Christmas Week!

Una Kushe!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know I sure did! This week was another good, fun filled week.

As I said above, we had a memorable Christmas for me over in Salone. Leading up to Christmas my companion, who is a pure bred, through and through Tongan kept telling me we were going to buy and kill a pig for Christmas. So that's exactly what we did haha. Missionaries chipped in some money and we bought a big pig. We then relieved it of its life, skinned and cleaned it. I have definitely never seen that done before and so it was really interesting to watch. We then cut it in half and roasted one half and fried the other. This took all day, and so while my Companion was roasting, I went on some exchanges with another missionary. It was great to meet and teach with a new person. I learned a lot. We then went to skype our families. This was definitely my favorite part! It was great to see them and speak with them for a bit. Being on a mission has made me really realize how blessed I am to have the family I am a part of. I am super grateful for all of them! After we were done talking, we went back to the Zone Leaders Apartment and had a huge feast! Not going to lie, pig is really good! All in all, it was a great Christmas!

The Pig for Christmas Dinner

Christmas Dinner

We had an interesting week like always. I will share one story. On Thursday we had about 7 dropped appointments which is a little more than normal, so we were a little bit discouraged. We were thinking about who to visit, when I said we should go tract. Oh what an experience it was... I was kind of excited because it was going to be my first day of tracting. We walked up to our first group of 2 or 3 people, and began to discuss our messages. All of the sudden, this guy comes out of nowhere and starts screaming at what I thought to be me. He had a lazy eye so it was hard to tell. But turns out He was yelling at a woman we were teaching. He got pretty close, screaming about how He was going to beat her for what she did to him. All of the sudden he starts hitting her and so Elder Pasikala and I grab him and cool it down. She is screaming and crying and this guy is still trying to beat her. We finally got this man to leave and helped the woman he had hit. We ended up cleaning her up and getting out of there! After that we talked to 2 more people and actually starting teaching one of them this week! This event made me realize how much more I like Jesus than Satan.

This week was actually a bit of a struggle for me. This Mission is a hard one. I have really come to realize that the hymn "I need thee every hour" should be renamed to "I need thee every single second of the day". I have spent many nights on my knees praying to Daddy God for help.(*Parental Note* "Daddy God" is what they call Heavenly Father in Sierra Leone) What has helped me though was a talk I listened to by Gene R. Cook. He gave a BYU Devotional on How God chastises and challenges His people because He loves them. After hearing this talk it drove me to my knees to ask for repentance! I was focusing on the hard things I am going through and wondering why, when I should have been thanking Daddy God for these challenges because He is molding me into who He wants me to be. Although this is an on going struggle to look at the good and not the bad. People always talk about how they grew so much because of the hardships on their mission but I am just wondering how long mine will last haha. 

Overall, a good and well earned week. We go through hard things to become who God wants us to be. We are on His timeline and not ours! Hope all is well, Happy New Year!
-Elder Morgan

 Me, Elder Pasikala, and Brother Solomon(Ward Mission Leader) at a investigators home. Elder Pasikala fell asleep haha

Brother Phillip and I. He makes awesome beaded ties.

Merry Christmas Eve From Salone (Sierra Leone)!

Hello Everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve! Christmas is definitely different over here. I miss the cold weather and Christmas Lights! But I wouldn't rather be any where else but where I am at right now. This week was another great one!

Like I said above, Christmas is very different over here. Although Salone (how they say Sierra Leone) is in the Hamata Season (*Parental Note* In December and January, the dry dusty Harmattan wind blows from the Sarhara.), it is still very hot and very sweaty. But I really do enjoy it because it makes me feel like I am working hard! It feels like a big camping trip. (*Parental Note* Eli hates camping...) I say that because there are no paved roads, just dirt paths that we follow to get to our next appointment. This is one of the biggest challenges for me as of right now because I'm used to neat roads with easy to read signs. So it is taking me a little bit to figure out where I am going. But at the same time it is a wonderful adventure because being in the "farm land" of Salone we get some really awesome views. 

Streets of Sierra Leone

Some of the homes Eli gets to visit

Chillin'

The Streets of Bo

This week was pretty interesting. We had to be somewhat careful because there are some pretty serious Secret Societies, that do some some pretty crazy things. December and January are their initiation months. There is one big society that has been having some activity  kind of by our house and so we wake up to Men and Women screaming and banging on drums at about 5:00am every morning. You don't even want to know what they do! This time of year we have to be careful at night because of this. Its not as bad here in Bo, but in The Bush it is very serious. But nothing to much to worry about here! 

