Alex is an Uncle

by dad/grand-pa

Last night, May 7th, Morgan Kate Hammer joined our family. She is 6lbs 13oz, 19 inches long. Before Alex left he said 'the two things I'm really going to miss over the next few months are the Jazz in the Play-Offs and Morgan being born' (not necessarily in that order.) Shortly after delivery Jess smiled and said. . . 'I wish Alex was here.'

Jessica, Nick and Morgan are all doing great.

Judging by now I'm almost sure it was the spirit.

by dad

Alex starts all of his emails with the same phrase... "ok, wow i have so much to say!" I think he looks forward to purging his thoughts each week, almost as much as I enjoy soaking them up.

first off i had my first trip to the hospital! Not for me but Elder Bahme, and he is okay. long story short he had to get an x-ray.

Well when i was at the 1st hospital i stepped on a scale. i didn’t believe it. i figured it was broken. so the next hospital we went to, the next scale said the exact same thing.??? hmmm... the odds of 2 scales being broken to the exact same number. ya... weird... :). so i guess the Ghana diet works. down 38lbs in under 6 weeks. shah dang! eat that jenny craig.

There are 4 senior couples serving in the Ghana, Cape Coast mission. The Saunders (Wellsville, Utah), the Turners (Thousand Oaks, Ca.), the Kiffers (Ketchichan, AK) and the Lambs (Bountiful, Ut.). These couples provide office and member support through-out the mission and are very loved by the missionaries that serve there.

(Bro & Sis Lamb)

well i got the chance to have another meal at the Lamb’s house. It was glorious. They are awesome! Wow. We got spaghetti and garlic bread. topped off with brownies and ice-cream. So unreal. it is super rare that we got to go there and too long to explain why it worked out. (just so you know how rare and lucky i was, the ground beef that was in the sauce, the Lambs bought when they first landed in Accra and have been waiting for that meal to use It. they have been here for close to 5 months.) wow im lucky. it was amazing.

i also wanted to tell you how safe it is here. really it is. our apartment is safe and we are always safe around town. they all love us. NOTHING like what i thought it was going to be like. im sure if you were doing stupid things at stupid times it would be bad but all is well. so don’t you worry momma.

oh, i saw a white man in town today. BOO YA! so weird. really. i am one of the few here and its crazy to see another who doesn’t have a tie on. well as for me im getting along quite well with Elder Bahme. he is a super nice guy. so that’s fine. don’t you worry.

(Elder Bret Bahme)

i had my first exchange with Elder Moiwo. we went to his area Kweikuma (kway-ku-mah) a neighboring town. i was really nervous about it all but things went smoothly. Made me very grateful to have Elder Bahme. we did well though.

well we ended the exchange a bit early so we could start our mission fast. that was cool. started at 6 pm sat and ended 6 pm sun. cool to think that 131 missionaries were down on their knees praying at the exact same time! all asking for help with the goal that we are so far behind on. that was super hard to go that long but its not like i couldn’t go without another meal.

President Sabey has challenged the mission. The goal is is for every companionship to baptize a family. Either a new husband and wife or a spouse of a member. They started it before Elder Darrow arrived and it ends July 4th. They are almost 50% of the way thru the goal and have 36 of the 131 missionaries who have completed it. They are behind as a mission, but Alex is very excited about their future.

we have a couple who is ready for baptism. they have been ready for 5 months but we are waiting for them to be married. its really weird how that all works here. we go and see them twice a week and they know the gospel doctrine so well. its kind of hard to go and teach them cuz its just review. So... last time we were about to teach them Elder Bahme said to me ‘i have taught them everything, so how about you take the lead and put your own spin on it. i don’t know what else to teach.’ so i said 'okay. we will talk about the apostasy and the restoration and focus on the book of Mormon.' i figured i could do that.

