Merry Christmas

Kenyase District by the Only Christmas Tree in GKM (Elder Bamba, Ordyna, Gbettie and Buhler)

Caroling at the Kumasi Mall for Christmas (UST and Dichemso Zones)

UST and Dichemso Zones Preparing to Carol at the Kumasi Mall

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone's week has been sweet! I am emailing today on Christmas. 

One thing that the Ghanaians love more than anything is fire. Anything to do with fire they love. They love lighting huge bonfires of trash. Everywhere you look you will see big pillars of smoke going up into the sky. When I first got here I saw all of them and thought that hundreds of homes were on fire. Nope, that is just trash my companion would tell me. The Ghanaians also love to launch off fireworks all of the time but they do it much more during holidays. Every night for the past couple weeks people have been lighting off fireworks for hours. And it isn't just the little ones you can buy at Walmart. They are the huge illegal (at least back home here they are completely legal) ones that sound like a bomb is going off and send huge sparks into the air. They don't just light them off out in the bush but right next to the roads and buildings. And it will continue every night until New Years. So, no sleep for me. 

The highlight of the week was going to the Kumasi City Mall to carol with the other missionaries. We went to the mall singing Christmas songs. It was a whole lot of fun and sweet actually seeing Christmas decorations and a TREE! And of course, after the mall, we headed to KFC for dinner. I can't pass up a chance to go to KFC when it's there.

At times it has been hard not celebrating Christmas like I would back home but it has been amazing to see how other people celebrate. And it has been especially special being a missionary at this time of year. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. 

One thing that I love about Ghana is that they celebrate Christmas for the right reasons. They celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and remember all of the wonderful things that He has done for us. They spend time with friends and family and remember the true reason for the season: Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful week!!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

6 Month Mark!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well... the funeral is finally over and we are off of lockdown now. Back to normal proselyting time. This past week I also hit my six-month mark! Time has definitely flown and it does not feel like I have been out that long! Every day of my mission so far has been filled with adventures and memories. Everything in Ghana is becoming normal now. Seeing chickens and goats running around everywhere isn't a crazy moment anymore. My Twi is getting pretty good and now I can understand 50% when people talk. 

The Kenyasi-Buokrom District (Elder Buhler, Elder Gbettie, Elder Lephoyo, Elder Bamba and Me)

This week has been another sweet week! The mission Christmas present this year is a blender for every apartment. Of course, I have been using that thing! I am basically going all out with smoothies and milkshakes. I had another exchange with Elder Buhler and we made some pretty great milkshakes. 

The Companionship at the Dichemso Stake Christmas Celebration (Elder Lephoyo, Me, Elder Bamba)

Sister Gifty's Baptism (Me, The Boakye Brothers, Gifty, Elder Bamba and Elder Lephoyo)

This past week on Friday I hit my six-month mark on the mission, the best gift I could possibly receive, I was able to see the members and recent converts from my last area Asuoyeboa 2. All of the stakes in Kumasi came together last Friday for a Christmas celebration. It was full of singing and dancing. It really helped me to get into the Christmas spirit.

Branch Christmas Party with Investigator Musah

Making Gingerbread Houses (Elder Tonga, Elder Schmidt, Me, Elder Buhler)

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a great week! Light the World this week and help others receive the light of Christ that blesses our lives every day! 

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Favorite Fried Rice Vendor (AZITO BABY) 

Kids Running Down the Street by the Kenyasi Chapel

Still More Funeral

KFC with the District (Sister Mbamfu, Elder Gbettie, Elder Buhler, Me, Elder Bamba)

Dear family and friends,

Well... the funeral is still going on. It is currently on Day 11 of 15. Luckily, it will end on Friday. We still had very limited proselyting time this past week and had to be in our apartment early or our heads would be gone. I definitely don't want my mission to come to an end too early so I am not risking anything. This week was definitely interesting as are all weeks here in Ghana. 

Monday evening we went to a member's home for Family Home Evening. They served us a meal of groundnut soup and fufu with a meat that I originally thought was beef and chicken. It was a powerful meal and I was very grateful for it. When the member came back into the room she asked us how we like it. I said that I loved it especially the meat. She said "Oh good! The meat was chicken intestine and cow testicle". I thought to myself the meat was what? I was a little disgusted at first but then I was like that is pretty cool. I can now mark two things off the bucket list. 

