Final E-Mail

Good afternoon to you all!!

I hope everyone is doing great! I am doing great!! The work right now is so awesome!! Our area is really exploding with new people. We have so many people right now who we need to go and visit and teach that we literally don't have enough time this week to go see them all, and try to see our recent converts as well!!

We have so many people progressing right now that i don't know who to even write about.. I think the one that i would mention is the Odr family. Well i guess we wouldn't necessarily call them a family quite yet cause they are not actually married. Sister Es and Brother Akw have been cohabiting for years, they have 3 kids, and they are the sweetest ever! They found the missionaries a few months ago and they have been coming to church now every week for that whole time. They have such a firm testimony of the things that they have learned. They just don't have any money. Here in Ghana, you have to have quite a bit of money to get married cause the family of the woman demands quite a bit of money as a dowry or bride price. and So Akw has been working now since they found the church and found out the importance of them getting married so they can be baptized!! The reason i put them in here isn't cause they have got all the money and are now going for the wedding, but for them, they are one of the greatest examples of faith and prayer that i have seen here in Ghana. I can tell how discouraging it is for them to see so many people coming into the church after them and being baptized before them, people going to the temple to be sealed while they are still waiting.. its sad to me too. But they have been to church each week, continually praying and serving. Even Sister Es comes out and shows us to her friends around her house, they have such a great desire to share the Gospel that has already changed their lives so much and will continue to change their lives in the future when they have the opportunity to get married and sealed in the Lord's House!! I am so thankful for their example of faith and testimony!!

Well as stated in the subject part, today is my last email home as a missionary... I can't believe those words are coming out of my fingers. I am definitely anxious/nervous/excited/sad/happy. I have about a million different thoughts and feelings coming to me right now. I think the feeling that is most powerful in me right now is that I am just thankful for that opportunity that i have had to serve a mission.  I will miss the people of Ghana so much, I have come to love them so much as well!! To close my mission emails, I would like to share one of my favorite scriptures as of late. its Helaman 5 : 12, a very popular one:

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

I have been able to feel that power that comes from building our foundation upon Christ. I have felt the power of the Atonement in my life, and I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true Church, and we are led by living prophets and apostles who receive revelation from God. I love you all and I will see you soon!! My homecoming will be on August 20 @ 1:00 pm at the Bear River City Chapel. 

I love you all!!!!

Elder Porritt

Pressing on and Enjoying the Work

Well July is also over.. and I have 2 more weeks... I don't know how that happened so fast. Well this week was a blur like all the other weeks are, I don't even remember half of what happened this week, it all seems like the same week!!

On Tuesday, we had Zone Conference, which was my last one. It was a great conference, we learned a lot about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel. It would seem like the Restoration story and all of that would get old to a missionary who teaches it a few times every day and who has heard and recited the story thousands of times now, but every time I learn about Joseph Smith, every time I go back and read his story, every time I teach about it, the Spirit fills me and I just have such a great love and appreciation for the Prophet Joseph Smith! It never gets old hearing about Joseph Smith! Also with it being my Zone Conference, I bore my testimony, man that was so hard.. I am going to miss being in the Ghana Kumasi Mission. There are so many people who i have come to love so much here..

Also another hard moment this week was our Ward Mission Leader, Kwame Boakye, left on mission on Thursday. He is going to the Congo, Kinshasa Mission. We have really come to be close with him as we have worked so closely with him, and I know he will be a sweet missionary!!

Well Pat was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday, that was great for her and for the Young Women in the Ward to get another Sister to join them. Brother Thm was not able to be baptized though, we are still trying to work on a few things with him before he will be ready.

Well that is about it for this week, we are just pressing on and enjoying the work!

I love you all!!

Elder Porritt

Elder Boakye and us

Patience's Baptism

I Love What I Am Doing

First off, Happy Pioneer Day!

I didn't even realize it was the 24th of July until just when I was typing the date, so that is pretty sweet! Good luck to the Porritt's in the BRC Volleyball Tourney today, hope you take home the trophy again this year!!

Well this week had some good parts and some disappointing parts. But that is about how missionary work goes it seems.  We had such a great week of teaching and finding new people, but yesterday, we only had a few of our investigators come to church, that was the big disappointment..

Updates from last week, we didn't even get to see Brother Kwb this week cause it is impossible for us to get ahold of him due to the fact that he doesn't have a phone.. Also another setback, Brother Th Ams, who was supposed to be baptized on Saturday, wasn't able to due to some miscommunication that happened as we were lining up an interview for him. So we are hoping for this Saturday for him along with Sister Pat who is a young girl who stays with one sweet member here in our ward.

