Letter and Photos from April 3, 2017

Daniel Buchanan daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net> April 3, 2017 at 11:50 AM

Hello everyone!

Well, this week was definitely exciting and eventful. Here goes:

-This week we got to go to Tema Newtown. Most of you probably won't recognize the significance in that name. But there was an article posted on Deseret News maybe two years ago about a branch president down here (now bishop), Bishop Azumah, who has underdeveloped legs and can't walk on them. He's a bishop in the Tema Newtown Ward, and a really cool special stand was created for him so that he could be up at the podium and still talk to everyone. So I got to go to their church building and see the stand, and then later I got to meet him. That man gets around town in style; he's the only person in Ghana I've seen with a quad! He's a cool guy. I didn't get a picture with him, unfortunately, but I did get one with the stand, so I'll attach that.

-April fools. Not cool. So we get a call early in the morning from some of the sisters in our zone that one of the sisters had heart problems during the night and they took her to the hospital and she had been admitted, and they called us and wanted us to get down there as soon as possible and give her a priesthood blessing. My companion called Sis. Jones, the mission nurse, and told her what's going on, and she immediately calls the Heids, the mission president and his wife and tells them that one of the sisters has been hospitalized, so they all start getting dressed and ready to meet her at the hospital as well. The four of us in the apartment all jump up and get dressed and skip breakfast and showering and everything and rush over there. As we're trying to get a taxi, an old lady stops me outside our apartment and starts asking about the church. She said she knows that we don't preach because all we do is bear testimonies and we don't teach because that's what she saw in Connecticut one time, but I told her we were in a hurry and I hope to see her again to explain more and she said she doesn't want to see me again because we have weird ideas, and I simply had to let it go because we were in a rush. We get a taxi and we meet the sisters at their apartment, and they have no makeup on or anything, wrinkled clothes, also presumably rushing to get ready, and handed us a few bags filled with snacks and stuff for the sick sister, and we all head out, and we were about to grab another taxi, but the sisters say we can walk there. So we start walking, and then the tell us they forgot the medical insurance card in the apartment, so we had to turn around and walk back, and as we round the corner again heading back to their apartment, we see the supposedly hospitalized sister with her companion laughing at all of us walking around concerned and worried about her. It turns out that Sis. Jones had called the Heids, and then afterwards called the sisters for more details and they confessed that it was just a joke, and Sis. Jones said she had already called the Heids, so she had to call them after they already dressed and ready to go, and the sisters asked Sis. Jones not to tell us that it was a joke all along. The Heids were quite upset. When I found out it was a joke I was actually pretty irritated that they would make a joke about someone being hospitalized and giving priesthood blessings, as were all of the other elders. We just put on a nice face for them. I made them feed us breakfast for wasting our time and money, haha

-We got to watch a few sessions of General Conference yesterday at the Stake center. As always it was amazing. After the conference, I was playing some piano, and a member comes up to me and asks me to play something he can sing along to, so I start playing a random chord progression, and this guy just starts improvising words and melodies and beauty along with the piano! I was impressed, this guy has recorded some of his own music as well, so I was pretty excited. I took the opportunity to get a quick video clip to send to all of you for your enjoyment.

-One thing I've come to recognize lately is how the gospel actually works in our lives. I've come to understand that there is power that comes from the gospel as we make the gospel a habitual part of our lives. We need to make it part of who we are. As we study the scriptures and the teachings of the Savior daily, as we pray every single day, as we do what we can to emulate the example of Jesus Christ, we become more like Him, the gospel is something that begins to define us. As that happens, we are more able to harness the power that comes from the gospel. The scriptures remind us again and again that all things work together for good for those who love God. So as we center our lives around the Savior, we're not promised our lives will be perfect and flawless, but we are promised that everything will work out and that everything will be okay.

I love all of you so much. I hope you all are doing well and that I hear from you all soon. Have a wonderful week.

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Enjoying some ice cream at KFC for Elder Gillam's birthday this week

A picture of me with the famous stand for Bishop Azumah.

 

Ben, the improv singer and I jamming out together.

