A Very Good Friday!

Hey everyone. I miss you all so much. This past week has been really nice, even through rain and storms, my companion and I were able to talk and meet with a lot of people. Now we didn't get perfect days or anything, but we got days that I can be proud of on this crazy mission. 

Something I have come to understand more is that being proud of what you have done does not matter much. What matters is when you have received the approval of God. Now this works to both push you and me but also to uplift us. When God is in control, we must give our one hundred percent best.  But once that has been achieved then the rest is up to Him. Now challenges arise in all our lives, but as we push ourselves, even when we do not achieve our goals, God may be teaching us something different than what we expected to learn that day.  Usually that means that He is teaching us something more important than we could have learned ourselves. There are times when God will set our own goals aside to ensure that we are following Him and not ourselves. When you see that you have done your best, never be dissapointed or discouraged, you have done all that can be asked of you. See your effort and be content with your best (push yourself but do not kill yourself) When God sees you put your best foot forward he will be happy with you. 

Seek first the Kingdom of God and everything else will be added unto you. Keep working hard and show to God that you are willing to give your all. But even once you have exceeded your own expectations, remember that if you have not reached the goal, you at least did your best.  I am counting on God seeing my efforts on my mission at this time even though our numbers are low and we get pretty discouraged at times.  There are few who want to listen right now - we have to remember that God will guide them and us - Friday was a better day than the rest of the week because some of our appointments actually came to pass instead of people being too busy to see us. We struggle getting people's time because there are so many distractions here.  My companion and I keep trying. I promise we do!

I love you all so much. Keep being amazing.

Elder Edison

Tough Days

Hello Everybody. I hope all is going well where you are, wherever that may be.

So this past week I have seen a lot, there have been ups and downs and many reminders and many instances where I could see God's hand in my life. There are times for each of us, especially missionaries, where we must choose to see His hand. It is easy to come together as a group of missionaries in an apartment and see paths altered when our investigators make good choices or feel the spirit.  It is easy to claim the credit for ourselves but it is a lot more difficult to unite in the understanding that it is through God that we are acomplishing anything. Many people here see God's hand in their life but it also seems that there is a difficulty in understanding His purpose and intent. With our Father in Heaven we don't get to see His face because our faith must be tested, but as we decide to see His hands reaching out to us we can understand that He is in every moment of our lives. When good and bad happens, if the result is something that can strengthen you and improve your life then it may be a gift from God. That goes for me too and I need to remember that more and more.

Sometimes it is very difficult to not take the credit but there are even moments where people slip up in the scriptures. And they are then reminded that God is the one in charge. All Good things come from him and all credit for such things belongs to Him as well. 

I love you all, this week make sure to look For God's hand in your world and see if you can see better how He is helping you.

My apartment struggled to have much success with people this week. We are working from the inside out trying to determine how we can better show our commitment to the work and the kingdom. Hopefully as we strengthen each other in the apartment, it will translate to strengthening others. It is difficult to get everyone the apartment on the same page sometimes but I am trying to figure out how to use my new calling as District leader in a loving way and bring everyone onto the same page as we try to meet our goals.  I would be grateful for any prayers on my behalf.

Love you all

District Leader and Small Blessings

Well Hello People of America and anywhere else you may be. I love you all so much. I miss being able to be in contact with all of you. Just know that I remember all of you and I trust that you will do amazing things in your little parts of the world in the coming week.

So, this past week has been okay but just okay. Last Monday I got very sick which made the following days very difficult. Luckily it cleared up after a day or so. My companion and I lost a lot of time in our week because I was called away for a meeting that I now have to attend each month - I have been called to be District Leader in my area - that comes with lots of responsibility that I was not looking for but I promised I would do whatever God asked me to do and so there wasn't really a lot to discuss when the call came from my mission president.  This traveling all meant that we had lost vaulable time in completing the goals that have been set for us, but we kept working and we made up for lost time as best we could. We even had one of the most productive days in our area that I have ever experienced!

Another fantastic story that happened this past week was our opportunity to see a member. This member loves missionaries. We went to her store and bought drinks because we had a small amount of time before our lesson. She asked us if we had time to stay in her shop for a bit and my companion and I tell her we have around fifteen minutes but that is nearly the amount of time it takes to walk to the appointment so we didn't leave ourselves much of a window. When she hears that we can stay, she invites us to sit. Once we were seated she leaves. After a few minutes, my companion and I get up and ask her son to tell her we were leaving but he then informs us that fufu is already on it's way so we must stay. At this time the Member runs in and says it is alright for us to eat then go. Now in Ghana it is incredibly rude to deny someone's offer of food, especially fufu, so we had to sit. To anyone who does not know about fufu - to eat the globs they give you here it can take up to thirty minutes if you are not too hungry (we had both already eaten). It took us so long but we rushed ourselves anbd finished in thirty minutes. Luckily our lesson was later then we had told our member friend so we were still on time but we lost a chance to find extra people along the way. This member is so amazing and loves the missionaries so much that I think it was more important for us to give her our time and our gratitude and let her feel proud of providing us with some food. I just felt as though it was a good story to share.  We always need to be flexible to do what we feel is most important in any moment.

There are times when our lives are going well and specific blessings from heavenly father may not seem necessary but, in the end, we must still acknowledge our Saviour and God in all things. In a way, they may have been saying to my companion and me that we were going too fast and too far that day and ignoring the more important things. Mayvbe they needed us to remeber that we are human and need to slow down sometimes and maybe our member friend needed to see that we loved her too and that she was blessing our lives. Whatever it is there are lessons to learn in every gift sent from God. 

I am grateful for my mission gift that He is giving me.  I will keep trying my best.

Elder Edison

I love you all 

Can't Find Anyone In The Rain

This week has been very weird, we have been really fighting obstacles in order to see people but we have had little to no success.  The weather here has been a very big problem lately, and it affects  how we can teach because when it rains people are too busy collecting rain water and taking wash down and hiding. In other words people don't like the rain. We have been trying hard but it is still very difficult.

There has been a lot that has happened though, and a lot of changes that have taken place with exchanges. People are moving and other people will come. That means that,for me, because I am staying here, I have a few more people to learn about and love. For some strange reason that is very difficult with teenage guys.....

My area is going well. We are still trying our best to find people to teach but we are starting to turn to our members for assistance because they know more people then we do.

Nevere forget that God is with you. I can only imagine the good things you are all doing but I know if you start recognizing God in what you do, you can all become a lot better. You are all incredible but your God is ready to give you gifts that cannot be numbered in any amount of equations. You are loved and cherished by me and your God.  Time here is crawling right now. I am struggling a bit with the monotony of one day to the next but with all the meeting we had this past week, changes are coming and my responsibilities will be growing in the coming weeks and days - more on that next week. Pray for me, please as I take on new challenges.

Love you guys. Talk soon

Elder Edison