WEEK 39: Transfers
Hey everyone!
Okay so now just a little about my new area
I am in the hottest place in the mission! Well that's what everyone says. To me Kumasi is hotter because of the humidity and I'm not use to it but yeah. I'm in Bolga (actually it's Bolgatanga), it's really dry like Arizona and the temperature is hotter than Kumasi but there isn't much humidity and its less degrees than AZ so for me its great actually. I love the weather here. It's cold in the mornings and at night. My area is about 12 hours from Kumasi so that was a long ride. Also the zone I'm in is Tamale zone however we are the farthest district in the zone. Its a 3 hour drive from Bolga to Tamale where everyone else is so basically we are the outcasts of the group hahaha.
Right now as I speak, I'm in Tamale. We just came down yesterday for a zone activity today and zone council tomorrow. We won't be able to get back to Bolga until late Tuesday, and the best part is we have to come back down again next week for zone conference, ughh. But I love it.
So for me I'm in a brand new branch with my companion Elder N'Dri. He has been out 1 transfer longer than me and he is from . (Not sure why that's blank. He didn't respond when I asked him.) The people are very sweet and the best part is everyone speaks English! Yeah!!! No more Twi baby! They do have there own little local language Frafra or something like that, but unlike people in Kumasi they aren't too prideful to learn English so I'm so happy. My guess is about 85% of the people speak English here. In Kumasi it was like half or more of the people didn't. So that's one thing that is awesome.
Also the best part, church is in English!! I have sat in sacrament meeting for 9 months not knowing a single word of what people are saying and now I can actually understand and enjoy. Oh also I'm super happy about my area and the scenery. It's very pretty. When I first came to Africa in Kumasi I was let down and I was like well its not close to as nice as America but it's not at all what I pictured Africa to be. Well Bolga is definitely what I pictured Africa to be. Its mud huts with straw roofs. Its awesome! So yeah my place is a village basically. Oh and apparently we get free meals almost every night. I have only been in my area 2 days so I'm not sure if its true but yeah so far it has been. Also my area is a biking area and is huge! Anyways thats a little update on things with me for yeah! I'm happy, and safe, and seriously I love my area. I couldn't be happier. I think my area is the best in the mission. It's got great weather for me, everyone speaks English. The people are humble. We get free food all the time. Oh my apartment has a gym on the roof of it. I'm also staying in the chapel so that makes it nice on Sundays. In Tamale like everyone is Muslim and I mean like everyone, in Bolga its only like a small amount and even then the people aren't really Muslim here in Bolga if thats what they claim to be. I just taught one the other day, and she said she prays like a Christian, reads all of the Bible, and believes Christ died for our sins and is the son of God. I wanted to ask, ummm you do know everything you just said means you're a Christian not Muslim, but yeah its just funny. but yeah seriously this area is sweet! (If you do a search on Bolga it looks like the area is very well known for making colorful baskets.)
Right now as I speak, I'm in Tamale. We just came down yesterday for a zone activity today and zone council tomorrow. We won't be able to get back to Bolga until late Tuesday, and the best part is we have to come back down again next week for zone conference, ughh. But I love it.
So for me I'm in a brand new branch with my companion Elder N'Dri. He has been out 1 transfer longer than me and he is from . (Not sure why that's blank. He didn't respond when I asked him.) The people are very sweet and the best part is everyone speaks English! Yeah!!! No more Twi baby! They do have there own little local language Frafra or something like that, but unlike people in Kumasi they aren't too prideful to learn English so I'm so happy. My guess is about 85% of the people speak English here. In Kumasi it was like half or more of the people didn't. So that's one thing that is awesome.
