Nov 28 & Dec 5, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How are you? I hope that you are doing well! I am doing good. It is just weird for me because we are already in December. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed being with family. So many things have happened, the United States even has a new president! Things here in the mission are going great. The week that Rose got baptized the mission had 40 baptisms and over 400 new investigators. The work here in Ghana is moving forward quickly and I am really glad I get to be a part of it.

It is hard to believe that it is already the end of another year. I can remember last year when I was not quite a month old on my mission and was still trying to get used to everything. Now we are already a year into it and next year at this time I will be home! It really is hard to believe! I'm not really sure where the time goes. I am now a district leader (DL), so that is definitely more responsibility. I also know that I will be leaving Suhum in January, so I am sad about that. Just got to work my hardest for these last few weeks here. These have been a good couple weeks. We have had good success seeing the people we have been teaching. We haven't had any luck with Frank, but we are praying that he keeps making progress. None of the rest of our investigators are ready for baptism yet, but we are working with them. I just love Suhum so much and am not yet ready to leave it. 

This coming Thursday are the elections here in Ghana. Pres. Heid has asked us to stay in and deep clean our apartments just to be safe. Things are usually pretty calm, but Pres. Heid just wants to make sure that everyone is OK. I ended up getting a small infection in my ear and had to spend a day going to and from Accra to have the mission doctor look at it. He cleaned it out, gave me some antibiotics and its healing nicely, so all is well. Also, 1 YEAR BABY!!!!!! I forgot to do that a couple weeks ago so I had to do it now. I love all of you so much and I hope that all of you are able to have a memorable Christmas season. Always try to remember the real reason of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior. I love you so much!! Have a good week!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Nov 21, 2016

Hey everyone!!!

How are all of you? I hope that you all had a good 2 weeks! I know I did! A couple weeks ago we had our quarterly multi zone conference! It was really good. I was able to see a couple of my buddies there, so that was nice. We heard from President Heid, Sister Heid, The AP's and zone leaders, everyone gave really good talks. Then all the districts performed skits, some of them were pretty good. Then Sunday we had our district conference. We heard form Vern P. Stanfill of the 70. He is a really funny guy. His wife is also from Orange County and gave me a high five while we missionaries greeted them. It was pretty cool. Then yesterday we had the all Africa broadcast from Salt Lake. Elder Stevenson, Elder Dube, Sister Stevenson and someone else spoke, it was a great broadcast and the Spirit was really strong. Then after the service we had our baptism, so we were super excited! Our whole district did them together...we had 6 baptisms in total! It was really cool! We baptized Rose, so we are really pumped about that! We also have so many referrals to go through, it's a great time to be in Suhum! I also found a really good new food. It is called a PB&B sandwich. A Peanut Butter and Barbecue  sauce sandwich! It might not sound appetizing, but it tastes good to me. I'm out of time, so I'll sign off for now. The gospel is true and I'm so glad to be serving here in Ghana. I love you all so much!

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Nov 7, 2016

Hello everyone!!

I really think I need to change what I say for a greeting, but I am not sure, what do you all think? I hope that you all had a good week. Our week was actually really good. It was a normal week until Sunday. Yesterday we got 42 referrals in total! The branch president challenged everyone at church to give at least one referral. The members really came through for us. The missionaries in our apartment split the referrals, so we got 21, but still, it was crazy!! Our other investigators, Rose and Frank, are doing good still. Both are on track to be baptized this month, so that will be exciting. 

I have a multi-zone conference coming up this week. It takes us away from teaching, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone and hearing from Pres. Heid. We tried to make some fufu for lunch today at the apartment. It was edible, but it was mostly plantain. Plantain is not my favorite so I didn't eat any. Fortunately we are going to get pizza after we finish emailing, so its all good. It is hard to believe that at the end of the week I will have been out for one year. I have come so far and still have plenty to go. I dont have much time so I will keep it short for today. I love you all and hope you have a good week!!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Oct 31, 2016

Hey everyone, happy Halloween!! How are all of you? I hope that you had a good week! Our week was pretty good. It has been a very busy week with lots of teaching. We are still waiting for Frank to get back from Accra. He is down there visiting his uncle, but he is in contact with the missionaries there, so all is good. We are also working with a sister named Rose and another investigator named Phil. 

