Time To Type!

I actually have time to type today!!! On the Fourth Monday, my companion and I have so much to do to prepare for the coming month that we are allowed extra time on the computer.  We have arrived early today and I am able to get some things done and communicate with all o you. My mom tells me that it is 3 am where you are in the United States, so Good morning!

1. The train that connects my area and Takoradi is amazing. It even has air conditioning!!!  Luxury!!  We didn't want to get off.

2. When you go on a diet in Ghana, there is not much for you to actually eat.... It makes trying to be healthy very difficult.

3. People here think the word "saints" means some type of Spirit that is sent by the Devil. It makes calling ourselves Latter-Day Saints very difficult to explain. Even if they read the definition in the dictionary, they will still have a hard time believing that we are telling the truth. 

4. When you eat two fufu meals in a row it is very difficult to finish.....

5. I had a member fix me chocolate cake and an egg pudding! It tasted so nice. In return I taught her how to make a makeshift oven so she can start her hand at baking rather then steaming a cake. (steamed chocolate cake is still better then no cake)  

This past week has been very nice. I have had to go on exchanges three times this past week to make sure everyone is trained and doing all that they have to do to be great missionaries. I have had so much fun working with so many of the Elders in the mission. I have gotten to see so many different ways of doing the work and changing lives for the better.

Today I want to talk about understanding the Savior. When we understand Him, that is when we know how to follow. As a challenge from my mission President, I have started memorizing more scriptures on Jesus Christ. So far I have: Helaman 5:12, Mosiah 15:8-9, 3 Nephi 9: 21-22, 2 Nephi 2:6-9, and The Living Christ. Doing this challenge has helped me come to see really what the Lord has done for all of us. As we DO our best to understand his life and his sacrifice and victory, we will better see how our relationship with him should be. He is a loving Brother who wishes to save all that come unto him, but there have been laws given to be able to access his Great Atoning Sacrifice. As we follow and fulfill our part in this contract we will have the promise of Eternal life. Yet we must make sure that at all times we are working towards this goal. As we take steps down the path of life, many small and simple decisions change the outcome of our salvation. It is easy to say I will not steal or kill, but these are not usually the deciding factor for most of us to get to Heaven. Many of us have to focus mainly on the Simple Doctrine of Christ: Faith, Repentence, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of The Holy Ghost, and Enduring to The End. Wherever you are along this path, we must be fully aware and conscious of our decisions to follow Him.  When we hold even a little back, we are no longer worthy of all the blessings that God wishes to give to us as his Children. There is a song that I have heard (sorry I forgot the title) which states "How much can i give Lord, without losing all control?". It is a question referirng to the desire to follow God and Jesus Christ but the want to still have the life we decide is best wants...This is the wrong type of thinking. It is not about how much we can give while we still hold ourselves back. The Lord does not ask for 99% but he requires 100% to save our souls. There have been many times in my life where i have been required to work with people or to do certain assignments yet many of these instances I have always tried to be in control even when I am suppose to be a follower. So being able to give all that i am up and become exactly what others want me to be is very difficult. My fear is that i will become a cookie cutter cookie, not allowed to grow in my own way. (this is one of the main reasons i did not go into military when i was back home). Individuality was so important to me that it scared me to think i would just become like everyone else. However this fear does not need to be placed within the Savior's plan for you. We were all raised by God to be who we are today. When we give it all to God we become not one of a million but we are blessed to be one in a miillion. God does not want individuality to be taken from you. On the contrary, he wants you to be you, but he knows the best you that you have the potential of becoming.  Give all yourself to God and The Lord's sacrifice will take effect (when you ask for it) and you will become the greatest individual that you could ever be.

Love you all

PHOTOS FROM APRIL 22, 2019

Loving Mangoes!

1. I can get 11 mangoes for less then a dollar!!!!

2. Mice are in our apartments.

3. I am trying to grow mango trees in our yard. I will not be here for the fruits but future missionaries will thank me.

4. washing becomes easy after a year and a half.

Okay ointo my topic, I was shown a talk today by a missionary and in it a saying was disscussed. It said, I will wage an all out war against Satan. I loved this idea. I use to just try and annoy Satan every day but now things have changed it is time to have a war. This saying alone got me thinking about how missionaries us their time and even plan it out. I realized that the lessons and people i plan in a day are all my battle plans that i have laid out to be able to destory satan and his work. This is not just a laid back situation but an all out war. We better be ready to fight. What is your battle plan everyday? What is your plan to stoip Satan's plan everyday? These are some of t5he questions going around in my head now. I cannot wait to see how they change me. Even after hearing the talk i went out and taught a lesson and it felt as if i was testifying in a new way, it felt like i actually was trying to save someone. 

