Festival Season and the Work of the Lord

 

Hello my friends! I have recently received some lovingly given constructive criticism about the length and detail of my weekly group emails. I usually wait till evening time because we get mega busy, but then I don't have time to write a good email. So consider this email a step in my repentance process. 

This week was very, very nice. Cape Coast is ALIVE this week. Every year there's a two-week festival in Cape Coast (idk what the festival is for yet. I'll get back to you all on that) and it started this week. Things are pretty much the same, only everyone is dressed up and every single bar/food stand BLASTS music all the time. When I say BLAST I mean like six speakers that are all like 4 feet tall playing Ghanaian pop at full volume. It's so cool. Sometimes it makes it hard to teach people though. We had to reschedule a few lessons with people that live close to said speakers, but it's OK. I've been enjoying the vibrancy of the city this week. 

That's one thing I really love about Cape Coast and about the small bit of Africa I've seen so far. So much about this place is colorful, vibrant, and alive. Every inch of this city is teeming with life and vitality. 

Everywhere you go there is life. Even in the middle of the city, animals are everywhere. Goats, pigs, chickens, cats, dogs and everything in between roam the streets, often with their babies in tow. There's nothing cuter than a goat with her kids walking down the street, dodging taxis and people, just blissfully getting to where they need to go. I love how close and personal everything is. Like I said, vibrant. The bright colors people wear. The extreme spiciness of the food (which I'm actually really starting to enjoy). The friendliness and giving nature of everyone. It all is just so fresh and full of life. 

And life can be really hard here. I haven't been here long, but I've seen poverty and suffering in a lot of places. Some of the happiest people I've met here don't have a lot. However, they are so grateful to God for what they have. A very common thing to thank God for in Ghana is the gift of life. People are always thanking God for the gift of simply waking up in the morning. The gift of being able to experience another day. I think that it is that gratitude and love that make things so vibrant, and what makes people so happy here. 

The church is the same way. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been in Ghana for longer than it has been in most of Africa, but it still hasn't been here for long. Most the people in our ward are converts, and you can kind of tell. The meetings maybe aren't as smooth or as polished as they are at home. Maybe things aren't as timely. Maybe sometimes there is confusion about doctrine. However, the faith and life you see in the church is incredible. People are passionate about the gospel. They give themselves totally to it. Sunday school goes overtime because there are so many contributions. There is so much vitality in the church. Nothing is taken for granted. 

I want to keep that vitality and excitement when I go home. I think sometimes we take for granted some things in our church. We forget how powerful the restoration and the gospel of Jesus Christ really are. We let our faith and testimony stagnate, and we rest upon our heritage way too much. 

Let's not do that. Stay vibrant, don't take things for granted. 

I hope my sermon didn't drive anyone away. Ghana seriously is incredible though. I love my companion, this place, this food, and this people. 

Speaking of food, I'm getting way better at cooking. My whole life, I've really enjoyed eating well. You can ask anyone who knows me well. I was born to eat. However, in the last few months I've discovered that if I want to eat well, I need to learn to cook. So this week I cooked a lot. I've attached a picture of stew and chicken I made because it was my first time and it tasted amazing. 

Anyway, the gospel is true. Stay vibrant, don't let your faith stagnate, read your scriptures every day, and go get some tacos. I love you all! Thank you for the emails and prayers. 

Love, 

Elder Johnson

 

Pictures:

1. The stew and chicken I made this week (freaking delicious I might add)

2. Me and the brethren enjoying some fufu at mame sappah's place (who is incredible by the way.) She's kind of like our mother in Ghana. 

3. The coolest zone in town

4. Our water ran out so we had to have a truck bring some in. Their pump was leaking a ton though, so our neighbours came and collected the leaking water. Ghana is in a massive drought right now so it was cool to be able to help them out with our leaking pump.