"Jesus Christ also told the Nephites and Lamanites, 'he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil...' (3 Nephi 11:29)....... If we are not one, we are not His. We can't let Satan in among us, to destroy the Lord's work. I'm so thankful for the lessons I've learned on my mission so far. The Lord truly knows how to shape me into the person he needs me to be." 

Grasscutter on the bbq, a Ghanaian delicacy!

Dear Family and Friends,

     Transfer news! Elder James and I are splitting up. Elder James is staying to train in Ntranoa, in the new apartment we scored some weeks ago, and I am going to Green Hill Branch in Cape Coast. I'm really going to miss the time I've had with Elder James, we've gotten along so well together. And we worked our butts off. And we made some killer awesome food. Ha.ha! We've gone through a lot, and I've learned tons from it all. I have a feeling I'll be training next transfer, after I get to know my new area. There are a whole world of new missionaries coming to this mission very soon.

     A few weeks ago, I asked Elder Kinikini if I could buy his other guitar off of him. He said he would just give it to me when he left, but he's been called to train, so he just dashed it to me the other day. So now I have two! Haha maybe I can teach some of my future companions. I started to re-string it this morning.

     This week, we had almost no investigators come to church. C. was nowhere to be found and neither was Sophia. Until the second hour. Sophia showed up late, and she told Elder James, ‘I wasn't planning on coming today, because I wasn't feeling well. As I was trying to get to sleep, I just couldn't! I kept hearing a voice in my head telling me to go to church. It wouldn't let me sleep!’ She's a really bubbly, kind woman. I'm a little sad to be leaving now, and missing her baptism. But maybe Elder James's son (new mission companion) needs to see a golden investigator in his first area. We ordered a new Holy Bible for her a few weeks ago and it came last week. Her Bible was absolutely trashed. We had planned on giving it to her on Sunday when she came to church, so we did. She was very happy. Tomorrow, we are introducing the Book of Mormon to her, and we will give her a Fante version. She has been asking for it, so I'm excited to see her reaction. Oh, we also gave her a hymn book the other day, because she loves singing. She was the 'praise and songs' leader in her previous church. She was so thankful and excited to get it--- she made us sing her some hymns, ha,ha!

     I had to learn a very hard lesson this week. We had a run-in with _______ last week in a meeting. On our progress record, we wrote that the Gospel Essentials class needs an assigned teacher, not the missionaries. We simply meant that the class needs to be taught by a member so people can connect with the branch, instead of us as missionaries.  He got very upset at this. We talked with_______ for a while, but he would NOT listen [or understand our suggestions]....... Suffice it to say, he said some  [uncomplimentary things about our suitability as missionaries]. 

     As we left that meeting; we were so angry and upset that we walked all the way home. We talked it over on the way, and called for advice from our Zone Leaders and the Assistants. When we explained the situation to Elder Kinikini, he said, ‘You know, Ghanaians are known for over-reacting, but they're also known for being very forgiving. It's not about who is right and who is wrong, it's about what is best for the work, the area, and the branch. You should go to him, apologize, and fix the problem.’

     So that's what we did. And it was the hardest thing in the world to do. Elder James came up with the idea of making a fruit basket with our apology. So we collected the materials throughout our proselyting day. We had to humble ourselves SO much. We planned to meet ________ that night, so all that day, we were still fuming. But before we went in to see him and his wife, we said a prayer together to invite the Spirit.

      As we sat down, we apologized and explained ourselves. He also apologized, and told us that he and his wife have never been so attached to missionaries as to us. They said they loved us and feel for us as they see us walking in the scorching sun all day; they know how hard the work has been. They said their home is also our home. That actually meant a lot to me. It's not easy out here without your family.  ________ also told us that we've been an example to her personally, by showing zeal for sharing the gospel. She's a shy, quiet person, and she said that gradually, she is learning to come out and talk to people.

     It was an enormous lesson in humility---to apologize when you know you've done nothing wrong. But all is well now. Once a tax collecter asked Peter if his master, Jesus, paid taxes. Jesus didn't owe a penny to anyone, but he told Peter to pay the tax, "lest they be offended" (Matt 17: 24-27) Jesus Christ also told the Nephites and Lamanites, "he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil..." (3 Nephi 11:29) There was contention between us, the missionaries, and ____________. We needed to fix that, and I'm so glad we did. If we are not one, we are not His. We can't let Satan in among us, to destroy the Lord's work. I'm so thankful for the lessons I've learned on my mission so far. The Lord truly knows how to shape me into the person he needs me to be. 

     That's all for now!

Love,
Elder Doggett