Gunnar Ghana On A Mission: CTR (Chew The Rice)'

This is our District Leader, Elder Egunza from Kenya...powerful guy!

July 13, 2015

What a wonderful week in Cape Coast Ghana! Well technically Assin Fosu! This last week was by far the longest week I have experienced in the field. Which isn't saying much because I have only been out 1 month:) BUT hey 1 month!! I hit my 1 month birthday can you believe it?! Only 23 to go! lol. I LOVE mission so I am not too worried, and neither should you be, for the Lord is on my side guiding and strengthening me each week!

It is hard for me to remember before Thursday because Thursday is when what felt like eternity began. I was doing fine, just striving to be the Lords servant and then BAM! out of nowhere the enemy sneaks up from behind and makes a very tactical and well played move. RUNNY TUMMY dun dun dun! You know I believe I got a little complacent with my sanitation this week. Mainly with washing dishes well, but fear not, I learned my lesson! The reason this blow to my element was so tactical and well planned was because Friday night was an overnight transfer with the district leader to his area which name I could not spell with a dictionary. All of the sudden my area and my apartment began to look like heaven as I had to leave on this exchange. When I arrived that night, I fell very sick ! I got a fever of 101 and my whole body was aching not to mention my tummy:( I thought I had Malaria so I was pretty scared, and the whole time I was like, OK the Lord really directs this work because of course I get sick on this day! It wasn't so bad though. You know I prayed hard and the next morning I was back at it! I grew a lot that night. The Lord works in mysterious ways my friends:)

I heard something I liked this week from my Zone Leader and friend Elder Wright, "I will never say that my mission was the best two years of my life, but I will always say my mission was the best two years for my life." I really liked this because as missionaries we still have a lot of life to live and many wonderful experiences to have. I think of my parents and the joy they have with each other and the joys of raising a family in the Gospel. The mission though is the keystone and foundation to that life no matter if you serve for 1 day or a full 2 years the Lord blesses us for the rest of our lives if we gave everything we can.

We taught some very wonderful lessons this week! One investigator, Annet, who said she would come to church again after I bore my testimony to, but she didn't show up... Broke my heart because she is such a wonderful person. We decided to go to her house after church to see if she was home and talk to her, sadly she was not... But her father was! Her father Bro. Adam doesn't really live with the family, it's a confusing situation but he gave us his time and we taught a powerful lesson on the Restoration and he was especially excited to hear the Plan of Salvation.

In Ghana there is something known as "The Knocking" before a couple is legally married. This involves paying a bride price and having the families agree. The problem is this can take years if not ever to complete so many couples just live together until they can afford to get married. Because of this the church has made it so the couple just has to begin the knocking and paying the bride price before they can become baptized and finish before they can be married in the temple. One investigator Yaw Ketwa was going to be baptized on the 26th, but we found out this week he has not started the knocking... We will continue to work with him and see if we can get that going!

I've written down in a personal book I call a "Jour' nal" something the French use I think, how I want to have changed by the last day on my mission, how I want others to see me, the man I want to have become and so forth. You know I am seeing as we give our full purpose of heart, all our might and our mind to the Lord, something very special happens. We become something greater then anything we could do on our own, someone more like our Father in heaven. I encourage all of you to read ALMA 5 and evaluate where you stand with the Lord. Not in a way of destructive criticism, but in a motivating inspiring way. I promise you as you do this you will receive deep and sincere personal revelation regarding your own personal Salvation. I love you all. The mission is very hard, I make mistakes and goof up every single day, I feel like giving up at least once a week, but you know this is where I am supposed to be and I become more and more grateful to be here each day. All of your emails and support help me so much through this time and I really will do my best to email you all back. Thank you for being my friends and I thank the Lord for the family he gave me:)