Street Art

"Lunch today. We found a place out of the way to sit and eat our rice from plastic bags. ;) jollof rice and wakye mix is mine... with some sauce and spaghetti noodles and pepper and stuff on it.​"

Dear Family,

Hello! I was reminded so graciously that this week is my 18 month mark... *check calendar on the computer* Yep. On Friday. Crazy, right? I think so. Didn't I just turn 1 year? 6 months has gone! The next 6 I'm sure will go fast as well... Blah. I haven't really registered in my head yet that I'm at 18 months. I mean, some people, like members, ask me, "how long have you been on mission?" and I reply honestly ('cause I'm a missionary ;)), "uh, a bit more than 17 months..." or "18 months...", and people always mention something about either how fast the time goes or how little time is left. It's true. There's not much time left. Which is why this past week was a bit frustrating... Why? Because of SICK.

Okay, that didn't make any grammatical sense. But it made sense in my head, so you're sorta forced to accept it. Sorry yeah? ;) But anyway, I was sick this week. It was really strange. I didn't expect to be sick (but who really does...?), but it just came. Like a brick. BAM! Sick. Monday was cool and all... After all, we went and pretended to be tourists. ;) Just kidding. I hate feeling like a tourist. Elder Wight just whips out his camera and I'm like, "I think I'll just walk over here... 50 yards away... I don't know you. I'm black, dontchaknow?" But we saw the street art, and it was SO cool. Elder Halterman hid my camera from the view of onlookers [so I wouldn't look like a tourist].

"Street art. So cool."

"More amazing street art. :)  "

Later that day we ordered African shirts. Mine: A light blue with gold trim... Think Elder Guymon's, but different colors. And different stitching pattern. It's special colors... CHARGERS! It finished on Saturday. It's a little baggy, so I'm gonna have it tailored more, and then I'll take pictures. It looks so good, we're going tonight to order some more. I think you'll like 'em when they're finished!

But back to the past. I woke up on Tuesday with a sore throat and a killer runny nose and accompanying great feelings. I figured I'd be okay... So we proselyted! Of course. Why not? I may or may not blame the new fan for blowing too hard and making me too cold (my temperature was 97.2...) I gave my fan to Elder Halterman. I took his fan. I run his on the lowest setting. :) But that day was going alright, but then we were walking and I couldn't really walk anymore... Or I'd pass out. That's what it felt like! And that's what it looked like! A great experience happened with that one. We were looking for a bench to sit on out of the sun 'cause I was dying when we looked across the street to a warehouse that is usually either having trucks or nobody in it. There were a couple guys sitting on a bench there! So we walked over there and asked if we could sit; they allowed us. I was trying to regain myself, which I eventually did, as the main guy gave us some free soft drinks. It was really nice of him. I think it's termed a "tender mercy." :) After this great thing, we went to the chapel and had another little miracle as the chapel was locked, we didn't have the key, and we didn't have the number of the guy who would most likely be around with the key. But Thelma works close by, and she just pulls out a directory for the stake (we didn't even know they had one of those!), and we get the number. He's inside, but he's just locked the gate and made it look like no one was there, so he simply opened the door! And I went and made my chair bed. SLEEP. It felt so good... Elder Halterman called S. (I think I mentioned her before?), and she came to the church and Elder Halterman taught her while I was laying there dead. Don't worry, I was conscious and contributed a very little bit in the lesson... Like a thumbs up here and there. Elder Halterman has a couple pictures of what the situation was like, but I don't have them. Other members were coming by throughout the day (Tuesday is the midweek activity at the church each week), and coming and saying hello to me. :) 

"Sleeping at the church on a "chairbed" that I made." 

We didn't go back to the apartment because that's far, and we wanted to be present for the YW activity that we had be helping them prepare for all those weeks back. That all went well, and a thousand missionaries showed up whilst the activity was going on. From Tarkwa zone! They slept over for the mission tour with Elder Dube for the next day! That made for an interesting night... More interesting for them. I was simply dying, so it didn't feel too interesting for me. ;)

I wouldn't have proselyted on Wednesday... But Elder Dube was at the thing! I had to be there! So I was there. And not feeling well at ALL. I think I was edified in some sort... I'm just glad that I got to see a Seventy again. I don't think I've ever been around a member of the twelve, and even members of the Seventy are a nice rare treat that I wouldn't want to miss. I saw him once in Liberia during the first few months I was there, so this makes the 3rd time I've seen him. Still great stuff. That's about all I have for Wednesday... After all, we just went back to the apartment and I slept obscene amounts of time away. Thursday was actually very similar... But no mission tour. We went to the PEC meeting in the evening, and then came back. Rest! Friday was a bit different because Elder Allen stayed home with me while Elder Halterman went with Elder Wight. I rested more, and we played some fun games when I wasn't sleeping. Slowly feeling better, and if we were driving in our mission... or rather, not just walking in the blazing sun all day long, I think I would've been able to proselyte. But, circumstances being what they were, I stayed in.

Saturday I received my freedom. Somehow. We went and proselyted! A. had heard on Friday that I was sick, so we started the day off with lunch from her, which was amazing. I got the recipe. It tasted REALLY good. Light soup and rice. mmmmm. (she was unhappy about the food I was eating while I was sick... She's right, indomie (ramen) and egg sandwiches aren't the best of diets... But we didn't have any food at the apartment!). She also told us a trick to make "neat fufu", which is fufu that is boxed and sold on shelves which you can boil and stir to make somehow like actual fufu, taste better. That'll be helpful for when I get home! Which is also why I want to know... Is it easy to find starch back home? Apparently starch plus dried potatoes (she said powder... I'm thinking of butter flavored fufu from our potato pearls ;)) makes some decent not-fufu!

Sunday was pretty simple. We went to church, things were calm 'cause this ward has a hold of everything, and we taught B. and A. in the afternoon with the Julanders. It was another great lesson, though we really didn't have too much to teach them. We reviewed what the covenant of baptism is and some other faith promoting things. They're doing awesome! I love being with them. They'll be gone on business for this week, but they'll be back next week in time for their interview and baptism!!! :D We're still working with E., but we haven't been able to teach him as much as we need to, and he missed church... But we still have our hopes. 

The email from you guys was awesome this week, again! I loved the pictures! Sounds like things are fine for you all back home, and it's fun to hear about the various adventures. Seeing all those pictures is also insane... I know those people! They know me, too! :) Reminds me that time's short. I've been out 18 months, and I only have 6 left. I'm not quite at the end, so I'm not freaking out, but it's starting to dawn on me how short this really is. Liberia already feels like a dream, soon Liberia and Ghana will both be dreams. The only thing that I can truly take with me is the person I've become, and the only thing I can truly leave is the changes in the lives of those around me. 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Price

Bonus Photos:

Starting to climb the hill to our apartment

Cows on the road!

"They sell hookas here. They did in one or two Liberia supermarkets, too. But I got a picture of this one. :) "