November 23

hey there fam!

it's good to hear about the activities going on back home and to hear about the nice cold weather that i'm jealous about. you wipe snow off, and i wipe sweat off... they're a little different haha. so today i had the wonderful opportunity to go to Kakum Forest, about 30 mins drive from Cape Coast. we went as a zone and had a great time there. we walked across a rope bridge that is about 100-120ft in the air. so i took pics and i'll let you see them when i figure out how i should safely send my memory card to the U.S.A. so until then you'll have to just imagine what it looks like, or you can look up the national park online. i'm sure you'd be able to find some pics there, of the forest. so it was a fun experience.

this past week was fun and interesting at times. i was hugged by a drunk man haha and everytime i see that same man, he always asks my name and where i'm from. so this was the 4th time i've met him, but the first time that he actually hugged me haha. it was pretty unexpected, but funny.

i had the opportunity to tell one of our investigators the story of how i first received my testimony of the church and that was probably the most i've ever felt the spirit. when i testified, i could physically feel something inside of me and... it's hard to explain, but even just talking about it, i feel that same way. so i'm very grateful to have that strong testimony in the church and in Jesus Christ. it's amazing how it works, but that same girl who i was bearing my testimony to, said that she too could feel and see that i knew the church was true. it was an amazing experience all together. hey there fam!

it's good to hear about the activities going on back home and to hear about the nice cold weather that i'm jealous about. you wipe snow off, and i wipe sweat off... they're a little different haha. so today i had the wonderful opportunity to go to Kakum Forest, about 30 mins drive from Cape Coast. we went as a zone and had a great time there. we walked across a rope bridge that is about 100-120ft in the air. so i took pics and i'll let you see them when i figure out how i should safely send my memory card to the U.S.A. so until then you'll have to just imagine what it looks like, or you can look up the national park online. i'm sure you'd be able to find some pics there, of the forest. so it was a fun experience.

this past week was fun and interesting at times. i was hugged by a drunk man haha and everytime i see that same man, he always asks my name and where i'm from. so this was the 4th time i've met him, but the first time that he actually hugged me haha. it was pretty unexpected, but funny.

i had the opportunity to tell one of our investigators the story of how i first received my testimony of the church and that was probably the most i've ever felt the spirit. when i testified, i could physically feel something inside of me and... it's hard to explain, but even just talking about it, i feel that same way. so i'm very grateful to have that strong testimony in the church and in Jesus Christ. it's amazing how it works, but that same girl who i was bearing my testimony to, said that she too could feel and see that i knew the church was true. it was an amazing experience all together.

i'm happy to hear about the family doing well. dad's work is going well and i can't wait to see the finished book. good luck with everything going on and i'll speak with you on the phone soon. i'm amazed that November is already almost over and December begins. we have a baptism coming up this Saturday, so we're praying that it'll go on successfully. i'm grateful for all your love and prayers and i can feel that comfort. did you ever receive my letter? or is it still in the mail and hopefully not lost? anyway, let me know. i'll give you more info on how and when i'll call home for xmas. so until next week, goodbye and i love you all!

