Catching Up

Feb 6
Well this week was a bit eventful.  On Wednesday we had a departure devotional for Elder Whiting who had to go home early due to medical issues. He was a really great Elder. I will miss him. It was a sweet devotional and a really emotional goodbye. That meant that Elder Helm was taken out of the office to replace Elder Whiting. So back to just the two of us.

We had MLC on Thursday. It was really good to see everyone again. The meeting was good as well. We talked a lot about the recent missionary broadcast.

On Sunday morning we taught this referral that we received from the MTC presidents wife. He was a way cool guy. His name is Ebeneezer. He had so many good questions and is working really hard to be able to come to church. It felt good to teach someone who was so enthusiastic.

Pot Roast

I also got to teach Elder Anusiem to drive. I now understand why parents are so animated when teaching their children.

Sunday we had to help out with a sister transfer. We were moving sisters that will go home next two weeks and it was awesome to hear about their mission experiences. I came home to a home made roast that we had prepared and cooked all through the day. It was the best thing ever. I have never been so happy in my life!!!

I was reading the Book of Mormon this week and I came across these two scriptures in Moroni chapter 9 that really touched me.  "4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them. 25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever." It spoke to my heart so much and it was just what I needed to hear at the moment. Prophets of old have felt what I am feeling. Jesus Christ understands even more. But I love his summary in verse 25. Despite everything that is wrong we can still be lifted up by Christ. That is what I will let "rest in my mind forever."

I love you all so much.
Elder Shelton

Feb 13
Tuesday we had a zone training and it was one of the best ones I have had since being here in the office. Our zone leaders instructed on finding people to teach and also about companionship unity. Since that time my companionship has really strengthened and I have been looking for more ways to find.

On Friday we went to the DMV. I thought the DMV back home was bad. It was really terrible here. We had to go to a couple different places to finally get Elder Anusiem his licence, but we finally got it. We had kinda a cool contact while we were there. This woman named Debora. She was the receptionist there. I was asking about her work and she said it was boring. I told her that we could keep her company because we had a great message to share. She asked what we did and we said we taught the gospel. She asked what we taught, so we said a prayer right there and started teaching her. She had a lot of really good questions and it was a good lesson. It made the DMV experience a little bit better.

Other than that we mostly were taking people to and from their apartment and the hospital and then taking care of them at the mission home.

I love you all.
Elder Shelton

Feb 20
This week was really hectic. On Monday we had 4 Elders get into a car accident so we brought them in to the mission home to recover. 3 of them recovered pretty quickly and they went back out to their areas. My companion went with one of them to his area and I am here in the mission home with the last one who is still recovering. So I have mostly been inside this week because I can't really take him anywhere. It's really unfortunate because we were just getting things going in the area. Now it has all come to a halt again and I will have to pick up the pieces and start again whenever I get a little bit more time to proselyte.

President Heid went gung ho on transfers this week even though it isn't supposed to be until Monday. We are just having a massive transfer in which like half the mission will be transferred. We will have a big conference on Thursday in which everyone will meet and be instructed and then go find their new companions and travel to their areas. President even mentioned that I might give instruction at the conference. We are creating a new zone. So many new zone leaders were called. Elder Falk is now a Zone leader which makes me happy, along with some other really great guys. I got to help out a little bit with this transfer too because the assistants were gone to Ho. It is really cool to see the process. It seems like everyone was transferred but all of the office stayed the same. I am still with Elder Anusiem. We will see what this next transfer will bring to me.

Brigham & Elder Buys

Although never companions, they lived  in the same apartment
in Tema at the beginning of Brig's mission, and in Oyoko.
 Elder Buys was Brigham's zone leader in the Koforidua Zone.

Elder Buys is going home next week Monday. I will seriously miss the guy. He has been my good friend all throughout my mission. I nearly cry even thinking about it. The other day I spent a good amount of time thinking back on my mission. There have been many people who have played a big part during the time I have spent here.  He has always been such a great friend and example to me. He has made a big impact on my life. His going home made me think about time and how it passes so quickly. Change is imminent. It is always difficult. I have heard some people complain about the transfer. When things don't go the way you expect it is always hard. I think God works that way though. He allows change occur in our lives whether we want it or not, whether we expect it or not. The purpose for that change is not to "ruin our plans", rather to fulfill His plan. I do have a testimony of that. Although my mission might not have gone "according as planned" I am ever grateful that my mission has gone according to the Master's plan.

