Elder Reid- LDS Ghana Accra Mission: Zone Leaders Council--Truly Amazing!

Me---really tired after riding bike in old area!

Sister Mubiana with Elder Reid

Dear Family & Friends,

Well, Elder Pearson got sick so that is why we did not make it to the café last week to email. He got some kind of virus or something. They do not really know what it was but he got better and I am still feeling great. I think it’s because I work out every morning. I love to do it because I stay awake a lot better during the day. So now I am here to tell you all about it. So the first day he was sick was Friday but he was okay enough. Then Saturday he was okay. Sunday okay and then Monday we planned to go to the Accra Makola Market. It’s the big one with all the cool stuff. He was really sick, so we did not go anywhere. Also, on Tuesday he was still sick, but I was like I have some letters that I need to send so I wrote you a letter and some other people. Wednesday he went to Accra and I split with Elder Ewudzie. It was pretty good, we got lots of work done in our area on Thursday. On Friday we had Zone Leaders Council. It was truly amazing! Some big problems have been happening here in our mission and now President Smith wants to crack down on it and I will help him.

They are also going to change again from the way they have been doing missionary work. There is a new PMG video out and that is what we are learning from now. We got to watch it and it’s going to be great! This mission has already started to do some of the things it teaches. It’s more about teaching what the investigator wants to hear and not just what we teach. I love that way--that is how I have always liked to teach.

That is so cool that Jake got his mission call! I was thinking about him the last couple of weeks and how I have not heard anything from him for a really long time. I did not know he was preparing to go on a mission--that is so sweet. Germany, that is pretty intense! Well, tell him congrats! I hope he has a great time. Tell him to be a leader! Well, when I get home I will write him to see how he is. Oh ya, tell him mission is sweet but hard! I won’t lie--sometimes it has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I love it here and I love my mission, it is so worth it!

So today we went to the Accra Mall to buy some food from Shoprite. We did not find a whole lot but we did find some pretty good stuff. Chicken nuggets--those were pretty sweet! I found real cows milk, it was not the best, but it was pretty good. Nothing like Western Family but it is still good. I got some chocolate that was really nice--Cadbury.

All your trips sound really cool. I look forward to coming home to do some of the fun stuff like that again. I don’t know if I would have been able to jump off that diving platform. I think that would have been too high for me! I have not seen water for a long time and I have not even gotten in the water for longer!

Well this week here on mission we had a good week, even though Elder Pearson was sick. First we had 5 people come to church--that was pretty sweet. A lady from last week that tried to come with her two kids made it and she was really happy to be there. Two of our candidates that we have been preparing for a long time came--they were late and we thought they would not be coming at all. If they had not come they would not have been able to get baptized--so we were very happy when we saw them come. One investigator did not come, another younger girl. She was sick so we will have to get here interview done another day--maybe tomorrow. Then another man brought his daughter to church and they were really cool. They have never been taught by missionaries, they just decided to come this week.

So this week is our Zone Conference it will be tomorrow. We will be going over the same things that we did in Zone Leaders Council. It will be really good, I hope. Then after that it is our turn, as the leaders, to step up and I think that means me because I think I will be one that really cares.

Well, one thing that came about because Elder Pearson got sick was that President and Sister Smith brought cup cakes and something else that I have wanted since the beginning---------a microwave! It’s the only one, so that is really cool! We are happy about that! It’s special too--we can cook potatoes in it so we have plenty and it makes the hard outside and the soft inside--it’s so amazing! That is why we went to Shoprite to get some stuff to cook in the microwave. We bought butter and gravy and other frozen foods.

It sounds like you are all staying very busy--we are too! We have been working to get enough people to baptize this transfer. We want to set a goal of 5 but it might be 4 because we don’t have enough people. This last transfer we had lots of people but some of them failed, it was very sad. So we only got 7 out of 8--but that is still very good. We missed our zone goal by 1; we got 44 out of 45. The district missed by 4 so that’s really bad, but this transfer we will do better I think. Especially if the missionaries will step up and do what is right. We will find out how we did as mission tomorrow but I know we did not make the goal we set.

Well now a little more about you when you come here. It’s great that you got all your shots and that none of them made you sick at all. That is really good. The typhoid is not too bad either--only makes you sick in the morning--but maybe it will not make you sick at all. We just got a new planner and I only have 4 more after this one, before you know it we will be meeting up at the mission home with President Smith. The world cup is over and I am so glad. I don’t like futball when I am here on my mission, too many people watch it and it conflicts with teaching.

Oh ya, transfers will be coming this next week so that will be interesting. I would like to train again very much, but then I did get to train 4 times already so I might not get to again. That would be my dream to just train one more time, so if I don’t move then I will not be training because they will not white wash this area. Meaning take both missionaries out. So that is how transfers will be on the 21st--that will be my 4 month mark.

Well, love you tons and thanks for all the support. I love you all, especially you Mom and Dad. It’s been hard out here but you’re always there with the things that I need to hear. It’s true that God watches out for us in the best ways that he knows. You have both always been there, knowing just the right things to say when things were wrong or right or anything--whether tennis or golf or girls, ha ha. It’s been hard not seeing you every night, but for 2 years I have not been thinking about it. I am happy that I will get to soon. Maybe too soon-- nah never. Love you.

Love, Elder Jeremy Reid