Hey everyone, I guess that I should just write to Shelly, because she
is the only one that has written to me in the last 2 weeks. I don't
mean to be critical, because I know that there was a funeral going on
and all of that, but it just seems to me that if Shelly could get the
time to e-mail me 4 times in 2 weeks that everyone else could at least
write to me once. Its OK though because I really like you guys and
sometimes you send me letters and packages. From what she said, it
sounds like the funeral went really well, and that it was a lot of fun
to see all of the family. I really wish that I could have been there.
It sounds like everyone has changed a lot since Ive been gone.
Things here are going really well. Elder Bond and I baptized four
more people yesterday, and it went really well. One of them is an
older man whose name is Bro. Ageyman. Its kinda funny, because when he
was younger he practiced polygamy and he now has around 24 children.
It took a little bit longer to make that baptismal record than the
others. Another of the candidates was a young man from Nigeria who
came to Ghana to go to a university here. He is really cool, but has
some weird tendencies like walking down the street in only his
boxers.We then had a 14 year old boy and a 10 year old girl who are
about the brightest kids Ive ever met outside of our family. J.K. All
in all it was really good and it was a lot of fun to finally see all
of the hard work that we have done in the last couple of months pay
off. I feel really blest that we have had so much success since we
have been here. The Lord really loves the African people, and it makes
it really easy for the missionaries here to be successful. That is
even one of the things that Elder Holland talked about when the came
in Feb., He said that the problem with being a missionary in Africa
was that it was to easy to be disobedient and still have success. That
is definitely true, but I have also found that if you seek to be
obedient, that he will make you even more successful.
Another thing that has been going on the last couple of days is that
the world cup started. Ghana is playing in it and on top of that its
in south Africa. that means that the number of lessons that we teach
has significantly dropped. U.S. did really well though and surprised a
lot of people here by keeping neck in neck with England. That's really
good, because England has a lot of the big clubs and has some of the
key players in the world. For Jon's info. as I'm sure he already
knows, Paraguay is plying right now and it sounds like they are doing
some how well with Italy. Also, for Ry, South Korea gave it to Greece
the other day. The only way that I know that is because every night we
get a daily update texed to us by the A.P.'s. That is part of our new
mission goal. The goal is this. Every missionary had to make a
covenant to not watch a single game of the world cup, and then we
have to baptize someone that we contacted during one of the wold cup
matches. Kinda funny, but really hard. The people go crazy over here
with the games and if you ask them to turn it off, its like asking
them to give you there first born child. Things have been going well
though and Im happy to say that everyone has kept to the covenant so
far. We need your prayers though, because when they heard that Pes.
was going to make them do this to keep them from watching the game the
just about started to cry.
Well Im happy and everything is going well with me here. I hope that
you all are ding as well as I am. I love you all and hope to here from
you this next week.
Love Ty
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
June 7th
Well, its kinda hard to respond this week, especially since I know
most of you will not get a chance to read this anyways. Pres. Sabey
called me on Friday night and let me know about grandma. I hope that
all of the family is doing ok with the situation right now. On
Saturday we went to an old lady who I really like a lot named Sis.
Agnes, and we were teaching her about the plan of salvation. She has
had a really hard life and she started to talk about how it was hard
for her to believe that there could ever be an end to suffering. I
started to teach about all that we know and believe, and I remembered
Grandma Russell. The Spirit was so strong and that lesson brought so
much peace to me. This gospel is true. It has to be.I can feel the
Spirit telling me so often. Shelly talked about being together as a
family in the temple. I would much rather be together in the Celestial
Kingdom with all of you and your families. Please continue to live the
way that you are supposed to live so that we can be together. I love
you all and hope that all is still going well with you. Send my love
to the family that you see.
Love Ty
most of you will not get a chance to read this anyways. Pres. Sabey
called me on Friday night and let me know about grandma. I hope that
all of the family is doing ok with the situation right now. On
Saturday we went to an old lady who I really like a lot named Sis.
Agnes, and we were teaching her about the plan of salvation. She has
had a really hard life and she started to talk about how it was hard
for her to believe that there could ever be an end to suffering. I
started to teach about all that we know and believe, and I remembered
Grandma Russell. The Spirit was so strong and that lesson brought so
much peace to me. This gospel is true. It has to be.I can feel the
Spirit telling me so often. Shelly talked about being together as a
family in the temple. I would much rather be together in the Celestial
Kingdom with all of you and your families. Please continue to live the
way that you are supposed to live so that we can be together. I love
you all and hope that all is still going well with you. Send my love
to the family that you see.
Love Ty
May 31st
Hey guys, it sounds like a lot has happened since I last talked to
you. Derek I hope that you have fun at EFY. Nate and Megan hope all is
still going well for you and your house. Jenny and Shaun, I’m not sure
but it sounded like you got a place to stay now. I hope that you all
like it. Jon I don’t think that I’ve told you but just about all of
the meat that I’ve had since I’ve been here would not pass the FDA
inspection, but I can bring it anyways. Do you have a big enough pot
for cow huff? Ry, sorry but when I tell people that you just graduated
from Columbia it just doesn’t mean as much to them over here. Shelly,
hope that all is going well with you and your dis-tin. That’s how they
say this thing over here. Mom, can I spank you if you don’t do your
homework before you eat dinner?
It sounds funny that all of those people are getting married and that
they are going on missions. I guess I thought that everything would
stay the same as when I left. That’s what I get for thinking huh? I
hope that everything else is going ok. We played football today and I
messed up my ankle way bad by kicking Elder Kamara, but don’t worry, I
was aiming for the ball. Our team didn’t lose to bad though, and I am
getting better. I actually got a compliment today. The family was
able to get half way confirmed, because the dad had to travel with the
mom, but all the kids were and they parents are next week, unless we
have anymore freak face problems.
Well, I would love to keep rambling, but I’m out of time and
everything else is the exact same as it was last week, so Ill talk to
you next week. I love you all lots, and I am proud of the way that all
of you turned out, just like mom and dad.