The next day we went to Dichemso for our Christmas Devotional. We received some wonderful instruction from the Assistants and President and Sister Cosgrave about unity and the love of Christ. We had a Christmas Dinner Ghana Style. With fried rice, chicken, squash and sugar cookies. It was powerful. After lunch, each zone did a skit and then a special Christmas musical number. It definitely got me into the Christmas spirit. #Lighttheworld campaign is still going strong! Recently, we have been sharing with members Helaman 14:3-8. It is about the signs of Jesus Christ's birth. The one that we focus on is when there was no darkness for three days. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Because of Jesus Christ, we all can be saved and live again. This Christmas time as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ I invite all of us to do things that will Light the World this Christmas season. 

On Thursday we received a third companion. Elder Lephoyo was serving in Krofrom but then his trainer finished his mission and went home before the end of the transfer. So he has joined us here in Kenyasi until the end of the transfer. It has been new to me to be with two companions but now I can say that I have officially had more companions than transfers so far. 5 companions in four transfers. 

Harmattan is in full force here in Kumasi. It is a lot worse than I thought it would be. It is a thick blanket of dust 24/7. When you look out to the horizon it looks foggy but really it is just the dust. Sometimes it gets so bad that no airplanes can take off or land at the airport because of the thick dust. It reminds me of the dust storms back in Arizona. The air has turned really dry as well. Ghana is turning into Arizona which has been nice. 

Christmas is definitely not the same here in Ghana. It is the middle of December and there are no lights, no Christmas trees, and NO CHRISTMAS MUSIC. It feels like Christmas isn't even in two weeks. But, as a mission, we have a lot of fun things planned for Christmas. We will go caroling as a zone and then we will have Christmas dinner as a district. And of course, I will be able to call home!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week lighting the world! #Lighttheworld

Love,

Elder Ordyna

PS- Sorry no pictures this week! I will definitely send some next week!  Today one of my recent converts washed my clothes for me! He is 13 and was baptized this past Saturday. He is a sweet boy! Sadly he was playing with my camera and accidentally deleted all of my pictures from his baptism and the week. 

Kenya'sı Village Kids that Loved Us

Contacting while Playing some Ball

Me with Sister Jennifer (Member who Sold Drinks Beneath our Apartment)

Ashanti King's Mother's Funeral

Me with my Go to Fried Rice Man (Azito Baby)

Dear family and friends,

Well, this week has been an interesting one for sure. 

So, the Ashanti King's mother passed away a couple months ago and her funeral is taking place currently until the 15th of December. Funerals here in Ghana are crazy already but when you add the fact that it is a powerful political figure it gets way out of control. The funeral will be for 15 days and the government, the military, and the Ashanti region staff will all be present. Shops, schools, and businesses will be closed for a couple weeks and the assistants to the president informed us that we have to be in our apartments every night at 5. If anyone is outside past dark the Ashanti kingdom will cut their heads off because they do not want anyone to see where they will bury the body because it will be buried with a lot of jewelry and really expensive things and they don't want grave robbers. At first, I thought it was just a rumor or a myth but all of the Ghanaians say that it is true. All I can say is that I don't want to see if it is true, I will definitely be in my apartment by 5. 

Today we were supposed to go into town (Kejetia) to buy all of our groceries and things for the next couple weeks but were unable to because of the funeral. Kenyasi is very far away from downtown Kumasi so things are much more expensive. I guess I will be living off of fried rice and top ramen for the next week until we can get to town. Which is absolutely no problem. Fried rice here in Ghana is absolutely amazing. It is definitely the closest Ghana dish to American food. It is rice cooked with soy sauce, topped with coleslaw, ketchup, mayo, and noodles with a side of chicken. Who knew that ketchup and mayo are good with rice? Ghana life is sweet and I have loved every moment of it. I will definitely have thousands of stories to tell for the rest of my life about these short two years here in Africa. 

This week flew by so fast. We went to mid-transfer training this week as well. All of the new missionaries and their trainers attend in the middle of the transfer to see how everything is going. It was a great time and we were able to receive a free meal so that was nice. With the funeral and mid transfer training, we weren't able to have much proselyting time this week. But, we were able to make the most of the time that we had. We saw all of our progressing investigators and met many new people. We are planning for two baptisms this Saturday as well as two baptisms next Saturday. 

Me with our investigator Francis. He will be baptized on Saturday

Remember to share Light the World with everyone! The gospel has brought all of us so much joy and happiness and we need to share it with others. Christmas in Ghana will be much different than back home. There are no lights, no trees, no Christmas music blaring everywhere. Even on Christmas, I have heard that people still go to work and it is like a normal day. They don't make Christmas a party like we do in the states the Ghanaians go straight to the reason why we have Christmas; Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and the opportunity I have to share a message every day about Him. 

