3/3/14

Maja everyone!
That's the informal way of saying good afternoon, and the must easier word to spell and type. But anyway, how are y'all?? I hope everyone is doing great! This mission is the best thing ever. I'm crazy busy, at least trying to be. Not too many exciting things happened this week investigator wise, we just taught alot of lessons with all the investigators we got last week. Surprisingly, 10 of those 15 are still taking the lessons and progressing. That's rare because usually only 4 or 5 that you gain every week stay interested. But anyway, I just want to talk about daily life this week. There are zero public bathrooms! and most people don't have one in their homes... we do, don't worry :) But it's not strange to see someone just drop their pants and pee on the wall you're passing by. Wait, i lied about the no public bathrooms.. there are a few. and they make me laugh. you know how they put those freshener things in the urinals that Melvin in Madagascar refers to as "free mints"? Well in Ghana, they are small and yellow/orange and they have no idea how to do things in moderation here, (that's why no one ever has any money because they don't save!), but they just throw like 30 of those things in one urinal so it looks like someone threw a bunch of cut up mangos in the toilet and it makes me laugh. I'm not exactly sure why I find it so funny, but I hope you laugh too. haha. Oh! and you also have to pay to use a public restroom. It's kinda interesting. And Ghana does not really have a garbage service so when people are done with something, they just throw the trash on the ground and litter is just everywhere. It's a huge reason why you can't drink water straight from the rivers. We drink water from plastic bags. They are called water saches. They are very cheap and people walk around town, selling them in big bowls that they carry on their head. It's 10 pesewas for one half liter bag, so it's super cheap and that's good because we drink a lot of water because from 11 am to 8 pm, it is EXTREMELY hot outside. I'm glad I lived in PA. That kinda sorta prepared me for the humidity. Their are lizards everywhere, so I find it fun to run around and catch them as we go from appointment to appointment when there aren't any kids around to play soccer with. Elder Noble hates lizards so he doesn't try to catch them with me :( but that's okay because he is an awesome trainer anyway. Oh! Some more good news! Elder Seyoum has a washing machine and he showed me how to use it, so I dont have to wash as many clothes by hand. It makes Pday alot easier, let me tell you. But I still like to do a few things by hand because I wont always have a washing machine and I want to be just like the people. Twi is rather frustrating to me. Some days, I'm on fire and can have very small convos, and other days, there is no way in the world I can speak a single word in Twi. However, I am getting better at understanding people. So even if I can't speak back, people can say things to me and I can understand and explain them in English. This week foodwise I had a lot of indo-mie meals and bread. However, my first two FMs (free meals) came this week! One sister we are teaching, Sister Effia, she feeds us every time we come. Now in Ghanaian culture, if someone offers you to eat with them, you cannot say no or else you are insulting them. So you only say no if you know that the person definitely does not have enough food to feed their family. But Sister Effia's family is well-off for Ghana and she's a really good cook, so we most definitely did not say no. The first night was banku with fish. One thing you need to know about here is that when you eat fish, you eat the whole thing. The whole thing. The fish is not gutted, they cook it skin, bones, eyes, fins, and all. And they eat the whole thing! I can't bring myself to eat the head yet though. Just the eyes and brain.... Yuck! It's not quite my kinda food. But it's still very good! They cook the fish very thoroughly so the skin is actually very crunchy and salty, kinda like a potato chip, i like it alot. And they also eat chicken bones. But I haven't had to worry about that yet. Anyway, the second nice was rice, noodles, a spicy tomato stew (they call sauces stews here), and some heavenly beef. I'm not sure if the beef tasted so good because it's the first time I've had it in forever, or if it's because it was cooked perfectly. I'm pretty sure it was both. The thing that drives me nuts about here though is the electricity. This thing happens called "lights off" where certain parts of Kumasi just lose power for an hour, several hours, or even a day. So at night, after being sweaty from the heat, humidity, miles of walking, and service projects (they aren't usually very big ones, just move this, clean this, etc. Ghana lacks the funds for all their building projects. They spent too much money and are now in debt), you can't even shower! And then the fans don't work... or the fridge... or the toilet flush... or any other electric device a formerly pampered American needs to survive. But other than that, life is great :) I would never go any where else for my mission. These people don't trust me much because white people were never too kind previously, but I am determined to show them that I actually care. I know this church is true. I know this Gospel is true. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here. Be safe and have fun this week, everyone! I love you all.
Love,

Elder Robinson