A GHANIAN CHRISTMAS

My first christmas away from home was an experience.
Started off by having to explain to 50% of the people i meet, that christmas is actually the 25th and not the 26th as most of them believe. and celebrate it on they spend all day on the 25th preparing food and what not for the 26th! 


Our branch had a Christmas Eve (actually on the 24th) Carols night.  It was very nice they did the usual, hymns mixed with the Christmas story from the scriptures.  They called upon the missionaries to sing the second last song.  The people have a habit of doing that.  Like talking at Oyoko Branch Sacrament meetings.
You sit with the president in PEC and see him all morning and he says nothing untill "ok so our second speaker is our beloved missionary......" and you are just stunned.
lol
But other than that this week has been great!


We had another baptism on CHRISTMAS!!!  it was very nice.  it was one of our recently returned missionaries's nephew.  we are now working with the rest of the family.
So that is something to look forward too.  I love you all and hope everything is going great!!!!
MISS YOU
LOVE ELDER ANDERSON

CHRISTMAS IN GHANA

C H R I S T M A S   C O N F E R E N C E

ELDER CHIMUKA NEXT TO CRANNEY'S XMAS TREE

KOFORIDUA DISTRICT AND SISTER CRANNEY

BAPTISM AT OYOKO 18/12/2010

The Koforidua/Effiduase Apartment!!!! BEST IN THE MISSION

OYOKO BAPTISIMAL FONT

MY NEW COMPANION - ELDER CHIMUKA

We enjoy waiting an hour for our baptism to start!

DHL, GHANA CUSTOMS and CEDIS from Abruni ... in time for Christmas?

EMAIL FROM DHL AUSSIE TO DHL GHANA

Dear Colleagues,

Good morning!

This is now being escalated and causing the shipper great discomfort and frustration. Can we please process the DTP on account ######### ASAP? If you require further information from Aaron Anderson (who's not in the location at the moment), please contact President Smith on ### #### ####.  He is the President of the Mission.  The mission is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

We need this issue to be resolved ASAP to avoid further delays. If you "got it right for the first time" by informing us beforehand thru trace request this wouldn't take longer time to process and cause any delays.

Your prompt response and action is much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

###### ######

Key Accounts Executive

DHL Express Australia

10 Boronia Road

ELDER ANDERSON:

DHL is terrible and i don't like them.  Apprantly the hold up has been they will not release the package until they speak directly to me.

So they called me and they are now telling me that in order to receive the package i need a Ghanian Tax Identification Number.  And they i should go to the DHL office here in Koforidua

I went there and they are now telling me that i have to pay a 200cedi ($140) customs fee to receive the package! i dont know what to do.   Its ridiculous.  We get 90 cedis a month to live off (so you can tell how ridiculous that is!!)

Please tell me what i should do?
It does not seem right that is costs you $200+ to send, plus the $300 worth of stuff in it and then to pay another $200 to receive it!
 :(
I'm not impressed! 

ANOTHER MESSAGE TO DHL.....

Hi Amanda,

As per our conversation today, please MANUALLY process the above box through customs.  As I understand, the box will be processed MANUALLY through customs and will be delivered to DHL Koforidua so that Elder Aaron Anderson can pick it up.  Elder Anderson will NOT be charged anything - all charges will be paid at this end as per instructions from DHL Australia below.

PLEASE MANUALLY PROCESS AS a matter of URGENCY....

DESPITE CALLING GHANA AND OBTAINING AN ASSURANCE THAT NO FEES TO BE PAID IN GHANA..... ELDER ANDERSON EMAILS....

ELDER ANDERSON

 they called me again this morning and told me that i still have to pay 150cedis.
i told them about this email so she said she is going to call the office and followup.

i think they are just trying to get money from me because I'm white

THEN AFTER ANOTHER PHONE CALL TO GHANA....

ELDER ANDERSON

hey everything is okay,

i called emmanuel after i emailed you.  and he told me what was going on.'  It was the lady at the Koforidua Office who apprantly had day old information about the payment.  I still think she was just tryin to scam me,  but i will call him again tomorrow im not sure if they are in the office or not on saturday however. if not i will call monday and then the office elders will go on monday and pick it up for me.

it should be all fine they can take my passport and what not and they have a signed note from me that allows them to pick up any mail/packages on my behalf. then on tuesday the cranneys are going to
accra so they can bring it back for me.

thank you again for all your help
im sure i will get it soon enough!!

GETTING SICK... DESCRIBING FOOD... IN GHANA

Do you know if my package arrived?  hopefully i will get it tomorrow.  We are having the mission christmas comference.

I got my mums aussie post package last week.  it did arrive.  It took 7 weeks in transit and I'm almost finished the chocolate.  And a calendar for next year with all Aussie animal photos on it.  It was cool to show the other missionaries.  I eat a lot but I've lost weight.  I eat all the time yeah I just sweat it all off.