- elder newbold

November 17: Power Outage

so you're probably wondering why i didn't write yesterday, but don't worry i have an excuse. the electricity was out all yesterday and part of this morning, so i had no chance to email, and thats that. but now i'm happy i have the chance to talk with you, so here goes.
to start things off, we finally saw a session of general conference and it was fabulous. i've waited this whole time and it definitely paid off, cause the second i saw and heard the choir, the spirit was very strong and i truly hope the others in the congregation felt the same way. the messages were great that i heard and i really was so grateful to hear some real american english... i dont get too much of that here and so now i appreciate it much more haha. i'm really not sure why it took so long for conference to arrive, but out of all 6 sessions, i only saw the morning session of sunday. but still i'm blessed to see and hear that.
this passed week was interesting at times and good at times. to answer some of your questions, i still get called 'Obroni' and i think that'll be the same way for as long as i'm white and living here haha. especially this week too... cause as i was walking with my companion, we passed by a school of little children. as soon as they saw me, they all started chanting 'obroni, obroni' so that was definitely an experience to remember :) it rained a lot this week and so at times the weather was a little cooler, but the humidity is still a killer. at night is cools down a little, but i still have to have a fan on me all night or else i'll drown in my own sweat haha just kidding, but it's difficult to sleep when its that hot, believe me. oh by the way i saw dad in testaments when we watched it sunday night with a recent convert. so once again i see your face, father.
i hope my letter arrives to you guys there soon. i'm sure it'll come this week, and if not, then it's lost somewhere. but i'm looking forward to the packages coming here also, and hopefully in a good condition, safely. thanks a ton for those xmas gifts haha. i'm glad to hear you successfully hacked my safe as well, good job.
it's good to hear everyone's doing good and works continuing to keep you busy. keep it up but don't kill yourselves off by working too hard. i also got an email from gma lindsay finally and successfully, so let her know. in the letter that you should receive, i also wrote gma lindsay, so deliver that note to her, if you could, please and thank you.
i'm eating a certain stew everyday, that my companion makes. so, i'll have that along with fish or rice or some other native dishes here. we have bananas, papaya, plantain, oranges and a few other fruits that we eat, oh and especially pineapple... how could i forget that. so the food here is good and keeping me full all the time, which is good. for water, people sell pure water here, basically everywhere, so its safe and usually cold, which is the best.
good luck with the book and work, dad, i hope all goes well with that. i'm excited to see some of the art in the book.
tell everyone hi for me back home and i'm glad they remember me haha. i can't picture snow right now, let alone being cold. i'd give money to be cold... but anyway, the time will come when it'll happen.
i'll write more next week and tell you some more experiences that i've had here. we do have a baptism planned for the 28th of November, so we're sure that'll work out. but we're looking forward to that. so, i'll talk with you all next week and until then, God bless and i love you. cya soon.
- elder newbold

November 9, 2009

hey fam!

it's good to hear from y'all again. things have gone well here this past week. on saturday we had 3 baptisms like planned, which was a blessing. so within the 2 months i've been in swedru, i've been blessed with 7 baptisms already. the people here accept the gospel so nicely, but we need to keep helping them come to church. yesterday, on sunday, one of our candidates to be confirmed didn't show up, so we had to run to his house quick. haha. but luckily everything worked out, and we made it back to the chapel in time for him to be confirmed as well. so it worked out and we were helped by the spirit.

i'm glad my letter arrived at carol's so soon—i didnt know how long it would take for it to get there, but i'm happy she received it. i also sent a letter last week, home, so you'll have to let me know when you get it. it also has the pics that i sent to carol in it. so you can finally see a little of me.

this past friday, we had district meeting in another village called odoben, which is north of swedru. so me and my companion instructed there and i taught on patience, a very important Christ-like attribute. it went smoothly and i had a lot to talk about.

i'm still healthy here and have been continually blessed, so thanks again for all the prayers for all of you! they truly help me every day to keep going. the work's hard but worth it and it's easy to see the rewards already from hard work.

i hope everyone is okay back home, and i'll talk with all of you very soon! keep up the good work going on there with each one of you. i love you all and will see ya soon!

- elder newbold

November 2, 2009

Hello again family,

This week went by quickly. Monday was pday, and then the next two days I stayed home cause of my sunburnt neck from going to the beach. Ya I didn't use sunscreen like I said last week, so I suffered the consequences. So Tues. and Wed. I stayed in the apt cause my shirt would rub against my neck and ya... painful. So I felt bad that i couldn’t go out and visit with people, but now i'm better and I went back out on Thursday. Then Friday we had a zone conference in Cape Coast with another zone. So we heard from our president and his assistants. It was a good meeting.

This Saturday we have 3 baptisms, so they weren’t last Saturday, but this coming one... so we're praying that they'll come in the morning and be baptized, if all goes according to plan.

I received letters this week, from back in the beginning of sept. cause they were sent to the mtc and i was sent out to the mission, so i just received those that you sent i think at the end of august haha. so i'm glad i finally got them.

I also weighed myself this past week and I weigh 140 lbs now... so i continue to get fat haha. i started the mission at about 127... so i calculated that if in just these2 months i've been out, I've gained almost 15 pounds, I'll be REALLY fat when i get home. I'm not sure I'll continue to gain weight though, but we'll see. Who knows.

Well I hope everyone is ok and things continue to go well in Utah for all. Ghana is great and really hot all the time haha. So be glad you have snow, cause I'd rather be cold than hot. Ok I love you all and will talk with you soon!