We had a big Christmas Zone Conference with President Clawson. I got to meet a lot of new missionaries from different areas which was cool. President Clawson spoke and really Chastised those missionaries who are disobedient. It made me feel chastised about things I would never even dream of doing! So it was totally awesome to put those missionaries back in line. I have found out that this mission is actually pretty disobedient which is a big challenge. Its hard to do the right thing without making yourself look like a jerk or a show off. My Companion is great but I just can't wait to hopefully begin training so I can just pump out some obedient and straight up missionaries. I've learned that we must pick our battles with  Companions and just be the example! Although that is tough, I am making it work! We got invited to a Stake Choir Festival on Sunday night. We prepared 8 songs. It was us as Missionaries and then a District Choir. Lets just say we totally killed it. 

We are teaching 26 People right now. We have 3 people that have baptismal dates in January. I don't want to pick a favorite but I have really enjoyed teaching a guy named Brother Hinduah. We began teaching him last week, and we have just really connected I feel like! He has some really whack questions , and so it is always a fun lesson to look forward to. The work is busy but I find that we change plans often throughout the day. People don't really have or use phones here and so it is a challenge to see when they will be available to teach. So it is pretty normal to have 3-4 dropped appointments in a day! But it is always interesting! 

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with their families! Merry Christmas and remember why we celebrate it!

Love,
Elder Morgan

Eli's Bed - complete with a mosquito net and fan

Their Bathroom

Their Kitchen

Their Porch

Their "Compound"

Elder Pasikala learning the ropes

Eli and his trainer, Elder Pasikala 

First Week in Salone

Hey Everyone!!
Well one thing I can say is that Sierra Leone is pretty wild.

This weeks email begins from the last day at the MTC... 
The final day at the MTC was super fun! We had a big goodbye devotional from President and Sister Allen. It was pretty spiritual and we got to shake their hands on the way out. When I shook President Allen's hand, he said some really awesome nice things to me so that was pretty nice! 

We then went back to our dorms and slept. The Missionaries going to Sierra Leone left at 9:00 am the next morning. We hopped on a plane for about 3 hours and landed in the Airport of Sierra Leone. The airport its self look like a small shack, and so we walked right off the plane and got our luggage. Once we walked out of the front doors of the Airport, all of these people began to run up to us and try and grab our bags. We finally got to the people who we thought were there to pick us up. They didn't say anything but just began to take our bags and put us into a bus. We just went with it and hoped for the best. 

They then took us to the boat docks and we hopped onto a speed boat that took us to Sierra Leone. That was pretty fun. We then docked in Freetown and were greeted by President Clawson and His Wife Toi. After meeting them, they took us to the Mission Office. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life. The way they drive over hear is just totally insane and I though we were going to crash multiple times haha. But we ended up going to the Mission Office and having dinner and interviews with President. 

The next day we received our assignments and were sent off. I am assigned to The Bo, Batiama Area. So it was a 3 hour drive to Bo. Bo is the next biggest city apart from Freetown. I really like it over here. They Speak a language called Mende here which is pretty confusing because some speak Krio but most speak Mende. So I am trying to learn both! Its coming pretty good! Once we got to Bo I met my Trainer. his name is Elder Pasikala. He is from Tonga and has been out for 7 months. He works hard and we get a lot done. We get along super well and have a lot of fun. I met him in the night time so we cleaned the apartment and then went to bed. 

My first real day was an eye opener to what happens here. Its pretty tough to see everything due to the amount of poverty and corruption here. Just think of all the pictures you see of kids in barely any clothing, houses made a straw and cinder block or mud. Its like that basically.

Our first day Elder Pasikala had a district meeting, he is District Leader, and while waiting for him to be done we just here these loud painful screams. We look over the fence to see what happened and I won't go into too much detail but we just see this man just abusing this little girl really badly. That's pretty normal here and its just really hard to see it happen. It was tough to see all the abused animals as well. Its hard to see all the poverty, I just feel like I wanna help everyone here! 

Proselyting is pretty tough. There are no real roads here and so it is just a bunch of dirt trails that intertwine everywhere. We ride bikes because the area is big. But I am really enjoying sweating through my clothes and tie everyday, makes me feel good haha. 

Overall, I am really enjoying this area. As we ride down the street all we hear is "Elders" or "Pumwee", which means White guy. This usually followed by a bunch of little kids running out and hugging you or giving you high fives. Its fun!