I love you all so much,
Elder Shelton

Feb 27

This week was pretty crazy. The beginning of the week was pretty normal. I was still with Elder Winborg (injured in car accident). Mostly we planned out for all the transportation and how the transfer would work. Wednesday Elder Anusiem came back from Kpong. Thursday was the conference. It was a really great conference. Really quite short and very spiritual. It was a really stressful day though because we had to take people to get their ID cards renewed and there were a bunch of problems with it and we had to get back in time so that the people being transferred could catch their tro tro back to their area. 

Elder Buys has been down here since the conference on Thursday. Its been good to have time to catch up and say our goodbyes. On Friday I got to proselyte some. It was a nice refresher. I hadn't been feeling good towards the beginning of the week so a little fresh air was nice. 

Saturday we had our P-Day because today we have departures and preparing for the new missionaries to come in tomorrow. It seems like Saturday was pretty legendary. We woke up, went to Makola Market to buy some food stuff and Elder Buys bought some things to go home with. Then we went to the art market again. Elder Buys also bought a lot of stuff. Then we came back to the apartment and played cards. Went to Shoprite to buy roast for Sunday. Then we went Bowling. There is only one bowling alley in Ghana. It looks abandoned and very scary. It was like we were in a horror movie. The thing was so retro. Uneven lanes and dust everywhere. It was a lot of fun. Right when we finished President Heid asked us to bring him some Book of Mormon stories books. He was at a conference at the stake center. We headed over there and happened to meet Sister Jones and Sister McConkie. Sister Jones is the general primary president I think and Sister McConkie a counselor in the YW. It was really cool and they were really nice and personal. It was a cool experience. We shook Elder Vincent and Stanfills hand as well. After that we went to a baptism and then went out to the area and taught a member. It was a really good day.

Sunday we had an investigator come to church. It was really amazing. We also ate pot roast again with all of the departing missionaries. WOW. It was a really busy week.

I love you all so much.

Elder Shelton

A Baptism and a New Companion

January 16, 2017

We'll transfer news has come... I'm still in the office. Elder Anusiem will still be here. Elder Harris is leaving though which makes me sad because we became really good friends. He is going to Koforidua with Elder Buys who goes home in a transfer. I will be receiving a new companion though. Elder Helm from Idaho will join us in the office to be a three-some. He had previously gone home to have surgery on a bad knee and it is acting up again so Pres wants him here to rest his knee a bit. I'm super excited because the guy is a really solid and mature missionary. 

The week was good. I got to go on a full day exchange with Elder Gamil from the Philippines and it was super awesome to be out for the full day teaching people. Also this week President and Sister Heid played tennis with Elder Harris and I. I thought it would be pretty fun and chill but President Heid turned from President to Coach and things got pretty intimidating. It was fun though.  

Miracle of this week. In the office it is easy to feel like the work you are doing doesn't really influence anything. This week I was able to do a baptismal interview for the assistants. I originally found the woman on our referral system. She had contacted the church and had spoken to Elders in the U.S. over google hangouts. I called her and found that she was a Kenyan who is here at a university and is a super genius. She gets paid to go to school there. Anyways she lived in the Accra, West mission and I referred her to them. About a month later for some reason I had the prompting to call her again and see if the missionaries had contacted her. They hadn't but she told me that for the Christmas Break all the international students from her school would live in the University of Ghana hostels (the assistants area). I gave the referral to them and they followed up and taught her and now she is baptized. As I was doing the interview it was really cool because I've never seen someone who knows so much and is so prepared for baptism. At the end she bore her testimony about how she was always searching for the truth and could never find it but she had really come to find the church was true through her prayers. It made me so happy to know that I was a little part of that long chain that was able to connect her to the truth and to Christ. I've really never seen a convert so converted before. It was way cool. 

Today is transfers so everything right now is pandemonium. That's why I'm using my phone today. Anyways I feel like I am forgetting a lot but I can't remember anything right now. 

I love you so much.

Elder Shelton 

Elder Shelton, his two office companions, the AP's, and Pres. & Sis. Heid

January 23, 2007

I was able to proselyte this week with a missionary named Elder Magda. It was nice to get out for another entire day. I have noticed that when I proselyte now I proselyte in a very different way. I think I care a lot more about getting to know people and loving them rather than just presenting a message. It truly is a treasure to meet and visit people.

