"Things got scary real fast"

February 24, 2014

Family,

Well this week was a pretty crazy week and a lot happened so I hope I can remember everything. To start off Jones, Van Ike, and Michael all were baptized on Saturday! It was such an awesome experience to see them baptized! Especially Brother Jones because I contacted him the very first day we were in New Town the then four weeks later he is baptized! I even got to baptize him and Michael!  But where the bigger miracle happened was on Sunday morning where we have church at 8 in the morning and New Town being a very far off place we were able to see all three of them at church in their shirt and tie! It was so awesome and all of them were so happy! It’s hard to explain how big of a miracle that was unless you know how bad African time is and the distance they had to travel!

I got the package and it was so sweet! The camera is awesome and the recording was even better! I forgot what everything looked like! I wish you would have gone outside but it was still awesome! And the new movie room is ssoooo sweet! I’m so jealous haha. Also everyone says that I look older than Kraymer (hahaha that’s right Kraymer :) and than I also got a little Valentine’s card from the Weilers! It was so sweet of them! I’m sorry to say that there is no McDonalds in pretty much all of Africa besides South Africa and maybe a few countries in the East. But I will definitely use that card they gave me when I hit up JFK, baby! Also have dad give Dr. Si my blog address.  I have a feeling that he would like that!

Now to the interesting things that happened to us this week… to start off we were walking on the road and we saw a taxi car had crashed into a 6 foot push cart that Ghanaians use to transport goods and heavy objects. As we got closer, we came to realize that there were a few dead dolphins on the cart! It was very sad! Isn’t it illegal to kill dolphins? It appeared that the man that was pushing the cart lost control of it going down a hill and it hit an oncoming taxi.

Then a few mornings ago I was taking a shower and I didn’t have my glasses on and I saw this big looking thing in the corner of the shower. Not thinking too much about because I couldn’t see, I just left it there. After I finished showering and got all dressed,  I put my contacts in and went back to the bathroom and while I was looking in the mirror I saw something move in the corner of my eye, so i quickly glanced over and saw this huge scorpion in our shower!!! I was like what the heck??!!! I had just showered with that thing!! So I quickly got Elder Strong and we took photos and recorded us trying to kill it, but when it pulled its claws out and lifted its stingy thing in the air...things got scary real fast! The thing was so fast, so it took us a few attempts to kill it! I now fear scorpions more than those dang wall spiders! Where the scorpion came from we have no clue, which is the worst part about it haha. Oh well.

Mission is awesome. I love it here in Ghana! And the people! Tonight we are going to an FHE where the little children from 10 under all have to quote a scripture that they have memorized in front of everyone. There is this 4 yr. old girl that is the cutest and says "honor your father and mother" haha so funny!

I love you all and miss you! Have a great week!

Elder Eppich

I definitely have felt the Lord’s presence throughout the work!

February 17, 2014

Family,

That is crazy how fast the weather has changed! (Snow in Washington is gone) It is definitely getting hotter here! But I’m used to it now! I can’t even imagine what it will be like when I get home in the winter!! Yes I sleep with that small Kadlec blanket. Haha. Yes I heard there is another endowment session and it’s driving me nuts because I haven’t seen the first one. And yes we should have a ward temple trip at the beginning of March! I’m so happy Dad was able to talk with Dr. Si! Dad should try and invite him to church! I remember he called me on Christmas Day to check on how I was doing! (Dr. Si was Kade's Dr. when he broke his collarbone and was awesome. Whenever Todd sees him at the hospital he always asks how Kade is doing)

Well this last week was a pretty good one for Elder Strong and I. We are continuing to work hard and are searching for the elect to help build the church in New Town. Yes our goal is 500 baptisms between two zones. Two zones cover a whole stake, so it is definitly possible! We have found a building for a new branch but the landlord is a seaman and he is not in the country yet so hopefully soon we will be able to get in contact with him. I definitely have felt the Lord’s presence throughout the work!  Saturday we are planning a baptism for 3 investigators, so please keep them in your prayers. The baptism is for Brother Van Ike and Michael.  Brother Van ike’s mother is a member of the church in Volta region and Michael is his uncle. They started coming to church a little bit ago but it was very hard to meet their schedule. Michael is definitely a future potential missionary. The other potential baptism is Jones. He is a loving 47-year-old man that loves the church. He is very easy going and very smart! He came to church every since we first contacted him. On Sunday I gave him a tie so he looked very good and just like a member yesterday! So hopefully by God’s grace we can baptize them this Saturday. Elder Strong and I have been doing pretty well because when I first got here we didnt have very many people to work with but now we have a nice, good teaching pool! Today Elder Strong and I went to the MTC and helped be “investigators” and kind of be stubborn to make the new missionaries work harder to resolving our concerns. Haha it was so much fun! And then after that we had most of our zone come and play sports! We played soccer then volleyball after that! It feels so good to just go out and play one day :)

Have a great week! Much love!

Elder Eppich

Seeing the Miracles of Hard Work

Elder Eppich and other missionaries eating fufu with grasscutter. Grasscutter is a BIG African rat!!

1 year anniversary in Ghana

Elder Eppich and companion eating pizza, a rare treat.

