HEY!!! It is so good to hear from you! This week has been a
little rough but I am adjusting well. It was hard to understand the
African accent for the first couple of days. And my companion is 24 and
he was a teacher here in Accra for a while before he came on his
mission so he just talks and talks and talks and doesn't really follow
any certain plan so when we teach I kind of have to go off what he is
saying, it is pretty challenging sometimes but we are getting it. He
has a good heart and a strong testimony :)
To answer your question
about the airport the man that was sitting next to me on the plane said
it the best when I asked him about the airport, I asked him how big it
was and he said "it big...but Africa not like US, everyting small in
Africa, it big for Africa, but small for United States." :)
The time
change has wrecked me...all the African elders get up at like 5 every
day and sing really loud in the shower so I get about 7 hours a night,
plus I'm trying to adjust to the time change, I am absolutely exhausted
all the time....... I have just about
everything I need, thanks for thinking of just about everything :)
Anyway, it is quite an experience here. Today we went into the main
city of Accra to the temple...street venders are everywhere tapping on
your windows, so we bought some plantain chips called red red...they are
really good but I ate so many I got sick :p But everything is really
cheap, a huge bag of cooked plantains cost 1 cedi or 50 cents. I can
buy hymnbooks for 35 cents here! Oh could you please post all this on
facebook? Some of my friends sent me messages on facebook because they
wanted to get on the e-mail list so maybe you could check that as well
please? Thanks :)
The temple is TINY here,........ Anyway I have some photos I will send you, and a video,
but it still cannot capture what it is like here. To compare how I feel
every morning when I wake up try this: Walk into a sauna and sit there
for about 20 min in just your garments, then put on church clothes and
dance around for another 20 min ;) We will just say this, I was just as
wet before I got in the shower as I was when I got out ;) Also, the
drivers here are nuts. They just use big trucks as taxis so they will
put like 60 people in the back of a moving van and make a killing, and
none of the roads have any speed limits so they drive as fast as they
want. The freeway is 2 lanes, but in actuality it is 4, and if you want
to get around somebody you drive into the other lane that is heading
the opposite way, and weave through them, while tryign not to hit
motorbikes going every which way, and people running across and trying
to sell stuff to you, and random goats and sheep walking around picking
through the trash. There is trash everywhere...everywhere. The country
is gorgeous, but they don't manage the land well at all. I am learning
how to teach very well though, our main instructor, brother Eguko from
Nigeria, taught us how to involve the investigator and teach according
to their needs, ........
Anyway, ummm some meals we've had...I have
eaten chicken, and when I say chicken I mean the entire thing, bones and
all. Also a fish, they just chop the fish in three sections, head,
middle and tail, and leave all the skin and bones and everything, and
you just eat it. I am eating well becasue I am not picky, but ya I have
had some strange things. And the native elders say that they often eat
cats and dogs. Dogs and sheep and cattle and stuff just run wild
everywhere. We drove past a ghetto today and when I say ghetto picture
this: A cattle saleyard that hasn't been used for 30 years and is
falling apart and rotting, and then people move in with all sorts of
animals and just live in the pens with them. My companion told me to
stay away from their because it is where a lot of the gangs are. And
they said to stay in the lighted areas after dark because people will
attack you if you are in the dark alleys or near concealed shrubbery.
They also taught me how much most things are so I don't get ripped off
when I buy stuff at the markets. I am going to go grab my chords to
send the pictures quickly. Anyway, I love you all, I hope that answered
a lot of questions! I am feeling the spirit a lot and making small
talk often with my companions. I love you!!!!!!! And I miss you!!!!!!
Until next time,
Elder Johnson
We have a lot of African Elders here, some from Ghana, some from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, South Africa, Madagascar, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Cote D' Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, D.R. Congo, and a lot of other countries. They are all very cheerful and happy people and it is fun to be around them, they are truly pioneers for their respective countries. The Elder from Burundi is the first Elder ever to serve from Burundi and he is here with us! How cool!
I am finally starting to realize that I am gone for two years. At first I got kind of down but now I am happier. I never realized how much a missionaries family means to him! I ABSOLUTELY look forward to getting e-mails from you guys every week, it is the highlight of my week! I am glad to do the work of the Lord and am seeing how great my life was back home. Life is very hard for many people here, very hard. I need to take you here someday so that you can see the amazing place I am living in here. Heavenly Father loves all his children, and has given us a way to bless all of them, and make their lives better, even if I can't bring them out of poverty. Anyway, I love you all!!!
This is one of the Government buildings in Accra. It may be the equivalent to the "White House".
