7 Weeks!

Another great Sunday! We left really early today and ended up being a few minutes early. During sacrament we had three speakers and then a ‘4 minute’ break. They always say we have a small break between classes but usually ends up in a 15-20 minute break. During Sunday School I read in the George Albert Smith book and caught up on my scripture reading. I love reading the scriptures like this and am really jealous that missionaries get to spend two years doing nothing but studying The Gospel. When I read a couple of chapters out of the Book of Mormon every night it becomes a story to follow. I am so thankful that we decided as a group to read the scriptures and finish the Book of Mormon before we leave. There are so many times where I would have saved so much time, energy, and tears if I had just learned to pick up my scriptures and pray to my Heavenly Father. I already see the changes He wants me to make taking place in my life. I know that He has always been with me even when I didn’t make the right choice. After church we walked back to Mama Doris house and made an egg and avocado sandwich. This is hands down the best sandwich ever. The homemade bread with the unprocessed egg and fresh avocado make them to die for. The eggs are so fresh they usually come with birdpoop and feathers on the shell. Today we got a special treat of an eye in the yolk. Yummy. After our lunch we had a group meeting led by me. I just did a short and simply meting because next weeks is going to be very long. I started it off with the quote

“Everyday is a new beginning, stay away from what might have been and look at what can be”.

I explained how we may wake up thinking how perfect our day is going to be and 7 hours later wishing this day would end already. It’s very important to look at how we can turn the day around even when every interview you’ve set up has failed and you feel like you’re getting harassed by every man, woman, and child in the city. Sometimes we need to take a step back and realize our day wasn’t what it might have been but you are the only one who can decide what it can be. Each choice we make, big or small, will somehow impact our lives. We talked further about how since we’ve passed our halfway point we find ourselves thinking really six and half more weeks of this! We can’t believe we’ve made it half way but sometimes it feels much longer than 6 ½ weeks. We are on the countdown now, which makes it all so bitter sweet. We want to go home and see our families, eat familiar food, wear cute clothes, and actually shower but we also don’t want to leave our sewer streets filled with crowds of children chanting our names. We know our time here is limited and it makes us sad that we won’t ever see these people again. We finished our meeting talking about how emotional this week has been for all of us. The halfway point has really affected us and made it all feel a little more crazy for us. We watched 13 Going on 30 after our meeting, which isn’t entirely Sunday appropriate but we’re running out of options. It is also a nice way to pass the time as we patiently wait for dinner to be cooked. During the last part of the movie we heard the sound of plantains being deep-fried, which means it’s going to be a good dinner. I am not a fan of the plantains and stew only so Mama re-heated some rice for me to eat with the Gardener’s Stew. It tastes like a thick red sauce and is delicious over just about anything. This stew is filled with Gardener eggs (similar to small egg plant I think), which are also sometimes filled with little worms. The other girls eat this on a more regular basis which means the chances of them eating worms is much higher but still never look too closely at the food you’re eating. Another life lesson learned in Ghana. Almost every Sunday meal I’ve ever eaten has a few minutes of silence as everyone shovels food in their mouths to fill their hungry bellies. We finished up dinner and talked for the next hour or so before Cassie and I headed home. Sundays are the best everywhere in the world but even better here in Ghana where we get together and talk about our pits, peaks, and praises of the week. It’s funny how similar they all tend to be. We all find it difficult to find the pits and so easy to find our peaks and praises. We are fascinated with God’s glory and this unique experience we have here. About an hour after we got home I got a phone call from my family so I could wish my dad a Happy Father’s Day. It was so good to hear their voices. We communicate a lot through emails so we’ve got the down low on each other but just hearing your family on the phone after a long time is really special. It was of course raining buckets so it was hard to hear them most of the time. I can’t wait to read their next weeks emails. I only wish I could talk to Audrey too but the time will come soon enough! I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us. Whatever comes our way, I know we can handle it. We’ve all turned out to be quite the hardy women. Not a quality we ever thought we’d have but a good one nonetheless!

XOXO

Ama