Dear Everyone,
Thank you for all the support!!
Monday, March 30, 2015
Little Update!
Monday, March 23, 2015
Highs and Lows!! But still a great week!!!!
Dear Family,
This week was....all over the place!!! ill get the highs and the lows.
we'll start with the lows. hahaha so on monday evening our bishop
called us and told us his wife had made fufu for us!!! we were so
stoked!!!( that was a high) so we came and ate and ate and ate till we
couldnt eat anymore. around 2am that night my companion and i both
started....running;) hahaha on and off the whole night into the
morning and throught the day. im sure i lost 15 pounds in one day!!!!
we had some nice food poisoning. but dont worry by night time it was
gone and we were back to normal. hahaha we have been a little leery of
food offered to us by members since then. but we are fine and good
now. the big bummer was that zone conference was on tuesday so every
5 minutes while president stevenson, the assistants, and the zone
leaders were instructing we were in and out. eventually we started
just sitting next to the door so we wouldnt disturb anything as we
moved. so that was our big adventure this week. the little of zone
conference we did hear was great though!!!
As for our proselyting this week some days everything fell through.
and other days things went exactly as planned. just wish it was more
consistently going as planned.
The other big thing this week was our Stake Conference. Takoradi!! it
was great!! our stake is huge!!! we have 2 zones of missionaries in
this 1 stake and it made it up to be quite the gathering. At the stake
center we filled every classroom hallway and then even sat outside
near the windows to hear the speakers all of the missionaries stood
around the edge so people would have places to sit. hahaha we felt
like ushers or something it was great though. we had some
investigators come and they said that the really enjoyed. it.
Things are so sweet here and im just doing my best to enjoy every
minute of it!! i hope you guys have a great week and ill see you all
soon!!! i love you!!
love,
Elder McGuire
This week was....all over the place!!! ill get the highs and the lows.
we'll start with the lows. hahaha so on monday evening our bishop
called us and told us his wife had made fufu for us!!! we were so
stoked!!!( that was a high) so we came and ate and ate and ate till we
couldnt eat anymore. around 2am that night my companion and i both
started....running;) hahaha on and off the whole night into the
morning and throught the day. im sure i lost 15 pounds in one day!!!!
we had some nice food poisoning. but dont worry by night time it was
gone and we were back to normal. hahaha we have been a little leery of
food offered to us by members since then. but we are fine and good
now. the big bummer was that zone conference was on tuesday so every
5 minutes while president stevenson, the assistants, and the zone
leaders were instructing we were in and out. eventually we started
just sitting next to the door so we wouldnt disturb anything as we
moved. so that was our big adventure this week. the little of zone
conference we did hear was great though!!!
As for our proselyting this week some days everything fell through.
and other days things went exactly as planned. just wish it was more
consistently going as planned.
The other big thing this week was our Stake Conference. Takoradi!! it
was great!! our stake is huge!!! we have 2 zones of missionaries in
this 1 stake and it made it up to be quite the gathering. At the stake
center we filled every classroom hallway and then even sat outside
near the windows to hear the speakers all of the missionaries stood
around the edge so people would have places to sit. hahaha we felt
like ushers or something it was great though. we had some
investigators come and they said that the really enjoyed. it.
Things are so sweet here and im just doing my best to enjoy every
minute of it!! i hope you guys have a great week and ill see you all
soon!!! i love you!!
love,
Elder McGuire
Monday, March 16, 2015
Spring is Here!!
Dear Family,
Another sweet week here in Apowa!!!! a lot of great things happened
and ill try and get em all in.
So first things first we had Elder Dube of the Seventy came to our
mission for a mission tour so on wednesday all of the missionaries in
western region all came together to be instructed by him. He talked
about a lot of things but the biggest thing he emphasized on was
working with the members. He spoke about how if we want the work to
accelerate the way its supposed to then thats how we will do it. so
that was a great opportunity to be instructed by a general authority.