Letter from March 27, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net> 27 March 2017 at 10:21 AM

Hi, all!!

This week was pretty uneventful, honestly. I don't have too much to tell, but I'll still try to be somewhat exciting.

-I have really started to enjoy cooking, and I've started branching out to more things! I know some of you back home already know how to cook fancy awesome dishes, but I'm learning to cook here, so I'm kind of excited, haha. I've started making stew (it's kind of like spaghetti sauce, I suppose, but a little different) to go with rice or with spaghetti, and I've had several different people in my district here try it and say it was really incredible, so I'm pretty proud of myself. I also learned a cool way to prepare beans from one of my previous companions, so that's been cool. If any of you back home know what Cafe Rio is, I can make some mean Cafe Rio now, and I'm just excited, haha. I'm trying to find healthier foods to eat, because everything around here is just loaded with carbs, and it's making me fat... So I'm working on that. Hopefully I'll be super skinny again when I go home, so we'll see how that works out!

-I've noticed that I've become more outspoken and bold since coming. We were visiting a less active member earlier in the week and she had been ill earlier, so she had lost a lot of weight. Her health is okay now, but she's still thin, and she claims that is why she doesn't go to church since people will look at her and be asking her what's wrong and why's she's lost weight and why she hasn't been coming and things like that. What came to my mind was a scripture in 2 Nephi 8:7 which says, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." I helped her to understand that we can't let other people get in the way of doing what's right. The scriptures often talk about how we need to have a greater fear of the Lord rather than of men. That's not to say we need to be afraid of God, but we need to be more concerned with pleasing Him than men. That scripture really touched me as well. It's hard sometimes trying to do the right thing and to have people ridicule you, belittle you, laugh at you, mock you, and much more simply because you're trying to do the right thing. It can be challenging, absolutely. But one thing I do know is that if we have faith in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, as we put forth effort to do what They want us to, They will indeed give us strength to do so despite challenges and adversity. Sometimes people will even ask why we should follow the Lord when doing so may bring about ill interactions from others around us? I can say with certainty that as we do what we can to keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father and to trust Him, He will bless us with greater joy and happiness. Despite challenges and opposition, we will still have enduring peace that comes from a loving Father in Heaven that permeates our lives, even when things around us aren't perfect.

I love all of you so much. I hope you all have a great week and that I hear from you all soon!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

I'm sorry I have no pictures this week... I know my Mom won't be happy, haha. I'll try to have some fun pictures for next week, though!

Letter and Photos from March 20, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net> 20 March 2017 at 1:10 PM

Hi, all!

This week has been an interesting week.

-We had exchanges this week. My companion went with one of the district leaders and I went with him companion, Elder Joseph. He's from Nigeria and he's an awesome guy. We got along really well. I introduced him to Pizza Hut for the first time and he loved it (as he should have, haha!) and I figured out that he was a journalist back home, and he actually did a lot of behind the scenes type stuff. We definitely related a lot because in high school for the school news video we did a lot of similar things, so that was cool. I attached a picture of my chunky self and him at Pizza Hut for his first time :D

-This week I've really come to the realization how practical the gospel is in our lives. Some people don't see the need for commandments, but when you live them, you really start to see the reason for them and the blessings that come from it. We were teaching an investigator this week about the Law of Chastity (the most simple and basic way of summarizing it is no sexual relations before marriage), and this investigator pointed out connections he had noticed before we had even taught him. When you have the self control to keep the law of chastity, people begin to trust you more. The people around you will even defend you by saying things like, "Oh, he wouldn't do that," or, "Oh, she's not that kind of person." It also strengthens the relationships you have with others and with current or even future spouses. He put those things together all on his own! I've also come to see how practical the gospel is another time this week when there were a few companionship issues in the zone that we had to handle. As I advised them, I felt the guidance of the spirit in doing so. I came to realize once again how much prayer really helps. When they weren't getting along, I encouraged them to pray for each other every day. That can work not only in missionary companionships, but with anyone and everyone! Christ taught us that contention comes from the devil, and that His gospel entails doing away with contention, and I realized one way to do that is praying to love one another more. Praying will increase love for those you pray for, and as you ask our Heavenly Father for help, we will see His hand in assisting us in our efforts to do what's right. It's incredible how many blessings, both physical as well as spiritual, come from following our Savior, Jesus Christ. If there's one thing I've come to learn since coming on my mission, it's how real the gospel is. How much it really helps us, how real our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ are and how real their love for us is. I know that they live, and I know that they are always there for us. As we turn to them, we will begin to see their hands in our lives working for our good.

