Commander! (Komenda)

Komenda.
Opening a new area.
Being a part of African church history!

January 25, 2016

Family, Friends! Indeed, I made it out to my new area! 

Turns out I was misinformed. It's spelled and pronounced Komenda not commander haha either way its a pretty cool place! 

It is a small fishing town right on the coast. From our humble mansion of a apartment it is about a 5 or 10 min walk to the ocean. It's really beautiful here and looks a lot like what I saw when I first Googled "Cape Coast Ghana."

The people here are friendly, but it is a little different then the village I was serving in before. It is a new area as well which is cool because we are meeting a lot of people who have never heard about our church or the restored gospel! 

My companion, Elder Egwu, is from Nigeria. He's a sweet guy:) I know why they call him the 'Apostle" because when we are not doing something he is studying his scriptures! It's sweet. 

I really love being by the ocean and having a constant breeze wherever we go. There are a hundred or more fishing boats out on the water and on the shore. I thought it was cool as were exploring the area to know now I am literally calling fishermen to be fishers of men just like Jesus Christ:) That was a powerful realization. 

So far we have just been exploring and mapping out the area. We are under the Kissi Branch which is just a nearby town. Because we are a little cut off from everything though we are going to probably be receiving bikes in the next few weeks! I'm excited about that, the elders in Kissi use bikes as well:) I was excited to see my MTC mate Elder Edwards is one of the Kissi elders so we will be having a good time in the same district:)

The longer I have spent on mission the more and more I realize how blessed I am to have the life I have and have had back home. It's surreal to think how different my home life is like compared to my daily life here on mission. It's good though because I have really been able to gain a respect for different nations and cultures. I'm even gaining that now for my companion from Nigeria!

Before I forget, on our way to church Sunday we saw a huge either black mamba or cobra! It was crazy! Almost the full length of the road we were on (6 or 7 feet) and probably as thick as a two inch pipe! haha. Everyone in the car was freaking out. The driver instead of speeding up started to slow down and all the people were saying, "go go go!" So that was a highlight of my week. 

You know it's really hard saying goodbye to Akrofuom. I miss them a lot. I get calls from recent converts and investigators though telling me how grateful they were for me in there lives. That always touches my heart and lets me know I've done something good.

Dear friends and family, I know this church is true. It's undeniable. I am so grateful for it in my life because life is pretty scary trying to figure out on your own. I am grateful for mentors and teachers in my life. My two sisters and dear mother and father. I love my friends. I bear my testimony this is the work of God. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. If we look to him, he will show us our weaknesses and we cannot fail. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Also it's really, really hot here and everywhere in Ghana right now:)

Love-Elder Bramwell. 

Komenda, Ghana

Final goodbye with Elder Peterson

Elder Bramwell and Elder Egwu (The Apostle)
District Leaders opening Komenda.

Our district plus the Branch Presidency in Kissi.
There are 6 elders in the district including me.
*The fourth elder in from the right is Elder Edwards. Gunnar was in the MTC with him. The elder on the far right is a Marine, Elder Simpson. Semper Fi!

Home Sweet Home

The Palace :)

Watch out for black mambas crossing the road!!!