Letter and photos from February 15, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Feb 15 at 11:40 AM

To       

Hey all :D

So this has been a pretty good week with some cool experiences. So again, here's the list of what's been going on with me:

-I've always liked bananas, but since coming to Ghana, I've seriously come to love them. They're really inexpensive, too! You can spend like, 3 cedis (roughly $1) and get 15 bananas. There was one time I had 13 in one sitting, haha!

-I've never really been a fan of seafood, but I'm developing an appreciation for it now! We were having dinner one evening with the bishop's family and they served us rice balls and palm nut stew. You eat it the same way as banku and fufu, but it's rice, which I actually enjoy, so that was nice :D But in the stew there was some meat, and normally it's fish in the stew, so I started eating it, but it didn't taste like regular fish, so I ask what it is, and they tell me it's fish! It was salmon, and it was actually surprisingly good! So that was kind of cool!

-So for the mission tour, I played piano to accompany some elders who were singing. We performed a medley of Love One Another and I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus, and Sis. Vinson (the wife of Elder Vinson, a general authority, I think a member of the seventy) mentioned that she felt so touched by the song that she started video recording it so she could show her family, so I was pretty proud of our group :)

-So I had a particularly interesting service opportunity this week! So we went to a home where we have a few people we normally teach, but one of the men there said he was busy because he was about to teach some students. I ask what he's going to teach, and he says math, so I offer to help! I was fully expecting him to say something like, "No, it's okay, thank you," but he actually accepted! So he led me upstairs and I thought it was going to be like two or three kids, but there were like 10-15 and I was like, "Whoa, this is like a legit class!" Haha, but I got up there and asked what he wanted me to teach and he said Algebra! Now, I can't say I'm entirely sure why he was teaching these kids algebra because most of them were really young, so I was proud of myself for simplifying it way down to their level, but most of them weren't really paying attention, so I'm not sure if that helped too much. Then he asked me if I could teach English and I was almost more eager to teach English than math to show that I can actually speak well, haha! So I get up there and I teach them a few simple things. I teach them nouns, adjectives, and verbs, and then past and present tense verbs. I was proud of how well I was teaching, too! I involved the students, had them come up to the board and write stuff down, and it was cool! I included a picture today :)

-There was one really funny experience we had while teaching. So we were teaching a few investigators who are progressing really, really well (I'm quite excited about it, if you couldn't tell from my previous emails, ha), and it's a woman, her daughter, and her daughter. So three generations. So before we actually started teaching them, the granddaughter (who is three years old) was being kind of rambunctious and running around. So after we started teaching, she started to settle down and got quiet. We were teaching them about baptism and we were discussing Christ's own baptism and that it was done by John and that he had authority from God to perform that baptism. So the grandmother asked, "If John baptized Jesus, then who baptized John?" Now, we had been discussing for about 10-15 minutes at this point and it was going well and we weren't having any distractions. Then, out of the blue, we just hear this three year-old voice excitedly proclaim, "Me!" All of us just busted out laughing, because it was so unexpected, and it's funny to think that this cute little three year-old baptized John the Baptist :)

So I think that's mostly it for what's been going on with me this week. As always, I want you all to know that I truly love the Savior, Jesus Christ. He's always there, right by our side in good times and the bad. He's always there ready to lift us up and strengthen us when our knees become weak and our hands and heads hang down in despair. I've seen this time and time again in my own life. I know He lives and loves each of us—more than we can ever understand in this life.

As always, thank you for all the love and support. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I love hearing from you each week, and I can't wait to hear from you again next week!

With love,

Elder Buchanan :D

A selfie Elder Udonsa and I took walking home one evening. Elder Uche lost his glasses at an investigator's home and we got them back for him, so Elder Udonsa is rocking the specs and I'm sportin' the shades ;)

This is me teaching English this week! I was pretty proud of myself :D

The Elders in the apartment! Me and Elders Udonsa, Uche, and Odili. They're cool guys :D

Letter from February 9, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Feb 9 at 8:04 AM

To       

Hi, all!!

So some interesting things have been going on lately. It'll probably be easiest just to list them:

-I think my fake Ghanaian accent is starting to become a habit! The other elders can understand my regular English just fine, but sometimes I'll catch myself still talking to them with my Ghanaian accent, and it's kind of funny. Who knows, maybe I'll have a permanent accent by the time I'm done, haha!