I will say that the weather has been ridiculously hot lately. I forgot how bad Harmattan can be (the hot wind that blows from the east-northeast in the winter). It is a real scorcher, and with the humidity it makes it a thousand times worse,so yeah. We did get a new missionary in the apartment, his name is Elder Joseph. He is from Nigeria and he is a really good guy. 

Besides Frank another of our investigators will be ready for baptism this month. Her name is Rose, I mentioned her earlier in the letter. She is related to the branch president, but her parents aren't members. She said that she wanted to be baptized, so we are teaching her. Its really exciting to have the potential for two baptisms in November. I cannot believe that October is already over. It flew by so fast! I love missionary work and seeing the changes it can bring to peoples lives. I hope that all of you have a good Halloween and get lots of good candy, since I won't get the chance to get any here! Eat a Kit-Kat bar for me if you get a chance.

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Oct 24, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How are all of you? I hope that you had a good week! I had a pretty good week. We did a lot of teaching with all of our investigators. I enjoy teaching with my companion. We work well with one another, and we like to approach each teaching opportunity as a new challenge. Also, our investigator named Frank has accepted the invitation to be baptized! He will be baptized next month. He had traveled to Accra for the month so the Elders down there have been teaching him, but he is coming back to Suhum so it is super exciting!. 

I forgot to mention last week that my second package arrived, and I am so thankful to all who wrote me. I love you all so much! I also have forgotten to mention this, but I finished Jesus The Christ about a month ago. It truly is one of the most amazing and spiritual books ever. It is really one of the best ways to learn the gospel more in depth. Another great book for these last days is the Old Testament. It truly gives us the guidance we need for these Latter days. If we remember, the Book of Mormon was in Old Testament times, except for the visitation of Christ and onward. Also if you want to learn more about the Church it is wonderful for that as well. I am actually reading in Ezekial right now in my own challenge to read all the scriptures. I have seen all of the things that pertain to our time and it is amazing. 

All is well over here. I am loving Africa. I can't believe that I am almost 1 year into my mission! I love you all so much!! I know the church is true!

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Oct 10 & 17, 2016

Hello everyone!!

I hope that you all had a good two weeks and that all of you are doing well. I have had a good couple of weeks myself. We have been able to teach a lot of people and have added some new investigators that have a lot of promise. But the definite highlight of the last two weeks was going to the temple, twice! I got to go on Thursday night and Friday morning. It was so wonderful to go and do temple work. I felt like I was right at home and that my batteries were recharged. 

While I was in Accra I got to see Pres. Heid briefly, and I also saw a lot of my buddies, so that was super cool. Also, while I was down in Accra I got my second Ghanian non citizen id card, which means this is my last one since they are good for a year! I am so thrilled! Its hard to believe I already hit my eleven month mark, it almost doesn't seem possible I have been out that long. We had to switch internet cafes, so I dont have much time which is why this is kind of short. I hope everyone has a great week, feel free to shoot me an email if you get a chance.

Love you all!!

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

This is a picture of my district - Effiduse District

Oct 3, 2016

Well hello everyone!

I hope that everyone had a good week, my week was pretty good. It was good because we found some new investigators and because it was general conference weekend!! It was so wonderful to hear the word of the Lord from our Prophets, Seers, and Revelators. To hear all of the different things they spoke on was awesome. One of my favorites was President Monson's talk, "The Perfetct Path to Happiness." I loved it so much. I love the ideas he gave us,  Do more than just believe in Jesus Christ and His mission. Work to learn of Him in the scriptures, come to know Him through prayer, and continually use His power to repent and improve. Know God’s laws and live them. It’s the only way to obtain true happiness. Live the truth. Share the truth. Care for our bodies and our minds by observing principles set forth in the Word of Wisdom. Great counsel from a great man. This week we found an investigator, his name is Frank. He came to one of the lessons we were teaching to some of our other investigators. He seems very interested, and I really believe that we will have much success with him. Other than that it was a pretty quiet week. We still see Bro. Adam and Bro. Andrew occasionally, but they haven't made much progress lately. Also I have a new favorite hymn. It is Hymn 13, An Angel From On High. The mens chior version is even better. It was really inspiring to hear it at General Conference.

 

 I also had some fun with Elder Ballard as well this week. :-)

I hope that you all have a good week. Love you!

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Sep 19 & 26, 2016

Hello everyone!!

I hope that you are all doing well, I am great here in Suhum. We have had a pretty good 2 weeks, a lot has happened. My new companion, Elder Ignatious and I, are enjoying working together. He has been out for 14 months and grew up as a member of the church. We get along great and he seems like a really good guy. 

