The Gospel, A Change of Countenance & Attitude - January 20, 2014

Here in Africa I have had some eventful week.

   Monday President decided it would be best if we (the office council, Walls, Office Elders, APs) all had our Ghana driver’s license. There was nothing out of place or wrong with the internationals, just better to have both. So me, Elder Van Scheltma (new AP) and Elder Wall had yet to get ours so far, just because we are newer in the Office. We spent a good amount of time trying to work out what was needed to get it taken care of. After words we ran to the bank to draw our money for the month.  We went home and made doughnuts and dinner.

    The next day we did our normal ran by the post and then to the Area Office/ Temple site to pick up mail and general supplies. Then went with Elder Wall to the DVLA with the right paper work, but the Ghanians could not allow for it to be so simple and put us in a mess of other things to do before we could convert our license over. The way they act about handling paper work had me confused how the Country has gotten this far.

     Wednesday we had a small transfer to close some area and release a lot of ward missionaries working for us. They moved us, The OEs, to a new apartment for some reason during this time as well. Later that day we were headed to Kasoa to drop off some transferring missionaries luggage, while making a legal turn a BMW traveling a high speed attempted to cut us off (Ghanians have a really problem with "Me first thinking") We had already turned and were driving when they came up flipping us off, cussing, and honking. A ways down the road they passed us, stopped, and the 2 men (all decked out in fake gold and wife beaters) got out and wanted us to do the same. We stayed inside, doors locked, and a machete under the seat. They realized we were ignoring them and were chased back to their car by angry taxi drivers, not before one man dented our hood with his fist, then sped off like a coward. Later at the office the dent popped out very easy and no damage was taken to the car. I did lose my faith in these people at this time though.

   The rest of the week we were spending the mornings at the DVLA and teaching in the evenings. Finally on Saturday morning we finished the rigmarole of getting the license! I have to wait 3 months for the hard copy, but in the time being I have my temporary one.
    Friday and Saturday we taught a lot of really great lesson with some wonderful new people. It was a nice time and a great feeling teaching the Gospel with these investigators and some faith was restored. Saturday night we had dinner at President Hill’s home so we could drop off Sister Hill's package, it was a wonderful time and I really love my President and his wife, they are some great people.
 We stopped by the Accra Mall to buy a few groceries (A nice perk to the Office and having a car.) We got a huge box of instant noodles and my companion was balancing it on his head while we struck up a conversation with the cashier and a man in the queue. They really enjoyed us and when we went to pay the cashier said they man had already bought it for us. We ran to thank him (it was a BIG box and no small expense) he said it really wasn't that much and told us how his large family were members of our Church, but he still was not. He so enjoyed our company and had a special feeling about us. He then said he would soon visit the Church and we bid him farewell (sad to say he lives far away in the other mission.)

    It was at this time I forgot all the crap, anger, and depression of the week and world. Right there I saw some hope for not just these people, but all people. How just a small encounter with the Gospel can change a person’s entire form and mind. Whether it be in a lesson or at the store, a simple touch from the Spirit can change everything for the better.

  I close with the words of Elder Hartman Rector Jr as he quoted the Prophet David O McKay.

  "The gospel makes evil minded men good, and good men better and women and children better than they have ever been before.”

     Sincerely ,

  Elder Steven T Ray

Of course if anyone knows Elder Ray knows that he loves trains!

I asked if there is a problem with the trains running so close to people and houses - he said that the people are very cautious and were yelling at him when he was taking this picture even though he said it was 300 yards away.

This is the Ghana Train, painted like the country's flag - this is one of two trains that run in the country. Elder Ray said that this one only handles passengers.  He thinks there is another one that runs up to Cape Coast and Kumasi that hauls freight to the mines.

Pictures

Dinner on the beach - fufu and pepper soup!

Life in the Fast Lane - January 6, 2014

Office work is not easy but I am most differently enjoying it.

     Monday our district went over to the neighboring Zone to play some basketball (we have to do some activity while in the office since we don't get the normal work out riding bikes and walking.) After that finished we came back and dressed in missionary clothes and ran some errands for president.

     Tuesday- In the morning we were at the Area office/temple site picking up and dropping off papers, filling water cooler jugs (yea not our normal assignment) and check for any shipping that came for the mission. When we order copies of the Book of Mormon (the proper plural term) or any of the pamphlets we hand out or papers and forms it all comes through the Area office. For the last month or so we have been running out of everything because it is all on a back order or something, maybe the boat sank, but we are out of a lot of things. Then we went to the Accra mission home to get mail sent to the wrong address and then to the main post office which took a while. That night the Stake put on a huge party for New Years and all the missionaries were invited. We got fed and saw lots of friends and still made it home before 10:30. I didn't stay up for the New Year because I was far too tired.

