The Prayer of Faith - Nov. 20-26, 2018

Nov. 20-26, 2018

Me and the new missionary in my apartment Elder Tonga from Tonga

Dear family and friends,

A somewhat stressful week with transfers and other things but mostly a great week filled with lessons and talking to people. That is the joys of being out here in Ghana. Everyone is willing to listen to you and hear what you have to say.

On Wednesday we had our mission-wide transfer day. My companion and I had the great responsibility to hire a tro-tro for the day to take us to Bantama and then to the various areas. We had to make sure that we took the zone members that are leaving our zone to Bantama as well as making sure that all of the new members got to where they needed to go. It was a long day of traveling, leading and directing. We were in a tro-tro for like five hours driving out to the various areas of Kwamo Zone. It is the most spread out zone in the mission with five two-man apartments and there are some serious far areas. But, after the transfers, our zone is looking great again and I am so excited for what this transfer has in store. The Meek Kwamo Zone is still meek and is the great and spacious bush zone. 

All of the zone members from Kwamo Zone being transferred- (but me)

And to make it even more adventurous one of our areas in the zone Agona was whitewashed (both missionaries left the area). So, we had to guide them to their apartment. I had never been there before and I asked the office elders to print me out a map of it. Remember we don't have smartphones out here. So we were out in the straight bush of Ghana trying to follow the map to the apartment. It turned out to be a completely wrong map so we went out and trekked around for a bit and just started to ask people everywhere for the Obroni's house. Before we knew it we were lost out in the middle of nowhere. Finally, a nice man pointed us in the right direction and we were able to find it. With the help of the wonderful people of Ghana we were able to get the Agona elders to their new apartment. Just another amazing adventure out here. 

My area is basically straight fire right now. Serious miracles are happening right now. The Lord's hand is definitely in our area right now. We have been finding so many people that have been prepared by Heavenly Father to hear our message and even more people are being referred to us by the members. With our efforts and the members, Kwamo is exploding with success. This past Sunday I also experienced an amazing answer to my prayer. 

Coming to church on Sunday I was very optimistic for a great showing at church. We had a lot of people tell us that they are coming and are excited for their first time at church. Halfway through sacrament meeting, we only had one investigator at church. I was really disappointed and I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help everyone that had a desire to come to church today to be able to make it. Literally, a couple of minutes later my prayer was answered. People came into the chapel, investigators for the first time, progressing investigators as well as new people that we have never seen before. And didn't only stop in Ward 1 it also continued in Ward 2. We found a whole lot of new people to teach and a lot of our current investigators' faith grew because they were able to come to church for the first time. At the end of it, we had 10 investigators at church with four new people to follow up with. It was so awesome. I knew that God answered prayers before that moment but it completely strengthened my testimony of that fact. God is always there waiting for us to pray so that he can bless us and help us in everything that we are doing. And that is exactly what happened. He blessed me and my companion but he also blessed those investigators life and led them to the restored gospel. I love this gospel so much and am so grateful to be out in His vineyard as a full-time missionary inviting and bringing souls unto Jesus Christ.

I love you all and am so grateful for all of your support and love you have shown me over these months. Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Lucky 13th Transfer - Nov.13-19, 2018

Nov.13-19, 2018

Me and Brother Atobrah (a returned missionary that goes proselyting with us almost every day)

Hello family and friends!!

It has been another great week out here. As a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ, every week is great. Teaching the restored gospel to many people each week really has given me some serious happiness and joy. I have really loved every moment of every second. Mission has strengthened my testimony of this gospel so much and I can now say that the gospel has truly changed my life so much. Every lesson I teach, every person I talk to, and every time I study my faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father grow. 

Today officially begins my 13th transfer on mission. I call it the lucky 13th because it is the transfer when I hit my 18-month mark and the sisters that came on mission with me go home. Last six months on mission is approaching very soon. But, as I look back on how fast time flew it seems so short but I know I have grown and have learned so much and have had so many great experiences. 

This week we had another normal week. A lot of teaching and talking with people. We were able to also find a lot of people that seem really interested as well as some referrals from the members. I can really see the hand of the Lord in this area. The Lord sure is blessing us here in Kwamo. People are coming out of everywhere to come to the truth lately and I know it is the Lord that is preparing their hearts for the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that we have to share with them. 

One great experience I was able to have this week was to go on exchanges to the farthest area of our zone. President Webster put us on the task of scoping and exploring a place called Ejura for a potential group. Mampong (the farthest area in our zone) is a two-hour journey from Kwamo and then Ejura is another hour from there. It was seriously far and the travel was plenty but it was a great adventure. The taxis we rode in were basically made in the '80s and I thought it would fall apart along the way on the terrible roads but we made it there and back very safely. Seriously cool to go so far away for a special assignment from mission president. Ejura is a completely different world from Kwamo. It has a great foundation and with a group where the church will really grow a lot. It is also really great to go on exchange with our zone members and to see how things are going and to get to know them better. The Mampong elders are doing amazing work and really enjoying things. Everyone in Kwamo Zone is doing super well and there is some serious success and hard work being done right now out here in the wide and spacious bush zone of Ghana Kumasi Mission. 

getting a haircut out here by Edward, one of our recent converts

Love you all so much. And hope each one of you has a great and enjoyable Thanksgiving!! Eat a lot of turkey and mashed potatoes for me! Don't worry though in return I will make sure to eat a giant bowl of FUFU with groundnut soup!! Enjoy the week!