Second, we got to see Elder Gary E. Stevenson from the Quorum of the Twelve. It was an amazing experience to hear and learn from another Apostle of the Lord and shake his hand. One of the things that stuck out to me in his talk is that he called all spots of our mission the "sweet spot". He reminded us about the advantages and excitement of every situation, whether it be a new missionary, a twelve month missionary, or a finishing missionary. Another thing he emphasized is that a lesson without a commitment is a waste of time. That was something that really hit home to me. He also talked a lot about preach my gospel. Over all it was really humbling to see and meet him. The whole mission gathered for it, so I was able to see all of my TC's and friends! They also fed all of us chicken and rice with Shito (black pepper sauce), it tasted really good.

The weather has been really rainy lately. They even had some flooding over in Koforidua and unfortunately some of the members homes had significant damage. The elders there will be doing some service projects to help with the clean up, but fortunately we were unaffected here in Suhum. 

This week was my birthday so that was really fun! I cannot believe that I am now 19 years old! I had Eba and Egusi soup on my birthday, two of my favorite foods here in Ghana. I also got one of my packages but sadly, the other one has not gotten here yet. I still pray that it will. It means that I only got some of the birthday wishes from everyone that wrote. I thank you all for the good messages. I am thankful for the ones that got here and for the ones that didn't, your love is still felt. Every week seems to go a little quicker; time is really starting to fly by! I love serving my mission and I love all of you.

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Sep 5 & 12, 2016

Hey everyone!!!!

How are you all doing? I am doing well. The last 2 weeks have been really good. I didn't have much time on the computer last week, so I am doing two weeks worth in this letter. There is a lot that happened, so I'll try and cover the highlights. Last week for a zone activity we hiked into Boti Falls. It is a twin waterfall located between Koforidua and Kpong. It was green and cool, and really beautiful. You can see from the picture below how amazing they look. It was really nice to be out away from civilization for a little while. We also had zone conference last week on Tuesday, so that was nice to be together and see everyone. 

Last week was good. Things are going well with our teaching pool. We were able to meet with the family that we found during Suhum week and teach them a lesson. We are really hoping that they keep progressing towards baptism, but we will have to wait and see.  We have been able to do some good work in finding so that was nice as well. Also we had our branch conference last week.

One of the big changes is transfers are happening this week. We also will be going into Accra on Wednesday and we get to see Elder Stevenson from the Quorum of the Twelve! I'm really excited to see and hear from another Apostle of the Lord. I also found out I am getting a new companion. His name is Elder Ignatious, he is from Zimbabwe. I am sorry to see Elder Kallon go, but I am excited to meet my new companion. 

 Another crazy thing, 10 MONTHS ALREADY!!!! Crazy to think that it has been that long. It really doesn't even feel like it. I also can't believe that we are most of the way through the year. It really has flown by. I have been so lucky to serve a mission and am so thankful for it, I really love it. I can't wait for the rest of it. Time really does fly by. Well, that is about it for now, hope that you all have a good week!! Love all of you.

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Aug 29, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How was your week? I hope that it was good. Our week was great, we had our open house and dedication of the new Suhum building on Sunday. Not only was it a beautiful service, it was so nice to get it done, because now we dont have any distractions. During the dedication I realized something; I realized just how sacred chapels really are. The prayer that is given for chapels is just as beautiful and sacred as the prayer for the dedication of a temple. In all honesty, it showed me just how sacred chapels really are in the eyes of the Lord. We should hold them in as high esteem as temples. Even though meetinghouses are used for different reasons than the temple, they are extremely sacred none the less. I think that most of us just see meetinghouses as places of gathering. They are much more special and deserve much more respect and reverence. This is just something small that I was reminded of by Pres. Heid who came and spoke at the building dedication. All this week all of the missionaries in the Koforidua zone helped get the word out about the building dedication here in Suhum. I saw a lot of my friends, including Elder Kohler, so that was nice. We were able to add 7 people to our teaching pool this week, so that was awesome! Overall it was a productive and fulfilling week. I hope that you all have a great week! I love all of you.

                  

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

August 22, 2016

Hey everyone!! How are you doing? I hope that your week went well. Our week went pretty good. We were very excited because we had the baptism of Joshua, so that was very nice. We had it at the new building here in Suhum and it went really well. We also had the All Africa Service Project (its like Mormon Helping Hands in the US) on the same day as the baptism. Here in Suhum the missionaries and members went to the hospital and trimmed some trees and just cleaned up in general. 

