Wait for me. I’m coming. I’m coming.

just Alex

Tuesday was Patrick’s baptism. It was a day to remember for sure. We showed up to the chapel a few hours early to make sure all is in order and sure enough the font has only 2-3 inches of water in it, and water isn’t flowing. Sigh… Well, you would be surprised how much work you can get done with a few phone calls and a large group of LDS Africans fetching water from a well a few hundred yards away for about an hour. Was a cool experience to be apart of really. Just very humbling.

(Isaac Dadzi - ward mission leader, Emanualla, Patrick Ofosu, e. Darrow)

The baptism went very, very well. Patrick was late cuz he got in a car that broke down on the way so he had to walk a fair majority of the way. He showed up real sweaty and stressed out. I got numberless phone calls of him begging... "Elder Darrow, wait for me. I’m coming. I’m coming" he really is such a stud.

As for updates with Mike Allen, well he is a frickin stud. This week was EPIC with him and his progression. On Friday we taught him all about Christ’s doctrine (faith, repentance, baptism, enduring to the end.) We ask him how he feels about what he read, NOT how he understood it but how he feels. He said that he has responsibilities and a purpose. (Me) "What responsibilities?” He said “Well, to do Christ’s doctrine.” (Me) And how are you to do that? He says “Well... I need to be baptized." :))!!! It was so cool to let the spirit direct and teach him and let him see all that on his own. We asked, 'Okay. Why don’t we set a date in the future so we can prepare for it so you can be ready" and then he interrupts me and says: "Shouldn’t I be baptized as soon as possible? What if Christ comes next week?” :-) We were very happy he sees the importance. We explain how he should fully understand what it is that he’s doing and make sure he understands the church well enough so he is fully ready. We set the date for Dec 21. (A week after transfers...) he was very very happy about all of this, as were we. He’s such a sweet guy.

Well when we show up Sat morning, his mom said that he’s not around and that we are to call him. So we do and he says that he is on his way up to Kumasi. Sigh..... His brother called him and needed him to come up. He wasn’t sure why and doesn’t even know how long. Sigh… We talked to him again on Sun. and he still isn’t sure. But he did say he very much wanted to continue the lessons up there. So I called elder MacKay, and told him all about him. I’m not exactly sure what is going to happen with him but I will keep you updated for sure. He is such a powerful investigator and I will miss him so much. After a lot of heartbreak and confusion Sat/Sun, I got to understand that there is a bigger picture. This guy changed and has been showed the light and the way. Maybe he will come back down or maybe I will be transferred to him.

This week was quite crazy with the whole elder MacKay / Thompson switch. I was very sad to see e MacKay go, but e Thompson is sweet. I enjoy him in the apt.

(Sekondi Apartment - Elders Thompson, Mathesen, Darrow & Yapo)

As for Thanksgiving. Well... nothing like it should of been. But i’m in Africa. To be honest, if I showed pictures to the people here of how much I would eat on this day, in one sitting they would cry. So I guess it’s good I didn’t. We all just got fried rice and minerals and enjoyed back at the apt.

As for my birthday that is coming up around the corner. No big plans really. I’m sure i’ll do something worthwhile and memorable. It will be hard to be away from the fam and friends and mostly my big bro. but (sniff sniff), i’ll get over it. All will be well.

Thanks for everything that you do. You guys really do rock the place. I am so so grateful for all that you do. I couldn’t do it without you.

BIG LOVES

elder darrow

by dad

While Salt Lake City is getting dumped on with snow, this sunny picture from Ghana, with Elder Darrow's 'awesome hair part', seems surreal.

(elder Sintim and elder Darrow)

Thankful for a washing machine.

by mom

Since Alex arrived in Ghana he has had to wash his clothes by hand in buckets of cold water. It’s time consuming and causes lots of sore knuckles. The missionaries usually spend about 4 hours of their p-day washing clothes. Alex’s new companion, Elder Matheson, was able to get a washing machine when he came to Africa. This past week it arrived from his previous area and he is graciously sharing it with Alex. During this Thanksgiving, Alex is thankful for his new companion and for his washing machine.

Now he has a little more free time on wash day.

Matching Ties. Really?

by dad

(Elder Darrow & Elder Mathesen)

I have emailed Alex the past few weeks and suggested that he grow his hair out, just a little, if for no other reason than for posterity. His response…

“Dad, ya I’m growing my hair out for you so I can get a thick awesome part, get a few pics, and then I will buzz it! It’s Too Hot here!"

This is the first of ‘a few pics’ with a little bit of hair. This picture is also his way of promoting companionship unity.

Last week, through an effort to work hard and promote “Exactness In Obedience”, they met Mike Allen. He recently graduated from University and contacted the missionaries to see if they had a book to read. They gave him a Book of Mormon. He has spent almost every day with the elders since then.

