Letter and Photos from May 9, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  May 9 at 9:47 AM

To       

Hello, everyone!

This week has been great. It hasn't been too crazy eventful, though.

-Something I thought was really funny: So there's always the joke of missionaries having like a plastic bag in their pockets whenever they go have dinner with anyone just in case it's food they hate, then they can hide it in their pockets. I've been tempted to do that several times, but I haven't done it quite yet, but my companion on the other hand... so my companion is actually Ghanaian, and a family invited us to visit them and they fed us banku. So we sit down and start eating, and even my companion leans over to me and says, "Man, I'm tired of banku." I was also excited because I was thinking I was finally going to finish my banku before a Ghanaian, but then he wraps us his banku in the wrapper and then puts it into another plastic bag and hides it in his scripture case!! Haha, I thought I didn't like banku... so I found that quite humorous.

-The work has been progressing really well lately. So one of my goals this week was to work on contacting more people, and I think the Lord helped me a lot with that goal! Recently, we've normally had about 4-5 new investigators in a week, but this week we had 11! It's so wonderful to see the hand of the Lord in the work every day.

-The highlight of this week was Mother's Day! I got to call my family and it was so much fun getting to talk to them. It's been such a long time since I've heard their voice, and it was great hearing from them again. We get to call home on Mother's Day and Christmas... before my mission, I just kind of thought Mother's Day was about in the middle of the year and Christmas was at the end, about six months-six months... that's not the case. It's closer to 4 months-8 months... xD so it'll be a long stretch before I get to hear their voices again, but as I've already come to see, missionary work flies by when you lose yourself in the service of the Lord.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here to share the gospel with everyone around me. The gospel has brought me indescribable joy, and I want everyone around me to feel the same joy and happiness that comes from following the Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and that He loves each and every one of us. I think I say that ever week, but every week I just come to know that fact more and more. It's absolutely true.

As always, thank you so much for the continued love and support you always give me.

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Inside my apartment

In front of our apartment

The kitchen in our apartment

Study area in our apartment

No Mom, this is not my apartment.

Letter from May 2, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  May 2 at 9:28 AM

To       

Hi, all!!

This week hasn't been to incredibly eventful, but it's been a good week.

-It's so sad to see people who once knew the gospel to be true fall away. We've been working with a less active member, and I've even heard her say to me that she knows the church is true, but she's stopped coming to church and started attending a different one. I don't know how I could have more boldly, lovingly, and clearly borne my knowledge of the truth to her, but it seems like it went in one ear and out the other. I love this gospel, and I want others to enjoy the blessings that come from it as well, and it's sad to think that she once enjoyed these blessings but has let go of them. We're prayerfully working to strengthen her, though.

-So, just an update on the whole thing that's been going on. It has a happy ending, I promise. :) So when I got here to Asutsuare, I discovered that there was a tradition of the District President having the missionaries over to feed them every single Sunday. It's nice of them, but the only problem is is that it's far away, we spend three hours there, and it wasted tons of proselyting time and money, too. I would try my hardest to make the best of the situation or to get out of it or anything in between, but I wasn't ever able to. So finally I turned to my mission president and informed him of what was going on and asked for advice. I want to serve the Lord with everything I have, and this entire situation has been hindering that. So I had been praying very fervently that the Lord would help me out in this situation. President Heid sent out a text message to the zone leaders and the district leaders reminding people about what "inappropriate behavior" is, and my district leader pretty much knew that I mentioned the whole deal to president. I had brought it up to my companion and the whole district and apparently I was pretty much the only one who felt like it was hindering the work and wanted to resolve the problem. I think the district leader just got tired of dealing with me, so he "banned" the Asutsuare elders from going there. That almost sounds harsh, but I was so glad when he said that, because I could finally relax on Sundays and focus on the work. I could see that even through this difficult situation, the Lord is mindful of me and blessed me with my desire to serve Him. Yesterday, the first day we were "banned" we had a member refer us to four new people to teach!! So I've learned that the Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways, and that He's ever mindful of each of us.

I know He lives and He loves us. I know it. I'm so grateful for the gospel and all the blessings that come because of it. I've seen the blessings of the gospel in my own life, in my family, and in the lives of those around me. It all comes from following the Savior Jesus Christ in everything we do.