This week we are preparing for the open house of the new church building here in Suhum, so there is a lot to do before this coming Saturday. Overall things are going pretty well here. We are still working with Bro. Adam and Bro. Andrew. Its slow going, but we are hoping that they will be able to be baptized soon. We had a big rainstorm here yesterday, but its kind of hilly here in Suhum so it didn't flood or anything. 

I can't believe come September it will already have been 3 months since I got here! It really is a nice place. Also 9 MONTHS BABY!!!! We are movin right along! It is so weird because it doesn't feel that long and I see so many of my friends turning a year already. The time really does fly! I love my mission so much. I love the gospel and know it is true! I love all of you!

Love,

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

This is a picture from my last zone conference, one of the other missionaries put it together.

Aug 15, 2016

Hey everyone!

How was your week? I hope that it went well for you all. Our week went good. We had some decent success this week.We were able to see most of our investigators. The real exciting news is that we will be having a baptism on Saturday! It is Joshua, the boy I mentioned last week. He is 15 and is related to the branch president. He has been coming to church for a while now and said that he wanted to get baptized, so we were not going to hesitate on that! That was the real highlight of the week. 

We had some fun today as a zone. We met together and played some soccer and b-ball. It was a really fun activity, I was able to see a lot of my friends. Next Saturday all the missionaries will be doing service projects. The zone leaders decide what we will be doing, I will tell you next week what we end up doing for our area. I really am so thankful to be serving a mission. It has really blessed my life and I have seen blessings in other peoples lives as well. If you are thinking about going on a mission, do it! You will not regret it. It is the best experience ever. I love you all so much. Have a great week! Below are some pics from today by my bud, Elder Koronikalu.

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Aug 1 & 8, 2016

Hey there everyone!!

I hope that you all have had a good 2 weeks! Sorry this is late, but I had a lot going on! The last couple weeks have gone good! We have really just been getting our investigators ready for baptism and helping them understand the doctrine. 

I have been really happy here in Suhum. I do have an idea as to when I will leave though, so I am sad about that even though its a while from now (probably December or January). I love the work up here. Saturday went well, even though Bro. Adam and Bro. Andrew didn't get baptized. Fortunately there was someone from the other area that got baptized and we were able to enjoy seeing that. We have been able to extend a baptismal date to Joshua, a 15 year old boy who has been coming to church for a while. A lot of the people we wanted to set baptismal dates for weren't around so we didnt get to do that, but all is good. We will hopefully do it this week. We have been helping a lot getting the new church building here in Suhum ready to go. Its a really nice building and I know the members will be blessed by having it here. Today for P-day we had meat pies (basically empanadas) and Fanice (ice cream) for our meal here in Kof town, it was really good.

I had an interesting experience this past week. For about a week and a half I had been looking for my razor cord. I had misplaced it and couldn't find it. I never had any time to look for it until a few days ago. Then as I really started searching for it I became more and more upset and frustrated that I could not find it. After looking everywhere I got upset and felt angry and defeated. I gave a tap to my bed frame and sat down on the floor in defeat. All of a sudden a voice in my head said "check the drawer you are sitting next to". I was going to say no, but then I thought, sure, why not. I've got nothing to lose. To my complete suprise as I pulled the drawer out I saw the cord. I was stunned and then went very silent and still for a while. I knew at that point what the Lord had just done, I had been humbled. I was so determined that I could find it by MYSELF that I didn't think I needed the Lord's help. I was once again reminded that even in the small things we need the Lord's help. We should never forget to call on His name. Even when we don't think we need to. I am so thankful for this experience because it reinforced to me that I need to always remember the Lord no matter what. I give this same charge to all of you as well. Never forget the Lord and His almighty power. It is a real thing. I love you all and hope that you have a good week.

