With our experience with Elder Bednar in three different meetings this past week, I would like to write about that experience. We expected to have the usual well prepared talk given to us where we take notes and try to remember everything, but instead we were asked what we had learned from the articles we were asked to read prior to his visit. It was a spiritual experience to have those in attendance share their thoughts and then to have Elder Bednar expound further and engage the people in more interaction. The congregation was also invited to ask inspired questions with guidelines that Elder Bednar set in place so that people got right to the point without a lot of words.

I always have to write something down so I will share what stood out to me:

• We are agents to act for ourselves and not objects to be acted upon.What can we invite our children to do to act versus making them do it.
• We are all on the Covenant path and we are meant to learn from each other.
• If you always do what you have always done, you will always get the same results.
• Guide the discussion don't direct it!
• Observe-Listen-Discern.
• Intelligence is to apply what we know for Righteousness.
• The Church is a laboratory of work in progress, not a museum of perfect people on display.
• The Lord is hastening his work not us. The hastening of the work will go forth without us if we keep doing the same things the same way.
• Advice in taking notes is to use "small plates" where we write what we learn by the power of the Holy Ghost versus "large plates" where we record what people say. It is about learning those things that have not been spoken.
• The Holy Ghost teaches people, not lessons. We need to allow ourselves to 'get out of the way' in our instructing. People need to be spiritually independent.
• Knowing the WHY changes the HOW.
• Doctrine & Covenants 88:122 is the guideline for the Lord's pattern of teaching.
• There are 6 places in the Book of Mormon that teaches the Lord's pattern of "one by one".
• How do you know it is the Holy Ghost speaking to you? The Holy Ghost will tell you what you don't want to hear!
• Spiritual Gifts are not trophies-they come when God knows he can trust you.
• Faith is a principle of action-Fear is sitting and doing nothing. Faith focused in Christ overcomes all things.
• We are yoked to the Savior by Covenants-the burdens don't go away, but we are made capable in the doing.
• Knowing the Gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true to the Gospel is the essence of conversion. We should know the Gospel is true and be true to the Gospel.
• 5 foolish virgins took their lamps of testimony but took no oil of conversion with them. 5 wise virgins took oil of conversion in their vessels with their lamps of testimony. Oil of conversion cannot be borrowed. Each of us must "buy for ourselves".  2 Nephi 28:30  D&C 33:17
• Deepening conversion will prepare you for persecution- persecution is a refinement.
• We should become and remain worthy conduits through which the Spirit of the Lord can operate; we are not the light. We should not draw attention to ourselves in the way we teach as this is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost.

Although not everyone could ask their questions or respond with their feelings about the articles we were asked to read, I am sure that answers came to their questions and mutual feelings were shared because,simply put, that is the way the Holy Ghost works. The Lord's pattern for teaching takes desire, persistence, and much prayer to acquire.

The time spent with an Apostle of the Lord, where the mantle of that Apostleship was evident in every way, was wonderful. This is one of the 'treasures' of serving a mission that makes the sacrifices so worth it. I have come to know what I know in the doing of it. The "Law of the Harvest" has been a focus of mine for as long as I can remember and it has served me well.

We received word this last Tuesday of Elder Dennis and Sister Sheryle Crisp who will be replacing us in the office. They will be a strength and blessing to the mission and we look forward to the time we will spend with them in getting accustomed to their responsibilities. They are from Mesa Arizona, and have family ties to Tuscon which is where my family originates from. We served with a couple in the St. George Temple by the name of Crisp and wonder if there are ties there. Who knows what interesting findings will come as we spend time with them. They are excited to come and have been an answer to many prayers. In the meantime, there is work to be done and that includes our favorite; apartment inspections!!

With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)

Our precious Jovie joined our family on January 21st. I do not know how to move pictures from an email to put on a blog but Ruth and Ben have posted pictures on face book. Her big brother Cooper  sings and talks to her and little Avery looks on with curiosity. I was able to phone Ruth several times during the course of her labor, which helped to ease the longing to be near them. We are just so happy she is here and that all is well.

