The main events of this last week were transfers and departing/arriving missionaries and accompanying eight members of the branch to the temple to receive their own endowments.
One of the things we did on Monday (March 4) was to help two Young Single Adults, Olivia and Jennifer, set up their church accounts so they could access FamilySearch to enter family names and get them ready to take to the temple to perform baptisms and confirmations. After setting up their church accounts, Sister Judd helped Jennifer enter the information for her deceased mother, and we helped her print the family name card so she can be baptized and confirmed for her mother in the temple. It was interesting that as Sister Judd talked with her and asked about the full name, birthdate, and birth place for her father, Jennifer did not know any of this information. It appeared that she has no or limited connection with her father and her mother is deceased. We don't know anything about the rest of her family. Yet, she is happy and a committed and strong member of the church.
Tuesday was transfer day. Sister Appia was transferred to Darkuman and Sister Lautaimi was transferred to Medie. We took them and all their luggage into Accra to make connections for the transfer. These two hard working and dedicated missionaries will be missed by us and the Awutu Breku Branch.
Sisters Appia, Tavita, Najjuka, and Lautaimi
Saying "Goodbye" to Sister Lautaimi and to Sister Appia
Here are several pictures of transfer happenings on Tuesday morning:
Sister Lautaimi with her new companion, Sister Ntumba, headed to Medie. Sister Tu'angalu coming to Awutu Breku.
Tuesday was also departing missionaries dinner and devotional with two of the departing missionaries leaving to fly home that night. This departing was a sad one in the sense of the missionaries that left for home. They included an AP, a zone leader, and four sister training leaders. The saddest is that the four sisters going home were the first American sisters to serve in the Ghana Accra West Mission. President and Sister Jacobsen shared that these four sisters made a HUGE positive impact on the other sister missionaries and even the elders. Their work ethic, strength of testimony and commitment, and influence on other missionaries virtually transformed the mission. We grew very close to all four of them and will miss them. (We served with Sister Wilde's brother in Tennessee in our first mission.)
Sisters DeGraffenried, Wilde, Bello, and Carter
AP's singing "God Be with You 'Til We Meet Again" at the devotional
Departing missionaries with the Jacobsen's, senior couples, and AP's
Sisters Bello, Carter, Wilde, and DeGraffenried
Saying "Goodbye" to Sister Wilde and Sister DeGraffenried
On Wednesday we took missionaries to the airport with Sister Judd helping them get through check-in, passport check, and security. After that, Elder Reidhead (AP) asked us to take Elder Wood and his new trainee companion to Winneba when we left for home. So, we went 45 minutes past Awutu Breku to Winneba to take Elder Wood and Elder Ngbangandembo and then back to our place.
We went with Sisters Najjuka and Tu'angalu on Thursday to teach and visit in the Ojobi area. The first visit was with Janet. Since she lives quite a distance south of Ojobi, we have taken the sisters four or five times in the truck and have helped to teach her. She has been taught almost all the lessons, and she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the church and would like to be baptized. However, she is concerned that if she joins the church it will create too much conflict with her husband. We encouraged her to continue to read the Book of Mormon and the missionary pamphlets. We also helped her download the "Gospel Library" app on her phone and showed her all the amazing resources that are available to her to maintain her testimony of the church. She has three children ages 11, 9, and 4. When we showed her what is available for her to help her children learn more about Jesus Christ and His gospel in the "Children" section, the was absolutely thrilled!
We then went to visit and teach Evelyn. When we got there, she was not feeling well and said that she had been sick for several days. Elder Judd explained about priesthood blessings for healing the sick and asked if she would like a blessing. She said that she would, so Elder Judd gave her a blessing.
We then tried to visit a new member, David. He was not at home, but his mother was lying on a wooden bench under the tree. She had a large sore on her arm and was not doing well. She speaks and understands very little English. Elder Judd asked if he could pray for her which she agreed to. So he offered a simple prayer on her behalf.
We then went to visit Morgan and Rose. It was Ghanaian Independence Day, so they had a lot of company visiting. As we talked with Morgan and Rose, several of their grandchildren came over. Sister Najjuka brought up a church video on her phone for children and let them watch it.
Sister Najjuka, Morgan, and Sister Tu'angalu. The children watching a church video for children.
On Friday morning, Elder Judd got a text from the Dabanyin missionaries with a video showing that their water filter had broken ("spoiled") and was leaking water. So, Elder Judd made arrangements to take them and new one and install it during mid-afternoon when they would be home. The rest of the day Friday was spent at home catching up from being gone.
On Saturday morning, eight of the branch members went to the temple to receive their own endowments. We had taught the temple preparation instruction to six of them. So, it was a delight to be with them in the temple. Those receiving their own endowments included both counselors and the executive secretary in the branch presidency, both counselors and the secretary in the elders quorum presidency, and a counselor in the Relief Society presidency. This will be a real strengthening for the branch as it grows and strives to become a ward.
