Happy New Year (pronounced ar-fish-a-paa)
Dear family,
Another week has flown by and we are alive and well!
Last Monday was a public holiday and the MTC President invited everyone to join in an African Cultural event at the MTC. Demonstrations were made by James and his lovely wife, Arba in many African traditional ways including how the men wrap 6 yards of Kente cloth around themselves! Arba showed the sisters many styles of wearing a headscarf, how to wrap a baby on your back, and how to carry a load on your head. We were also invited to submit our top ten photos in a contest and viewed a slideshow of all the neat pictures that have been taken. At the end of the afternoon we visited with the young missionaries and met four who will be joining us at Accra West in another two weeks.
The next two days we did apartment checks, helped hang some mosquito nets, delivered mail and met a new missionary in the Lartebiokorshie zone. I should have taken pictures of the apartments so you can see how the Elders live but let's just say the accommodations are basic. The young missionaries do not have the comfort of air conditioners, but we try to ensure their fans are functioning. We document leaky faucets, sink traps and toilets along with any other needs and report back to the mission office. On this visit we delivered each companionship a juicy pineapple, learned about their experiences and give an encouraging word. Elder Manuel is a Portuguese speaker and is doing remarkably well with the language. He had six books open on his bed; Portuguese and English versions of the Bible, Book of Mormon and something else... so he could cross reference passages as he studied. Elder Bangura has only been a member of the Church for 2 years and a missionary for 5 weeks. He is enthusiastic and has a fun sense of humor. Elder Lambert hit it off with Elder Roberts, who is also an avid fisherman. After several minutes of exchanging fish stories I had to remind them that for the present time they are fishers of men.
On Saturday we joined a discussion with Elder Nash and local educators on how the Church can help in the education of the youth. We discussed "What is a quality education?" "What are the gaps in Ghana's schools?" and "How can the Church help?" There are some exciting prospects on the horizon!
Hey, my repertoire of Twi is growing. If someone wishes you a Happy New Year= Afehyia pa, then you respond "Afi ko ba tu ye" Many Happy Returns!
Love from your favorite Kamasites in Africa,
Elder and Sister Lambert
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