Axim, Ghana (January 30, 2017) FIRST SICKNESS!

(On his birthday, Jacob got to do one of his favorite activities since childhood, whacking a sword! But, this birthday he got to use a real one!   It couldn't of been a more perfect birthday in the mission field for him!  Also, his first sickness, luckily, was over by then. I've been nervous about him getting sick out there, and I'm grateful it didn't last too long!  Keep him in your prayers about staying healthy! The evening of his birthday he did get the special Ghanaian traditional treat!  I guess they soaked him good with water followed by a nice dousing of flour!  HAHA!  Thanks everyone for all your love, support, and prayers for Elder Knecht!)

Axim, Ghana (January 30, 2017) FIRST SICKNESS! L

So this week was a little rough at first but still an overall good week! The first couple days this week I was really sick, and I felt pretty awful. I honestly don't know what sickness it could have been, but it wasn't fun. Especially traveling to Tarkwa for a zone conference which is a 3 hour tro tro ride. But, I am very grateful for my companion who took really good care of me. Elder Egwu was always making sure I was comfortable and would even go and buy me food or anything I wanted. He's a super sweet guy!

Zone conference was really great also though! President Stevenson and the AP's did a really good job on instructing us on how to make extending commitments more meaningful to our investigators. All of the missionaries were able to take a lot from it. I know I did.

Other than that, though, my companion had to travel to Cape Coast for his "finish strong meeting" since he is going home soon. I got to be in a threesome with some of my favorite missionaries, Elder Rothlisberger and Elder Tupola. It was cool being able to explore their area of Axim, and it was fun being able to help teach some their investigators.

To end this week, since I was feeling much better, we also went farming again. Except, this time we were cutting down huge trees with our cutlasses in the deep jungle! We were supposed to clear everything. It was fun cutting down these huge trees and watching them crush all the smaller trees. I probably had a little too much fun farming because my hand has blisters all over it, but it was worth it! I can’t wait for this new week though! It’ll be a good one! Love you all back home!

-- Elder Knecht

(Pics are of his Tarkwa Zone conference... I teased him about whether he's "sleeping" in the second picture or the camera just caught him blinking.  After reading his letter and hearing how sick he was that day, I figure he was taking a little rest...)

Axim, Ghana (January 23, 2017) LEADING THE AREA WITH A NEW COMPANION

Another great week with a new experience! I have been so blessed to be able to serve three transfers with Elder Jennings.  But, I am growing up on my mission, and it is time that I have a new companion! My new companion's name is Elder Egwu and he is from Nigeria. He is about to go home, so he is a very experienced missionary. He is a super sweet guy, and I am happy to be able to serve with him. I like him a lot, and he has been helping me out a bit since this my first time leading an area! I have been doing a great job, though, at showing him everyone and preparing our day and lessons. It’s because Elder Jennings trained me so well, haha! But, it’s been good so far. I received him on Wednesday night, so we haven't had too much time together yet.  But, we have already been making progress! We have had a couple new lessons with new investigator, and February is going to be a good month. We have some baptisms lined up with investigators look strong and ready! I know that my companion and I are going to be able to work hard and have great success! I want to make this last transfer a good one since it will probably be my last in Axim. Elder Jennings always told me that it is important to "always leave an area better than you found it." So, I will try my best to do just that. Other than that, though, this week we were able to go to President Esson's cassava farm and do a little weeding. I had a lot of fun with that, obviously, and using my cutlass was a blast! My last week was a blast, and I cannot wait for this one! There will be a bunch to tell you about next week! I love and miss you all back home!


--Elder Knecht

Elder Knecht loves his buddies, Elder Rothlisberger and Elder Tuploa.

Elder Knecht's favorite is the Ghanaian children!

Axim Coast

Axim Palm Trees

Axim, Ghana (January 16, 2017) 1ST COMPANION/TRAINER GETTING TRANSFERRED

Another great week in Ghana, and I also have some sad and exciting news as well! This past week we had transfer news and after three great, hardworking transfers with my trainer, I am going to be losing him. Man, he really taught me so much and helped me adjust to the culture perfectly. I will always remember all the stories he would tell me from his experiences on his mission and from back home! I never had a boring moment with him, and I am so grateful for him and for everything he has done for me. I would also like to thank him for eating all the gross food at first, as well, and for finishing the rest of my fufu for me when I thought I was going to die from it. I'm getting better at it, but man he saved me a lot. I will miss him so much, and I wish him the best of luck with his next companion as district leader in his next area in Cape Coast! He will kill it!

But, on a happy note, though, I am going to be receiving my new companion from Nigeria! He is very old on the mission, so I bet I will learn a lot from him as well! I will have to tell his name next week because I don't know how to really say it or spell it at the moment! But, from what I've heard about him, I cannot wait to meet him!

But, for lessons we were able to teach London again this week twice and were able to teach him the plan of salvation which he liked very much. He also loves to contribute in our lesson which I love because he always says the funniest things about the gospel. He’s a sweet man and is progressing very greatly I feel. Also, this week another companionship in our area was able to baptize a man that elder Jennings and I were able to find. He was a really sweet man that we found on the side of the rode and had a super cool Gospel Conversation with. I happy for him and his happiness that he has found in this church! Anyways, I can’t wait to see what this week will bring me and my new companion! Love you all back home so much!

-- Elder Knecht

A tribute to Elder Jennings and I!  My first companion, trainer, big brother who watched out for me, ate food for me that I couldn't eat, told me good stories, and was an awesome example of hard work on the mish.

Man! I'm gonna miss this guy!

 

The food is obviously fufu, but if you look at the meat, you will see towards the back the goat stomach and intestines all wrapped around it. It tasted great but the goat is just gross.  Still ate it though and loved it, of course!

Axim, Ghana (January 9, 2017)

This week has really been a good one! A while back I bought some bananas on the side of the rode (because I was hungry). Right after I bought the bananas I waved to an old man sitting alone a little bit off the road on the other side. Let’s just say he gave me a halfhearted wave back. But, as we walked a little bit down the road we ran into a bunch of little children, and I ended up giving all the bananas away to them because I thought they were all so cute. The African children are my favorite here. But, after this, the man was yelling at us to come back, so we went to him. He started asking us all these different questions and wanted to know why we were here and what we taught about. These questions were very easy to answer for my companion and I, and we ended up having a little lesson with him. He since then has come to church the past three weeks, and we have able to teach him a lot. He lives in a village away from Axim called Nsien. He loves to ask questions and I have enjoyed being able to answer all of them. He has also become our most serious investigator with a baptism date early next month.

We actually have two baptisms early next month. The other is with a women named Janet. She has a really huge desire to learn about our church and has also come to church for the past 3 Sundays. She has some family problems, though, that has made it difficult for her, and I am just so grateful for how hard she has pushed through them to make time for us and to come to church. She is a really humble women. I am so grateful for the chance I have had to be able to find these people, and I really hope that as they continue to learn from us that they will see the blessing in their life from it! I miss and love you all back home!

-- Elder Knecht