Hope everyone has a great rest of their week and only 20 more days until Christmas!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Me with a missionary about to go home (Elder Batubenga)

Thanksgiving Ghana Style

First Thanksgiving Ghana Style 

Dear family and friends,

Hope everyone had a sweet Thanksgiving and ate plenty of Turkey.

This week was full of Ghanaians favorite two English sayings "I'm Coming" and "If God Permits". No matter what you ask them they will say I am coming. You ask them to church and they will say I'm coming. You ask them to an activity or program they will say I'm coming. Or if you ask them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they will say I will. We met with plenty of people this week and all of them told us that they would come to church on Sunday. When it came to Sunday hardly any of them showed up. We had another seven at church yesterday but with everyone that told us they would come there should have been close to 20. Another thing that Ghanaians love to say is I will come if God permits. We ask the members if we will see them at church and they will say if God permits. Many people here when you ask them to do anything they say they will do it only if God permits. They won't give you a yes or no answer. It can be very frustrating at times because you have no idea if they will actually show up or not. As a missionary when they say that you just hope and have faith that they will come.

Exchange with Elder Buhler - Thanksgiving 

This week on Friday I was able to go on companion exchanges with the other American in my district. His name is Elder Buhler and he is a brand new missionary. We had a great time together. After we were done proselyting for the day we went to one of my members' homes who said that he had a friend who sells fried turkey. We decided to go and buy one for Thanksgiving dinner together. We walked down to the farm and talked with the farmer and he wanted 350 cedis for the male and 250 for the female. We said forget that and instead went down to a guy grilling chicken on the street and bought a full roasted chicken for 15 cedis. It was totally worth it. We brought the chicken back to my apartment and had it with rice, stew, and coke. That was our humble Thanksgiving Ghana Style. 

Dichemso Zone Activity 

My time here in Ghana has been sweet and flying by so fast. It is almost December which means CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! Which almost means that I have been on a mission for six months! It has gone by super fast. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Futbol - Zone Activity 

Time for a Haircut (Done by Elder Ellett)

Miracle Sunday

Elder Bamba's first baptism - Philip Naira

Dear family and friends,

Hope your week was as great as mine! Probably not, because nothing beats being a missionary! :)

This week my companion and I had a week that every missionary prays about and hopes to have all of the time. It wasn't just a miracle Sunday but a miracle week. I have been stressed out these past couple weeks because all of the responsibilities suddenly given to me during a time when my current area, Kenyase, has really been struggling. My last companion and I were not finding any serious people to teach, no one was attending church and we did not have a baptism in the area for two months. And to make matters seem even more stressful I received the news that I would remain in the area as District Leader and train a brand new French missionary. It seemed very overwhelming and I was really frustrated because it seemed like nothing was going well. 

But, suddenly things have begun to change. And not just slowly but rapidly!! The past couple weeks we have found serious people to teach, they have come to church (we had 7 at church yesterday) and we even had a baptism last Saturday with much more to come in the weeks ahead!! It was not easy but the thing that helped the most was we didn't give up, we kept working hard when the going got tough and we relied on Heavenly Father through prayer. This is truly God's work! As missionaries, we sometimes feel like our work is in vain. No matter how hard we work, no matter how many doors we knock on, no matter how many people we talk to, no success is occurring. But, I know everything that we do is for a reason and God will help us be successful like He has here in Kenyase recently if we put in the work and effort!!

I never would have thought helping someone learn English would be so enjoyable, especially with the help of God in the gift of tongues. Even in just the short two weeks, we have been together my companion's English is already twice as good as it was when we first met each other. He couldn't speak anything when we met and couldn't understand me when I talked. It was super hard our first week together but now he understands very well and he can talk small small. He is very eager to learn and to be an active participant in our lessons. My mission so far has felt a lot like the Best Two Years especially now. My companion and I have had many language experiences like in the movie. For example, my companion taught that Jesus Christ has not come to Earth yet and when he does come he will build a shoe. It has been amazing to see his confidence and determination in learning English. He really wants to learn and be a full participant in the lessons. I try my best to help him as much as possible.