Thank you all so much for all your love and support. You have no idea how much it means to me. I hope all is going well for all of you. I hope to hear from all of you soon!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Letter and Photos from April 25, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Apr 25 at 10:38 AM

To       

Hi, all!!

So this week has been pretty intense! Cool things have happened.

-So one time we were trying to meet with an investigator and there are some little girls that are always around there, and they're normally excited to see me, but the past few times have been quite humorous. So I ride up on my bike and they come running and they start touching me and poking me and everything, and then they point at my watch and says "your watch is nice." and then my ring "your ring is nice." and then my pants "your trousers are nice." and continue to list things until eventually one of them says, "your everything is nice!" And on another day, one says, "you're beautiful," and on yet another day, one just stares at me for a solid 30 seconds and then just says, "your face is nice." Hahaha, I had trouble holding in the laughter. It was cute, but it was really funny at the same time.

-So if you ask other Americans who came at the same time as me, they'd pretty much all tell you they can eat like three balls of banku now, but this week I ate one entire ball all on my own for the first time, haha, and then a few days later I had one and a half and I didn't feel like dying anymore... so I thought it was worth mentioning that I can fairly easily eat swallow foods now, haha!

-So this week, I finally had my first baptism!! It was wonderful finally seeing a visible result of my efforts here. It was a woman named Janet. She's an investigator whose baptismal date we had to postpone several times, but she was finally baptized yesterday, and it was great. The font was quite an ordeal to fill—we had to climb up a tower (like, the height of a two-story building) to get to the water tank, put a hose in to get the water flowing, but it look like 45 minutes, and then the font we have is a portable one, and it had a hole in it so it was leaking while we were filling it, but thankfully we were able to stop it. So it was kind of an ordeal, but everything worked out well. It's such a joyous experience witnessing someone choose to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ and embrace His gospel. I know it really will bless us so much—not only in this life, but in the eternities. The gospel is real. I know it is. I know the Savior, Jesus Christ, lives and that He loves each and every one of us so incredibly much.

I love you all! I hope everything's going well for you. Thank you so much for all the love and support you give me. It means more to me than you know; I really appreciate it.

With love,

Elder Buchanan :)

This first picture is a delicious meal we made. Experimental fried rice and mashed potatoes sent from my awesome mom :D

This is Janet, the woman we baptized yesterday. She's fun. I'm so incredibly happy for her.

Letter and Photos from April 18, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Today at 1:04 PM

To       

Hi, all!!

This week hasn't been too too eventful, but some fun things have gone on!

-I had an interesting experience cooking this week. Our cooktop requires matches to start. So yesterday, I put my indomie (African ramen noodles) in a pot with water, I grab the matches and realize the box is wet. Then I grab the second box and see that it's also wet. It's a Sunday, the Sabbath, so we don't buy things. I have no matches and my indomie is getting soggy. I go through the drawers and find ONE dry match. But then I realized I didn't have anything to strike it on since the box was wet. I tried everything—the floor, the wall, a rock, I got nothing. I was becoming desperate because I was hungy! I tried something probably stupid. I turned on the iron and held a piece of paper against it hoping it would ignite so I could have lunch... nothing. Finally, when all options were exhausted, I just went next door and asked for some matches. Thankfully, our neighbor is so kind and just brought out a box and let us keep them. So after like a half hour, I finally was able to cook my indomie!

-There's this one investigator who was supposed to be baptized yesterday (I'll mention more about that later) who we were teaching this week. There were some kids around and they rigged their own homemade hurdle/high jump! It was kind of fun to watch. After our lesson, I wandered over and I asked how high they could jump and then they invited me. So I'm here in my white shirt and tie and I'm jumping hurdles, haha. The next time we arrived these little kids were so excited to see me and asked if I would jump again, so after our lesson, I jumped hurdles with them again, haha!

-So this investigator I just mentioned was supposed to be baptized yesterday. It was going to be my first baptism! But since I'm new to the branch, I had no idea that it takes a ridiculously long time to fill the baptismal font here (like, several hours, apparently), so the branch president had us postpone it because we didn't start filling it early enough... this is the same one who had her baptism postponed two weeks ago, so I feel like we're tormenting this lady by continually postponing her baptism, but it should finally be happening next week! Pray for her that everything will work out.

