September 20, 2010

Good morning Brown ebusua! How is it back in Texas? The e-mail is a little later today, we've kind of been all over the place today. We went to Takoradi as a zone to play them in football in the morning. Takoradi is like an hour away so we left really early at like 7. We played there for a while and then headed back. A companionship- Elder Valentine and Elder Haderlie- had found this pizza place in Cape and they wanted us all to go, so we went there at like 1:30 when we got back. While we were eating , everybody was anxious for transfer news, and we got it while we were there. Everybody was excited because they are opening a new area way up north in a place called Sunyani and everybody wanted to go there. Me and Elder Adams are staying together in Moree. I'm glad for that because we've got some sweet investigators right now.

So overall the week was pretty good. It started off cool on Tuesday obviously with the visit from Elder Sitati. He taught some really cool stuff about the "Questions and Answers of our Stories of Latter-day Saints and as missionaries." Then he talked after lunch about using time wisely. The week went pretty smooth after that, we were just busy preparing for our baptism on Sunday. There were other three children from the ward that we baptized on Sunday. There were three children from the ward that we cool for sure but...it was ridiculous with the waves! It went well, it was just hard haha. I was doing the baptizing and I had to try time it perfectly with the waves. I would have to try to finish the words as fast as I could before a wave came. It was super sweet but... I don't know if I want to do it again haha, it was just too crazy!!!!!!! All in all we baptized four converts and three children from the ward.

I didn't do my piano class this week, we were teaching a lesson really far from the chapel and we wouldn't have gotten there on time anyway. A few people showed up so I felt bad it didn't work out, but the lesson was more important. It was with a guy named Ishmael, he's got a baptismal date for October 9th. The guitar I got is sweet. It's a "Givson" not a Gibson...haha. But it's not bad. it's a classical, nylon string guitar. I haven't used it for performances yet, but maybe at the next baptism or something!

Here's some random thoughts and happenings from the week:
-A lot of people think that the LDS Church=the USA here. We have had two people ask us if the building on the one dollar bill is the Salt Lake Temple.
-Amos, the guy we baptized Sunday, has a Dirk Nowitzki jersey he always wears. Now if I can just baptize someone with a Josh Hamilton and Marion Barber jersey I'll have my Dallas bases covered! It's funny all of the random clothes you see here. They call it "Obruni weiwu" meaning "white man died"

You've got to stuff those flat-rate packages super full!!!!!!!!!!! I got yours with the stuff last week and you could've fit WAYYYYYYYYYY more stuff in there!!!! It's ok though :) Just remember that those are duty free so you can stuff (almost) whatever you want in there.

Thanks for the updates from home. Stink about BYU again (the football team lost), hopefully they turn it around and start clicking. Hopefully Heaps is number 1 now. Sounds like Hayden tore it up again, hope his game goes well this week. I had a dream that the Rangers beat the Yankees in five games in the first round of the playoffs, so hopefully it happens!!!!!!

Anyway, it was another great week in Ghana. It's tough, the days are long, it's hot and it's taught not understanding anyone, but I'm getting there. The guy we are teaching right now, Andrew, is just so great. He came to church yesterday and even came to the baptism after. He is going to be baptized October 25th.

You guys are awesome, I love you and miss you guys so much, but its great being here. I got your pictures and the letter today. I just want lots of pictures of family and friends from back when I was home. I'm not too worried about landscape or anything, just my peeps!

Thanks for everything, I love you guys!

Elder Brown

September 13, 2010

Mema woaha! or I guess it'd be memo wo akye for you guys right now since it's morning there. How is it going back home? It's going great here, it was a really good week. We just got done playing ultimate frisbee on the beach.

The dinosaur bookmark is sweet!!! I use it all the time!!! Just pictures of family and friends really, I need more of those. Everybody asks to see pictures and I don't have many. (Editor's note-Griffin would like pictures!)So this week was pretty sweet! I went on splits with Elder Keller in Yamaronsa on Wednesday, so that was fun. Elder Keller is from Salt Lake and has one year let. Tuesday's district meeting was good.

I was going to teach a piano class at the chapel on Wednesday night, but then we went on splits, so that changed that. Literally like everyone in the ward wants to learn how to play the piano, probably 15 people ask me every Sunday to teach them. So I though that I could just teach a class once a week, and if they want to come, they have to bring a friend to come learn too! Everybody wants to learn so bad that they really will bring someone. So I'll do that this week.

Elder Adams' birthday was sweet. The Saunders (the couple missionaries) came by in the morning, brought his b-day packages and a cake! So we sort of had a little party in the morning, had cake for breakfast...haha. Then at dinner at the Pratt's we each got a huge plate of jollof rice and chicken, and then on top of that, a huge bowl of fufu with more chicken!! And we all got three Fantas and banana cakes to top it off. It was huge. We watched the last priesthood session of conference on DVD while we were there, played I-Spy during the songs for Elder Brown (Griffin was in the BYU Men's Choir that sang at the Priesthood Session during April Conference) Brother Pratt thought it was pretty sweet he could see me on the TV! Haha! We were so stuffed that night...I fell asleep nice and early.

Well overall it was another great week in Moree! We'll be having a baptism on Sunday, four people- Augustina, David, Ezra and Kwesi. It'll be at the beach so I'm super excited for that! The people we are baptizing are all really sweet people.

It's starting to get really hot here, the rainy season is coming to a close. Saturday it rained for a while, we had to sit in a house for a while to wait for it to pass. There are like a gazillion funerals going on in Moree and Yamaronsa right ow. They have set times throughout the year that you have to have funerals, they can't have them except for the weekends that are every three months or so.

Sorry to hear about BYU, that really stinks. Seems odd they kept Nelson in....hopefully they get it together for Florida State. Glad the Rangers are staying strong, maybe it's their year!!!!