I want to see if i can commit all of you. Will your wage a war against Satan? If yes, perfect. Now this war i have come to register quickly will not be fought with swords and cimiters (too bad for me). But we will be fighting for every life we see. Now you do not have to be a full blown missionary to fight, all you have to do is find a way to reverse something Satan has done. A greeting or words of affirmation may be enough to change negative feelings he has placed in someone. If that is not a victory i do not know what is. Go out everyday with a battle plan, make every moment about wining your war and help others do the same. 

This battle may not be life and death but it is more, it is damnation and exaltaion that are in the balance. We all better be ready for a fight, luckily God has given us the power to be able to win. Being his children we have the right to banish Satan form, our thoughts and feelings, we have been born with control to do that. Exercise that power and fight him while God and your Brother Jesus Christ stand by your side.

I love you all, LETS WIN THIS WAR

Act And See

1. Mangoes are the greatest fruits that have ever existed and I eat them like junk food here. Unlucky for me, I just got moved out of an area with amazing mangoes and have to suffer with mangoes that are less then sufficient for my junk food needs in this place.

2. When your companion says, "I want to buy fufu" and your first thought is "what stew will I have with it"? You know you have been in Ghana for a long time.

3. When your whole zone emails at two computers and you have a strict schedule for computer time, power going out at every five minute mark, makes it very difficult to work on things (my entire zone was limited to 30 minutes of computer time today and now that it is my turn, the power is fine and working great but I need to abide by the same time limit they had, to keep things fair)....

I still have not seen General Conference. When I do, I will definitely send something about it. 

Patience versus lack of effort is what I wish to talk about today. I have seen, recently, that there is a difference between the two behaviors, especially when it comes to revelation that can be received. Though we are told that we have to be on the Lord's time, that does not mean that we wait for instruction in every little matter. For someone like me, someone who likes knowing they are in the right from a leader's perspective, we can find this fact frustrating. I see myself waiting for revelation too often. Even in many Liahonas and talks that I have read it has always told me the same thing: We are not always given all things that we desire; more likely than not, we are expected to act in our best judgment and move forward making progress, doing good things and serving God's children. However, it took my mission President telling me that very same thing to my face to have it finally sink in. Act and see. I have talked a lot about this before, but I want to re-state it. God needs you and me to grow and if He made every decision for us, we could never grow at all.  Being in Ghana, I have seen myself grow so much because I have no one to turn to but myself, my determination and my God.  

We may decide that God would want to give us an answer but we also have to make sure we are giving our appropriate amount of effort. If we justify our laziness and call it patience on the Lord, we will falter in the end. Don't justify, but if you get told to wait, then wait. God is in control. Do not disobey what He has asked you to do. Follow through with the thoughts He puts into your heart. Act, do not be acted upon and the world will change around you and because of you.

Have a wonderful week.  I hope to have more time to write next week (if the electricity cooperates).

Love, Elder Edison

Fufu-Cooking Companion

A Late Evening Letter From Ghana:

I am so sorry about all the errors that will happen in this letter. I now only have half the normal time to email thanks to the area that I am now serving in, but hopefully I am still able to get my wild and strange ideas into these letters.  Mostly I hope to be able to connect with all of you and let you know that things are alive and well and busy (really busy) in Mptinsin.

1. General Conference is shown two weeks late here. (This is similar to how I used to have to watch it when I lived in China - we always had to wait a couple weeks for the DVD to arrive before we could watch the sessions).

2. Fufu congolay is now going to be something common for me to eat because my companion is good at making it. I have no idea what it is or if it is nice but I will tell you next week.

3. When you have a member family act out The Story of Nephi and his brothers getting the brass plates from  Laban, they find it absolutely amazing!!!!  (Guess I should be grateful for all those role play family nights my family did when I was growing up)

So today I want to talk abouit something that has been on my mind recently. I have seen a lot with the work that I am in right now, that there are times where even those who feel and see great miracles still have a choice to recognize those miracles or ignore them. As a mission, we have concentrated on teaching and converting with power. As we have done this, I have seen great advancements in my teaching skills and am delighted in that fact. However, even with this great progression that is spreading through the mission, I still have not seen people flock to Church as I had hoped they would. Even this past Sunday as we waited for many of the people that we are teaching to show up to Church, we got very disappointed. Even with the six that we were able to get into the meeting, the others that didn't come left a bitter feeling in my heart. I couldn't help but think about all of the Spiritual and uplifting moments that we had had with so many. But then I began to remember something that I have talked about before... you may make a boat to save people from a flood but it is their choice to come to it. 