-I've come to realize that I think serving a mission will help me to be a better parent. Like, I've never been one who's liked correcting people, but sometimes it's necessary here: teaching investigators about commandments, helping other missionaries keep the mission rules, etc. Also, it's helped me to become more patient and loving, which I think will go a long way in a family setting. Serving a mission really has been an incredible growing experience and I've only been here for six months so far!

As always, I know the Lord lives and loves each of us. By following Him and keeping His commandments, we truly will be blessed. We'll be blessed with the things we need and we'll be happy. I've seen that in my own life so many times. I love this gospel and I love my Savior. Don't ever forget that he's always there for you no matter what.

I love you all! Thank you so much for all the love and support you all give me.

With love,

Elder Buchanan :)

Elder Buchanan with children after teaching an investigator

Elder Buchanan with a small bowl of popcorn!

Elder Kwofie with an equally small bowl of popcorn!

Letter and photos from April 11, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Apr 11 at 2:38 PM

To       

Hello, everyone!!

This has been a really wonderful week for a few different reasons. Here's what went on with me:

-This past week we had a zone conference. I was able to play the hymns, but then I was also asked to share a special musical number, so I played my own arrangement of How Great Thou Art. It was a really good experience. I love that song so much.

-Now, for food, haha! I had "Red Red" for the first time! It was actually quite good. It's red oil, garre, plantains, and beans. It was quite nice. Also, this week my companion and I finally decided to make that fried rice I had been talking about making, and I must say I think I did a pretty amazing job, haha!

-I've had my name pronounced a few funs ways this week. I've been called "Elder Batman" and I've also been called "Bu-Ghana." So those are a few interesting ones to add to the list!

-It made me a little sad this week when we went to go visit a recent convert and his wife, there was a small boy over to the side and as soon as he saw me, he just broke down and started crying. People here threaten their children with white people, so little children often are just afraid of me. Then, about 20 minutes later we went somewhere else and I was just riding by on my bike, and another little boy just looked at me and started sobbing! It made me so sad, haha!

-This week was the first time that I was able to actually sleep under my sheets AND the small blanket I brought. Since it's rainy season, there's often a nice, cool breeze, and it's beautiful particularly at night.

-I love missionary work! I've had two what I would call miraculous experiences this week. My mission president came and split our branch and then gave me a list of the members and their phone numbers and encouraged me to call them and meet them and get to know them. I had been having very little luck with the list. Almost every single number said something like, "The MTN number you have called is not available," or something of that sort. Finally, I came across one person who allowed us to come visit her. We scheduled here for Saturday afternoon. Then Saturday morning we went to the district conference and we talked all about not taking offense and helping those who had been offended come back to church. Then, when we got back to our area, this lady we had scheduled was the first person we saw. Surprisingly, she was a less active member who told us that she had been sick for a long time and then had a baby and only one member visited her one time over the space of a year and she was hurt by that. Seemingly no one really cared about her, so she stopped coming. I thought it was incredible that we had met with someone who had the very same problem we had just discussed in district conference! So we were able to share some of the things we had learned and we scheduled a return for the next day (Sunday) to visit her again after the Sunday conference. So we went to the conference the next day, which was wonderful, and then I had the second miraculous experiences to which I'm referring. We got back to the apartment, had lunch, and then I called this woman to see if we still would be able to visit her. She said she had travelled to somewhere and was unavailable. Disappointed, I began calling people on the member list, and, again, was having virtually no success. I had been through two pages already and had met only one person thus far. I was feeling dejected, it was getting close to the end of proselyting time on Sunday, and I was tired, and I kind of just wanted to sit back and relax in the apartment, but I really, really wanted to be the best servant of the Lord that I could. So, not knowing what I should do, I got down on my knees and prayed. I asked that the Lord would guide me so that I would know what to do and that He would provide some opportunity to teach or to serve that would bring someone to the gospel. When I concluded, I felt prompted to continue calling members on the list. So I picked up from where I left off. Again, I was getting messages that the numbers were inavailable. After a few more calls, one finally went through. It was the name of a woman in the branch, but it was a man who answered, and he turned out to be a recent convert who told us that he was available right then! So I grabbed my companion and we headed out the door. We met him and he had a non-member friend with him who seemed very friendly and welcoming. They both showed us to the recent convert's home where we met his wife, who also isn't a member, and they sat down with us and we were able to get to know them better and share a few things with them and they agreed to let us return! I have faith that the Lord will guide us to lead these people into the church and unto Christ. That was a really special experience for me this week.

