Letter and Photo from August 29, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Aug 29 at 11:53 AM

To       

Hi, everyone!!

This week wasn't too eventful, but it was a good week!

-Elder Tolzmann wants to start eating banku more regularly! So I already know how to eat banky now without gagging, I may actually acquire a taste for it in the near future. Imagine acquiring a taste for play-do dipped in soup. That'll give you an idea of what it's like.

-Basically the main thing that happened was the baptism. It finally happened!! This was probably one of the happier times of my mission. We had two. One of them was named Deborah. I was here when she came for the very first time to church. The Branch. President owns a school she taught at and invited her to come, and so that day at church was the first time I met her. Elder Kwofie and I taught her and then when Elder Tolzmann came, we continued to teach her and she was coming to church every week and it was so incredible seeing her grow and improve. I've come to see that baptisms are very important, but with missionary work, at least for me, the joy comes from seeing them grow and improve and continue to be active in the church and in the gospel. It brings me happiness to see others happy. I've said so many times and I'll continue to say that the gospel of Jesus Christ is what will make us happy. I can't say it any more clearly. True and lasting joy comes from following Jesus Christ.

I love you all so much. You're the best. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the love and support. Thanks for everything. I hope you're all doing well and that I hear from you again soon!!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Here's one picture (sorry, I've been having trouble sending pictures lately) from the baptism yesterday. Deborah is the one standing right next to my companion and Joyce is next to her, and Solomon is next to me, he was the one doing the baptizing.

Letter and Photo from August 24, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Aug 24 at 10:10 AM

To       

Hi, everyone!!

Sorry for the email delay. We've been having internet troubles lately. Everything's going pretty well, though. Our week was a little slow, but it was good!

-I was a total fatty last week and I'm not one bit ashamed and it was totally worth it. We went to go get some pizza and it was a buy one get one free day! So we got two large pizzas (about the equivalent of a medium back home) and started digging in. I finished mine and Elder Tolzmann had only eaten three pieces and said he was stuffed. Mostly jokingly, I said that I'd eat the rest and I wasn't expecting him to, but he gave me the rest of his! So he likes to joke and call me fatty, and he said, "Come on, are you going to be a real fatty or a fake fatty?" I decided to be a real fatty and I finished the rest of his as well. That should tell you how much I miss pizza, haha!

-We were supposed to have two baptisms this last Sunday... As usual, we had problems and they didn't go through. This time, we went the night before to get everything set up, and there was no water in the water tanks at the church, so we couldn't fill the font... Luckily, we were able to get the water tank filled later the next day, so I don't foresee any complications this week, so pray that these two actually go through on Sunday.

-We had an "All Africa Service Project" on Saturday. Initially, I was really pumped to have a legit, organized service project where I can actually help out with something around here. I had false hopes. Whenever we (the missionaries, mainly white ones) picked up a tool and started working, they'd say, "You can't do it, you don't know how," and they'd take it from us and just do it. I was weeding with a cutlass and some lady standing off to the side told me to give it to a small boy following me around rather than doing it myself. It was kind of lame. All I ever want to do is help people, but they won't even give me a chance. Oh well, all we can do is keep trying.

-I keep forgetting to mention this for like the past month now, but I finished the Book of Mormon again. I love the Book of Mormon so much! Today I read a verse in 2 Nephi 26:13, "And that He manifesteth Himself unto all those who believe in Him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith." Sometimes we forget that God acts according to our faith. If we don't have any belief in Him, how will we be able to see His hand in each day of our lives? When we have even a desire to believe, God helps us to turn that into great faith. He helps us to know that He truly lives and loves us, but first, we have to be willing to believe. Without belief, we won't be able to see any of those mighty miracles, signs, and wonders. I promise all of you that belief in our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, is what will ultimately bring you happiness.

I love you all so much!! Thank you for all the love and support you all give me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I hope you're all doing well and that I get to hear from you again soon!

Love,

Elder Daniel Buchanan

Letter from August 15, 2016

[No Subject]

People

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Aug 15 at 1:24 PM

To       

Hi, everyone!!

This week has been a bit difficult, but not too bad, haha.

-So last Monday, the guy at the internet cafe said he wasn't feeling well, so he said we should come the next day, so we agreed. We called the next day and he said there were electrical problems. So then we went to the Akuse apartment and used their one computer and it was so ridiculously slow, so unfortunately, that took a massive toll on our proselyting. Then that day we also had a plumbing issue, so we had to wait for a plumber to come and fix something and he took like an hour and a half, and then the next day he came back again and we had run all out of water in our water tank, so that was pretty stressful. Then just yesterday, the tank on our toilet fell off the mount and crashed to the floor and totally was destroyed, so now we have to get someone to come and fix that as well. So our apartment has just been having all kinds of problems this past week, so that was really lame. We weren't able to teach as many lessons as we normally are, but thankfully, the members were really involved this week, so that was a good plus.

-Our recent convert, Sandra, is awesome. She made some ice cream type liquid that we could freeze into popsicles and we tasted some without freezing it and it tasted like banana-flavored egg nog!! It was awesome!! Then she also made us spaghetti one day, and it was really funny because she added lots of spice to it, and Elder Tolzmann was dying, so he kept scooping his onto my plate so I had to bail him out with spaghetti. So those were pretty fun.