I have tons of pictures, but I'll send them next week.

Love,
Elder Morgan

Arriving in Sierra Leone

We received the following email and letter regarding Eli's travels to Sierra Leone.

Eli's short email that we received Tuesday morning:
I am pretty excited to go to Sierra Leone. I will fly about 4 hours in a plane and then take a boat to Sierra Leone. It'll be awesome. My Mission President and His wife really sound super awesome. President Allen has been talking to me about them and how cool they are!

I'm getting pretty excited to get out of the MTC, its been alot of fun but I'm ready to get into the field. I think I am done with eating rice for every meal. Sierra Leone sounds pretty wild and very poor so i think it'll be kind of tough getting into my groove there. That Elder that we met from Sierra Leone, I told you guys about looked pretty beat up, his clothes were dirty and torn, but He still had a great Spirit with him.  But The Lord will always provide for his missionaries. We have had a great few days, very spiritual and full of Jesus Christ. It's just kind of hard being away during the holidays haha, but hopefully I'll take to you guys on Christmas Day! 

I've already made the proper goals and have the mindset to be obedient. We wrote down a promise that we will make to our Mission Presidents right when we meet them. My goal is To be a Tsunami. A tsunami, comes in all at once and doesn't go away easily. That's my goal, to be a tsunami in all that I do while I serve a mission. I'm pretty driven because I know that when I get into heaven and I stand before Jesus Christ, Ill be embarrassed of a lot of things, but I know I can say I gave all I had for 2 yrs to you! 

12/12/2018

Dear Family of Elder Morgan,

We are delighted to have received your son today from the Ghana MTC. He has
received further orientation and training here in Freetown at the Mission Home and will receive more in the morning. After lunch tomorrow he will travel to his first area of service and meet his trainer.

We have enjoyed our initial meeting with him and feel he is a great addition to our mission. Thank you for helping him prepare to be a great missionary! The missionary work here is very productive and it will be a life-changing experience for him, as well as the people whose lives he will touch.

Your fellow servants,
Sister Toi Clawson and President Kevin Clawson
Sierra Leone Freetown Mission

Fun in the MTC

HELLO EVERYONE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well another week done in beautiful Ghana. I only have 5 more days in the MTC and then I will fly to somewhere near Sierra Leone and the take a boat to Freetown! I am beyond pumped up! I really growing to love Africa and all the people here. I've been learning so much and its been great. But I can say I am still not used to the weather haha. It is pretty humid and hot around here. But I'm beginning to enjoy it. 

This week was pretty busy with classes and studying. The MTC is a wonderful place but I am seriously so excited to be getting out into Sierra Leone! The days are pretty much all the same here and so ill be excited to switch it up and get out in the world!

Lets see what I did this week:
First of all Happy Late Birthday to my Beautiful, Happy, Smart, Hilarious, Energetic little Sister Madelyn! I know its pretty late but just know I was thinking of you! And also Happy Early Birthdays to Malachi and Abram!! Miss you guys so much!

We have been focusing a lot on Christmas this week. We have had a lot of Devotionals and Meeting talking about Jesus Christ because He is the True meaning of Christmas. I'd encourage everyone to get involved with The Light The World Movement The Church has started! 

We had a big devotional about it and President Nash, who is an Area Authority and President of all the Western Africa Missions, gave a really great talk about why Christmas is about our Savior and what He did for us! I think Sundays are my favorite day! I have a District Leadership meeting in the morning and then church. Im really enjoying being a District Leader. I was called by The Branch Presidency that watches over the MTC. We had interviews and told us the next day. Its been a lot of fun meeting with everyone, checking it and trying my best to be an example.   

But aside form that, after church is when the fun stuff comes@ We watch an MTC Speech by one of The 12 Apostles, This weeks was from Jeffrey R. Holland. And it was so so good and motivating. We also get to here from Our MTC President or Area Authorities and we always end with a movie so its a nice relaxing day!  

This week we have had some interesting foods! I mostly just took picture so food this week because not too much else to take pictures of! We had Fufu, Bankoo, Chicken Gizzard, Cow Heart, Mystery Meat and tons of Rice. It has taken some getting used to but I'm learning to enjoy it. I eat every meal and end up staying full throughout the day. But I really must say... I miss American Food oh so so much! I just want some fruit snacks, or maybe a hamburger. One of the other White Elders, has the big hookup with American Candy so He will slide me a piece of candy every once in a while! My taste buds are definitely coming around to The African Food and I'm enjoying eating with my hands! I also got my first haircut here in Africa, and not gonna lie It really isn't too bad, just not to happy with how short they cut it!!