I just want you all to know that I know the Lord lives and that He, as well as our Father in Heaven, love us so incredibly much—more than we can ever imagine in this lifetime. I love my Savior, and I love serving Him by serving His children here in Ghana. The gospel I share is for everyone. The Lord doesn't exempt anyone from His love. All we have to do is to follow Him and we'll be both blessed and happy.

I hope everything's going well for all of you. Thank you for everything you do for me and for all the love and support.

With love,

Elder Buchanan :)

P.S. We had some schedule as well as internet issues, so, sadly, I wasn't able to read and reply to everyone's emails. I'm sorry. Hopefully I'll be able to find time to do so next week. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about any of you!

Elder Buchanan at a multi-zone activity

Elder Buchanan at multi-zone activity

Letter and Photo from April 4, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Today at 2:17 PM

To       

Hi, all!!

I have a lot to say this week, so here goes:

-This has been a fun week because I've been feeding my Ghanaian companion American foods and I've almost enjoyed watching his reactions more than the food itself! He loves it so much. I made no-bake cookies, I made mashed potatoes, I made French Toast, and I made some no-bake cheesecake that my mom sent me to make and that was seriously about the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. He went limp in his chair because he thought he literally tasted heaven, haha! So that was pretty fun :D

-It's the rainy season, which mostly has been only good to me! It hasn't rained during the day yet, it's always rained at night, which has been absolutely glorious. We open the windows (I'm not sure how, but for some reason the rain doesn't come in, which is good), and a glorious cool breeze comes in, and then we lie down and turn the fans on... I'll just say getting out of bed at 6:30 is becoming increasingly challenging because I'm no longer waking up feeling warm, but my feet have actually been getting cold and I use my sheet and it just feels incredible and I don't want to get out of bed, haha!

-This week I saw what I thought was just about the saddest thing I've ever seen... We were walking through our area and I saw a man with absolutely no clothes curled up on the ground in the middle of a bunch of litter huddled around a waning flame that someone had lit to burn garbage... I wanted so desperately to help him out, but I had no idea how. I had no food to give him, we don't give people money, and I just didn't know what to do, I almost wanted to cry seeing that.

-On a slightly funnier note about our area, people here like to "kokonsa" about me xD kokonsa is the Twi word for gossip. Haha people here realize that I don't speak Dangbe or Twi or any of their local languages, so they just start talking out loud about me with me right there in front of them in their local languages and think I don't know they're talking about me... it's kind of funny, honestly, haha! Also, since this last transfer, I'm literally the only American in my entire zone... so that's exciting, woo xD

-So the people in this area are so faithful! We have two people here that are prepared for baptism. They both have had their dates postponed for various issues, and this last week they were both scheduled to have their baptisms, but we had to postpone again!! It was kind of bittersweet, and my next bullet point will explain why, haha. But they both were somewhat disappointed, but they're still so excited for when they'll finally be baptized. They have a strong desire to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ, and I can see it in their eyes. They're so great.

-Yesterday was an exciting day. We're in a branch, not a ward (a branch is basically a small version of a ward), and it's been experiencing a lot of growth lately. The branch had grown to a membership of 180 people! So yesterday, the branch was split because of the growth!! So there'll be about half the members in my branch, so I can get to know more of them more easily, and we can focus our efforts in a more concentrated population of people to help build the church. So these are exciting times!!

-After church, the branch president came up to me and specifically requested that I teach some of the members to play piano so that when I leave, there'll be someone who will be able to play in church. So it looks like I'm probably going to learn to teach piano... wish me luck, haha!

So just to sum all of that up, I want to let all of you know how much I love this work and how much I love the gospel. I know the gospel was given to us from God to bless our lives. I'm absolutely certain of that. I've seen incredible blessings from it in my own life and in the lives of those around me. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't just some fiction fabricated by some person; it's a glorious truth given to us by our loving Father in Heaven. He loves us so much and wants to bless our lives. He wants us to be happy, and that's why He gives us the gospel; it's guidance and direction given to us so that we can have eternal joy not only in this life, but also in the next. It's all possible because the Savior Jesus Christ came here for us to give us redemption and hope. I know this is true with every fiber of my being.