Also the best part, church is in English!! I have sat in sacrament meeting for 9 months not knowing a single word of what people are saying and now I can actually understand and enjoy. Oh also I'm super happy about my area and the scenery. It's very pretty. When I first came to Africa in Kumasi I was let down and I was like well its not close to as nice as America but it's not at all what I pictured Africa to be. Well Bolga is definitely what I pictured Africa to be. Its mud huts with straw roofs. Its awesome! So yeah my place is a village basically. Oh and apparently we get free meals almost every night. I have only been in my area 2 days so I'm not sure if its true but yeah so far it has been. Also my area is a biking area and is huge! Anyways thats a little update on things with me for yeah! I'm happy, and safe, and seriously I love my area. I couldn't be happier. I think my area is the best in the mission. It's got great weather for me, everyone speaks English. The people are humble. We get free food all the time. Oh my apartment has a gym on the roof of it. I'm also staying in the chapel so that makes it nice on Sundays. In Tamale like everyone is Muslim and I mean like everyone, in Bolga its only like a small amount and even then the people aren't really Muslim here in Bolga if thats what they claim to be. I just taught one the other day, and she said she prays like a Christian, reads all of the Bible, and believes Christ died for our sins and is the son of God. I wanted to ask, ummm you do know everything you just said means you're a Christian not Muslim, but yeah its just funny. but yeah seriously this area is sweet! (If you do a search on Bolga it looks like the area is very well known for making colorful baskets.)
My mom asked me to tell the foods I ate so here is what I can remember I ate this week (mom insert: a friend got a list of foods from her missionary serving in the US and I thought it would fun to see what it would look like in Africa!)
1. LOTS OF OATS with coco and cinnamon.
2. protien shakes.
3 fufu (a staple food in Ghana and is traditionally made by mixing and pounding separate equal portions of cassava and green plantain flour thoroughly with water) and some kind of soup.
4.Chicken noodle soup
5.crepes with 6 scambled eggs, 2 hard boilded eggs, and oatmeal with hot chocolate. That was my Sunday breakfast hehe
6.beef on a stick. oh in my area beef is everywhere and super cheap. (looks like Kebabs are common in his area)
7.bananas
8.Chicken salad and a mango smoothie at some restaurant.
9. Groundnut soup ( a soup made from peanuts) with riceball and chicken, which was made specially for me by someone in my last area that knew I was leaving
10. banku (Banku is a Ghanaian dish which is cooked by a proportionate mixture of fermented corn and cassava dough in hot water into a smooth, whitish paste, served with soup, stew or a pepper sauce with fish) and pepe (a spicy mixture of chile peppers and tomatoes that serves as a sauce for rice or other foods)
11. some other stuff that I'm sure I forgot
Sooo yeah, that's basically it. Anyways love you guys, until next week!
(Mom insert: As for the changes announced for missionary communication with family Tanner had this to say: "For me, I don't question the prophet and if it would be a bad thing for us, he wouldn't allow it like he is. Also being in Africa with African companions, I fully support the Facebook thing for them. Most of them it's the only way possible for them to communicate with loved ones given their circumstances. And for me, I would like to video call home every now and then on Mondays. Probably not every week though. Maybe we can schedule one week in a month that would work best. But I would need to buy a video camera. Also there is no limit to emailing anymore. I don't know if that's world wide or not, but I know that's the case for at least our mission. Anyways try to be on next week so we can chat back and forth and discuss more about this and decide what all of us thinks is best.")
(Mom insert: As for the changes announced for missionary communication with family Tanner had this to say: "For me, I don't question the prophet and if it would be a bad thing for us, he wouldn't allow it like he is. Also being in Africa with African companions, I fully support the Facebook thing for them. Most of them it's the only way possible for them to communicate with loved ones given their circumstances. And for me, I would like to video call home every now and then on Mondays. Probably not every week though. Maybe we can schedule one week in a month that would work best. But I would need to buy a video camera. Also there is no limit to emailing anymore. I don't know if that's world wide or not, but I know that's the case for at least our mission. Anyways try to be on next week so we can chat back and forth and discuss more about this and decide what all of us thinks is best.")
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