Christmas Week

Dear Family,

This week was a pretty
normal week. On Monday we had Family Home Evening with the Bishop and his family and I made a chocolate cake in the microwave. Sis. Mensah is a good cook and is one of not many people in Africa with an oven so she bakes a lot. She keeps asking about cooking in the U.S. and how it is different so I decided to cook a bit for her. We put up a nativity set and it was good to be able to continue the tradition. I definitely miss all the holiday decorations and things. The Bishop is the only one with a nativity set and I haven't seen one Christmas tree although everyone says they have them plenty here. On Saturday we helped Sis. Mensah cook a bunch of food for various reasons. I got to pound fufu for a good amount of time and now my hands have blisters all over them. It was fun to get into the culture a bit. We also had our ward mission leader treat us to pizza on Saturday. I ate so much because I haven't had any good pizza in a long time. We also went to the ward primary party which was a legit party. They had hired a DJ and had super loud speakers. Quite different from back home but still very fun. One of my favorite things is associating with the kids so I had a really fun time.

It was a unique week as a missionary. It was a blessing to bear specific testimony of Christ and his birth and Atonement this week. It constantly brought my mind to what is truly important and I feel that I have grown closer to Christ even in this last week.

I can't believe the snow (at home)!! I was dying for that last year. There hasn't been a snow day in years.

I will try to call you your Christmas morning if that is ok. Like 3 or 4 my time. I actually haven't opened my Christmas stocking but Elder Ojaide did. Thank you so much for all of the other things. They are Great!!  I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and remember the love our Heavenly Father has for you. I am excited to talk with you in a few days. I love you all so much. Afikyapaa!

Love,
Elder Shelton

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We had a really great phone call with Brigham on Christmas morning. I asked him what they do to celebrate Christmas in Ghana. He said there are not many decorations and people don't have trees because most can't afford them. They don't generally give gifts or have special foods. But they do buy extra food to eat on that day. Also, being a strong Christian country there are church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, including our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

We talked some more about the food there. He said goat is a very popular meat and described an incident of eating a meal at a members home where there was goat in the stew. They really like the fat of an animal and he got lucky with a piece that was a hunk of fat and some skin. He said that he was told to just keep chewing it and it would soften up after a bit then he could swallow it. Yum!

Mike asked him how his testimony has been strengthened since being in Ghana and he said that now more than ever he realizes that God is in the details of our lives. He also has a spirit of gratitude for everything. He talked again how people in Ghana do not wait to act. They don't know if they will be alive next  month so if they feel they need to do something, they do it right away.