 

I love all of you so much. I'm grateful for all the love and support you give me. I hope to hear from all of you soon!

 

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Since three of us in the apartment all were in the Kpong zone earlier, we had got bead ties and we all had matching ties, so we couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.



Elder Joseph and I at Pizza Hut.

Hanging out in the apartment in the AC with my new suit.

Letter and Photo from March 13, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net> March 13, 2017 at 10:44 AM

Hi all!!

This week has been pretty cool.

-We had an investigator that we were going to see this week, but unfortunately that appointment fell through. At the same place is a little girl I've gotten to be buddies with, and I was able to teach her to ride a bike. She actually learned really quickly! I rewarded her progress with a Fan Yogo, just a little treat for doing so well. That was pretty cool.

-I've also realized that my sight-reading piano abilities have significantly increased since the beginning of my mission. I can mostly just sit down and play a hymn I've never even heard of before. I also have some sheet music that I wanted to learn a few years ago, but it was pretty challenging, so I gave up on it, but it doesn't seem very difficult to me anymore, so I'm way excited about that. One thing I came to learn very early on my mission is that God helps you with your talents when you use your talents to help others.

-The work here in Tema is much slower. Tema is a very industrious place, so there are lots more jobs and more work, so people are very busy, therefore it's harder to find people to teach. There was one day where things were going slowly, lots of appointments falling through, not finding new people, and we went to visit one member at her shop, and she was there with her three daughters. It was my first time meeting her, so I introduced myself and we chatted for a while, and we started the lesson with a question from one of her girls and she asked, "Why is it important to worship?" So we talked about that for a while and when we finished with that question, the girl got up and went elsewhere, and my companion started talking to someone else nearby, and so I continued talking to this woman, and she told me she had some problem in her life and she had been praying for something to help her for a long time and felt like God wasn't hearing and answering her prayers, so she was going to join some other church in their all-night praying (a.k.a. lots of making noise and dancing around yelling and calling it prayers). So I explained what Christ taught in Matthew that God doesn't tell us to pray for the whole world to hear because He can hear us in secret, He knows our innermost thoughts, and through faith our individual prayers can and will be answered if we continue to be patient and faithful. Later as we were going, she said that she had prayed to know if it was the right thing to go to the all-night prayer, and she felt like God had sent us in response to her prayer, and she concluded that God has a master plan that we can't see. I told her that I couldn't have said it better myself. God sees everything. He knows all. Sometimes the response to our requests is delayed because He knows how to help us the best, He knows what is best for us when sometimes we do not. I know that our Heavenly Father does indeed hear and answer every prayer. He is never too far from us, and we are never too far from Him for Him to hear us when we cry out to Him.

Thanks for everything, you all are amazing and I love you all! I hope you're doing well and that I hear from you again soon!!

 

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Sorry, I only have one picture this week. It's a selfie of the elders in the apartment! Me and my companion Elder Murige, and Elder Gillam and his trainee Elder Bidi! Elder Bidi is a French speaker and he's learning English so dang quickly.

Letter and Photos from March 6, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Today at 7:54 AM

Hey all!

This week has been pretty exciting! We've had some interesting stuff go down this week.

-Nothing too exciting in regards to food this week. We were able to grab some KFC, and that was delicious. Also, it was my first time attending MLC, Mission Leadership Council, and afterwards they had literally like 20 boxes of pizza and I was so pumped. Just thought you'd all like to know, haha. I'll attach a selfie of my companion and me in KFC.

-Tomorrow we're having zone training, and this will be my first time giving instruction. I'll definitely be sure to let you all know how it went when I email next week.