Another great thing that is going on is our work with Redeemer. This
week we have been reading the book of mormon with him and he is loving
it so much!! his testimony is growing so strong and we pray he acts on
it. Also personally i have been studying the Book of Mormon and it has
been so amazing!!! i love it so much!!! I recently read Chapter 26 of
Alma and it is where Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are gathered
together just talking among themselves as they are preparing to return
to Zarahemla. It made the idea of going home very real to me all of
the sudden. I know i havent been as successful as those missionaries
but i do feel good about the service that i have been able to give. my
only wish was that i might have improved faster but im taking it in
stride and doing my best to become the person Heavenly Father wants me
to be.
We also were able to extend a baptismal date to a new investigator
named Justice this week. He has come to church twice and has decided
that he wants to join. hahaha we told him we had to take some time and
explain some more things to him before he would be read but he is
excited and working towards his date in April.
Everything else is just normal and amazing like missionary work is! im
loving every second of it and doing my best to enjoy every last
minute! i love you all!!
love,
Elder McGuire
Another sweet week here in Apowa!!!! a lot of great things happened
and ill try and get em all in.
So first things first we had Elder Dube of the Seventy came to our
mission for a mission tour so on wednesday all of the missionaries in
western region all came together to be instructed by him. He talked
about a lot of things but the biggest thing he emphasized on was
working with the members. He spoke about how if we want the work to
accelerate the way its supposed to then thats how we will do it. so
that was a great opportunity to be instructed by a general authority.
Another great thing that is going on is our work with Redeemer. This
week we have been reading the book of mormon with him and he is loving
it so much!! his testimony is growing so strong and we pray he acts on
it. Also personally i have been studying the Book of Mormon and it has
been so amazing!!! i love it so much!!! I recently read Chapter 26 of
Alma and it is where Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are gathered
together just talking among themselves as they are preparing to return
to Zarahemla. It made the idea of going home very real to me all of
the sudden. I know i havent been as successful as those missionaries
but i do feel good about the service that i have been able to give. my
only wish was that i might have improved faster but im taking it in
stride and doing my best to become the person Heavenly Father wants me
to be.
We also were able to extend a baptismal date to a new investigator
named Justice this week. He has come to church twice and has decided
that he wants to join. hahaha we told him we had to take some time and
explain some more things to him before he would be read but he is
excited and working towards his date in April.
Everything else is just normal and amazing like missionary work is! im
loving every second of it and doing my best to enjoy every last
minute! i love you all!!
love,
Elder McGuire
Monday, March 9, 2015
A Week of Surprises!
Dear Family,
My week has been great and it sounds like you guys had a good one too.
my week was up down and all around so here it goes!!
This week another week of surprises for us here in Apowa, Alex
(recent convert), is struggling with his activity right now, he is
under a financial bind of sorts and so he often misses church to work
and make money. he has been coming though and is scheduled to give a
talk this coming Sunday. His Wife Hannah has another story entirely.
For her she had a visit from her mother a few weeks ago and her mother
is avid Roman Catholic and when she returned to find her daughter had
joined another church she was not happy at all. She told Hannah she
had to go to Roman Catholic, to add to it many people in her compound
have been gossiping a lot about the church and all this pressure and
tension finally came out on us this week. We went to visit her to
check on her as usual and this time as we entered the compound she
just came over and told us that we should never come back and that we
had deceived her and a whole lot of other things that werent nice to
hear. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to
me so it was quite a shock. I've never had a recent convert lash out
like that. It didnt feel good. Its sad that she has been confused by
things that others have been saying. My companion and i have asked
ourselves multiple times over the last few days if it was our fault?
we taught her as best as we knew how, as we taught we could feel the
spirit, she showed the desire by coming to church, she read the Book
of Mormon with her husband and she would pray about it regularly. she
would always say she knew it was true but all of the sudden its
different now. Its been a blow to both of us but we are doing our best
to overcome this and do whatever we can as guided by the spirit in
helping her to come back.
On a much more positive note our convert that was baptized last sunday
was Confirmed this week and it was great. She had her Grandfather
perform the ordinance and she was all smiles afterwards. Ruth is a
sweet spirit and she loves doing missionary work as well. she asks for
Pamphlets every week and gives them out to her friends.