    Wednesday- I did a little work on Google Earth updating apartments, areas, and general info. I like to think of myself as the Mission Cartographer and a pretty good one at that.:) We then went to a special FM near my old area to a place where Elder Bay is now serving. We had FuFu and pepper soup with cat as the meat! It was my first time eating cat and it really didn't taste bad, but you just don't get a big steak from a cat.

  Thursday- Was supposed to be a day for us to go proselyting but being the first Thursday of the month we had MLC or Mission Leadership Council. All the Zone leaders came in and we took them to Presidents house (it’s serving as the mission home while ours is still under construction) for their meeting. We helped a bit, by showing how to use and do object lessons. We took a missionary to the area doctor (a full time missionary) and then took everyone home. 

  Friday- Every Friday morning we have Office council were we, the APs,  the Walls and President and Sister Hill all met and discuss business throughout the mission. After this we took another trip to the post office (we make two in a week) and gathered supplies and spent the rest of the day in the office doing work on the computers.

  Saturday- Was a proselyting day again and to help with our dead area the whole district( minus the APs) came and for a few hours did contacting and general teaching to help us build a pool of investigators. This was really helpful so we can use are small time to teach and not just roam to find. Later we had a couple of FMs with members and a really nice night.

  Sunday- Found a family in the ward that stays in our area has not been baptized so that gave us more new people to teach or whatever we'll do with them. President came to our ward that day and Joseph B. gave me a present for Dalton since it was his birthday (it is actually very nice and told me Moms is not finished yet.) After church we drove around looking for a place to get a malaria test done for a sick district member. It was a fun adventure and finally we bought a do it yourself test, turns out he didn't have it. Then spent the rest of the night helping the other guys at their apartment and then we collected a few buckets of water from their place because our apartment is out. 

   That is just a few things we did throughout the week. Life is always busy in the office, but I'm staying safe and working hard. I really happy right now, it’s great working for President Hill( very smart guy and learning a lot about business from him) plus I'm driving so I can't complain. Life has been good to me so far.

From Ghana with love.

    Elder Ray

Pictures! - December 26, 2013

There was no email from Elder Ray on Monday - he said he was super busy on Monday and Tuesday delivering as many packages to missionaries that came in - they wanted to make sure that if a package came that the missionary got it before Christmas.
We got to talk to him on Christmas day and he sounded fantastic!! He is happy to be in Ghana and to be serving in the office for the next 6 months - he is having fun driving for the first time in over a year :)
Here are some pictures he sent as well:

Elder Asay (left) and Elder Ray (right) walking on only 1 of 2 railroad tracks in all of Ghana

The Office Elders vehicle - it is named "Goose"

LtoR: Elder Ray, Elder Mason, Elder Asay (before he left for home), Pres Hill, Elder A., Elder Christensen

Christmas morning with his gifts from home :)

Alago District, Christmas morning, after their Secret Santa party!

Transfers - December 16, 2013

This email will be very short because we are super busy today, but let explain why....

    Tuesday was a normal day, went out teaching and had coordination (which fell through) with the ward. We got home and I jumped in the shower right away and no sooner was I about to turn on the water there came a knock at the door saying President Hill was calling. After a small greeting he jumped right to it and asked me if I would serve as an Office Elder for him! I jumped for joy and told him yes, he wanted me to come in the next morning, but I needed some time to pack and say goodbye (not too many people after 4 weeks.) So Wednesday I packed and said goodbye to a few people.

     Thursday- I got picked up by the AP's and went to my Christmas Conference and started as the new OE. I was brought in early so I could be with the old OE, Elder Asay who is going home on Tuesday - and learn a bit about what we do in the office. My companion is Elder Mason, from Arizona and one transfer behind me - we already were friends so this should be good. 

      Luckily I had my International License so I was able to start driving immediately and I don't think I did too badly for someone who hasn't driven in over a year. All mission vehicles are clutch, so they were happy to hear I knew how to work one. The roads and traffic are crazy here, the training has mostly been learning to drive around Ghanaians.
     Tomorrow the departing missionaries are flying out so we are about to run around and pick them up. They will stay with us for the night and in the morrow will prep them for departure and eat one last meal together before we ship to the airport or bus station. Then Wednesday we have transfers for everyone else to worry about. 

    In the office I’m on a computer a lot so I'll write more later when I get time, but for now I have to go pick some missionaries up in my new ride (the OE's and Ap's are the only missionaries with a vehicle too) Also I handle the mail and I was able to pick up my box today at the area office.

