Leaving Dunkwa.....Missing Baptisms But Trusting In The Lord

Well hello everybody. I am finally changing my location! For the first time in my mission I am going on transfers!! I have no idea where I will be going or who will be there once I arrive. I just hope that I can handle this new part of Ghana and be able to be the individual I have to be to find the right people.

Change is going to be nice, however, I don't get to see a few baptisms that I have been planning, but the people will still be baptized and that is what matters. I was going to have a baptism this Saturday. His name is Samuel and he is a phenomenal boy. He learnt everything so fast and efficiently. I could hardly contain myself when we got through his interview earlier today. I am going to miss seeing him and re-teaching him but as long as he makes that step towards God I am fine with the situation. He however is not very happy that me and my companion are leaving (they are closing our area) because he wanted on of us to baptize him. 

Change is a very essential part of our lives, it is something that we cannot fear. Change is a situation that forces growth and understanding. Only when we stand in the way of change do we change it's effects to the negative. Change is not designed to be impossible, but it is designed to be hard. Without it's difficultly, change would be pointless. Change brings challenges and trials all of which you can overcome. Without a shadow of a doubt I know you can all overcome any change, however be aware on how you let the change change you. Make sure you rise to a greater height not slump to a lower standing. 

Become a giant in all things you are a part of, rise to lead and to assist to raise others not just gratify your pride. Become a leader that pulls the rest rather then uses others to raise himself. With each change we are given, we will either strengthen or weaken under the pressure. Be careful because the result is your choice.

So Ghana is amazing right now and I cannot wait to see what it has in store for me in the future. I am ready to take on challenges and face the world just to throw a few punches every once in awhile.

I love you all, and I want you all to know that I have a sure and unshakable testimony in the truth of the message that I share. The message the I am privilaged to share each and everyday has the power to CHANGE all who live upon this Earth. Let the message of the restoration change you for the better. I love you all and I want you all to be happy, i have found the way that brings everlasting happiness. I want you all to have the same.

Love, Elder Edison (Moving On)

PHOTOS! FINALLY!!

Smiles all around for these companions and their investigators!

A shirt left behind by Elder Stephens has found a good home.  Those sandwiches with mystery filling look amazingly gigantic but I am sure these missionaries walk them off within hours of consumption.

The green in Ghana is so so so green!

Study time in his luxury apartment - that smile......all that he deals with and that smile just keeps shining through.....

Again with the smile, Elder Butters!  Loving these photos, long awaited for!

This was from long ago in October, 2017 - just after arriving in Dunkwa - no bats yet, no mice yet - but the smile hasn't changed!

A companion from Liberia and a companion from Ghana and a smiling American right in the middle.

Finding Your Own Way - It Matters!

I am sending photos today so my time will be short - it takes forever to upload the photos to this horribly old computer but I am determined to try today.  It is raining which means that our power may turn off at any moment so I will do the photos first and see if a letter materializes while I try to send photos. Please know I am trying my best to communicate with all of you using materials that are so old and basic - I am not complaining, I am so happy that I have access to a computer at all. But, I want to try to explain why I am limited in what I am sending.

So this past week I have been attempting to memorize the Living Christ, this is a testimony of Christ, given by the leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has a powerful message and I invite all to read it. I hope you all understand that in each and everyone of us is the potential to be powerful sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. Just as Heroes in movies take time to discover their full power or purpose, we need to take our time to find ours. What is a few moments searching for the truth if we really live forever because of what we find?! 

I wish to share with all of you my Testimony. At this time in my life I have come to know, better then I could have possibly conceived in previous moments of my life, that we are all Children of a Heavenly Father. We have the power and ability to become as He is. Every step we take in this life will either direct our path in His way or lead us to the many distractions that are offered for our enjoyment. By taking time to understand ourselves, we can come to know where we may be standing. If we begin to understand our Divine potential, we begin to recognize the necessary steps that must be taken to reach our full potential. Yet without our greatest effort or our full commitment, our potential can never be achieved. Even in this life our potential can never be reached but by taking necessary steps now we may allow ourselves an easier path once we have moved on. Just as receiving a degree takes time energy and sacrifice, our degree in Heaven requires the same. Unlike college, we are not taking classes but consistently and forever taking the test. Watch your steps for each and every challenge or trial, no matter how small or insignificant.  Each step will push us forward or pull us back. I implore all of you with a sincere and fervent call, "Come and see", an invitation given by our Savior. If all we can do is come and see then that is what is required of us. Attempt to know where you stand and where you must go because if you don't know your goal, then as the Chesire cat said (Alice in Wonderland) "Then it doesn't matter much which path you take because you don't care where you end up". It matters  here and now, and for you eternity! Decided now to find your potential and strive to reach it at all times.

