*mom note: He says the English is coming along "small small" with his companion, i guess this is a common phrase used in Ghana because he uses it a lot! The title of this email means "I don't understand English". He also says that he is picking up a lot of Twi phases and he really enjoys communicating this way! Thanks everyone for all the love, support and prayers you are sending Elder Carter's way
Hello everyone, hope everything is going great. Ghana is great. It is still like a hot furnace of death but it is great. Haha just kidding it is only hot. Anyway, this week was great we were able to see a lot of good people. We have been walking a lot lately so the finding is going a lot better.
One of the people we found her name is Beatrice. She is a very sweet woman. She sells pure water at the roadside near the chapel. Pure water is a bag of water in case you were wondering. She is very nice though. She is in a wheel chair and we actually heard about her from one of our other investigators Brother Ashella Odonkor. He was on his way to church and started to talk to her about the church. He talked small about what we have been teaching him and she said that she was interested so we came. We met her and she has two children Kelvin and Matilda. Kelvin is around 3 or 4 and Matilda is 14. Kelvin reminds me of Kenzie always running all over the place and can't hold still for 30 seconds. Anyway, Beatrice came to church also this Sunday. She said that she has been looking for a church to take her children to so they can come closer to God. It was great to see them all come to church. I didn't see them come in because they showed up during my talk but I was in the zone. I sat down and saw her and we made eye contact and I was like WHAT? and then she laughed. It was great. I am enjoying it here in Ghana.
We were also able to teach a woman named Nadia she is very sweet. She is one of the only Christians in her family. The rest of her family are Muslims. She is great to talk to. We have only shared small with her because her small 10 month old baby loves to take her Restoration pamphlet and rip it to pieces so we always give her one to play with but she won't take it from me. Just a side note to this little children are scared of me, well some of them. This woman is great though. She has visited before and she stopped coming because someone offended her. This subject has been on my mind a lot specifically about taking offense. Taking offense is a personal choice. No one can make you get offended. If someone does something you don't agree or don't like it is still up to you whether or not you take offense. People get offended in church all the time. Someone says something that they don't like or it hurts them. This is what I want to say about this. This church is perfect. It is Christs church but the people in the church aren't perfect. No one can say something or do something that will make this church not true. I know this church is true and nothing can shake that testimony I even had a man this week tell me to study other religions and to get out of my Latter Day Saints box. I just looked at him and let him say his piece. I didn't take offense and what he was saying did not sway my testimony of what I know to be true. There are changes that are happening in the church. Any change that happens I know it is from God. This church was true when Joseph Smith was on the earth and I can tell you that it will always be true forever. I love this church and I know that it is the true church today tomorrow and forever.
Elder Carter
1. Elder Birchell being Elder Birchell
2. Elder Gbe and I with Sister Bose Ahmed
3. Elder Nimley before he went home and Sister Tarue also she isn't going home she just wanted to join no wahala
Great letter. He is such a good boy. Love him. I like his toughness. A mission teaches you to deal with rejection, discouragement, and the unplanned. But he is okay. You can tell that he is dealing with it. A good way. You know where he stands. That is a lesson for us all. Can you only imagine what he will have to tell us when he comes home? It will be great.
Sorry that he wasn't here yesterday. It will be special when he is here again and we can have that big smile to see for real.
Love,
Grampa