Going to Daban to be an Office Elder...

Hello Everbody!
I am sorry I have missed some time! Last week when I went to the cafe, the power was out and the network was down! Akwaaba ti Ghana! (welcome to Ghana)

Crazy things just finished happening! You may remember that just 2-3 weeks ago I received a new companion, Elder Asare. Well the reason he came was because an elder from the training center had a visa problem and couldn't go to his assigned mission, so he was sent to the Accra mission which gave them odd numbers. In order to even things out, they released my part-time companion and brought me Elder Asare. Well just last week, the elder in Accra got his visa corrected and was to be sent to his assigned mission. Because he was now leaving, they needed Elder Asare back in the Accra mission. So last week on Wednesday people came to Kumasi to pick up Elder Asare. When they did that I went back to Ejisu with Elder Dudley and Elder Morford. (both from Utah). President told me that I was just going there to show them around the area for a few days. Then on Friday, I was picked up from Ejisu to come to Daban to be a part of the office elders!  So currently as I am writing this I am in Daban. My companions are Elder Anderson (Ghana) and Elder Whipple (Missouri). They are super great guys! In our apartment we also have Elder Abrams (Wyoming) and Elder Udobor (Nigeria), they are the assistants to the president. It is a super great apartment! Even when we came back from church on Sunday, we walked into the kitchen to find a dead mouse just sitting in the middle of the floor! :)

But all is well, I am just still trying to gather my head from all of the many things happening lately!!  Life is well! I love you all! I hope you all enjoy your week! 

Odo,

Elder Brandt

No Letter - Just Pictures!

Our District

Leading the Midweek...

Hello Everybody! I am doing my best but today's internet is kind of a doozy. This week was pretty good! I got to know more about my companion and had some good experiences this week! On Wednesday I had the opportunity to lead the midweek!  We talked about the Book of Mormon and the reason why it was kept in the first place. We read from Alma 37:1-20. In this section it is Alma speaking to his son Moroni and explaining to him the reason why he is keeping the records.  It explains it very nicely and there are a lot things that I learned from that section. Along with this we gave a challenge to all the members. We gave each of the members one brand new Book of Mormon. Their assignment was to give that Book of Mormon to one friend who wanted to know more or had questions. Then at midweek on 20 July, they are to bring that friend and we will have a "special" midweek. We will play a game, watch "The Restoration" DVD, and then we will explain the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith received the Book of Mormon. I am very excited for this upcoming activity and it should be great! On Thursday something kind of funny happened. As I was putting my socks on, my sock kept catching on something so I checked my foot to see what was causing trouble.  I found that the nail on my smallest toe was falling off!  I don't even know what was causing it to come off... but I decided to use my best judgement and just pull it off! Apparently my best judgement was not very good judgement because as soon as I pulled it off, the side that was still attached started bleeding quite a bit. Eventually I got it to stop, then put my shoes on, and then we were out the door! On Friday we had to go to a small meeting in UST. When we got in a trotro to get there, I noticed there was a man in the back making quite a bit of noise. At first I thought he was just speaking on the phone very loud, but when I looked at him and listened more carefully I realized that he was actually preaching. He was just sitting in the back of the trotro and preaching to everybody inside! Of course he was preaching in Twi, so I did not understand what he was preaching about. I find it so interesting that Ghana is an English speaking country, yet here in the Ashanti Region there are sooooo many people who do not understand any English.  Walking down the road, buying from a provision store, buying food from a seller, and etc. are all in Twi. Even if I ever do try to speak English, people will tell me, "menti brofu" which means "I don't understand English."  From what I hear, no other place in Ghana is like this. In Accra, Tamale, Ho, and other places all the people understand English. So overall I had a pretty good week! Of course I have small challenges and trials here and there... but that is how it is supposed to be!!!! I love you all! Enjoy your week! :) Odo, Elder Brandt

New Companion!

Hello All!!!

This week has been another crazy week in the missionary life of Elder Brandt!! On Wednesday Brother Asamoah and I received a surprise phone call from President Cosgrave. When I answered the phone, he asked me if I liked my companion and if everything was going well with the two of us. I responded that the two of us are doing fine. He then apologized because he said that I receiving a new companion tomorrow and that they were going to release my companion as a stake (part-time) missionary.  They said that my new companion will be coming from the Ghana Accra Mission. The Accra Mission covers Accra and the South-Western part of Ghana also known as the Volta Region.  There was a missionary who was having Visa problems for where he was supposed to serve his mission, so they were going to be adding him to the Accra Mission. Because they were doing that, the Accra Mission would now have an Odd number of missionaries. So they decided to release my companion, and then bring one of the Accra missionaries to me so as to even everything out.  So the very next day, Thursday, is when one of the senior couples from the Accra Mission brought the missionary here to the Ghana Kumasi Mission.  Going from Accra to Kumasi, you have to go through our area; Ejisu. So Thursday afternoon they picked us up in Ejisu and then we directed them to the mission home in Kumasi to meet with President Cosgrave.  So we got there safely and everything went well and President met with each of the missionaries just to see how things are going. 

As we were preparing to leave, Sister Cosgrave asked me if I saw the drum in president's office.  Immediately, President Cosgrave turned around and grabbed a nice African drum from his office. He grabbed me a chair and everybody sat around and asked me to play for them! I have to admit I was pretty unreasonably nervous.... but I began playing and played for what seemed like about 5 min or so. After some congratulations, me and my new companion were taken back home to the apartment.

My new companion is Elder Asare. His home town is a village by Cape Coast. His favorite color is white. He loves to play the keyboard, and he even has his own! Previous to coming to the Ghana Kumasi Mission, he served in the Ghana Accra Mission for 16 months! He is an awesome missionary and I have a lot to learn from him!!

I love you all! I hope your week was not as crazy as mine! Let us love and serve God and our fellow men with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength! :)

Odo,
Elder Brandt