I love you all so much. I hope you know how amazing I think you all are.

All my love from Dunkwa (again) - 

Elder Edison

General Conference

Well hello everyone at home and wherever you may be located.

I just got to listen to a bit of conference this week! It was so amazing, the way we sustained felt so inspired even though many people here didn't understand what was supposed to happen. All the talks were just so powerful! Never take for granted the availability of conference; for much of my life it has not been available live for me.  When I lived in China, we had to wait for a week to get the DVD in order to watch it. I remember camping out at church all day to see the two Sunday sessions as a ward - the lunch in between was always fun. And now in Ghana, I have no access to the live version either.  It sure makes me appreciate sitting there in the conference center as it happens. To be able to hear a chosen prophet of God and to see just how amazing it is. Those of you who may still be reading that are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I invite you to go and listen to just one talk or one session. Choose one at random and just see how it makes you feel.

I really saw a difference in the way I felt during Conference. Afterwards, however, it was very challenging to walk outside and hear not so uplifting things. It really made me feel like I fell from a spiritual high, but then i remembered that God's love for us is everywhere. I looked up, saw some flowers and tried to see how that showed God's love. I decided that the color was nice, I saw some more and agreed that their color was also, in fact, nice. As I looked around from the shade tress and felt the breeze that seemed to come out of no where, I decided that there is enough of God's love everywhere that we should never be blind to it. I found that my whole day was different and I have been trying to see how everything in each and everyone one of my days shows God's love. No science from a single cell protein could result in all of this beauty, especially if it just appeared because of luck - so, nope, I am pretty convinced all of this beauty around us, even in Dunkwa Ghana, is from our Father in Heaven!

Ghana has been a lot of fun recently, most people are saying that I will leave my area, it would be strange to leave but I can hardly imagine staying in Dunkwa for another month and a half. I have seen so much of Dunkwa and would hate to leave the people, but now I am ready to go farm, serve, teach and be somewhere else and to have an opportunity to try things besides fufu (think of snot and imagine swallowing it over and over and over again . 

Well I will send more updates next week. I love you all and hope you are doing well.  Keep the prayers coming - I can feel your love and support and I appreciate it.

Elder Edison

Late Tuesday P Day

I am sorry I did not get this letter to you yesterday but my mission president changed P day to Tuesday this week because of the Easter Holiday and I was not told until the day before. Hopefully next time I will be able to tell you all ahead of time that I won't be on the computer. I am sure I miss it more than you miss my letters.  It means so much to be me to be able to reach out and talk to everyone who I miss so much.  Our P Day in Dunkwa is not spent as many missionaries spend their P Days. We don't have time to have a game of sports or explore - it takes us hours to do our laundry, we have to cut each others hair and keeping things even a little bit clean in our apartment takes hours. So, our time is limited and if we have time left, we all want to be on the computer getting letters from home. I have grown to love the people in Dunkwa but the way of life here is not easy and leave little spare time. I won't miss that part of being here when I go somewhere else.

This week I  just wanted to talk about sacrifice, this has been something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Sacrifice is one of the most difficult and complex things in the Gospel but it is not designed to be so. Sacrifice shows God you are willing to follow His every command. When we sacrifice our ten percent, our time, our energy, or countless other things we only receive more in return. I know this sounds stupid and in all common sense it doesn't make sense and that it why it is so important to test this principle. Sacrifice is an ultimate show of faith. As we willingly give what we have to assist others and raise them up, we ourselves are raised to a higher standing before God and before ourselves. The Savior was willing to give His life, that was a great show of faith. He had faith and eventually knew, that this would save us from our sins if we turned to Him. He even had faith that there would be countless imperfect individuals that would turn to him seeking forgiveness. He had faith so that we would follow Him and He performed His ultimate act of service for us. Our task is to now build our own faith in His actions. Stand tall when sacrifice is asked of you because you are only being asked to open yourselves and your hearts and then to be open to receive blessings, nothing more. 

I have seen many instances throughout my life where sacrifice has been required and I have seen the blessings that come. An ironic part about being human is that we can never seem to see the blessings given to us as easily as others are able to view them on our behalf. Keep your eyes open, if you blink you won't see it but God's hand is in your life at every moment. Now it is not easy and I have not figured it all out yet but I feel His presence often and I am grateful for that. Just remember that even the loved ones around you are blessings, a smile on someone's face, a moment shared with family - all of these types of things are blessings. I love you all and know that as we all continue to sustain the Chosen Prophet of God we can be led to be a greater and stronger people; one that will hold under the weight of the world. Start lifting yourselves up through your sacrifice of time and energy given to the Kingdom of God and you will see the weight is a lot lighter then it seemed.

I love you, I love your letters, I need your prayers and I pray for you as well.

Elder Edison