Greetings from Ghana

     Hello everyone. Well it has been another week here in the wonderful hot land called Ghana. The last few days I do not know why, but they have just been super sweaty. Like none other!! I was sitting on my chair last night, and I was sweating like crazy. Of course I am always sweating, but it was just more then usual. A little surprised because I am used to the heat and what not but the past few days have really been killers.
     Anywhos. . .I have some very good news. . .The good news is that we had a Baptism yesterday! YAY! That is sweet since I wasn't really planning on one. We had been trying to see this guy all of the week and he hadn't been around due to work so we had been seeing him in the evening around seven or eight pm and some days he wouldn't even be around then. Finally Friday night we see him so we can teach him lesson five. We do that so Saturday night the Zone Leaders come to do his interview. It was a miracle. His name is Thomas and he is super cool. He has been investigating the Church for about five to six months but has been coming and going so often that the missionaries did feel good about it. Then finally he started to show up when I arrived and we finally got him! YAY!!!! He has a son who is eight and he will be a child of record in a few weeks.
     Grace didn't show up to Church. . .again. She is the one whose husband is a Muslim and she is a Christian. She came last week but yesterday she didn't. I just wanna take her and scream. Nevertheless I feel that she can be baptized in the next month. I am not going to push her, I want to go back, reteach all the lessons to her, and then see what is going to happen with her. If nothing happens we will have to drop  her. That is sad to think, and I hope I am wrong, but we can not waste our time with non serious people.
     I want to share an experence me and my companion found ourselves in last Saturday.  We were teaching a guy named Michael when all of a sudden a Jehovah's Witness comes up and interrupts our lesson (typical). Well, we debated and argued and it was two LDS missionaries and one Catholic vs a Jehovah's Witness. Crazy combo if I've ever seen one. It worked. He left. They never let you talk, only them talking talking talking. Good grief.
    So I was looking at Dixie State University website on Google and up comes the "notable alumni" and you would never guess who I found on it.

Second to right: Wendy Horman. That is my aunt! Never would of thought of seeing family on the Alumni of Dixie State. Elder Holland was number one, so Aunt Wendy, you are on Dixie's Alumni. 

     Well, I guess that will be all for this week. Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts in my behalf. 

Love,

Elder Bowden

WEEK 93

     Well, another week is gone. They are going by faster then I can possibly imagine. This week was a very good week for us. On Saturday we kicked some serious butt! It was sweet. Especially in this area it was surprising to me that it has now happened for the last two weeks. I believe that it is all due to you. Your prayers and thoughts heading my way have really helped me and my companion. Keep praying for us. Pray that we continue to work hard and smart and that our investigators progress.
     Well last week was the beginning of my second to last transfer on mission (I have all the milestones marked out), and thinking about it is no help. However we put our faith and trust in God and push forward. Even though some mornings I don't wanna get outta bed. I do feel like I am working as hard now, as I was when I first came to Ghana 21 months ago. That is one of my goals is not to go "rusty" as we say but to "Burn Out" rather. I wonder how Ammon and his brethren did this for fourteen years, and some of them spent time in jail! Honestly how could they do that? I am grateful it is only two years and not fourteen. LOL.
     Talking about this past week, on Thursday President Hill had all of the Zone Leaders and District Leaders come to an extended Mission Leaders Council or MLC for short. After going to that meeting I am so grateful I was never called to be a Zone Leader because going to just one of those meetings gave me and everyone else a headache. So better to go once every six months rather then once every month. It was a good meeting in which we talked about a lot of things. We had a ton of action items that we need to work on in the upcoming weeks and months. Especially focusing on the Book of Mormon.
     Still on the hunt to find and teach new people. That is the biggest problem I think facing our Zone considering that half the zone is living in Muslim areas. But we continue to try out hardest to find those ready to receive the gospel. It is such a blessing to see it change so many peoples lives. It will continue to change and bless those who do live up to it. Not just saying they believe but actually living it. I hope that we all will try to live what we believe and not just say that we believe. Let us all do better.

Have a great week everyone! I love you so much!
Thank you for again for all of your prayers.

Love,

Elder Ty M. Bowden

12 Weeks.

     Lest in case you think that I am trunky. . .you might be right! LOL. It isn't easy that people keep reminding me about it. Let alone me thinking about it every day. LOL. No worries, I am happy to be out serving. I love it and I am still finding new ways to do it. I truly will miss Ghana when it is over. Ghana is a wonderful place with wonderful people. I do hope that within five years of finishing my mission that I can return for a few days or weeks to visit the people here. I have made so many good friendships that it will not be easy to be away from them.
     This week was anything but easy. We had one woman that we were supposed to baptize yesterday, but her husband (who is a Muslim/she's Methodist) isn't liking the idea of her joining the Church (from what she has told us). Since I came here 3 weeks ago, she has only come to Church once, and yesterday was one of those days she missed. I don't wanna give up on her, but seeing on how she is subject to her husbands laws, I am not sure how else to help her. From what she has told us she does not wanna become a Muslim. So. . .what now?
     We continue to drop people and find people. We just have to be in contact with more and more people. Just I hate contacting, but I know that I need to be doing it. So this week we actually did very well on doing that. It is the same old same old though. They all say "oh I'm cooking!" or "oh I'm busy!" or some other excuse, but that doesn't matter.  If you're too busy to hear us then God will be too busy for you at Judgement day (sounds a bit harsh but I find it a good response to those excuses, which usually leads to us getting a seat and sharing something small with them).
     Muslims are good people. Not like what you hear about in Iraq and Afghanistan. They actually find what is happening in the middle east disturbing and  not pleasing. When talking with one he told me that what they are doing is not found, or approved of in the Quran. I found that shocking but hey, this guy is saying it not me. So I believe true Muslims are good people.
     Two nights ago I was talking to one and he was saying that it doesn't matter what religion you believe in because they're are good Muslims and good Christians and bad Muslims and bad Christians. I of course disagreed with him, but then explained that if you travel down one road, you will get to one place, as with a different place on a different road. I further explained that not all roads go to heaven, and that while maybe you may be a good person, if you're on the wrong road, you won't get to the destination you would of liked.
     Having fun. That is good. Mission is suppose to be fun, hard, and not a vacation. So we treat it as such. Just gotta work and not get distracted by small things. Keep improving on the things that we can do better on, and then rejoice when people change because of the choices we make.

Love,

Elder Bowden

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Just for my mom a little Morse code.

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