Axim, Ghana (October 24, 2016)

This past week flew by! Today is my two months mark, and I feel like yesterday I just arrived in Ghana! My companion and I taught a lot of great lessons and put in a bunch of hours. We've been working hard with two of our investigators who have baptism dates for November 20 as well. They were both member referrals and have been meeting with us every day. I talked about them last email.  Their names are Naomi and Francis. Both of them have been progressing greatly, and they both keep the commitments we ask them to do. They both haven't missed a day of church or a lesson since we met them, which is super hard for people here in Ghana, also. So, things are looking great for the both of them, and I cannot wait for November 20th to come around!  We met with plenty other people and have a couple other solid investigators, as well. Last Saturday we missionaries held an activity at church. We invited people all over Axim to come. My companion and I taught the restoration and the other companionships taught the other two main lessons. The activity went great. A huge amount of people showed up! A lot of them were none members and were really interested. The work is going great here in Axim, and I’m happy to be a part of it! Miss and love you all back home!

 -- Elder Knecht

Axim, Ghana (October 17, 2016)

Ghana is great, and I can definitely tell that it’s starting to get hotter outside. On top of that, the power keeps getting turned off. The rain comes and cools this place off from time to time, but afterwards the humidity is even worse. Win loose situations. We have been having a lot of lessons. So, we are usually in the shade teaching a lesson outside, and a nice breeze will come from time to time. In Ghana, we rarely ever teach a lesson in a house. In fact, I've only taught one inside since I've been here. It’s super nice being outside, though, as long as you are in the shade.

So, we have two baptisms for next month. One, a girl who has a father who is a member. I got the chance to ask her to be baptized and she said yes. The other one is a young man, and he also has been progressing really great. He always has a lot of questions and is able to answer our questions for him perfectly. He listens very well, and last Sunday he asked us if he could get baptized. That was a super cool moment to hear him ask that. When I came here, this placed seemed really messed up, and I was beginning to wonder whether or not that the rest of Ghana was the same way. My companion and I have been putting in a lot of work and many many hours. I have seen the success coming because of it. We are preparing our area for a lot of success next transfer.

My companion and I have also done a lot of traveling last week. We had a training meeting in Cape Coast that we had to be at. I was able to see all of my buddies from the MTC again! I love those guys so much! It was so sweet to see them again and to know that they are all doing great! I'm Loving it!

Miss you all back home, 

-- Elder Knecht

The famous Fufu.  The food selection is pretty limited in Ghana, and this is probably the most popular of the 3 choices.  He's going to crave this when he comes back in two years!  Haha!  

Elder Jennings has been a wonderful first companion and trainer and is really teaching Elder Knecht how to work hard!  Sounds like their hard work is starting to pay off in Axim!

Missionary Training by the beautiful ocean in Cape Coast.  Jacob missed his MTC buddies it sounds like!  They are going to be his friends for life! 

Axim, Ghana (October 10, 2016)

So time is short today, but to start it off we have two baptism dates set. Both of them seem super legit, and I can’t wait to continue teaching them. This week has been super hard work, and we put in a lot of hours. Plus, everyday has been ridiculously hot and the humidity is killing me. I sweat so much that I feel like I’m drowning. Because of this, I have tons of wash to do, and it kinda stinks. We don't have wash machines over here, so we do it all by hand. I do not have any skin on my knuckles, and I had to stop washing early because my blood was making it impossible to get my white shirts clean. Also, the food is the same every day. Rice, Fufu, and Pepe. Took it upon myself to spice up my diet. I’d like to say I’m starting to become quite the cook! We have been having great lessons with some of our investigators, though. We also have a new man named Mr. Wonderful. He read the entire restoration book we gave him and was able to summarize it perfectly when we met with him for the second time. I feel very strongly that he will be a baptism in the future. We taught a lot of lessons this week and had a lot of people show up to church, which is great! We are working hard to finally turn this place into a ward! We also are going to buy a live pig for our house to cook at the end of my first transfer. We will cook it islander style. I can’t wait! Love and miss you all back home.

-- Elder Knecht

HE GOT THE FIRST TWO PACKAGES!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN IN GHANA ELDER KNECHT!

Axim, Ghana (October 3, 2016)

 

The mission president, President Stevenson came to Axim.

Hey everyone back home! This last week has been crazy! I am so exhausted every day, and I’m starting to realize that's how it’s going to be for the next couple years. We are working so hard, though, trying our best to build up this branch.

On Wednesday this week, my comp and I went to go do some service on a farm that belongs to one of the members. It’s not the farm you are picturing in your mind. This farm was out in the middle of the jungle on the side of a huge hill. They gave us cutlasses which are basically just machetes and told us to clear everything. Let’s just say that it was the most fun I've had so far. Those things are sharp, and I was just slicing everything. I can’t wait to bring one home. It was tiring but we cleared a lot of ground for them. I felt like I was in a movie!

This is where the week gets crazy. They gave us food when we finished to thank us. These members are very, very poor. They gave us this soup that did not taste good at all and was slimy. On top of that, there was goat intestines inside, and to top it off, they dropped in a full fish they probably just pulled out of the ocean not cooked at all. It was so hard to eat this. I cannot even describe it. But my comp and I did it. The entire meal! We thought we had made it away safely, but we both got super sick. We both had to go to the restroom at least five times during the night and throughout the day. I felt so awful. I've been trying to eat anything that resembles American food, but it doesn't exist here. We are okay now though. We both have to run back to the house occasionally for the bathroom, but we are okay.

Now, I’ll tell you the good news for the week. My comp and I cover a very large area that includes a lot of very poor villages. A lot of them can’t afford to make it to church every Sunday. The president has asked us to start a group out in the "bush" (Jungle) for the villagers to go and worship for church. His plan for this area is to eventually have it turn into a ward which will one day be in the Axim Stake. It is really cool because these people that live out there are super humble. They listen a lot better and really do feel the spirit more. We will have a lot more success if we work hard this next couple transfers. I can’t wait to see what will happen! Also, my favorite experience I've had happened last Friday! We taught an awesome lesson to two Elders in the Pentecost church while in the Pentecost church! I have never relied so much on the spirit to teach. They respected us very much and asked us to come back again to teach them! I will let you know what happens with them as well. I hope all is well back home! This place is the best! Love and miss you all.

--  Elder Knecht