I guess you are probably wondering about Elder Helm as well. He is from Idaho. Was a stud track star and football athlete. He was in the MTC group a transfer before me but might go home with me because he went back home for a couple months to have surgery on his knee. That is actually why he is in the office, to rest his rehabbing knee a bit. Hes a really cool guy. We can just talk for a long time and get along well. Its weird to have 2 companions though. Its like one is always the third wheel. Sometimes I just get left here in the office and it is really weird.

I don't know when I will be transferred out of the office. I think I am about half way done with my service here. I don't know though.

What was a miracle or spiritual moment this week? Good question. President allowed us to be a bigger part of the decision making process when the new missionaries came in. It was really cool to see how a transfer works and the prayerful decisions behind it.

Anyways. I love you.

Elder Shelton

Fun Fact: I Ate Rat

Well this week was pretty busy. We were able to get lots of work done around here. Lots happened. We visited these 2 less active girls on Saturday with the young women's presidency. They actually came to church on Sunday. It was a miracle.

Elder Falk was sleeping here at the mission home on Friday night. I was able to have a long conversation with him. I remembered how much I love that guy and miss him. The office I think really changed his perspective on missionary work and he is enjoying every moment as he is out there.

On Friday the Assistants were gone so they invited us to go teach their investigator at the university. I was actually the first one to contact this woman. She is a super genius and is from Kenya. She has a full scholarship to this prestigious school in Ghana and actually gets a stipend for going there. She is super cool. I asked her what she knew about Joseph Smith. She explained to me like perfectly the whole story. It was really unique for me because I haven't really been able to illustrate the Joseph Smith story in a long time. I have told that story probably over 1000 times. This time it just hit me. Like I always say I know it is true but sometimes in the field it became monotonous. This time as I heard her tell me the story I again believed it was true. It was just a really cool experience to be able to teach that again, especially to someone who knows it so well and has come to believe it as well.

I thought you might enjoy a little thought I sent to President Heid this week in my weekly letter to him:

 "I have taken some opportunities throughout my mission to read my call letter over again. I took one of these opportunities when I was about 1 transfer in the office. I remember at that time I was really struggling in lots of different aspects. I think I had just had an argument with my companion. I read the line that promises, "Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children." I remember reading that and just laying in bed, thinking if that was really true. I wondered why I didn't feel like I had had a fulfillment of that blessing. I asked God why I hadn't found more happiness on my mission than I did before. I cast my mind back on my mission, on the people I had taught and baptized, on my companions, on the people I had come in contact with. I was overcome with indescribable happiness. I just laid there and started to cry because I was so happy. I truly have a testimony of the call letter and the promises that were made to me. Most of the time it seems like life is difficult, but I know that God is always aware of us. He always wants us to find happiness in all of our situations. What a beautiful thing."

Also some fun facts: This week I at pig brain, I also ate rat. Pig brain is just really bland. Rat was actually way nice. I thought you might enjoy learning that.

Cooked Rat

Well, That was my week. I love you all.
Elder Shelton

Yes, there is a big, fat rat in that cage!

Yummy!

Note from Brigham's Mom:

   Just before Christmas I got an email from the Mission President's wife, Sister Heid. In part she said about Brigham, " He is so very competent and reliable, and always does what is needed with a smile, a nod, and a willing attitude. Please know that he is doing well, happy in the work, and growing into a strong, service-oriented priesthood holder. You can be very, very proud of this young man."  We certainly are proud of him and appreciated her words.

  On Christmas morning our family was able to skype with Brigham for about an hour. He looked great!  We were able to meet his companion and one of the AP's. He seemed so at ease and happy. He bore his testimony to us and answered all of our questions. It was wonderful to talk with him!

Christmas Craziness!

Picking Up the Mail for the Week
(He does it just like a real Ghanain!)

Mission Home Open House

This week was something. We were preparing for all types of conferences and parties and such. The post office was pretty crazy this week. We spent hours there trying to pick up all of the packages. We finished our project of buying sim cards and credit for people to call home. The cost of these types of things is crazy.

