Mar. 20 & 27, 2017

Hey everyone!!!!

How are all of you?! I hope that you are all doing great! We are doing pretty good. Fortunately I started feeling better the next day after I was sick, so its all good. We have had an interesting couple of weeks. The first week was what I call a refiners fire week. It was a really tough week. We found no one new and everyone else we had been teaching was gone, so it was a lot of just walking around. It was a good faith building week though. 

This week, on the other hand, was pretty good. We found some new investigators after all 4 of us were working in our area and we were able to grow our teaching pool. We also had a lot more success with our old investigators. We were able to see a lot of them and teach a lot of lessons this week, so that was great. 

I am so excited for General Conference this week! It will be such a nice refresher to hear from our leaders and to hear the word of God preached. It will also be nice to hear from the Prophet and Apostles. It really rejuvenates me and helps keep me going. It is hard to believe that I have just over 7 months left. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Mar. 6 & 13, 2017

Hey everyone!!!

How are all of you? I hope that you all have had a good few weeks! For us it has been pretty good. We have finally had two of our investigators, Jonathan and Daniel, come to church, so we were really excited about that. It has been somewhat of a couple of slow weeks with the work, but we are working hard and still going strong. 

Last week we had zone conference at the MTC (missionary training center). The MTC is in Tema, and my area, Kpone, is right next to Tema, so we didn't have to go very far. We had a great zone conference, and we also got to play some soccer and basketball after it was over, so that was pretty fun. It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year and a half since I went through the MTC. The time has gone really fast and I am just doing everything I can to make the most of the time I have left. 

I would have done a letter last week, but we had a really big storm come through and we had to get back to the apartment. I am actually a little under the weather today, but it should pass by tomorrow, so nothing to worry about. The area is really growing right now so we are really excited and looking forward to working with the people here. We have baptisms scheduled on the 9th of April, so we are getting ready for that. All in all that is really what has been happening for now. I hope that you all have a good week!


-- Elder Travis J. Roberts
Ghana Accra Mission

Feb. 27, 2017

Hey everyone!!

How are all of you? I hope that you had a great week. We had a pretty good week. We ended up going to the mall again today. I definitely miss Suhum, but it is kind of nice to have a few more things like the mall close enough to get to every now and then. I really like the apartment and my companions, so that is always a good thing. We even have a keyboard in the apartment that I'm able to play and not let my piano skills get too rusty. Before I left the US I thought I might end up playing more in church, but so far they have always had a member who plays.

One of the best experiences we had this week was a lesson on Thursday. We were teaching one of our best investigators and we were teaching him about temples. When we said that you could be sealed to your family and relatives that you love, his face lit up at that and he became very interested again, so we have high hopes for him. That was really the high point of the week. One more good development is that Immanuel, one of our investigators came to church, so that was pretty exciting as well! I love being a missionary and am so glad to be a missionary in Ghana. I love all of you!!
Have a great week!!!


-- Elder Travis J. Roberts
Ghana Accra Mission

Feb. 6, 13, & 20, 2017

Hey everyone!!!

How are you doin?!

I hope that you are all doing well. I am doing really good over here. Just teachin' and preachin' in Africa!! Sorry that it has been so long. That is never my intention. I just get so side tracked talking to everyone! So much has happened. Of course, being in a new area I have been learning all about it. It has been really wonderful here in Kpone so far. I love it very much. We are able to find solid investigators, the only problem is getting them to church. That is pretty normal, so it is all good. Our investigator Jonathan ended up not getting baptized, but we are still working with him. We have a tenative baptism date set for the end of March, but we will just have to wait and see. We also found a new investigator, his name is Ferguson. We just started teaching him this week, but he has been making good progress.  

