I love hearing from you guys more than all of the music in the world... too much? You know I was afraid that things would get like this as I got older on the mission. I saw it happen to everyone else but.... well life is mundane here as well. Life is in transfers, teaching, companions, teaching, getting fat and teaching some more. Don't think I'm unhappy, I still enjoy missionary work! Sometimes cool things do happen. Other times It's the same story every lesson. In recent news I heard the results of Ghana's "Most Beautiful" pageant. Sika, representing the Ashantis, was 1st runner up. Lost to that darn Central region girl Esi. Our neighbors were disappointed. If I had known, maybe I would have voted for her haha. Church was usual. Twi, Twi and more Twi. There were these two girls who refused to go to primary and kept me with my hands full during Elder's Quorum. We also had a good investigator's class teaching the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a constant struggle in this mission. Either they can't read English, or the BOM English is too hard, or they can't read the hard-to-obtain Twi version either. I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but Twi didn't have a written version till the late 70s, so only the youth can read it alright. I'm still waiting for that golden investigator that finishes the Book of Mormon and loves to talk about its stories. ...Question time. Well I haven't had any companion soup, but I have been eating Banku every day sometimes twice a day that a member made for us and we've been keeping in the fridge. I'm sick of it. ha. I''m still not feeling all that settled in my area. My companion's Twi will most likely be gone soon and that would leave it difficult to teach some of our current investigators. Also I'm still working in two areas, but that may change this upcoming transfer. We have a lot to do before the transfer ends. Also Halloween is coming up and I promise to send you a picture of my costume. I hope you'll have a little fun too. I wish I could tell you that my Bible history has been accelerating, but I'm hovering in the mid-twenties of Isaiah. I gotta get on that. Ghana's Most Beautiful reminded me of Mr.BHS. What a blast. Water is indeed good for you and so are your e-mails. Tell everyone I know hi for me!
-Elder Silva
October 19, 2015
Well it's good to hear from everyone again! Church is good,
but sometimes I fall asleep because everything is in Twi. I had to leave
priesthood class when I took a twenty minute nap in the chair and decided I
needed some fresh air. It was hot anyways. The heat and humidity, combined with
missionary work and Twi lessons (my companion's Ghanaian, so he teaches people
that don't speak English)...makes me fall asleep fairly often. It's not as nice
as you'd think. In-fact, it just makes me feel sluggish. Today our zone went to Lake Bosomtwe. It's a "big-ish" lake and the first body of water I've seen in the
Ashanti region. I wish I could've swam (you may as well tell the airport to
flood a room since I can't wait), but I was content with playing football and
pool. Nothing like chasing a soccer ball with that Ghanaian sun and your
clothes sticking to you like tape. It was really a good time and a much needed
break. We have a Branch mission leader now. He came to our
apartment for a meeting the other day and I just sat there really confused.
I've never worked with one before. My health is good. Still working on my stomach. It's my 11th out of
17th transfer. That's... um...... hold up it's been awhile since math class......
somewhere around 9 months left. Well fam. it's good to hear from you as usual.
I might post some pictures.
Have a great week everyone!
-Elder Silva
October 12, 2015
Well for me it
has been a very, very fast week. I can't believe it's gone! The days
have just moved on like that. Not sure why that is. Me and my companion are
getting along very well. He's actually one of my favorites so far. Yeah I guess
the food quality is up a bit. At least I have a little more of a variety. There
is a good place that has different rice, rice ball, banku and yam that's good
and fast. A tad expensive, but hey I need my food. Substance was actually
increased this week by 25 cidis. That will be significant. It calls for a
celebration! Speaking of that, the District (3 companionships) went to KFC this
morning. I just got done stuffing my face full of chicken. Boy do I need my
meat. My body cries for it haha. Especially since Annan has inspired me to take
up the gym mantle again. We'll see what happens. I've been going for about a
week now and I could definitely tell it had been a transfer or two since I really
went at it. We have a good
number of people progressing. My companion's Twi helps out with that a lot. One
of my favorite things is to hear about people from former areas. I learned
about the baptisms of investigators of mine from Obuasi and Effiduasi. So happy
to hear about that! Those seeds really do grow!! I just realized that back home
appointments are made for feeding the Elders. No appointments are made here. We
just go places and people decide to feed us. Sometimes they'll tell us a couple
days in advance, and other times we just show up and they invite us to their
dinner. That's how it works here. I've had some great fufus since being in
Atonsu. There are definitely differences between branches here and church back home.
I usually just get some scripture reading/daydreaming about doughnuts/sleeping
time in church due to the Twi. I was very bored this last Sunday, but I was
called last second to teach the young women. Happens fairly often and I
actually love it. I got to know them better and we had a fun class. I just felt
very happy and elated after church. Fun how the spirit can make you feel. :) My reading with Isaiah is so-so. I haven't
actually gotten very far - about 6-7 chapters in. I've been pretty busy and my
scripture study took a dive this week. I had to wear earplugs at High
Desert in some rooms. Loud machines is right. It's been hot and
very, very humid lately. We hit that October rainy season. Also, it may sound crazy, but I miss mowing the lawn. Only because there's no
grass here. I'll try to post a few pictures of me in my new area.
Have a great
week guys!
-Elder Silva
Baptism! The mother and child.
Bright day. My comp. had
the right idea.
First Kill!!! This one was bogged down with dust
for easy capture. That's what he gets for trying to hide.
Believe it or not, I enjoy this. Strange what you
get used to out in the mission field.
(First day in Atonsu. Rain aaaaaaahhh).
Cute kid wearing a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Reminds
me of my childhood.
