We Don't Change the Message, The Message Changes Us

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Fun to talk to you all on Christmas day. And the skype........ figured you've waited this long to see my chubby cheeks, you can wait a little longer.  (; 

I try thinking about how I was before I came on mission and the differences from then, to now, and its hard.  I don't remember exactly who I was before I came, but I know it wasn't who I am now.  My understanding of the Gospel has changed my views and my out look on life has changed. Its weird how when you grow up, or come to a better understanding, how
you literally look through new eyes.  I always wonder how it'll be back home.... How much do you conform to the world?  Music, movies, etc.  I know what I should do, but then there is that side of, " But I want to do this."  Which is the natural man.... I just don't know how far to let myself sink back into the world, yet keep a high level of spirituality at the same time.  Things that make me not want to come home (;   I feel I've accomplished things the Lord has put in my path, but I look to the future and see a lot more to come.  Some of the past things this week that happened got me excited to where I wished I still had one more transfer.... to feel like I've accomplished Everything The Lord Has given to this point, Yes.  I feel Thus far, I've given my best efforts.  

This week, we went to see a family in Logba who moved there 5 months ago, who are members of the Church.  We recently found out about them because they came to the church when we were attending district conference in Ho, and no one was around.  I guess they asked everyone in town where the church was, because when we got back, everyone was telling us,"There was a bus full of people saying they were members of your church from Logba."  That got us all excited!  when we got in contact with them, they said they've tried coming 3 previous times, but no success.  So this last week, we went down Saturday and met with them.  Awesome family!  He's from The Cape coast mission, and was the
2nd Councilor in his branch.  They fed us boiled plantain with a nice tomato stew! Delicious.  When we told him about our couple who is investigating the church and want to be baptized that live in the same town, he said, "I'll give them a call and see what we can do.  On the
days neither of us can go, I'll call them to see if they can come to our house, or we can go to theirs and I can do a small Sunday school class."  The guys great!  We are now in the process of seeing whether or not, we can get them permission to partake of the sacrament out there.  It'd help the church grow and give members easier access to the church up north here.  This is what got me excited!!  I can see how the church is going to flourish quickly!  This family is all about spreading the gospel!  They took pamphlets from us so they could start teaching people to get them ready for missionaries.  I feel like I'm not expressing this well enough haha but hopefully you can see how exciting this is.

This was a part of an email that the Kirkhams sent me for Christmas. Loved it:

• Don’t let your worries get the best of you.  Remember, Moses started out as a basket case.
• Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.
• It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.
• People want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.
• Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your door all day, every day.
• If you want a better bishop, you only have to pray for the one you’ve got.
• Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
• We are expected to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.
• By ye fishers of men. You catch them.  He’ll clean them.
• Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
• Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.
• Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church (pallbearers).
• Forbidden fruits create many jams.
• God loves everyone, but probably prefers “fruits of the Spirit” over “religious nuts”!
• God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
• He who angers you, controls you!
• If God is your co-pilot, swap seats.
• In prayer, don’t give God instructions – just report for duty.
• The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
• We don’t change the message.  The message changes us.  

Love you all!  Be safe on new years and have a great week!  Enjoy the beginning of something new!!! Much love from GH!!!
Love Elder Zaugg

Drum Roll Please!

Alright, alright.  Because of your diligent detective work,  I guess I can let you in on my release date.  Drum roll please............... Feb 2! You already knew that though!  :) That’s when we'll be flying out, so we'll arrive on Tuesday we think.  They'll give us our flight information here soon though.  Have you been able to find out that mom?  I think you can call missionary travel and they'll tell you where I’ll be flying and the time I’ll fly in at.  They'll give you information a lot quicker than I can.  Send my flight info if you find it!  Then I can let my apartment look at it (;    Not like they still have 6 months left or anything...  It’s weird thinking that I have 49 days left....  Don’t know how to feel.  How am I supposed to feel??  I’m excited for new things, yet don’t want to leave all this behind.  like you said, may never make it back here.    I really don’t know what to bring home.... I think about stuff and I feel it’s nothing important...   I’m trying my best to think of things with importance so if I come back with little... sorry?  I pray the photos and videos I took i can recover, because those are what I’d love to have out of everything!  There’s a software called Recover. I don’t know if you can look into it to see what it’s all about.  I only received one package.  It was the decorations and rolls. We're making scones on Christmas with them!! So thanks for sending it! Were you able to send Elder Timba one?