The transfer this past week brought a lot of changes with companions and also missionaries receiving calls to be district leaders, zone leaders, and trainers. We have a new Assistant to President Judd, Elder Izekor, and a new Office Elder, Elder Nash. We also have a new Sister Training Leader, Sister Kalola. They have stepped into their new responsibilities with confidence, and it amazes me how smoothly it happens. A mission certainly is a great training experience for these young men and women, if they forget themselves and put all their heart, mind, and strength into this marvelous work. We are proud of them and I am sure their lives are pleasing to the Lord.

We had changes in Senchi also with our missionaries and the two of them were asked to bear their testimonies in Church today. We still have all American missionaries there and the local members can just change their 'tune' about it because they should not be questioning the inspiration needed to place missionaries where they are needed. I have had moments where I have questioned placement of certain missionaries I admit, and I have had to remind myself that I have no business doing that. I can only imagine the prayers that must go into these kind of decisions. I have enough just keeping track of what I have to do on this mission without speculating on all the rest.

We are all looking forward to Elder Bednar and Elder Clayton's visit this coming week. It is sad that the members outside the Greater Accra Area are not able to come because of the distance and expense of travel. How blessed I feel to have access to so much information on the computer and these dear people don't even know what could be available to them. I feel that their part in 'Hastening the Lord's work' is hinder by not having access to inspiring influences that would assist in their own motivation. This just shows how much couples are needed to assist in moving the work forward.

My companion and I attended a baptism on Saturday of the husband of a woman that we buy fruit from. His name is Simon and her name is Juliana. She was the original referral and seemed slow to give time for the missionaries. In the meantime, her husband became interested and came to the waters of baptism first. She and their son will follow soon hopefully. It has been a long process and with the several different sets of missionaries and Elder Avery continually asking about this family, it is good to see the 'fruits' of this effort. We have others that we have referred to the missionaries and we may or may not see whether they accept the gospel, but it still is a gratifying experience to be involved in this little way. I become more and more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ each day as I strive to do His will and not my own.

With love,
Sister Avery (mom, grandma)

It was good to be with the missionaries as we were taught by Elder Vinson this past Tuesday. I did not bring my notes with me as we came directly to the office from Senchi, but much was spoken on the importance of obedience and teaching by the Spirit. I was reminded of President Ezra Taft Benson's words, " When obedience ceases to become an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." The wonderful gift called agency sure finds a lot of us making excuses for ourselves more often than is wise. I am grateful to be continually taught by the scriptures and by those called to strengthen us.

We went to Kpong on Saturday for leadership training meetings and these branch leaders are being given great instruction. I was able to see that many of these great people do understand and want to follow the policies and procedures of the Lord's Church. I had my first experience with what could be very annoying yet was comical at the same time. A sister who seemed to need to contribute (that's what they call giving a comment) quite often would say as she raised her hand, "I have my hand up". It continues to be an interesting experience serving in a culture so different from what I know. It was disappointing that President Ampomah could not be there as the Senchi Branch still has so much growing to do. The guidelines from the Church Handbook was stressed often and that is what my companion has been striving to get the leaders in Senchi to do. I think of how the Lord is 'Hastening His work' and they are holding the work back in their little spot in His vineyard.

There is a segment on the Church website called "Patterns of Light". One message was on how the Spirit speaks to us and was given in such a simple understanding way. Example:God will not send angels to tell us to pray when we forget, but teachings from our parents or others will come to our minds that remind us we need to pray. I especially appreciated the words that "God trusts us" and we do not need great manifestations to remind us continually of what is important in our lives. The scripture say that, "Everything that invites and entices us to do good is of God." That is how we know if our lives are on the right course.

Transfer days are this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. We have 5 missionaries completing their missions and 5 new missionaries coming. Our numbers have become much less since our big growth after the mission split in July. We have only one from the US and the others from Africa. One Elder is from Angola and has been at the Provo MTC learning English as he spoke only Portuguese. Since the first of the year, the MTC here in Ghana have added English and French to be available for the missionaries. There is to be a new MTC built right next to the Accra Temple, which will be a wonderful addition. It will probably take a long time to build unless the Church doesn't have the local people do it. That may not sound very nice, but building is such a slow process here. The church brought in contractors from the States when the temple was built, and we were told that people kept asking why it was not built with bricks as they had never seen such a process before.

