Training again in Kpong

zone in Kpong

Zone in Kpong

September 16, 2013 Family, Well everything here is going great! and I’m happy that you guys have had light off for a few hours!!! (Our power went out during a huge storm last night and was out for 13.5 hours) Now you kinda get a little taste of me here in Ghana. Although its being doing really well these last few months! (no lights off) Sister Pat and Dominic are doing good! I got a picture with Sister Pat and her white baby that I will send to you guys. It’s so cute and something you don’t see. And as for transfers, Elder Halavaka and I will be split up! :( Kind of sad but that normally what happens once they finish their training. President Judd called me Tuesday and asked me to train again and I accepted! I went to Accra on Thursday for a small trainers meeting! It’s always nice to go to Accra from Kpong because there is a little baboon sanctuary type thing and so when we drive by this forest there is always baboons sitting there or walking on the road Haha. It’s funny because people will just walk right by them and the baboons don’t mind them at all! I’d be freaked out that one of them would attack me. Oh before I forget do you think you could send me bishop Edmonds email address? I want to email him. Thanks. Since this was Elder Halavaka and I last week we wanted to work hard so we taught a lot of lessons and plus we needed to see everybody frequently. We will be having a baptism on Sunday and so please pray for the success of all that. I know your prayers back home really help as well! Mom, we will have more than 10 new investigators each week but some of them aren’t very serious but just want to sit down with white people and learn about Jesus. That’s awesome that Bryant came home! I miss those guys Haha he looks good! And yes President Judd is an amazing guy! You will definitely meet him one day! That’s cute that you took me and Kraymer to primary on Sunday! I bet they loved that :) I mean who wouldn’t :) Haha. Well I love you and I’m grateful for everything you do for me! The church is true! Elder Eppich

zone in Kpong

"The Game Don't Leave the Player"

Baptism of Emmanueal in Kpong Ghana

September 9, 2013
Family,

We had a baptism yesterday but it was only for Emmanuel! Sister Pat and her son Dominic decided to wait a little longer before they get baptized! Hopefully on the 22nd! But I'll still get a picture with their family as soon as I can and it would seriously blow your mind how white her baby is. Its so funny and makes me laugh every time! The package was very nice, but I haven’t really used much of it though! The Mike and Ike's reminded me of my four wheeler accident Haha and I hadn’t eaten any for so long!! The zone activity was way fun and all I can say is that..... The game don’t leave the player hahahaha jk but I didn’t do too bad for not playing for so long! We seriously played for like 5 hours Haha I was literally dead the next day Haha my body hurt so bad afterwards!! But it was a blast! Even Elder Cosgrave came and played with us so that was way cool! Then we went to Elder and Sister Cosgrave house and ate spaghetti and it was super nice! Plus we had garlic bread as well! That’s awesome you had your first violin lesson! I bet you’ll pick it up fast!! That’s too bad about the football game. I can’t believe it’s been 2 yrs since I started my senior year! Wednesday we had zone conference in Kpong and it was way awesome! One thing that president Judd told us that stuck out to me is that the reason they split our mission is because "the window of Ghana is rapidly closing" and so we need to hasten our work! It’s so true what he said because Ghana is getting more westernized if that makes sense. People are trying to make more money and care less about religious things. Obviously it’s not going to change instantly but my guess in the next 10 yrs the success here in Ghana won’t be the same as it now! We have transfers next week and I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen. We know they are splitting the Kpong branch into 3 branches, one in Akuse, Kpong, and Odumase so idk what’s going to happen to me. If they open a branch in Odumase it will struggle at the beginning because I think there is maybe 20-30 or so members there, but the work will increase because people will come to church from Odumase and Somanya because it doesn’t cost as much. Our zone is a growing area where there has never been branches or missionaries before. It’s an exciting time for the Ghana Accra Mission and its cool to think that I’m a part of it! I had a cool experience this week where I think I figured out another one of the many reasons why I’m here in Ghana and in Kpong especially! Not just a spiritual experience but kinda of an experience of what I want to do in life and how I can help the people in Ghana in the future once I become established in my occupation. I won’t tell you now but maybe in the future time :) Well I love you all and I’m glad all is going good with everyone home!

Elder Eppich

Loving Life as a Missionary in Africa

September 2, 2013 Family, Well it was a good week, yesterday both Vanilla and David showed up to church 15 minutes early so that they can be confirmed! This is way awesome because African time is like 30 minutes late to everything Haha and so we really focused on getting them to church early! And yes I got the package! Thank you so much I’m blessed to have such amazing mother and family :) and also support from cousins and friends! I still get letters from them and it helps so much! Thank you :) and yes Elder Avery gave me a hug yesterday when they stopped by in Kpong Haha it was funny, he said I have something from your mom....and then I’m like what? And he gave me a big hug it was really funny Haha. I’m testing out that oxi clean-stain remover later today! I think it will really help to make washing a little easier. So the coolest thing happened a few days ago! We were sitting at an investigators house in a small town outside of Kpong called Nuaso and I see this lady in the distance and I’m like oh she looks familiar and when she got closer I realized it was Sterling!!! One of my very first baptisms in Kaneshie!! I’m like what the heck?? she came running over and yelling my name Haha she said she just came to visit a friend and when she was walking she saw elder Halavaka and she was going to ask him if he knew me and when she got closer she saw me Haha! It was so awesome!! She is doing well in the church but her father died last month which is sad! The whole time I’m just thinking in my head, what are the odds that we would run into each other!!!! It was a way cool experience to see her again :) So yes the investigator with the little white baby is still doing great! She spoils us every time we go there! Like a nice full meal Haha. Her and her son Dominic will be baptized on the 8th!! I’m really excited because she is going to be an amazing member of the church! She is really good friends with one of the counselors at the branch and so that helps very much. Then another boy name Emmanuel, David| (the RC) best friend, will also be baptized on Sunday by God's grace! His father is actually a member of the church but stays somewhere in Accra. Elder Halavaka and I are still doing great! We talk all the time and so the weeks go by way fast!! We have a funny little thing where we always start laughing about and that is when one of us trip over a rock, the rocks here are all over the ground and so they stick up maybe a few CM but we’re just so tired that we kind of drag our legs or don’t pick them up high enough and so we trip over something small and look at each other and just start to laugh Haha. We ended up not going to Koforidua because one of the missionaries got chicken pox and so they kind of isolated him so nobody else gets it. A lot of missionaries here, especially the Africans, haven’t got the chicken pox and so they are being extra careful. So they moved zone conference to Kpong on this Wednesday. We're in Ho right now emailing early because we’re having a zone activity here. We have a lot of missionaries who love sports and so we put everything together to come play football, American football, basketball, etc. I’m way excited and then Sister Cosgrave is going to make spaghetti for all of us missionaries! Booyah Haha That’s cute about little Reagan Haha she is going to be big by the time I get home! And I’m glad grandpa is doing so well now! I told President Judd about him when he wasn’t feeling very well, and he said he will keep him in his prayers and I know that really helped! Alright well I love you all and I’m grateful for the prayers, love and support!! Have a great week Elder Eppich



Break the Fast meal and they made their own french fries



Sterling and Elder Eppich

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