The great highlight that happened this week was contacting Brother Kel Amh. This guy is an evangelist which means he goes out to the car stations around the area and preaches. He doesn't really belong to any specific church, he has kinda been roaming, although he is currently attending one called Christ the King Church ha.. We met with him and got to know quickly how well he knows the Bible, and how much he wants to be at the right church, cause even he expressed his frustration about all the churches around here and how they do their things. Well when we came back there on Saturday, we explained very well about the foundation and organization of the Church of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and he was just going along with all the scriptures and just nodding his head as we went, and as we explained about how the great apostasy brought such a change into the Christian world, he agreed with us perfectly on all that we said. And then as we told him the story of Joseph Smith, the young boy who went and prayed and saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, Kelvin was about jumping out of his seat!! He was feeling the Spirit so strongly. As we concluded by telling him how Joseph Smith received the Priesthood Authority from John the Baptist, and then Peter, James, and John, Kel was nodding his head and told us that this was what he has been looking for, something with the same setup that the Bible teaches of. Well Kel unfortunately has a TON of duties in his current church, so Sunday he was not able to come to see for himself, but he promised us that this coming Sunday he would come, he also accepted a baptismal date for August 12. So I am definitely praying that works out cause that would be an amazing way to finish my work here in Nkoransa.

We also have 4 other people who we found this week and put many of them on date to be baptized in August. We are currently having a lot of success in our area, and THANKFULLY we are finding quite a few people who speak English. We have really been struggling with everyone we find speaking Twi, and on Wednesday, our Ward Mission Leader, Kwame Boakye, leaves for the MTC so we are losing our main translator... But the Lord will provide a way for us to teach them, or else he will provide English speaking people, that is the faith that we have.

The work is so sweet, I love what I am doing, and I am seriously sad that it is coming to an end so quickly, tomorrow is my final Zone Conference as a missionary. This transfer has been a lot of 'lasts' but I am enjoying it as much as I can, and we have a ton of people who are perishing in unbelief around us so we are working to save people!!

I hope you all have a great week!!

Elder Porritt

The Gift of Tongues

Hello everyone,

Another week is gone, and its been a quick one. This morning we had a 3 District tournament at the mission home and the good old Nkoransa District took home the trophy... too bad there wasn't an actual trophy, but we still won. The new elder in our apartment, Elder Ebissan, he is from Ivory Coast, that guy can PLAY!! We had a good morning for sure ha!

One great thing was our new guy Kwab. We contacted Kwab in a small village in our area called Pakyi, about 2 weeks ago. When we contacted him, he seemed like another guy who just called us over and wanted to make me speak Twi and laugh (unfortunately a ton of people do that, its terrible haha) but we gave him one pamphlet and took his number. We tried to go there this last week but his phone was switched off the whole week. Well Saturday night, we got a call from a random number, turns out it was him, using his friend's phone. He called and told us that he was coming to church tomorrow, and that he didn't have transportation money so he was going to have to walk. When he said that, I thought, 'ha how could he walk from that place to church' Just to help you see the picture, its over 3 miles of steep hills from his place to the chapel and the road has I think 5 or 6 big hills to climb and descend, its a pain for us to even go there in a car, let alone someone walk... Well to my great surprise, the guy came!! He showed up about 30 minutes into Sacrament meeting (9:30), he said he started walking around 7:30. Well if that doesn't show dedication, I don't know what does. So we have a lot of people right now who are pretty great, we are hoping for Brother Thm to be baptized this Saturday, and Sister Pat next Saturday! The work is sweet here in Nkoransa!! 

Jerry was baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday, and yesterday after church, we went to his house and met his wife, Grc, who has expressed concern about the church earlier when he started investigating the church. She has many of the same doubts and ideas that most Ghanaians have, that the church worships the devil and that the Book of Mormon is a chanting book where we use it for rituals and get money from it hahah... (gotta love ghana..) But we went there and she said that she has seen a big change in Jerry's life since he met us, which is really true, cause he has went from a daily weed smoker and someone who is easy to fight with, to someone with more patience and someone who is clean from alcohol and drugs, all within a little over a month. For me, I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has all power to change lives, to help people overcome addictions, and to become completely different people. I am also sure that Grc will be a member within a few months as she begins to meet with the missionaries and see what the church is all about!