However easy certain choices may seem to us, there are always some who will struggle making them. We may look at choosing to play it safe and getting on the ark as something that is easy, but we have to remember all the people who didn't do it. There are times when the Straight and narrow path seems so obvious to us, but others will still be lost in the fog. Each of us goes through different things in life and we are tempted in different ways. The fog may be lifted from your eyes but that might mean that it is collecting around someone else. Everyone has agency, we can help them see the path but we cannot force them to walk it. Just as our mothers always said, "It's time to practice the piano"; it was always our choice to do it or not. For me I chose not to take piano lessons and I do not have that skill. Now even when it is obvious that something will be beneficial for us or those around us, there may be many who still do not take the step. Every step is a step of faith and at times those steps may be too overwhelming!

Stay by the side of those that are blinded by fog. Teach those that are lost, the best way. Do all you can now to save a soul and know that even if they wander again, you have done all that God could ask you to do. People cannot be controlled, people can only be loved or hated. So do your part and love everyone. Then maybe, just maybe, they will think again and follow.

I have to go lock up the building and get home before curfew.  Thank you for praying for me in my new calling and for sending me letters.

I love you - 

Elder Edison

Bush Boy In The Big City

Hello Everyone:

Life is so crazy right now. SO many meetings and numbers to be in control of. It has sure been a fast week. I am now serving in a zone called Mpintsin, but my area is called Nkatiakrom.......It suonds like my favorite soup, Nketinkwine. So far it has been a lot of fun. My companion is a native in Ghana and is called Elder Ofosu, awesome guy and speaks the language so we have been teaching a lot. Not to mention that I am learning to teach more in Twi and Fante. I love that!

GHANA STUFF AND NEW AREA STUFF

1. The Western region is far more advanced then the areas i was in while in Central Region; we are thirty minutes from the big city of Wakeradi and most people speak English and hold "real" jobs rather than farming jobs.  I won't be using my machete much around here.

2. By definition, i am considered a "Bush Boy" because I came to the city out of the Bush country!

3. I started teaching a pastor this past week. Amazing guy and really understood the Restoration and was not even mad about it. He is showing progression but because of weird area rules we now have to send him as a referral to other missionaries so please pray that he continues to feel the spirit and search for the truth....

4. Me nim se Nyankopong Teasi. Me nim se Nyankopong ye wo Ajay wo suro. Me ji dim se Nyankopong ado wo. Me nim se Mormon Nwoma no ye nokware. ( The testimony i am learning to say)!  If the spirit can teach this kid how to speak this crazy language, it is certain testimony that miracles still happen!!

People in this World fight so many temptations and seem to falter so often. Each and everyone of us can forgive and lift others. As I work to teach people here in Ghana, I don't see their shortcomings much anymore. The cracks in their armor seem small and something easily handled. Yet when we act as heroes to lift others, it seems we forget that we, too, are human. As we try to lift others we forget that we to have to be lifted. As we expect ourselves to go out and be the undaunted hero, when we come to find a crack in our defences we take the hit hard. 

A very famous quote from our Saviour is "Of you it is required to forgive all men". I love this line so much and when you pair it with other ideas like how we judge others is the way we will be judged, it makes me want to be very forgiving. However, we really have to look carefully at that thought to see a hidden meaning. Christ said "all men", all men includes ourselves. This is a lesson that I have always found difficulty in. It is so easy to get in the habit of letting things go and forgiving others but when it comes to forgiving ourselves we never seem to let it go. It puts a whole new meaning on the way we judge others is the way we will be judged. 

I have not just seen people not forgive themselves but I have been someone who has not forgiven themselves. It is the worst! Let me tell you now. even when everyone else sees the crack in your amor as something small, we read our own weaknesses as gaping holes in who we are. Searching for forgiveness from God will help you lift some of that burden, but not all. When we do not have the faith we need deep down we tell ourselves that though Christ's sacrifice can clean everyone else's marks, our marks will always be there even if He makes it fade. Please never think this way. If you feel God's forgiveness, do not question it.  For one, God cannot lie, and, two, He has promised us that He will forgive us when we repent properly. The marks left in our minds from our sin is a reminder for us never to do them again, that is why we remember our guilt, but God does not make you relive it. That is something only Satan can make you do. If you have been forgiven, let that be it. Do not forget your sin because then it will happen again but do not think for one second that the sin that was washed away or the crack that was repaired still exists. God will remember your sins no more. 

As we go though life none of us are where we want to be, we are all "not good enough", we are always trying to be better for our families, friends and loved ones, yet we never seem to be enough. That is the fun part about life, the reason we all keep growing. If we are ever enough there would be nothing to do.   Be happy with the room to grow because that means you still get to. The moment you become perfect entirely, is the moment that you stop growing. When you stop growing what more is there to do. We make mistakes, move past it, sometimes we are NOT enough, but that is okay (for now) Keep working and pushing past the slip ups and the moments you realize you could have done more. Then tomorrow do it to that next level and you will see that there was even more you could do, even more you can be. That is the gift God gives us in this life. A chance to grow.

Love you all so much

talk soon

Love, Elder Edison