Love Ty
you. Derek I hope that you have fun at EFY. Nate and Megan hope all is
still going well for you and your house. Jenny and Shaun, I’m not sure
but it sounded like you got a place to stay now. I hope that you all
like it. Jon I don’t think that I’ve told you but just about all of
the meat that I’ve had since I’ve been here would not pass the FDA
inspection, but I can bring it anyways. Do you have a big enough pot
for cow huff? Ry, sorry but when I tell people that you just graduated
from Columbia it just doesn’t mean as much to them over here. Shelly,
hope that all is going well with you and your dis-tin. That’s how they
say this thing over here. Mom, can I spank you if you don’t do your
homework before you eat dinner?
It sounds funny that all of those people are getting married and that
they are going on missions. I guess I thought that everything would
stay the same as when I left. That’s what I get for thinking huh? I
hope that everything else is going ok. We played football today and I
messed up my ankle way bad by kicking Elder Kamara, but don’t worry, I
was aiming for the ball. Our team didn’t lose to bad though, and I am
getting better. I actually got a compliment today. The family was
able to get half way confirmed, because the dad had to travel with the
mom, but all the kids were and they parents are next week, unless we
have anymore freak face problems.
Well, I would love to keep rambling, but I’m out of time and
everything else is the exact same as it was last week, so Ill talk to
you next week. I love you all lots, and I am proud of the way that all
of you turned out, just like mom and dad.
Love Ty
May 24th
Hey it’s cool that you got to see each other this last week. Talking
with you on the phone was crazy, because it helped me to realize that
everything has changed so much. I think that the craziest part is that
Derek went to prom in Bellingham. Who gave you permission to start
dating Derek? Congrats on the graduation everyone. I forgot that that
was this week. I hope that all went well with that.
Good news is that elder Bond and I officially baptized a family, but
the wife got a big boil on her face that looks terrible and gives her
a lot of pain, so they have not been confirmed. Please remember them
in your prayers. They are a way cool family and they have such a
strong testimony.
I’m not sure if everything is right with the e-mails, or if everyone
is just busy. I have not heard from anyone besides Mom, Shelly, and
Derek for the last month or so. I hope that that just means that
everyone is just too busy to write and that your families are doing
fine.
This week was normal for us. It rained twice and because of that it
was really hot. I got sunburned really badly. We had transfers, but no
one in our apartment was changed, and everyone is happy. We have the
coolest apartment mates in the mission. There is Elder Bond from
Texas, Elder Tadeao from Zimbabwe, and Elder Kamara from Sere Leon,
and myself. We all get along so well and have so much fun together.
Those guys are so funny and we can talk for hours. This may sound bad,
but I think that my favorite part of the day is going back to the
apartment to talk together about the day.
Today we are going to go and play football and then we are going to
town to buy some things. I think that I’m going to get a tie or two
and then I going to go and get another animal carving for dads desk.
They also have ice cream there, which is a delicacy for missionaries.
You can get a big cone for about 1.50 Ghana cedes. I might get one of
those.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want for my first meal back at
home. I think that the best possible thing would be a big lasagna with
lots of meat and cheese, and bread sticks. There would be a gallon of
milk and a big salad with lots of dressing. I think that I could eat
as much as mom could make. Then for desert, we could have and apple
pie with a crumble top, and some vanilla ice cream. Now that I’ve said
that it makes me really sad, because I’m not going to get that for the
next year and a half. That’s OK though, because you guys will never
get to try fufu and groundnut soup so….
Well, I can’t think of anything else to say other than that I love you
and appreciate all that you do for me. Ill talk to you next week.
Love Ty
with you on the phone was crazy, because it helped me to realize that
everything has changed so much. I think that the craziest part is that
Derek went to prom in Bellingham. Who gave you permission to start
dating Derek? Congrats on the graduation everyone. I forgot that that
was this week. I hope that all went well with that.
Good news is that elder Bond and I officially baptized a family, but
the wife got a big boil on her face that looks terrible and gives her
a lot of pain, so they have not been confirmed. Please remember them
in your prayers. They are a way cool family and they have such a
strong testimony.
I’m not sure if everything is right with the e-mails, or if everyone
is just busy. I have not heard from anyone besides Mom, Shelly, and
Derek for the last month or so. I hope that that just means that
everyone is just too busy to write and that your families are doing
fine.
This week was normal for us. It rained twice and because of that it
was really hot. I got sunburned really badly. We had transfers, but no
one in our apartment was changed, and everyone is happy. We have the
coolest apartment mates in the mission. There is Elder Bond from
Texas, Elder Tadeao from Zimbabwe, and Elder Kamara from Sere Leon,
and myself. We all get along so well and have so much fun together.
Those guys are so funny and we can talk for hours. This may sound bad,
but I think that my favorite part of the day is going back to the
apartment to talk together about the day.
Today we are going to go and play football and then we are going to
town to buy some things. I think that I’m going to get a tie or two
and then I going to go and get another animal carving for dads desk.
They also have ice cream there, which is a delicacy for missionaries.
You can get a big cone for about 1.50 Ghana cedes. I might get one of
those.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want for my first meal back at
home. I think that the best possible thing would be a big lasagna with
lots of meat and cheese, and bread sticks. There would be a gallon of
milk and a big salad with lots of dressing. I think that I could eat
as much as mom could make. Then for desert, we could have and apple
pie with a crumble top, and some vanilla ice cream. Now that I’ve said
that it makes me really sad, because I’m not going to get that for the
next year and a half. That’s OK though, because you guys will never
get to try fufu and groundnut soup so….
Well, I can’t think of anything else to say other than that I love you
and appreciate all that you do for me. Ill talk to you next week.
Love Ty
May 4th
Hey yall,
it was nice to hear from you Jen and mom. I wish that the rest of you
would repent and actually write to me. This last week had been sweet.
We got to listen to 2 sessions of general conference. Im not sure what
exactly was being said, or which session it was, because I had about 5
kids from the ages of 3-9 climbing all over me. The parents in all of
the wards here think that its ok to send their kids over to the
obrueny missionaries, because they think that they cant understand the
twi, and so we cant listen in church. Thats usually ok, but for
general conference they speak English, so I can actually understand
it. The parents still sent the kids over, so it felt just like home.