This week we taught Mike everyday but Tue. Mike is such a stud. He is so smart, sincere and such a caring person. He asks questions with real concern and just wants to know more about God. He is willing to do what he needs to find out and get answers. We had a very powerful lesson about the restoration. He says he has never felt so close to God. He has also gained a similar testimony of the BOM. He still has a small problem completely trusting God and His will, but he does know that God does and can answer prayers. The last lesson we had we talked all about prayer. He is so sincere and is willing to do what it takes and is working very hard at getting answers.

Every single lesson we let him pray. I break down when I hear him pour out his heart to Heavenly Father and thank him for us, …for me, for my strength and my desire to come and teach him every day. It’s heart melting. I have a tough time pulling my self together. Thanks mom!

On to other news. Patrick will be getting baptized tomorrow. He is such a stud. I haven’t talked a ton about him but he really is just a solid guy. He’s so smart and he is so ready for his baptism. We have run into some complications with Issac. He has caused me a lot of heartache this week.

I did get to help a lady this week make Kakro. It’s a mix of plantains, flour, salt and other spices. It’s like sugarless, fried banana that you eat with beans. Her’s are as close to refried as you can get in Ghana. I flippen love the stuff.

So that’s basically it for today. Thanks again for all that you do. Love you guys big time. Thanks for the prayers. I feel and see the blessings daily.

Xoxox

elder darrow

Pah Pah, acted like a KING

by dad

Alex wrote his sister a letter this week with this story.

I will tell you a quick story about a kid I love so much. We were on exchanges and were headed to Joseph Mann’s compound. That’s where Pah Pah stays. I love all the kids there but that kid is one of my fav! So I was telling E. Mackay about this kid, telling him how sweet he is, how he’s crazy and fun. Mostly how he and the other kids love to play with my hair. He loves it when i pick him up and put him on my shoulders. He just loves chillen up there. It’s actually quite hard to get him down because he holds on to me for dear life. He also likes how he feels when all the other kids see him up there.

So as I was telling Mackay all of this, we round the corner and have a 60 yard walk up this hill. As soon as we turn the corner, Pah Pah sees me and starts screaming “Obruni” and runs full speed down the hill to me, all the while yelling. Well, it’s Saturday morning so all the kids are out of school so it was very public.

I wish you could understand how happy I was, when I saw he was that happy to see me. As soon as he got to me, I threw him in the air and within seconds he climbed up to my shoulders and acted like a KING as I walked the rest of the way to Joseph’s house.

Man do I love the kids. Man do I love Ghana. It’s so awesome here.

loves

Alex

Another month in Sekondi.

Just Alex...

Hello Elder Matheson.

I’ve got my new companion. He’s about 5’5, he is from West Jordan, Ut. and is very, very intelligent. He reads A LOT. He is a very obedient missionary and knows how to work so I’m very excited to serve with him. He has spent the last 14 months in Kumasi so this is his first time to the coast. We should do good work.

It was weird to see Elder Sintim

leave.He didn’t want to go and I miss him a lot. He’s a stud. I did love this week going around and sitting with investigators and letting elder Matheson talk to them and ask questions and hear them bear testimony of things I have been teaching them. That was cool. I will say it makes you feel real old in your area or old on mission when you show another elder around your area and intro him to everyone and that was my second time. I’m excited to see how these next few weeks go. So once he knows his way around im excited to get off and running. I’m also very happy that elder MacKay is still around in the apt.

This Sunday we got to go and watch 2 sessions of con. Sat afternoon and Sun morning. Man it’s so much more powerful listening to them and look into their eyes as they talk. No sweet lessons or anything like that this week. Just a new companion and showing him around.

I did enjoy when we went to meet Meshaq (who is the most loveable and caring guy you can meet and one of the people I will miss the most around here). He shook his hand, then kissed his hand and then told him he loves him and just stared into his eyes for a while. It’s so Meshaq but he doesn’t know him yet.

Sorry my email is so boring this week. Once again thank you for all that you do. I don’t know how a missionary could go out without the support that I have at home. Thank you a million times!!

I’m out of here.

Big, big, big loves,

elder darrow

(the Sekondi Zone November 2010)

Issac and the end of rain season.

by dad

After the October General Conference I mailed copies of the talks. In his email he proceeded to give a detailed account of each speaker and his thoughts and reviews on 16 talks he read. I’m not sure if he wanted us to know he read them OR wanted to make sure we read them. Either way, he "loved, loved, loved the conference talks.” A few of my favorites… Holland - Rocking the mic! I realized I could be so much more grateful for things. Kearon - "When obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation; instead of a stumbling block it becomes a building block." Sick! Andersen - "Never leave Him. Choose not to be offended and ashamed." Word up!

He did send a little information about Ghana too.