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Don't Go There!! I Didn't Go There!! - Nov 6-Nov 12

 Hey all!!

Another week has rapidly passed once again and that means that you get another update from Elder Ordyna. This week was definitely one to remember.

We focused majority of the week on preparing people for baptism. Kwamo is my only area so far on mission where my companion and I have never planned to contact because the members are constantly giving us referrals. As a result we had 8 baptisms this last week. It was so amazing to see each one of them enter the waters of baptism and then to be so happy afterwards. One of the men that we baptized told us after the baptism that he loves this church so much and will be his church until he dies. 

One of the men named Solomon has an amazing conversion story. I wasn't here when he met the missionaries only to finish his teaching and baptize him. But, he said that one day he was coming home from work and he hurt his foot on the way. Missionaries saw him and could tell that he was in some serious pain and offered to help him get home. They got ice blocks and some pain killer and then helped Solomon to his house. Since that day Solomon was interested in the missionaries and what they had to tell him. That very next Sunday he came to church for the very first time and has come every Sunday since and now is baptized. He absolutely loves the church and is planning to attend the temple at the end of this month during the ward temple trip.  

The title for my letter this week comes from one of the investigators we currently are meeting with named Mishak. For him he has been coming to church for months now and is seriously interested in our message. One of his biggest challenges is drinking alcohol. When we first started teaching him he was drinking every single day and we saw him drunk many times. He really wanted to change and we really wanted to help him change. A couple of weeks ago we had a lesson with him and we got a feel for his problem. We talked about repentance and the atonement and about how through Jesus Christ we can do all things and He can give us the strength to overcome our challenges and weaknesses. We told him to not go to the bar or as they call it in Ghana "spot".  DONT GO THERE!! This last week we met with him again and he said that he has been really praying and asking for God's help and hasn't drunk for two week s now! We told him DONT GO THERE and he said I DIDNT GO THERE. That is our little thing with him now. We say to him DONT GO THERE and he always says I DIDNT GO THERE!! Here is doing so great and preparing all that he can for baptism. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives. He truly is the son of God and through Him we can overcome any challenges that we have in this life. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and know that it can truly change us and help us to become the people that God and Jesus Christ want us to become as we apply it in our lives. The Atonement of Jesus Christ can transform our lives and give us so much joy and happiness!!! I love you all and I love this gospel so much!! Sharing it with others everyday all day for almost the past year and a half has made me so happy. And I know that as we all live the gospel in our lives we can all have that same happiness and joy.

Love,

Elder Ordyna

Pictures 

Picture 1- Baptism

Picture 2- Me with Edward (a recent convert in Kwamo as well as my barber)

Picture 3- Look towards the center and you will see my picture. I am famous here in Kwamo!!!

Kwamo is on Fire, Work Wise! - Oct. 29-Nov. 5, 2018

Oct. 29-Nov. 5, 2018

Agona District

Hello All, 

I love and miss all of you!! It has been a seriously busy and productive week here in Kwamo. I always think about what I did to deserve this wonderful and blessed area. It has been such a great blessing to serve in this place with such powerful members. 

Two weeks ago Kwamo Ward 1 had 96 people show up to sacrament meeting. The next mid-week the Bishop and the clerk, both returned missionaries, talked about helping less-actives return to the fold and working on getting new people to join the fold. It was a seriously inspiring mid-week. The members were all so pumped and inspired to achieve a goal of 110 people at sacrament. And we achieved 116!! Talk about commitment and willingness! These people here in Kwamo truly understand this gospel and what it means to be a true member of Jesus Christ's church. We also received five referrals from some members. For the first time my whole mission we had a member that called us to tell us he had someone for us to teach. We were walking down the street trying to think about something to do and we were about to contact when we received a phone call from one of our recent converts Brother Ikwiee. He said that he was visiting with someone that he wanted us to come and teach. He introduced us to Brother Desmond and we had a wonderful lesson one with him. With the help of members, the work has been amazing and so sweet!!

Kwamo District Activity to the Kumasi Zoo

Since serving in Ghana I have seriously gained a testimony of the Great Apostasy and the Restoration. It is so obvious here in Ghana that the apostasy truly did happen. There are thousands of churches and false prophets and confusion everywhere. I feel like it is a lot like the same kind of thing going on when Joseph Smith was 14. The best way to get people interested in the church is lesson 1, The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had many times this week where we talked about the things going on here in Ghana and how we can come to know for ourselves which church is true. We were contacting in an area for some small time when we came across two women arguing about the age to be baptized. One said that it was 30 years old and the other said 15 years. Both said that their pastors told them the age and claimed that it is straight from the bible. We had a long conversation with both of them about the apostasy and the restoration. Both were so interested and loved everything we said. So many people know there are some serious things going wrong here in the churches and they are seriously doing all that they can to find the truth. It is so amazing to see the spirit touch someone's hearts and for them to be converted in the gospel and come to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Jesus Christ's true church. 

I love you guys so much. Hope you all have a great week!! 

Elder Ordyna

pictures are at the zoo