Also this week it was once again super hot!!! just like mom said im
melting out here!!! but its helping my tan;) im gonna look like a
ghanaian farm boy when i get home hahaha! Sunday really was the best
day of the week this week. we had 4 investigators come to church and
they are all awesome! people are starting to progress now and its
sweet!!! this work is so awesome and i am loving every second of it!!!
i hope things keep going well at home!!! have a great week!! love you!!
love,
Elder McGuire
My week has been great and it sounds like you guys had a good one too.
my week was up down and all around so here it goes!!
This week another week of surprises for us here in Apowa, Alex
(recent convert), is struggling with his activity right now, he is
under a financial bind of sorts and so he often misses church to work
and make money. he has been coming though and is scheduled to give a
talk this coming Sunday. His Wife Hannah has another story entirely.
For her she had a visit from her mother a few weeks ago and her mother
is avid Roman Catholic and when she returned to find her daughter had
joined another church she was not happy at all. She told Hannah she
had to go to Roman Catholic, to add to it many people in her compound
have been gossiping a lot about the church and all this pressure and
tension finally came out on us this week. We went to visit her to
check on her as usual and this time as we entered the compound she
just came over and told us that we should never come back and that we
had deceived her and a whole lot of other things that werent nice to
hear. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to
me so it was quite a shock. I've never had a recent convert lash out
like that. It didnt feel good. Its sad that she has been confused by
things that others have been saying. My companion and i have asked
ourselves multiple times over the last few days if it was our fault?
we taught her as best as we knew how, as we taught we could feel the
spirit, she showed the desire by coming to church, she read the Book
of Mormon with her husband and she would pray about it regularly. she
would always say she knew it was true but all of the sudden its
different now. Its been a blow to both of us but we are doing our best
to overcome this and do whatever we can as guided by the spirit in
helping her to come back.
On a much more positive note our convert that was baptized last sunday
was Confirmed this week and it was great. She had her Grandfather
perform the ordinance and she was all smiles afterwards. Ruth is a
sweet spirit and she loves doing missionary work as well. she asks for
Pamphlets every week and gives them out to her friends.
Also this week it was once again super hot!!! just like mom said im
melting out here!!! but its helping my tan;) im gonna look like a
ghanaian farm boy when i get home hahaha! Sunday really was the best
day of the week this week. we had 4 investigators come to church and
they are all awesome! people are starting to progress now and its
sweet!!! this work is so awesome and i am loving every second of it!!!
i hope things keep going well at home!!! have a great week!! love you!!
love,
Elder McGuire
Monday, March 2, 2015
Happy March 1st!! And Pictures!!
Dear Family,
Well first off thats a huge bummer that Gus died! he was the best dog!
he helped me a lot when we first got him. Goodbye Gus! Its good to
hear that everyone is doing good though.
Its been another great week out here in Apowa. we had some amazing
experiences this week and i want to share a few of them with you. We
have an investigator, Brother Redeemer, who we have been working with
for a little while now. We have taught him most of the lessons and he
has received them very well, he has kept all of his commitments except
for coming to church. Although he has only committed to that once.
This week i think he was finally backed up against the wall of faith.
We read Matthew 6 with him and spoke to him about the importance of
prayer. He really loved the lesson but at the end he was very quiet.
We asked him what he was thinking about and he said "i love what we
just learned.....and it is in direct opposition to what we do in my
church." We committed him to pray about it and we are very anxious to
see what he decides. He is finally realize he can no longer sit on the
fence he either has to commit and come or he has to kick against the
pricks. We are praying for him.
This week we also had a wonderful baptism. Her name is sister Ruth,
she is 12 years old and is very smart. Her Grandparents are taking
care of her and she has been coming to church for 3 years now. she
should have been baptized long ago but for one reason or another she
was not. It was great to be able to work with her and to help her
understand the gospel better. When it was time for the ordinance she
was so excited. Another great aspect of her baptism was that one of
our recent converts (Enoch) performed the baptism. It was a growing
experience for everyone.
