Week 45 - Asamankese

**This letter was sent the end of August**

Dearest Family and Friends,

Another great week in Ghana! 

It all started with a mission Couples Conference hosted by President and Sister Simpson, with the Munros- office, Binghams-MLS, Herrs- MLS and us in attendance. We began with Family Home Evening which included a scrumptious meal (Sister Simpson is from Samoa and loves to prepare BIG meals), a lesson, and much laughter as we played games. The laughter was a needed tonic in a place that can sometimes get so serious that we forget to relax and have fun. On Tuesday morning we studied Preach My Gospel, reading scriptures and discussing the unity of the Godhead- how each of them bear testimony of the others. We focused on the Savior's teaching to the Nephites, that His doctrine was not only understood, but taught so it could not be misunderstood. Next, President Simpson shared his vision for the mission with us. We love him. He has that great easy-going Aussie way of dealing with life and it's challenges. Interesting fact for my family: the Simpsons served in a church assignment in Orange, NSW for sometime, so we have talked about that beautiful part of the world on a couple of occasions and it reminds me of the time we went to church there when we visited Jules and the boys in Canowindra. In the afternoon the three other couples took turns to explain their missionary purpose. Elder Lambert and I took our turn on Wednesday morning before concluding the event with testimonies and pictures. This conference was just what we all needed as we supported each other and were re-energized for the work each of us are engaged in.

On Friday we traveled to Asamankese, another town in the bush. Here we met with President Adu, the new District President. He told us how he had been up since 3:00am gathering the youth so they could board a bus to attend an activity at Cape Coast (many of them have never seen the ocean). He said, "As long as my people are OK, I don't worry about me so much."  He told us about the first few weeks after he was called and how he could not sleep because of the responsibility he felt and all the new things he had to learn. We had a successful training with him concerning self reliance, then at the end of the meeting he offered the sweetest prayer in our behalf and in behalf of our family; asking God to bless and protect our family at home while we are away from them. We were touched, we have never had someone here pray for us in that way. 

On Saturday morning we were awoken at 5:30am by the call to prayer from the local Mosque which is a block away, but sounded like it was coming from the living room! We were staying at a vacant missionary apartment. For the next several hours we heard music, prayers, and recitations from the Quran (we are guessing) over the loud-speaker system. It was quite the experience! FYI in Ghana the Muslims and Christians get along peacefully with one another- something the rest of the world could take a lesson from.....

Our morning run on the back streets of Asamankese drew quite a bit of attention with calls of "Obruni! Obruni!" The children were delightful as always :)  Later that morning we attended a baptismal service for six people before our next training meeting with Branch Presidents and SR specialists. We never know how many of the leadership will show up, especially out in the bush, because some members must travel long distances and it can be a financial burden for them. However we were pleased that every branch was represented by at least two people and we are hopeful that SR will move forward in this district, The leaders understood the analogy of helping a child learn to walk and as often as they fall down, we encourage them to stand up and lovingly reach out as they take those first steps, but if we carry them on our backs they will never develop the strength or capacity to walk alone. Self reliance is like that, we teach correct principles and let them govern themselves....

ye ja me yaa missionary -you can call me missionary

Elder and Sister Lambert

Pictures: Seriously?!!!!

stirring banku

Couples Conference Munros, Herrs, Simpsons, Binghams, Lamberts