Nov 24, 2014

Its already Monday?

Wow this week went by toooo fast haha. This week was fun but wow we suffered small..

5 days with no power

3 days with no running water

That was a crazy experience haha. I started to not care about power but man I missed that water, haha but it is all good now. I hope so we will see. I wanna keep this one short this week so I can email some of you personally, Ive got a lot of emails lol. But I love you all. Thank you for everything!

love, Elder Verdoni

Letter to Mom

 Hey Momma, wow your week sounds really nice! I really can't remember most of mine, haha it really goes by soo fast! I cant believe I am basically 1/4 of the way done with me first year. that's insane! But wow oh wow I loved the packages! they were perfect mom! I made the cookies, well basically into a cake but it was delicious and don't worry I share all my candy with my apartment haha, But I am getting a small rice belly and I hate it! I exercise and run all week and it doesn't help at allll, we eat tooo much rice. I got the twi book! Its sweet! because I need to learn some fanti as well so I am studying it, but it is kinda difficult haha. My companion will love his package though!! Elder Moshani doesn't get packages so I will make it for him for sure. I just gotta pack his stocking? (I'm (mom) sending two stockings full of candy and small gifts but I couldn't fit them in the envelope with them in the stocking, so it's just all wrapped separate and the stocking on top, but they have transfers coming up in a couple weeks so I believe he wont be with Elder Moshani.) And wow mom thank you so much,I   know these packages aren't cheap but I love them so much. Thank you for your weekly report. I love reading them and taking pics to read over the week!

Oh yeah, For thanksgiving a lot of us missionaries are going to the golden bean hotel for their buffet next Monday...yummmmmm

I love you momma! 

 The lady who owns said wheel barrow. 

she also wants me to tell you she is a 

strong woman. haha she is funny!

"Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along!"

The results of hand washing. sweet

A hot day!

A house

Me eating rice, not a surprise!

No bake cookies in a cake pan!

Nov 17, 2014

Hey everyone!! Another week! Holy cow they really are going by fast, I only have 3 more week of training! And everyone says it goes by even faster after training, if that's true than holy moly! Haha. This week was pretty fun! I love my District a lot, we all get along really well and have lots of fun (it's just the 4 of us in our apartment so it is fun).

Okay lets see....My Twi is improving small small everyday. My comp says I know more than he did when he was where I was, that's really cool because I REALLY want to be able to speak it well to connect with these people.  I used "Woka se menti twi ana?" (so you think I don't know Twi or?) on a group of young guys who were talking about me, haha  needless to say they all freaked and got a good laugh.

I am exercising a lot more here than at home lol, in fact, Elder Abrams and I just ran 2 miles today! not much but better than nothing. I need to stay in shape. I literally eat rice and bread every day. every. day. haha  It's insane and a ton of carbs. Like I have eaten entire loafs in one meal, not too good but I walk all day so yeah. As long as I continue to work out each day I'll be fine, so I'm not worried

Oh check this! Elder Ojok, I wrote about him a few weeks ago, his dad just won the Primary Election in Uganda!! haha  that is sweet right?! haha I just thought it was legit, his dad has a good chance of being President, cool huh?

You know what's not cool? Laundry. more specifically, hand-washing. ugh. Haha  enye kraaa (no good) I'm not a fan but I really don't have a choice as of now. They sell mini washing machines here and boy I'm tempted =)

And today, oh today we enjoyed! We went to the Golden Bean Hotel (not to be confused with the golden tulip hotel I went to before) It has a buffet and it was sooooo good. It was our district activity and the food was amazing, like it tasted like home. It was powerful and really not too expensive! 45 cedis, so not too bad. But so delicious and so worth it. That's the hotel I am coming back to when I come visit Ghana in the future.

But yupp thats my mission so far! Power outage everyday, hot, dirt, the Gospel and working hard. I love it. I love it. A mission is sweet and so worth it.

I love you all!! Till next week!

Elder Verdoni

From letter to Mom
Some good lessons some not so good lessons haha but we try. Its hard to tell if people are being sincere or just being nice.. but Its okay. I wore my sandals this week and I love them!! holy moly they are nice I am definitely wearing them more often now! (We sent him with Tevas kind of like Keens) I got you packages!!! YAYAYAYAYAY! thank yo so much! I haven't opened them yet, but I will when I get home for sure! Is the SD card in these ones?? and spam? haha sweet:) Your week seems like fun! Ah man I would kill to go the temple, I miss it so much.

Helping with dinner and making friends

Okay, so this is my wish list for Christmas! I know it is a lot and I don't expect everything from it but that's what a wish list is for, Right? Haha I figured you could all work and talk amongst each other and figure who wants to get me what. Lol I love you guys so much, and your emails and love mean the world to me. They really keep me going. And packages, WOW I know they are pricey but keep em coming.  I love them haha and I can send home stuff.  I'm working on just that.  It'll be some time but I promise they will come. I love you so much!

Best fish ever!!

Selfies!

Laundry with no power!

 Golden Bean Hotel

Helping with dinner

Rice balls, Yumm!

Nov 10, 2014

Mepacho mahowoh!