This week nothing happened..... sorry.  But we traveled to a place called Senchi and did a service project.  We were supposed to be helping rebuild a house for this family who are members, but... it didn't turn out that way.  It first started out that we would be helping carry blocks for the masons so they can lay the walls. well, ended up no one laid the foundation.  Plan B was to help build the Foundation.  When we got there, they weren't ready for that.  Plan C, We helped demolish this huge house that didn't belong to the family we needed to help.  So, it wasn't a complete fail, but we were able to get something done for someone!  It was a good time!  This next weekend we'll be traveling down to Ho as well for a Christmas party on Monday.  Exciting! Short email, don’t be mad.  Love you all!  Thanks again for everything, and the support!

Love Elder Zaugg

No Email Today From Elder Zaugg

Everyday We Are Having An Eternal Consequence On Someone's Life

Sounds like Thanksgiving was a success!!   We didn't do anything special for Thanksgiving besides say HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!  Elder Eppich didn't want to do anything because he was going home, :) so it was nothing like last years Thanksgiving. Don’t know where November went... feels like it was just Halloween.  Now we're counting down for Christmas.   Elder Eppich will be leaving this next week, so this means I'll only have ... weeks left!  Guess we'll all find out when I will be going home in 24 days!!  Better start a countdown.  Gotta  keep things interesting somehow.  

The phone call home, not sure what time. Its 7 hour difference, so I’d be calling you in the morning time or early afternoon.  You guys decide.  It’s easy for us to fit it in.  Anytime before 12 would be best, so you guys figure it out and let me know.  I haven't got any of the packages yet... maybe in the next two weeks or so.  I’ll be seeing people to get packages at the latest December 22.  That'll be the last day of getting Christmas packages.  so hopefully they arrive before then!  I'd love to make the rolls, but we don’t have ovens in the Ghana Accra mission.  They have microwaves though.... can you use microwaves to bake rolls? ha ha Guess we'll try! (Lion House Rolls are Elder Zaugg’s favorite, so we thought it would be fun if he had some for Christmas.  Didn’t think about not having an oven.) By the way, start looking into some recovery/ anti virus reversal software that can get pictures back. I think all of my photos are corrupted. I pray they're not.

I remember President Kirkham telling us that every day we are having an ETERNAL consequence on someone’s life.  I've taken that with me ever since that day, and it gives me a desire to do all I can to help all of the people we visit with.  I think back to how I acted towards religion back home, and yeah, it’s something I did, but guess I didn't know really why.... I knew it was something I needed to do, but I hadn't had that real purpose hit me yet until on mission.  I can see that same attitude in people here and it bothers me!  We try all we can to get people excited and have a desire to search the scriptures, but they continue on the path they were on and don’t change.  On a happier note, when you have an investigator tell you they're in Mosiah or 3 Nephi, That’s when it feels like everything is paying off!  Most people don’t reach 2nd Nephi let alone 3 Nephi.  :) So to have someone tell you that, gives you reassurance that your work is not in vain.  

The temple Trip!!  The trip took 15 hours 20 minutes. 10 members went.  We rented a tro tro which is a small van that carries 14 people.  We woke up by 3am, and left by 430.  6 hours later we were in Accra at the temple.  The man who scheduled the baptisms for us didn't mention that by 10am was our time. so we were there by 1030 and they had sent a whole district to go in front of us... ah... not what we needed.  We sat around until 1230 and they finally got us in.   They were able to take our three woman in earlier though.  Beatrice, (Jonathons wife) Josephine (endowed member), and then Helen (Gamelis wife).  All of them had their testimonies strengthened!!  Sister Helen is pregnant and was only able to do Confirmations, but she loved it! She said,"I’m excited to be here! It’s so beautiful!"  She had so many questions after, where we sat in some of the chairs and talked.  Great experience!  Even Jonathons son, whos an endowed member, met us at the temple where we were able to meet him in person!  To say the least, it was amazing!!  Saw Elder Keaton Jones there as well!  All the men then went in around 1 and got to do it.  They didn't let Daniel Opoku because he was endowed and they didn't have enough clothes, so they said to let the other people go ahead.  He was sad, but still kept a positive attitude.  We were able to get back on the road around 230 and get home in a decent time.  Not an easy trip to make in one day.... 12 hours in a van.... not what i call fun, but we made it fun. :) First HoHoe Temple Trip was a success!!!  By the way, We weren't able to do it either, so I still haven't done a temple ordinance for 21 months....its overdue!  I'll do one with President Heid before I fly home, but I think we should all do one when I get back as well.