:-) Another problem with general conference is that all of the
speakers spoke so fast. I had a hard time understanding them, because
all of the people here speak so slow, and I cant remember how to speak
and listen to fast people anymore. That was kinda interesting. Things
here are going really well still. We have another baptism scheduled
for 2 weeks where we should have about 3 more for baptism. Elder Bond
is doing great and is so much fun to be around. Yesterday we had a
fufu party and they had the missionaries help the members pound. All
of the people said that I pound the best. Ive been doing it a lot and
Im getting it down really well. Its kinda fun, but a lot of hard work.
Another thing that Im kinda proud of is how much twi Ive been
learning. Im not a master yet, and I cant teach a full lesson yet, but
Ive been doing really well, and I can have a conversation about most
other things than the gospel with people. Its kinda cool. I still need
to work hard. Please remember me in your prayers. I need all the help
that I can get with the language and with the current mission goal of
converting and baptizing a family by July. We went and taught an elder
in a church this last Sunday and had kinda a fun go around. This man
believed that he had a prophet in his church and that Joseph smith was
not a true prophet. we asked him where his prophet got his power and
authority to be a prophet. he said that he didnt know, so i gave it to
him. we then explained to him exactly where Joseph smith got his power
and authority form, and also where we got the authority to be elders
from. we were not very nice, but we had a lot of fun. i think that i
need to change and repent and become a better person. i really like
giving it to people like that who have no idea what they believe in.
it usually works out a lot better if your nice though. i also have
been getting really prideful in a lot of ways and need to get better
at that also. Ive learned a lot on my mission so far and have been
having so much fun. i cant wait to talk to you all on Sunday. stay
happy and answer the phone.
love elder Russell
it was nice to hear from you Jen and mom. I wish that the rest of you
would repent and actually write to me. This last week had been sweet.
We got to listen to 2 sessions of general conference. Im not sure what
exactly was being said, or which session it was, because I had about 5
kids from the ages of 3-9 climbing all over me. The parents in all of
the wards here think that its ok to send their kids over to the
obrueny missionaries, because they think that they cant understand the
twi, and so we cant listen in church. Thats usually ok, but for
general conference they speak English, so I can actually understand
it. The parents still sent the kids over, so it felt just like home.
:-) Another problem with general conference is that all of the
speakers spoke so fast. I had a hard time understanding them, because
all of the people here speak so slow, and I cant remember how to speak
and listen to fast people anymore. That was kinda interesting. Things
here are going really well still. We have another baptism scheduled
for 2 weeks where we should have about 3 more for baptism. Elder Bond
is doing great and is so much fun to be around. Yesterday we had a
fufu party and they had the missionaries help the members pound. All
of the people said that I pound the best. Ive been doing it a lot and
Im getting it down really well. Its kinda fun, but a lot of hard work.
Another thing that Im kinda proud of is how much twi Ive been
learning. Im not a master yet, and I cant teach a full lesson yet, but
Ive been doing really well, and I can have a conversation about most
other things than the gospel with people. Its kinda cool. I still need
to work hard. Please remember me in your prayers. I need all the help
that I can get with the language and with the current mission goal of
converting and baptizing a family by July. We went and taught an elder
in a church this last Sunday and had kinda a fun go around. This man
believed that he had a prophet in his church and that Joseph smith was
not a true prophet. we asked him where his prophet got his power and
authority to be a prophet. he said that he didnt know, so i gave it to
him. we then explained to him exactly where Joseph smith got his power
and authority form, and also where we got the authority to be elders
from. we were not very nice, but we had a lot of fun. i think that i
need to change and repent and become a better person. i really like
giving it to people like that who have no idea what they believe in.
it usually works out a lot better if your nice though. i also have
been getting really prideful in a lot of ways and need to get better
at that also. Ive learned a lot on my mission so far and have been
having so much fun. i cant wait to talk to you all on Sunday. stay
happy and answer the phone.
love elder Russell
April 26th
Hey guys,
Its good to hear that the package got there. Sorry about the CD, its
a good thing most of the pictures were on the memory cards. If you
send a package, could you do me a favor and send some Garth Brooks
music for the man who fixes our apartments for the mission. Hes a
great guy and he really likes country, and at the same time i figure
that the more he likes me the better my life will be. :-)
So next week we get to call you guys, so I'm excited to hear from you
all. Ill let you know more about that later.
Funny story for this week is that the land lady that we live with has
not paid the water bill for about 3 years, so this last week they cut
the pipe for our apartment, which means that we have to get all of our
water by bucket. The lady and the water company tried to get us to pay
the water bill, because we are white and they think that we have
money. Its kinda annoying, but kinda funny too. Its not a big deal to
fetch the water, because we can get it just right outside our
apartment, it just takes time and its not purified, so we have to buy
pure water in the sachets. You can get thirty of them for about one
dollar and they hold half of a litter, so that's not a big deal
either, just funny.
We were teaching a man this week and he tried to prove to Elder Bond
and myself that God only loves some of his children, by using the
bible and talking about the children of Israel, and how they were a
chosen people. It was really funny, but after a while I got kinda mad
and started to yell at him. That just made him get even more
defensive, and so he started to try and change his argument to the
idea that God has already chosen who he will damn and who he will
save. This just made me laugh, and so Elder Bond had to end the
meeting, because I was laughing in this guys face. not very good, but
kinda funny.
Since Ive been on my mission I feel as though I have lost all of my
patience. I get angry a lot quicker and most of the time I don't even
try to hide it, because it seems like everyone else is angry also. I'm
trying hard, and most of the time I think that I'm OK.
This week, we get to watch general conference, or at least half of it
. I'm really excited, and I think that it will be a great chance to
get some of our more suborn investigators to church.
This week, we met a girl and we taught, as we are instructed to, about
promises. we set an appointment to come the next day and go over her
promises, and see how everything was going with her. The next day we
were going to her house, and it started to rain so hard that we had to
go home. we came the next day, and she started to use the same lesson
that we had just taught her the day before on us about keeping
promises, because we had missed our promise to come back to her. it
was really embarrassing.