As I have seen him learn another language I have been kind of jealous. I wished that I was called to a foreign language speaking mission. But, I have been called to the Ghana Kumasi Mission, the best mission in the world for a reason. I am here to meet special people and to serve in areas for a reason. God has called me here. Even as I have spent almost six months here I have come to find that this mission is not a completely English mission. 80% of the people that we meet every day do not understand or speak English, only Twi. So, we can only teach them with a member. Even church on Sundays is completely in Twi very small English when they read the scriptures or church manuals. During church, I sit and just study my scriptures. At the MTC and in the field we receive no formal training in Twi. I have learned small from my previous companion and from Ghanaians that I meet. I have learned small Twi and know quite a lot of words now and it has made me become one of the most popular people in Ghana. When Ghanaians see a white guy speak Twi they go into shock and get super happy! Because of this, I have tried to learn as much as possible. My goal is to give my homecoming testimony in Twi, not English!

I would like to conclude on a funny note, or at least I think it is funny. There are at least 20 children that live in the chapel and whenever they see us missionaries come and open the gate to the chapel they swarm us and run inside the chapel compound. Whenever children see a white guy here in Ghana they will yell "Obroni" which is Twi for "White man" and they will sing a song and dance: "Obroni Koko Mache" which is Good Morning White Man. Every day and all day I will hear that song and children yelling Obroni. It makes me feel like the most popular person in Ghana. Haha! But, back to the children at the chapel. On Saturday morning we went early to the chapel to fill the font for the baptism. We turned on the faucet to let it fill and then went inside the chapel for cleaning. The font is outside and away from the chapel. We forgot to cover the font before we left. After about thirty minutes we came back out to check the water level and we saw four young boys SWIMMING in the font! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me or I would have taken a picture for sure.

Hope everyone has a great week and has a happy Thanksgiving! Make sure to eat plenty of turkey and mashed potatoes for me, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Ghana. I will try to get to KFC this Thursday!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Fried Rice with Elder Lephoyo, Elder Bamba and Me at Azito Baby

KFC Ghana Style

1st District Council Agenda as District Leader

Elder Ordyna and Elder Bamba

Dear family and friends,

This week has been another week full of change and went by so fast!

On Wednesday I went to the mission home to pick up my "son" (the new missionary I will be training). There were 21 missionaries that left this transfer, and 24 new elders that came. There were 18 Americans, 5 French missionaries and 1 from Ghana. I was one of the "very lucky" ones and received one of the French missionaries. Which means that I will teach him English! His name is Elder Bamba and he is from Ivory Coast. President Cosgrave really wants to push my limits these next few transfers. I am a brand new district leader and training a French missionary in a difficult area. But, it will be a learning and growing time as well!

These past couple days have been very different for me. I have been the Junior Companion and relied heavily on my companion for guidance in contacting and teaching and followed his lead. But now the roles have completely flipped. Not only am I now the Senior companion but I have been teaching all of the lessons and doing much of the contacting which has helped me to grow but also has been different for me. My companion learned English for only 6 weeks in the MTC. His English is very limited but enough that we are able to communicate with him small. But, it is mostly with gestures and pointing at things. He has been very eager to learn and to participate in the lessons. He bears his testimony and invites our investigators to read the Book of Mormon and pray every lesson which I have been very impressed with. I am looking forward to the time that we have to serve with each other. 

My last companion was from Ghana so he could speak Twi very well so many of our investigators only speak Twi no English. So I was really worried that we would lose a lot of our investigators because neither I nor my companion can speak Twi. But, the Lord has blessed us immensely with four new serious investigators that we were able to find this week. All of them came to church yesterday and are already really progressing. This Saturday we are planning for two baptisms which will be sweet. 

One of the highlights of the week, I went to my first Ghana funeral last Saturday. A member of the branch died a couple weeks ago so we attended his funeral. Funerals in Ghana are unlike anything back in America. It is an all-out PARTY!! People are dancing all over the place, music was super loud. Usually, missionaries are not allowed to attend funerals because of how crazy they are but we got permission because our Branch President invited us and it was one of our church members. It was definitely a culture learning moment for sure. Let me just say that I will never forget it. 

Hope you all have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Father and Son- Elder Bamba and Elder Ordyna

"Landlord of Kenyase"

Dear family and friends,

I hope everyone ate plenty of candy for me this Halloween!! Out here in Ghana they don't celebrate Halloween, sadly. 

This week has been awesome!

