A MEGA STORM.....AND DUMSO

Office Life

Dear family and friends,


I survived transfer week in the office for the second time. Transfers in the office aren't just a day like it is for the other missionaries but it extends two days before and a day after the actual transfer day. On Monday we weigh and organize everything for the departing missionaries and then the next day we wake up at 5:30 am to take them to the airport. In the afternoon of that same day we go and pick up the new missionaries from the airport. Then Wednesday is the big transfer day. We are constantly driving people back and forth and making sure that everyone gets where they need to go. And then on Thursday morning, we wake up at 5:30 am to take the missionaries headed to Tamale to the bus station for their 7-hour trip. But, I can gratefully say that we didn't lose anyone, and everyone made it safely to their new areas which is a big plus.

Metro Mass Transfers

On top of a super busy and stressful day driving everyone around and making sure everyone got to where they needed to go as we were driving back to our apartment in the evening a huge rainstorm hit. It was honestly raining so hard that even with our windshields going back and forth as fast as possible we couldn't see anything out of the windshield, so traffic just stopped for like an hour. As we were waiting all I saw out of the window of the car was a huge river rushing past us. If a hurricane could happen super far inland that was basically it. It destroyed absolutely everything. Pretty much every electrical pole in Ghana came down, so we have been without power now for almost a week. 

Even this past week we were able to do a really special service project for a woman and her children in the ward. In the storm, a part of her roof blew off. So, we went over there and helped her to nail and put the metal sheets back on her house. It made me so happy to see how happy she was and even reminded me of the times that I went to Mexico to build homes for people in need. God loves all of us and wants all of us to be as happy as possible. And when we serve others, we are instruments in God's hands to help other people to be happy and have joy. 

FUFU

Nighttime Fun with Investigators

Elder Moak and I with members Stella and Anita

Stirring banku at Elvis's house

This week has been another successful week in the proselyting department. Things continue to go super well for us here in Daban. The members are so motivated and pumped up to do missionary work is so great to see and also it awesome. Here in the office, we get hardly any time to proselyte, so it is so nice that the members give us referrals instead of contacts. The five-person baptism will be this Saturday which will be so cool. There will be three of our investigators (Kenneth, Mary, and Jessica) and then the assistants will have two (small Mary and Phillipa). Something that will be so awesome is that it will be the first baptism in Daban Ward this year and since November of 2017. Plus, on a super happy note this past week one of our members Francis (the new Elders Quorum President) gave us a family to teach. The family is powerful and so ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was my very first lesson with a family out here in Ghana. It super hard to get all of the members of a family to all have time together to sit and listen to us as a family. But, this family is so interested that they all sat and were so engaged the whole time. We gave each of them a Book of Mormon, and they said that they would have scripture study and prayer every day. Plus, they all accepted a baptismal date for the last Saturday of May. Teaching this family really made me grateful for the family that I have back home and for the gospel of Jesus Christ that blesses each of our lives. 

I love you all and hope everyone has a great week! Enjoy the new month of May which means my year mark is the next month!

Love,
Elder Ordyna

DABAN FC

Missionaries serving in Bantama Stake

Investigators at Stake Conference at Bantama 

Pizza restaurant in my area called Piri Piri Pizza and the pizza maker is a legit guy from Italy named Tito.

The Grand Durbar

Family and friends,

Daban District Motto: Missionary Work is "Daban"! with Brother Francis (member and groundskeeper of the mission home)

This week in the office was great. We didn't have a lot of office work to do so we were able to go out and proselyte the most that we have been able to this whole transfer. It was seriously great because we have a lot of people we are preparing for baptism and we needed to finish teaching and go over some final things with them. On May 5 we are planning to baptize 6 of our people. Mary and her brother Kenneth, another Mary, Phillipa, Jessica, and Sharron.

We went to all of them this past week, and all have told us that they can't wait and are still doing all they can to prepare for their special day. I love baptism days out here!  The spirit is strong, and it makes me happy to see people take such an important step in their lives.


This was also the last week of the transfer, so all us missionaries were anxiously waiting for our transfer news. The last week of the transfers are the craziest ones out here. This past weekend I got my transfer news. My companion and I are both staying put here in the office and Daban. 

I am really looking forward to this next step in my mission and am so happy to be here in Kumasi. I am so grateful every day to be a missionary and for the opportunity that I have to serve in this mission. Time is going so fast, and it is almost already half over. I am happy I have been able to be an instrument in the Lord's hand to bring many people to the restored gospel and help many people. I wouldn't regret it at all. All of the people out here are so kind and being a missionary is absolutely amazing!!