We are anxiously looking forward to Tuesday as our daughter Ruth will be giving birth to a baby girl to be named Jovi. As is always the case, it is such a relief when news comes that mother and baby are doing well. We will have to wait until we can skype to see how Cooper and Avery respond to her, so in the meantime, I can only imagine how sweet and tender this will be. It is so fun to have babies still coming to our family. I am so blessed!

With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)

There are two things I did not eat before my mission; peanut butter sandwiches (too many other good choices) and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Ground nut paste (peanut butter) and jam sandwiches have become a staple on Sundays when returning from Senchi. On our Saturday shopping day, KFC indulgence has happened a few times when we didn't have time for the long wait that occurs at most eating places. Even though it actually tasted good, after peeling off the 'skin', I will certainly not be tempted to make it a habit.

I have been teaching the children in Primary the Plan of Salvation and how Jesus was chosen to be our Savior. They listened well enough but had difficulty answering the simplest questions, except for Agbeve, one bright young man who recently joined the church. The missionaries taught him well as he understood more than the other children. This must be the first time they have heard this doctrine, and even though I present it simply, it is not comprehended as well as I hoped. I continually strive to encourage the children to not just sit there and take in information but to be able to explain it so I know that they understand. The lessons in Sharing Time and our Primary lessons compliment each other so I have to believe the understanding and application will come.
I am doing less in Primary on purpose so that the newly called counselors will grow in their confidence and ability to teach. I will never get use to their approach with the children, but I am hopeful that as they grow in the gospel, that will improve. They are such good women and the children are so worth everything they can do to teach them the way the Savior taught. Now we just need someone to be the music leader because the children do enjoy the music and I have enjoyed it with them.

The last few weeks I have been teaching a young man (25) piano. He is a welder by trade and a strong member of the Church. He teaches the young men and women in Sunday School and is in the presidency of that organization. He came to me wanting to learn and I so with my companion needing to stay after the normal meetings for more meetings, I am teaching Patrick during that time. I pray that he will learn fast and I told him that he really needed to practice diligently. I also told him that he had the responsibility to teach others in the Branch and he should not take that lightly. Brother Ganyo, another young man and the Branch mission leader, is borrowing the book and trying to learn also. I will probably never know the outcome of all of this but I hope it will benefit many over the years. Oh how blessed I am for my dear mother and her persistence in my learning to play. To have had someone to teach me in the small community I came from, was also a blessing.

We were informed by President Judd that the Missionary Committee decided on a couple to replace us. They have yet to receive their call and to accept, but the answer to a dear eight year old grandson desire to fast and pray for our replacement was granted. I hope you always remember Xander, that our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them in a way that is best for us. If all goes well, this couple should enter the MTC March 10th. We continue to add our prayers to that of a young boy who exercised his faith.

Our missionaries in Senchi told us that the Mission Tour on Saturday was wonderful and lifted them so much. They were impressed with Elder Vinson, who is new to his calling as a counselor in the West Africa Area Presidency. We, and the missionaries in this area, look forward to our turn to be taught on Tuesday. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the articles we were asked to read in preparation for this and express gratitude for such wisdom and counsel expressed in them.

I have enjoyed reading the life of Joseph Fielding Smith, our study for this years 2nd and 3rd Sunday lessons. How blessed we are to have had, and continue to have, such great men to lead the Church. They love the Lord and so desire for us to live more fully the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we must, we simply must.

With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)

Welcome 2014!

Even though there are not many missionaries coming thus far, there is still much to do to prepare for the new year and close out the old. That just brought to mind a hymn that is not sung very often and especially would not be sung here in Ghana. The words to "Ring Out, Wild Bells, are by Tennyson and speak of letting go of those things that did not enlighten us and embrace those truths that will give us hope and direction for the future. It speaks of being valiant and using our agency to love more and do all in our power to rid the world of darkness by bringing the light of Christ to all people.
For a new year there is the mission calendar to prepare, begin a new written history and complete the last details of 2013 history to be ready to send to those who compile all the mission histories. There are plans to be made and buildings to be scheduled for Zone Conferences, Mission Tours, etc. It is good to always see the work moving forward and progressing.