On tuesday i woke up and i was just tired!!! just totally and utterly
drained, even though i got a full sleep i had no steam. i woke up and
studied and did my best to stay awake. then we went out proselyting.
honestly i dont know how i did it but we made it through the whole day
and it was a busy one. the only explanation i have for the strength i
seemed to pull from places beyond me was the sustaining hand of
Heavenly Father. he helped me make it through just like he always
does. Heavenly Father is always mindful of us.
Everything else that happened this week was pretty standard but all in
all it was great! . i hope you all have a great week!!! i love you!!
love,
Elder James Bradley McGuire
Well first off thats a huge bummer that Gus died! he was the best dog!
he helped me a lot when we first got him. Goodbye Gus! Its good to
hear that everyone is doing good though.
Its been another great week out here in Apowa. we had some amazing
experiences this week and i want to share a few of them with you. We
have an investigator, Brother Redeemer, who we have been working with
for a little while now. We have taught him most of the lessons and he
has received them very well, he has kept all of his commitments except
for coming to church. Although he has only committed to that once.
This week i think he was finally backed up against the wall of faith.
We read Matthew 6 with him and spoke to him about the importance of
prayer. He really loved the lesson but at the end he was very quiet.
We asked him what he was thinking about and he said "i love what we
just learned.....and it is in direct opposition to what we do in my
church." We committed him to pray about it and we are very anxious to
see what he decides. He is finally realize he can no longer sit on the
fence he either has to commit and come or he has to kick against the
pricks. We are praying for him.
This week we also had a wonderful baptism. Her name is sister Ruth,
she is 12 years old and is very smart. Her Grandparents are taking
care of her and she has been coming to church for 3 years now. she
should have been baptized long ago but for one reason or another she
was not. It was great to be able to work with her and to help her
understand the gospel better. When it was time for the ordinance she
was so excited. Another great aspect of her baptism was that one of
our recent converts (Enoch) performed the baptism. It was a growing
experience for everyone.
On tuesday i woke up and i was just tired!!! just totally and utterly
drained, even though i got a full sleep i had no steam. i woke up and
studied and did my best to stay awake. then we went out proselyting.
honestly i dont know how i did it but we made it through the whole day
and it was a busy one. the only explanation i have for the strength i
seemed to pull from places beyond me was the sustaining hand of
Heavenly Father. he helped me make it through just like he always
does. Heavenly Father is always mindful of us.
Everything else that happened this week was pretty standard but all in
all it was great! . i hope you all have a great week!!! i love you!!
love,
Elder James Bradley McGuire
Little Isaac in my sunglasses!
Using a dvd player, whoa!! Take that krissy!!! :P
Enoch and Ruth!
Baptism!
Ghanaian Stove!
....and Everyone!
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Another Great Week!!
Dear Family,
What a great week!!! it was just like last week!!! wouldnt ya know
it!!! hahaha i guess it wasnt all the same but all in all it was
good!!! Right now we have been working really closely with a young
girl named ruth she is 12 and has been coming to church for 3 years
with her grandparents but never was baptized. her parents relinquished
custody to the grandparents so they are the ones raising her now. she
is such a smart girl and should have been baptized a long time ago so
she is going to be baptized this coming sunday after church so we are
preparing for that.
this week we watched the Joseph Smith movie with Redeemer and he
absolutlely loved it! he loves the church history. We are having a
great time teaching him but he is struggling with coming to church. he
is very deep into his faith and really loves his church but luckily
the truth helps people leave those things behind so we are praying for
him especially as he reads The Book of Mormon and prays about it.
We also started working with a new Family this week. we were on our
way to an activity at the church when we passed by this man and his
children i greeted him in the local language and he responded and then
asked who we were. we continued to converse in fante for a little
while then i ran out of fante so i started speaking english and he did
too. he was so happy that we could speak the language he asked about
the church and invited us to come and teach him. So we've met with him
a few times now and he is progressing we hope by next sunday he can
come to church with his wife and 3 children. i love families!!!
