And a Merry Christmas to ALL

Well this was a pretty discouraging week. Guess it was a good thing everyone wrote pretty upbeat letters about enjoying Thanksgiving. I did get to go on splits with Elder Pearson who is one of our Zone Leaders. It was nice to be able to have someone I didn't feel quite like I was having to lead by the hand. Too bad that same night about 1:30 the lights went out. Unfortunately we didn't get them back on till Thursday. Then we had our water run out which is never a fun experience. Going along with that we had some of our investigators basically drop like flies. A member made us cake though. She was going to make pineapple upside down cake but couldn't find cherries and didn't want to buy a pineapple so it was a cake in the shape of a fish. It was pretty fun though. We had to go and get gas this week in our cylinder and since it is so far we get a taxi. The taxi driver agreed on a certain amount and when we got back to our apartment he demanded double. He said he was going to just take the gas as collateral but I gave him the money picked up the gas and just walked in. I guess he tried to follow me but everyone who lives in our compound basically put him to shame for going back on his word.

We had interviews with President Smith this week. Kind of the highlight for sure. It was kind of that end of the week pick me up that I needed. Too bad Saturday basically beat it all down again. We had planned a baptism for 5 people. Yep, none of them showed up. Definitely was heartbreaking. Especially when we tried to call and visit and it seems like most of them have dodged us. Didn't really help that Saturday is the Islam version of Easter according to the Muslim lady we live by. I didn't quite understand why they celebrate Easter since that is Christian but I wasn't about to argue. The bad part is that even though it is a Muslim holy day everyone goes and parties. At least Christmas is close. Our zone is planning on a service project of going to a hospital. Don't know when that will be but it probably will be lots of fun. Thats is about all from me this week. I love you guys! Thanks for the sweet emails about Thanksgiving.

I have to also agree that Mom and Dad are way good teachers. Something I've always noticed is the time that they put into preparing. Both put in a lot of effort. I love you guys. Thanks for the email!
love Elder Gibson

Happy Turkey Day to You

Wow a whole year of being in Ghana. Definitely has been an experience. This past week went pretty good for us so that was nice. Something that was pretty interesting was that last Monday as we were out proselyting this guy's car must of run out of gas and the cars had backed up behind him and were just honking him to death but no one offered to help him push his car to the petrol station. We crossed the road and without letting the guy really see us helped him push his car to the station. He was really surprised when I came from the passenger side and I was white. His name is Kelvin and he is a pastor. Bad luck for us. Though he was really impressed and called us about three times that night to let us know how much he appreciated it. Maybe we planted a good seed. Went to one of our investigators one year old son's birthday party. That rocked till the guests started drinking so we left. I learned how to make a turban this week too. Good thing they serve a purpose because it wasn't comfortable at ALL.

We had Leadership Training this week which is always a pretty sweet experience. They talked mostly about how we can be more efficient . We found dominoes in our apartment and basically have become addicted to playing. Well mostly Elder Richards and me. We met a lot of really interesting people this week. One of them is named Joseph Kyei. He went to his sister's house and took her pamphlet, ended up reading it and wants us to teach him. Met another lady named Dora Quartey. Left a pamphlet after teaching about how Jesus had a church and when we came back she had read it and actually had taken the time to write her questions down. She was unable to commit to coming to church this week but this next week she said she will already make plans to be there so we'll see what happens. Saturday of course was a nice day. Pretty low key. Just went out and worked. The night was different though. Of course I went out to eat and I had invited missionaries who lived right across the road from the restaurant. Ended up that they invited some other people and when it was all said and done there was 16 elders there. Would have loved to taken pictures but since some of them had completely left their zones they wouldn't let us. I was really really angry at them for being stupid. It was good. Picture enclosed about what I ate. Sunday we had Stake Conference. Man there were a ton of people there! The stake was made a full strength unit from a basic unit which is cool. Especially since in the last two years our stake has doubled and if the trend continues they will be able to split it before I come home even. Elder Golden and Elder Ahadje both of the Seventy were there. President Smith was there as well. It was a really good feeling when he was talking he had us stand up and said that he had reviewed over each of the missionaries in the room and with no exceptions he puts his full faith in us. True it might of been just to ease the member's mind but it is nice to think about. :D This morning we went to the biggest market in Accra and I think even Ghana. It is Mokola Mall/Cantomentals. Basically anything you want is out on the street. The rumors go that if you even want it you can buy ANYTHING there. Just have to ask the right people. I was thinking maybe a kidney if mine fails or something. It is basically really crowded and I just entertain myself by surprising people that I can greet them in their language. They fall for it every time. That is about all of the excitement from my side of the pond. Love you guys!

