The Week Was Sweet

Hi there!

Six weeks ago he wrote about baking cookies. Finally the photo.
You can order these great missionary aprons here: (www.missionaryaprons.com).
They make fantastic gifts! (which is how Elder Price got his)

Ah, I see... Rikki's in Alaska... Rikki is so far away.. O_o What's that time difference? [8 hours between Alaska and Liberia]  I've always wondered what it's like to ship your stuff like that. I miss family parties! Especially the nacho bar. Hey, those are sweet pictures! Rikki will be all on her lonesome. And Ryatt will get a sweet room. Is my stereo system still there? [she won't be lonesome, she's joining her husband who is stationed in Anchorage, haha!]

:) Scripture reading! Scriptures are good. Read your scriptures, kids! [I shared with him that we came across his "mission scripture" during our family reading last week (Alma 26:12: "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.") I wrote, "As we were reading scriptures this week, we read Alma chapter 26. Verse 12 made me happy. I stopped Dad for a minute and reminded everyone that was your mission scripture. I also like verse 37: “Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.”]

Ebola is here! True story. I'll get to that...

Notes!

So this week started off with Zone Meeting. To our surprise, President Kirkham came! It was cool. It was really new for me to be giving instruction with a companion, but it turned out well. It was nice to have President there to keep the peace. He announced all the Ebola stuffs: New Kru Town is the real center of it, from a ground view. Nowhere else in the mission, really. Deaths are getting more common than they already were in that area, and it's seeming to be because of Ebola. The elders in NKT and in Point 4 have had to promise to be extremely observant of the rules and very very careful. It was really interesting to hear! Danger is nearby! The zone meeting was good though.

Outside Sis Bah's house, where we eat very regularly. Vera is the one in the black and white, Elizabeth is in the middle

There was a sweet experience this week when Vera and some of the other people like Helena were sitting around and I heard them listening to a song. I walked over and, yep, it was Shania Twain. It was cool. :) [He didn't remember which song. When Rain was young (like 3 & 4), he LOVED Shania Twain. Just last week, Rikki and I heard a Shania Twain song and talked about how it reminds us of the little boy version of Rain. Funny that he would mention it here. I told Elder Price and he said, "It just felt like 15 years ago. ;)" ]

Elder Curtis and a Ghanaian member of the 70 came to church on Sunday! Total surprise. I was thinking.. "What?!?!" when I walked in. President Kirkham was there, too. Nothing big announced, just visiting our branch it looks like. Probably 'cause Doe Community is more like Dope community. It's sweet. It's "dope". ;) [I asked him to tell me more about their visit:]  I shook his hand! He remembered me from zone conference a long time ago. He bore his testimony, shared a sweet story. ;) his accent is so thick though... it's crazy! The other guy's name was really hard to remember and pronounce. [he thinks it was Elder Yirenya-Tawiah. I asked where Elder Curtis was from, to have such a thick accent. He said, "Utah!"]

I realized something as I went on an exchange this past week: I never told you that Elder Widdison is my mission grandfather. He was Elder Manqana's trainer! I went on exchange with him. It was a really great exchange; I learned a lot. Of course, I was the one to give "training," but he's an old missionary and is really good. It was awesome.

Also, thinking about Ben's practice and Uncle Leif, an adjustment would feel AMAZING. I'm pretty sure my back has never been this messed up. [one uncle is a physical therapist and the other is a chiropractor]

This week has been really good! I've been doing my best, spending good times with other elders and teaching. We haven't had as many people super close to baptism this week, but we're working to find more people, mostly families. It seems like this graduation business is really messing with everyone's schedules though. Graduations here are different, they throw a big party no matter what, and they even have more graduation stuff for other grades graduating, not just at the end of 12th grade.

June 14th Baptisms

May 24th Baptisms

Teaching's been good; I'm trying to improve a ton lately. I'm trying to just be a better teacher and get more used to it all again. The exchange with Elder Widdison had a couple good lessons, but one about a guy named... is in my letter to the President. On Sunday we mostly spent the afternoon going to Elder Burr and then Elder Ayim 'cause they both had interviews for baptism. It's so cool to do baptismal interviews with those that are truly prepared. I contacted the guy from Elder Ayim's place when I was with Elder Nakale on exchange into Point 4. The guy is legally married and now he and his wife (who used to be a Muslim) are getting baptized. It's amazing. :) I did his interview while my companion did his wife's.

The week was sweet. It feels like it's been going fast... already into week 3?! [of this transfer]  Yeah. June is almost over. But it's pretty weird to think about it, 'cause my brain still interprets months to go with seasons, but here... it doesn't!

Truck Ride (May 24th)

Things are good. I'm doing well! I'm just trying to improve as much as I can. There are new experiences every day that I forget to write down. I haven't been doing too well with my journal, either. But anyway, last week playing football [soccer] was pretty fun! Didn't hurt my feet as much. I can't wait to get back to exercising for real. Running exhausts me now; I just want to be strong. Can't wait to train for an ironman. When I put bleach in the bucket to bathe with, it always makes me think about the swimming pool back home 'cause it smells the same. Swimming will be fun! And cycling, and running.

Hey, can I have Dad's motorcycle? :D

Anyway, I love you guys so much. :) Have an awesome week. Rikki, stay safe, do good things, remember your name. :)

Love,
Elder Price

[He followed up with a whole bunch of photos. I posted most of them separately. Click here to view the photo post.]
-----------------------
Excerpts from this week's letter to his mission president:

Dear President,
...
Doe Community is doing well, and it was neat to have you, Elder Curtis, and the member of the 70 from Ghana with us in church yesterday. The branch is doing great things, and there are many members that are wanting to proselyte with us. We are trying to improve on referrals, however, so we are encouraging the branch to bring us their friends and family. We're focusing on this one because Elder Kamara and I have noticed our pool of investigators getting smaller as we are baptizing, though this has given us a great chance to increase how many lessons we have with recent converts each week. It's the first time that that I have personally experienced such consistency in teaching the after baptism lessons, and I see a huge difference in the converts' strength for the better.

My companion and I are doing well; we have been trying to find more serious investigators and lift the branch as much as we can. There was a good experience this past week as we visited one of our investigators. We met with a man named Au., and afterwards we decided to talk to his daughter about us coming to teach her. Although she's an investigator's daughter, she's still mature, probably in her late 20s or her 30s. She was very open to us coming to teach her, and we set an appointment for a couple days later. The lesson with her was sweet, and we were able to really focus on families. Even though her father has had a hard time understanding very well as we teach, she was very quick to understand. As we were teaching, her daughter was talking a ton, and such a family atmosphere gave us an amazing chance to talk about how our message helps families. She told us that she isn't living with anyone, and her father comes to church nearly every Sunday, so I have hope for her to progress.

I had the chance to go on an exchange with Elder Widdison... Elder Widdison is a great missionary. He teaches powerfully and by the spirit. He's pretty far on his mission, but he's still humble, trying to improve and to learn. He is trying to finish his mission strong... He's patient, and I learned a lot from him on the exchange. On that exchange we had the great opportunity to teach a man who is currently awaiting a signature from the president of Liberia so he can be appointed [to a prominent position]. He doesn't see himself as a "bossman," so he humbly listened to our message sincerely. Yesterday he came to church for the second time, and he is the man who was sitting behind you on your left who asked if it is okay for him to invite other people to visit the church. He's a great investigator, and it is wonderful to see how the Lord prepares people to receive his message.

...

I'm doing my best to incorporate doctrines as I'm teaching, and I'm trying to continue to become a better leader and teacher. Thank you for all of your help and counsel.

Sincerely,
Elder Price