I’m here and I come with news. My new comp is e. Matheson. He is from e Mackays mtc group and he has served in two areas in Kumasi his entire mission. He from utah. Right now, all I care about is that I’m going to be here in Sekondi. e Sintim is going to Kumasi along with e Dadegnon, same apt as e Holmes. I am going to miss them a ton.

(Issac Mah and Elder Darrow)

As for Isaac Mah, I don’t want to tell the story cuz it’s too deep, but let’s just say Isaac was the reason I came to Sekondi. I have no doubt about it. He continues to teach me things that have changed who I am. I love that man more then you could understand. He is so solid. He is making incredible sacrifices to join the church. He is a story I’m gonna keep close to my heart. He is a refugee from Liberia and has nothing. I will tell all you about him on the Christmas call. It’s just too personal to share his story. You just won’t understand till you hear it full. His baptism will be at the end of the month.

As for Patrick. Also a stud. Things are going just dandy with him and he has been ready for baptism for some time. I’m excited for that day.

We also got to sit with Mashal for the first time. She is a wife (just married this month) of a member. She has been coming to church the past month but is just too busy to sit with us. We got to sit with her Sunday night and had a very, very, very powerful lesson. One of those where the spirit teaches and you say things that you shouldn’t say the first lesson and didn’t plan on saying at all. When we started talking about how she can be sealed to her husband forever and that any kids she has (she’s prego) are hers FOREVER. And that in this church we know that families are forever etc. After all that she just looks at us and asked in a very, very sincere way. "How do I do that??” You can only imagine how strong the spirit was. We were very excited for her.

All three of those peeps were at church this Sunday. I love Sekondi.

Sekondi, Ghana is located just north of the equator. It has two seasons; hot and rain. The rain season has come to an end and now it is just hot. It will be hot until the Harmattan winds blow in the first part of the year. That bring back the rains. Until then, it’s just hot. Hot, dusty and dry. Here’s few picture from the last down pour. The brown water is what most of the dirt the roads look like when it rains.

On Saturday I went on exchange with elder MacKay. I always love those. We did that only cuz e Yapo didn’t feel well and we both had people to see so it was our best option. We did work. It was a hot, hot day and we were all over the place. Sekondi to Esicadu to Injecia to BU. We had some powerful lessons. I really enjoy teaching with elder MacKay. Was a cool day.

As for my birthday and Christmas, in all honesty there isn’t anything that I want or need, maybe some deodorant. I feel like you do so much. Don’t worry about me. Seriously though anything that you want to send is welcomed with open and loving arms. But you do WAY too much as it is already. I can’t thank you enough for all you do.

big, big loves,

elder darrow

Sunday with the Axim branch

just Alex

Okay what up what up beloved family. Missed you guys this week. Crazy how fast time is flying by? Happy flipping b-day p-doe. Sorry I’m not around. I’m busy elsewhere.

Today for p-day we went to the beach and Cape Coast came as well. So it was Sekondi, Takoradi, and Cape Coast zone. We played football on the beach. It was a lot of fun. It’s always cool to see the other elders. I met elder Bunker for the first time and when I greeted him he said… ‘Huh elder Darrow. I’m supposed to say hello from like your aunt or neighbor or mom or someone.' Went on to tell me that he ran into someone at the Draper temple. He’s from Pleasant Grove and long story short, someone out there who knows me said hello. Thanks.

On to other news. We have an official date on the calendar for Isaac Mahh and Patrick. They will be baptized on the 23rd of November. Who knows what will happen with transfers but I know that it was better for them to wait a bit more. They are so sweet. (Cool things are always happening with them but I can’t tell you EVERYTHING right?) Just know things are sweet with them. Thanks for the prayers. I know they are helping.

This week I got to experience something new. I got to go up to a branch with elder and sister Lamb. They have been taking the Takoradi ZLs there but they needed us at church to teach some people. It was an hour and a half drive from Sekondi. I’m sure that most branches are like this all around Ghana but I have been blessed to be ‘born' in the area with the nicest chapel in Ghana.

Well they met in a schoolhouse for children. So everyone was sitting in benches. Remember the benches are for children, so you can imagine how this Ogre felt. Haha. Real fun. The branch Pres was new. The first councilor is blind and the second councilor couldn’t read or write. They have such great faith and it was very humbling to worship with them. They had elder Sintim give a testimony and asked me to fill the rest of the time. I spoke for like 20 min and just winged it. There were some big distractions as I talked but I pushed thru. One thing that they just don’t understand is reverence. They have no problem answering a phone call or the bishop/branch president calling someone from the stand up and just having a small meeting during it all. It’s just different from home.

