Melancholy Feelings Abounded

Dear Family,

I will be splitting this final email into two pieces, in similar fashion to the emails you sent to me this week. I'll be giving a regular update in this email, and more of a reflection email in the other.

Thank you for the suggestions for packing and traveling! That's good stuff for me to keep in mind, seeing as I'm in the process of packing right now.

As for sacrament meeting on Sunday, I would really like to sing hymn 89, The Lord is My Light. I do believe that the handbook mentions that it's supposed to be standing, anyway (can't tell you that with 100% confidence, however). :)

That weather report is interesting. I'm glad blankets exist. I had a dream last night that I was back home talking to family and friends, and one statement I made in the dream was: "there is no water in the air!!! How do you LIVE like this???" and I also remember being really cold in my dream. We'll have fun seeing my adaptation to the atmosphere up there. ;)

I loved reading your email: it was a good one! I won't waste much time, though, and I'll go into how my week was.

Monday: it was sweet! We had a Family Home Evening with President Quanson and his family. We watched a church video and had a great evening; the Hemang elders joined us, too! They were around for emailing right before the time to proselyte, and then their own Family Home Evening appointment cancelled, so we invited them to join us! It was nice. :)

Tuesday: It was a full proselyting day! Though we spent a bit of our planning time preparing for the zone conference the next day. We did get out and see some people! We were bounced around a little bit at the beginning of the day, but then we had a lesson with Tony, mostly about 3 Nephi 11 and the events occurring in that. We went around some more, visited some people, and taught another lesson to Gina! She's doing well. She's one sister that has come to church a few times that we have been teaching. We had a nice lesson with her and her friend about the Plan of Salvation.

Wednesday was Zone Conference! You saw some pictures of that. Elder Malatji and I instructed during it, and there was a musical number, as you saw. We sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth"! It was thrown together the night before by Elder Jones and me by the light of a flashlight (light was off... Light was off quite a bit this week here in Praso). After the meeting, I received my package!!! I was very happy. :) We've been eating/using the things inside it ever since. :) After the meeting and everything was finished, we went along with Dunkwa elders up to Dunkwa to do a couple baptismal interviews. After the long trotro ride, which was spent by me and Elder Hardy talking the entire time (he's a good friend), we arrived and did the various interviews. That evening we had a nice meal, provided by the package and the cooking talents of the elders there, of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, etc. :) It was GOOD.

  

The next day we made our way back to Praso, and eventually got home, though it wasn't the most comfortable ride I've had in a trotro for two hours. We went and did an interview for Hemang after we made it back to Praso, and everything went well. I realized after I interviewed the lady in Hemang for baptism that she was the last person I would interview for baptism out here. Melancholy feelings abounded, just like the rest of the week. 

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Friday was nice! We went and taught people. :) Saturday was good, too, with the proselyting. We taught a couple lessons on both days, and I was happy. There was a baptism on Saturday in Praso for the Hemang elders, too! But let me tell you about the best part of Saturday. I received a visit from... Benjamin and Akua!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D They drove up to Praso! We met them at the chapel, and we talked for a good while. :) I was so happy. Soooo happy. Yep.

That evening, after the baptism (the meeting with Benjamin and Akua was before the baptism), we tagged along with the Hemang elders back to Hemang to have a lesson with a Muslim that they have begun teaching, as the new policy states that the zone leaders go and check one or two things before the teaching gets into fulls swing. So that was good! The man is great, and it was good to see a few members around in Hemang. :) Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we received transfer news on Saturday night. A Ghanaian named Elder Tyson is coming to replace me, various people (Elder Hannemann and Elder Garry) are training, etc. I didn't pay much attention to it this time around. ;)

Sunday was church! Last church meeting. It went well, and we had two investigators at church: one from the Nursing Training College, Helena, and Gina. I bore my testimony in the meeting, and it was a good last Sunday. After church for the other branch they had a baptism, so we attended that, followed by an FM from someone in the other Praso elders' area, followed by the normal Sunday fufu. The Sunday fufu is from Auntie Alice, a member who has been feeding missionaries every Sunday for YEARS. :) After that we spent some time with Theresa and her family (and I took a wonderful video of my companion going Chinese martial arts on the kids. It was HILARIOUS). We came back to the apartment and closed our day and week.

So far today we've just spent our time at the apartment. I've been packing, as I need to be packed by tomorrow morning (meaning tonight for me) for Elder Hanlon to take my bags down to Cape Coast before transfer day. Today, Dunkwa elders are coming down (again...) for the MLC report tomorrow! We've organized it however, so that we can have an activity today with them around, so we'll be playing football this afternoon! I'm pumped. It'll be good to see all these elders around before Wednesday, even though it means that my companion and I need to instruct tomorrow, and it's also harder to pack with a ton of visitors in the apartment. It'll be okay, though. :)

This week has been good and memorable. Just like this mission.

See you soon.

Love,

Elder Makani Rain Price