Small girl in the middle (Phillipa) is preparing for baptism

Daban Apartment

On a cultural note, today my companion and I were in the office working on some things, and one of the security guards came down to give us some mail for President Cosgrave that was from the chief of Daban. It was written out to the Head Pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. President Cosgrave opened it, and it was an invitation to a Grand Durbar here in Kumasi. A Grand Durbar is where all of the town and village chiefs come together and have a huge when I say huge I mean huge, gathering. It is an all-out party with dancing, food, and drinking. The main purpose of the event is to have all of the wizards and juju men perform their best rituals and things for people. It happens about twice a year and is basically is just a juju men party. It sounds pretty scary to me so I will not be going anywhere near that one.



I love you all and hope all of you continue to enjoy life and count your many blessings the Lord has given you.

Love,
Elder Ordyna

Elder Moak and I helped our land lady spray weeds 

                                                                                    

Investigators preparing for baptism (sister mary and brother kenneth)

Companion and I preparing fufu

Teaching 9 year old Phillipa with DVD player

Family Home Evening with the Squad

April 11-17, 2018

Dear family and friends,

This week sure went by seriously fast. A lot of great things happened this week with investigators. 

The Squad 

For the past couple of weeks now a member named Elvis (the same member I have been talking about in some of my past emails) continues to bring people to church. Mostly they are some neighborhood kids that he helps out. He and now us missionaries call all of them the squad. Every Sunday at church you know when the squad shows up to Sacrament Meeting because like ten youth walk in the door. All of them are so sweet and powerful and doing so great. One of them a 17 year old named Mary and Kenneth her younger 14-year-old brother are preparing to be baptized on May 5.
Their story of baptism is super powerful. Since the first time they both came to church, they told us that they wanted to baptize. They have been coming to church, and we have been teaching them now for three weeks. But, just last week we received some news that their father wouldn't allow them to be baptized. He heard bad things about the church and didn't want his kids to do anything with the church. We were seriously sad at first and disappointed. But, then a couple of days later we went back to their house to talk to them about how everything is doing. And they said that their father permitted them to baptize. Here is how the story went. One night Mary's father was trying to find a way back home after his car broke down and it was raining to bring his children money for food. But, then he quickly found out that Brother Elvis and his wife fed them and were extremely happy with their kindness. After he found out that they were members of the church he had nothing against his children being baptized into "such a great church," my companion and I were so happy and amazed at the story. Members are key to missionary work and even more important being an example is the best way to do missionary work!!

Love,
Elder Ordyna

                          Pictures from the zoo and office life 

The Week of all Weeks in the Office

Daaban Sunset 

Dear Family and friends,

 Most weeks are already pretty busy in the office but this past week out did all weeks times ten.

On Tuesday we went to the mission home early to help Sister Veronica (the mission cook) prepare lunch, and then we delivered the lunch to the Kwamo and UST Zone Conference. I have seriously loved serving in the office because every transfer I see every missionary in this mission. It has been cool to meet and see some of the new missionaries. Before I was in the office if a brand new missionary instantly started his mission in Tamale I would not get to meet him for almost five months.  

A job well done setting up lunch for Mid Transfer Training

Wednesday we delivered lunch for the new missionaries and their trainers at the middle of the transfer training. We set up the lunch and delivered everything to them. Then we delivered another lunch for the mission leadership council (all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders). We were basically the food caterers for the whole mission this past week. But, the best part about delivering food is that my companion and I also get to join in and get fed. 

Visiting Brother Joshua's house. The young girl, Phillipa, is our investigator

Our proselyting efforts out here in Daaban have been seriously sweet recently. The work is going very well. It looks like we will have another two baptisms in a couple of weeks. One of the members that I have been talking about in recent letters has been a huge help for us. If all members are like him out here, Daban would already be a stake. His story is also powerful. He was a heavy smoker and drank and basically broke everything in the word of wisdom for many many years. But the missionaries found him one day and wanted to teach him. He always scared them away and didn't want anything to do with church or Jesus Christ. Then one day he was talking with his wife and she said that she was worried about him. She would try everything for him just to go to church but Elvis didn't want to go to church at all. One day he had a feeling that seriously touched him and the next time the missionaries came he listened to them and then went to church and then he stopped doing all those things and was baptized. Now he is giving us all of his old smoking club friends to teach. And man is all of these guys ready for the gospel. They love it, and the gospel has touched them so much already. They have all stopped drinking and smoking and have even come to church and preparing themselves for baptism. The gospel of Jesus Christ can change lives!! Another cool thing about all of these guys is the fact that they all help and support each other.They call each other to remind each other to read the Book of Mormon and to come to church. Even we bring some of our investigators to come and teach the other guys with us. They are all doing very well, and they have told us that they are feeling the happiest they ever felt. It has been a true blessing to hear their testimonies about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how much it has helped them in their lives.

I love being a missionary and helping others received this happiness and joy in their lives.

I love you all and hope everyone has a great week!!