I had a few experiences this week worth sharing:

First: It was about 9:30 pm and my comp. and I were getting ready for bed and studying. After studying, I went and took a shower. Right when I got out of the shower, someone knocked on the door. So I wasn't thinking about it too much and went and opened it, while in my towel. To my horror it was President Allen the MTC President. Now President Allen is not someone you would like to mess with, disobedience wise, because he is pretty particular. So when I saw Him, in my mind I just did a huge Face Palm. He looks at me up and down and with the most emotion I have ever heard in someones voice, he says " Where are your clothes" I replied I had just gotten out of the shower and was about to change. He then looks at my companion who was not dressed and says " Where are your clothes?" He replies that he is entering the shower and proceeds to run in. President just looks down and sighs. He then proceeds to do His business with Elder Fowler. But while all this is going on I'm still half way behind the door and totally beating myself up in my head. After He gets done with Elder Fowler, all he says very very awkwardly is "I can see you are all very comfortable with each other, but lets have more reverence." he then closes the door. Well i can say, that that conversation was the most awkward and horrifying conversation I have ever had the pleasure of having. It was so awkward because He and I both just didn't know what to do and so it was pretty funny.  Still to this day, I am expecting him to come and scold me. 
*Parent Note: This would be like opening the door in your towel to see your boss or the president of the company you work for...a little awkward*

Second: A Missionary, Elder Topham, who is currently serving in Sierra Leone was at The MTC yesterday. He has been out for 17 months and had been in Ghana for medical treatment. His last night He came to the MTC for flight plans, but I ended up getting to meet him. He gave me two good pieces of advice. He said " Elder Morgan, Im gonna give you some advice that your gonna wanna know. Sierra Leone is very much in poverty. Some Missionaries get there and turn right around because it ain't easy. It's very different even from Ghana. If you are called to serve here The Lord has a work for you to do, so you can either embrace that and buck up or it'll be a hard transition. Also get used to talking dumb. They speak Krio and some missionaries never learn it but I would recommend  that you learn it. It sounds backward and very simplified but learn it. If you do these two things you will love the country and love the people. I have loved every minute of my mission and cant wait to see you out there." So I guess its a pretty tough place out there, but Ill be ready for it. 

All in all the big take away from this week is Jesus Christ is literally the best. I have really felt closer to Him and have grown to love Him much more deeply. I'm grateful for Him and cannot put my feelings into words it seem like. I am also really studying the scriptures very intently. It seems as if all the Africans begin reading the Bible pretty much directly after birth. They know all about it, so I have been playing catch up! It has been a blessing, but knowledge really does come line upon line, and precept upon precept. I'm in love with being a missionary! Its tough being away from friends and family during the holiday season, but when I truly think about it I wouldn't rather be any place else on earth. I love it. 

Favorite Scripture Chapter this week: Alma 5 Scripture Study Focus: Mosiah 15: 1-5 (I'd love to talk about it if any questions arise!)

Love you all very much and Merry Christmas,
-Elder Morgan

Additional from our emails with Eli:

We have been having a few devotionals and meetings about the New Light The World Movement here. Its pretty cool, because we are adding a new lesson to our teaching regiment for this month. We had a big devotional with President Nash, who is the Area Authority and President of all Western Africa Missions, and He just really had some cool cool things to say about Jesus Christ. I really have been feeling such a deeper and more passionate love for Our Savior. We have been having a few meeting and heard talks about it and I have just really enjoyed it. 

In the Cafeteria, Elder Georgewill and I helped Sister Allen put up a Christmas Tree and it was His first time so He had a lot of fun with it. 

Accra Ghana Temple

Elder Morgan and Elder Fowler

In Class

Elder Georgewill is a crack up. He is 23 yr old and from Nigeria. He is the only member of his family. It is pretty hard to understand him because of his accent and he mumbles a lot. But we get along just fine. He speaks English and Abua. It is just spoken in Nigeria.

First week at the Ghana MTC (Missionary Training Center)

Hello Everyone!

AFRICA IS SO AWESOME!! 

