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