Sincerely,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

July 26, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How was your week?! I hope that it went well. Sorry to everyone that was waiting for the email yesterday, we were busy so I didn't get to do it. Today is a different story. Our week went well. We moved the baptisms of Bro. Adam and Bro. Andrew to this Saturday, so we will have the baptisms in the new building! We are really excited about that! We also had a huge multi-zone conference yesterday in Kpong. It was a really fun one because we had 4 zones together. I saw almost all of my tc's (traveling companions) and a whole bunch of my friends. We had instruction from Pres. Heid, Sis. Heid and a few other people. We also heard the testimonies of missionaries going home. Several of them are some of my friends so it was a little hard to see them go. Then all the districts there performed skits that they had prepared.  Our district did our skit on the difference between serious and not serious missionaries. I got to be the investigator, so it was really fun. You really could feel the spirit with all of us there aND ithe really recharged my batteries. It really was a fun day. I hope that you all have a great week!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

July 18, 2016

Hey everyone!! How are you all doing? I hope that your week went well. Ours went pretty good. I'm still getting used to my new area, but it feels like home, so that is nice. We had some good numbers. The big challenge is still trying to get investigators to church. Everything is still on track for this weeks baptisms, so that is exciting! One small problem is the branch president wants to wait until the 30th when the new building will be done. We would prefer the 23rd, but we will just have to play it by ear. 

I spoke in church a couple weeks ago on "missionary" Sunday. That is where the missionaries are in charge of all the meetings, we do it once a month. I am grateful for the chance to teach others about the gospel and for the opportunity to share my testimony. I know that I am growing and learning because of these missionary experiences; missions are so awesome!

Even though it was kind of a quiet week, the work is still moving along. I am absolutely loving the area! It really is a great area. The people are wonderful. My grandma Arnson will be thrilled to know I still haven't seen any monkeys. I hope to see some wildlife while I'm in Suhum, but nothing so far. I dont have much else to report, but all is going well. The mission is losing another ten Elders next transfer with no replacements, so it's pretty crazy but it's all good.

I have gotten the chance to practice my cooking skills here in Ghana. We usually eat eggs and rice for breakfast. We have a fridge and I actually got to have some real milk, something I didn't think I would be able to enjoy until I got back home. Elder Kallon and I are going to get pizza after I finish emailing, so that will be nice. I know the church is true and I absolutely love it. Missionary work is real. I am so thankful to serve a mission. I love you all!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

July 11, 2016

Hey everyone!!

I hope that your week was good! Our week was pretty good, but not as great as last week. Unfortunately, we didn't have anyone come to church this week. Everyone we are working with was out of town for funerals, so we didn't make as much progress as we would have liked. I'm enjoying being a senior companion, partly because my companion, Elder Kallon, is self-motivated and makes the work go smoothly. We are enjoying working together. Unlike the spoiled missionaries in the states, we don't eat often at members homes ;-). We cook things like rice, stew, noodles, etc. for each other, so its all good.  

Suhum is really awesome! The people treat us well and are very welcoming and willing to listen. I really couldn't have come to a better place to serve. Everybody speaks English and Twi here. I have only picked up a few words and phrases in Twi, mainly because everybody speaks English. I would like to learn more, but we have been instructed by Pres. Heid not to spend time learning the different dialects, so that it doesn't take away time we could spend teaching. Our investigators are great, they are really receptive to the message. Things are still looking good for our baptisms on the 23rd, so that is exciting! 

It is hard to think that I have been out for 8 months already. 8 months...that is crazy! It really is incredible how fast the time flies. I can't believe that this transfer is half way over (there are 6 weeks in a transfer period)! Missionary work is real. A mission really does change you. I have seen the change in peoples lives and in my own.  I hope that you all have a great week.

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

July 4, 2016

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope that your week was good. Our week was great! This was one of the best weeks I have had over here. The work is really amazing in Suhum. I hope that I stay here for a while. The members are wonderful and the people are wonderful. It is a much smaller congregation than in Ashaley Botwe, so I even get to play the piano for some of the meetings. I am doing well and my companion, Elder Kallon is doing well.I am still getting used to the area, but I am really liking it. We don't have any hot water for showers, but with the heat here in Ghana its not that big of a deal.

It is weird to be the senior companion and to be in charge of all the decisions for our companionship. It really is a big learning experience. I need to learn fast though, because I think I will be made district leader this next transfer. I am not really sure, but it might happen. We lose a lot of guys next month so it is highly likely that will happen. It really is always amazing to hear conversion stories. I don't have any for ya, I just like them a lot :-). It is cool to see investigators become converted though. I can see it in some of the investigators that we have. I hope it turns into something. We have some baptisms booked for July 23rd, hopefully our investigators will follow through. I am so thankful for a mission and for what it does to you. I can't believe that my role model (my cousin DJ Arnson) only has 5 weeks left. I can't wait to see him and all of you late next year. Have a great week!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

June 27, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How are you all doing? I hope that your week was wonderful and that you enjoyed it. My week was really good. I finished my first week in Suhum! It is a really, really nice place. I am so happy to be in such an amazing area. I hope I stay here for a while. I was also made senior companion, so that is pretty neat and humbling. My new companion is Elder Kallon, and he is from Sierra Leone. He just finished training and is a really great guy. I know our companionship will be good. I am the only white guy (bruni) in Suhum, so that is awesome! 