(Schoolhouse/Chapel in Axim, Ghana)

As they were blessing and passing the sacrament I looked around the room and felt so lucky. To be where I am. To have come where I came from and have all that I do. It’s eye opening when you see stuff like that. It took me back to home and thinking that all of you would be going to church in a nice chapel with carpet and a/c or heater with nice big cushions benches later that day. It was very humbling and as I sat there with a deep prayer of thanks in my heart. After sacrament we broke out into different classes. They all go to various classrooms or just areas of the school. There are 3 other churches that meet in the school compound as well so for the last hour of church all you hear is the different churches singing and shouting and praying in tongues. A bit distracting yes but we endured. We (I) taught investigators class. There was a class of 16 people who will be ready for baptism within the next few weeks or so. They don’t have full time missionaries there and they just pray for it. Seeing how the branch ran and how everything worked out it really made me gain a strong testimony of how true this church is. Whether you’re in America or Korea (shout out to E Proctor) or Ghana, it’s all the same.

(Elder Darrow & the Lambs at the beach in Axim, Ghana)

After that the lambs drove us by the Axim beach. Axim is sweet.

That’s all for today. Love you guys real big. Thanks for everything!

Obruni bye-bye... !! (waving) I hear that about 20 times a day

elder darrow

Where in the World?

by dad

Where is Alex?

What is it like there?

How do they get around?

Is it safe there?

These seem to be regular questions asked about Alex. So I thought I’d post a few answers. Sekondi, is a coastal city, just north of the equator in Ghana, West Africa. The population of Ghana is estimated at 22 million. The western region has roughly 2 million people, with the majority living in the capital of the region, Sekondi-Takoradi, which has approximately 350,000 - 400,000 residents. Sekondi has a population of 175,000.

The downtown area streets are paved, with stores, shops and an open market. The streets always seem to active with people, especially children. Alex wrote home recently and said…

"There aren’t enough words to describe or pictures to send home to explain the complete AWESOMENESS of this place."

They walk everywhere they go, 6-8 miles a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. A few of the missionaries have bikes, mostly the Zone Leaders. Sometimes they will ride a small bus (tro-tro) to get somewhere faster or if it’s just too far to walk. Sometimes they are in populated areas with apartments.

Sometimes the walk to more remote villages.

Sometimes they use safe bridges and sometimes bridges a little less safe.

Sometimes they walk the rails as the trains pass by.

And sometimes they just walk on trails.

But they are always safe…

Momma - I want you to know that I’m safe. I really am. I thought it was going to to a scary place, but Ghana is a safe place and religious men are well protected. Don’t you worry at all. All is well with me. I love this work so much and I feel so blessed to be in such an amazing place. Thanks again for all that you do. I couldn’t do it without you.

Big Hug

Elder “Buster Baby-boy” Darrow

That's thier justice.

by dad

This weeks' email had the latest news on his health (he had a boil), his diet (fruits and veggies are expensive and "fried plantains and beans are cheap and fill him to the rim”) and his recent craving for lasagna and a frosty.

As for investigators:Agyemang and Patricia loved church and the lesson was powerful, but they wouldn’t promise to come this week, which is good cuz at least they understand the meaning of a promise. Pray for them. It’s a fine line to mess with a father and his kids so there isn’t much we can do.

Patrick and Isaac Mahh, both were at church this week and all is going well. We really are focusing on "fruit that will remain” and after lots of studying, fasting and praying, I know that the right thing to do for is to wait. We want them to really understand the importance of baptism and the covenants they are making. We want them to be ready and I want them to be powerful members. Both of them are 2 people that I really want to be a part of their baptism and help them along the way, but I know what God wants, is for them to understand what they are doing. Just pray for them. And pray for me to stay with them. They both mean so much to me, especially Isaac. Has such an amazing story and was ready for this gospel. He’s a person I will never forget.

Now on to more sobering African news…I saw something this week that I will never forget. Something that reminded me where I am and how different life is here. I saw something that I have only heard stories about. Walking in the streets of Sekondi ,right in the heart by the market, we saw a huge crowd yelling and shouting and freaking out about something. As we walked up, we quickly found out what was going on. A thief had been caught. :( Now here in Ghana they go by a different policy. Because everyone has a mother or a wife or friend etc. who owns a shop, they go by the people system. Everybody governs everybody. Yes there are police and it’s an understatement to say you would be lucky if they were the ones who caught you. I witnessed a crowd take this man who was caught stealing and just about beat him to death. They all surround him and just all get their own punches in till the police come. And if they don’t come then mostly likely they kill you or almost kill you. And that’s one thing they see as perfectly normal. That’s their justice. I stood there and watched this horrible scene, and there was nothing I could do. I didn’t want to watch but I couldn’t look away. It was so sad. Now, I’m not saying that the thief is right, but I was quickly reminded what the real world is like and how different life is outside of my pampered life back home. It was something that is burned into my memory. It was a sad, sad day. Just another reason and visual of how fortunate I am.

I really am so grateful for all that I have. I can’t thank you enough for everything.

Elder Alexander Charles Darrow