Mission Home Open House

The different events we had this week. We had a Mission Home open house party on Friday. It kinda fell flat. Only a couple people showed up. We had another one on Sunday evening and a lot more people came. Even Elder Nash from the area Presidency. I was in charge of the children and coloring with them. It was a lot of fun. I was coloring this picture of Mary and Baby Jesus with this 8 year old girl. I'm asking her about school and stuff. It is quiet for a while and she just says, "They shouldn't have killed Jesus, he was a good man." It was the cutest thing ever. So we had a little discussion about Jesus. It was a really fun night.


Saturday was our bush Christmas Zone conference. It was pretty good. We made Christmas cards for our investigators. Elder Harris talked about teaching about Jesus from the Book of Mormon. Elder Koronikalou told the Nephite Christmas story. Sister Heid talked about following the spirit's promptings. It was really good because I have been thinking a lot about that lately.

Dinner with President & Sister Heid

They Ate Too Much!

Sunday there was a great talk given by one of my favorite members. Sister Owuwumi talked about Sacrifice. It was probably the best talk I have heard in Ghana. It made me think about how as missionaries we are called to sacrifice.  All God has asked is that we sacrifice a little bit, even if we don't understand. Sister Owuwumi talked about Abraham sacrificing his son. He didn't know why. It was difficult. Abraham could have said, "Oh, God knows what a struggle it was to have this child, he would want for me to keep him." He could have said, "Oh, God is talking about the other people who have more than one son." or he could have said, "I don't understand why so I won't." But Abraham didn't ask any questions. He became as a little child and became willing to make the sacrifice.

Today we had a multi-zone activity at the beach. It was super fun. I got to play football and cards and some soccer. It reminded me of how much I love the beach. I love the breeze, the sound of the waves, the sand. Oh it was so nice! I did miss the ocean though.

Anyways, I love you all. I think I will try to skype around 3 my time. Our church has been changed to only 1 hour and at 9 so I am free pretty much all day. If you have any other requests of times or anything just email me and I will be able to view it.
I love you all so much.
Elder Shelton

Brigham's Apartment
Part of the Mission Offices Complex

Mission Office & Home Complex

Getting Ready for Christmas

Fam,

This week was difficult and tiring. We are trying to get ready for Christmas and there has been so much to do. We are getting Christmas calling cards all ready and it has been stressful because its a lot of running around and trying to communicate things with the phone people. It wasn't all that easy. It was also a week after coming off of transfers which means we had a lot of office updating to do. We didn't get to proselyte at all this week. Thursday we were to stay in and deep clean because of the election. I cleaned all day and it wore me out. I don't think missionaries ever deep clean anything, (or even clean anything). So it was a lot of work. I am actually grateful for Rosa (Brigham's boss in high school when he did janitorial work at our local elementary school) for holding a high standard for cleaning. It taught me how to clean.

My new companion's name is Elder Anusiem. He comes from Nigeria. Like my other Nigerian companions he also comes from a richer demographic. His parents work for the church. He is a really cool guy. It has been a while since I have had an African companion so that has thrown me a little curve ball, especially here in the office when I am talking and trying to get things done at a million miles per hour. I have had to learn to slow down and be a good and patient teacher.

The nice thing about being in the mission home is that you feel so much more of the Christmas spirit. There is more Christmas music and food and lights and parties. The bad part is that it is making me miss home even more this Christmas than last year. But I am grateful to have senior couples and President and Sister Heid to be my family for Christmas this year.

One thing I've been thinking about that I will miss about Ghana and that I have missed since coming to the city: I miss people not caring about how they look.  I love being around people that you can walk up to and they could care less how they look. It was really refreshing.

Anyways, Questions
How are things going for your new companion?
It has been a lot different. He is still getting used to things around here but he really wants to work hard and learn things fast. He is really trying to improve in many ways.

Is he able to drive the stick shift? Can't drive at all. Our trotro got taken away unfortunately so I am not even driving the manual. We got this big ol ugly soccer mom van that can't really fit anything besides people. It really is terrible for dropping off supplies.

What was a miracle this week? I got a free T-Shirt at the Vodafone store because I asked if they had any and the woman just dashed one to me.

Tell us about the election. It was very peaceful. Ghanaians don't look for an excuse to be violent. They look for an excuse to party. So mostly it was pretty normal except there was less traffic which was nice. Then when they finally declared the winner people were just celebrating. Packing many people into small cars, hanging out the window. Honking the horn and driving fast. That's a fairly normal practice for weddings and funerals. So not much excitement.