On the way to Suhum I had the chance to stop at the mission home and briefly visit with Pres. and Sis. Heid. I also got to see some friends I have made in the mission, it was a nice transfer. It took me about 3 hours to get to Suhum from the mission home. I was really happy when I got to Suhum to see that my apartment is nicer than the one I just left. We have 4 missionaries in the apartment just like before, and each companionship works their half of the town. The four of us are the only missionaries in Suhum. The roads here are all paved, and it is cooler than down in Ashaley, so that is nice. Suhum is small enough that we come into Koforidua to email every week. Its about 30 minutes by tro-tro or cab from Suhum to Kof town, so not too bad. We have a district meeting tomorrow, so we will make the trip again tomorrow.

The work is really good up here. Suhum is a little better off than Ashaley Botwe, and the people seem very open to the Gospel. We already have a good teaching pool, and we should have some baptisms this month, so that is exciting! Not much else happened this week except getting used to Suhum. The branch is awesome and we are getting a brand new building for us, also very exciting! I hope that you all have a good week. The Gospel is true. Love you all!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

June 20, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How are you all doing? I am doing very well. We had a really awesome week this week. Our numbers were super high and, WE HAD A BAPTISM!! It was so amazing!! It truly is the best feeling on your mission. To baptize someone who wants to enter the Kingdom of God is amazing! Sister Mercy truly is an amazing person. Her story is awesome. About a month ago she just showed up to church. We were really surprised, but we were so happy. Then we find out that she talked to her brother-in-law, who is a member. He said that this is the only church you can find salvation in. (She had asked him where she could find salvation; she used to go to Church of Christ.) So she came to our ward! Then we began teaching her. She was the easiest person I have ever taught. Sometimes we wouldn't even have to explain things to her because she already knew them. She truly is amazing! I am so happy that she is my first actual baptism on my mission and in Ashaley Botwe. Unfortunately, she will be the only one in Botwe. Yep that means only one thing, I am getting transferred! I am super excited about the change but sad that I have to leave a fast growing area. Elder Allen and I have been working our tails off these last few months to make this area fruitful and it finally is becoming fruitful! I will miss it for sure. My new area is Suhum in Koforidua. It is in the bush (out of the city) so I am ridiculously excited for that! Koforidua is about 35 miles north of Accra. It is in the hills and it is cooler and greener there. I will be the senior companion to an elder from Africa. I can't wait for this new challenge. I leave tomorrow to go to my new area, so it will be awesome. I hope that you all have a great week and I will talk to you next week! See ya! 

Love,

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

This is from the baptism on Saturday

June 13, 2016

Hey everyone!

I hope that you are all doing well!! Our week was pretty good! It has been insane here lately. It rained for 5 days here and they were all really really heavy rains. It has been awesome! We had an amazing time this week with Sister Mercy. She really knows the Gospel and will hopefully be baptized on Saturday. She really is amazing. Our other investigators are doing good as well. 

There is something that has been on my mind this week. It is about home teaching. I have noticed in my time in Africa that Home and Visiting teaching are somewhat neglected. Then I started to think about it. That is one of the things that is really important in the work and it is neglected all over the world. The reason that it is important is because it helps to strengthen members and make sure they are doing well. It also really helps the missionaries. My charge to you is to ask yourself if you are doing these things. If you are great, keep it up! If you aren't, start now! It truly is an important thing, the Lord has commanded it of us! 

On a lighter note, 7 MONTHS BABY!!!!!!!!!! It is insane to think that I have been out that long. It really really doesn't feel like that. Only 17 to go! I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week.

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

June 6, 2016

Hey everyone!!

I hope that you all had a good week. Our week was pretty good. We worked hard and saw some nice results from our efforts. Everything is still going great with Sister Mercy. She is still right on track to be baptized. In fact we are even moving her baptismal date to next week, so we are really excited! She really is amazing. You can really see that she has a testimony of the gospel.

For p-day we are going to Madina to look around and maybe do some shopping. Madina is one of the nicer areas in Accra. I also got another package from home. It was great, my favorite things were the beef jerkey and two more WHITE shirts. Its always great to get a few things from back in the US.