-This week we should be having two more baptisms! That's assuming everything goes correctly... but it's so wonderful to see people actually make the decision to follow the example of the Savior, Jesus Christ. It truly does bring happiness. The most rewarding part is seeing how these people change over time. Their baptism is exciting, but the change visible in their lives is the most exciting part. It reminds me of a scripture from the Book of Mormon. It's 3 Nephi 27:21, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do." Christ gave us the perfect example. He knows how we can be happy, and He has shown us the way, and he consistently invites us to follow Him. There's no other way to have lasting peace, happiness, and joy.

You're all amazing. Thanks so much for all the love and support. I hope you're all doing well and I hope to hear from you all again soon!!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

This internet is so dang slow, so I don't think I can send pictures today, unfortunately. I'm sorry!!

Letter and Photo from August 9, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Aug 9 at 1:35 PM

To                   

Hi, everyone!!

This week hasn't been too eventful, but it's been quite good nonetheless.

-I don't think I have any food stories this week! Nothing too exciting in that category this week. No one fed us banku or fufu that we've had to sneak out and no pizza this week, but I have started making omelets, and I might have to start working at IHOP because I can make a killer omelet ;)

-FINALLY, the baptisms went through this week!! It was such a cool experience. We actually went Saturday night to the chapel and cleaned all the dust and dirt out of the font and then started filling it up. It takes a ridiculously long time to fill, so we started, left for a while and then came back. It was filling up nicely, but we discovered that there was a small leak in the font... surprise surprise. So we stopped filling it up and then came back early in the morning. Thankfully, it hadn't totally drained overnight, so we started filling it up again and by the time church had ended and it was time for the baptisms, it was at the perfect level. We had three baptisms. We had a girl named Sandra and two boys named Francis and Isaac. It was probably the best baptism I've seen since coming to Ghana. People were the most quiet, and I had been working with these three for a long time, so it was really special to me. I, personally, didn't do the baptizing, but Elder Tolzmann did, and it was a really cool experience. I can't express to all of you the joy that I feel when I see someone else make the decision to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. The gospel truly does bring us joy and happiness. I don't know how to express that any more clearly.

I wish I had more time to write, but I'm in a time crunch today, so I hope you'll all forgive me for the short email. I love you all and I hope you're all doing well. I hope to hear from you all again soon!!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Here's just one picture of the baptism!! There was me and Elder Tolzmann, one other member who baptized the smallest boy (Isaac), a little girl who had turned 8 who was being baptized (named Caroline) and her mother, and then Sandra and Francis. 

Letter and Photos from August 1, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Aug 1 at 11:44 AM

To       

Hi, everyone!!

This week wasn't too eventful, but it was good regardless!

-Sadly, I don't really have any stories with food... Haha in this area I've been surviving off of Indomie (basically African Ramen Noodles), and Elder Kwofie taught me something called an Indomie Pancake. Basically you mix it in with some eggs and fry it in a frying pan and make a pancake-shaped meal. Elder Tolzmann and I have been experimenting with that. We're pretty much having a competition on who can make the most improvements to the indomie pancake, and right now I'm ahead by one point, so I'm okay for now, but we'll see what happens xD

-Today is the start of a new transfer, and nothing is changing in my apartment, but Elder Takis is coming into my district! He's the only other missionary music buddy I have out here, so I'm way pumped about that, haha. When I first came to the Asutsuare district, it was me and three Africans (well, me, an American; Elder Kwofie and Elder Sibeko, Africans; and Elder Dickson, from England, but his parents are Liberian), but now it's three Americans and one English-African, haha! But our district is doing really well and it's great!

-Unfortunately, our baptisms ended up not going through yesterday... again. Last week it was because the font was having problems, and this week it was because two hours after church there was another church meeting going on like an hour away, so the branch president told us to push it back to next week again. As far as I know, there aren't any meetings after church that will interfere and we'll be able to get the font ready the day before, so I don't see why we wouldn't be able to have the baptisms this week, so pray for us that everything will work out and that they'll go through this week!

So far, I think the most rewarding part of being out here isn't when people are baptized, which is an incredible experience, but I think it's seeing people change as they choose to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. The gospel is truly meant to bless our lives and to change us into better people and it bring me so much joy and happiness to see others begin to feel the same joy I feel in the gospel and to experience the same blessings I do because of the gospel. It's so wonderful to see people’s lives light up because they're letting the light of the gospel into their lives. I know I've seen in my own life the joy that comes from the gospel and it's so incredible to see how it truly just makes people happy. Too many people are worried about rules or restrictions, but in reality, God gives us these commandments and He gives us the gospel to help us, to bless us, and to make us happy. I don't know how I can express it any more clearly that following the Savior Jesus Christ truly will bring us happiness.

I love you all so much! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your love and support for me. I love hearing from you all, and I hope to hear from you all again soon! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying life!!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

I got a picture at the Branch President's school. We have teachers at his school that are investigators and so we went there to meet with them, and it was their last day of school for the term, so people dance and sing and celebrate, and I got a picture I was quite proud of of one kid dancing, so I thought I'd send a pic of the end-of-the-term school festivities!!

Today we woke up early and hiked the mountain again to watch the sun rise! It was such a cool view being above the clouds when the sun is rising!

Elder Tolzmann on the mountain top