-I practically sleep in a wind tunnel now! I call it my "Cave." We have bed nets, and inside I sleep with three fans now... For the record, I don't actually need three fans, I only need one to keep me alive, but it's seriously like the most beautiful thing ever :D

-Some cool musical things have been/are going on! So since I play piano in church each Sunday, they've also appointed me as the choir pianist, so I also play for them. One time, the chorister wasn't able to make it, so I was the one chosen to lead the choir, so now I'm the ward pianist, the choir pianist, and the choir chorister! Haha, also we're having a Mission Tour coming up, and they're having me provide some music! I'll be playing piano to accompany some other Elders singing, and I may or may not be playing my own piano arrangement of How Great Thou Art. :D So that should be a lot of fun.

-I realized I'm an awful cook. I've ruined lots of food since coming here, but I'm learning from experience, haha! My first week here, I ruined oatmeal. I tried making no-bake cookies, but I accidentally put in the milk powder before actually adding it to water, so that basically ruined them. Then, I made some pancakes and I had kept some syrup I made in the fridge for too long and it crystallized, so I tried re-heating it and it basically just made some maple-flavored hard candy... Don't worry though, I'm serious about making killer fried rice and bo-floats when I get back :D

-We've been having a bunch of cool service opportunities lately, which is actually way cool for several reasons. For one, people here never want us to help them. They just want to take care of anything on their own. Also, for some reason, people here think white people=money and no work. They think we're all rich, and they think we are incapable of doing any work. So whenever we ask if there's anything we can do to help or serve them, they always say something along the lines of, "Sure, you can dash me money," (dash here means to give away for free) or, "No, you can't do it," as in I'm physically incapable. So one day we were teaching a farmer and he had some firewood he had to carry, and we offered to help. He resisted at first, but he finally relented and let us help. He was so surprised we were able to help him! We carried the bundles of wood like 3/4 of a mile and when we got there he said, "Buchanan, you look soft, but you're actually a strong man!" So I felt pretty awesome about that :D Also, we planned a service project for yesterday (which infringed upon our internet cafe time, so that's the main reason for the late email) where we shoveled dirt/rocks/gravel for an investigator. They had been paying someone to do it for them, but they had some issues with the workers and basically told them to stop coming, so we offered to just help them for free. They were so pleased when we finished the job for them that day, and it felt so good to finally do some service for someone! It was hot and really dusty, so, naturally, I was sweating like crazy, so my legs turned orange from all the dust and my feet looked like I was on the golf team again and I had a crazy tan line! Haha, I would send a picture, but there's something wrong with my memory card, so it may be a while before I can send any pictures, sadly :( But it really was such an awesome and rewarding experience.

So I was studying my scriptures one day this week, and I came across what I thought was just about the saddest scripture I've ever read. It's in the Bible, John 15:18, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." Why did they hate the Savior of the world? Why would they reject the one who came here to redeem us—to bring us back to our Father in Heaven? I just can't understand. But in the same chapter, a few verses earlier, I find some of the happiest scriptures ever. Vv. 12-14, "12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." With verse 13 in mind, carefully consider the next verse, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." See, if we do what God has asked us to do, He considers us His friends. And greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends, and that's exactly what Jesus Christ did for all of us—for each of us. I know that our Father in Heaven loves us so, so much that He was even willing to send His only son here to the earth to lay down His life for each of us so that we can have the opportunity to return to live with our Father again and dwell in His presence and receive all the blessings He has in store for us. Why would we hate someone who did that for us? Again, I just can't understand. But as for me, I am so incredibly grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ. I can't express with words that gratitude that fills my heart because of Him. Because of Him, we can have hope. Because of Him, we don't ever have to fear. If we have faith in Him, that faith will drive away any fear we have. I hope you all realize that, and I hope you all know that I believe that with every fiber of my being.

Sorry for the late email, I hope none of you were worried! Thank you for all the love and support you give me. I can't wait to hear from you all again next week!

With love,

Elder Buchanan :D

Letter and photos from February 1, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Today at 12:40 PM

To       

Hey, all!

This has been a pretty eventful week with lots of little interesting experiences here and there. I'll just list them all here, haha:

-I saw someone here wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt! I told him I liked his shirt and that it's from my place :D

-As missionaries, we look for service opportunities, and we had a really unique one. We helped move a building with our bare hands. Yep. Haha actually, it's really a cargo container converted into a shop with stands and electricity inside and everything, but still! We saw three guys trying to move this thing, so we stopped and offered to help. The people here all think that white people are super weak, so they hesitated, but eventually they allowed us to help, and when we finished moving it, one of the men said, "Thank you for your help! Wow, I'm impressed." And then he asked us what we were all about, so we shared a message with him and we're hoping to get together with him again soon!