I had a fun time celebrating. It was kind of a normal day though. Since being on my mission I've had big and little experiences. The little ones I think are the more powerful since they are the more frequent. It has been the little things that have strengthened my testimony in the gospel far more then anything large. I love you guys and wish you the best during Thanksgiving!
love elder gibson

Well what a week. Last Monday we went to the house of a member of the stake presidency for a Family Home Evening since Elder Frimpong and Ezinwa were both leaving our ward. Too bad I almost got left by the trotro we were riding in. It works like a bus and lets people off along the way. So I had to move to let someone get out and the trotro took off without letting me get back in. I had to chase it down the road banging on the side of it so they would listen to the missionaries left inside. Then that same trotro decided he was going to be king of the road and not let someone merge in from the main traffic. So then we had a drag race. Thankfully some lady with a baby freaked out at our driver and told him to be serious and then insulted him. It was great. I was so glad that we could get off of that ride.

Wednesday was transfers and I was pretty nervous picking up my new companion. Ends up that out of a group of 15 elders I got the one that was from Sierra Leone. His name is Elder Saidu. He is way chill but being with him just kind of makes me wonder if when I first started if I was kind of so out of place. Don't remember it quite like this but who knows. It is a pretty good time though. He is a funny guy though he is kind of quiet. I got to help breast feed a few rabbits this week. Oh and yes a picture is attached. I had a guy tell me after reading the pamphlet that Joseph Smith was looking for a True Lady. I thought that was great. Mostly because I think the guy was drunk when he called us but hey he at least read it! Elder Saidu has a little bit of a language barrier with the Ghanaians. Mostly of them think he is Muslims because of his name and don't get his English and want him to speak Hausa, the language Muslims speak. It is really funny to most people we meet that I have to step in and act like a translator. It is pretty fun though. I decided that puppies have to be one of God's greatest creations. One member named Abigail has two and I love playing with them when we go to teach her daughter Leticia, who we are hoping to have baptized. Something that I'm really disappointed about this week was on Saturday I started to bash with a guy about churches. Thankfully I have been able to stay away from it but I don't know why Saturday just came out. It was amazing to contrast how everything is different. The whole feel of the lesson changes for sure. I guess it goes to show that truly the spirit of contention is of the devil. Even after we left that appointment and went to others I still just had a sick feeling in my stomach and it seemed like it took a long time to go away. It is pointless to continue on in that kind of discussion and at least Elder Saidu was able to realize it early. That is about all that really happened with us this week.

This upcoming week we are planning on having a baptism. We have to have some interviews done though. One for abortion and another for someone being in a polygamist relationship. It kind of wears on you when you have to keep doing interview after interview for your candidates. It is crazy to see how lightly most people treat those kind of things though for sure. Today has been pretty sweet. A missionary whose parents came to pick him up ate lunch with us. His name is Elder Boam. He is from Utah and now well he'll be home in less then 24 hours. The best part was his parents bought us pizza! Wow did it taste amazing! I love you guys!

Sometimes everything seems like such so small coincidences that we miss out on how big the little miracles actually are. I love you guys!
love elder gibson

This week went pretty good for us. We had Zone Conference which was pretty sweet. We had it in our meeting house which was nice not to have to fight through the traffic in the morning. We opened the doors and as President Smith came in he called me to the side and told me that this upcoming transfer I will be training a straight out of the MTC Elder. We'll have to see how that goes. That same day I went on splits to do some baptismal interviews. One of the best parts was right at the end. On the tro tro ride back to our apartment a guy sat next to me and kept sneaking looks at me and so I contacted and kind of shared the message of the restoration. He doesn't live in any area that is really that close but we hooked him up with the number of the missionaries where he stays so hopefully it all works out. I saw a guy wearing a shirt that I have back home. The one that says Save a Cow Eat a Vegetarian. Made me laugh. I wanted to stop him and ask for a picture but we were late to an appointment. We have an investigator now named Edward Zanoo. He is going to school and his boss is a member. He is way sweet but man he loves to go off on the craziest tangents. Last time it went to Scientology and ghosts. Always is a good time. We'll have to see how it plays out with him. There is another investigator that has a cool story. Her name is Helan she just finished the equivalent of High School. We taught her and she came to church when we watched conference. When we went to see her this week her sister Ophelia joined us. What was sweet is that Helen had taught her sister exactly taught her. After the lesson we talked to her parents who both said that next time they were going to make time to join us after hearing a little bit of what Helen and Ophelia said. Something else that went pretty good this week is we gave a baptismal date to two investigators. Kobby Essel and Mary Joshua. Luckily they live with a member so it has been kind of easy going with them. It will be sweet if it works out to have them baptized on the 21st since it will be my year mark. We'll see if it happens. So Saturday we got the transfer call. Elder Frimpong will be going to a place called Oda. It is more like being in the jungle so I was pretty jealous. Our apartment will lose two. Elder Richards will stay and finish his mission with an Elder from the Ivory Coast. I'll probably have an American or Nigerian companion but I don't find out till I pick him up on Wednesday. Last night we didn't have any water so we had to fetch it. Didn't think people would stop watching soccer to see four guys carrying water on their heads. I got tired of using small buckets so I said we should just go get our big bucket and carry it. Yeah bonus points to me because we finished it in one trip. Though I had to command someone to help me carry it. It was a pretty fun adventure, at least we were able to bathe. That is basically the highlights of the week. Hope everyone is doing great!

