Working Hard in Kpong

Baptim of Vanilla and her mom. In Kpong Ghana

Elder Halavaka (Austrialia) Baptism of David and Vanilla.

August 26, 2013 Family, Well this last week was a good one for us! (I feel like that is the same way I start each letter home, but I guess it’s better than other ways) Elder Halavaka and I worked hard and were rewarded with 2 baptisms and 10 investigators at church! Each week we continue to improve with our investigators at church! Hopefully that continues to happen by God’s grace :) So we were able to baptize David and Vanilla! We were able to get the man that knew sign to translate for us. It was an amazing experience for us!!! We would tell the man what to say, and then it would be dead silent and you could feel the spirit so strong!! When the lesson was finished Elder Halavaka and I were like '"That....was.....amazing!" We were really afraid that it all wouldn’t work out because the man is always super busy. He is an African bead maker, and he also travels the world to Universities and teaches people how to make the African beads because it is such a rare talent! That is how he learned sign language because in 2005 a University asked him to come down to South Africa to a University for people with challenges and they paid for his classes to learn sign language! It was a miracle that everything worked out and she was able to be baptized!! David is doing really well and he brought his best friend to church and so we went and saw him after church and extended a baptismal date to him! By God's grace we can have a great month in September! But as long as we continue to work hard!! Oh we got couple missionaries out here!! I’m so excited! They make everything nicer and easier for us missionaries out here in the bush. Their names are Elder and Sister Cosgrave and I think they are from Highland, Utah or something like that. We will be going to Koforidua on Thursday for zone conference, and so I’m excited for that because Kof town is way sweet! It’s a huge city that is surrounded by hills; it’s just really cool :) It’s cool because we have an awesome lady that we are teaching named Sister Pat. We also teach her son Dominic, and her brother, Emmanuel. She is married to a man from Austria and their baby daughter is white! Haha it’s so funny, but she treats us so nice! When she feeds us meals she always says that she prepares everything for us just like she would for her husband, whether it’s because we’re white, or she just likes us so much, I’m not really sure! The three of them came to church once and loved it!! So hopefully they will be able to be baptized next month!! Yes, I’m way tired at the end of the days Haha but I don’t like to fall asleep because it feels like a 5 min nap and then I’m up again. Haha I haven’t got your package yet but hopefully on Thursday when we go to Kof town. And next Pday I’m way excited because we’re having a zone activity in Ho and there are a lot of missionaries in our zone that loves sports and so were going to enjoy!!! Plus I haven’t been to Ho so it will be awesome! Well I’m glad you got the bracelets! I was so nervous that it wouldn’t get to you guys! I don’t even remember what I said in there to make you cry. Haha. I’m glad grandpa is doing better! Well I love you all and I’m grateful for all of you! The church is true! Elder Eppich Jr.

Lifting weights, Ghana style

Helping  fix dinner in Kpong :)

All Africa Service Project

All Africa Service Project - August 17, 2013

Mango Tree in Kpong

August 19, 2013

Family,

Well this week went by very fast! And I think it was because we were working the whole time and it just flew by! You are right, it doesn’t happen very often when a missionary gets sent back to their previous area! They had 2 baptisms while i was gone, and then they had a few investigators waiting for us but only a few were very serious. We’ve been working hard here and looking for new people to teach. We taught 43 lessons this week. We have a few investigators that are preparing for baptism next week. One is Brother David who is 16 and he is a really awesome kid who doesn’t show too much enthusiasm but when we ask him about his baptism he just says, I know I have to be baptized and it’s what I want to do. Haha no smile or anything! He will be a great member! And then another girl is 14 yrs old. Her whole family is members but her, and it’s because she is deaf and so she goes to a school out of Kpong and is never home long enough for missionaries to get a translator to help them and teach the commandments and covenants. She will be around until September and so we have been working with her and there is a member in the branch who knows sign (I have no clue how but they do! Miracle right there) and so this week we will help her understand everything this week. Mostly just the covenants she is making. But she always has a smile on her face! And her mother is trying to teach us a little bit of sign to communicate with her. The mother only knows a little bit! And so she can’t translate for us. (Mom, my MTC comp was Elder Sulonteh from Liberia.) Training is really cool but stressful being a senior comp Haha because if you don’t get investigators at church than its all on you Haha and so I was just praying the whole time that people would come and at the end of sacrament meeting 7 investigators came in, I was so relieved!! That’s awesome about Ziggy. Nobody here knows him Haha. Ya all my RC love seeing me, but I get to see 2 of them only on Sunday because we don’t proselyte in Akuse anymore. Well I hope you all have a great week! I love you all! Oh the only down thing about being back in Kpong is that there are a ton more spiders! Oh I forgot that on Saturday was the whole Africa Helping Hands thing. Its where everyone in Africa on the 17th of August does a service project and so we went and worked on this old library. Painted, trimmed trees cut the grass. It was a really fun service project! We were suppose to get little vest that says helping hands on it and the Church’s name but our Branch President forgot them and so hopefully we will get them at PEC :) While we were raking all the cut grass this little snake pops out of nowhere and the girl next to me jumps a little bit and just takes her machette (they have a different name for it here) and cuts it in half :) Haha thank goodness she was there. But honestly they don’t scare me as bad, it’s just those first few seconds that get me. Love ya all! Elder Eppich