I know that the church is true, and that it is the only true church of God. We are so blessed to be in it. I love all of you. Have a good week!

Love,

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Note from TJ's mom and dad:  We got one of the memory cards from TJ's camera and have put some pictures on his previous posts. 

May 30, 2016

I hope that you all had a good week. Ours was pretty good. It was a mild week, but good. We do have a really awesome investigator though, her name is Mercy. She is definitely going to get baptized. We were able to set a tentative baptismal date for her at the end of June! We also are finding a bunch of people because of her. She is the miracle that we have been looking for. I know for sure that the people that the Lord wants will find the church. 

It definitely is still hot though. We get rain sometimes but that just makes it muggy and really hot. I am doing good though. I hope that you all have a good week. We also had a multi-zone activity today that was really fun! Pres. and Sis. Heid brought sub sandwiches and Oreo cookies for everybody and we played soccer and basketball.  

These are 2 of my TC's (traveling companions), Elder Shumway and Elder Crosby. That is Elder Smith in the back, he is in my apartment.

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

May 23, 2016

Hey everyone!!!

Hope that you all had a good week. Ours was pretty good. It was hot hot hot, except for the rain we have had for the last 3 days! It has been a swamp! There has even been some flooding in the area, but nothing that affected us. We had a pretty mild week. Our investigators are progressing well. We have one who is named Mercy. She is such a miracle for us! She came to church a couple of weeks ago but we havent been able to see her since, then she came to church yesterday. We found out why she came back. Her brother-in-law was talking about the church. She said that she wanted her salvation so he said that she needed to go to this church. So now she is super interested and we get to teach her whole family. They definitely will progress and get baptized. I can see it. It really is amazing to find people like that. We are still working with Naana and Irene, and we are hopeful that they will progress and be baptized. 

Today for P-day we met with the zone at the Adenta chapel. It was a lot of fun, we played soccer and basketball and ate some good food.  We had tortillas and beans, spaghetti, Idaho potatoes, avacado and stew. The missionaries cook the food, and I made the spaghetti and sauce this time. 

I am really enjoying working with Elder Allen, we make a great pair. We are working hard to build our teaching pool, and I know that we will see success from our hard work. I thank the Lord so much for the children that are ready. I love this gospel so much. I can't believe that I only have less than 18 months left!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

"Just keep swimming."- Dory

Here is a pic with me on the left and Elder Allen holding the shirt up on the right.

May 16, 2016

Well hello everyone!!

I hope that you all had a good week! Mine was pretty good. We are just getting better and better. We have a few more people with baptismal dates (Sister Naana and Sister Irene) so we are super excited! 

It was another hot week. Except for Thursday, when it was a total downpour! We got trapped in a shop for 2 hours! It was much needed though. We also had zone training in Adenta on Wednesday. It was really good to see all my friends in the zone. I even got to see Elder Crosby (he's one of the Elders I flew to Ghana with).  We got really good council from the zone leader's, so that was nice. 

Unfortunately Elder Omokoh (one of the Elders in our apartment) ended up being transferred, we were sad to see him go. Also, I hit 6 MONTHS ON MISSION BABY!!! I can't believe that I am already at that point. It really doesn't feel that long! I burnt a tie to commemorate the occasion, it was super fun!! We are going over to Bishop Amofa's for dinner tonight, so that will be a nice treat.  That is all I really have for this week. I love all of you and hope you have a good week!

Mosiah 3:19 For the natural man is an enemy to God...

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

May 9th, 2016

Well, sorry that I didn't email last week. The connection was bad last week at the internet cafe. So, two whole weeks to talk about. We are making progress in growing the area. We have found some new investigators that seem promising. One of them is named Nana. We met her last week. She was a actually a blessing in disguise. That day when we went to see all of our people they cancelled on us, every single person. So we decided to go and contact. At first we were having no luck doing street contacting, so we sucked up our pride and went into the nice housing area and started knocking on compound doors. At first we had no luck. Then we knocked on Nana's compound door. At first she didnt answer, then we knocked again and she answered and let us in. We got to know each other and found out that when she was small she went to the church, but she is not baptized. We taught her and her mom and at the end of the lesson you could see in her eyes that she wanted to learn more. She truly was a blessing because after that we found a few more people. 

