April 23, 2012

Dear Family:

Hey everyone!!! How are you? What's new back at home? Anything exciting happening?

To start, it is sad to hear about all the Alba Family Health challenges.  How thankful I am for all my family. Please let Guelita know how much I love her and appreciate all that she has done for me and tell her that Samuelito misses her very much!

Something kind of fun that we have been doing that is a little slice of home, is that here at the mission home we have grass. And I have a golf club (an old 9 iron) that I found in Kumasi, and we have golf balls. So sometimes in the morning for exercise, or on P-day in the afternoon, Elder Hair and I go out and will chip around! It has been really fun to be able to do a little thing from back home! My swing feels pretty good, could be better but is not bad:)

Early this week we had some troubles with the truck (it is getting really old and is getting time for new one) and so it had to go in for repairs. For a couple of days we got to drive around Pres. temporary car which was a Toyota Corolla, automatic. It was a lot of fun to drive it around. It definitely made me appreciate automatics a lot more! It was so easy to drive and was way nice! But now we have our van back now so we have been driving it around until the truck gets fixed. I have become a really good driver though! I have the clutch down I would say, and have been doing a really good job! It is fun to drive around now! I have missed it for so long but have loved being able to drive once again!

This past week we have been able to spend more time in our area. We have been working with the Less actives, but we have two sisters that are investigating the church. Both are progressing and becoming very interested in the church. We have been having really good lessons with them this past week, and we went to go and teach them on Sunday, and we extended an invitation to be baptized. One of them said yes, the other was a little hesitant, saying she had already been baptized elsewhere before. We addressed that concern,  but we committed them to pray about baptism. So when we go tomorrow  we will follow up on how it went. I believe that both of them will be baptized, it will just take maybe a little bit of time!

This week Pres. is in Accra for a mission president seminar for West Africa. We also have transfers this week. It will be interesting to see what exactly is going to happen. I have a feeling it is going to be a big transfer, so it will be exciting to see! Since I have been here, it has been interesting to see how Pres. prepares for transfers and how much thought he puts into it. I have always known how important and I am sure stressful they can be, but now that I am here I get to see it first hand. He prays often and frequently about it, and spends a lot of time thinking about what the Lord would have him do. It has been a big testimony builder to me to see that truly transfers come from God, that where you are assigned to labor is not just where the mission pres. wants you to go, but rather where the Lord needs you to go. You are to go to various areas for specific reasons, it then comes your responsibility to find the reason the Lord has placed you there. Often times you won't realize it until you are gone, but as I have looked at my past areas I can see specific reasons why I was there. And at the moment I am searching for this one!

This coming week is going to be super busy though! We have the departing missionaries coming next Monday, Accra/temple on Tuesday pick up the new missionaries/transfers on Wednesday, and the zone council in Kumasi on Friday, as well as Stake conference in Kumasi, and area conference in Sunyani all the same weekend. So next week is going to fly on by! It will be super busy, and super fast, but it will be fun! I am enjoying this opportunity to serve! I am learning so much from this experience and know that these are things that are going to help me out later on in life! I enjoy the chance I have to serve my fellow missionaries and to give help and support to them! The Lord is doing great things here in our mission and is preparing Ghana for bigger and better things! It is an honor to be here at this time, and give my all to the Savior!

It is exciting to think that in just 2 Sundays, I will be able to call home for Mothers Day! This will be my final phone call!!! I am sure that we will be able to Skype again which will be great! Get ready, think of things for us to talk about! The house looks great! So what are you doing to the outside, to be honest I don't know if it is because I have been out so long, but I have no idea what those words were that you used when you talked about what you are going to do outside haha! But I am sure it will looks great!

I really love you guys and appreciate all that you do for me! You guys are the best! Really I couldn't have done this without you! Your emails and letters rejuvenate me and keep me going! I miss you all so much! But just think, in less than 6 months, I'll be stepping off the plane in SLC and we will all be together! I love you all so much!

Love your son and brother

Elder Ryan S. Alba