Elder Ordyna - Ghana Kumasi Mission: Zone Conference, Exchange and A Pig

Hello All!!!

Another great week came and gone once again. I am still enjoying The Town for my last couple of weeks and then I am out of here. Headed off to my last area for my last 12 weeks! Exciting times ahead that is for sure!

The week started off with a super spiritual and amazing zone conference. Zone conferences in the mission are a highlight of the transfer because for many of us it is the one and only time during a transfer that we will be able to see President Webster. The day before my companion and I hosted the Nkawkaw District at our apartment for lunch (there are ten of us, 6 in Nkawkaw and 4 up in the mountains in Mpraeso). We were celebrating two birthdays and bidding farewell to one missionary that is going home in a couple of weeks. My companion made rice and beans with stew while I added a small American twist with breaded fried chicken and milkshakes. It was absolutely a hit. All of our district members loved it and now all of them are saying that we are their favorite zone leaders of their entire mission. I have definitely learned the ways to get to the hearts of missionaries. After we finished eating we all climbed into a tro-tro for the one hour journey to Konongo where we were having our zone activity in the standard chapel over there. We had a great time as a zone playing sports and enjoying sweet fried rice. I was also able to play American Football. Let me just say my arm was sore for like two days afterward. It will be very interesting adjusting back into basketball and football from playing soccer every single activity. The whole zone slept in Konongo and we continued to party until the close of zone conference the next day when we all boarded the tro once more to our various areas.

Talking about areas, my area is beginning to really come alive. My companion and I are really seeing a lot of miracles and blessings as we have put our shoulder to the wheel and pushed with all of our might. The members are starting to befriending us and giving us a lot of people to teach. We are also seeing a lot of our efforts come to fruition. We now have about 7 people lined up at the branch ready for baptism. Three came from our own findings, three came from some members and then the other is a wife of a less-active that we were able to help bring back to church. Even the branch is starting to transform little by little as well. Things are really going well for us right now. Sadly, I won't be here for the climax for all of it or the baptisms, but I will be just down the road so I can come back for the baptisms which will be seriously sweet.

Thursday we had a super sweet exchange with our district leader companionship up in Mpraeso. Elder Elkington (from Idaho) came down here to be with me while my companion went up to the mountains to be with Elder Neilson (from Las Vegas). It sure was an exchange to remember. We started the night off with no power. The whole country of Ghana was without power. The government had sold the Electricity Company of Ghana to a private company. And apparently, there was a big switchover that led to no power in the country until the morning. So, it wasn't anything abnormal. By this point, I have gotten used to the power going out for hours but the heat was too much and we didn't have a fan so we couldn't go to sleep. Instead of sleeping we just talked and talked until like 3 am when total exhaustion hit us and we fell asleep despite the heat. It was pretty dope I won't lie. We then had a phenomenal day. Met a lot of new people and even had some sweet spiritual lessons with a lot of our progressing investigators. Step by step we are preparing a lot of our people for baptism but opposition is hitting us at every corner.

The milestone of the sweet week was on Saturday. For most of the transfer my companionship and the two companionships up in Mpraeso talked about roasting a pig at the end of the transfer. But, it slowly went away until all of us forgot about it or at least I thought everyone forgot about it. That was until about last Friday. I got a call from our district leader up there right after companionship study telling us that they had found a pig and planning to kill it and cook it the next day. I was shocked but my companion and I was not about to pass up such a sweet experience. We brought up some supplies and some travel reimbursement for them but for the most part we just enjoyed and chilled with them and roasted a pig and just chopped!!

Every week spiritual and amazing things happen out here in Ghana. Even though I have been out here now for 21 months each and every day is unpredictable and something new happens. I love this gospel so much. I have seen the joy and happiness that comes from living it and know it to be true. I invite everything single one of you to pray and ask God if it is true. Just like I tell every single person that I teach, I will tell you as well, I know if you do so you will receive an anwser for yourself and experience the joy and happiness that the gospel can bring into your life. Love you all so much!!! Hope you all have another great week as well.

Yabeishia ochina chie,

Elder Ordyna

The picture titles get all scrambled up anyways so I will let your imaginations just figure out what each picture is.