He said he was going to open then let me teach most of it and he would just bare testimony at the end. well during the prayer i just got a feeling that the topic i picked wasn’t exactly what they needed to hear. so when it got to me i went from teaching about the apostasy, restoration, and the BOM to saying, ‘well today i want to talk about what exactly happened with Joseph smith and when he went to pray.’ i had a weird feeling (judging by now I'm almost sure it was the spirit) that said they haven’t heard in depth what actually happened. so we turned to JSH and read like 15-19 or whatever the verses are. we really talked about how hard the devil was trying to stop JS from praying and all that stuff. the spirit was really the one doing the teaching. its weird cuz i have such a strong testimony of him and that already, but the power i felt made my testimony grow even more. Joseph Smith is a stud! after baring testimony with tears falling and seeing both of them get touched by the spirit with tears all well, we wrapped it up and ended. it was amazing.

after we got out we were walking away in silence just thinking about the lesson. after about 2 min my comp broke the silence with the words. "powerful" and that’s exactly what it was. things like that i will never forget and can’t wait to have more experiences like that one. it was crazy.

well fast forward a few days that couple agreed to do a civil marriage (the traditional one takes forever to finish and is expensive but all they need to do is the civil one to be baptized and do the traditional one later.) it’s just not common for people to do that. they like to drag their feet so i hope we can hurry this along and get them baptized. pray for them and for the mission to find families to teach

i love you all so so so much and i can’t wait to hear from you again.

elder darrow

President & Sister Sabey

by dad

Last week we received a letter from Alex's mission Pres. Mel Sabey. The Sabey's are from Littleton, Co. where Alex was born. They lived in the same stake as we did and Pres. Sabey was called as stake president shortly after we moved to Utah. We KNOW Elder Darrow is in great hands.

(Sis. Sandra Sabey, Elder Darrow, & Pres. Mel Sabey)

Monday morning emails are a great way to start the week. This week Elder Darrow wrote home and said he dreamt his sister had her baby (she's due May 3rd), that he wants more family pictures, that they are busy teaching and that he loves getting letters (see the DearElder link to the right). He also gave some details on life in Sekondi, Ghana.

This week we had dinner at Bro & Sis. Lamb's. They are the couple in our area (from Bountiful, Utah) and it was so freakin good. They rock. We got to eat real food and just feasted. Their place is a little bit different than ours...

i was trying to find a way to tell you all what it is like to be in Ghana or to be on a mission in Ghana and this is what i have basically nut-shelled for you. Take your average amount of money spent on anything in a day and divide that by 6 or 7 and live off of that. Turn your TVs and other electronics off. Make all your lights 1/5 as bright to save power. Take all of your clothes, put them in a bucket with some soap and scrub those bad boys till your knuckles bleed and swell up. Then before getting dressed everyday dip your cloths in water, ring them out then put them on. Because of the sweat, cloths are ALWAYS damp. Nothing you can do about it.

Surround your bed by open fires cuz that’s what if feels like trying to sleep. Then become completely paranoid about anything that lands on your body cuz if you get a bug bite there is an actual threat of a real killing disease. Then learn to love the tiny little ants that are everywhere. Then remove yourself from all your friends and family and almost any connection to the outside world. Then walk and walk and walk in the blistering and piercing sun miles and miles everyday.

AND JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT COULDNT GET ANY WORSE.... imagine you are in a place where every single person loves you! Where people love to talk to you and just want to get to know you and be your friend. When little kids see you they just yell in pure happiness and joy and run up to you and want to talk. They will hold your hand and walk with you till you tell them OH YEA (it's okay) or the occasional YA FOE (hush up (in a nice way)) cuz they just freakin love us and want to be around us.

A place where when you speak any Fante at all they will all laugh and smile and love you even more cuz they love it when they hear a white man speak their native tongue. A place where people don’t care about money or what they have. A place where people just want to get to know you just cuz they are always looking for friends. A place where people want to hear the gospel and have been prepared to hear it by the Lord. A place where you actually forget about how hot it is when you’re teaching a lesson because the spirit is so strong. Everybody greets everybody and everybody is honest. If you were caught stealing the city alone would kill you before the police got a chance to come. They protect each other. A place where you can give a kid some money to run and get you something a few minutes away and you wouldn’t think twice that he would do anything but what you asked of him (i have used that once and i gave him a sweet tip, 20 peseways or like 11 cents). they have 100% respect for everyone.