      I'm ready for the next 6 months here and happy to be working with President (and a car!!!) So don't worry about me I'm very happy. Goodbye and I'll talk to you soon.

    Love,

          Elder Steven T Ray 

The Hamattan! - December 9, 2013

So it has come, the hot winds from the Sahara have attacked Ghana and totally changed the weather here. The skies are filled with a haze that is created from all the sand that is kicked up from the desert and makes its way to the ocean. Everything now has a light orange tint to it. At night there are some way cool electrical storms above the city caused by all this sand, makes a pretty nice show.

   My eyes have really taken a beating because of all that before mentioned. Since mid-week they have been puffy, red and the tear ducts get that nasty crap in them you sometimes see in the morning. I have never had allergies before, here or at home, but after everyone in my ward, including a senior couple (the Packs from Alpine here on a service mission) told me to get checked out I think I will. I going to try and find some anti-allergy eye drops tomorrow.

  Other then that eye problem the work continues onward. We have 5 baptisms lined up for the next few weeks and looks like we will have two next Sunday. One is a woman in her 50's and is a former Jehovah witness; yeah it keeps the lessons lively. She is a very sweet woman and has really come to enjoy the church a lot.

  This week is pretty crazy too. Wednesday we have Zone training and it’s sounding like it’s going to be a big one, not “fire and brimstone”, but setting things straight. Then Thursday my zone and a couple others are having a Christmas Conference. We will be fed and entertained, plus we are all receiving a gift! yeah haha Not sure what to expect since I missed last years while in the MTC. Then on Saturday we will be getting transfer news, yes it’s a week and 3 days early, but this is to avoid the chaos of having it on Christmas day. We will be getting a new AP and Office Elders (maybe two) so everyone is pretty excited to see what will happen.

   I'm happy to hear you guys are getting some nice snow storms and that it’s shutting down all the interstates, Utah weather never fails to impress or surprise. Maybe I'm not missing out on anything haha Just remember it is the exact opposite you can get over here in Ghana right now. That's the week in the Ghana Accra West mission for you, just trying to hang in there and spread the kingdom of God the best we can. Until next time.....

    Much love,

      Elder Steven T Ray

Half way there, Waaaaaaaaah Livn' on a prayer!!!!‏-Dec 2, 2013

Family,

The title says it all! What a strange feeling has come over me to think it’s been a year. Only a year? It’s only been a year! Sometimes it seems like just the other day and then it seems like 20 yrs! Really quite a mix of emotions, but first.....

   Most of the week we spent contacting, finding, and hitting the trails scouting for new investigators. I dropped a lot of the people we had been working with to see maybe if our absence made them see the light.

In the search we talked to rich, poor, tall, short, Chinese and Canadian. The Chinese folks (probably gold miners, legal or not) did ask for a return appointment so we will try them later this week. The funny thing with my area is we have some of the richest areas I have seen in Ghana and thee dirtiest slums as well. We also have a large portion with is the Korle Bu Hospital (supposedly the largest in west Africa.)

   Thursday- To celebrate turkey day we hit the local market to buy items for Philly cheese steaks. There we also found potatoes, so we made a big mess of Philly cheese steaks, diced potatoes, sausage, and mango juice. It was really good and we were unable to finish all and after staying up far too late we ate the left overs for breakfast.

    Saturday- Did some few teachings in the morning and came to meet with everyone else for a big open house in our zone. It was a nice change up added into the week from the normal rounds and teachings. Also the mail wagon made an appearance and I was able to pick up my supplies and packages. When we got home I opened them but the one when opened stunk really bad. Turns out the can of Turkey Spam had ruptured and soured in there. Everything else was fine and the camera made it just fine, loved looking at the pictures left on it. Can I say the flask tie is the coolest thing I have ever seen, it might just get worn out being used to much. I also loved the funny Mormon ads in there.

  When Everyone else got home we ate a huge tub of fan-ice( the local ice cream) with bananas and cookies. 8 hungry missionaries took care of it all pretty fast though.

   Sunday- The main investigators we are teaching showed up to church and also brought their friends. One guy we dropped called and said he was looking for the chapel so we went and I grabbed him making 5 (investigators) to sacrament. It was a beautiful way to close the week or so we thought. One elder’s family sent a massive box full of food for us all, so that night we feasted again. We were able to enjoy two Thanksgiving dinners that week.

   Well through all the times and events of the past year I'm still around and taking Ghana one day at a time. The work continues though no matter the time left and we are rolling with, just one day at a time. Thank you so so much for the wonderful gifts, the supportive prayers, and sustaining wishes. Until next time, adieu.

       With much love,

                Elder Ray