetings

Ghana is one of the most peaceful countries in all of Africa. If other governments and individuals had the Ghanaian mindset, the world would be a better place. SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY LIFE TO THE FULLEST.

Amanda I love you so much. You are growing too fast on me. I bought you some handmade flip flops from a man that lives here in Sunyani. He's a returned missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo and is married to another returned missionary.

I love this work and I love the Lord. I love you all and hope you are well.

PEACE!!!

Favorite son in Ghana

I love the Plan of Salvation in my life. The Bennetts, a senior couple told us about the earthquake in Japan and how terrible it was. How are the missionaries? Did they get out in time? I have 3 really good friends from school in Japan right now.

This week has been kind of rough. When we find an entire family to teach, too often either the father or the mother does not have enough time for us and comes up with excuses for not being around while we are teaching the other one. We did find out some good news from two of our investigators, but also some very sad news. After almost a year and a half of not seeing any money from his work, one of our investigators finally got paid. He then quit his job and got a better one at a training college, but it's almost 2 hrs away, so he will no longer be our investigator or any other missionary's because the Church has not yet been established where he's moving. Almost the same thing happened to another investigator named Lydia. She was not paid well and the hours were horrible. She now has a new job working at a bank, but it's also too far away from a Church building or any missionaries. Both of these good people flat out told us that they knew the Church was true and that they wanted to be baptized. Ugh!!!!!!! I love missionary work so much, but I hate the adversary. We're pleased that they both got better jobs because they're so hard to find in Ghana. Well, life goes on and one day they will get baptized.

There is nothing in the world that can replace what I'm doing right now. We had a great group at Church this week and things continue to get more interesting as time goes on.

As the days go by like seconds and the months like days, before I know it I will be old like you guys and I will be receiving a very similar email from my son. I love you all and continue to realize more and more every day how much you mean to me. I love this work. The Lord continues to bless me in ways I can't even explain, even during the rough times.

Amanda, keep being the great example that you are, just like Mom, and everyone will love and respect you for who you are. I love you so much. Don't try to grow up too fast. Life as a kid is so much fun.

Love,

Your favorite son in Ghana

Man I love this mission!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!!!!! I cannot believe you are out of Primary and in Young Women.

Dad, we just had a district meeting, and Elder Briggs, my MT gave a wonderful lesson about Christlike attributes from the same PMG section you wrote about. Elder Adams and I continue to get closer as the mission goes on. He was just made a Zone leader, and I know he will do great. The work is better than ever! Elder Omini and I have 14 new investigators. As time goes on the work seems to get harder, but more exciting. It's great to have Elder Speechly and Elder Alba in the apartment.

Mom, we just don't have time for lunch. We leave early and get home late. I'm pretty much on a two meal a day diet. Just think of it this way. When I'm back home, I'm going to be able to save so much money, I'll be able to pay for gas and a phone and all of those things!

Twice a transfer, we travel to Kumasi on P days. It has the largest market in all of West Africa that would blow your mind. We went to look at Kente ties, and the Kente line is in the center of the market. We had a crazy experience on the way home from Kumasi. At the bus station, we stood in line for over two hours in the pouring rain. If we got out of line, we would have had to wait even longer. When it started raining, people started brawling and running at the kiosk where the tickets are sold. It was a mess. In Ghana when someone wants to get something across, they just yell louder then the next person. There was no organization. So as people were arguing and fighting, I started to sing a song one of my old investigators sang all the time, which goes... "Farmer Farmer would you marry me, acosa trena mina sika ma wa o, ma wa o!" It means, ... let me earn the money and then we'll marry, we'll marry. Man you would not believe how many of the Ghanaian women just started laughing and the mood changed. The bus ride home smelled like a locker room cause everyone was wet and sweaty. It felt amazing to get into my bed after a cold shower. I love Ghana and I love the people more then anything. I love you all and will talk to you next week.