Ghana is flippin amazing and i love it.

i love you guys so much. i miss you like crazy. i can’t wait to hear from you guys again and i hope the packages get here soon and hope more letters are always on there way.

love you, love you, love you.

elder darrow

It's like I was a Missionary. Weird Right?

by dad

One of the best times life is when you have an 'Ah-ha moment'. It seems that life as a missionary is full of them. Alex sent home these two stories this week.

So this last tues we had a baptism to go to that was the other elders in the apartment. There is this investigator who came to church 3 times in a row and we invited him to come. My comp taught him small (they say small small here) before i came but nothing real serious, but he seemed interested. Well we invited him to the baptism to watch and he said sure (last sun).

Well tues came around and it was at 7. At the last second we had to change it to 6. so we had to go over to joseph’s house to pick him up. after the 15 min walk up and down hills we got to his house and he was working and washing for the week. E bahme told him about the change in time and instead of giving a stupid excuse for why he cant go or something like that (most people do that so its real hard to find people who are serious) he looked at us and made the face like do i have time to change. That was sweet.

As he ran up the stairs to go change i got this over-whelming feeling... if i didn’t know any better i would say it was the spirit. i had a feeling that i knew this guy (he’s like 19-21) was going to be baptized. It was weird. i told my comp that and smiled and said he felt the same feeling. Well we go to the baptism and all went well. We set an appt with him later in the week and that is when the magic happened.

We got to his house with a lesson prepared about the importance of baptism. After sharing Alma 7; 14-15 and some other scrips about baptism E bahme asked him if he wanted to follow Christ’s example and be baptized. i sat there and wait for what felt like an hour as that question floated up in the air. He just looked at us and smiled and said that he wanted that too.

BOOM! its like i jumped into the PMG video i watched over and over in the mtc and every story i have ever heard. It's like I was a Missionary. Weird Right? His work really is so amazing. We have another 3-5 people who are in the same situation and we could have up to 5 people being baptized on May 11th if we keep on doing what we are doing. Things are going crazy. i can’t wait to see how this all turns out.

Alex has real a soft spot in his heart for little children.

This week we went to an appt. with the Acquah family. (one of the more rich Ghanaians around) and by more rich i mean like he has a decent house and a small farm and gives us water (clean water) and sometimes coconuts. well last time we went there this little boy came running out. he was pokin me and such and i grabbed him and put him up on my lap. he loved it. he just sat there and stared at me. i looked at him and opened my eyes REAL wide and he looked at me and did the same. so cute. then i smiled at him and he did the same. then i frowned and he did the same. then i grunted and he did the same. hahaha. i was loving it.

His name is Alex Acquah, he’s maybe 3-4. i leaned in real close to him to look him eye to eye and he did the same. then he touched his little noggin to mine and just stared at me. it was so freakin adorable. i fell in love with this little kid. i was sweating like crazy and when our heads were touching my sweat was running off my face onto his and down his cheeks. he didn’t care. he was just so curious with me. he just chilled in my lap during the lesson and the whole time was really curious. played with my hair. was touchin me and just makin sure i was normal then he started to play with my face (like the lost boys did to peter pan ... see Hook). he just played with my face and was so curious. hahah loved it.

At the end of the lesson they gave us some water (the water is in like these pouch things. they hold 1/2 a liter.) so i drank what i wanted as the little boy watched and i gave him the last little bit. he loved it. after saying the cutest thank you he drinks it all and when he was done he grabbed my (nicest Ike Behar) tie and wiped off his mouth and face with it like it was no big deal. i just freakin melted. hahah i didn’t care at all and it was just so cute. oh man. you would have loved to see it all.