- Elder Newbold

October 19, 2009

hello again. it's hard to believe another week has gone by, but it's time to email again. things here are always busy, but thats just normal for me here haha. concerning the questions of your email you sent me. i record the names of the baptisms in my preach my gospel book. and journal of course, but sometimes it is hard to keep them active, so we continue to meet with them and teach them the gospel. i did all my laundry today in my washing machine. i bought it from a missionary for 120 ghana cedi, which is about 90 dollars about. an amazing price for the condition it's in right now, so i got lucky.

that's great to hear you were all in the temple together. wish i was in there with you, but the day will come soon. gma and gpa newbold are a great example, and i'm proud to be their grandchild. has rebecca already had her baby? i knew she was pregnant, but i wasnt sure when she was due.

wow thats good to hear james and marlene are home safely, it's crazy that they're home already though, that amazes me. and adam call is soon to be home huh... wow. tell everyone hi for me, i'm sure they have some great experiences to tell.

i'm still staying healthy here, which is a great blessing, so your prayers are helping me greatly! thanks. um, i'm not quite sure about everything for xmas. but i did ask for sticky notes, vitamins/pills, pics of family/letters from everyone...oh and my laser pen, out of my safe in my room haha. dan knows how to get into it. i cant remember what else i said in the letter, but i'm sure it should come this week cuz i sent it almost 3 weeks ago now. so i'd be very surprised if you dont get it this week.

my french and twi/fante are improving, which is good. i impress some people here cause i'm white, and they arent used to hearing white people speak their language haha, so it's fun to see their expressions when i start talking with them. hopefully i'll continue to learn more, and i know it's cause of the Lord that i'm able to learn this language. it's nothing like english or anything, so i'll learn it little by little (kakkra kakkra), which means small small, in twi.

this past week was one of the hottest and hardest to stand, weather-wise. the sun here is pretty darn big, and so its different than back home. i actually drip sweat here, whereas back home i never dripped sweat no matter how hard i worked. so just walking around here you sweat... actually just sitting still you start to sweat. lovely humidity. i eat whatever my companion cooks at the moment haha. he's fine with cooking, and i'm fine with not cooking, so it works out. :) but things are going well here, and this past sunday we had district conference, where we heard the leaders of the branches speak and also our mission president came and presided at the meeting. we're teaching one man named emmanuel, who is 25 and accepting the gospel very well. we invited his brother to church, and he came this past sunday. we have a baptismal date for emmanuel for the 7th of Nov. so i'll be looking forward to then. we find out tonight if we get transferred, so i'll let you know what happens.

it's good to hear that dad's work is going well and good luck with the audience response. i'm jealous you'll get to go to all those projects in so many cities. sounds great.

tell Nick that the name of Mrs. Nelson's favorite rock/mineral is malachite, and we'll see if i can still get a candy from her haha.

this past week we had a mission tour meeting in cape coast that we went to and heard from the area president of west africa. his name is president cardon, and he's a member of the seventy. he's very powerful, and he talked on faith especially, which was great to hear about.

i've noticed that there are fireflies here, which i've never seen before in my life, so that amazed me haha and i was excited to see them for the first time in my life.

also, the hemming in one of my pairs of pants has come undone on one of the legs, so as of right now, i have safety pins there holding it in place. but i'll see if i can get someone here to fix it for me.

well, thats all for now. thanks for your love and support while i'm here. i know your prayers are paying off and helping me so much. i love you all and i'll cya soon!

- elder newbold

October 12, 2009

i havent been able to watch general conference yet, but i think it'll arrive in africa here in the next week or so... hopefully. so i'll let u know. but its good to hear some thoughts on the conference talks, just that little bit u told me, i could feel the spirit, seriously. so thanks for that. i'll talk with u soon, and i hope all is well in zion for u! haha love you very much.

September 28, 2009

my companion's name is elder n'goran, and he's been a member for about 2 yrs... crazy how most missionaries are like that. they're recent converts. his family is not all members, but his brother is the only one i think. church here is different than back home haha and ya it can be pretty funny/stressful sometimes. but the Lord still blesses the members here, so it's good. according to their faith and obedience they're blessed. good to hear from you, and i'll talk with you soon! love ya
- elder newbold