We have an investigator named Sister J.  Her husband G. will be getting baptized this Saturday.  Anyway, Sister J. has had 5 witnesses and answers to her prayers, and she still attends her church that she knows to not be true.  First one, she had a dream that she explained to us telling her that her husbanded needed to join the church.... okay... don't you think if God is telling your husband to join, that'd mean you as well?  Why would God tell you to do something different?  Second, G. had low blood pressure that he didn't know about and was seriously sick, so we gave him a blessing and he was fine in the morning. Third, she was seriously sick from her High Blood preassure, and we gave her a priesthood blessing and she was healed... Fourth we did a comfort blessing for the same sickness when it came back, and shes been fine ever since.   We went back to talk about all these incidents and to see what she thought they were if they were answers to prayers or
not, she told us about another dream she had about the church. She was at the Temple in Accra and people were asking her why she's not baptized yet.... that's the fifth one.  How many answers does it take for someone to realize where they need to be.... keep praying for her!  Hopefully her husband will have an impact on her!

Thanks again for everything!  Love you all and hope you have a great week!  Keep the festivities going!!  Anything you guys want from Ghana?  Let me know...  thanks again! 

Love you!!

Elder Zaugg

Elder Zaugg Has A Release Date

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!  Enjoy this last one without me!!

This week was our Zone Conference in kpong,  4 hours from Hohoe. We went down Monday night to Ho (my last area) and stayed in my old apartment.  We arrived around 9:30pm.  The next morning was zone conference at 9am so we had to leave around 6 because it’s a two hour drive to kpong from Ho.  We're talking in tro tros.... 15 passenger vans... not the Chevy version either.  This is the wagon type. The flat front end, and when you see one passing down the road it looks similar to how Oak used to run.  (Oak is Elder Zaugg’s dog) Remember how his back end would run on the side of him.....?  Think of a car coming at you like that... better yet, a big truck.  It’s a miracle we make it to our destinations safely.  There’s a story of a woman who was sitting in the front seat, and when they went around a bend, the door that was "shut" flung open and gravity/the G force took hold of her and she got sucked out.... kind of funny, but scary at the same time. :)  Don’t worry, we always pray before we go!  Back to zone conference, we were there from 9am to 3pm... Lots of things were learned!  We even had interviews with president.  He kind of assured me of what day I’ll be going home!!!  He said I’ll be going home........ !  Hopefully the connection for the Christmas call will be good so I can tell you (; (Elder Zaugg thinks he is so funny keeping this information from his family)  When it was all over, we traveled back, but ended up having to stay the night again in Ho because of how late it was.  That meant KCS!! PIzza!!!  Can’t wait for real pizza...

The Hohoe group is still small... we'll be going to the Temple this Saturday!  It'll be a 6 hour ride down, and a 6 hour ride back.  So it'll be an early day! Plan on leaving around 4:30-5 in the morning.  But, the group is growing!  The area was split with the two missionaries coming up, and it seems like everyone we contact in our area lives outside of our area.... we work hard at contacting, yet we hand them all over to the other companionship.  :) We're all in it together though, so work harder right?

My companion makes me laugh.  It’s always interesting to be with Africans from different countries. They all have similar personalities but different living circumstances, so it’s interesting. You'd have to be here to understand it.  We get along great though!