We flew for 18 hours on Wednesday and Thursday. There ended up being 10 Missionaries from the States, we all met up in St. Paul, Minnesota. Turns out we have about 6 companion ships going to Sierra Leone. Once we arrived in the Airport, it was really hectic and pretty crazy. We ended up getting our bags and waited to be picked up. Once the MTC person picked us up, we walked outside and It was insane. It was so stinking hot and there were people trying to talk to you and take your bags, there were probably 200 people right in front of the entrance. We got past everyone and got into the car, and that drive to The MTC was probably the scariest drive I've ever been on. They really do not know how to drive here and so it was really hectic haha. We arrived to The MTC and were greeted by President Allen and His Wife. We got our badges, and had a little meeting, ate some food and then were off to bed. 

Elder Fowler and I are in the same room, and so we walk into find our Companions asleep. So they woke up and we all connected pretty quick. My Companions name is Elder Georgewill, He is pretty hilarious and really quirky. Although I can only understand him like 25% of the time, he is awesome!! he is 23 years old and from Nigeria. He is such an awesome example. It is really pretty cool because, most African Missionaries are like 22-24 years old, they literally just sign up for a mission and leave after only a year of being a member of the church. 

Elder Morgan and Elder Georgewill

The yellow dot indicates they are new missionaries. They typically take it off after the first week...or sooner!

The MTC is really a cool experience. The building itself is super nice and really new. And everyone is really nice and welcoming, President Allen and His wife are super cool!! We have had some really awesome awesome lessons and devotionals. I could definitely see him as a general authority after He is done at the Ghana MTC. One devotional I really enjoyed was an MTC Devotional by David A. Bednar. Its so cool because no one else in the world is aloud to see the MTC Devotionals except those in the MTC at the time of the devotional. This one talked about the Selflessness of Jesus Christ. Please give me that topic as a homecoming talk, because I have some good content!! I feel so so good at The MTC, because of the Spirit that is here. Truly an amazing blessing. Classes are long and I've been pretty tired adjusting to the new time zone. We are in class of about 10ish hours a day memorizing scripture and lessons, reading and studying, and and a lot of prayer for help! 

Eli and Elders in His Zone

Beds in the MTC

Studying?

View from the MTC

Hand Washing His Clothes

The food isn't my favorite but I am getting use to it. IT IS ALOT OF RICE! All they eat is rice haha. The portions here are huge so I am always full. 
The Weather takes some getting used to. It is so extremely humid and hot here. Its feels like you are walking through water all day, and my hair is pretty crazy because of the humidity! I don't know how I'm gonna survive in the field because I get sweaty when we are in the classrooms too!! It smells like matches here because they burn all of their trash here and so it is pretty different. The power goes in and out, so that's always a surprise. Cold showers are literally my best friend as of right now, but they don't really have cold shower water so its just a warm shower, and I always feel sticky haha. 

Rice, Rice and More Rice

All in all I've felt at home here. The transition was not hard at all, although there are a few things culturally that I've gotta get used to,its not bad. It is hot, tiring, sweaty, sticky and very spiritual and its the place for me! Africa is an amazing place. The people are so nice and love to have fun, I think I cry laughing at least once a day, its usually with elder Georgewill. I'm having fun, no need to worry about me! 

I love you all soooo much!
- Elder Morgan

The Ghana Missionary Training Center (MTC)

Eli arrived at the Ghana MTC today. We received the following from President Allen, the President of the MTC.

Good morning, Brother and Sister Morgan,

Elder Morgan did indeed arrive safe and sound late last night. Their only desire at that point was to eat a bite and go to bed. I’ve attached a photo of the American group.

From morning until late last night, Sister Allen and I received 130 missionaries from 20+ countries, some as far away as Papua New Guinea. Some will have difficulty in contacting their families during their entire missions…what a sacrifice! We love them all! They will now embark on a marvelous journey of conversion to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and to His doctrine, including faith in Christ, repentance, honoring their covenants, seeking the Holy Spirit, and learning to persevere faithfully. Thank you for your support along this path.

And thank you for preparing Elder Morgan to come to this remarkable part of the world.

President Allen

Just Arriving at the Ghana MTC

And He's off!

Eli left this afternoon from the Sacramento Airport. His travel to the Ghana MTC (Missionary Training Center) will take about 22 hours. He's headed to St Paul, Minnesota. Then he'll head on to Amsterdam. From there he'll fly to Accra Ghana. He will arrive in Ghana at 7:55pm Thursday evening (Thanksgiving Day), which is 11:55am our time (Pacific). 

He was anxious to get going, so our goodbyes were quick. We're hoping that we'll hear back from him soon after he arrives in Ghana.

And with that, a piece of our heart heads to Sierra Leone.