On Wednesday Elder Kacher of the Seventy came to conduct a mission tour. It was sweet to meet a general authority. It was a really long meeting (lasting all day) but I learned so many things that will help me become an even better missionary and servant of the Lord. The thing that really stood out to me was how as missionaries we can work with members and Ward/Branch leaders. As a missionary it is really important that we work with the members and report our needs to our leaders. It makes the work so much easier and smoother. But, as members of the Church we all have the special responsibility of sharing the gospel with our friends. I challenge everyone this week to share the gospel with someone. I can promise that it won't only bless your friend but you will also receive happiness and joy as well. 

Elder Buabin's Last Sunday (Sampson the Fried Rice Guy)

On Friday we received transfer news. To my surprise I will be staying here in Kenyase. My companion is going to Asokwa to whitewash (when both missionaries leave an area) and train a new missionary. I will also be training here in Kenyase and I will replace my companion as the new district leader. I am excited to stay here in Kenyase. There is a lot of work to do in Kenyase. Not just missionary work but also helping and improving the branch here. My companion has been in this area for 6 months and knows everyone. He has been called the Landlord of Kenyase by the Branch President. All day on Sunday after church we went around to everyone and said good-bye and ate a lot of food! But, now that he is going home the Branch President has called me the new "Landlord of Kenyase". This upcoming transfer will be full of change. A lot of our investigators only speak Twi no English because my companion can speak Twi and the chance that my new companion can speak Twi is very low. The members in the branch are not very active when it comes to missionary work so if we can't get one of them to come translate for us sadly we will have to drop them. That is the hard part about Kenyase. A lot of people speak Twi and not a lot speak English. So, it will be a challenge but I know that the work will continue. 

I hope you all have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Mission Tour with Elder Kacher (Konongo, Kwamo, Dichemso and UST Zones)

Kenyasi Branch Open House

Dear family and friends,
 Another Monday here. Only one more week until transfer four! Which means that my sixth-month mark is soon! It is crazy to think that I have been living in Ghana for almost half a year. Before I know it I will be home. This week the rain pounded us every day. I am always so happy for the rain. One morning during companionship studies I told my companion that it is going to be an extremely good day. He asked me why and I told him because it is raining. He was shocked and said that it is was not going to be a good day because of the rain. All Ghanaians seem to hate the rain because it rains so much here. The moment it begins to rain the whole city shuts down. All shops and stores close, everyone goes home and there are no cars on the streets. Ghana turns into a literal ghost town. The only bad thing about the rain is that every time it rains the power goes out. And because our water is connected to a pump no electricity means no pump which means no water. So for three days this week, we had no water. We had to fetch water from a nearby well and haul it up four flights of stairs. The work here in Kenyasi has been much slower than my last area. The branch members are not involved in missionary work at all so basically we have to find and contact on our own no referrals. This past week we tried to change that. This past Saturday we had an open house at the chapel where we invited people to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The main focus of the activity was to have the members invite their friends and families to the event. The activity was powerful and a great success. We had a great showing and was able to contact many new people. But sadly not one member brought their friend. Despite that, we now have some more potential investigators to teach and follow up on this week. I have one more week here in Kenyasi until I will be transferred again. The area is considered part of Kumasi but it is way far. It is like Paradise Valley and Phoenix. In order to get to downtown, it takes one hour. Because it is so far we only go every other week when we get our subsistence to buy groceries and things. Plus, we have to walk all the way through the central market. Central Market is the largest open market in all of West Africa. it is absolutely insane. It is 5 times busier than Disneyland! Here in Kenyasi, I am in a two man apartment so I only see other missionaries once a week at district council if we don't go to town. There many areas like this in the mission. Where you are in the middle of the African bush. I have really enjoyed this area. It was a great week! Happy Halloween everyone, hope you all have a great week! 

Love, Elder Ordyna

The Great Bountiful Buokrom District

Kenyasi Branch Members (Harrison, Tetteh and Elder Buabin)

Elder Buabin's Last Sunday (The Mensah Family)

Attack of the Bird and Secret Combinations

 Dear Family and Friends,

It is Monday once again. Time is really going by fast. It is already almost November. In the mission field it seems like each day is like a week and each week is a day. This week I have had plenty of experiences, both spiritual and funny. 