A miracle that happened to Elder Iyamu that I’ll share.  The other day when they went to buy some food around town, they took a taxi home, then stopped by our sign out on the road.  They walked back, did the nightly routine, then went to bed.  When he woke up, he realized his wallet was gone along with all his subsistence...  No one knew where it was, and they were making plans of trying to persuade the mission to give him some small money.  Well, this morning we got a knock on the door, and a man said he found this wallet in his taxi.  He said that he found it in the back seat so he held onto it to try and track someone down.  Hoping there was a number on the inside when he opened it to call, but found none.  He decided to follow the sign boards of where he dropped off the missionaries and track down the house.  Well, he accomplished it, and found the owner of the wallet.  How he knew he should check here after all the passengers he took, who knows.  But all we can say is it was a miracle, and we thank God for looking out for him.

Sorry for slacking on giving things to read and what not.

Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Eat some for me!  Love you all!!  Enjoy the festivities!!

Love Elder Zaugg

Finally Watched General Conference

Might not be a long email because we have to travel to ho, so just know I’m doing good and not a lot happened. My companion is awesome!  We work together great.  It may only be for a short time, but we'll learn from one another. We finally watched General Conference Sunday!!!! Only a month and a half late.  Had some great messages though!  We had a few new investigators who were attending for the first time, so we had to explain afterwards that we don't watch tv for church every Sunday.  You could see a little confusion. But the Spirit was there and we all learned something!  That's all I can write, need to get going to Ho!  Love you all and have a good week!  Next weeks thanksgiving!! maybe we'll eat a hamburger or pizza.... who knows.  :)  love you!  Elder Zaugg

God is Good!

Transfers are this week!  We will be getting two more missionaries added to Hohoe.  One will be with me, named Elder Timba from Zimbabwe and the other Iyamu will be with Eppich from Nigeria.  They come on Wednesday, so we're still enjoying a two man apartment for the little while that we have.    Daniel is now our Group Leader!  Gameli is his Assistant.  Elder Eppich and I are now helping them to know their roles as leaders in the  church now.  Being in a group is fun.  You get to know all the members WELL!  I would love to finish my mission in Hohoe.  I'd be able to see it grow a lot.  Even yesterday, we had 38 attend church.  14 were investigators and the rest members.  The most we've had the whole time having the group here!  So, things are moving right along.  We are teaching some really awesome people that I'll mention later on. There are different challenges from LIB.  LIB people wanted to join and just couldn't read.  But here, people read and have a hard time
joining.  Both are very fruitful places depending on where you are serving.

J's wife, B, was baptized Yesterday!  Now they are preparing themselves to do baptisms for the dead on November 29!  They are awesome.  They've put the temple at the center of their lives already.  Jonathon even received the Melchizedek priesthood Sunday too.  Their family is just flourishing.  She had 20-30 people attend her baptism so it was great.  She bore her testimony after and she told everyone how the Spirit has touched her heart to know this is the truth.  She's moved into her daughters house so she can be closer to the church.  They have sacrificed a lot!

Now onto some of the awesome investigators.  I'll tell you about two who have been struggling with alcohol.  The one, named R, loves the church.  We went one of these days to teach him about the word of wisdom for the first time, and after discussing small, he says this,"I think God is telling me something.  Last night, after work, I went to the "spot" to get a drink.  I don't like to use other peoples glasses so I bought my own and use that each time.  Well, after a few shots, I noticed she wasn't bringing me anymore.  Because she had broke it, she wasn't sure how to tell me.  When she told me, I wasn't mad.  I just felt okay, and went home.  Now, you are teaching me this, so I know I need to stop."  Cool how it had happened the night before.   Really shows us that things happen for a reason.  Also, that we need to follow the Spirit, because what better timing to teach him about the word of wisdom then the day after that happened?  God is Good!

Now to the other one who is having the same problem.  His name is E.  He is going up and down.  The other night when we were talking to him about his baptism and how he needs to stop drinking, we noticed something was different with his voice.  That's when he went in to telling us. He was at a funeral when he opened a bottle of Guinness, and he drank.  Somehow it came out his nose and made him black out.  Now, he has a massive headache and doesn't feel good. That all happened Saturday.  Hopefully he will learn from it and not go back.  We can only pray.

Thanks for everything and keeping me ;updated on things! love you all! 
Elder Zaugg