The greatest part of the week was Jerry's testimony that he bore after he was baptized on Saturday. I am thankful for the gift of interpretation of tongues that I was able to understand what he said in Twi (even though I still can't speak Twi that well). His testimony was one of the most powerful that I have heard born since I have been a missionary. He also bore testimony of how he came to know the church was true and the change that it has brought into his life. Anyone who could understand what he was saying probably would have been brought to tears, I definitely was. I am so thankful for the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I know that He is there for us to help us, strengthen us, change us, and forgive us, only on condition that we come to Him for that help. I love this work, and I am sad to see it go like this, only a few weeks left, but we are making the very most of it!!

I love you all and hope you have another great week!!

Elder Porritt

pictures are of Jerry's baptism!

Teaching Relief Society

Hello everyone!

Well to be honest, it has been a really rough week, a lot of rain, a lot of rejection, another week in the life of a missionary! We have been keeping on teaching Jry, he is progressing well and should be baptized this coming Saturday. Also brother Thm, he is also progressing very well too, and should be baptized two weeks Saturday. We are having quite a few really great investigators due to the great work that the members here in the Nkoransa Ward are doing to try and bring their friends and family to the Church. So we are super thankful for them making the work a little bit easier for us. Another funny thing that happened this week was that the Relief Society President called us and asked if one of us could teach Relief Society on Sunday, we were taken a little off guard, but Elder Adegboyega taught relief society yesterday, so that was sweet!!

It has been a week with not many highlights, but it has been good to keep reading and studying in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon has become such a huge part of my testimony, through constant study and prayer, i have truly come to know that the Book of Mormon is true, it is another Testimony of Jesus Christ, and I have been able to come closer to God and Jesus Christ because of the things that I have learned within the pages of the Book of Mormon.

This week as i studied, there was one verse that hit me the hardest, and its a popular one, its Mosiah 3:19. "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

As I read this, I thought about how I can 'becometh as a child' and how i can try to develop those attributes. It really helped me as I thought inside and measured myself. The most important part is that the only way we can do all of these things is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that Jesus Christ came to this Earth to sacrifice His life for us, and I know that we will receive strength from Him if only we ask for it!!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Porritt

Yaw's baptism

Regina's baptism

First Day of My Last Transfer

It is July... Well I don't have words to say how fast my head is spinning. It seems like yesterday i was coming to the MTC. And today is the first day of my last transfer. 6 more weeks with my Son, Elder Adegboyega, and my awesome people in Nkoransa. And its going to be a great 6 weeks. The work is going extremely great here right now!

This week, I went on exchanges with Elder White (my district leader) on Wednesday, and Elder Ansah (one of my Zone Leaders) on Thursday, and those days were so great! We were able to see so many people and teach some amazing lessons.

On Wednesday, we went to see Jry again and 5 minutes into the lesson we were teaching him about the plan of salvation, his friend Drk walks over and sits down and joined us, we had an amazing lesson with those two about the wonderful plan that God has made for us and the peace and comfort it can bring. During the lesson, out of nowhere, Jry told us that he was actually a huge smoking addict, where he could hardly go a day without smoking, and not just cigarettes, he was into weed and the whole 9 yards. He told us how badly it has affected him in the past, and then he told us that last week after he met with us, he hasn't smoked a single time since then. His wife even asked him why he hasn't been going with his friends to smoke anymore, and he told her that is was because he found the true church and he needs to stop smoking so he can get baptized!! Well that was probably a pretty big hit for his wife, because she is against the church big time, or at least she is for now, we will see here soon after she sees the change that goes on with Jry. But the lesson with Jry and Drk was just great, Drk also committed to be baptized and to come to church. We are having miracle after miracle with Jry!!

Another miracle was with Sister Regina this week! She entered into the waters of baptism on Saturday and was confirmed on Sunday!! It was such a great week for the Karikari Family. Brother Richmond Karikari is Regina's husband and he joined the church in 2010 and has struggled for 6 1/2 good years trying to get his wife to come to the church and finally she has been baptized, now they are about to start working themselves towards the temple!! I am so happy for them!!

Well those are the highlights of the week, the work is sweet and I am enjoying my 'last days' as a missionary! This work is so great!! I am sorry i can't send pictures again this week, we are at the same cafe as last week and the computers wont load pictures.

As a bit of an uplifting message for the week, i would recommend that you all read Alma 7 sometime this week and just ponder the actual reason why Jesus Christ went through unimaginable pain for you and for me. Whenever I read that chapter, I am able to feel the Spirit very strongly and remember why Jesus Christ loves me so much and knows me individually!

I love you all!!

Elder Porritt

Wow! Way Awesome Week for us here.

Wow this week was a way awesome week for us here!! We had two big highlights for this week! Unfortunately though, today is a huge Muslim Holiday and so the internet cafe we usually go to is not open, and the one we are at today, we can't send pictures. But on with the miracles!!

