It all started on Tuesday. We had a wonderful day on Tuesday teaching. The first person we ran into was quite an awesome experience for me. Last week on Friday, when we were coming back to the apartment in the evening, we ran into a pretty cool young lady, Cecelia, who we talked to for a few minutes, and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Well Saturday morning, we called her to set up an appointment, and she told us that she wouldn't meet with us cause her pastor told her that the Book of Mormon is a devilish book and that we were trying to curse her. Well we ended up seeing her last Saturday on the side of the road and talked to her for a few more minutes but nothing big came from it. Well Tuesday came and Elder Nuamah and I were down in that area around the lady's house, and we walked by a small shop that is right outside their house, and she was sitting there with a few nice looking guys who we quickly identified as her pastors haha. Elder Nuamah asked her if she had been reading, and the head pastor, St, he picked up the copy of the Book of Mormon that was still sitting there on a small shelf, and he asked us if we were the ones who gave her the Book? we replied yes and he told us that he would never read it, and we asked him why not, well this was just the beginning of a nice long time that we had with Pastor St. We ended up sitting down with them, and having a full lesson. The problem was, this pastor was just bringing up crappy lies about the church and Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon that he has found on the internet. At one point of the lesson, he was yelling so loud and trying to just make everyone there know that he was totally overpowering us. At this point there was about 15 or so people gathered around us listening, and when the pastor was yelling and screaming his points right in our faces, the people around him were laughing at us, even some cheered for the pastor. some of the things that he said during that time were so offensive to the Church, and to the Prophet Joseph Smith and even the Book of Mormon, that I wanted to stand up and just blow this guy's head off with what i knew was the truth, but the whole time, Elder Nuamah kept me calm, and after the last of his rage, Elder Nuamah bore a POWERFUL and HUMBLE testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon, the First Vision, and the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith. I felt the Spirit so strongly that I was just silent and calm after all the pain and anger and humiliation that we had felt during his rage and the laughter of all the people. I added a short and also humble testimony of the reality of the Restoration and we prayed and went our way.
Also while studying on Wednesday, i just coincidentally came across 3 Nephi chapter 12:10-12 which says
10 And blessed are all they wh
Reading this and thinking back on that lesson, ya know, that is one experience that I will never forget my whole life. In that moment, I felt some token of what the Savior felt during His mortal ministry, being mocked, laughed at, spit upon, and rejected. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said that a missionary will have to go through some of this feelings to be able to really understand missionary work and come to know what Jesus Christ really felt during the Atonement, and really during His whole life. I know that we are standing for the truth. I know that Joseph Smith really saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of the Lord Jesus Christ and I cannot deny that I know those things are true. I love putting His name on my chest each day and going out, whether people reject us or laugh at us, or accept us, it is all part of the experience of representing the Savior.
Well to make Tuesday even more crazy, at around 8:00 pm, we were just finishing eating a meal at the Owusu family's house when we got a call from President Cosgrave, and haha the first thing he asked me was ''Elder Porritt, how fast can you pack your bags?'' i didn't know what to say cause i knew why he was calling when he asked that question. Transfers happen on this coming Wednesday, but the new Assistant was to be assigned this week, and well I guess for some reason President and even the Lord think I should be the new Assistant, so I am now no longer in Nkawkaw, but i have arrived in Daban and Well this is awesome news and crazy at the same time. I know that it is going to be awesome cause my new companion is my best friend here, Elder Hill!!! Ha we have been through a LOT on mission and now we are companions, I am so excited for that, and I am excited for the opportunity that I have now to continue learning so much from instructing missionaries and being around President Cosgrave so often.
So Tuesday night, we went back and I packed quick and Wednesday morning, said goodbye to Elder Nuamah and called some people in the branch, and we rode down to Kumasi and met the Assistants, Elder Hill and Elder Asabere (who goes home tomorrow), and we went and dropped my stuff at our apartment, and we headed off for Sunyani (a nice 2 hour bumpy drive ha) for exchanges with Elders up there. So we spent Wednesday there, came back and have been doing a ton of stuff around the mission home the last few days trying to prepare everything for the coming transfer.
So this week I have been with Elder Hill, and Elder Asabere, who is from Ghana. We have really had a great time together. Elder Asabere is one of the funniest guys i have met here, and he loves to joke, but he is always ready to get down to business and work hard which is a great thing about him.
Just a few minutes ago, we finished the final devotional for 9 missionaries who we will send off tomorrow. The Spirit was thick and strong, it was quite an emotional meeting, and it made me really scared cause the people who were leaving were just coming before me it feels... time is really flying but I love the work.
Tomorrow we send off 9 missionaries, and we pick up 11 new ones, then Wednesday will also be a crazy hectic day helping with all the transfer stuff, and training new missionaries, and newly called leaders. I just feel so lost right now in the middle of a thousand things that i have no clue what to do with. I don't feel like i am adequate for this but i know that the Lord will help me to learn and grow and become the leader that He wants me to be. I am really going to enjoy being here a lot, being able to interact with all the missionaries and the mission leaders!
I love life, I love mission, and I love you all,
Elder Hunter Kenneth Porritt
Me and Elder Hill, GKM, APs
Saying goodbye to the Nkawkaw crew...
Hello to Elder Hill and Elder Asabere and the car:)
We went out to dinner with President and Sister Cosgrave at a sweet chinese place the other night!!
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