Do you still write a weekly email to the mission president? What do you say to him? Yep, mostly he knows what I do. I usually just write him a spiritual thought I was having during the week.

What was the best thing that happened this week? We had zone training and then went to the temple. That was pretty sweet. We watched the Christmas Light the World video. It was fantastic.

I love you all,

Elder Shelton

Thanksgiving and Transfers

Fam,

Ashaiman Stake Cultural Festival

  We got transfer news this week. Elder Falk is leaving the office. I will be really sad to have him gone. He has been a good companion. Plus he knows everything around here. I will receive Elder Anusiem-Nzenwa as my new companion. He is a Nigerian. He was called from a zone leader to be in the office. I have served around him in Koforidua. It will be interesting to have an African in the office. It will be a good opportunity for him to see the church from a ministerial point of view. I am excited to have him. Although he is older than me on mission and this might seem like a demotion to him, I just hope he is willing to learn.

This week was cool. I helped Elder Bullie out with getting all of his forms and medical stuff for his passport. I also did a lot of office work this week. I am creating a reference sheet with all of the supplies and how we get them and how much they cost. So that's been time consuming. I am also making another reference sheet for when future Elders need to order food or find a caterer because there is no record of that and every time someone new comes in they just have to start from scratch and find someone that can cater for events and such.

On Thursday the senior couples had us over for a Thanksgiving meal. It was the best meal I have had in Ghana, even though there wasn't any turkey. I love the senior couples. We have Elder and Sister Pace and Elder and Sister Jones. The Pace's are just smart and loving. I will sometimes just come into the office and talk to them for hours. The Jones do the apartment maintenance and medical for our mission. Elder Jones is from Canada and he is so humorous. He just throws in random comments at the funniest times. Sister Jones is like a sweet Grandma. She is from Scotland and has this thick accent. She is the best. Anyways it was a lot of fun. Afterwards we were invited to the Heid's for pumpkin pie. It was really good.

On Saturday we made a big supply run and it was very tiring but we were in Ashaiman and the Ashaiman Stake was having a cultural festival. It was so much fun to go to. There were all kinds of dancing and skits and stuff. Every unit represented a different region and displayed there culture. It was really great.

That Saturday we had another cool experience. We went to this tailor's place because he was fitting some clothes for Elder Falk. We had been there a couple times but we just started talking about worship and the point of worship. I told him I thought the best way to worship God was to obey his commandments. He agreed and asked how I viewed him. We chatted a little more and he just broke down and told us that he is breaking the law of chastity. He knows it is bad and he has fought hard to stop before but he keeps falling back into it. He talked about the guilt that was weighing down on him. It was very spiritual and we just bore our testimonies about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what that means to us and what it can mean to him. It was really cool. He said he will start sewing white shirts and trousers so he can come to church and be baptized. It was really cool.

Comment on teaching the Word of Wisdom. It is actually super easy here. Lots of people don't drink tea and coffee because it is hot. And mostly those who do when you teach it to them say, "I knew it was bad, I just hadn't had anyone tell me before." and they stop. I have had countless people just pull out their coffee or tea and hand it to us saying they are done.

Comment on Ghanaians and the Word of Wisdom. Ghanaians have a unique ability to obey whether they understand or not. They don't understand or know the reasons for a lot of teachings or doctrines but they just follow it because they have that kind of faith. Its really humbling to see.

I love you all.

Elder Shelton

Ashaiman Stake Cultural Festival

A Busy Week

Fam,

This week was crazy busy and tiring. On Monday night we were trying to prepare for the conference and we realized that we needed to print this talk for all the missionaries but it was like 6:30 and we were afriad the printing place we normally go to would be closed. We decided to go there anyways and surprisingly it was open. They printed our stuff and we started to staple everything there. We asked them what time they normally close and they said five. So it was a miracle that they were even open. And then we started talking to one of the employees there named Vida. We started asking about her life and such. Somehow to conversation kinda evolved to how as young adults we can tackle the challenges of the future. She just opened up to us and told us what she wanted to improve with praying and scripture study. The talk we were printing was perfect for her. It was "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence" We read a little to her and it really touched her. The whole thing was just a miracle; that the place was open, the talk we had was perfect for her, and it was later so customers weren't bothering us. It was just real life missionary work and a miracle.