Its almost rainy season, were I'm told that some days it rains so hard
that you cant even go out and teach. It will also help to make it a
little cooler, because when it rains it covers the sun and brings a
cool breeze with it. I'm actually really excited for it. its been
raining a lot more already. In the last 2 weeks,we have had probably 5
hard rain storms that lasted for about 3 hours each. Its kinda fun.
Well, I cant think of anything else to ramble on about. I love you and
hope that everything is OK with all of you.
LOVE Elder Russell
Its good to hear that the package got there. Sorry about the CD, its
a good thing most of the pictures were on the memory cards. If you
send a package, could you do me a favor and send some Garth Brooks
music for the man who fixes our apartments for the mission. Hes a
great guy and he really likes country, and at the same time i figure
that the more he likes me the better my life will be. :-)
So next week we get to call you guys, so I'm excited to hear from you
all. Ill let you know more about that later.
Funny story for this week is that the land lady that we live with has
not paid the water bill for about 3 years, so this last week they cut
the pipe for our apartment, which means that we have to get all of our
water by bucket. The lady and the water company tried to get us to pay
the water bill, because we are white and they think that we have
money. Its kinda annoying, but kinda funny too. Its not a big deal to
fetch the water, because we can get it just right outside our
apartment, it just takes time and its not purified, so we have to buy
pure water in the sachets. You can get thirty of them for about one
dollar and they hold half of a litter, so that's not a big deal
either, just funny.
We were teaching a man this week and he tried to prove to Elder Bond
and myself that God only loves some of his children, by using the
bible and talking about the children of Israel, and how they were a
chosen people. It was really funny, but after a while I got kinda mad
and started to yell at him. That just made him get even more
defensive, and so he started to try and change his argument to the
idea that God has already chosen who he will damn and who he will
save. This just made me laugh, and so Elder Bond had to end the
meeting, because I was laughing in this guys face. not very good, but
kinda funny.
Since Ive been on my mission I feel as though I have lost all of my
patience. I get angry a lot quicker and most of the time I don't even
try to hide it, because it seems like everyone else is angry also. I'm
trying hard, and most of the time I think that I'm OK.
This week, we get to watch general conference, or at least half of it
. I'm really excited, and I think that it will be a great chance to
get some of our more suborn investigators to church.
This week, we met a girl and we taught, as we are instructed to, about
promises. we set an appointment to come the next day and go over her
promises, and see how everything was going with her. The next day we
were going to her house, and it started to rain so hard that we had to
go home. we came the next day, and she started to use the same lesson
that we had just taught her the day before on us about keeping
promises, because we had missed our promise to come back to her. it
was really embarrassing.
Its almost rainy season, were I'm told that some days it rains so hard
that you cant even go out and teach. It will also help to make it a
little cooler, because when it rains it covers the sun and brings a
cool breeze with it. I'm actually really excited for it. its been
raining a lot more already. In the last 2 weeks,we have had probably 5
hard rain storms that lasted for about 3 hours each. Its kinda fun.
Well, I cant think of anything else to ramble on about. I love you and
hope that everything is OK with all of you.
LOVE Elder Russell
April 19th
Hey guys, its nice to here that you all are doing well.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM AFRICA TO KIRSTEN AND LEXY!!!!
To answer your questions mom, Yes, if you send a package, I would
really like some American seasonings, such as taco and ranch and any
other packets of stuff that you can think of. I have been sick. This
last week I got malaria, but not very bad tough. I was only inside for
half of a day. I love the medicine that they give to us. It works
miracles along with blessings. I don’t know if you have already given
your talk, or if this helps, but I was thinking about your questions.
For me what really started to get me to read the scriptures were three
things: First, because everyone always told me about all of the
stories that were in them, and I wanted to know about people like
Moroni and all of that stuff and so I started. The next thing was that
we always read before we all went to school, and I wanted to be a
better reader so that I could read as fast as everyone else, so I
wanted to practice. The last one was that I knew that all of my older
brothers and sisters read, and I wanted to be like them. Now the
reasons that I read are a little bit different though. I read so that
when a stupid preacher thinks that he knows the bible and what it
teaches I can bash with him and prove to him that he is wrong.
Actually that’s not true, but I do read so that I can teach more
effectively. As I study the scriptures, I don’t see words anymore. I
see what is happening, and often I see myself in the middle of it all.
I can see every ones mistakes and what they are doing well. I can
actually imaging all of those cool things, and it makes me fill so
happy. It brings such knowledge and peace that I cant even describe
it. I know that that is a bit of a ramble, but when you are a
missionary, you really come to love the scriptures more than you ever
thought that you would. You tell those women that I said that the best
way to have effective missionaries from their children is for them to
come out with a love for the scriptures and knowledge that the Book of
Mormon is true. If they can help their children to do that they could
change the world. Sorry, I got carried away.
So, it’s kind of weird to hear that Riley can talk and walk,
considering that the last time I saw the kid he was barely sitting up.
I hope that all went well with Kirsten and Lexy’s birthdays. They are
getting really old. Nate and Megan, congrats on the kicking, when I
get back Ill be able to teach it how to play soccer. We played today
for p-day and I scored. I’ve gotten a lot better at it than when I
came. We had a baptism on Sunday and we baptized 3 people. We have
another in 2 weeks where if all goes well, we will baptize about six
others. Please pray for me. We also had a fireside on Saturday, in
which I got to talk about missionary work. I think that it went ok,
considering that I found out about five min. before I talked.
Funny story of the day is apparently elder bond woke up last nigh and
looked over and I was sitting up in bed talking. I said no my Name is
Elder Russell. I then continued to teach a lesson including using
imaginary scriptures and my imaginary daily planner. I guess I
baptized the guy, because right after that I had to go to the
bathroom, so I must have been thinking of water. Well my time is up, I
cant wait to talk to you guys in a couple of weeks. Love Elder
Russell.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM AFRICA TO KIRSTEN AND LEXY!!!!