On Wednesday, I had an awesome day on an exchange with Elder Edet who is in my apartment too, he is from Nigeria. We were in his area (Kokoben) and before we reached their area, one guy called us over from the roadside. A lot of times when people call us over, its not serious, a lot of people like to mess with us and laugh cause we can't speak Twi and they can't speak English. Well we felt like we should go and talk to the guy. We introduced ourselves and so did he, his name is Jry. As we started teaching Jry, we found out that 17 years ago, he was in Accra and attended the Church for 3 months but was never baptized. He even was helping to build one of the chapels in Accra before he moved here to Kumasi. Since he moved, he hasn't seen missionaries much and has not been to the church. He has been trying to come and wants to bring his wife, but his wife and his friends have persecuted him a lot as he has been trying to get them to come. Well we went on to teach him about the Restoration of the Gospel, and about the First Vision. As we recited Joseph Smith's First Vision and talked about how Joseph Smith received the Priesthood, Jry's eyes were full of tears and the Spirit was so strong. That was an amazing moment in my mission that I will never forget. As we helped him to understand that he needs to pray to know if our message is true, he said ''Elders, I have prayed to know if this church is good, and each time i pray to know, I have a dream where I see your church with this figure or cross thing on top" Elder Edet pulled out a picture of the Temple and pointed to Angel Moroni, and Jerry said that was what he has seen in his dreams. The Spirit has already told this man that the Church is true and he is ready to come, he has just been waiting for the missionaries to come and teach him. Unfortunately for us, Jry doesn't stay in our Ward boundary, but he works in it, so we will get to teach him and see him progress, but we won't see him at Church on Sundays. He did attend church yesterday though, the other elders in our apartment, Elder Edet and Elder White, he goes to their branch. We will surely go for his baptism though when the time comes!! We are so excited for Jry!!

The other amazing thing (an absolute miracle) that happened this week was that Yw from Daban was baptized!!! Oh man I never thought this day would come!! I am just one of probably 20-30 missionaries who have came through to teach that guy!! He has been the most stubborn investigator on earth, and he has struggled so hard to get over some serious addictions!! And finally, on Saturday, Yw was baptized. I am lucky that my area is really close to Daban still so I was able to go back there for the baptism, the Spirit was strong and I was so happy to see that!! Unfortunately i can't send pictures, ill send them next week! 

The rest of the week has also been great, but Jry and Yw have been the highlight of the week. Other great news, Regina should be baptized this coming Saturday!! So we are having a great time here in Nkoransa! Time is flying faster than ever right now!

To wrap things up, just a bit of advice for all of you out there, i heard the best quote ever the other day in a car going to the mission home, the guy on the radio said this: "If you're going to drink, drink plenty so you can't find your car!!"

I love you all, Have a great week!!

Elder Porritt

Time Is Small

Another week gone, time is flying, the work is sweet. This week was pretty fun, but the work was tough. We had a training conference for Elder Adegboyega and I since its still his first transfer, that was Wednesday. The meeting was awesome, but its like the 4th or 5th time I have been a part of that same meeting so I knew all of the instruction that was going to be given already haha. But we watched a video of a talk given by Elder Von G. Keetch of the Seventy, the talk is titled 'Blessed and Happy Are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God' and its seriously a great talk to listen to and think about. It is a great reminder that God doesnt give us commandments to restrict us, but to protect us from the dangers that are waiting for us when we go into temptation and sin.

On Thursday we had Zone Conference, Asuoyeboa Zone and Obuasi Zone came together and our meeting was great, we learned a lot about faith, and I was able to take a lot of things that I can continue to work on.

Well this week we had a little bit of progress with Sister Rgna, she is doing great, came to church, came to a fireside we had on Friday night, and she loves being at church. The great thing is that we have also been teaching her friend and neighbor, Sister Srwa, and Rgna brought Srwa to church this Sunday which we were so happy about!! We have been trying to get Srwa to church for 3 weeks now and finally she came! She loved it and seemed way happy!! We are really happy about how those two are doing now, the only problem is that they don't understand English at all hahah, so its pretty tough for us to communicate with them, but we are excited for them to continue to come and work towards baptism!!

Time is small, and its running fast, we are just trying to make every day count, cause the days left are very small.  I am thankful for the love and support that all of you have given to me, and Happy Fathers Day to all of you Fathers who have helped me so much in my life to get to the point where I am now!!

I love you all,

Elder Porritt

Picture is of zone conference!