This week we had a great devotional in our branch. a member of the the
stake came and gave training on a program called MY PATH its a church
program that teaches people how to become self reliant which is a
challenge for a ton of people over here. we had a lot of our members
come so it was a great success. they are now offering courses to help
train our members and they are doing great! the church is so
incredible!!!! i know that its true with all my heart!!!
well thats the big stuff this week!! i hope you all have a great week
i love you!!!!
Elder McGuire
What a great week!!! it was just like last week!!! wouldnt ya know
it!!! hahaha i guess it wasnt all the same but all in all it was
good!!! Right now we have been working really closely with a young
girl named ruth she is 12 and has been coming to church for 3 years
with her grandparents but never was baptized. her parents relinquished
custody to the grandparents so they are the ones raising her now. she
is such a smart girl and should have been baptized a long time ago so
she is going to be baptized this coming sunday after church so we are
preparing for that.
this week we watched the Joseph Smith movie with Redeemer and he
absolutlely loved it! he loves the church history. We are having a
great time teaching him but he is struggling with coming to church. he
is very deep into his faith and really loves his church but luckily
the truth helps people leave those things behind so we are praying for
him especially as he reads The Book of Mormon and prays about it.
We also started working with a new Family this week. we were on our
way to an activity at the church when we passed by this man and his
children i greeted him in the local language and he responded and then
asked who we were. we continued to converse in fante for a little
while then i ran out of fante so i started speaking english and he did
too. he was so happy that we could speak the language he asked about
the church and invited us to come and teach him. So we've met with him
a few times now and he is progressing we hope by next sunday he can
come to church with his wife and 3 children. i love families!!!
This week we had a great devotional in our branch. a member of the the
stake came and gave training on a program called MY PATH its a church
program that teaches people how to become self reliant which is a
challenge for a ton of people over here. we had a lot of our members
come so it was a great success. they are now offering courses to help
train our members and they are doing great! the church is so
incredible!!!! i know that its true with all my heart!!!
well thats the big stuff this week!! i hope you all have a great week
i love you!!!!
Elder McGuire
Monday, February 16, 2015
The Work Continues to Amaze!
Dear Family,
This week was another great week here in Apowa. Things are going well
and i am happy! especially to hear from my amazing family!!! Emailing
on mondays is still definitely a highlight in my week. Some
missionaries get bored of emailing after a while but not me!!!
This week started off with a great district meeting in takoradi. We
were combined with the other two districts in the zone to hear
instructions from the Julanders once again. It was a follow up on
their previous instruction. We talked a lot about setting goals and
making plans for the future. We spoke of selecting values and
principles that would govern our lives. so as i was going over my
notes i started looking at values for myself that i wanted to govern
my life and as i did so i would pick one i really really liked and
think about it for a while and then i would see another one and i
would also really really like it and before you know it every
Christlike attribute in Preach my gospel Jumped out onto my notes and
all of the sudden things became overwhelming. i had to stop and think
for a minute and remind myself that even Christ was not perfect at
first. He went from "Grace to Grace" so i reevaluated and the second
round was much better than the first. So it was a great instruction
and i really learned a lot and it has helped me to look ahead at the
coming months and years. Im excited!
This week many of our investigators made wonderful steps of
progression. This week we focused on the Plan of Salvation with
Redeemer and we had some great experiences with him. As we finished
the final part of the lesson where it speaks of the kingdoms of glory,
we also spoke of eternal families, temple work and the amazing
blessings of the atonement of Christ, he stopped talking and just put
his head in his hands. After a minute he lifted his head and said "I
need some quiet time with God" the spirit was strong and we could tell
that he was feeling some swelling motions in his heart. We knew it
because we could feel it too. We each bore our testimonies of the
gospel and its truth and invited him to continue in prayer and enjoy
his "Quiet time with God" so that he could sort out how he was
feeling. he is doing so well and we are planning to give him a
Baptismal date this week!