To answer your questions mom, Yes, if you send a package, I would
really like some American seasonings, such as taco and ranch and any
other packets of stuff that you can think of. I have been sick. This
last week I got malaria, but not very bad tough. I was only inside for
half of a day. I love the medicine that they give to us. It works
miracles along with blessings. I don’t know if you have already given
your talk, or if this helps, but I was thinking about your questions.
For me what really started to get me to read the scriptures were three
things: First, because everyone always told me about all of the
stories that were in them, and I wanted to know about people like
Moroni and all of that stuff and so I started. The next thing was that
we always read before we all went to school, and I wanted to be a
better reader so that I could read as fast as everyone else, so I
wanted to practice. The last one was that I knew that all of my older
brothers and sisters read, and I wanted to be like them. Now the
reasons that I read are a little bit different though. I read so that
when a stupid preacher thinks that he knows the bible and what it
teaches I can bash with him and prove to him that he is wrong.
Actually that’s not true, but I do read so that I can teach more
effectively. As I study the scriptures, I don’t see words anymore. I
see what is happening, and often I see myself in the middle of it all.
I can see every ones mistakes and what they are doing well. I can
actually imaging all of those cool things, and it makes me fill so
happy. It brings such knowledge and peace that I cant even describe
it. I know that that is a bit of a ramble, but when you are a
missionary, you really come to love the scriptures more than you ever
thought that you would. You tell those women that I said that the best
way to have effective missionaries from their children is for them to
come out with a love for the scriptures and knowledge that the Book of
Mormon is true. If they can help their children to do that they could
change the world. Sorry, I got carried away.
So, it’s kind of weird to hear that Riley can talk and walk,
considering that the last time I saw the kid he was barely sitting up.
I hope that all went well with Kirsten and Lexy’s birthdays. They are
getting really old. Nate and Megan, congrats on the kicking, when I
get back Ill be able to teach it how to play soccer. We played today
for p-day and I scored. I’ve gotten a lot better at it than when I
came. We had a baptism on Sunday and we baptized 3 people. We have
another in 2 weeks where if all goes well, we will baptize about six
others. Please pray for me. We also had a fireside on Saturday, in
which I got to talk about missionary work. I think that it went ok,
considering that I found out about five min. before I talked.
Funny story of the day is apparently elder bond woke up last nigh and
looked over and I was sitting up in bed talking. I said no my Name is
Elder Russell. I then continued to teach a lesson including using
imaginary scriptures and my imaginary daily planner. I guess I
baptized the guy, because right after that I had to go to the
bathroom, so I must have been thinking of water. Well my time is up, I
cant wait to talk to you guys in a couple of weeks. Love Elder
Russell.
April 5th
Hey Guys,
That's great that all is going well with you. I wish that I could have
seen all of you for spring break. Congrats on being a great nurse
Megan. Jon and Nate, I never said I was good at spelling, it just came
naturally.
So transfers have come and gone and I'm still in the same position,
only Elder Bond and myself are alone and Elder Kamara has now got his
own comp. , that happens to be one of the missionaries from my old
apartment who is named Elder Tadeao. Hes from Zimbabwe and is way
cool. This should make us more productive, but I'm going to miss
hanging out with Elder Kamara all the time.
This week had been way sweet. We committed two people for baptism for
the 17 of April, and we have a few more that we will commit this week.
I tried to send the packages on Friday, but it was closed for Easter
weekend. We went back today to try and send them today and they were
still closed. I'm starting to wonder if they really do have mail in
this country, or if God just doesn't want you guys to get your
package.
Mom, just to let you know about the laptop that I was talking about,
we went to check on them a few times throughout the week and to check
on the price. Everything seemed to be fine, until the day that we were
getting ready to buy them. They have changed the currency here in
Ghana about a year ago, and because of that everyone is still getting
used to it. They told us that it would cost about 140 Ghana cedes, but
come to find out, they really cost 1,400 Ghana cedes. Needless to say,
I didn't buy a lap top this week. I'm not a bad missionary for
checking on those, I had permission from Pres. Sabey, and it was at
the investigators place anyways. I promise that I'm still doing good.
We are just coming back right now from an fm with a member in our
ward named Heather. We had Fufu and groundnut soup. You guys should
look up the instructions for how to make ground nut soup and try it. I
bet that you could make and American version that would taste great,
and it would be a lot of fun to make. You can eat it with rice instead
of fufu, and then you could know what kind of food I'm eating over
here. Its kinda funny, because that is one of my favorite meals here,
and we have not had it since we have been in this area. On the other
hand, we had it almost every day in Mpintsin, and I got to where I
could eat quite a bit of it. Tonight I was able to impress my
companions with how much fufu and groundnut soup I could eat. it was
great. I got to check my weight this week, and Ive lost another 6
pounds, which is sweet. I think that I'm going to have changed quite a
bit since when I left.
This last week we were in town, and I was looking for things to put in
you package and I came across this sweet would carver, who makes
things like hippos and lions and elephants. I bough two of his small
carvings for about 10 dollars, that are way sweet. Ill show you guys
when I get home in 18 months. I think I might buy one or two more
carvings so that I can have a set. I really like them.
Well other than those things, it was a normal week. I'm still loving
the work and loving my companions. I'm having the time of my life and
cant wait to tell you about it on mothers day.
Love you all and hope to hear from you soon,
Love, Ty
That's great that all is going well with you. I wish that I could have
seen all of you for spring break. Congrats on being a great nurse
Megan. Jon and Nate, I never said I was good at spelling, it just came
naturally.
So transfers have come and gone and I'm still in the same position,
only Elder Bond and myself are alone and Elder Kamara has now got his
own comp. , that happens to be one of the missionaries from my old
apartment who is named Elder Tadeao. Hes from Zimbabwe and is way
cool. This should make us more productive, but I'm going to miss
hanging out with Elder Kamara all the time.
This week had been way sweet. We committed two people for baptism for
the 17 of April, and we have a few more that we will commit this week.
I tried to send the packages on Friday, but it was closed for Easter
weekend. We went back today to try and send them today and they were
still closed. I'm starting to wonder if they really do have mail in
this country, or if God just doesn't want you guys to get your
package.