The Rains are Coming Down!!

Well time is flying and the work is going good. I don't have much time this week, we just got blasted by rain on our way here, and we don't really want to be here if the rain comes back haha, but this week has been awesome!!

Just an update with Sml and Ccl family, we went there this week and discovered that Sml is in what he called ''training'' to become a pastor, which is funny cause he can't read and so the only thing he knows in the bible is what other people tell him, which here, what pastors tell people is garbage haha, pastors don't even read the bible here, the doctrine they teach is awful, it's so bad that I often will find myself laughing at what they are saying when we hear it... So that is hard, we are trying to see what we can do to get the wife to the church. For her, she is very smart and very humble and wants to know more and wants to come to the church, but it is going to be very hard to get them to come with how Sml is thinking right now.

With Sister Rga, she continues to come to church every week, she is really doing well, and wants to be baptized, we are just trying to finish teaching all the lessons. Because she doesn't understand English, we have to use a member to translate all the lessons and so it takes a lot longer to teach.

Really, our area is great, there are a lot of people here, but the struggle is that there is just so much Twi so if we aren't walking with members, we will be toast, but we are enjoying the heat and the giant rain storms that nail us every day!

The work is sweet here in Nkoransa! I love being a missionary and I love testifying of the things that I have prayed about and received confirmation from Heavenly Father that they are true. I know this work is the greatest thing I have ever been a part of. And I know its true.

I love all of you and hope you have a great week!!
Elder Porritt

Sweet Rainbow

ha... we helped a taxi get out of a giant mud hole and i got a little dirty... service is the best!

The sun is too hot some days haha

Mission is the Greatest Decision I Ever Made!

Well this week, i don't have a ton to say.. It has been such a great week though!! Elder Adegboyega and I are just here enjoying our work in Nkoransa. We have been trying to get back to teach Sml and his family that we found last week but they have not been around. So we are hoping for this week that we will see them. We do have a few people though who are just awesome who are progressing.

Sister Rg Karikari is the wife of a member in our branch and she has been coming now to church for about 5 weeks, and so we are teaching her and she will be baptized at the end of this month probably. Also we have another family Akwasi and Ls with their 3 children, and they have been coming to church for a few months now, they love the church and they know its true, but they are not married, so they cannot be baptized until the wedding comes on. So the husband is trying to find some money so that they can get married then baptized. Even on Sunday, we had 3 more people who were just brought to us by members. People here in our Ward are seriously helping us so much to get people to teach. They are bringing their friends and their family and we have more investigators than we have time to go and see them!! It is so great to see people who have such a great desire to do this work and to bring their families into the church. The ward is even about to split right now too, so things here are really just going great!! We are so happy to be in such a great place.

Well I am really enjoying this work. Mission is the greatest decision I ever made  to come. I love serving my Father in Heaven and I love Ghana. It is so hot every day, but I have come to love the heat, I think i am going to die when i come home and its only 80-90 degrees, ill be freezing!!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Elder Porritt

My New Companion, Elder Adegboyega

Oh boy, its good to be a missionary right now!! This week has been AWESOME!!! Well as i said last week, i am training a new missionary and so I found him on Tuesday haha. Tuesday morning, we sent off the departing missionaries from the airport, and then Tuesday afternoon we picked up the new missionaries also from the airport. There was two Elders that came and so i had a 50/50 chance. Tuesday evening we had in-field orientation with all the new missionaries which is where we basically just introduce ourselves and they do the same, and then there is dinner and then testimony meeting.

On Wednesday i went to the mission home and waited all morning until President called the trainers in to announce who we would be companions with, and my new companion is.... (ha mom, i know you wont be able to pronounce it) Elder Adegboyega!! He is from Nigeria. Born in Ogbomoso and currently living in Lagos. He is a convert, he was actually baptized a few months after I was in 2005 hah, he was 13 when he was baptized and he is now 25! He is the sweetest and most humble missionary I've met and this morning he bought ketchup to put in his stew, thinking it was oil... got to the apartment and well, it wasn't oil... that is him, its been probably my favorite week of mission so far, I am seriously enjoying with him!! 

And if Elder Adegboyega doesn't make this week great already, it adds to the greatness to see the new ward where we are serving. We are in the Nkoransa Ward here in Kumasi, and I am so thankful to be here. We actually have a legit ward, with a SWEET Bishop who is always ready to work with us, whether he comes with us to teach or calls someone else to help. The Stake Patriarch is in our Ward, along with like 3 high councilmen from the Stake, and plenty of returned missionaries. Oh man its like being in paradise right now for me after serving in 4 small branches that rely very heavily on the missionaries... It is also the first time that i have been in a place that had over 100 people at Sacrament meeting. That was really nice for once ha! We are seriously enjoying the area and the people here. Although there is so much Twi here cause we are somehow getting towards the bush, we have some small villages in our area, but the members are working with us so much, so its not even a problem to have Twi, things are great here!!

