Miracle Week

This week was so amazing. I'm not sure I've ever been happier than I have been this week. Enock got baptized, Martin came to church, we had 3 powerful exchanges, and I ate pizza and an abundance of fufu. Life is good. 

I had three different exchanges with three different elders on three different days this week and I loved it. Elder Manga from Sierra Leone was the first. He's a really great missionary and a great guy. He understands why he's here and is ready to do the work that the Lord has asked him to do. We taught our friend Julliet the Plan of Salvation by reading 2 Nephi 2 with her and it was so wonderful. She has a lot of questions and didn't seem too convinced by our answers but it was still a very spiritual lesson. Pray for Juliet! 

Next was Elder Muwawa, from the DRC. He's so cool. He spent 10 months serving in Congo because of a visa issue and just came to Ghana this transfer and he's doing so well. Congo is a French-speaking country so he's learning "brofu" as they call English in Ghana, but he can already teach very powerfully and he knows the scriptures very well. It was fun to teach with him. 

Last was with Elder Carr, my District leader. This was our third exchange, and I've loved every one of them. Elder Carr is so cool because he's always trying to innovate for the Lord. Instead of doing the same thing over and over, he and his companion have been trying new ways to help their people. We taught an awesome woman named Martha that day and she promised to come to church. And she did! It was cool to be a part of it for a day. 

Apart from the exchanges, we had a lot of other miracles. First and foremost, Enock was baptized! It turns out he also spells his name with a ck at the end like I've done it above. It was so wonderful. There was the usual craziness with getting baptismal clothes and stuff put together and a neighbouring ward also brought two people to be baptized with Enock because the water at their Chapel wasn't working, but it all worked out. Enock was so ready to be baptized and it was really cool to watch. His grandma also bought him a brand new set of scriptures as a gift and had us present them to him. It was such a special Sunday. 

It was made all the more special because MARTIN CAME TO CHURCH! That was another huge miracle. Sunday morning we had 5 people who were supposed to come: Francis, Philip, and Anthony. Francis and Philip both told us we should pick them up that morning. 

So we tried. I banged on Francis's door for probably 10 minutes but he didn't come out. Philip wasn't at home. We came to church just in time and sat and waited for Martin to come. 

And he wasn't coming! The sacrament was administered and the door opened and he still didn't come. I was sitting there just angry. We had tried so hard to get Martin there for WEEKS and he had basically covenanted to come and he wasn't there. I was so bummed. 

However, as the testimonies started coming, I began to cool off. One especially was great. A brother in our ward shared about the blessings he experienced as a result of his mission and shared about how agency is such a big part of the Lord's work. He shared the first verse of Hymn 240, "Know This: That Every Soul Is Free". It reads, "Know this, that ev’ry soul is free, to choose his life and what he’ll be; For this eternal truth is giv’n: That God will force no man to heav’n."

"He’ll call, persuade, direct aright and bless with wisdom, love, and light, In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind." 

I realized as I was sitting there that we had done all we could for Martin. We'd learned about him and his needs, taught him with the Spirit, and invited him to act. Same with Francis, Philip, Anthony, and the others we invited to church who couldn't come. We had cheerfully done all that was in our power, so now we just needed to wait for His hand to be revealed. 

As all this was running through my mind, Martin walked in and sat down! I about exploded, I was so happy. I jumped up and went to sit by him, giving him probably the most enthusiastic handshake I've ever given anyone. He came! And he loved it. He contributed in Elder's Quorum, lots of people greeted him, and his baptism will still come on on the 23rd. Please pray for him! 

That experience really gave me a lot to think about. We can't force anyone to act. We can't act for them. All we can do is work and invite. We can plant and water, but God is the one who will give the increase. All we can do is try to be as sharp a tool in his hand as we can so that we can be a part of His work. 

And His work is sweet! Yesterday after church we went and taught Sarah and her daughter Blessing, two of our recent converts. Sarah and her four kids are some of my favourite people in the world. Sarah gave us fufu, and we shared a lesson. It was a little crazy and involved small children climbing all over us, taking our name tags, pulling our hair, and just kind of causing mayhem, but the Spirit was there. Sarah was baptized a week before I came here and Blessing was baptized 3 weeks ago, and there has been such a change in their life and home since they found the gospel: a peace and hope that didn't exist there before. They still have a lot of problems, but the gospel grounds them. You can feel it when you go there. 

After we closed that lesson, we headed home to do our weekly planning. It was raining, but my companion shared his umbrella with me so we were OK. Walking through the rain on the way home, I realized how much I love the Lord and His work. There's no better place for me to be and no better work for me to do than the place I'm in and the work I'm doing. Jesus Christ died for us and because of that we can repent, change, and improve eternally. The gospel brings peace, happiness, and hope. I know that that's true! I love sharing it and I love all of you. 

Love,

Elder Johnson