" I realized just how expansive and everlasting the gospel of Jesus Christ is. It attracts and blesses the lives of people from all walks of life. '...He inviteth them all to come unto him... black and white, bond and free, male and female... and all are alike unto Him...' (2 Ne 26:33)"

Futbol, the favorite game in Ghana!

Dear Family and Friends,

            I've really started enjoying the nerf gun I got for Christmas; it has turned into a giant insect/arachnid eradication unit. I think every apartment should have one, standard issue. That thing shoots hard; I blew a cockroach apart in the kitchen the other day.

 There is a big futbol park in the middle of our proselyting area, and on Saturday they had a big area tournament. The days preceding the tourney, they were making all kinds of preparations. They welded new goalposts and nets, they dug out a new road for cars to pass during the game (because the road ran right through the dirt field), and they even broke up some storm drain entries and buried them. They went all out with flags and painted lines. Haha! The things they do for futbol here. Needless to say, proselyting was not effective on Saturday!

            Currently we're working really hard on getting to know members in the ward. I LOVE the members here. One of my great joys as a missionary so far has been building relationships with the Saints here in the golden coasts of Ghana. They have sincere and moving testimonies, and they're not afraid to share them. This ward has so many member families; it's a missionary playground for me. Through members is how REAL GROWTH is achieved in the church.

            Last night we shared a quick message from the Book of Mormon

, 2 Ne 9:39, with a nice family from Cote d' Ivoire. We started with hymn #243, Let Us All Press On, only we were singing in English, and they in French. It was really something, singing a hymn in two languages simultaneously. At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord joined us. As we visited and shared our scripture, I could feel the light of the gospel glowing from this humble family. I'm not sure how to describe it, that's the best I can do. It just felt so good. I had the impression dwell in my mind that the gospel has greatly impacted this family. The father was a missionary in Ivory Coast in 1992, and now he's a high councilman. He sells home security features door to door. The mother is a hairdresser. They're all refugees from the civil war in Ivory Coast; they've been in Ghana for 3 years. Their kids grew up learning French and their own local dialect, and now they have to pick up Fante and learn English in school. I'm sure it's hard for them to fit in here. They're living in an unfinished flat owned by another member. It doesn't even have a front door or window to its name, just two empty frames.

            So we sat together in a circle, sharing faith and singing hymns to our Father in Heaven in two separate languages. For some reason, that is what triggered the aforementioned thoughts. It was a beautiful moment. I realized just how expansive and everlasting the gospel of Jesus Christ is. It attracts and blesses the lives of people from all walks of life. "...He inviteth them all to come unto him... black and white, bond and free, male and female... and all are alike unto Him..." (2 Ne 26:33) God loves all of his children. Love is the vehicle of the Spirit.  We felt an increased measure of both last night.

Love,

Elder Doggett

Kids from the ward on New Year's 

 

Bring on the bugs!!