Love,
Elder Ordyna

Watching over the Mission Home from the Security Guard Post

Enjoying some rice and fried yam

Chilling in Bro. Elvis Room (Me, Elder Amaechi, Elder Moak)

General Conference

General Conference Dinner at the Mission Home with the Cosgrave (Mission President) and the Rogers

Holding a Baby Falcon 

Dear family and friends,

This week sure was a great one with General Conference being the best ending. Every second of this past general conference was packed with insightful and monumental messages. Also, how awesome that we were all able to sustain our prophet and apostles in the solemn assembly. For me, it was a way cool experience, I don't ever remember participating in a solemn assembly. 

Out here in Ghana, I probably won't see the outcomes of the two new changes. One because the Melchizedek Priesthood numbers are already so small out here that the High Priests and Elders already meet together and that is if you have the privilege of being in a ward most areas are only branches with no High Priests so already the Melchizedek Priesthood holders are together. And home teaching out here is seriously hard. There are no addresses, and half of the people are less active so finding their houses is nearly impossible. But all in all the two announcements are seriously monumental and a great hastening of the work. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is so soon, and these things will help all of to better prepare ourselves for that day and to be better disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the best benefits of being in the office and so close to the mission home is the fact that I was able to watch four of the six sessions at the mission home with amazing dinners in between the conferences.

This week was pretty slow around the office. We dropped off lunch at one of the zone conferences but other than that nothing much happened. 

Delivering Lunch to Dichemso/Kronum Zone Conference

We were able to see a lot of people this week and even received like three new referrals this past week from Elvis, the powerful member. Brother Elvis at the point of his life he was a super heavy smoker and drinker and would do all of these things with a bunch of other guys. And then the missionaries started teaching him, and he left all of those things behind and was baptized. It is so cool to see how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes a life. On mission, I see examples of it every day, especially through Brother Elvis. He now has a powerful family with one little son. He has experienced the gospel of Jesus Christ blessing his life and now wants everyone to feel the blessings in their lives.  He has gone to every single one of his smoking buddies and has talked to them about the gospel, and now we are teaching five of whom has quit smoking and have already come to church. It has been a seriously sweet experience to see the changes in these men and the joy and happiness they have already found.

On a cool note this week I was able to hold a baby hawk. One of the mission home security guards caught it and brought it to us in the office. IT was seriously sweet.

Elder Moak and I Taking a Lunch Break in the GKM Office

Anyways hope all of you have a great week and talk to you very soon.

Love,
Elder Ordyna

Driving Members Home after General Conference

General Conference with Investigators

Daaban is Now A Ward

Companionship Study with Elder Amaechi, Elder Moak and myself

Bantama Zone Conference (Elder Duncan, Elder Moak, Elder Amaechi, Elder Ordyna and Elder Amponsah)

Dear family and friends, 

The big news this week is that I am now officially serving in a ward again. This past weekend was Daaban Branch conference. And the stake president announced that the First Presidency approved making it a ward. Man, all of the members were so happy and couldn't believe it. I will seriously have to get used to calling the Bishop "Bishop" not president anymore. A lot of the members of the branch now ward are among some of the first members of the church in Kumasi. Even one of the sisters Nana Kanadu was the member that brought a branch to Daaban like ten years ago.

I have to say it is so cool serving in a place where the church is so young and developing. There is a lot of training and advice that we do as missionaries; we get to help the members and branches become better disciples of Jesus Christ, we also get to interact with some of the first members of the church in this part of the world,  their stories are so powerful. We went to Nana Kanadu's last Sunday for dinner and she shared her conversion story and how she found the church in Accra and was traveling five hours every Sunday to attend church services. Some Saturdays she didn't have enough money to get to Kumasi, but she had faith that she would get the necessary funds to go there. One Saturday she was walking along the side of the road, and a Tro pulled over and offered to pick her up for half the price. Another Saturday she was conversing with one of her friends, and she found that he was going to Accra that evening and she was able to get a ride with him to church. My branch president in Techiman was the first member in Techiman. He told me stories about how he traveled two hours every Sunday to Kumasi for church and similar stories about how miracles happened so he could get to church. Then the church came to Sunyani, so he only had to travel an hour instead of two. Then he was able to bring a branch to Techiman, and his wife was the first convert in the branch, and he was the first branch president in Techiman. Just from the faith and devotion of one man twenty years ago there are now four progressing branches in Techiman with 16 missionaries serving there. Later this year they are planning to even create a fifth branch and then to create the Techiman District. The church is seriously growing and doing so well here in Ghana, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be right in the middle of it as a missionary and to go out every day to help the people and church here in Ghana. 