February 10, 2014

Family,

Well this last week was an amazing one for us! Elder Strong and I worked super hard and we definitely saw the miracle that came from it! So I will have to describe to you everything so that you can understand how big of a deal it is. So Tema New Town is about an hour-long walk to the nearest church building or a very expensive taxi ride. Keep in mind New Town is a very poor area and they don’t have a lot. So yesterday we had 9 investigators at church!!! That is an amazing number where we are serving! We just have found some super awesome people that we are working with and they are all willing to make the sacrifice to come to church! I can’t wait to see how everything grows when we put a branch in New Town! It will definitely be a huge blessing. The only thing that is stopping us right now from doing it is finding a branch building. So Elder Strong and I have been asking around and are praying for a new building to bless the lives of these great people!

On Thursday, Elder Ballard (other zone leader) and I went to Accra for our Mission Leadership Council and we talked about a lot of stuff and really applied with what we learned from Elder Bednar to our council of about 14 missionaries. Then on Friday night we met with the Stake president (Elder Ballard and I) and were able to talk about a lot of things. President Morrison is an amazing Stake President! Currently in the Tema stake we have 3300 members and Elder Bednar has asked Presdent Morrison to do whatever it takes to be able to split the stake by December 2014. To do that we will have to have 3800 members in the stake. So basically he was telling us that we have to bring 500 souls to Christ by Christmas time, and we can totally do it with the help up faithful missionaries and members! It will be awesome to be able to see that happen!

So yes I burned a shirt and yes mom, I will send photos! Elder Strong and I were able to celebrate by going to Eddy’s pizza and drop 40 GHC (this is about 20. US) on some pizza. It was so amazing!!!! (Well not really, but it was the best I have had in Ghana) so that was nice but I don’t feel any different from being on a mission for a year now. haha

I’m super jealous of all the snow that you are enjoying right now! A few nights ago I was able to sleep with two fans blowing on me inside my mosquito net but it got me too cold so I had to turn one off haha. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Eppich, Sr.

Elder Bednar in Ghana and One year mark as a missionary!

In Tema, Ghana. This scooter belongs to an investigator that is paralyzed from the waist down. When he isn't in this he crawls around on his hands. 

the original district Elder ujifusa(not pictured), ELDER Rain, me, van Scheltema, Thornhill, Nelson.

February 2, 2014

Family,

Well this week was an awesome week!! On Tuesday there was a member devotional with Elder Bednar and the missionaries that brought investigators were able to attend, we brought 3! It was so awesome! Elder Clayton, his wife, and Elder Bednar’s wife got up and bore their testimonies and then Elder Bednar got up and wanted everybody to ask him questions about the church! And there were over 2000 people there, so they just started to send around microphones and Elder Bednar answered them! It was such a sweet experience! One thing I learned in that meeting was when you are facing lots of trials and challenges just keep your head up, lean forward, and keep pressing forward! It was awesome! Our investigators loved it! But Thursday is where it was way awesome! To start off it was combined missions and so we got to see all the missionaries in the other mission that we knew before the mission split. It was awesome to see Elder van Scheltema, Hansen, Thornhill, and Elder Rain (my first District Leader) we got a sweet pic of our very first district! It was a powerhouse district because all of us are leaders in the mission now! I will send the photo! So basically it was the same kind of meeting with Elder Bednar! He got up and told us that we will be doing the talking today and ask questions. But before he started he talked about taking notes. He compared taking notes to the Book of Mormon. (I hope I say it right because it was way awesome how he explained it.) The book of Mormon was split into to sets of plates, the large plates were a history of everything that happened, but the small plates were spiritual promptings that they received and wrote down. So he told us he wants us to keep "small plate notes, and write down impressions that we receive from the Holy Spirit" and not take "large plate notes, where we just write down what he says" it really caught me by surprise the way he said it but I instantly loved it! So that is what I was trying to do, just listen all by the spirit and learn from the spirit and not from Elder Bednar. Elder Bednar was funny and just a normal man, but obviously he had a stronger spirit with him! He also said something that I really liked. It was "if all you heard was a great talk, then youre not listening!" I learned so much from the spirit that day and how I needed to be a better missionary and how to best help the zone! Elder Bednar talked a little on the Saviors ministry and how he ministered to the 2500 people "one-by-one" and how sometimes its not about how many baptisms you have or your lessons, but being able to help a struggling missionary! I know that is one of the reasons why I got transferred to Tema!

This week will mark my year on my mission! I can’t believe how fast it has gone by for me! It doesn’t seem like that long ago when I got to the MTC and now I am a year out and serving right next to the MTC! It blows my mind! One of the things Coach Riner taught me is how important the third quarter is! From the start of the third quarter you can see which team came ready to win the football game and has that strong desire to keep fighting and coming out after halftime ready to give it their all! So every game we gave it our all at the beginning of the third quarter and that momentum followed us the rest of the game! I truly believe that is one of the reasons why we did so well!! Now as I liken this to missionary work, I hope you will understand what I’m saying.  I am currently entering into the third quarter of my mission and I want to give it my all and keep that momentum running the rest of my mission! I don’t think coach Riner meant to refer that to missionary work (or maybe he did) but it applies very well here! 

Also, no we don’t have an oven but I guess there is one at our meeting house. Today we went to the MTC and played volleyball and it was so much fun! I miss just being able to go out and do whatever I want lol!

I love you all and miss you! I hope all is well and you have a great week!

Elder Kade Eppich

Ps I got the packages! Thank you so much! I love you and the summer sausage and cheese was awesome! They have crackers here that I can buy when the Ritz run out!!