We were also blessed with some quality referrals and found some
promising new investigators. After teaching one brother named eric
about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon he asked a question about
infant baptism. We referred to Moroni 8 and he loved it. He was born
in the Catholic church so he was baptized as an infant but he didnt
think it was right. After he mentioned this he also said something i
thought was interesting he said "we are born in the faith of our
fathers and because we are young we accept and follow just like that
but once we really start to learn about the faith we profess to
believe so much we see that in reality we are lost...totally lost" its
so true! it reminded me of the Doctrine and Covenants where it states
there are many kept from the truth because they "Know not where to
find it" or simply "they are lost" thats why i love this work so much
president. We get to go fishing! we get to search under the rocks and
in the holes in the ground. Being an ambassador for Christ is amazing.
Saturday night we went and got pizza!!!!! hahaha i havent had it in
over 6 months so it was a good preveiw;) So obviously im pretty happy
and im enjoying!!! today for an activity we went to the Julanders
house and we watched the Saratov Aproach! that movie is crazy!!! i
loved it!!!! i dont know how i would react if i got kidnapped like
that.....dont worry it wont happen!!! but anyway those are the
highlights of the week!! i hope you all have a great one!!! i love you
love,
Elder McGuire
This week was another great week here in Apowa. Things are going well
and i am happy! especially to hear from my amazing family!!! Emailing
on mondays is still definitely a highlight in my week. Some
missionaries get bored of emailing after a while but not me!!!
This week started off with a great district meeting in takoradi. We
were combined with the other two districts in the zone to hear
instructions from the Julanders once again. It was a follow up on
their previous instruction. We talked a lot about setting goals and
making plans for the future. We spoke of selecting values and
principles that would govern our lives. so as i was going over my
notes i started looking at values for myself that i wanted to govern
my life and as i did so i would pick one i really really liked and
think about it for a while and then i would see another one and i
would also really really like it and before you know it every
Christlike attribute in Preach my gospel Jumped out onto my notes and
all of the sudden things became overwhelming. i had to stop and think
for a minute and remind myself that even Christ was not perfect at
first. He went from "Grace to Grace" so i reevaluated and the second
round was much better than the first. So it was a great instruction
and i really learned a lot and it has helped me to look ahead at the
coming months and years. Im excited!
This week many of our investigators made wonderful steps of
progression. This week we focused on the Plan of Salvation with
Redeemer and we had some great experiences with him. As we finished
the final part of the lesson where it speaks of the kingdoms of glory,
we also spoke of eternal families, temple work and the amazing
blessings of the atonement of Christ, he stopped talking and just put
his head in his hands. After a minute he lifted his head and said "I
need some quiet time with God" the spirit was strong and we could tell
that he was feeling some swelling motions in his heart. We knew it
because we could feel it too. We each bore our testimonies of the
gospel and its truth and invited him to continue in prayer and enjoy
his "Quiet time with God" so that he could sort out how he was
feeling. he is doing so well and we are planning to give him a
Baptismal date this week!
We were also blessed with some quality referrals and found some
promising new investigators. After teaching one brother named eric
about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon he asked a question about
infant baptism. We referred to Moroni 8 and he loved it. He was born
in the Catholic church so he was baptized as an infant but he didnt
think it was right. After he mentioned this he also said something i
thought was interesting he said "we are born in the faith of our
fathers and because we are young we accept and follow just like that
but once we really start to learn about the faith we profess to
believe so much we see that in reality we are lost...totally lost" its
so true! it reminded me of the Doctrine and Covenants where it states
there are many kept from the truth because they "Know not where to
find it" or simply "they are lost" thats why i love this work so much
president. We get to go fishing! we get to search under the rocks and
in the holes in the ground. Being an ambassador for Christ is amazing.
Saturday night we went and got pizza!!!!! hahaha i havent had it in
over 6 months so it was a good preveiw;) So obviously im pretty happy
and im enjoying!!! today for an activity we went to the Julanders
house and we watched the Saratov Aproach! that movie is crazy!!! i
loved it!!!! i dont know how i would react if i got kidnapped like
that.....dont worry it wont happen!!! but anyway those are the
highlights of the week!! i hope you all have a great one!!! i love you
love,
Elder McGuire
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