A real "Hand of the Lord" happened while in the temple when Sister Judd ended up sitting by Sister Betsy Eckton. She and her husband, President Darin Eckton, are here in Ghana for a couple of weeks. Sister Eckton is part of an NGO that does work in Ghana, and President Eckton is a professor at UVU and does leadership research in Ghana. It is a tender mercy because they are in Bethany's stake in Mapleton and know her. President Eckton is the first counselor in the stake presidency. We had an enjoyable visit with them. Sister Judd asked Sister Eckton to give Bethany a big hug from her.
Judd's and Eckton's at the temple
Then Saturday evening, we had the interesting experience of teaching institute to the Young Single Adults in the Awutu Breku Branch. The lesson title was "Selecting and Becoming an Eternal Companion." The institute manual they are using is a bit outdated. So, rather than "teach" a lesson, we decided to let them ask whatever questions they wanted. We started by showing pictures and sharing about our first date, when we were engaged, a wedding picture, our family through the years as children were added, and ended with our 2023 reunion picture of our family in front of Sister Judd's praying tree. We drew on the board a triangle with "God" at the top, "You" at one bottom angle, and "Your Spouse" at the other bottom angle and referenced it a lot during the discussion. The other thing that we referenced a lot was President Kimball's statement that to have a happy and successful marriage requires that both spouses are committed to that marriage, both are striving towards righteousness, and both are totally unselfish in their relationship. Our focus was to teach principles and doctrine as we answered questions and encourage them to seek the Spirit and personal revelation to know how to apply that in their individual situations. The culture in Ghana makes it very challenging to know how to apply doctrine and principles, yet that is what has to happen. They did not hold anything back in the questions they asked! It was disheartening that there were only a couple of them who even knew about the Family Proclamation let alone having read it. We ended up having a delightful time with these amazing YSA.
Awutu Breku YSA at the Institute class
Sunday (March 9) was branch conference. In Ghana, branch/ward and stake conferences are when EVERYONE goes to church. The Sacrament Meeting talks were very good and the priesthood/Relief Society lessons were instructive.
Choir singing postlude music. Choir members.
President Tandoh (stake president), Sisters Nipepe, Tavita, Najjuka, and Tu'angalu
Abraham, Rihanna, Lovely, and Diamond. Abraham received his endowments on Saturday. Rihanna received her endowments in December 2023. They can now be sealed together and have their children sealed to them (including a daughter who died at birth).
Dorcas and her children (James and Victoria). Dorcas received her endowments on Saturday.
The mission continues with the "40 day fast" wherein two different companionships fast and pray each day for unity with their branch/ward members in sharing the gospel and bringing souls to Jesus Christ. The branch/ward members also fast and pray that same day. The rest of the missionaries throughout the mission pray for those missionaries fasting that day and for the members in their branch/ward. At the end of the day of fasting, the missionaries meet with some of the branch/ward members who have been fasting and have a special prayer together. Each day, the missionaries who fasted that day share the experiences they had during their day of fasting with Sister Jacobsen who posts them on the mission WhatsApp chat group. Here a just a couple we would like to share with you:
From the Kasoa 4 Elders! God is good all the time!
Hey sister jacobsen!! Today was absolutely amazing. The day started as usual we went to see some amazing people and their appointments fell through... but as we were walking to our next lesson a man stopped us and calls us over, he is ghanaian but spent a couple years in florida. His name is Richard. Richard told us about how he just wanted to say hi and thought he should just talk to us. We share a small message, give him a pamphlet, our number, and invited him to even join us this evening to break the fast. And boom we were back on our way. Elder Creighton and I both knew that guy was a miracle.
As we continued our day, we had so many blessing with new people!!!
And then the day reaches a spiritual high!!! As we are walking to the chapel to meet with some of our members to break the fast, and Richard calls us and tells us he wants to come!!! We said YESSSS!!!! When we told our ward about the fast, initially our leaders were very hesitant because it was on independence day, but a miracle happened and they fasted and came to break it with us!!! So our ward and Richard all gathered together to break it. This is when Richard told us, he had seen us before and always said bye to us in his head but today a voice told him he can't do that anymore, and he needed to talk to us!!!! We now have a brand new friend because of the power of fasting and prayers!!
(Elders Creighton and Radford)
From Kasoa 1:
Today was awesome, it started like a normal day until our last appointment before breaking our fast. Nicolas, one of our new converts was waiting for us, he said he had a new person for us. (he was baptised just last week). She was super awesome and wants to know more about covenants and ways we bind ourself to god. Just after we finshed with that lesson we were walking away when we saw a man walking home holding a book of mormon. We went to go talk to him, turns out some missionaries just contacted him in a taxi and gave it to him. The other cool thing we saw was right before our last lesson a man walked up to us and walked with us for a while. We didn't really take it seriously and just went off to our last apointment. After, on the way back I was kicking myself for being so dumb for not trying, but by the grace of god he was on the street side. He said he felt something new inside of him when he saw us, thats why he started walking with us. He also said he was a muslim, but wanted to become like us and be a christian. (Elders Roche and Ilunga)
We see every day and in so many ways that the Lord knows each of us and is truly in the details of our lives. Often the challenge is our recognizing, acknowledging, and thanking Him!
We witness that our Savior, Jesus Christ, lives and loves each of you! This is His gospel and His work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of each person. And, He does it through imperfect servants who love Him!
Love,
Elder and Sister Judd
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