I definitely know that when you feel like you should just give up and go back to the apartment the Lord will bless you with strength if you decide to do His will.The gospel is real and everything else that goes with it is real. I love it so much. 

Something that is normal for me but not for all of you is that during the day you will hear the mosque's prayers over their loud speakers. I have gotten used to it. You also hear all the churches "speaking in tongues" a lot. Ghana is SO different, but I love it. I can't believe that I only have a year and a half left. Oh yeah, SIX MONTHS BABY!!! We are at the six month mark, crazy to think! 

We also had Mother's day yesterday. It was so amazing to talk to my parents and to video chat and see their faces. I love them so much and I miss them. Good thing I get to see them in 18 months! Well I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Mother's Day 2016

We just wanted to post and tell everyone that we got to Facetime with TJ today for Mother's day.  It was so great to see and talk to him.  He looked so good and we could tell that he is absolutely loving his mission.  He was at the Anna's house (one of the local members) when we got to video chat with him. Here are a couple of screen grabs when we talked to him.

April 25th, 2016

Hey everyone!!

Well I hope you all had a good week. Our week was pretty good. Still teachin' repentance and baptizin converts. It was a pretty quiet week though. So, let me give you a run down of Ghana. It is hot all the time. It feels good when it rains though. Then it gets really humid and hot the next day. Dirt becomes mud and puddles, very annoying. Food is really cheap, the people are really nice. Everyone is either Christian or Muslim. We drink water out of bags, yes I just said that. There are nice cars and not so nice cars. There are mansions and then there are shacks with the compounds in between them. We have power and water. The people are super nice. Even if they won't accept the message, even Muslims. It is such a different place but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world. I love it so much here. I love the gospel and I am so blessed that I get to teach it for 2 years, ( about 18 months now). I love you all and hope you have a good week.

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

April 18, 2016

Hey everyone!!

How are you all? I hope that you are doing well. My week was pretty good. We are doing the daily missionary grind!! We are doing really good with our investigators. We met with Irene on Saturday and she is progressing very well.  We are going to try and set a date this week for her baptism. We also picked up a couple of investigators, so that was nice. One of them is named Ladona. They both are really nice and we hope they are willing to listen to, and act on, the missionary lessons. 

It has been an adjustment getting used to the food here, but I have learned to really like it. This week I had some Banku (cassava dough) with Okra stew and tuna. I also had some Jollof rice (its like paella or jambalaya), good stuff! We have bikes, but we mostly walk around our area.  The zone got together in Madina for P-day today.  We played football and ate together, it was a lot of fun. 

Elder Allen and I are getting along great and working hard. Our hard work seems to be paying off and we are doing very well.  It was actually a pretty calm week this week. It is weird to think that I have been out for over 5 months already and we are speeding towards the quarter mark. It truly is hard to believe! I am so thankful I am serving a mission and I am so thankful for the Gospel, it means so much to me. I love all of you and I hope you all have a good week!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

April 11, 2016

Well another week has come and gone. I cant believe that we are already this far in!! It has been 5 months since I have been out! That is hard to believe. It really is amazing to see how fast time goes! It is still really hot and humid here.  We have gotten a little bit of rain, but it doesn't cool things off at all. I think its just going to be this way my whole mission, but that's OK. I have learned to like my Crocs, something I thought I would never say. If any of you have seen the movie "Freetown", it was all filmed in Ghana. The bridge near the end of the movie is here in Accra. It goes over the Volta river and I have seen.  It is a really neat bridge.  

This week was pretty normal. We taught quite a few lessons and had good results. We may have found a serious investigator. Her name is Irene, she is in her twenties.  We met her and her sister one day when we were contacting near our apartment and taught them. Her sister goes to work so we don't get to see her much, but she writes her questions down for us! Also, Irene has an LDS friend that gave her a Book of Mormon. She hadn't started reading it yet so we challenged her to read it. She said that she would but, over here you have to take things with a grain of salt and expect them to maybe not read it. We were suprised the next time we saw her that she had actually read! She actually read in Moroni 8 about infant baptisms and had questions for us! It was really exciting. 

The other fun thing that happened was that I read In Defense of Truth. I am sure some of you have heard of this book before. It is a really awesome book for missionaries to read. It answers lots of questions that other religions have about our church and helps to expand our knowledge as well, all using the Bible. It really is a good and interesting read. It isnt that long, only 75 pages, but it is beautifully written. Well that is all for this week. I hope that you all have a good week! Love you!

Sincerely,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission