Fetching Water, Bucket Showers & Boiled Cornstarch!

Dear Family & Friends,

Well this is truly it---in one month from yesterday you will be with me here in Ghana! How sweet is that! I think it's true---the longer you wait for something the sweeter it is. Today I am very happy; we have been having a great time here in Achimota. And your letters just made me so happy. I read about the girl that was probably the funniest one of all. I have been speaking like a Ghanaian for two years. It’s really actually hard to teach ladies here because either they have a husband that they go to church with or they just don’t really care about the whole gospel thing. We have had some success with one sister who they were teaching before I came here. She is really cool and she came to church last week and is planning on getting baptized on the 20th of November. We have some people planned out for the 27th when you are here, but we will just have to see what happens--either here or in Adenta. I hope we can get lots of people for a baptism here, but we will just have to see. There are 3 right now.

So this week at church we had 6 people come. It was really great again. Lots of the people we just met and they have been really cool. One man we met the first day that I came here. He has been going through some challenges in his life and we invited him to church. He was early and ready to learn---the man is about 62 years old (I think). I love the guy, he is so cool. We taught him about the restoration and tried to commit him to baptism. He keeps saying when I come then we will see. It was not an easy lesson, but he came to church so now this week we will be giving him a baptismal date. I really hope that he accepts it. So then to continue---we are teaching a brother and sister who we met last week---they both came to church and they loved it (at least I think they did). Then some kids that are really awesome, their sister is a member. I will take some pictures of them. So, to say the least, Elder Nkomo and I are having a great time!

Well, for the last week our water pump has been broken so we have been fetching water and doing the bucket shower thing! All the plates in the kitchen are dirty and the lids to the pans because we used those for plates! Also all the bowls and utensils are dirty. But then a miracle happened, someone came to fix it! Okay, not as great as your were probably hoping, but still I was happy! Oh ya, next week will be November and I am sure happy about that. It’s going to be really crazy to get to the end of my mission. I still don’t know what to do. I am so happy and yet so sad---it’s really weird. In the end I think it's going to be good to go home. See all the people I have not seen forever.

Well, it sounds like everything is ready for you guys to come over. I am really happy that so far everything has worked out. Well, to answer your questions: I have not tried the pizza; I was out of money really bad so I was just trying to make it. So maybe we will go on Tuesday. Elder Neilson is from Syracuse. I am trying to take more pictures. At church I took one that Dad will like. I bet he has the same picture from his mission! It was a little girl who looked like a Native American--the way she had her hair. She is cute so you will get to see that picture. I will take more--I promise. I will try to take one everyday from now on, but that is a lot. Like my journal---I have tried to fill it out everyday---but sometimes I got really lazy and did not do it for a week or two.

So this week we have decided to make some of Elder Nkomo’s food---it's corn starch (boiled). It’s going to be pretty sweet! We ate some last night because we did not have any food, but we had some shito. It was pretty nice, but somehow thick and lumpy, but nice. We will make it with groundnut soup or peanut soup.

That sounds pretty cool to go to the Medical School Josh is at. I would be pretty happy to do that---then I can just live in their house, also. Ha ha. That will be funny since Jenny’s niece is also there. ha ha. I was not thinking about that before I said that I could live there. Guess what---I am trying also to get everything ready before you come. I have to throw away lots of stuff, but I just keep thinking I have about 6 months before I have to do that and then I realize that it’s been 5 months since I have been saying that! My bags are way too heavy and I have lots of stuff inside that I will never take home with me. I don’t know where to put it. I am also trying to get my stuff clean---like my ties and bedding and bags and everything---so when I come to meet you they will be clean. It’s not easy though still I don’t have time to do anything. I hope the next few weeks are a little less crazy.

That is good that you got the camera so fast for Elder Gale. I got some letters this week because the office managers came out to bring some stuff, which was nice of them. There is a church outside playing their music so loud; it’s not serious at all. You will love other the churches here. You will get to see what they really do here. How it really goes.

I did not even talk about the baptism we had. It did not get planned out very well and we had to change some few things, but then we had it and it was a pretty good baptism. One child of record, that is way funny. Then Cynthia, our candidate, she is 14 and her father is a member and mother also, but the mother is inactive, sadly. Her sister was the child of record. The Tantra Hill Elders had one baptism also. Elder Neilson performed the baptism, he did a good job. On Sunday I did not have to do numbers so we planned---then I fell asleep on my bed and now I am behind on my Book of Mormon reading. I hope that I can catch up today, but I also want to make some food.

Well that is about it for us this week. Now that it’s winding down, I feel like every week I just tell you the same things as I did the week before—but I don’t really know. I hope you all have a good week. I sure will. Now there are only 4 more Mondays that I will be emailing. That is pretty intense. Love you all tons--miss you--but now I will see you all very soon.

Love, Elder Jeremy Reid