-So there's a sister in our district who had an appointment with an eye doctor, and while there, she contacted this doctor and introduced our message to him and he said he'd like to meet with us later to learn more. She referred him to the other companionship in our apartment since he stays in their proselyting area. The doctor said he'd bring like seven or eight of his friends to meet with us. The elders accepted the appointment, but because of the numbers and education of the people there, they invited my companion and me to join them. So we get there, and this doctor shows up, along with 10 of his friends. So there's the four of us elders and 11 other people. We get started, and we soon realize that we were just invited to a Bible study group, and not a lesson in which they want us to teach them. They start off the discussion by saying that we're discussing the word of God from the Bible and everything we say we have to back scripturally from the Bible. So they turn the time over to us, and we start teaching the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the first half of the lesson is very easy to back up with the Bible, so it mostly goes well to begin with. Eventually after a decent discussion, my companion finally introduces Joseph Smith and the first vision, and it mostly goes downhill from there. People were all upset that we were discussing stuff that didn't come from the Bible, and they got into a big disagreement about whether or not we can see God because the Bible says both people have seen God, and also that you cannot see God and live. So we tried to help them understand that there's more beyond the Bible, but they basically rejected everything we said. I was actually really impressed with how patient and calm the other elders were despite negative feedback, but I know I felt the spirit when teaching people what I know to be true. I know people have different ideas and different beliefs, but I can confidently say that I know what I have learned to be true. I have not come all the way to Ghana to lie to people for two years. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know He has restored His church and His gospel on the earth today. There's not a doubt in my mind of the reality of the Savior Jesus Christ.

I love you all so much. It's great hearing from you. I hope you're all doing well and that you have a fantastic week.

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Just a picture of me enjoying some breakfast waakye (rice and beans with some other fancy stuff mixed in) on my bunk bed in the nice AC apartment :D

Here's the selfie I mentioned

Letter and Photos from February 28, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Feb 28 at 6:27 AM

Hi, all!

This week has been interesting, as always.

-I have to start off with food, of course... There were two elders in the district who proselyted on the University of Ghana, and on the campus is a place called the Campus Hub. It was an Italian man who came here and opened up a restaurant and that place was beautiful. They had a ton of delicious options, but I went with a calzone with pepperoni and bacon with a side of fries. I'll attach a picture for your viewing pleasure, haha!

-We had transfers this past week which went pretty well. I've picked up a good number of souvenirs thus far, so I had to buy a new packback to fit everything in, but it all worked out great and I got to my new apartment with everything (almost, haha)! This new apartment really is tiny, but it's actually kind of nice. There's AC in the bedroom which is glorious, there's a water heater which is cool, but I don't use it because I don't need any more heat here in Ghana, haha, and there's one bedroom with two bunk beds and I get the top bunk. Whoever was there before me was pretty smart and rigged a fan so the one on the top bunk still gets a nice breeze in the night, haha. I'll send a brief video tour, don't worry :D

-The new ward seems pretty awesome! I got there on Sunday and they didn't know that I played piano, so I didn't play for sacrament meeting, but eventually they found out so I played in third hour and for the ward choir afterwards! It's actually a full-sized keyboard, and it's way legit :D But the only problem is is that randomly it'll stop registering anything. Like, it doesn't turn off, but it just goes silent and I have to restart. So during choir they asked me to play a hymn through so everyone could hear and be familiar with it, and I get one line done and the piano just cuts out, yet I'm still playing, and the director turns and asks, "Can you play the entire song through for us?" And I just said, "I'm trying to!" as I restart the keyboard, haha. But it's definitely a nice place and I'm excited to be here.

-Apparently this is one of the smallest areas in the mission. So I'm in Tema, and Tema is divided into communities. There are 22 communities in Tema, and my companion and I are over Communities 4 and 7. My new companion is Elder Murige, and he's one awesome guy. He's from Zimbabwe and we're getting along really well. He has about three months until he goes home.