Back in Kpong and Training

6 months as a missionary in Ghana! burning an old tie :)

6 months in Ghana!

August 12, 2013 Family, Well this last transfer caught me by surprise!! I thought for sure I would be staying in Achimota because Elder Gusa has been there for 6 months, but nope the Lord had different plans for me Haha. I actually got sent back out to Kpong!!! I was so shocked because missionaries don’t get sent back to areas they have served in very often! But it was because Elder Kandeh (my previous comp) got called to open Akuse and to train a new missionary. And so I’m finishing training his first trainee. He is an awesome guy (and a great cook :)) From Australia! His name is Elder Halavaka. He has a strong testimony as well! But it was so weird to go back to Kpong and see my RC (recent converts) there! They were all excited to see me again! It was funny because we have this lady near our apartment that just loved Elder Hansen and I and last transfer we both left Kpong so she was very sad. And the first day in Kpong I went to say hi to her and she saw me and screamed and ran and gave me a hug Haha I was like dobby dobby dobby (NO NO NO) I can’t do that Haha she was just so happy to see me again. She is like around mom’s age and so I always call her mama Mercy :) But on a side note can you send me a bunch of little pictures of myself that we took next to the Ghana flag the night I left? Like just small wallet size because I want to give them to my RC so they always remember me!! :) So this week in Kpong we just looked for new investigators the whole time pretty much! We ended up with 23 new investigators and that’s only from working Thursday-Sunday Haha hopefully a few will be serious! The only tough problem we’re facing is that our main area is Somanya and it costs 70 peeswas to travel to Kpong where we meet for church and so hopefully we can make it work! I believe they are opening a branch closer to Somanya though! That will be really nice! Ya I still take the malaria pills....as often as I can remember Haha and I’ve been in Ghana for 6 months so yes I’m used to the heat Haha. We haven’t had any rain for a while. I hope rainy season isn’t over yet :( I lost my thumb drive and so I need to by a new one so I’m going to withdraw some money out to buy it. Even though it’s more expensive I don’t want to wait for a while to get it. I need to save all my photos! My “Eppich” tie was made by Rolland Pecku he is an RM from Nigeria and that’s where he learned how to make it! I still love the food! So that’s good! And no you never told me you are taking lessons for the violin!!! I want you to play for my home coming :). It’s weird to think I’ve been in Ghana for the last 6 months Haha I burnt a tie and got some nice photos I will send!! I love you all and I’m truly grateful for the love and support I continue to get from everyone! The church is true! Elder Eppich











FM (free meal) Kwabenya District

Achimoto church building Elders

Six Months in the Mission!

August 5, 2013 Family, Well we had another good week here in Achimota. Yesterday was fast Sunday and we had a mission fast for a few reasons and that was awesome to be a part of!! Also, Daniel and Rosina came for their confirmations! They were super happy with everything. They went and bought some new clothes for church and Daniel had this sweet pink African wear!! They're an awesome family and will do great things!!! I’m so happy for them! Well our people set for baptism on the 10th said they wanted more time to learn (happens a lot) and so we postponed it to the 24th of August and hopefully they will be ready for that day. They still come to church but they just want to know more before baptism! Like I honestly don’t remember a whole lot that happened this week. I should have brought my journal with me so I can remember the things that happened to us in the week! That's way awesome about Alison and Luke! They looked very nice together! We teach around 30 lessons a week here so it’s a little less but it’s still a good number! I honestly have no clue what’s going to happen at transfers, I know I won’t train but as far as being moved or staying I have no clue. I don’t think president Judd knows until late tonight when he receives his final inspiration on where missionaries should be going. Everything here in Ghana is going very good! I love the mission and can’t believe I’m at 6 months already! Love you all! The church is true! Thank you once again for all the love and support! Elder Eppich