Elder Vinson, counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency and a Seventy, will be conducting a Mission Tour this month and has asked the missionaries to prepare for that by reading four talks. 1. "Converted unto the Lord" by Elder Bednar 2. "Desire" by Oaks 3."You can do it now" by President Uchtdorf 4."That we might not Shrink" CES devotional by Elder Bednar. It sure has been good reading and I look forward to the instruction by Elder and Sister Vinson. This is such a blessing to the mission and the missionaries.The only thing that keeps a missionary from having a strong testimony and truly converted to this work is the lack of obedience. President Monson has said that "The Great test of this life is Obedience" and that is counsel for all of us.

I have been tallying up the scores on the apartment inspections so awards can be handed out during the mission tour. I have made the certificates for all but am having a hard time on one of the zones. There were several winners and I am waiting for Sister Judd to decide if we should give out more than one winner in this zone. The difference in apartment cleanliness has about as much variety as there is in personalities. Parents could save a future office couple a lot of work by teaching there sons how to clean and organize their belongings. The missionaries have had many a demonstration on some of their shower tile and I get many a surprised look when they see the difference. They just had no idea it could actually come clean. Weekly cleaning far out weighs the work required to bring results after a month or so of very little effort. Missionaries have found that a toilet brush can be a great tool for them once I show them that the bowl is not stained after all. I have had some very interesting experiences but will certainly not write a book about missionary apartment inspections.

I am grateful for what this mission is teaching me and hope I am becoming a better person in the process. I don't always make today better than yesterday but I know repentance works and I use that precious gift every day. Moroni 10:32

With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)

We had an enjoyable and very simple Christmas Day. It started at 7:30 am feeding breakfast to Elders Oguche, Udofia, Nelson and Brother Dornor (ward missionary preparing for mission). They live next door to us as we never received the missionary couple that was scheduled to live there. We had a ham breakfast casserole, fruit salad of all the fresh fruits we can get here, and a chocolate bread.The missionaries ate hearty and then went to their "White Christmas", which means a baptism. It is truly a special thing when the missionaries have a baptism on Christmas Day. Christmas celebrations, if there is any, are very simple here,  and so to take that day and be baptized does not take them away from any other activity.
I did some laundry after breakfast and then we came to the office to do some things and prepare to skype with some of our children. Sister Judd, after the baptisms, asked us, the Assistants, and the Office Elders over for a Brunch and we enjoyed visiting with each other.
It was so fun to see the Escobedo family, Hipple family, and Nolan's family as they showed us their presents and just being able to look into their homes and enjoy the sweet spirit there. Jason emailed us of the delightful but crazy Christmas morning with his children. Ryan and two of his boys skyped with us the next day. The Shelton's just moved into their home and did not have internet so we will look forward to when we can connect with them. We will be skyping with Nathan's family tonight from Texas instead of Michigan, as they are visiting family there for the Holidays. So grateful for our family!

The picture below was taken at our Christmas Conference. There sure is a lot of us and the backdrop of the Accra Temple is barely visible. I did not really pay attention to how many US missionaries we had until I saw this picture. These are all special missionaries and we are proud to serve with them. (picture can be clicked on to enlarge)

I was disappointed with our Sacrament Meeting today. I am really grateful that last week when the Minister of another church visited Senchi that is was not today. It was more the kind of talks that should have been given in a 5th Sunday Priesthood, Relief Society meeting where instruction and correction is given. Oh the baby steps that have to be taken and I want them to take giant ones. I am sure getting lots of lessons in patience.

After reading Elder Perry's talk given during the Priesthood Session of General Conference, I decided that the primary children needed to be serious about learning the Articles of Faith. It will be a slow process but we need to be consistent and the learning will come.
Elder Ballard's talk on member missionary work/hastening the work of salvation was inspiring. Even though we have had experiences where we have opened our mouths and shared the gospel here in Ghana, I want to make sure that I continue with that same attitude when I return home.

