November 15, 2010

Dear Family:

Today is officially my one month mark!!! In some ways it seems like so long ago, and in others it seems like just yesterday! Things are going great out here! I have been working hard this past week. We taught a total of 31 lessons this week which is a lot of teaching. You know it is kinda of interesting, back at home you hear the stories about how they are baptizing like crazy and all that over here, but really everyone is willing to listen, but keeping commitments and stuff is harder for them here. That is why the promise pattern is so important here. Last month they had around 120-140 baptisms. We are teaching a lot and our investigator pool is growing, and hopefully we will get a lot of baptisms. We have three scheduled for the 28; and then my comp. and I came up with the idea of a "White Christmas." We thought it appropriate to baptize as many people as we can on Christmas, celebrate Christ's birth by helping people become spiritually reborn. Cool right? And the baptisms would be on the beach! It's going to be awesome! We have quite a few people preparing for that date. We started this thing where we are teaching about and inviting people to be baptized on the first lesson and tying it in with the promise pattern. It works really well. We then continue to teach and help them prepare for that date.

Tuesday went really well. It was cool because I got to see how I am doing in teaching and stuff. We first went to one of their lessons. Elder Omini, who I taught with that day since our comp's went to Cape Coast, was teaching a Recent Convert about Lehi's dream. He talked about it's meaning and enduring to the end. A scripture, 2 Nephi 31, something I can’t remember, came to mind and I shared it. It fit perfectly and helped the guy better understand everything. It talked about steadfastness in Christ and feasting (like Lehi and Fam.) on the words of Christ. It was cool. We kept teaching the rest of the day our investigators and it all went really well, and then came the one I told you about who is almost ready to be baptized. We taught the first of three parts of Lesson 3, all went well and then I read Mosiah 18 where it talks about here are the waters of Mormon, if ye have desire to enter, etc. She accepted!!! So she is one of the three for the 28 and I will get to baptize her. I hope that those three will continue to work towards and will be ready by then. It was just a really cool experience.

One thing I really noticed this week is how hard the devil is working to prevent missionary work. It seemed like we would go from one day everything going great, one appointment after the other, to the next day being a little slower and our appointments falling through. And without fail maybe 80% of the time when we are teaching lessons and the spirit is so strong and we are reaching the climax, the phone will ring or something will happen that needs the investigators attention. He really is working hard to prevent the work. But you just have to grind through it, do what You are to do, because then you have done your part. If it fails, its not your fault you did what you were supposed to. And as you do this the Lord is helping prepare you for when someone really is ready or needs to hear something, then your ready to be His instrument.

Thursday was one of those days. A lot of our appointments failed and we don’t have a phone to call them with. The other elders in our apartment have it all the time, we can only use it in the morning and at night which makes timing vital. We went to help a recent convert help pound Fufu and then she gave us some. Now I have had fufu before and other than the texture its not bad. But let's just say I learned long suffering with this experience. My comp and I were praying the entire time that we could stomach it and finish it. I don't know how, but we did. It was something else and my gut was not to happy with me. But we did it and made it alive. Let's just say no fufu for a while.

But the Lord used this day to prepare us for the next day, Friday. Our zone leaders came. One went with me and my comp. and the other went with Elder Smith who is from Ghana and Elder Omini of Nigeria. The zone leaders are both American so we had to "Obroni's" together that day. But it was a great day. We taught 9 lessons which is a lot!! All went really well!! We invited some people for our goal on Dec. 25th so as of right now we have around 11 people we are preparing for that day. So three on the 28 of this month, and eleven for the Dec. 25th. Hopefully we can get a lot of people ready and baptized that day.

That night it rained but we just waited it out and then got back to work. Here the rainy season is June to August. But its still rains once in a while. Here when it rains it rains!!! I mean its like someone just turns on the facet and then turns it off after a while. Tons of rain. But the cool thing is the lightning. Unlike at home, the lightning here is constant and is about every second. It just flashes and lights the night sky every other second and does this for about 10 minutes or so. It's really cool.

Saturday is was a day that I hope I remember forever. Two lessons in particular stand out. The first was a lady, Gifty, we are teaching and preparing her for the 25th. Here boyfriend, and soon to be husband, whatever you want to call him, is named Fidel Castro. (That's another thing people here have cool names like that our : Truth, Gifty, John Taylor, Melcheziek, Bejamin Bwotin like Bejamin Button, etc.) Anyway Fidel is a recent convert, they had a little boy before he was baptized and right now he is saving up so he can marry Gifty. He is a great guy and so we are preparing to unite this family and bring them to the gospel. It was cool lesson and we invited her to be baptized by Fidel on the 25. She agreed! I can't wait to see this family together! Another side story. Sunday a guy that was baptized right before I came, got the priesthood. We have taught him and his little brother who is getting ready for the 28th. But while the guy was receiving the priesthood, the person talked about how his wife and family would begin to learn and become interested in the church. The Holy Ghost just hit me and my comp. and we said the same thing after. That now we must teach and unite this family as well. Cool right?

The next is the highlight thus far of my mission. There is a young guy, in his 20's, has been taught everything, believes everything, is a cool guy. He studies stuff from other religions, knows the Bible and all that. Last time we invited him to pray to know about Joseph Smith, the church, and the Book of Mormon. He has been studying the Bible and got to Revelations chapter 13, in particular 13:18. He then decided that if a man who is called of God could translate this and help him understand this then he would know the true church. So he said he would show it around to the local churches and us and see what he learns. I thought to myself, if only I had paid better attention in seminary. But then I thought you know what, I am called of God. He has promised that He would tell me what to say and when to say it. So I told the young man that he would know the church is true if he read the Book of Mormon. We read the introduction, and I just told him all this stuff. Words were just flowing from me. He then asked what I thought about this chapter in revelations. Not having read it before then or at least while he was telling us about his test to God, I told him and explained the chapter and explained 13:18. I know that God helped me at that time and put those words in my mind and mouth. Really even as I tell this abbreviate version I can feel the Holy Ghost. It was amazing. I felt like dad must feel when He speaks by the Holy Ghost. My comp. bore witness to my words and told truth that I had been speaking by the Spirit. My comp afterwards told me he could hear a difference as I spoke this time compared to before. I know that at that moment I was an instrument in the hands of God! I realized that as long as you are doing what you are supposed to that you are always speaking with the spirit, but those times prepare you for experiences such as this one.

My time is about up. I'm doing great! My health is good! I’ll answer questions next week. Tomorrow is zone conference. Know that I love you all and appreciate all that you do for me!!! Keep writing me and sending me packages with treats and peanut butter:) But really I love you all! Know that I pray for you everyday and feel like I am home when I read your words!!!

Love your son and brother,

Elder Ryan S. Alba