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

With love,

Elder Buchanan

P.S. Unfortunately, I tried plugging my camera into the computer, and it messed up my card and I was unable to send pictures... so, sadly, I may not be able to send pictures from this area :(

Elder Buchanan, the pianist in his new branch, the Asutsuare Branch

Letter from March 28, 2016

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Mar 28 at 10:03 AM

To       

Hello, all!!

This week has been a week of ups and downs. Missionary work is definitely a dynamic experience, haha!

-So this was my first week in my new area in "the bush." It's a little different from the city. There's good and bad about it. Bread is crazy expensive here, and I have bread every morning for breakfast, so I might go broke, haha xD But our apartment is really small. Even Elder Kwofie, a Ghanaian says it's quite small. It's four rooms including the bathroom: the main room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The only tiling is in the bathroom, so the rest of the floor is just cement. It's a little less homey than my last apartment, but I've already grown attached to it. It is a little more quiet here, which is nice. The people here are nice, but Twi is less common, so the little Twi I've learned is less useful here, haha. Most of the people here speak Dangbe, so now I'm going to have to figure out this language! But people here speak English less, which is definitely a challenge for me. I've learned to speak in a way that people can understand me in my previous area, but here they have a harder time understanding me, so frequently my companion will literally just restate what I said because they can understand him. Sometimes we'll find someone who only speaks Twi and my companion will just sit there and teach them in Twi, so sometimes I'll feel kind of useless because I won't know what's going on. I try my best, though. What makes up for it, though, is when I do have the chance to effectively communicate with someone, I share my testimony with them and I feel the spirit there when I finally do something to help people come unto Christ myself. The feeling is tangible. It's real. My companion is actually way awesome. I'm with Elder Kwofie, a Ghanaian, and he's great. He loves getting out to work just as much as I do. We get along really well, which is nice especially considering it's just the two of us in the apartment. So things are going really well. I have to admit it's kind of fun being the senior companion, too. I get to carry the phone, so I feel cool ;)

-We aren't in a ward in this area, we're in a branch (just basically a small group of people that meet for church). I hadn't even met the Branch President yet, but someone had told him that I play piano, so when I got to church for the first time here, the piano was already out waiting for me! So I'm already unofficially the branch pianist, haha! I was told three of the hymns we were singing, but I wasn't told we were singing an intermediate hymn, so when the Branch President got up there and announced an intermediate hymn, I was caught off-guard, and it was a hymn I was definitely less familiar with, and I had zero time to practice, so it was a little rough, but I was playing it pretty well by the last verse, haha.

-I think white people are even less common here in the bush than in the city, so children are definitely more excited to see me. After church, I literally had a crowd of children gathered around me touching me and grabbing my arm and they didn't want to let go! Often I'll even be riding my bike down the road and some kid will just reach out his arm to touch me... so that's definitely interesting here, haha!

Also, yesterday was Easter Sunday! Easter wasn't really that great this year, sadly. I did my best to reflect on the Savior's Atonement on my own, but it just wasn't the same being away from my family. To top it off, I think I was literally the only one who remembered that it was Easter. Even in church, they didn't have us sing Easter hymns or anything. Although one redeeming experience was Friday or Saturday, there was a member we were meeting with, and she asked us to read about the Atonement of the Savior. So together, we read from Mark about Christ's crucifixion. I also read from Matthew about that account as well, and it made me so incredibly grateful for Him. My words are incapable of expressing my gratitude to Jesus Christ, God's own son. I know that He came here for us because He loves us. Because of Him, we can always have hope, no matter what. Even though Easter is a special time that the world has set aside to remember Him, we should always remember Him in our hearts every day of our lives. I love Him. I hope it's abundantly clear to all of you that I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and He loves you as well.

I love and miss you all! I hope everything's going really well for you. I hope life is treating all of you really well! You have no idea how much I appreciate all your love and support. I can't wait to hear from you again next week!!

With love,

Elder Buchanan :)

P.S. I think I'll be able to send pictures next week. Since there's no anti-virus software on this computer, I'm going to put a new card in my camera and take pictures with that specifically to send home so I don't lose any valuable pictures.