Elder Kade Edler Eppich: "Thank you for coming to Ghana and Serving a Mission"

Elder Eppich and Elder Kandeh, Liberia

May 20, 2013

Family,

Well, today I have lots to talk about! Hopefully I will remember everything I want to say! So to start off I did get transferred from Kaneshie and Elder Van Scheltema L but I had a good last day in Kaneshie! I went around and said goodbye to all of our investigators and RC (recent converts) and the members! One of the coolest things I got to hear on my mission is when I went to say goodbye to Debora she said to me “thank you so much for coming to Ghana and serving a mission because if it weren’t for you two then I would have never been baptized into the church!” It was so awesome to hear her say that!!! It made me feel so good. She truly has found the Pearl of Great Price!! She was very sad to see me leave! And then it was also super hard to say goodbye to the ward mission couple, Brother and Sister Mensen. They were so nice to me and Elder Van Scheltema and Bro Mensen actually shed a tear when I was leaving. He always called me his new son and I’m going to miss him so much! He was a really funny guy. I have a cute picture of us I'll try and send.

So I was transferred to Kong (pong) which is the bush. It’s absolutely beautiful out here and I’m super lucky to come out here! My new comp is Elder Kandeh and he is from Liberia. Super awesome guy as well. He is a little different then Elder Van Scheltema but it’s ok cause were going to do work together J

So for my new area it is huge!! We cover just a little bit of Kpong but then on certain days we travel by tro-tro to Somanya about 25 mins away from our apt and then on Fridays we travel to Akuse which is about 30 mins in the opposite way tro-tro ride. But Akuse is like the coolest place I’ve seen. It’s got some legit villages with huts and just super small brick buildings and every Sunday somebody pays for a bus to pick all the investigators and members up because its cost like 4 cedis for a trip for one person but they get to do it for free!!

Oh and when you just walk outside our apartment you can see lake Volta!! It’s still pretty far away but you can see it really easy from where we stay in Kpong! The apt is a lot nicer than my old one in Kaneshie but we have a problem with the electricity where its super unstable and the voltage will jump super high at random points and so we weren’t able to have the fridge running because when we try and plug it into the regulator it would spoil the regulator cause it’s so unsteady. A few days ago an electrician was going to come out and try and fix it, which we needed super bad. We didn’t have any cold water so I wasn’t drinking any water, which is super bad here, and like an hour before the electrician was about to come the lights went off on us which was the worst timing because we needed the lights on for him to fix it! And I couldn’t last many more days without drinking very much water so about 15 mins later I decided to say a little prayer and ask Heavenly Father to turn on the lights again so that we can fix the fridge problem and I didn’t even say amen yet and the lights went back on and it just put a huge smile on my face and I started thanking Heavenly Father and it was a really good testimony builder!! God does love his missionaries! But that was another one of my highlights of the week!! I’ll never forget it!

Oh and Kraymer got a hold of me!!!!! It was so awesome to talk to him! We talked for about 20 mins about the mission, but it was perfect timing because we had just finished eating at zoo-zoos and I put in my sim card and a few mins later an unknown number called and I just answered and was like”KRAYMER!!!” I honestly didn’t think it was going to work Haha but it did! The talking lagged a little bit but I’m guessing its cause we’re like super far away from each other.

One of the hard things about coming to Kpong is that they speak Ewe and Krobro here not really Twi! And so now I have to try and learn a different language Haha! But it’s ok I will just know lots of different weird/cool languages.

Then the first Sunday at the Kpong branch they had their primary program and it was so funny and cute! They had this 5 yr old kid (looked like one of the Riner boys, but black Haha) and he was their chorister!!! It was super cute and then the same boy went and recited something in the podium and he talked really loud (kind of like the Riner boys) Haha and it made me feel right at home Haha. Oh and lots of the kids have never seen a white boy before in our area because it was just opened and so when I get in the tro-tro little babies will just look at me and start to cry Haha I hope it’s because I’m white and not ugly lol.
So some more info about the area I serve in, it is green all around and mountains as well! The other day it started to rain and it was absolutely beautiful! I really wish you guys could all be in my shoes for just 10 mins to see how amazing it is here!! Pictures just don’t show everything!

So the other missionaries in the apt are Elder Hansen and Elder Cserepes both from Utah. Elder Hansen knows Kraymer!! He went to the same BYU football camp and he and Kraymer both won the best tight end award!! How crazy is that?! Such a small world! But our apt is super legit! Last night we played Uno forever and then our neighbors came and gave us Fufu and Banku!.

So I’m in need of some things and I hope I will be able to get my stuff from Ashley because we don’t get mail very often out hereL so because of the voltage changing so much it spoiled my whole toothbrush and I’m not sure if there is any way I could get a new one, and then for my birthday I just want like soups or stuff that is easy to cook over the stove top. Like when I was at BYU I ate a lot of those chunky Campbell soup. You might have to send a box. But I need more nutritious foods because I’m afraid I’m losing weight now. So if you could send lots of soups that would be awesome because I can cook rice and then poor a little bit over the rice I make and it’s super nice. Oh and possibly if you can send that USB with the GC talks and the state championship football game because Elder Hansen wants to listen to it. Possibly otter pops as well. Not sure if that’s possible but all you can say is no J so I hope I haven’t forgotten anything but I love it here! Sounds like all is going well back home! Good luck at State Karigan! Love ya!

Elder Eppich JR