December 21, 2015 Email

Hey Fam!!!

So this week was pretty boring actually haha!!!!

So we went around and met with a few investigators that we have and a few of them have a lot of potential!!  Elder Roberts and I plan to baptize a young man named Osumon on Saturday!  He wants me to baptize him, and I really want to baptize him.

So, if I can baptize him, that will be my first baptism in less than 1 month of being in Ghana!!!!  So the people here are so nice!!  They are all spiritual and they love to see us and talk with us.  The only downsides are biking everywhere, people being gone for work, and how much the culture is different in Ghana!!!

So fam, if you could send me the right cord for my camera that would be great!!  If not, I might just buy a new camera.  We are able to Skype or call on Friday, and we might go for about 7 here, so it would be about noon back home.  I need the Skype address from mom, and I need to know if that time will work.

Please email me back quickly cuz I only have about an hour and a half left on here, so hopefully you write back quickly.

Love you Fam!!!  Being in Ghana, I know that I took things for granted back home.  I never truly appreciated what I had.  Being here, I look anywhere and see that people couldn't be happier with their lives, even when they have so little to survive on.  These people, this area, this world is a blessing, and we need to cherish every moment of it.  It's hard here for sure, bit I know with the Lord's help, I can get through anything that comes my way!!!!

From,
Elder Smith

Facts About Ghana:

• Population: 25,366,500
• Life Expectancy: 61 years
• Access to Safe Water: 86%
• School Enrollment: 84%

• Literacy Rate: 72%
• Under Age 5 Mortality Rate: 72/1000
• Average Annual Income (GNI): 1,550

Ghana's levels of poverty are very high, with 30 percent living on less than $1 a day and 54 percent living on less than $2 a day

1st Email from Ghana - December 14, 2015

Family!!!!!

Ghana is amazing!!!!!!  So we left Sunday morning and went from Salt Lake to San Francisco to Amsterdam to Ghana!!!  It was too long of a flight haha!!!!!!

So now in Ghana, well Budumberg, and my new companion is Elder Roberts!  He's showing me the ropes and all and it's amazing!  The heat here is pretty nice, but the humidity is killer.  So we baptized two of his investigators Saturday actually!!!!  And not gonna lie, the time change is killing me!!!  I try to sleep but it's around 3 or 4 pm over there so it's hard sometimes.

So  Sunday through Tuesday we were on the plane.  We arrived about 8 p.m., and then we went to the mission home with President Hill.  I swear if the heat doesn't kill me, the traffic will!!!!  The traffic is horrendous here!!!!!!  Car after car after car, so close together I'm surprised we haven't hit someone coming here!!!

So the area I'm in is a biking area!  It's huge, rocky, and it's got a lot of hills.  Good for the thighs, but bad for the humor when we try to be on time, ha ha!!!!  So it's fun anyways going around and seeing all these wonderful people.  The kids are so nice and love to see us when we come by, they all call me a bronie, cuz I'm white, but that's ok haha.  Also, I'm starting to learn Twi!!!!!

Sample of the language he is learning.

We have a big biking area, we play soccer a few times a week, I need my correct charging cord for my camera or I might just buy another,  Also, we have a few investigators!  Twi is a very hard language to learn, I'm trying to get used to traveling a lot by bike so ya, that's hard.  Also, It's super cool to be here and see all these amazing people!!!!

Well, I'll update you more later, but it s amazing to be here and serve the Lord!!!  It's hard, but I can make it!!!  Almost a month down, about 23 more to go!!!!!

Sincerely,

Elder Smith

He's In the Air

Stockton left Sunday morning at 11:20 a.m. to make the 19 1/2 hour flight to Ghana.  Here is a picture of his travel path.

Bon voyage, Stockton!!!

December 4, 2015 Email

Hey Fam,

They are having us leave on Sunday morning.  I'll try to find out when and I'll call you that morning.  Our flight is supposed to leave at like 11 or something.

Also, thanks for the package (Christmas Gift), but I'd like to have a Mountain Dew or something hahaha!!!!!!  So we had in field orientation yesterday and that was super cool!!!!!  I was able to learn that making a first impression is super amazing and that I can be able to teach and preach the gospel so easily now!!!!!!!  There's no way I could have done that before I came here!!!!!  Also, my district is amazing!!!!!!  I've made such amazing friends here, my companion Elder Lambsom is amazing and we have a lot in common so that's a plus!!!!!  He's super cool and super fun to get along with, he's from Idaho.

Elder Dawden is with Elder McFarland, Bauden's from Utah and McFarland is from Texas.  The sisters are Sister Kinikini who is from Utah, I think, but she's party Hawaiian, so that's cool!  She's companions with Sister Nancel whose from Arizona.  Sister Younger is from Oregon and she's with Sister Jenson who's from Utah, as well.  We have formed a really amazing bond here at the MTC!!!!  Sure we joke around and mess with each other, but we've become family here and it's going to be hard saying bye to them.

The other half of our zone was pretty amazing too, they already left, so that is sad.  There was Elder Forbis, Kaka (a cool Hawaiian due who gave me a really good haircut), Anderson and Cady.  I can't remember all the Sisters' names, but there was a Sister Rice.  Also, there's like 5 or more Smiths here, so it's confusing to see who's who ha ha!!!  There's, in fact, a Smith typing right next to me so that cool.  Then I met another Stocton Smith!!!!!!! or at least I think that's how he spelled his name.  I tried to take selfie, but I didn't have my camera with me, so bummer.  His middle name is Hyrum, so it would have been cool if he had his name the same as me!!

I also found GREG!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I saw him for like 20 minutes then I had to go to class, so that a bummer.  Hopefully, I'll be able to see him more before I leave.

So, that's my district, they're goofy and crazy, but amazing to be around and make friends with.  Hop to send you pic of us soon!

Well, it's going amazing here at the MTC and leaving here will be a bummer, leaving all these amazing people and not being able to see them for a while.  Wish I could take them with me.  But doing the Lord's work is never truly easy, now is it?  It's amazing to go to the temple every preparation day!!!.  I have taken a lot of pics and it's amazing!!!!!  Can't wait to send them.

Love you all, miss you!

Elder Smith