I love you all soooo much and I pray for you like crazy. Don’t you worry.

Fu Fu

by dad

Last week Alex sent home 1 Cedi, the currency of Ghana. It's worth

about .70 cents. He said that could just about feed them for a day.

( front and back )

He also said he ate real Fu Fu for the first time. Curiosity got the best of me so I did a little reasearch. Fu Fu is a regular part of the diet in West Africa. It is made daily from cassavas and plantains and eaten with soup or dipped in sauces. Fu Fu is swallowed whole, no chewing. I found this you tube video of how it is made and eaten. Yum! Yum!

But first, thoughts from Elder Darrow...

Oh and I had my FIRST FU FU. Man was that tough. It’s like this big

bowl of mushy bread dough like stuff, covered in soup and chicken

and fish. Ryan (his older brother) would gag so fast. We got a big

bowl of it and its VERY rude if you don’t finish it all. So when it came

out my companion told me to eat what ever I can and he would take

care of the rest. So I ate some chicken and when I was about 1/3

of the way thru my half, I just about barfed all over. I swallowed

throw up and just kept on, but it was a lot harder. E Bahme took

a fair part of mine and just said 'finish that and your good.' So I had

about 5/8ths of my half. It was a struggle. It’s just weird swallowing it.

Good thing my comp rocks and likes that stuff. He said that I would

learn to love it and very few enjoyed it the first time.

The 1st email from Sekondi, Ghana

by dad

On monday we got our 1st email from Alex.

Ok I have a lot to say so listen up. (the keyboard here stinks, so if I miss letters its because I'm pounding on the keyboard. you know...3rd world). Also there are tiny ants crawling in and around the keyboard. If that doesn't make a sweet story, I don't know what would.

First off I want you all to know that I know that this church is true. There have been some serious trials so far and I'm sure that they are going to get worse. I want you to know that I know God hears our prayers and watches over us. He loves us all so much and I know that he is pushing me to my limits then just barely touching on the breaks to make sure I don’t give up and quit. Wow.

Sekondi, Ghana

His first area is in Sekondi. It is a coastal city about 40 miles southwest of Cape Coast and the mission home. He has two cities in his area, Sekondi and Butamagybu (BU). They walk everywhere, unless they are in a big hurry, then they ride a Tro-Tro, which is the Ghananian version of public transportation. It's a van/cab which costs .20-.35 pesawas (about .15-.25 cents). So they walk a lot and save money.

A Tro-Tro in Accra

It is about a 15 min walk to the chapel from our apartment and from there its about a 30 min walk to any part of Sekondi (which is the nicer of the cities... and when I mean nicer they just have paved roads (It's still Ghana). Starting at the chapel, its about a 25 min walk to the start of BU. So we usually walk thru all of those routes on a normal day. LOTS of walking in the blistering sun. (no bikes for us).

My companion is Elder Bahme. He is a really awesome guy. He is from Orem, Ut. and is very strong in the gospel. We never have a dull moment. He was super excited to get an American companion. He is very patient with me and works me very hard. He has been out on his mission for almost 8 months. All in the same place. The PRES likes to keep people in the same place for a while. So I may very well be in this place for some time. As for the apartment, I love the group. There are 4 of us. The two others are zone leaders, Elder Halling and Elder Lacanvalu or something like that. He is from Fiji.

My Companion really knows the people and the town. We are in a rebuilding phase at the moments. He has had around 15 baptisms since he has been out. The work is going quite well. We never just go around and contact. We always have people to see. Less active. Recent converts. Investigators and such. So when one person just bails on us we always have someone to go and see.

While Alex was in the MTC, they spent time learning Fante, which is a dialect of the Akan language. English is the official langauge in Ghana, but the local people speak a variety of languages. About 85% of the people speak an Akan-based language. There are six languages that are used on Ghana TV and radio. The Akan language has two major dialects, Fante and Twi, which places different accents on the various words, something akin to Americans and British speaking except more severe. To that end, Elder Darrow wrote...