-One evening we were headed back home and we stopped to buy a few bo-floats and an older man wearing only some underwear came up to me, tapped me, said something I didn't understand, and then walked away. We were with a member at the time, and he told me the guy was scared of me and thought I would beat him... So, yeah, that was interesting, haha

-We see plenty of animals on the roads here in Ghana, but for the first time, I actually saw a horse!

-So the Elders in my apartment have a new reason to call me "obolo" (fat). One night as I was getting into bed, I put one knee on my bed and my bed frame broke and fell apart. They thought that was hysterical, laughed for a bit, and then helped me repair it so I could actually use it that evening, haha

-I made myself a nice American breakfast one day this week! I had more cereal and I made some breakfast tortillas! So that was a really nice treat :D

-People here are so incredibly generous. We'll be teaching shop-owners, and they'll frequently just give us things for free from their shop! We try to pay them, but they won't let us! Even when they don't offer, if we say we want to buy something, they often won't let us pay and they'll just freely give to us! It's humbling to see how kind people here can be.

-Also, I've noticed that I've become quite a bit more bold since getting here. My second day here, we were in the Ashaiman Market and some guy grabbed me and started yelling at me in some foreign language and I was scared out of my mind. Yesterday we were riding past there again, and we had to get off our bikes and walk for a bit, and some guy grabs my bike and tries to stop me, he won't let go, so then I just start using African slang and look him in the eyes and say, "Oga (Nigerian Pigeon for 'my boss'), I need to go," and I grabbed my bike from him and left. So I'm less intimidated by scary people now, haha!

Well, I think that's about it as far as interesting experiences go. But the work is going really well here! I mentioned one lady that we've been teaching who's progressing really well. She's still doing great. She wasn't able to come to church yesterday, though, but she's still awesome! We met another lady recently who's also super receptive! She's also reading the Book of Mormon, she's interested and involved in our lessons, and she actually wanted to come to church yesterday, but she injured her foot and had to go to the hospital to get it checked out, but she's doing great. You know, I've been here for four months exactly today, and these are the first two investigators I've seen so far who have a genuine interest and desire to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's helped me to learn several things. Sometimes we feel like things just aren't going our way and we get discouraged. But as we continue to be diligent and patient, the Lord really does answer our prayers. The Lord can answer prayers in different ways. Sometimes when the answer is "no," we feel the Lord has neglected us, but it only means he has something better in mind. Sometimes the answer is, "not yet." If we continue to be patient, diligent, and faithful, we will see that the Lord truly does answer our prayers. I know the Lord lives and loves us. I have come to know that to a greater degree since coming here. Life is not always easy, but for those who follow the Savior, Jesus Christ, it becomes easier because He's always there, right by our side, helping us through everything. I hope you all know that I truly love Him and I have a great desire to serve Him in every way I can.

I hope everything's going really well for all of you! Thanks so much for all the love and support.

With love,

Elder Buchanan

The following is an additional message sent to Daniel's mother:

Just a few interesting facts for you that I forgot to include in my mass email, but I'll probably include next week. You can tell the family, too, if you want

-I now sleep with three fans. I only need one, but honestly, I've never slept more comfortably in my life. I actually sleep with my sheets now, and my feet feel cool! It's so great :D

-I'm going to be part of a special musical number for the upcoming mission tour! You might be a little disappointed, haha. I was originally asked to sing, but the Zone Leader could see I was a better pianist than him, so he asked me to play and do my fancy musical stuff and he'll sing in the quartet instead. I'm way pumped!

-This week for ward choir, the chorister didn't show up, so my varsity choir vice president experience came into play, haha, I conducted the choir!

-I can still differentiate, but my fake Ghanaian accent is starting to stick more since I'm not around Americans anymore! It's becoming a habit, but thankfully I've come to realize that the Elders in my apartment can understand Americans, so I speak normally to them, so I can still sound the same, haha :)

I think that's it for now :)

My favorite Ghanaian, Francis! He's a recent convert in my ward here!

The four Elders in my apartment! Me and Elders Odili, Udonsa, and Uche. They're a fun group of guys, haha :D

Elders Palmer and Buchanan at a recent conference

Elder Buchanan and others at a recent conference

Letter and photo from January 25, 20416

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Jan 25 at 12:10 PM

To       

Hello, all!

This week hasn't been too eventful, but it's been super good nonetheless!