We had "steak and potatoes" for Elder Adams birthday dinner the day after. His mom sent him a ton of beef jerky and powdered mashed potatoes. The powdered mashed potatoes were awwwwwesome. Idahoan loaded baked powdered mashed potatoes** (see bottom)

Thanks for all the love and support! The work is sweet here! Elder Joseph Sitati is coming to tour the mission the next few days, so we get to hear him speak tomorrow, it'll be sweet!

Yebehyia,
Elder Brown

Griffin has mentioned that it is "sweet" to get stuff like powdered drinks, powdered soups and sauces. If you ever want to send anything to Elder Brown, use the address on the blog page and it's best to use the Flat Rate envelope from the US Postal Service...please do not send electronics or CD's...tape the envelope well! :)

September 6, 2010

Rise and Shout! Not gonna lie I was anxious all week to hear the news haha (editor's note- BYU football winning). It's good they won, I would've gotten depressed...haha just kidding. But sounds like it went well, the independence news is really sweet, the ESPN deal is awesome. It'll be sweet to see how it all works out.

Sounds like all is going well back home. The week in Moree was good! We had our baptism on Saturday. Four people were baptized on Saturday from Moree. We did a big combined baptism with Mankessim, Yamoransa, and Abakrampa so there was like 10 people baptized or so.It was a really good baptism. I played the piano and like halfway through the opening President Sabey comes and sits down right in front of me so I was trying not to mess up and stuff haha. Sister Sabey was impressed with piano skillz, she said she was thinking about how her mother told her when she was little that she needed to learn the piano!

The week was sweet. We got a sweet referral from Papa Fynn. He introduced us to his friend Andrew. We've met with him three times already, taught all of the Restoration lesson. He says that he really likes it and that it is "uplifting" him. He has a cousin that's a member, so he came to our lesson on Sunday.

We went on splits with one of the APs on Thursday, Elder Hill (Ogden, UT)...he helped us learn a lot. He plays the guitar and is super musical and stuff so we had a good time talking about music and messing around on the guitar. The other AP is Elder Agyemang, a native Ghanaian from Kumasi. The chapel continues to go forth, they are setting the foundation today.

I'm actually pretty stoked about learning Fante and Twi. I can learn Fante and Twi and then when I get home go study abroad in France or whatever to perfect my French. Plus I think if I stay in the International Relations majors I want to learn a language like Mandarin or Arabic for the major. We'll see though!

Thanks again for everything. I got package last week, all the ties are sweet!!!!! The skinny tie is especially fresh! I love you guys, thanks for everything!!!

-Elder Brown

PS-tell everybody via the blog or whatever I wish I could email everybody every week but I only have small time, so id I don't email you back it's not because I don't love you!!!!! I even have to type like a mad man to email a few people each week.

The picture is from the Cape Coast castle. We went there today with Elders Bahme, Pinnel, Keller and Wiah. Very sobering thinking about what went on in there. I walked through the "Door of No Return" and sat in the dungeons. It was very humbling.

August 30, 2010

Good morning! We headed into Cape early this morning so you'll probably get this right when you wake up, hope it helps ya have a good start to the week :)

Thanks for all the updates, sounds like everything is going sweet back there. Sounds like Guyer is going to be legit this year.

So this week was another sweet week in Ghana! Nothing too special or out of the ordinary happened, it was just a solid week. Our rockstar ward missionary, Daniel, went back to school in Cape last week, so we've been having trouble getting a translator to go with us, but it was still ok. When we don't have a translator...it's tough, because not many speak English! I got a Twi book to study though, so I'll be able to learn a little bit faster. Twi is just a simplified, easier form of Fante, so I'll still be able to communicate to Fante speakers in Twi. Fante speakers can understand any of the Akan languages, but the other languages, like Twi, cant understand Fante as well. I have that Twi book to learn grammar and stuff, and then I have a small Fante dictionary with some basic words and vocabulary. I'm beginning to be able to read Fante ok, but understanding it when people speak is a whole different ball game. So anyway, Daniel would go proselyte with us every day to translate, but he's gone now. His brother Enoch goes with us sometimes, but he's in high school, so he can't go during the day. There's another guy, Joseph, that goes with us sometimes, and he's really tight. Two other ward missionaries, Stephen and Mary, go into the MTC on Friday. He is going to Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission and she is going to the greatest mission in the world! Ghana Cape Coast!!! It'll be weird because she would translate for us sometimes, and now she'll be my fellow missionary in GCCM. Stephen has a twin who is on a mission in Nigeria Enugu. They converted together when they were 16 or so, and then their older brother converted, and now we are baptizing his younger brother Kwesi, on Saturday.

We spent most of the week preparing for our baptism this coming Saturday, we finished up teaching and preparing Albert, Kwesi, Comfort and Victoria, and Doris, so they'll be baptized on Saturday. We were going to do the baptisms in the ocean, but the Abakrampa sisters and the Yamoransa elders wanted to join up with our baptism, so we'll just be having one in the Yamoransa chapel. We also taught a really cool guy named Ishmael a few times last week.

The work on the chapel continues to go forward. They are doing the final leveling of the ground today, building a fence tomorrow and then they begin building the chapel itself on Wednesday. I'm sure Elder Adams and I will help plenty. Right now, kids just play football on the land because it's the only large flat area in all of Moree! They'll be sad when they start building. We stopped and played some football with them for a while the other day, the kids here are so tight!

Thanks for everything, it's so sweet to hear from you guys every week.

Love, Elder Brown

P.S. Cheer extra for me when the Cougs take down Sarkisian and the Huskies on Saturday. My guess is 37-17 Cougars.