Church this Sunday was all in Fante. Maybe 15% English. Wow. That was a big pain. Who ever said I was called to an English mission... HA. I was asked to bear my testimony and I said a few lines in Fante. Only the ones that they would understand. Along with my own testimony. I have come to find out that the Fante I learned was legitamate, BUT it changes a little from town to town. So its really different everywhere you go. Man did they love it when I stood up and said I know the church is true. I know there is a living prophet today and that I know the BOM is true. They laughed a little but they loved it. It felt really cool.

As for lessons I have to talk SOOO slow. I have to act like I am speaking to someone who doesn’t speak English cuz they really don’t get English very well. Such a pain. And what stinks is when you start a sentence and you don’t know where its going ( refer to Michael from the office) it makes it sound so much worse when you have to say it super slow and you don’t even understand yourself when you talk.

I'm learning how to teach and get the flow going. We have had some sweet lessons and it’s amazing how the spirit does work thru us. But I have definately had some lessons I just don’t have any idea what’s going on and I feel like they can't even under stand me.

You wouldn’t believe how much the little kids love to yell obruyi (white-man).... man they freakin love it. Every now and then we walk by a school and they start chanting it. ha-ha. The kids really are so cute. Man I'm fallin in love with them. And you wouldn’t believe how many naked kids I see, along with breast-feeding women. Ha-ha it’s everywhere. 1-2 times a day during a lesson we are giving. Just bam! There is it. Ha-ha.

I love you all so much. I can't wait to hear from you guys again. Things are going great. Read your scripts and say your prayers. Trust me. God listens and is keeping a close eye on me.

Laryngitis doesn't stop the laughter.

by dad

Alex's second letter started with this...

I woke up yesterday and I couldn't really talk. My throat has been scratchy but that's nothing new. Today it was just as bad, but it doesn't hurt. No swollen glands, no fever so i know it's nothing serious. I went to see the Area Dr. (he actually happens to be an Ear, Nose & Throath doctor) and he knew exactly what was wrong. I have some form of Laryngitis. He said my voice box or something is swollen. He said I should just try not to talk or if I do, whisper in a low tone voice. If it doesn't get better, then it's a virus and we will do anti-biotics. He said it is caused by by the change of climate or the dust in the air. But by the time you read this, I'll be all better :-).

How can you not love the faith of a missionary? He was all better by time he mailed the letter.

Turns out, in Ghana this time of year, they have what is called Harmattan Wind. It's sand that comes from the Sahara (see the map to the right), so there are dust particles in the air which make it constantly hazy and dirty. I guess a lot of the missionaries have had sore eyes and/or sore throaths.

On one of their trips to the temple, Alex took these photos of the area near the Accra Temple. He said...

The drive is about 45 min drive w/traffic, maybe 20 mins or less if the roads were like Utah, but they never will be. Everything is so different. It's mad chaos on the streets. Anywhere that you slow down or where it's bumper to bumper, there are people walking up and down selling things. Worthless things to me, but if I were in Utah, they would get me. You know I'm an impulse buyer. Seeing the city got me so excited to serve.

It's nice to see Elder Darrow is still Alex and he still has his way about him...

The teachers call me the most energetic/outgoing/happiest missionary. Actually, this whole group is always smiling, happy and always singing... ALL NIGHT LONG! The big joke around the MTC is about me and the French missionaries (that speak french, from Congo, Ivory Coast etc.). For some reason they love to say my name, ELL-DAH DAHHHUN (that's how they sound it out). Everytime the French see me, they yell it out and everytime they walk by my room, apparently even when I'm not around. And from that, a lot of other Elders copy them and laugh. So my name is constantly being called and they all laugh about it. Just making the people happy.

He sent home this video from a break during class, that shows dispite their different languages, French, English or sometimes their tribal language, Elder Darrow is making new friends and loving it.