The Spirit is strong right now being with and training Elder Adegboyega. Yesterday after Church, we were contacting and just trying to find anyone who would let us sit down and talk with them. We had like 6 or 7 straight people who said they were either Twi, or they were too busy or that "they had had enough religion today when they went to Church." and i was just getting tired and annoyed.. And we turned and went one road more, and there was a couple sitting outside their house, and from the far distance we were, it looked like an old lady, and if you know old ladies in the bush, none of them know English haha... so i was thinking 'oh great another mente...' But when we got up there we stopped and i realized that the man and woman were both really quite young, and there was 4 kids around them. We stopped, introduced ourselves and they stood up and got us chairs right away without us asking to sit. We realized that the woman (Ca) and the children spoke great English, but the father's (Sml) English was very small so the young son, Eh, who was probably only 10 years old translated and read from the English and twi bible. That is very rare for a boy like that. But we taught them about how their family could be sealed together for eternity if they were able to enter into a temple and be sealed by someone who holds the Priesthood Authority of God. They were so happy to hear that, and they said they want to be sealed, they want to come to church, and want their family to be together in the Church. So we are way excited for them and so thankful for Heavenly Father leading us to their family!!

Well I am enjoying mission. Can't believe how fast its going, and these two transfers are gonna be quick ones cause of the fun we are having together and the work we are doing!! But we are going to make the most of it all!!

I love you all!! Hope you have a great week!

Elder Porritt

Me with the Assistants haha... 

Found Mr. Prince sporting this classic T shirt!

Chopping TZ

My Boy!!

Nkoransa and A New Companion

Another week gone and not sure where it actually went, it feels like i just emailed yesterday. But its been a crazy week preparing for transfers which are coming up on Wednesday. And for me, I have some pretty exciting news! I am actually leaving Daban, and I am going to Nkoransa. Nkoransa is also here in Kumasi, so its just close to where I am at, and there I will be training a new missionary!! I am so excited!  I don't know who my new missionary will be yet, I will find out who he is on Wednesday and then we will go to our new area! The other cool news is the new assistant replacing me is my former companion, Elder Motloung from South Africa!! He is a sweet Elder and he will do awesome here with Elder Lindley!

Throughout the week, we have been working to get everything ready for the transfer, that includes all the travel plans and preparing for the training of new mission leaders.

A few highlights for the week, yesterday at Church, Sister Bernice was confirmed! That was a sweet moment as well! And yesterday I bore my testimony in church as well. I am really sad to leave the awesome people in Daban, but still I'm also excited to go to another new place, another new companion, and meet new people. That is why mission is such a great experience!!

Well that is about it for the week! I'll get more information next week about my new companion and new area! 

I love you all!

Elder Porritt

After Church on Sunday!

Our apartment had a gigantic pile of old torn up clothes cause a lot of missionaries end their missions here... well got rid of that!

The Miracle of Sight

Kwame  Amanfoh is from Ghana and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.  He works for Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat as an ophthalmologist technologist.   Twice a year he travels back to Ghana for three months and runs Victory Vision Care.

He does not charge for eye examinations and only a tiny fee for glasses.  On some occasions I have seen him give glasses free to people.

He is incredibly generous and kind,  and many people who would not be able to afford glasses now have improved vision because of his  charity clinic.

Seven years ago Gifty Andoh was using drops in her eyes for the condition glaucoma.  She would buy her drops every two weeks from a local hospital.  She had reasonably good sight and could see everything.  One Friday she went and bought her drops.  The senior eye nurse said they were from a different supplier but the same as her old ones.  After using the prescribed drops three times over a twenty four hours period she was blind.  She had twin daughters who were twelve when this happened.  She went to several doctors in different towns and the prognosis was the same each time. Her eyes were ruined. In Ghana there is no compensation in anyway for such an occurrence, or government help.  For seven years she has had to depend on her husband or children.

Yesterday I told Kwame about Gifty and he said bring her in to see me.  He discovered she had a very small tunnel of sight in her right eye.  The left eye was sightless. He tried several prescription lenses on her and then the miracle occurred.  After seven sightless years Gifty could read letters on the wall chart.  When we first arrived and he asked her about herself she told Kwame I would just like to see my girls.  Her wish was granted today.  In bright sunlight she described what Zenita her daughter was wearing in detail and then she hugged her.  It was a very heartwarming moment for Elder Wood and I, Kwame and Zenita.