Investigators at Church (Mary, Boating, and Alfred)

In the office, we aren't able to proselyte much because of all of our other duties and responsibilities. A couple of weeks ago the high councilman over missionary work came to the branch and started to chastise our missionaries for the lack of baptisms and success we have been having. After that, we made some serious goals not to waste a second in the office and to go out and proselyte as much as possible. And ever since we have made that goal, we have seen the success begin. Two weeks ago we had a member introduce us to his friend Bonaface and the next day he came to church. Then this past week the same member showed us a family and the day after we taught them they came to church as well. This past Sunday we had six investigators at church, and all of them are seriously progressing very well, and we are hoping to have three baptisms in April. The work continues to go well here in the best mission in the world GHANA KUMASI MISSION! 

Today at our zone conference President Cosgrave announced that at the end of May FOUR general authorities would be coming to visit Kumasi and we will have a mission tour. One of the four coming will be Elder Neil L. Anderson of the quorum of the 12 apostles which will be absolutely sweet. General authorities love visiting Ghana because of how well the church is growing here if you take away the Africa West Area the number of convert baptisms would go down. We have the highest baptisms in the world. We have had four apostles come in the last year, but not one was able to make it all the way up to Kumasi so it will be super special to have one here!! 

We will also have the great privilege of watching and listening to words from our prophets, seers, and revelators this weekend, as well as view General Conference. I have heard this one will be a big one with the sustaining of President Nelson as the prophet and president of the church and then the announcement of two more apostles. 

I hope you all have a great week and I encourage all of you to go out and do one act of service and share the gospel with one person every day!

I love you all!
Elder Ordyna

Daban

Brother Elvis aka Missionary Work Guru

Elder Moak and I Teaching Investigators with Brother Elvis

THE OFFICE

Elder Ordyna and Elder Moak 

Dear family and friends,

Nothing too exciting happened this week. For me, the first week so far here in the office has been pretty boring. Nothing really happens around here. I was only able to proselyte only 15 hours this week coming from a missionary that is used to 45-50 hours a week. It will definitely try my patience here in the office. One of the mottos that I have heard about office elders is that "We have to think for the other missionaries. Because they can't think for themselves". Already in the short week that I have been here, I can truly see that is true.  (Just kidding)

Picking up the New Missionaries from the Airport

Saying Goodbye to the Departing Missionaries

The craziest day of my mission so far was probably this last transfer day. My companion and I were in charge of getting missionaries to and from Metro Mass (the headquarters of where we do transfers). We were basically like the shuttle service for the whole mission. It was seriously stressful because we had to make sure missionaries were on time for their meetings at the mission home as well for their tros and buses to their new areas.

Relaxing as an Apartment at Big Bob's Burgers (Elder Moak, Ordyna, Ellett and Momotimi)

Office Life (Elder Moak, Elder Ordyna)

But after all, I get to FLEX!! I sit in an a/c office and get a car with a/c, so life is pretty sweet right now. I am seriously missing normal missionary schedule right now, but I know that I am here in the office for a reason. And the skills and attributes that I will gain while serving here will bless me for the rest of my life. On a side note, we get a new mission president in about one more transfer, and I will be in the office when he comes so I will be able to help him get adjusted and all of those things. It will be seriously sweet. I am already enjoying this place, and the Daaban Branch is seriously powerful. It is very close to becoming a ward.

Office P-Day Activities- Vacuuming out the Truck

This week I had a seriously powerful spiritual experience. We went out proselyting with one of our powerful members named Elvis to a Frafra family from Upper East Region. Apparently, they really want to go to church and are super interested in the gospel. But, while we were sitting down and talking with them, a man named Bonaface came over and joined us. His name means beautiful face in Twi. After we began speaking with him and invited him to church, he said that he would come tomorrow and forever. When he said that, I didn't really think anything of it because the majority of the people that we meet say that they will come to church just because that is what they know we want to hear not because they have a desire to come to church. On Sunday when we walked into the chapel at 8:30 am (church starts at 9) he was sitting in the front row anxiously waiting for the service to begin. When we started talking with him, we got his full story. Saturday night he was walking down the trail, and then he saw us, and he said that he had a huge feeling that he needed to come over and join us in our lesson. He didn't know why or even how he sat down next to us before he knew it he was right by us listening very attentively. A member told us that Bonaface called him at 6, then 6:30, then 7, then 7:30 all the way till 8 just asking him if it was time for church yet. He was so serious and excited about coming to church. He absolutely loved church, and when I asked him if he will come back next week he said absolutely and every Sunday from here going, investigators like Bonaface make me so happy. They are so ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that missionary work is Heavenly Work's and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints truly is Jesus Christ's church on the worth. I experience new things every day while out here on the mission that adds to my testimony of the Restored Gospel. I am so grateful to be on a mission especially out here in the best mission ever Ghana Kumasi Mission. I love and miss all of you.

Love,
Elder Ordyna