YAYRA GOT BAPTIZED and other stories

 Good morning everyone! I sure love you all. This week was so great. I feel like I rediscovered the joy of the work and had so many great experiences, especially in my studies and in our teaching. I also discovered that Sierra Leonian cassava leaf stew has the highest nurturing to delicious ratio I've ever seen. It might look a little like a cowpie, but it's so good. 

Before that though, great news: YAYRA GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY! It was so special. We had some long talks about her with our mission president and her mom and they both gave us the go ahead to open heaven's gate for her through baptism. It was such a special, holy experience. I'm so proud of Yayra and her desire to do the right thing! 

That was Sunday, which was yesterday. Before that a lot of other good stuff also happened. We went to Ntiamoah, that small village that we cover, again on Tuesday and it was really nice. Abraham and Isaac, two brothers who are members, helped us translate and showed us around. I sure like them. Abraham recently returned from a mission and Isaac is about to get married and they're both very happy, friendly, open guys who have strong testimonies and a willingness to work. Ntiamoah is only a group right now and we are only able to go there every other week because our travel money isn't big enough, but the field is white over there. The two times we've gone there, we've visited only less actives and those who have personally requested to be taught by missionaries. I wish we could go there more! 

We also had our first exchange of the transfer this week! I was with Elder Amevor, a Ghanaian legend who I really like, and despite my fears of getting lost, we had a great day and found a lot of new people! Because he speaks twi, there was no language barrier so we could talk to literally anyone. It was so great. We also had a lot of fun with him and his companion Elder Smith, who I also really like. We played a card game that night where the loser of each round has to drink half a liter of water as punishment, and unfortunately I lost 3 rounds. That was a long night. 

Sunday we had huge miracles. Elder Amevor and I found one lady on Friday named Gifty who said she would come to church. We went to pick her up in the morning and she was ready to go! It was such a miracle. Our member Cynthia brought 3 of her friends that we've been teaching as well, and 4 other people that we are teaching came. We had 8 total come to church on Sunday! It was a miracle! And to cap it all off was the baptism. This was such an incredible week. 

I learned so much about how the Spirit works this week. Sometimes when we're teaching or when we meet someone, I get this random inexplicable feeling that we should leave. Like if we're contacting someone I get the feeling that we should give them the pamphlet, set an appointment and go. Or if we're teaching the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I will randomly get the feeling to stop before we teach about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. 

These feelings are real and sometimes kind of overpowering. Sometimes I listen to them, sometimes I don't. However, this week, I haven't been, and miracles have happened. As I've pushed through that negative feeling, we've had the Spirit with us so much more. We've testified of the restoration so much! On Saturday we taught the entire message of the restoration 4 separate times, each time bearing testimony of its truth. As I've done so, and as I've studied the Book of Mormon and done companionship study and tried to work hard, I've become increasingly aware of another feeling. Not a loud, demanding one but a soft, gentle, peaceful whisper. A quiet assurance that what I'm doing is right and that the gospel and Book of Mormon are true. 

My whole mission so far has been a fight to determine what is the Spirit of the Lord and what is not. Sometimes random, powerful feelings will come to do certain things. Things like, wear your black shoes instead of your brown shoes or you won't have success. Or, talk to that person or else they'll never receive the gospel. Even if sometimes the feeling is to do something good, like share the gospel with someone, it doesn't bring peace. It's a do-it-or-else type of feeling

The other feeling isn't like that. It's the feeling I get when I read the Book of Mormon. It's a quiet, swelling feeling in my chest and soft, permeating peace in my mind. Not to say it's not also powerful. That same quiet feeling pushes me to talk to random people, communicate openly with my companion, and study and work diligently, but it does so in a gentle, quiet way.

Alma 34:38 says we should "contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that we should receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ." I know I've got a long way to go in all areas of my life, but I feel that my ability to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit is increasing. I'm getting better at differentiating between the Spirit and my own confused thoughts and emotions. I've felt God use me a few times this week to serve his children.

 

For example, during our 3 hours of work this morning (every Monday we work for 3 hours at any time during the day), all our appointments bounced. We were walking to go and visit someone, and we passed a seamstress's shop. Seamstress's shops are about as common in towns in Ghana as sagebrush is in northeastern Nevada, and in my experience, the seamstresses themselves are almost always willing to be taught but seldom progress. One of my past zone leaders even told me to avoid teaching them entirely. 

However, today as we passed this shop I noticed that she was the only one in the shop and that she wasn't working. I also knew we didn't have anywhere urgent to go. This knowledge, coupled with the small tug of the Spirit that directed my attention towards the shop, was enough to lead us into the shop. We asked the lady, whose name is Felicity, if we could share the gospel with her. She accepted. 

Through the course of the lesson we found out that she was born a Muslim, but has since left that faith and isn't really sure what to believe. She's confused and wants to know the truth. We were able to bear fervent testimony of the joy and peace that come from following Jesus Christ, and it felt so good! She said we could come teach her again.

I don't know everything, but I know that it was the Spirit of the Lord that guided us to Felicity today. I know that God doesn't work through confusion or compulsion. And I love that He's the one you and I are serving. 

Have a great week! I love you all. 

Love, 

Elder Johnson

1-3. Baptism! 

4. Cassava leaf stew. It's so good, I promise. 

5-6. Beautiful Praso