April 30,2012

Dear Family:

Hi Everyone! How is it going? What's new?

The Bathroom looks really good! That is great that is almost done! So I am still a little confused as to what we are doing to the outside? Are we getting rid of the brick or painting? Either way I am sure it will look great!

So this past week has been a very busy week for our mission. On Friday and saturday we were getting everything ready for transfers. Elder Hair was just transferred to go up to Kumasi, he is just going to be a normal elder, and so on Wednesday I will have a new companion. His name is Elder Nzuki from Kenya! Name sound familiar... he was actually my MTC companion! He and I came at the same time and so we will be going home at the same time too. He is a great guy and I am excited to be working with him again! So now that means a lot of stuff is will fall on to my shoulders. I will have to remember a lot, I will be doing all the driving, and at the same time train him on what to do. So it is going to be a lot, but to be honest I am not worried. The Lord knows what He is doing, Pres. Knows what he is doing, so I just need to trust in them and go to work. Elder Hair has been a great companion. He has taught me a lot and I have enjoyed working with him. We have become good friends and have worked well together. He is a great missionary!

Wherever the Lord needs me, is where I will be. That is one thing that I have really learned since I have been out on mission. Sometimes we think what we know what is best, or this is the way things should be done, but that is not the case. We need to do what the Lord wants us to do. We need to follow the spirit and its guidance, because if we don't just like it says in D&C we will be doing it "by some other way, not of him." As I have studied the scriptures and pondered what they say, I have learned more about the perception of time. To the Lord, everything is present before his eyes. He doesn't just think about what is going to happen, he knows what is going to happen. So for us, we can say he knows the past, present, and future.

This past week Pres. Shulz spent the week in Accra having a mission President seminar. Elder Tad Callister came to instruct the mission Presidents. So while he was there we went on splits and worked around here in Cape. I worked with the Elders in a place called Kissi. It is a village just outside of Cape. It was shocking to me to see how many spoke english in this village. All the people we met that day spoke english. Those elders are doing a great job and are working hard. For me I have really spent my whole mission in town/city feeling places. You know me, I'm a city boy:)

Can you believe it, only two more sundays and we will be able to talk to one another. I am almost 100% sure that we will be able to skype to which should be great! I am excited for that! This is the last one!!! Be thinking of things for us to talk about! By next month, only 5 months left!!!!!! That is so crazy!!!

This week is going to be super fast and super busy! Tonight we have the departing Elders over at the mission home. We will have a devotional with them tonight, and then tomorrow morning we go to Accra. We will go to the temple (I am so glad and excited for that) and then we will take the them to the airport. From there we will go to Tema to the MTC and meet the new elders. We will spend the night there and then on Wed. come back to Cape. We will help out with transfers down here and make sure that everyone gets where they need to be. Then on Friday morning we will travel up to Kumasi and have a zone council with the Zones up there that evening. Then Saturday we will have splits up there, Sunday we will go up to Sunyani for an Area Conference in which Sunyani will be made into a district, and then come back to Kumasi that afternoon, and back to cape on Monday. Crazy huh? But it will be sweet!

Well I miss you all so much! I love you and am so grateful for all that you do for me! You are the best family in the world!!!! Thanks for everything! Until next week!

Love your son and brother

Elder Ryan S. Alba