Saturday morning we had the choice opportunity of attending the sealing of the young couple, Richard and Akpene, that was married a while ago. I had pictures of their traditional wedding on the blog. We also attended the session with them and sure would have like to see the new film but there was one woman that needed the language headset. Oh well, hopefully another time.What a blessing to have the Accra Temple to attend. Our first mission we could not attend for the full year that we were there as it was outside our mission boundaries. We appreciate blessings more when we experience having to be without them for a time. I hope I always remember that.

We will skype very soon so must be ready.
With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have to admit that I am so glad this will be the last Christmas, since we began this mission, that I will have to spend away from my family. Once again, I express gratitude for technology that makes possible emailing and skyping.  My dear brother Chad has been so generous with his kind uplifting words in responding to every blog post that I write.  I have so appreciated his words of love and encouragement and it is no wonder he was born on Christmas Day.

To reach my blog post, I go through the Church website, and I get so involved in watching the wonderful videos there that it is hard to stop. I just watched were some young women were inspired by President Grant's story of the time he gave his brand new red coat to a little boy. They started a project of collecting coats and took them to homeless shelters. What a blessing it is to give of our time and means to lift others. I so appreciate President Monson's directive to us as our Prophet and how he lives what he teaches.

From our recent reading of the Conference talks: "An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment"; "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith"; "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls unto Him"; "Mortality is meant to be difficult and "opposition in all things" is not a flaw in the plan of salvation. Rather, opposition strengthens our will and refines our choices"; "It is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself "; "There is one life that sustains those who are troubled or beset with sorrow and grief--even the Lord Jesus Christ."

Our dear friends the Scovilles had to leave on a medical emergency. Elder Scoville had an accident where his eye was injured very seriously and the proper care was not available here. Because he needed to be attended to as quickly as possible, the flights to the US were not within the time frame he needed, so he was flown to London. There they experienced socialized medicine (scary possibility in our lives) for the first time and it took a lot of effort to make it all happen. He finally had the first of several surgeries, which was successful in saving his eye. They are now in the US and he will continue to have the care that he needs. Obviously they will not be returning to Ghana and now it is the task to get their luggage sent to them. We miss them very much.

We had a minister from another church in Koforidua visit us today in Senchi. We are doing some speculating here, but the missionaries in Koforidua gave the phone number of our missionaries in Senchi to this minister and he called to say he was coming. We wonder if he didn't want his congregation to know he attended an LDS Church in Koforidua and so he came to Senchi. I hope he felt the spirit there because I sure did. The singing was wonderful, the talks were on forgiveness and counting our blessings in difficult times. I was asked to bear my testimony on the Liahona (Ensign) and shared from some notes I had written when I read the message that Elder Holland gave in the December Liahona on "Preparing for the Second Coming."  The children in Primary have been learning in Sharing Time this very theme. I hope there is more to learn about this minister in the future.

Our Christmas Conference went very well and I am quite sure that the "senior couples" got the most applause and hollers from our rendition of missionary words to "Lion Sleeps tonight." The missionary apartments all received a gift of a blender to help make their cooking a little easier and more nutritious, we hope. The missionaries all seemed to enjoy themselves and they continue to amaze me in their ability to tirelessly share the gospel. They will definitely appreciate washing machines, air conditioning, and microwaves when they return home, but will personally never be the same because of what they gained from this service.

In spite of being away from family this time of year, I am so grateful for the Christmas season. In primary today, I read the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2. But I started first with chapter 1 where Zacharias and Elizabeth were told by an angel of the coming forth of their son John to prepare the way for the coming of our Savior. I asked the children to listen to how many times the angel Gabriel said the words "Fear Not", through those two chapters, to hopefully help them to listen, and to teach an important lesson about life. I know that God loves us for who we are and for who we can become. He sent His Son to show us the way, and because of our Savior's Atoning Sacrifice, we do not need to fear. Of this I most certainly know.

With love,
Sister Avery (mom,grandma)