My Twi is getting better little by little everyday! haha my subject is just "please good afternoon" but it's still cool to know. This week was pretty good, Tuesday we had our district meeting and President and Sister Holmes joined us! It was nice and they gave some really good insights! I went on exchanges with the Zone leaders on Wednesday and man I always love it! I went with Elder Kinghorn again and holy moly does that guy know Twi! He is the one I really look up to, then again he has been out over a year so I got some time;) 

This week went by pretty darn fast to be honest and nothing super duper big happened but I will tell you about one investigator: Emilia, the same one as before. She is stellar! She reads and prays everyday (which is hard to get here), and we taught her about sabbath day this week which we thought would be tough since she owns a shop but she accepted without hesitation. I don't know its just really exciting, were teaching her whole family now so woo hoo! 

 

Also, I finished the Book of Mormon this week, only took me two months. Holla. I'm still going to read it but I am gonna give me time to really read the Old and New Testament now. The people out here KNOW their bible, or at least they think they do haha. So we really have to be really knowledgeable about the doctrines in there. It's pretty exciting. I have had a small cold this week but it hasn't stopped me its just annoying.

 

Well sorry this letter might be a little short. I love all of you so much, thank you so much for all the support and love, it helps so much! I know what I am doing is more than just doing nice things. I know the message I share with people is true and it can bless their lives. I only know that because I has blessed and changed my life. I love the Gospel and I am so grateful to know the truth. I feel like I got it pretty easy knowing it so early in (or all of) my life. 

Till next week! 

 

Elder Verdoni

Holla!

Elder Kinghorn

And that’s Elder Moshani and I eating something.

I don’t know but it wasn’t that bad actually.

Nov 3, 2014

Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone!! This week was a pretty darn good one!! (I write down what I want to put into this email but I forgot it today so I feel lost, lol but I will try my best)

On Monday I had fufu again with the other elders in my district, man it was a big bowl of fufu, haha but I have gotten used to eating(swallowing) it. It's pretty good!

Missionary work has been really good, we have a couple of really great investigators, namely Emilia. She is so awesome. She is the shopkeeper lady from my previous emails. She is progressing so well. We taught her in a lesson and I cried. Hahah (BUT SHE CRIED FIRST) I shared something near and dear to my heart, something personal, and it was really spiritual, so I let a tear drop. She had tears in her eyes the whole time and the first half of the lesson was talking about how important reading the Book of Mormon is. She is just so spiritually in tune. We teach her a lot since she lives 50 yards from our apartment, so it's nice. We buy from her too, she throws us discounts. That's not why we are teaching her, I promise. I am so excited for her, she wants to be baptized so bad and we just started teaching her husband and the kids and dang they are just like her! They just get it! It's awesome to see the Spirit working in peoples hearts.

My Birthday was on Friday!! But I didn't really notice till that night, haha, because well, I am a missionary and we do missionary things. But at night, We partied! We (the elders in my apartment) opened my packages and enjoyed! I got candy and jerky and toys and peanut butter, so yeah, I am a happy guy. Everything's gone but the peanut butter hahahah. But I used it today to have some PB toast and banana, good stuff.

We got a new missionary! He is Elder Abrams from Wyoming, he is legit! We really hit it off and it's nice having another white guy in my apartment haha just because we connect on a lot of things. It's fun and he is a really cool guy, he is in the National Guard by the way.

Okay, I know I'm a Missionary, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but there's a ton of Muslims with a lot of mosques and they like to pray. And I like it! haha I don't know, just being so close to them and hearing it over the speakers is strangely calming. I hear it every morning at like 4:30. It's just cool, haha is that weird?

We watched the Sunday morning of Conference on Sunday! Holla! But that's all they get to watch out here, like the members only get that one session, so that's kinda sad, but man, I appreciated it.

I hope Halloween was fun and that you guys ate lots of candy for me!
I love you all so much!!!
Thank you for the emails:)
Love,


Elder Verdoni


Questions from mom

How are you feeling?
Just giving you a heads up, well I guess a story, I'm all better now:)

That was good fufu! ..... up until 1 am... I woke to horrible stomach pains and had to go to the bathroom... but two other elders were using it too. Gosh something was bad in there and it hurt. I was up all night with them, but I was the only one who was throwing up too.. gosh haha it wasn't fun. Every heave was one piece of fufu, haha gross. But yeah I was puking than I would go to the bathroom then go puke again. The others were fine after that night. I didn't proselyte for 2 days... And I'm still dealing with it, minus the puking. Sis Barney put me on Cipro again and I am feeling better so don't worry!! haha just letting you know:) love you guys!
Ghana is wild

I got your music ready, so if you have any last songs you want added, speak now. I plan to send it out Tuesday.
I want Christmas music. Like the ones on the radio pleaaase. I didn't like them back home but man I am craving them now, haha you learn to even like the stuff you didn't like.

Any kind of food you missing? that I can fit into that package?
IDK finger foods mostly, candies and what what. I hopefully will make the monster cookies today so expect pics!! Just gotta find cocoa powder...

It was late at night,

and I was tired and it was my

Birthday! So I got comfy,

                                                  

Elder Abrams and I

Boy do I love candy!

That's fufu and chicken. Yummy

Some children we teach

Okay, oh my gosh, that connection made my whole Birthday!
She called me and sang Happy birthday to me which was nice
And 5 minutes later I got a text from my mamma J J
Wow, I was so happy, I even teared up but that
Smile was with me all day long!

 

That's Elder Ojok and I before he left