First of all, our sink pipes are broken, so we have to put a bucket underneath to prevent the kitchen from flooding... I also was never much of a cook, but I'm learning to make fried rice, and I'm going to try to figure out how to make bo-floats (basically a deep-fried roll, so kind of like a Ghanaian scone/donut type thing), so when I come back, I'm going to make some killer fried rice and bo-floats :D

But this week we had one investigator come to church!! I'm so excited. It was a lady we met last Saturday, I believe (nine days ago), and she's already come to church twice, she keeps her commitments, she reads the Book of Mormon, and she told us that she's prayed to know if what we share with her is true, and she says she feels like it is! Ah, I'm so incredibly excited. People would always tell me that when serving a mission, there would be disappointments, but the joy you feel when you help people come unto Christ easily makes up for it. They weren't kidding. This week just seems to have gone so much better. I feel like I've developed an even greater love for the work and for the people here, it's so amazing.

The other day while I was reading my scriptures, I came across a verse that really hit me. It was in the Book of Mormon, the book of Alma, chapter 37 verse 44. I love this so much. It says, "For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land." Sometimes it may seem challenging to keep all the commandments, but in reality, if we realize what the gospel of Jesus Christ does for us, it becomes easy. The gospel gives us the assurance that everything will work out, that God truly does love us, and that we have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to lift us up to Him. I can't tell you all how grateful I am for Him and for a Father in Heaven who truly love each and every one of us.

I miss you all, and I truly appreciate all of the love and support each of you give me. You're all the best! :D

With love,

Elder Buchanan

P.S. I'm sorry I couldn't send pictures today :(

We (Daniel's family) received the photo below from a Facebook posting from one of the Senior Missionary Couples in Ghana.

Elders Udonsa, Odili, Buchanan, and Uche

Letters and photos from January 18, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Today at 11:55 AM

To       

Hey everyone!

How's life? I hope everything's going well for everyone. This has been a pretty good week. Exhausting, but quite good! Haha, one day we went back to the apartment for lunch, and I had some extra time, so I went into my room to do a little studying, and I could barely keep my eyes awake to finish one section, and I passed out at my desk for 20 minutes, haha. We then went out proselyting some more and contacted some interesting people. So it was still a productive day! I know the Lord has given me strength to continue His work, because if not, I would have passed out from exhaustion a long time ago, haha. But there's also joy in the work, so that keeps me going so well! I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those around me. It's definitely an interesting experience here, though, because pretty much everyone here is religious (mostly Christian, but there are plenty of Muslims and other faiths, too), but they all worship so differently! It's really pretty cool to hear about all the different faiths!

I had four things I totally geeked out over this week.

1. I found Texas BBQ Sauce Pringles!!! I took a selfie of them with my Texas flag, haha! (Picture included below)

2. I HAD CEREAL THIS WEEK. We found a shop in the Ashaiman city called Melcom and I found cereal and bought it. Ah, I didn't realize how much I missed my bowl of cereal each morning. It was glorious, haha

3. There's a new trainee in our zone from California named Elder Takis, and he's a musician! He's way cool, and we've been talking music, and that's been pretty dang awesome. It's nice to have someone to talk about music with!

4. The last, but most certainly not the least thing about which I geeked out over:

WE HAD THREE INVESTIGATORS COME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY. Oh my goodness, I was so incredibly excited. One of them we started teaching only this past week, but she seems way solid. She reads the Book of Mormon, she reads the lessons we give her, she asks questions, and she actually came to church the first week we asked her to! I'm really beginning to understand when the Lord says in D&C 18 about how great shall be your joy if you bring save it be one soul unto me! She said she was actually glad she came to visit the church and that she enjoyed the service! We have a return appointment, and it seems like she's progressing really well, so I'm way excited about her.

My companion, Elder Udonsa, is pretty awesome. I've noticed he's really good at contacting, so I'm trying to learn from him. I think it's helping a lot! I feel like I've become more comfortable contacting, and it definitely brings in more people to teach! I think it seems to work better here since everyone wants to talk about God. They really do love God here, despite the differences in their views. So it's really easy to go up to someone and tell them you want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's really quite cool :)

I miss you all! I hope all is going well for each of you. I can't wait to hear from you all again! Thank you so much for all of the love and support you give me.

With love,

Elder Buchanan :D

The Texans at the beach! (Not swimming, though, don't worry haha!) We had a combined district activity and we went to the beach, and it was actually pretty cool!

New companions - Elder Udonsa (from Nigeria) and Elder Buchanan

I FOUND TEXAS BBQ SAUCE PRINGLES. They were like 18 cedis, haha but I bought them anyway :D

Letter and photos from January 11, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Jan 11 at 11:46 AM

To       

Hey everyone!!