Mom, just to let you know about the laptop that I was talking about,
we went to check on them a few times throughout the week and to check
on the price. Everything seemed to be fine, until the day that we were
getting ready to buy them. They have changed the currency here in
Ghana about a year ago, and because of that everyone is still getting
used to it. They told us that it would cost about 140 Ghana cedes, but
come to find out, they really cost 1,400 Ghana cedes. Needless to say,
I didn't buy a lap top this week. I'm not a bad missionary for
checking on those, I had permission from Pres. Sabey, and it was at
the investigators place anyways. I promise that I'm still doing good.
We are just coming back right now from an fm with a member in our
ward named Heather. We had Fufu and groundnut soup. You guys should
look up the instructions for how to make ground nut soup and try it. I
bet that you could make and American version that would taste great,
and it would be a lot of fun to make. You can eat it with rice instead
of fufu, and then you could know what kind of food I'm eating over
here. Its kinda funny, because that is one of my favorite meals here,
and we have not had it since we have been in this area. On the other
hand, we had it almost every day in Mpintsin, and I got to where I
could eat quite a bit of it. Tonight I was able to impress my
companions with how much fufu and groundnut soup I could eat. it was
great. I got to check my weight this week, and Ive lost another 6
pounds, which is sweet. I think that I'm going to have changed quite a
bit since when I left.
This last week we were in town, and I was looking for things to put in
you package and I came across this sweet would carver, who makes
things like hippos and lions and elephants. I bough two of his small
carvings for about 10 dollars, that are way sweet. Ill show you guys
when I get home in 18 months. I think I might buy one or two more
carvings so that I can have a set. I really like them.
Well other than those things, it was a normal week. I'm still loving
the work and loving my companions. I'm having the time of my life and
cant wait to tell you about it on mothers day.
Love you all and hope to hear from you soon,
Love, Ty
March 30th
Hey guys,
So It sounds like you all are doing great except for being a little
sick. Everything over here is great. This week I hit my six month
mark, which is kinda weird, because it feels like I got here
yesterday. We are going into town where they have a place that sells
ice cream to celebrate with some of my friends from the MTC. That
should be fun. Also, our zone is scheduled to play soccer with the
young single adults again on Friday. This time the ref comes from our
team so I'm sure that we will win. :-) Ive been a little sick this
week, we had to buy some more tp, but we still are having a lot of
fun. Sorry that some of you guys are sick. Derek congrats on the
driving, and yes I have turned red, with white hair. I was going for a
mix between Steve Martin and Ry. And Jon, we all know that I'm
Grandma's favorite. I'm not sure if I was able to get an e-mail off
last week, the computers are kinda bad, but in case that I didn't, mom
I would love a package with pictures, to answer your question.
Pictures of home, pictures of you and the rest of the family. When we
go to town this week, I'm sending you and dad your mothers day and
fathers day presents. Don't get to excited, but it's the best I can
get for you at this time. It will be much better when I come home. We
have an interesting problem that is actually way cool. The member in
the ward want to come out with us so bad that they are kinda fighting
each other to come with us. Its a nice problem to have. Virtually
every lesson that we teach is with a member, and that helps a lot with
getting solid investigators. This week, Pres. Sabey came out with a
new way of teaching where instead of teaching from the basic lessons
right away, you start with the first lesson being on promise making
and keeping. It actually has been way sweet and seems to be going
really well. It first helps us to know within the first few lessons
who is serious or not because they have followed what we said. There
is no way for someone that wants to bible bash to argue, because that
would meant that they don't believe that they should be honest, and
most importantly, it helps them to realize that this is a church of
commitment and covenant making and keeping and that they cant just
come some times and sit in the back and not do anything to be saved. I
love it and its really helped with the teaching. Every time that we
see them we are supposed to give them something to promise to do,
whether it be to read something or to pray, or to got to church, and
with that we also promise that we will teach them if they Keep their
promise, and if they do not we promise to not teach them. Again, its
really effective.On top of all that, mango's have started to come out
and they taste soooooooooo good. You can buy about five small ones for
fifty sense. The only problem is that they seem to give me gas. I feel
bad for my companions, but not bad enough to stop eating them. The
fruit here is so good and so cheap. I think that is one thing that Im
going to miss in a year and a half when I go home. Well, my time is
up, I think that Ive rambled enough to please Jon and Nate so Ill let
you guys go. Love you all, and hope everything is good.
Love Elder Russell
P.S. Mom I think that I'm going to buy it. Ive talked with another
missionary who is a major computer nerd and he told me it was such a
good deal that he wanted in on it. We checked on all of the things
that you warned me about. Thanks. Ty
So It sounds like you all are doing great except for being a little
sick. Everything over here is great. This week I hit my six month
mark, which is kinda weird, because it feels like I got here
yesterday. We are going into town where they have a place that sells
ice cream to celebrate with some of my friends from the MTC. That
should be fun. Also, our zone is scheduled to play soccer with the
young single adults again on Friday. This time the ref comes from our
team so I'm sure that we will win. :-) Ive been a little sick this
week, we had to buy some more tp, but we still are having a lot of
fun. Sorry that some of you guys are sick. Derek congrats on the
driving, and yes I have turned red, with white hair. I was going for a
mix between Steve Martin and Ry. And Jon, we all know that I'm
Grandma's favorite. I'm not sure if I was able to get an e-mail off
last week, the computers are kinda bad, but in case that I didn't, mom
I would love a package with pictures, to answer your question.
