Transfers Within Transfers (Again)

On Monday, we welcomed Elder Nsenga to the Ghana Cape Coast Mission.  He spent a week in the Accra Mission while he waited for a permanent reassignment due to visa delays.  He is from the DRC and already his English is very good.  We are grateful to have him join us.

We visited and interviewed all of the missionaries in the Takoradi, Tanokrom, Cape Coast, Nkanfoa, Praso and Dunkwa-on-Offin districts (54 missionaries).  

 

 

Joined the zone leaders serving in the Takoradi Stake for our monthly meeting with the stake president.

In Ntranoa for a baptismal interview.

Invited our neighbors up the hill to help us finish off the leftovers -- late dinner after proselyting.

In Abura for a baptismal interview.

In Mankessim for a baptismal interview (during a branch activity).

We held the "Finish Strong" seminar for the October 2015 group.

Their group goals for the remaining 11 weeks of their missions:  Baptisms - 54; Hours Proselyting 7,800, Lessons with Members Present 900;  Lessons to Recent Converts and Less-Active Members 900, Referrals Contacted 300.  That is a lot of good work.

Signing the "I will finish strong!" shirt.

I left at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning to make the four hour drive to Dunkwa-on-Offin. It is a beautiful, bumpy ride.

I had a baptismal interview to do, so since I was going to spend eight hours on the road, I decided I should bundle some other activities together (even though the worth of one soul is great).  I spoke in Sacrament Meeting, did temple recommend interviews and trained the branch council.  It was a nice 14 hour day.  It's all good work.

Sister Stevenson held down the fort in Cape Coast.  She taught the most reverent Primary in Ghana.

CREATURE OF THE WEEK:

Goodbye, Elder and Sister Seader!

This week, we will say farewell to Elder and Sister Seader, who have served with us as Humanitarian Missionaries for the last year.  They began their assignment in Sierra Leone and were part of the evacuation drama there.  We have enjoyed their association very much and they have coordinated a number of wonderful projects that will bless many communities for years to come.

They will leave us on Wednesday, so we shared a nice date night on Saturday.  Cake, ice cream and a fun DVD, "The Hundred-Foot Journey".  We have two great sister missionaries staying with us at the mission home for a few days.  We let them have some cake, but sent them to their room before the movie! 

We continued the missionary interviews this week with six districts:  Winneba, Swedru, Assin Foso, Telecom, Nkanfoa and Elmina (sixty-two missionaries).  It looked like this:

 

On Friday, we had our follow-up training with the new missionaries and their companions.  It was a large group this time and keeps getting larger.

These missionaries are in week 4 of their training.  They are doing well.

We will add one more new elder to this group on Monday.  The visa issues in South Africa turn out to be a blessing for us as great new missionaries are assigned to Cape Coast.

Saturday, I conducted the leadership training session for the six mission branches in the Central Region.  I brought about 8 dry erase pens this time.

On Sunday, I attended the Kissi Branch and did a baptismal interview.  Then, I drove on to Daboase to interview a man to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.  While I was in Daboase, I drove over to the new chapel site.  Construction started this week and I wanted to see how much progress was made.

Currently, the branch meets in a small school and competes with another nearby LOUD church.  It is hard to focus over the drums and loudspeakers.

The new location will be much nicer -- in many, many ways.

 Pretty country.

CREATURE OF THE WEEK:

 The Bald Eagle.

I got the shortest haircut of my life since Dad bought that set of barber clippers when I was five.  All of my brothers have been sporting this look for many years.  It looks like I am being forced to conform.