Ghana MTC update

by dad

For the 3 months prior to leaving to the Ghana MTC, Alex made as many 5 trips to the Dr. office for a variety of shots (yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus DPT booster, swine flu and regular flu). Most of the missionaries from Africa aren't as fortunate with medical care. One day, he spent time at the MTC as Dr's assistant, applying band aids and passing out juice.

Over the past three weeks he has made some great friends. He says he couldn't have made it without Elder Meinzer. (He and Alex met and made friends before they left). He said they helped each other stay sane. Here are some of his new friends.

The Teachers

Elder Meinzer & Elder Darrow

Elders Meinzer, Isagara, Sanft, Mbithi, & Darrow

He sent these three pictures of the food. The cooks have been very good to the American Elders, fixing them some of the things they might like, and trying to help them get accustom to the native food. Apparently he still has an aversion to fish.

Before Dinner...

After dinner...

and an American dinner...

Alex says...

We have been to the temple a couple of times. It is a real small temple but such a beautiful building. The spirit there is so strong (even in French) and I 'm so grateful I had a chance to go to the temple at home so many times before I left.

He sends his love and prays to everyone.

The Ghana MTC Group

This picture was taken a few days ago at the MTC.

Can you find Alex?

He leaves the MTC on Wednesday Arpil 7th. He will miss his good state-side friends, Elder Meinzer (2nd row right end) and Elder Sanft(3rd row left end)

Ghana Life

by dad

On Tuesday March 30^th, Elder Darrow spent the day at the

Temple in Ghana. The Ghana temple was dedicated in January 2004. There are two temples in Africa: Ghana Accra in West Africa and the other one in Johannesburg South Africa. Thirty of the missionaries were attending the temple for the first time. Alex was able to do the work for his great grandfather, Charles Clyde. I got an email from the MTC President that said…

Elder Darrow is doing exceptionally well. He is mature, helpful and participatory. He is a great companion to Elder Mbithi who is from Kenya. We were in the temple in Accra with Elder Darrow today. He did a family name and participated in the baptism, confirmation, initiatory, and endowment. Then, he attended a sealing session where Sister Froerer and I acted as proxy for a couple and he acted as proxy for two children being sealed to parents. He, like me, sweats a lot. It is very hot and humid here. He is really doing very well.

The weather and adjustment to missionary life continue to be a theme. Alex wrote...

I remembered the Bishop telling me one thing. When you tell stories water them down. So… when I say it’s soo hot and I sweat in the shower. That’s a watered down version. Also I have noticed here in the MTC they aren’t very strict like being on time is more of a suggestion than a rule. It’s different (I think I’ll be saying that a lot). Also, we don’t have p-days here in the MTC. There’s not a whole lot of free time. I haven’t adjusted with the sleep yet or I guess I’m not used to the long days cuz I fall asleep.

All is well here. The people are so friendly. I just found out we are teaching investigators tomorrow. On the 4th and 5th we are leaving the MTC to teach a few hours. I pray a lot. There are so many things I need help with. I just hope God doesn’t stop listening. It’s crazy how He works in small ways. I know this is where I am supposed to be. I get scared thinking about talking to new people about the church but I just have to imagine I’m making a sale at Fanzz.

But yeah, I’m getting to know the Ghana accent. It’s the others I have a problem with. Besides South Africa (Elder Banda). He actually says my name right. Everyone calls me Dahrow. There are missionaries from U.S. France, (the other white kid) Nigeria, Madagascar, Congo, Cote’D Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Uganda. They all love talking to me. :-) (I’m white.)

Alex says...

It’s really cool to hear all about each country and how things work there. Elder Ghansa from Cape Coast has been so helpful and is doing a lot of Fante work with me. I almost have my testimony sounded out, and not just memorized. It’s different. There are lots of noises from the belly and throat. I’m learning my best. When I get it all done I’ll make sure you get a full out version.

I just wish you could see all this. Love you all so much