How are you all doing? I hope life's been treating you well. This has been a super crazy week for me. In the space of four days I've had three different companions and have worked in three areas (sort of). So Tuesday was transfer day and Elder Saunders and Elder Palmer both left. My area and Elder Uche's areas were combined, so we had one massive area. It was pretty fun being with Elder Uche! He's actually pretty smart. He studied computer science for two years before coming, and he's really good at teaching people. Then, four days later when we finally got to sit down with a lady we had been trying to teach for a while, Elder Uche gets a call from the Zone Leaders, and Elder Uche says we have to go back to the apartment immediately and clean up because we're getting two new elders. So we teach a short lesson to this lady, which went well, then hurried back. We got cleaned up, but then the APs (assistant to the President) called and told us they didn't know where our apartment was. So we had to ride all the way out to the main junction and find them on the highway. This whole day I hadn't been feeling particularly well, I had a headache and an upset stomach, and Elder Uche decides to ride as fast as humanly possible so I just about died, but thankfully I made it back alive. So now, there are currently three Nigerians and one American (me) in our apartment, haha, so that'll definitely be a change. They're all awesome, but they're also all so different! Haha, when they all get together, they start speaking in Pigeon (altered, really fast, Nigerian version of English)! My new companion is Elder Udonsa! He's pretty cool. He's been out for fifteen months now! They also re-opened my area. It was originally going to be the same as it was before, but Elder Uche talked to the Zone Leaders, and they moved the boundaries slightly so we can work a little bit closer to the church, so hopefully we'll start having a bit more success. So yeah, it's definitely been pretty crazy this week. Other than that, nothing particularly new to report, though.

Apparently my zone (the Ashaiman Zone) is like one of the dustiest zones in the mission, so maybe wherever I am next, I won't have to wash all of the shirts I own every single week! Man, I wear a shirt for one day and it's pretty much brown! Haha, but I'm definitely becoming more fond of Ghana. It's definitely different, and I miss home, but Ghana is pretty awesome, too :D

Don't forget what I say every week: I know the Lord lives. He loves each and every single one of us so, so much—more than we can even imagine. He'll always be there for us, right by our side. One thing I've come to realize more is the power of prayer. It truly is amazing. God is only one prayer away, and He hears and answers every prayer. It's true, it really is.

I love you all! I really appreciate all of your love and support for me. I can’t wait to hear from you all again next week!

With love,

Elder Daniel Buchanan

Elders Buchanan and Saunders

Elders Buchanan, Saunders, and Palmer

These are everywhere! It's kind of cool :D

Letter and photos from January 4, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Jan 4 at 11:56 AM

To       

Hi, all!

This week hasn't been too eventful. I can't believe I'm officially done with my training now! It's already been over three months. That's crazy!! New Years is a big deal here in Ghana. People will stay up all night with their nice subwoofers playing music and partying it up, haha! But this week was a little hard for me. Tomorrow is the next transfer, and we found out on Saturday what was going on. So in our apartment, there are four elders. Elder Uche (a Nigerian), Elder Palmer (an American), Elder Saunders (my American companion), and me. So sadly, my area is being closed (sort of). Elders Palmer and Saunders are being transferred (to Teschie and Accra, respectively), and Elder Uche and I are staying. It'll now be a two-Elder apartment, and our two areas are combined. So now the two of us have one massive area to cover by ourselves. I feel bad that my area's being closed because we haven't been seeing the fruits of our labor that we've been hoping for. But I have faith that everything will work out regardless. The Lord will guide us and give us strength to move forward His work. I'm really going to miss having Elder Saunders as my companion. He makes it so easy to be excited about the work, and he also makes it fun! He's taught me so much, and I really look up to him. Even so, I'm looking forward to the adventure I've got coming up ahead starting tomorrow!

We found out the news at a Stake Missionary Meeting, but afterwards, we cheered ourselves up by feasting on fried chicken, rice, plantain, macaroni, a piece of waffle, and banana bread. It was glorious. Then, yesterday, a member of the bishopric invited us over for the New Year and also because Elders Palmer and Saunders are being transferred. I shared a thought from Moroni with them before we left.

I shared the scriptures Moroni 7:13, 16, 19. Sometimes we ask, "Am I feeling the spirit or are these just my own thoughts?" But sometimes, we don't have to distinguish between the two. Anything that prompts us to do something good—to serve, to love, to follow the Savior—it's inspired of God. I know it's true, because anytime I have a thought to do something good and I act upon that prompting, I feel the Holy Spirit in my life so much more and I feel the love of God and I also see His hand in my life. If we truly do everything we can to follow Jesus Christ, we will be so blessed. I know He lives and that He's our Savior. I know it.

Thank you all for all of the love and support you give me. I love hearing from you all. I can't wait to hear from you again!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Christmas morning!

Elders Buchanan and Saunders about a month ago