We had a multi-zone conference on Tuesday and another one on Thursday. They were so crazy and exhausting. Like we don't really plan for them, we just kinda show up and all of a sudden we've got to be everywhere at once and if anything goes wrong or if someone has a problem it magically becomes our problem. It was really cool though. There were some really powerful instructions given.

Our Multi-zone conference on Thursday was up in Kpong. The drive there was so beautiful. We saw baboons on the road and there was this baby one that was so cute. That Thursday night a missionary from Sierra Leone named Elder Bullie flew in. He was called to the Cape Town South Africa mission and was going to leave on Dec. 29th but they just called him on Tuesday and told him he would be leaving to Ghana on Thursday so that they could get him a visa while he is here. So he will be serving here for a bit. I felt really bad for him. He's been a convert for just over 1 year. He's a really cool guy, he used to be this really rough guy and then he just turned his life around, found the church, and is now serving a mission. I feel bad because he has just been hanging around the mission home with us the last couple days and he has kinda been neglected by everyone else. I have enjoyed getting to know him though. It is one of the blessings of the office to meet lots of people and make a small influence in their lives.

Saturday I got to go with Elder Koronikalou and Elder Bullie to Madina market to buy him some more stuff he would need. Afterwards we went to the AP's area which is the University of Ghana. It was really cool. A beautiful college campus with college kids doing college stuff. It made me want to be part of them. Anyways, a great week.

Love,
Elder Shelton

Stories of Faith

Not much happened this week. Just preparing for transfers. We moved some people into new apartments. Prepared all the stuff for the trainers and had a small training with them. We had the farewell devotional today for the missionaries going home. The new ones will come tomorrow. Best part of it all was that I could be a part of the departure dinner.

One of the best things about the office is that you get to know everyone. You hear such incredible stories of faith. So I think this week I will just send some pictures of people and tell their stories a bit.

Sister Effiom & Sister Moyo

This is Sister Effiom and Sister Moyo. Sister Effiom is from Nigeria. Sister Moyo is from Zimbabwe. Oh, and that is Elder Harris from Caldwell ID. We drove them back from the Trainers training. The started to share their testimonies with us. Sister Moyo grew up in the Church, she didn't really pay much attention to religion until she was 15. She said for the first time in her life she failed a semester at school. She was so shocked but the thought that came into her mind was, "You aren't reading the Book of Mormon, read the Book of Mormon." She said from that time onward she has never stopped reading. She also never failed a class again.

Sister Effiom also grew up in the church. She said her testimony came from two places. The Book of Mormon and the temple. She didn't read the Book of Mormon growing up because people would make fun and say the book was satanic. There came a point when she decided to find out for herself if it was satanic or from God. She read, and knew it was from God.

Elder Udonsa

This is Elder Udonsa. I don't know much about him. Nigerian, really humble guy. Instead of always saying, "I'm going home", he would always say, "I'm still here." I loved it.

Elder Avana

This is Elder Avana from Benin. French speaker. He is such a humble hard working guy. He was serving in the area I was in in Tema. (I went to Tema this week by the way and saw Bishop Mensah and he gave me a huge hug!) Elder Avana came and played tennis with Elder Harris and I today. He is going to be Elder Buys's new Zone Leader companion in Koforidua. He is the only missionary in this mission from Benin. I didn't even know him before this past weekend. He has trained 4 different people. He is just a stud but you would never know it because he is more quiet when plenty of people are around. I enjoyed talking with him this weekend.

Elder Fall

This is Elder Fall. He is the only missionary from Burkina Faso and I think he is the only member there when he goes back. He joined the church 3 years ago and hasn't seen his family since he has joined. He is a native French speaker but speaks English incredibly well. He is just the nicest coolest guy you will ever meet. He bore his testimony today and his conversion story really touched me. He first went to the Church in Benin and started to have the lessons. He didn't feel right there for some reason. As he was walking back from church one day he asked God that if he should be here then show me a senior couple. The senior couple walked by just a minute later. His faith still wasn't perfect, but as he continued to come he gained his testimony. He will go home to no family, no school, no work, and no established Church. He is in a sticky situation but is the most humble Christ-like guy.

