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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

A Lesson in Culture!

Here's a new email fro Elder McGuire! Enjoy!!!

Hey Family!

Wow it sounds like you guys just had a big party this week!! im glad you guys had an awesome time and i hope all of you were thankful for what we have, we truly have a lot and should be sooo thankful for it!

I had an awesome week too! on tuesday after district meeting we went home and taught some good lessons but by the time we got home i was sooooo tired! so i went to bed early to catch up on some sleep.

Wednesday was a day that tests missionaries. All of our appointments fell through except for 1! so we ended up walking around a lot and just contacting people. its frustrating when you set appointments and people dont show but all we can do is just keep trying! Mid week was awesome though. me and my companion taught and we taught on families and i thought of you guys a bunch. i was able to share a lot of family
experiences and i was so happy to be able to share that with others.

Thursday was a good day and we were able to make up for lost lessons. we also have been preparing this Sister Elizabeth who is 55 for baptism and we answered all her final questions and she was ready! So friday came and she was interviewed for baptism and passed easily. Also on friday we got a bunch of referrals from members that were sweet! can i just say that one of the things i love here are member referrals. when members refer their friends to us it makes it so much easier for us to teach and to have success because we have support!.

Saturday was sweet! we woke up and we went to the taxi station to meet our baptismal candidate to travel to Nyamakrom for the baptism. She didnt show up! we went to check to see if she was home and she was. She had misunderstood us and thought she wanted us to meet here at the church at 7. she came and waited for 2 hours but got tired of waiting so she went home. soo we clarified everything and she came with us. the baptism went great! elder bannerman Baptized her and she was really happy. On the way back from the village the road is terrible and the taxis are even worse. the one we were in i could see the road through the floor boards. and its super dusty so by the time we got back we were ORANGE! literally we were soo dusty! so we got back to nyenasi and changed and then went out and taught for the rest of the
day.

Sunday was an awesome Fast and testimony sunday. Church went great, we had 3 investigators come, and a lot of good testimonies were given. After church we taught some really good lessons and one of our investigators mentioned his desire to be baptized but said he had a few problems he wanted to take care of before. so we offered help and he told us that his Wife of 10 years wasnt legally or traditionally married to him. Here in africa they do traditional marraige and its a huge process that can be a problem but this man is smart and well off and is working hard to fix things before he will be baptized. So we were really happy he told us so we can work with him on it.

Today was a nice day and we were able to get our washing done and relax a bit.

You asked about african traditons for christmas, its actually not any different than at home. Every one eats a ton of food and gives gifts. its not quite as big as back home and not too many people believe in santa clause here which is sad, its okay ill teach them about him! hahaha. there are a lot of interesting african customs that i have glossed over though. when you enter someones house, or compound you should say AAGO! which means "entering", if you walk by someone and make eye contact you MUST greet them or its very rude! NEver use your left hand for anything!(its because they think thats the hand you wipe with and if you eat or shake peoples hands its and insult). When you welcome someone into your home, you first offer them water, then food(if you have the means), and then state your mission or reason for coming. that one is nice because it keeps us hydrated, fed and lets us get to the point, haha but most people dont usually feed you. the few that do expect you to wait for them to prepare food and if you refuse, it is extremely rude. so thats what i got for now! ill write more next week!

I want to thank you all for everything that you do for me and i want
you to know how much i love you guys! i couldnt do it without you!
HAve an awesome Week!!

love, Bradley

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