Axim, Ghana (December 27, 2016)

Sorry I wasn't able to email yesterday. The café that we have to travel to was closed because they could not connect to the internet. But, I am so happy to be able to talk now about my past week! Christmas in Ghana is a smaller holiday to them, but we were able to go around and share the importance of it. I have definitely shared Luke 2 more times in a week than I have ever opened to it in my life. The people know the reason of why we celebrate Christmas, but we were able to share the importance of it more. My companion and I had plenty of opportunities to teach about Jesus Christ and the example he set and why he is so important for us to always remember him. But other than that, Ghanaian's are always looking for an excuse to party. So, all week they were parading up and down the streets singing and dancing. It was fun seeing them all dressed up in African clothing. But, I was so excited for the chance that I had to be able to Skype home! I only was able to see my family for a couple minutes because we weren't able to get the microphone to work, but being able to see them for that short time made my week for sure. I was still able to call home, and for the time that we had to be able to talk was the best Christmas gift ever! It was great being able to talk to them all and to share a little about my mission. I miss them all a lot and I’m so grateful for all the support they show me. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas back home!

 -- Elder Knecht

Christmas Fufu!!!

 

Axim, Ghana (December 19, 2016)

Had another great week! This week we were not able to teach Linda for a very long time because she was very busy taking care of her sick Grandma all week. But for the short time that we were able to meet with her and have a quick discussion, it was great! I can tell she is going to be very strong if she continues to have a desire to meet with us. She also found the time to come to church this week which was not easy for her because of her sick grandma and the travel to the chapel. It was sweet to be able to see her a sacrament again and to see her desire to grow.

Another thing that was fun this week was being able to go on an exchange with my district leader Elder Aniwa who is from Ghana! It was really cool being able to learn from him and his experiences on the mission. He is a really great guy, and I am very grateful for him and the love and kindness he has shown me from the time I got here.

Also, for the past couple weeks my companion and I have been trying really hard to be able to teach all the less actives in the branch. There are a lot and we really want them to be able to become strong again in the church. We have been having a lot of success, though, and we have been seeing some of them coming back because of it!

This week is also Christmas so I wish you all a Merry Christmas from Ghana, and I want you to all know that I love all of you guys back home, and I am so grateful for the support you all show me! Thank you so much! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

--Elder Knecht

Axim, Ghana (December 12, 2016)

Another great week down! This week was a little crazy though. First off, it was the Ghanaian Election and things have been getting pretty heated over who they wanted to win. Where I am the people are really poor so they did not like the current president at all. The atmosphere was crazy. The streets have been filled since the beginning of last week with tons of people cheering and dancing and supporting who they wanted to win. Also, they love loud music a lot, and they have been blaring it loud all day and night. It's kinda of fun dancing to it while taking a nice cold bucket shower. Anyways the person they wanted for president won so they have been going crazy since they found that out. It's cool seeing how happy and excited they all are, though. The election was on Wednesday, and we weren't even allowed to go out that day because of how crazy all they people were.

 

We also have a pretty sweet new investigator who showed up to church this week. She’s in her twenties and her name is Linda. We were only able to meet with her for a short time, but she told us that she really loves our church and she has seen the examples of family friends who are members that she really likes. I think she will be a sweet investigator, and I can’t wait to meet with her more. Things have been great, though, here in Ghana! I can’t wait to see what this next week will bring!

-- Elder Knecht

 

Axim, Ghana (December 5, 2016)

 

NO LONGER A GREENIE!!! Gets to stay with training companion at least one more transfer!

 

So this last week was a little challenging. Since we just had a baptism my companion and I are back out trying our hardest to find some knew legit investigators. So far we think we have found two. One’s name is Peter and he is an older man. We found him outside his house one day sitting in a chair, and we shared a little bit about our church and asked if we could come back and meet with him. We made a date for last Thursday and went back to teach him. The lesson was one of the best we have had. It felt like a real lesson we would have if we were teaching back in the States. No one interrupted us at all the entire time which never happens because we always teach outside. Also we were able to teach one full lesson about the plan of salvation. We usually have to break up lessons because it’s hard for them to understand us and our message due to the language barrier. He had a lot of questions about after death and we were able to help him to understand perfectly. It seemed that our message was clicking perfectly with what he wanted to hear. I could see it in his eyes.

 

The other person was a girl named Mary. We gave her a book of Mormon with our number in it on the side of the road, and she called back the next day to have us come teach her. She is super sweet but really shy. But, after our first lesson with her, I felt good about it. And her closing prayer was super cool also. I feel good about her.

 

I just finished training also! No longer a Greenie! I still feel like it though. I am just grateful that I will be able to spend one more transfer with my companion. He loves to work hard and is a great example to me! Also, this week while I was eating sugar cane (which requires your teeth a lot), I broke one of my permanent retainer brackets on my tooth. I was kind of freaken out because I still basically have a while ‘till I come home, and orthodontists don't exist in Ghana. But, all is super great here and I hope the Christmas season is going great back home! Love and miss you all!

 

-- Elder Knecht