That is a super sweet story about the Madrid Temple. The Accra Temple has a similar story I guess. It is built on basically the main road of Accra which is the capital. I mean around the temple there are embassies for Canada, Holland, America, and some other countries. Along with even the President Mansion. Like the White House but times at least 10. Ghana's government then didn't want the temple anywhere near where it is. The Church owned the land but weren't allowed to begin building. By and by things just opened up so that nothing could stop the progression of it. Guess you can just see God's hand in everything for sure. Love ya guys!
travis

Glad this week was Halloween. A lot of strange things that aren't really explainable any other way went down. One of them was that our iron completely stopped working when I was using it. I was ironing my shirt trying to get ready to sell myself for the day and it just quit having any heat. Something must have gotten messed up with the current I guess. Strangely enough our office elders passed by and had fresh out the box iron for us to take. Just some funny things like that. I even found this place that sells American candy too. A lady or her sister something travels to America and she brought a bunch of like sam's club big bags of things. It is this little salon thing on kind of an out of the way road. No one buys it besides me so I keep trying to have them lower the price of the pieces. I went on a split this week and it was amazing how relaxed it was. I didn't really have to worry as much about the entire day. It was a nice break for sure. Elder Richards the English guy is getting ready to go home for sure. There was one day that he had his companion put on his socks and shoes and then his tie too. Luckily he was just messing around and being funny.

The first one is of a girl in the ward. We ate fufu at her house.

A recent convert that was baptized before I came named Justice told us a sweet story about how he was reading his Book of Mormon and as he described it his room filled with light. It was a cool story to hear from him. This week was also a week of white people. It seems like they descended on Kaneshie in their numbers. First was these 4 German girls who are teaching here and were buying food on the street. Then there were these 2 Canadians who I met in kind of a grocery store though to you it would seem more like a gas station. It was pretty cool to talk to them. I got a taste of what missionaries in those respective countries go through as we tried to contact. It was met with much more limited success. Saturday brought a whole different kind of problem. There was a marathon that had part of its course go through our area. Man definitely was not the place for a white guy on a bike to be. The spectators were not serious. It was all good nothing bad really happened.

The Halloween ties we bought, Tried doing creepy/scary faces
and just got the stalker stare.

With it being Halloween I decided to introduce a sweet tradition of carving the whole jack o lantern. Too bad we couldn't find any pumpkins. So kind of looking at our options I was like watermelons would work. Yeah you need to check out the pictures because yeah it was great. It was sweet as we put them on a bench on the side of our apartment all glowy and such. Even better was when late late late Saturday night our landlord's son who lives in the hostel in front of our apartment comes knocking on the door asking if they were ours. I guess some of the people in the hostel had come back from partying/whatever and had gotten scared. I guess a few of our neighbors got superstitious thinking that we were casting spells and performing juju and what not. Probably was bad planning on my part. Should of guessed that someone would look at a watermelon and their thoughts go to dark sinister arts. The best thing is that no one besides landlord junior knows that they were ours.

These are the watermelons that we started with

Elder Richards first reaction was to do

Some reason I was the only one capable of scooping
them out without destroying them.

May I introduce you to Kwame the pumpkin and his pet agyinamoa.

So Sunday we got to watch two sessions of conference. We were able to see Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. It was really good. Though it was very long for a few of our investigators. It was way good about some of the talks that were given. I really enjoyed President Monson's from Sunday morning. A lot of the things that he shared about service I guess helped me to see I can do a better job. It was really sweet though because when they showed the Tabernacle Choir I saw Mr. Hansen and Elder Richards saw some guy that is English that had talked at one of his stake conferences or something. With it being fast Sunday we also went to Momma Lee's. We didn't get to stay too long because another family invited us to eat grass cutter (muskrat). It might of been good though because a few missionaries was looking at Momma Lee's pictures and some of them went missing so we weren't there for all that drama.

Though its face is definitely a little crooked. Hope everyone enjoys them.