Called To Serve

Called To Serve
I am so excited for this opportunity to serve the people in Ghana for the next 2 years! Hope you enjoy all the letters and pictures!

Monday, January 23, 2017

Stand Fast


Galatians 5: 1

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

My Family,
I bua juo. (I am happy.) This week has been great, just great. It was the first week of training for Elder Wanjala and we have already made many great memories and had a lot of fun. We also did a bit of missionary work in there which ended with six of our investigators coming to Church. We worked hard and had fun while doing it. 

My companion can cook! Well, he can cook Kenyan food, that is for sure. In Kenya they eat mostly rice and a food that is prepared using maze (corn) flour. But they also have this great food called Chapati. It reminds me a lot of Tortillas back home. You mix Flour with water and a little bit of salt, you mash it together and then keep adding flour until it feels like bread dough. You then roll it out and fry it on a frying pan. We made that together, mostly him, I just rolled them out, and then I grinded some Ghanaian Pepe for him. It was delicious and a good change from the normal Banku and Fu-fu that we always get to eat here in Asutsuare. I always love watching people as they taste Banku for the first time. It is made with corn dough, but the dough is fermented so it tasted very bitter. I bought it for Elder Wanjala on his first night and he took two bites, then stood up and said, "I'm not eating this." By the end of the week he finished 3/4 of a ball at a recent converts house. He suffered the whole time but you do what you can to make the people happy.

Elder Wanjala and I had a sweet experience on Sunday after Church. We had a new girl show up, Cecilia, a member from another District in Ghana. She was in town for a funeral with her family who are not members. She came with a young girl named Helena who is investigating the Church. Helena loved the Church and wanted us to come and see her family so that we could invite them to come next week. After Church we took a car to the neighboring village called Osuwem where Cecilia and Helena stayed. It was a typical village, and it looked like no one had ever seen a white person before. I felt very uncomfortable as the whole village stopped to watch us walk by. We made it to the middle of the village when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and met a tall and strong Ghanaian with a very serious face. I thought we were in trouble but then he smiled and said, "My Church Members!" His name is Brother Animle. He was baptized 15 years ago in Adenta, Accra and had moved to Osuwem to help his dying father. He had not been to Church in 15 years because it was not in the Area when he had first come. He was delighted to see us and invited us to his home to meet his wife and children. He ran inside and grabbed something to prove that he was a member, a hymn book. He was smiling broadly and happy to show to us his baptism and confirmation certificate. He and his family committed to come to Church this next Sunday. It was a miracle that we met him. Thanks to Cecilia and Helena we were able to find another "lost sheep" who was looking for the fold.

At the end of this week Elder Wanjala and I were having our companionship inventory, that means we were sitting down together and seeing what we could improve on personally and as a companionship. We decided that we needed to do all we could to be united, we would start by having a prayer together right when we wake up and right before we go to bed. So last night we knelt at Elder Wanjala's bed and I began to pray. Just on a side note, our apartment has been infested with mice since I came. (Don't tell my mother.) Well, Elder Wanjala's bed is right next to our dresser. I was praying, and as I paused I heard some scratching and squeaking coming from our dresser... I finished my prayer in the most reverent manner I could and then told my companion what was happening. He went and closed all of the doors and grabbed a broom handle for him and a mop for me. I pulled the drawers out and staring at me were 3 mice! And then BOOM, Wanjala threw his broom handle. The mice scattered and ran under the door into the dining room. We chased after them as they ran behind our book shelf. We hunted them one at a time. Wanjala was at one end with a flashlight forcing them out, I was at the other end with my mop knocking the mice out. I felt like I was practicing my golf swing. One got out the front door. The second one I crushed the head with the mop. The third one I had against the wall and when I pulled my mop back to take another swing, the mouse grabbed on and instead of hitting it, I flung it right at Elder Wanjala. Many of you know that Africans are fast. I am now a witness of the speed and agility of Africans. The mouse was in the air flying right for Wanjala. Elder Wanjala was standing right in the path of the mouse. Then I blinked and Wanjala was on top of a chair, his shoes still laying where he had been standing not less than a second earlier. I was laughing so hard we had to take a 5 minute timeout. Wanjala had literally jumped out of his shoes. We ended up killing the last one and making a great memory.

I love you all. Remember that you don't ever need to feel discouraged because the Atonement makes it is possible for us to change! What a blessing. Stand fast in righteousness and change yourself to become more like Him.

PREPARE IT

Mi Kwaba,
Elder Bergeson



Elder Bergeson, new companion Elder Wanjala

Life in Asutsuare

Chapati and Pepe (like tortillas and salsa)

Elder Wanjala

The poor mice didn't stand a chance of making it!

Elders in Ghana









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