Sister Onwujiougu

This picture is of dropping off the sisters at the airport. The one on the right is named Sister Onwujiougu from Nigeria. She is 30 years old but still had the faith to come out this even though she is an older missionary. I have served around her a lot and her faith to overcome her trials is awesome. She has lost her father and mother and brother. But still is willing to serve.

Elder Falk & Elder Shelton
Ghana, Accra Temple

A Normal Week at the Office

Family,

Well, I don't really know how to explain my week. It was normal. We were preparing stuff for MLC (Mission Leadership Conferences). We got to go to part of MLC. It was definitely cool to be there with all of the mission leaders and see what ideas they had to make the mission better. Other than that mostly it was just the stress of hosting the Zone Leaders here and making sure we had all the food and stuff for the MLC.

We were able to go out and proselyte much more this week. The area that we are in is rich. It is rather like serving in California. It is cool though. I have been able to serve in very poor areas, might as well test my skills in a rich area. It is a brand new branch so it is hard to get the ball rolling with missionary work and other branch work but it is really great to see a new branch blossom and there are many great members. Other news: I went to the temple again this week. Had an activity today. Had the opportunity to go on several exchanges this last week.

I would say in the office I have really seen so many ways that I need to improve. It has been good but humbling. In Oyoko we were only 2 and honestly everyone kind of looked up to us no matter what we did. Now I am around many people who are expecting things of me.  It has given me an opportunity to really try to be qualified for the work I am called to do.

The office has actually taught me many things. I think this experience is very valuable because you learn to share the gospel in a more practical sense. It's like I have an office job but also a responsibility to share the gospel. I think that many people back home are in the same circumstance. You learn to share the gospel with your associates and while doing business transactions and stuff. Obedience here is more self discipline. In the field it is pretty black and white. Here you have to govern yourself a little more, but still obey.

Mom, after being to the post office this week I would really like if you didn't send so many packages. The system there isn't really a system. It is by far my least favorite part of being in the office. We have to sit in traffic for like an hour to get there. Then we have to barter with these customs officers for decent prices. Then it is like an hour again in traffic to get back. On Tuesday we left the mission home at 11 in the morning and didn't get back until 5.

Dad, I have always told you that you set a great example for me. I wish I would have paid attention to your computer skills as well. I have thought many times. Back home I would have just asked my dad to fix this. I guess it is good to learn to be self-reliant though.

I love you so much.
Elder Shelton

One Year Out, One Year Left to Go!

Dear Family,

It is weird to think that I have been here for a year. Its a long time but also a short time. On Saturday for my one year mark the AP's and Elder Falk poured buckets of water on me. We also went and got a hamburger.

Wasn't conference great? I really enjoyed that talk by Elder Yamishita and so many others. I got to watch most sessions. Sunday morning session we were invited to watch in the Heid's living room and have dinner with them and the Senior couple. WE HAD LASAGNA. It was the best day of my life!

Other things I did this week... worked on making maps, moved people around, picked up mail at the post office, helped find new investigators in a struggling area, called everyone who didn't mail President, and helped some people apply for BYU Hawaii. My MTC group did come down this week to get our Non-Citizen ID's renewed. It was kinda fun to be with them all again.

Some more exciting things this last week: We went to the temple because President said that we can go whenever, our stake just created a new unit which I will be serving in, and I proselyted in my old area for a couple hours! I am getting the hang of things around here and I can find more ways to be productive now.

Questions from Mom:
What has been the hardest thing about being in the office? Not proselyting much and the pressure that is always on you.

What is something crazy you did, and what was a miracle? I had walk through a river that was created by the rain. It was a miracle that we got home safely that night because the roads were rivers and we couldn't see out the windshield. Also, the lasagna was a miracle.

Brigham and his companion Elder Falk

Are you doing much driving? Yep. I drive the tro all the time. I am still a little shaky at stick but it isn't bad. You have to be ready to go anywhere at anytime and that calls for some high pressure driving. Driving in Ghana: It's like navigating the Senior Ramp at Brighton. No rules, you just find little places you can fit and hope you don't get run over. It's tiring because your blood is always pumping from all the times you almost die.

Tell us about your new companion: His name is Elder Falk. Went to Olympus and played baseball, basketball, and football there. I really enjoy being with him. We have a lot in common.  He is a good missionary. It is really nice to be with someone mature on the mission because when we do teach together we have really solid companionship unity. He is really patient with me and is a great guy.

I love you all so much.

Elder Shelton