Pictures of home, pictures of you and the rest of the family. When we
go to town this week, I'm sending you and dad your mothers day and
fathers day presents. Don't get to excited, but it's the best I can
get for you at this time. It will be much better when I come home. We
have an interesting problem that is actually way cool. The member in
the ward want to come out with us so bad that they are kinda fighting
each other to come with us. Its a nice problem to have. Virtually
every lesson that we teach is with a member, and that helps a lot with
getting solid investigators. This week, Pres. Sabey came out with a
new way of teaching where instead of teaching from the basic lessons
right away, you start with the first lesson being on promise making
and keeping. It actually has been way sweet and seems to be going
really well. It first helps us to know within the first few lessons
who is serious or not because they have followed what we said. There
is no way for someone that wants to bible bash to argue, because that
would meant that they don't believe that they should be honest, and
most importantly, it helps them to realize that this is a church of
commitment and covenant making and keeping and that they cant just
come some times and sit in the back and not do anything to be saved. I
love it and its really helped with the teaching. Every time that we
see them we are supposed to give them something to promise to do,
whether it be to read something or to pray, or to got to church, and
with that we also promise that we will teach them if they Keep their
promise, and if they do not we promise to not teach them. Again, its
really effective.On top of all that, mango's have started to come out
and they taste soooooooooo good. You can buy about five small ones for
fifty sense. The only problem is that they seem to give me gas. I feel
bad for my companions, but not bad enough to stop eating them. The
fruit here is so good and so cheap. I think that is one thing that Im
going to miss in a year and a half when I go home. Well, my time is
up, I think that Ive rambled enough to please Jon and Nate so Ill let
you guys go. Love you all, and hope everything is good.
Love Elder Russell
P.S. Mom I think that I'm going to buy it. Ive talked with another
missionary who is a major computer nerd and he told me it was such a
good deal that he wanted in on it. We checked on all of the things
that you warned me about. Thanks. Ty
March 8th
Sorry if I forgot to tell you guys last week, but Im training a guy from Texas. He is was cool, and his name is Elder Bond. We also just found out that the other elders in the apartment are having an emergency transfer, so starting tomorrow we are in a threesome with the district leader whose name is Elder Kamarah. He is from Sere Le Dion, and is also way cool.
We are living in the outskirts of Kumasi, in a place called Asuoyeboah. Today we got to go to the actual main market of Kumasi, which was way crazy. There is literally no room to walk and you have to push your way through the crowd to get anywhere. Its actually kinda fun and would be like playing football with grandmas. While we were there I got to buy 2 Kentie ties and a soccer jersey that actually fits me. I also got to check my weight and was pleasantly surprised, but while talking to other missionaries I decided that I'm not going to telly what I weigh now, and that I will not send any pictures of myself, but only of others. That way when I walk off the plain you will be surprised. I'm still healthy and actually eating more than I did at home, I'm just trimming off my baby fat.
We also got to play football (aka soccer) with the single adults in the area and we tied, even though they cheated terribly. that was a lot of fun.
Other than that it has been a normal week here in Africa. Sorry about the windows mom. Jon I'm proud of your reading skills, but I still like good night moon better. Derek congrats with the eagle, keep it up. Love you guys and hope that all is still going well.
Love Elder Russellanywhere. Its actually kinda fun and would be like playing football with grandmas. While we were there I got to buy 2 Kentie ties and a soccer jersey that actually fits me. I also got to check my weight and was pleasantly surprised, but while talking to other missionaries I decided that I'm not going to telly what I weigh now, and that I will not send any pictures of myself, but only of other
We are living in the outskirts of Kumasi, in a place called Asuoyeboah. Today we got to go to the actual main market of Kumasi, which was way crazy. There is literally no room to walk and you have to push your way through the crowd to get anywhere. Its actually kinda fun and would be like playing football with grandmas. While we were there I got to buy 2 Kentie ties and a soccer jersey that actually fits me. I also got to check my weight and was pleasantly surprised, but while talking to other missionaries I decided that I'm not going to telly what I weigh now, and that I will not send any pictures of myself, but only of others. That way when I walk off the plain you will be surprised. I'm still healthy and actually eating more than I did at home, I'm just trimming off my baby fat.
We also got to play football (aka soccer) with the single adults in the area and we tied, even though they cheated terribly. that was a lot of fun.
Other than that it has been a normal week here in Africa. Sorry about the windows mom. Jon I'm proud of your reading skills, but I still like good night moon better. Derek congrats with the eagle, keep it up. Love you guys and hope that all is still going well.
Love Elder Russellanywhere. Its actually kinda fun and would be like playing football with grandmas. While we were there I got to buy 2 Kentie ties and a soccer jersey that actually fits me. I also got to check my weight and was pleasantly surprised, but while talking to other missionaries I decided that I'm not going to telly what I weigh now, and that I will not send any pictures of myself, but only of other
March 2nd
Hey guys, sorry about last night, but things went kind of crazy, because we had to teach 3 lessons in 1 and a half hours when only 2 of the lessons could understand English well enough for us to communicate. The moral of this story is that I need to learn twi (my new language). Everything worked out well, and we were able to teach, but unfortunately, when we finally got time to e-mail the café was closing, so sorry.
Funny story that some-how sum up sweet elder Bond. We were doing some contacting, and we came across 2 boys that were quite clearly brothers from their appearance. WE asked them and they told us that they were blood brothers. WE then asked them how old they were and they told us that they were both 14. We asked if they were twins, and they said no, so we asked what their birth date was so that we could see how far apart they were. Come to find out one was born in April and the other was born in June. Since polygamy is a big issue here in Ghana, as we were walking away, I made some comment to Elder Bond about it. I think I asked, “So… you know what that means?” His answer was “yea… one of them stayed in his mom’s stomach longer than the other”. To this I said, “Elder it doesn’t work like that. They can’t stay in there for 2 months” He then said, “Well sometimes it does.” I laughed for about 10 min, and then very lovingly gave him a brief g rated version of when a woman’s water breaks (because I have so much experience in that field). It was somehow very funny and describes him to the T. I love Elder Bond so much though. He really does very well and we are able to work very hared. His lessons have improved greatly in the last week that we have been together. I’m not sure if I told you guys, but on top of training, I’m opening a new area also. Luckily, it is just a split off from some of the other area in our zone, so there were a few people that we are able to work with. The work has been going really well, and the word seems really happy to now have 2 sets of missionaries with them.
We now have people asking us to come every day so that we can discus, and its really sweet. We gave a few books of Mormons out this last week and they were accepted very well. It’s really neat to see the change that the gospel brings to other peoples lives.
One of the things that I think I’m most excited for in the next few weeks is mango season. They say that when they are in season you can buy four of them for about 75cents.