-I recently started reading the Book of Mormon again, and I'm in 1 Nephi 21. There's one short part of verse 23 that really stands out to me. "...and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." I love that so much because it reminds us the value of following Him. Sometimes we're ridiculed for our faith. Sometimes people disagree and look down on us for our beliefs. But the Lord reminds us that in the end, things will be alright because we faithfully followed Him until the end. I believe that with all of my heart. I know I'm not perfect at all and I have my flaws, but I know that as we do our best to become more like Jesus Christ every day, in the end, everything will be just perfect because of Him.

I love all of you so much! I appreciate all the love and support you give me. I hope to hear from you all again soon!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

Here's a picture of my last visit with the Aboagyes, the bishop's family in Agbogba. 

Of course, I have to include the picture of the delicious calzone. 

Letter and Photos from February 20, 2017

Daniel Buchanan <daniel.buchanan@myldsmail.net>  Feb 20 at 9:22 AM

Hi everyone!

This week was pretty exciting!

-So we got transfer news this week (I'll give more details later, don't worry). The day I got news, I had to go to Haatso to do a baptismal interview. One of the Haatso elders is leaving, and when the investigator found out that he was going, she and her sister (a recent convert) all practically wanted to attack me because I was the one delivering the message, but they all were a little distraught. The recent convert sister started joking singing I Need Thee Every Hour directed at the elder leaving, but then she got out her hymnbook and we all started singing. Then she picked each of the four elders and told us to pick our favorite hymn and we all sat there singing hymns for a solid 30 minutes. It was actually really cool experience, the spirit was present, and it was a cool bonding moment for all of us. And, just so you know, the sister I went to interview was baptized yesterday, and she's doing really well.

-Last week I got to baptize Priscilla which was really cool, and then yesterday I got to confirm her, which was also, not surprisingly, a great experience. Since yesterday was my last Sunday in the Agbogba ward, they also had me share my testimony with them. I remember being younger, I always hated standing up in front of people, even in church, but now, I can't see why. I love standing up to declare my belief in the Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I'll continue proclaiming to the world that I believe in Him and will follow Him.

-Alright, here's what's going down. I can't decided whether or not I'm excited about it or not, but here's the transfer news. There were six elders in the apartment, so three companionships. They're temporarily closing one proselyting area, so the elders from that area are replacing the two of us leaving. I'm leaving my trainee, Elder Xaba, and one of the elders here is replacing me and finishing his trainee. I'm being transferred to Tema to be a zone leader. Apparently the apartment there is ridiculously tiny. Like, smaller than the Asutsuare apartment. Also, in Asutsuare there were just two of us, but in this new Tema apartment, there are four of us... so yeah. BUT, the upside is that there's apparently AC and water heaters there, AND the zone leaders there get to drive a car... and there's a KFC right by our apartment... so definitely some decent ups and downs! Haha there are 24 missionaries in the zone, so that'll be interesting experience being their zone leader, but I'll definitely keep you all updated on how that goes! One thing I always try to remind myself of is that the Lord is continually leading us. Even when we don't understand why something is happening or why we experience some kind of trial or hardship, He is there. One of my favorite scriptures from the Bible is John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." I love that so much because the Savior is reminding us that He can give us a true sense of peace. Sometimes we can find peace from things in the world. Like maybe a sunset on the beach or a nice walk through the trees, or something of that sort. But that peace is only temporary. Christ gives us a greater sense of peace. He reminds us not to be troubled or afraid. He is the Savior of the World. He knows exactly how we feel, and because of that, He knows exactly how to help and to guide us. He knows where to lead us, and I have learned by experience again and again that if we follow, we truly will have lasting peace and joy in our lives. I've been preaching this since I've got here and I'll continue to preach it because I know it's true. I've seen it time and time again, and I can promise that it is the same for all of us. That as we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and if we follow Him, all things will work together for our good.

I love all of you so much! You're the best. I appreciate all you do for me. I hope you're doing well and that I hear from each of you soon!

With love,

Elder Buchanan

 This and the next photo are with some awesome families in the ward. We would see both of them often, and they're so wonderful. I'm definitely going to miss them. 

Me standing in front of the chapel my last time there. I'm going to miss the Agbogba Ward so much.