Today is 4 months by the way!!! And it's almost Christmas.  There's some missionaries going home on Wednesday - 3 weeks early so they can be home for Christmas.

Looks like the box is still in clearance delay.  

Hey I was sick this week.  Malaria.  I almost died.  They took me to the clinic.  I call it a hospital.  JOKING BAHAHAHA lo... It was just food poisoning.  I vomited and had dirreooah for 24 hours then all gone.  Sister Smith thought it was Malaria - she wanted me to start taking the Malaria medication but it went away.  We can make our own food but it is rude to say no to a member/investigator if they want to feed you!  Even if you don't like it, it's hard when you don't even chew the food, you just swallow it straight and they watch to see if 'Obruni' can eat it.  They eat a lot of Goat here.  There was a man who killed two right outside the door of one of our investigators while we were teaching her.  they eat the intestines and the stomach and ALL of it - the skin, they eat lots of skin.

 

NEW COMPANION and MORE FOOD

The weather here has been HOT.  funny that.
I'm trying to think about what we can do for Christmas and Christmas trees/  decorations.
thinking of going to cutting one down.

So my new companion is cool,
His name is Elder Chimuka from Zimbabwe
He was best friend with Elder Wicho (my MTC companion) before they both came on mission.  He is 6 months (2 transfers ahead of me)  he arrived in ghana the same time i got my call!!!!  pretty crazy i know.

hey did you end up telling blaze to look out for the kid from melbourne at convention
Markus Thom.  The office couple were telling me about him.  I will no longer be the lone Australian in the Mighty Ghana Accra Mission

We went mountain climbing today, so i put here's some photos for you guys to check out.  finally see where ive been living for the past 3 months.

We celebrated thanksgiving last week.  it was pretty fun! is that something that you guys do?  We have mashed potatoes and boy were they amazing! with beef ( no turkey here) and beans and carrots and bread and gravy... it was quite a feast.
plus pineapple and mango.

i told them i will make pav for Australia Day. might even have a barbie!!! lol
Which reminds me are you able to put in one of those easy pav's?
i don't know what they are called but hopefully you know what i'm talking about.
if not i will just suffer trying to make one from scratch!!! lol
i was thinking of making some lamingtons as well!

I'm in the coolest place in the mission and loving it out here! the branches are cool, the members are cool, the work is sweet and plently FM(free meals) and everyone just says that the Koforidua elder's are the luckest and that we will suffer when we go to Accra....  My Companion was telling me some pretty crazy stories! but i'll leave them for another time!

We planning on having a baptism on Christmas (they call it a 'White Baptism' ) not sure why, it doesn't snow here but anyway.  the branch presidency were very excited about that.

One of my new words which Ghanians understand 'plenty' and 'smallsmall' 'bigbig' 'so you understand very well'

P.S    and m&m's, nutella and skittles are the bomb :D

Love you all lots and lots
ELDER ANDERSON!

More Baptisms, BIG Fufu and Goodbye to Elder Tukon

The prophets card game is soo cool! there are some way interesting facts on them and we played it last night after we planned and ate brownies the Sis Cranny made for us with ice cream and a whole heap of laffy taffys, jolly ranchers lemonheads, starburst and nerds!!!! it was fun!!!! we are going to make cookies this week and Sis Cranny is going to make the Lehi Roller mills brownies for us!!! that mix smells amazing!!!!

We had another baptism on Saturday and we baptized the mother of two of the people from our last baptism. She was so excited to be baptized. She has been coming to church for just over three months now. Her husband is a member but they were not Yet married, so she couldn't be baptized. And finally on the 1st they did their marriage! It was so exciting and man she was so excited she even came an hour early to the baptism (which started half an hour late cause we were waiting for the Branch President and the Branch Mission Leader)

She made a BIG fufu with hen soup lol, (chicken soup). We went and pounded it for her! I have some nasty blisters and chunks of skin missing from the palms of my hands! But it was cool!

We also baptized her small son's friend and his mother!!! It was amazing, we are currently working with the rest of their family.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1232000615666&comments

My companion is going home!
We sort of had a little party today for him. Made a huge soup, pounded heaps of yam fufu and like 6kg of chicken and a huge tuna fish and ate it on our landladies balcony.

We are traveling to Accra on Wednesday and i will be saying goodbye to him!!!!!! i cannot believe he is going home already!!!!! 3 months! wow and i get a new companion!!!!!

Everything is COOL with Elder Anderson

8 Nov 2010
As for me it (my week) was very cool!  and tomorrow i finally get to go to Accra again!!!! its only been 10 weeks but still!!!  we are going to the temple :)
and i will finally be able to buy normal things and not be ripped off by bush bums!!! lol

This week was cool.
We went to this park/rain forest thing this morning to take photos.