One thing that would really help me you guys is if maybe you would start a new e-mail every week so that they are not so big. The computers have problems with the big ones, and it takes forever for them to come up so that you can read them. It’s some how frustrating when you wait for 10 min just to read one sentence.
Ive got to go, love you guys, Elder Russell
Funny story that some-how sum up sweet elder Bond. We were doing some contacting, and we came across 2 boys that were quite clearly brothers from their appearance. WE asked them and they told us that they were blood brothers. WE then asked them how old they were and they told us that they were both 14. We asked if they were twins, and they said no, so we asked what their birth date was so that we could see how far apart they were. Come to find out one was born in April and the other was born in June. Since polygamy is a big issue here in Ghana, as we were walking away, I made some comment to Elder Bond about it. I think I asked, “So… you know what that means?” His answer was “yea… one of them stayed in his mom’s stomach longer than the other”. To this I said, “Elder it doesn’t work like that. They can’t stay in there for 2 months” He then said, “Well sometimes it does.” I laughed for about 10 min, and then very lovingly gave him a brief g rated version of when a woman’s water breaks (because I have so much experience in that field). It was somehow very funny and describes him to the T. I love Elder Bond so much though. He really does very well and we are able to work very hared. His lessons have improved greatly in the last week that we have been together. I’m not sure if I told you guys, but on top of training, I’m opening a new area also. Luckily, it is just a split off from some of the other area in our zone, so there were a few people that we are able to work with. The work has been going really well, and the word seems really happy to now have 2 sets of missionaries with them.
We now have people asking us to come every day so that we can discus, and its really sweet. We gave a few books of Mormons out this last week and they were accepted very well. It’s really neat to see the change that the gospel brings to other peoples lives.
One of the things that I think I’m most excited for in the next few weeks is mango season. They say that when they are in season you can buy four of them for about 75cents.
One thing that would really help me you guys is if maybe you would start a new e-mail every week so that they are not so big. The computers have problems with the big ones, and it takes forever for them to come up so that you can read them. It’s some how frustrating when you wait for 10 min just to read one sentence.
Ive got to go, love you guys, Elder Russell
February 2010
hey guys, how’s it going. It sounds like you all know more about Mpintsin than I do, because the computers are so slow here that If I take time to watch any of the videos, Ill be here all day.
This week has been great. We had interviews, and I got to talk to Pres. Sabey for about 50 min. When we were done, Elder Smith thought that I had talked bad about him and so that night we got into quite a big confrontation, and it was really fun. Everything is all worked out now though.
Ry to answer some of your questions, the farmer’s day market changes locations every year. Those people from the liahona are from my ward, but I had no idea they were featured. The trash here is terrible. I live in Mpintsin, and we come to Takoradi every Mon for p-day, but I am in the Secondi zone. I have no idea about the rice shed, and that is way too expensive. Most sheds only cost about 75 American dollars. I will try to find it though. Most people here are very proud of their history and because of that I have heard plenty about where they came from.
Crazy story for the week. We were teaching a progressing investigator and we came to his house while he was washing dishes. After a while., he came in and sat down. All of a sudden he got really nervous and really quickly through a cloth over something that was on the ground that we hadn’t noticed (his house was really messy). Not really thinking, I asked him what it was and he got even more nervous. Finally he was like ok Ill just show you what it is instead of trying to tell you. He brought it out and it looked like something a 6th grader would make in his garage. It was the biggest water bong that I have ever seen, made out of clay. The funny part was that he started to give us this excuse that it was religious and that every time he smoked it he would recite Psalms 23 and say a prayer that black Africa could become united. It was so hard not to laugh, but needless to say, we have to teach him the ward of wisdom.
Grandma Russell, if you get a chance to read these, thank you so much for the package. It really helped me on a few hard days this week. You really didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I love you so much and hope that all is going well.
All of the rest of you I love you too and appreciate all that you do, thanks. I hope that all goes well with everyone in all of the things that they do. Just because I don’t write anything to or about you it doesn’t meant that I love you. I just really feel rushed when it is time for e-mailing, because there is so much to say and only a little time to say it. This week we baptized 13 people. The work is going great. I love you all and cant wait to talk to you next week. That’s transfer week so maybe something will happen.
Love you guys,
Elder Russell
This week has been great. We had interviews, and I got to talk to Pres. Sabey for about 50 min. When we were done, Elder Smith thought that I had talked bad about him and so that night we got into quite a big confrontation, and it was really fun. Everything is all worked out now though.
Ry to answer some of your questions, the farmer’s day market changes locations every year. Those people from the liahona are from my ward, but I had no idea they were featured. The trash here is terrible. I live in Mpintsin, and we come to Takoradi every Mon for p-day, but I am in the Secondi zone. I have no idea about the rice shed, and that is way too expensive. Most sheds only cost about 75 American dollars. I will try to find it though. Most people here are very proud of their history and because of that I have heard plenty about where they came from.
Crazy story for the week. We were teaching a progressing investigator and we came to his house while he was washing dishes. After a while., he came in and sat down. All of a sudden he got really nervous and really quickly through a cloth over something that was on the ground that we hadn’t noticed (his house was really messy). Not really thinking, I asked him what it was and he got even more nervous. Finally he was like ok Ill just show you what it is instead of trying to tell you. He brought it out and it looked like something a 6th grader would make in his garage. It was the biggest water bong that I have ever seen, made out of clay. The funny part was that he started to give us this excuse that it was religious and that every time he smoked it he would recite Psalms 23 and say a prayer that black Africa could become united. It was so hard not to laugh, but needless to say, we have to teach him the ward of wisdom.
Grandma Russell, if you get a chance to read these, thank you so much for the package. It really helped me on a few hard days this week. You really didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I love you so much and hope that all is going well.
All of the rest of you I love you too and appreciate all that you do, thanks. I hope that all goes well with everyone in all of the things that they do. Just because I don’t write anything to or about you it doesn’t meant that I love you. I just really feel rushed when it is time for e-mailing, because there is so much to say and only a little time to say it. This week we baptized 13 people. The work is going great. I love you all and cant wait to talk to you next week. That’s transfer week so maybe something will happen.
Love you guys,
Elder Russell
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