One night as we were climbing the stairs to our apartment (we stay on the third floor) we saw a bird sitting right in front of our security door. We have a huge metal door outside our main door for security reasons. We tried to shoo it away but it kept flying at us. After about thirty minutes of us trying to get it out of the stairwell and it constantly flying at us we gave up and thought that it would just leave on its own so, we hurried and entered our apartment before it could attack us again. But, when we went out the next morning the bird was still there in front of our door waiting for us! I told my companion we are ending this battle today. So I went inside and grabbed a mop and gave my companion a broom. Don't worry we didn't harm the bird. We used them to swing at the bird so it would stop attacking us and would go down the stairs. After another thirty minutes of swinging the broom and mop at the bird we were able to scare it all the way down the stairwell and out into the street. I think my companion is now traumatized from that experience. Because whenever we see a bird while proselyting he gets scared and swings his scripture bag at the bird. 

This week we also did plenty of teaching and finding people. But, most of the lessons were in Twi because my companion is from Ghana so he speaks the local language. I have learned a lot of Twi from him and I am able to say a lot of things,which has been very helpful in the work. This week we went to visit an investigator named Franklin and she told us that she is hesitant about the church because after we left our last lesson some men came to her and told her that she should stop meeting with us because what we were teaching her isn't true. Apparently multiple of my companions investigators in this area have told him this same thing. There is a secret combination in this area. People are going around and telling people not to listen to us. It has been a challenge to reassure Franklin. We told her that if she prays and asks God she will know for herself that the things we teach are true. Before the incident she told us that she would definately be coming to church on Sunday but sadly she didn't come. 

On a brighter note we have one investigator named IK that is doing super well. When my companion and I first met him he was only super drunk. He was really interested in the church but we couldn't teach him because he was drunk and didn't understand anything. So, everyday we would visit with him small and pray for him. This past fast sunday we fasted for him and a miracle has happened this past week. He told us that he has a desire to quit drinking and everytime we see him now he isn't drunk. He still hasn't completely stopped yet but he is doing much much better which is awesome. He even came to church yesterday and loved it. He told us that he wants to know more and will be coming to church every Sunday from here on! He is truly an awesome guy! 

This week was powerful and I hope to have another great week here in Ghana! I feel so blessed to be serving here in Ghana. As I read many of my friends emails that are serving in the states I realized that the work here in Ghana compared to back home is super different. I hope you all have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Kenyasi Apartment

Kenaysi High Street with a Tro-Tro Stuck in the Gutter (that is also the Sewer)

Kejetia Traffic (Downtown Kumasi)

Kejetia Traffic (Downtown Kumasi

Full Strength 100%

Dichemso Zone

Dear family and friends,

I am officially doing much better and am now at 100%. This week has been so much more enjoyable because I am healthy and was able to go out and do the Lord's work! I was blessed with a speedy and full recovery. As a missionary, I have really seen the Lord's hand not only in my life but also in the lives of my investigators. Teaching others about Jesus Christ and seeing them keep their commitments has given me so much joy! During my personal study, I was reading in 3rd Nephi when the Savior visits the Nephites. I got to the part where it reads "Remember where your treasures are your heart is also". That verse stuck out to me. It is absolutely true. If our treasures are worldly possessions we will only care about those things but if we put our treasures in the gospel then our hearts will continually be focused on those things. And we will be able to see the Lord's hand in our lives and receive the blessings from living the gospel. I know that as we do so our lives will be much happier! 

A group of church members came past our apartment chanting, playing drums and just being super loud during...of course... STUDY time. It seems like every apartment has something like this. My last apartment in Asuoyeboa had a preacher woman that would play music and scream into a microphone every morning beginning at 5 am. My Kenyasi apartment also has Islamic mosque right outside the window and at 5 am on super loud speakers they call everyone to prayer. 

Elder Buabin, Me, and members Harrison and Tetteh

This week I was able to attend my third zone conference. Man, the time is absolutely flying! I am almost to six months! At the zone conference, we reviewed many of the things that we learned from the previous zone conferences. The main thing that I got out of it is that we need to continue to review our goals and the things that we have learned so that we can check our progress and see how we are doing on living those things. It is one thing to learn something but it is a completely better thing to live and apply what we have learned. This is especially true in the gospel. We can learn principles of the gospel but it is not until we fully apply and do the things that we have learned our faith grow and we will experience blessings.

I had an interview with President Cosgrave this past Friday and learned that because of some changes in the mission I will be staying in Kenyasi until the end of the transfer! Which I am really excited about. I will have the opportunity to get to know the members even more. Plus, we have some really powerful progressing investigators that are super close to baptism! Kenyasi is awesome and I am really enjoying my time here!

Hope you all have another wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Eating Ampesie (Boiled Yam and Stew) with members Harrison and Tetteh

Dichemso Zone Conference

At the Kenyasi Chapel with the Ward Members for Mid-Week