Dump Trucks and the Kingdom of God
First off all, last week Monday we had our zone activity. It was a lot of fun. We went to our district president's giant school campus that he is the director of and played soccer, basketball, and board games. We also bought food. It was so much fun, and we took a lot of pictures. I don't know if they sent last week or not so I'm trying again today. Hopefully you receive them because they're awesome.
We also had another exchange this week, which was fun. I was with Elder Donko, another native Ghanaian, and we enjoyed ourselves. However, we didn't speak Twi in a single lesson! All our lessons with Twi speakers feel through, and though we found some new people, they were all speaking English. This is great news for us because Elder Fatoma and I both speak English, but it left me feeling like I had mismanaged a valuable resource (Elder Donkoh's impeccable Twi). We taught some great lessons though. Elder Donkoh has been out for a long time, and I learned a lot of stuff from listening to him teach. Unfortunately, we got rained on really heavily at the end of the exchange, but it was OK because we were basically done. Ghana rain is INSANE. It usually doesn't last long but it will absolutely flatten you if you don't get under something. Nevada has never seen rain like that before.
It was a fun night and day though. Elder Donkoh and his companion, Elder Tarpeh (from Liberia) are a lot of fun. There's a card game we always play where the loser of each round has to drink 500 millilitres of water as punishment. Unfortunately, I lost 4 rounds. That was another long night, but we managed.
This week I feel like I learned so much about how the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life and society that it creates are such an evidence of God's love and a testimony of the gospel. To close our exchange, me and Elder Donkoh went to see two people really close to our apartment. They weren't around, but we met another lady who was just about to leave for night class. She said she needed to leave at 5, and it was 4:51. We asked if we could just talk for nine minutes and she said yes.
Almost the whole nine minutes was devoted to that topic- how the gospel blesses us and our families. We closed, Elder Donkoh went home, and Elder Fatoma and I went and taught another lesson to a prophet/pharmacist named Maxwell who told us about the many visions and prophecies he's had.
That's another story though. The point is, I got home and as we were waiting for dinner to cook, I read through a few emails, mostly from my family. Each email contained good and bad things that had happened during the week, but the overall sense was one of joy and quiet peace. And I know that comes from the gospel!
I know because my family would not exist without the gospel of Jesus Christ. My parents met on their missions, then got married at BYU. They had all 6 of us and raised us in the gospel.
And it's not just them! My three older sisters are the same way. I'll (hopefully) be the same way. And it's not just in America. The webs of connections, relationships, and opportunities that come from being a member of the Lord's true church are so, so many, whether you are in Ghana or northeastern Nevada.
In a talk I listened to this week, Elder Holland called the church a vehicle for the Lord's principles and ordinances. I love that, and would even add that it's not just the principles and ordinances. It's the schools and programs and young men's camps and pathway certificates and EFYs and so many other things that give us joy and peace. I know that the gospel is true, and I also know that the church is true. It's organized by God and run by men. I love being part of it.
In other news, on Sunday we had another zoom devotional with Elder Callister and his wife about the Book of Mormon. They countered a bunch of arguments about the Book of Mormon and gave so many practical and spiritual reasons for it to be true and it was really nice. Elder Callister was a lawyer before being a Seventy, and you can tell. That guy could destroy any basher or doubter, no matter who they are. It was awesome. That book is true.
Anyway, I sure love you all. The gospel of Jesus Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Book of Mormon are undoubtedly, unchangingly true and that's why I'm here. Coming to western Ghana for two years to talk to people who can hardly understand me when I talk about the restored gospel would be a dumb thing to do if that restored gospel wasn't the only way to have peace in this life and eternal joy in the next life but luckily it is, so this is the greatest and happiest thing I could ever spend two years doing. I love being a missionary.
And I love all of you! Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Johnson
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