Kwame has arranged for Gifty to have prescription glasses made and Zenita and I chose pretty red ones for her.  A small miracle today in Techiman and some very happy people. 

Zenita, Gifty Andoh with her gorgeous new glasses provided by Kwame, and Kwame on the right. 

A Miracle Happened

Hello everyone,

Well this week was pretty crazy, and awesome at the same time!! Last Monday we were in Tamale, and starting Tuesday and from Tuesday to Friday, we had a Zone Conference each day. On Tuesday we had the Tamale Zone Conference, then Wednesday we had one for Techiman and Sunyani Zones, and then Thursday and Friday were split between the 4 Kumasi Zones and the 2 other South Zones.  While we were in the North, I got the chance to visit with some of my favorite people in Techiman where I served my first 6 months, and got the chance to see Sister Andoh, one of my converts, the one who is blind, and it was just great to get the chance to visit with her. Her twin daughters just graduated from high school and they are planning on going to the Temple in Accra to be sealed together with the family in July or August!! I am so happy about that!!

This week, a miracle also occurred for Andoh. She has been sightless for around 7 years and on Thursday (so the day after I left Techiman) she went into an eye doctor who was able to see out of one of her eyes for the first time in 7 years!!! I will also attach a small story that was written about it by one of the senior couple missionaries here!! I am so happy, and I just am praying that I will have the opportunity to see her again before I go home so that I can see her now that she can see small!!

The hardest but also sweet part of this week was telling Elder and Sister Wardle goodbye. They left on Saturday.  At the Zone Conference on Thursday, they had the opportunity to bare their final testimonies, and they left most of us missionaries teary eyed. The Spirit was so strong and the love that all the missionaries have for the Wardles is unbelievable, they are really going to be missed. We also got to attend their departure devotional at the mission home on Friday night. That one, there wasn’t quite as many tears, but it was also a great meeting and the Spirit was so strong!! We also got to meet Elder Wardles Sisters and their husbands, and among those were Brother and Sister Olsen, which is the parents of Brother Olsen who was my seminary teacher in high school. That was such a great experience to meet them and get to talk to them for a while!

The other highlight of the week was yesterday. Yesterday was such a great Sunday for me!! First of all it was Mother’s day and it was so great to get to talk to mom!! I am so thankful for my momma and all she has done for me! But the other great part of the day was the fact that both Yw and Brn were on time to Church, and Sister Brn was baptized by Elder Lindley after church!! The Baptism was great and Yw also witnessed it and is excited, he wants to be baptized, but we are still really struggling to help him overcome his addictions so we are still trying and still praying!!

Well the work is going on good, its been a great week, and its just crazy that time is going the way its going. The Church is true. I know that Thomas S. Monson speaks with God and knows His will for us, if we follow his teachings, we will always be holding tight to the iron rod.

I love you all and hope you have a good week!!

Elder Porritt

Sister Andoh

Sister Bernice is the one on the left, and Elder Speakman and Elder Ayim also baptized a lady called Vida the same day!!

Bernice and her niece Lydia!

This morning we whooped the Abuakwa district at home our court!!

The Wardle's last night...

Mission is the Greatest Experience!

Hello all, just Checking in from Tamale!!! We are on another road trip!! We have Zone Conferences this week and tomorrow is the first one up here in the heat of Tamale. Anyway...Another week gone... It was quite a good one though. This week we had a few meetings that went really well. It seems like the weeks where we have meetings, that week just flies by..

This week, on Wednesday, we had a training for the new missionaries who just came this transfer and their trainers, so that was great to get to see all of them again after a few weeks and hear some of their successes and funny stories that they have to tell. During that training, at the end, we always play the video "Missionary Work and the Atonement" That Video is one that I could watch over and over and over again and never get sick of it, and I would continue to feel the Spirit each time I watch it. It helps me so much as a missionary, to face the trials that I face each day, and to press forward even when times get tough, or when I feel I am so exhausted that I can't go on. I love a quote that President Eyring has in that video, he says 'when I find myself drawn away from my Priesthood duties by other interests, and when my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: Remember Him!'  This has also been one thing that I try and do whenever I feel those same things, when I am drawn away to other things in my mind, or when I am tired, when I focus on the Savior, I have always found a strength that I couldn't find anywhere else. I would encourage everyone to go and watch that video, it is great, not just for missionaries, but for anyone and everyone!

