Transfer News!

Well guys another week has come and gone. The days drag, but the weeks really do fly by. This week has been a little low on numbers. I'm not really sure what happened. All of our baptisms from last week came back for confirmation though, so at least they're all serious. Well a number of things have happened. First off guess who enjoys fufu? It took a few times certainly, but you get used to it to the point where you're even looking forward to it. I've also been fed fish every FM and it's not that bad either. Let's see... oh goodness, transfer news just came in.......................................................................................... want me to tell you? Alright fine. So I'm staying in Obuasi with a new companion from Ghana. That means lots of Twi. A little difficult since I only know a handful of words, but maybe this will prove to be a great learning opportunity. Apparently Ghanian companions cook alot, so maybe I'll have more food after all. haha. This night should be good since I'm making a stew when I get home. An investigator gave us good rice, chicken, cooking oil, tomato paste, yeah it was nice. I just have to go to market to grab some vegetables. By the way, never take supermarkets for granted. If I want pineapple I have to go through two different areas to get to it. Markets are a big hassle. I'm not sure when I'll get a new camera since the companions that are staying aren't being allowed to travel with their companions to Kumasi for transfers. A mission has a crazy amount of rules. So many that missionaries resort to doing stupid things to entertain themselves such as making stacks and stacks and stacks of pancakes and french toast. They didn't last as long as we thought they would. Well the weather is as hot as ever, so I don't get to wear any comfortable sweatshirts this winter. It doesn't feel like October at all. I hope that our sub increases soon as well. I have the equivalent of around 8$ for this week. It's not easy, but I have learned to live cheap. Speaking of Duke, is Brooke going to invite him to my wedding? She better. ...No, I wasn't rolling my eyes... I just facepalmed. ;) You hold a good point about staying positive. It's the only way to make it through the week until the next P-day. Well If I think of anything else to say, I'll write more, but for now I think that wraps it up. I did send another letter to make a total of 2 to you guys, so hopefully you've received it. I received two letters from Mom through the pouch system. One was written in August. haha The pouch system is really slow by the way. I still haven't received Dad's letter yet or any packages, so I still have something to look forward to. and so with that I bid adieu. Have an awesome week and do something fun for me. 

-Elder Silva

Those little Akuras.

 A picture of me with the little "akuras" ( by the way. my Twi spelling is bad since I don't know how it's actually written out). 

 4 powerful baptisms. Worked hard for these ones.

 ..A bit spendy, but chocolate shakes are the perfect way to end a day... or a morning... or anytime really. 

 Hour and a half of fufu... ( a local dish that is a doughy substance dipped in a sauce).

 Ready to weed the cocoa farm! (It was fun for the first few minutes)

 Falling asleep in lessons. (I wasn't even aware this picture was taken) (don't worry it happens less often than you think.)

These kids learn all of the important English first.

Well another week has come and gone. This week will be my last week of training. About half the people in our apartment have a very good chance of being transferred, so there will be many new faces to meet in a bit. I don't eat a whole lot of Ghanian food. Mostly just French Toast, bread or noodles, sometimes rice and stew. If we do end up with any FMs they feed us WAY too much. I can hardly walk after I finish. Also when Ghanians serve you food you're expected to eat everything down to the last crumb. I took an hour and a half to eat a bowl of fufu the other day. What an adventure that was. Good news is my belly is gone. Fat kind-of comes and goes here without me really doing anything. When we get sick we lose weight pretty quickly. There certainly have been "down weeks, and down days", but It's true that it does get better. I haven't received any new letters yet, but nobody has come from the mission home for around 3 weeks now, so they should be there. I look forward, as always, to reading them. CANDY CORN?!? You've made my entire week. How I long for tasty treats. :) If you're having trouble knowing what to send, just send food. Things here in the mission are going well. We had 4 baptisms this week and all of them seem pretty strong. We don't own any land to build a church building here, so we are renting another building. It's not bad and it's big enough for everyone. It's really difficult to describe Ghana. I'll try to keep sending pictures. Pictures are probably the best pick-me-ups I've received on a mission so far. I love them. We're going to have a district activity tonight for meeting our baptism goals for two months in a row. wohoo! We're having a pancake/french toast party with ice cream and soda. (I know it doesn't sound that great, but It's a big deal for me). Today was payday for us. I run out of sub about halfway through the second week fairly consistently. Many Elders are pushing for an increase, since prices in Obuasi have been soaring ever since I got here. Well It's great to hear from you all, and I hope you all have a great week. I hope you know I love you guys a lot. you knew? oh. Well I'll say it again anyways. Love you guys! 

-Elder Silva

I got a package, I got a package, I got a package, hey hey hey hey.

Family,

Halloween's a fun time. Too bad it's not a holiday here in Ghana. So just part of my camera broke, but there's not really anyone who can repair it here. I might end up withdrawing a bit of personal to get a new one. Heck I wish I had internet and technology again; this keyboard is terrible! It's not easy to use. Alright I'm low on time now. Have a wonderful week my awesome family! 

-Elder Silva

 I had a better picture, but those are bedbugs found in Elder R's bed.

 We harvested cocoa at the farm. I never expected it to look like this.

 Guess who got a package from you?

 Road to a farm. No Ebola in Ghana yet. I always seem to be a bit sick though. After talking with president, I learned that most Elders, as soon as they leave Obuasi, feel much healthier. Just my luck:) ...The people in Obuasi are great though. Even the Muslims are very peaceful compared to the radicals in the middle east.

Brother T came to church in style.

Alright so the internet is extremely sluggish today so I haven't been able to do much. I'll try to write plenty to you. I haven't heard any of conference yet, but we should be getting a magazine soon. I'm anxious to read. This is my day to breath this week, but I've been breathing in a lot of heat lately. Seriously it's so hot here. After awhile my body just starts to ignore it and it becomes normal to me. I'm sharing that joke you sent me with everyone at home tonight. I'll even credit you. :) The only sad part is how true that joke can be. Some get baptized and never come again for confirmation. I can't send mail today, because today is a Muslim holiday. Something about eating lots of meat. Glad to see you're trying to write longer, but I don't judge you for it's length. I seem to recall some times where MY letters to Em in the mission field were pretty short. Thank you for the pictures. They always make me smile. I had my 5th member meal yesterday. They're not bad, but they give you soooo much. I've eaten many local foods. Fried plantains are too sweet. Fufu is too hard to swallow. Banku is a little easier. Jollof rice is good, but too much fish. All in all they give me too much. Also they have a whole new concept of meat here. Most of it's just skin and bone and here they eat all of it. Bone takes some getting used to, but it's edible. We're a little dry of investigators here. We've tried to do some finding and we've had some success. One of the most promising girls is attracted to me. Not to make myself sound big, but it happens more than it should. I'm running short of time so I'll leave it at that for now. Love you all and I wish you a great week. 

-Elder Silva