Monday, June 13, 2016

Letter and Photos from June 13, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Jun 13 at 1:32 PM
To       

Hi, everyone!!

So this has been a really crazy week. Here's what's been going on with me:
-This week it's been raining quite a bit. That's good especially at night because when it rains at night, it gets cold, which is awesome. But one day, we walked out the door and it was drizzling and I was debating whether or not to get my rain jacket. I decided I should, and that was a good decision on my part, haha. As we started riding out, the heavens opened up and it was raining like crazy. We visited a less-active member at her shop and we sat and talked for a bit, and at one point water started flowing in under the door! I found it slightly humorous that they used a broom to sweep the water out. It was an outdoor broom, basically made of straightened sticks, not the regular indoor broom, but it was still funny. When leaving her shop, my bike got a flat tire, so it was raining and I had a flat tire, so I got to wade through some flash floods which was exciting. I don't know why, whenever we go out in the rain, even though we're cold and wet, I can't help but get this big cheesy grin on my face. I suppose it's because I know that even heavy rain can't stop the work of the Lord from progressing.
-Elder Kwofie had a rough day this week. It was a different day. It did rain a bit, but not as much as the one I just described. We were headed home after proselyting, we were riding slowly because the roads were a little wet. I'm looking down at the road while riding because I'm watching for potholes, and I look up and I see a car just plow right into my companion while he's riding his bike! The car wasn't going super fast or anything, but it definitely ran into him and didn't stop for like a solid three seconds after knocking my companion off his bike. Now, I've noticed that being in Ghana has helped me become much more bold, and I wanted to chastise this guy for hitting my companion with his car and knocking him off and not stopping sooner. Also, most of the time, I've always been the one who's been cool-headed and calm in situations like these, but I was incredibly impressed with the patience my companion exhibited. The guy came up and gave like a half-hearted apology and my companion just said, "It's dark, that's why. It's okay." I was grateful for him saying that when I wanted to get on this guy for being so careless, but Elder Kwofie helped me to remember that we need to be kind to everyone and love them despite mistakes they may make. When he got to the apartment, he complained that his leg was hurting, so we got his some ibuprofen, he went to sleep, and said he felt much better the next morning. So, it was an interesting experience.
-Another exciting tidbit. Last week, I wrote to the mission president and joked about how I seemed to be the last one to find out that I was the district leader, and then I asked if he had any advice or council for me. This is how he responded: "Sorry about the delay with informing you about our new assignment. How about this: will you be a trainer starting on June 21?"
So I'm going to be training starting next week! I'm nervous yet excited simultaneously. I hope I'll do a good job. I hope I'll be a good example to this new missionary and that we can both grow together.
-I finished reading Jesus the Christ this week! That's an intense book, close to 1000 pages, and it was so incredible! I can't explain how many wonderful things I learned about the Savior of the world from that book. I've also come to see how much fun and how amazing it feels just to learn about Him. I truly felt like I've developed a deeper love for Jesus Christ through studying His life and His teachings. I love Him so much, and I'm so grateful for Him. I'm grateful He came to this earth for us. Why did he die for us? Because He loves us. Our mortal brains can't comprehend the love He has for us or the pain he endured on our behalves. I love Him so much, and I can't express my gratitude to Him.

I love you all so much! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the love and support you always give me. Maybe telling you each week will help express how much it means to me, ha. I hope you're all doing really well and I hope to hear from you all again soon!!

Love,

Elder Daniel Buchanan



Here's just a few fun pics from when we were visiting an investigator one day.





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