Thursday, we had Mission Leadership Council. It is always one of my favorite things to gather with all the other leaders in the Mission and talk about how things are going throughout the mission. During the Leadership Council, we reviewed Elder Bednar's recent talk in General Conference about being called to the work, and there was also one quote that stuck out to me during his talk that I think applies to all members of the Church, he said 'as you love being worthy, you will become a mighty instrument in the hands of the Lord' and I know that is true because when we are worthy, we will have the Spirit with us and we will be led by the Lord to do what He may need us to do at any time.

The remainder of the week consisted of teaching Yw and Brn a few times, and preparing for the upcoming Zone Conferences that we have next week. We also had Stake Conference yesterday, and Brn was able to make it, and she really really enjoyed that meeting!! She was so bright and happy after the meeting, she is always making such great progress and we are looking forward to her baptism, which will probably be this coming Sunday, we hope!!!

Well, I love this work, my testimony grows each day and my love for my Father in Heaven and the Savior Jesus Christ grow with my testimony. I am so thankful for the love that our Father and His Son have for us, to bless us with so many things. The people of Ghana are so blessed and so faithful, and I am thankful to be here among the most amazing people there is!! Mission is the greatest experience one could possibly have!! I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!!

Love Elder Porritt

Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

Hello everyone!! Time is FLYING!!! I can't believe it is already May... that is a scary thought!! It is hard for me to comprehend where time is going, cause it still feels like i just left a few weeks ago.. This week has been a week full of sweet surprises I guess, the first one is huge and I am way pumped for it, that Levi got his call to Trinidad, I know that is going to be such a sweet experience down there!!

Anyway, its been a good week, definitely better than last week being sick all week!! Even though i'm not over everything, we were able to go out and have a somewhat normal week. We got to go on exchanges with 2 zone leader companionships, and we got to spend some time in our area this week which is like precious time for us!

On Wednesday, I got to go on exchange with Elder Austin who is from Henderson, NV, and that was a blast, Elder Austin is a GENIUS, and he knows the scriptures better than most missionaries that i have ever met, he is such a sweet Elder and we had an awesome day together. That day, we got to see Yw, and he opened up to us again about some addictions that he is really struggling with at the moment, and that are really holding him back from being baptized. We helped him with some ideas and he committed to change. Before, he didn't really even have the desire to change, he was just content with living a somehow crappy life cause he has lots of money. Yw's parents live in the U.S. and so he is basically living here and just sitting at home all day every day and there is money coming in to him... So that is why he has been so content with everything in his life up to this point, but now he has realized that he cannot be content with sin and addiction. He knows that he has to overcome it and be baptized so that he can live a good life.  Elder Lindley and I also went to visit and follow up with Yw on Friday and had another sweet lesson with him. Every time we go there, we come away feeling so amazing and edified because Yw is always so glad to see us and so willing to learn and change. We are just trying to do anything and everything we can to help him to overcome his addictions so that he can be baptized here in a few weeks. He has been on date for baptism for such a long time but it always gets pushed back because he is not ready, but we are hoping and praying that he will be ready in the next few weeks!!

The other exchange this week was with Elder Burdge who is my TC which means we came on mission at the same time. Elder Burdge and I are great friends and it was awesome to go into his area in Kwamo and see some sweet people who they have been teaching there. That morning, they had a primary missionary activity that we got to help with as well where the primary children went around and gave out missionary pamphlets and invited people to come to church, it was one of the sweetest activities I have been a part of for a long time!! Saturday was a great day!

On another note, we have Sister Brn, who was a miracle sent from the Lord!! She is the one who just showed up to Church 3 weeks ago and has been coming ever since. She reads the Book of Mormon, she reads all the assignments we give to her and she has such great questions and thoughts to share when we meet with her to teach her. For her, she has been coming now for 4 weeks and she is ready and willing to be baptized, we are just trying to get the time to finish teaching her all the things that she needs to learn so that she can be baptized. We are really hoping that Brn and Yw can be baptized on the 13th or the 20th of May! We are so excited for them both!

In my personal study this week, I had one thing stand out that keeps ringing in my head, and it comes from Mark 12:28-34, I love how the Savior answers the question that the scribe asked him, he said 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.  It keeps ringing in my mind that "there is none other commandment greater than these." If we can do our best to love God and neighbor, then we are having charity, which Paul and Moroni both said is the greatest of all attributes that we can have.

I love you all, I hope you all can continue to develop your love for God and neighbor each day and fulfill those two great commandments!!

Love Elder Porritt

Primary activity in Kwamo

 Future Missionaries!!

This was one gigantic fufu...