It is different being back in the city again. I do miss the bush a lot, but we have been working hard and having lots and lots of fun in our apartment full of Americans. I have been able to go to the mall the last two weeks for P-day, so that has been kind of nice. I even got to eat at Pizza Hut and had the meat feast, it was awesome! It is hard to believe that we are already on the last week of February. The year is really flying by!! I don't know if it is just me but, I feel like it goes even faster without 30 or 31 days in the month. It is hard to believe how fast time is going. In March I will be 16 months on my mission and I am not really sure how that happened. It still feels like I got out of the MTC yesterday. I can say though, that I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. It really is the most amazing thing to be doing. If you ever have any doubts about going on a mission, I can personally tell you that you should go. You will be so much better off because of it. I love it so much!! Also, only 9 months to go! Its amazing that I am already at this point. I love my mission so much and I know that the Church is true!

Love,

-- 

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

L to R: Elder Dougal, Elder Seeley, Elder Roberts and Elder Mathews

Jan. 30, 2017

Hello!!

How is everyone?! I cant believe that we are already done with January! The time moves so fast! I am doing good here in Kpone. We just had our ward conference yesterday. It was a great meeting with some really good speakers. The Ashaiman Stake President was one of the speakers, he is a really cool guy. He makes it a point to get to know everybody. It really was a wonderful meeting. We had the ward choir perform as well, so that was a nice treat. Kpone ward has an amazing choir, they sounded wonderful and it really brought the spirit into the meeting.  

We had a multi-zone conference this week as well. We went to Boti falls and had a great time. It was nice to be back in the area around Suhum. Today for P-day we took a taxi to the MTC and played basketball and then went and had pizza. It was a lot of fun, and it was neat to be able to see the MTC again.

Great news, we even have a baptism this week. I mentioned in my last letter that his name is Jonathan. He is a really cool guy. You can see in his eyes that he is ready for the gospel, he just looks so happy. I love being in this area so much and I am so thankful to be serving in this zone. That is really all I have for this week everyone!

I love you all!!

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Jan. 9, 16 & 23, 2017

WOW!!!!!!

I has been way too long!! Let me first say that I am so so so sorry for it taking this long. It really has been an extremely crazy few weeks. I am actually in a brand new area now! I am now in Kpone in the Ashaiman Zone. Kpone is next to Tema, which is where the Ghana MTC is at, so I'm close to where I started my mission. It is a funny story actually. When I got the transfer call we all thought I was actually going to the Kpong Zone. Then they said that I needed to go to the mission home, so we thought that that was a little weird. Also, I thought my companions name was something like Elder Seblu or something like that. It wasn't until I got to the mission home when Elder Shelton, the senior Office Elder, handed me a phone and said that he hoped that I was ready because I was re-opening an area. That is when I found out that I was not going to Kpong. I was like, "Wait,I am going to Kpong right?" Then they said "no, you are going to re-open a part of Kpone". Then I was like well, there goes all my thinking of going to the real bush. I also learned that my companions name was Elder Seeley, not Elder Seblu. He is from Nampa, Idaho and he has been out for four and a half months. So when we arrived in Kpone I saw 3 white guys standing at a spot and we pulled up. I got out with my stuff and the others that were in the car left. Then I asked if this was our apartment and they said yes. Then my mind was blown because that meant that I was in an apartment with all Americans!! I've always had an African companion, or an African missionary in the apartment, so this was a big surprise. The other two elders in the apartment are Elder Dougal from Idaho and Elder Mathews from Utah. It is pretty crazy and fun, so I am loving it right now. After I got here we all went in together and purchased a small spinner washing machine for the apartment. It has been amazing not having to wash my clothes by hand the last couple of weeks. I sometimes can't believe all the stuff I took for granted while I was living in the United States. On the way to buy the washing machine I ended up leaving my proselyting bag on the tro tro, and didn't realize it until we were coming back. Fortunately it just had my small scriptures and my annointing oil in it. So whoever finds it might look at the stuff and be inspired to find out what the Church is all about!    

My last 2 weeks in Suhum were great. We extended a baptism date to Ernest, who is married to a member, but we didn't have any baptisms for our side. The 2nd counselors daughter was baptized by the other elders, so we were all excited! She was supposed to be baptized 2 years ago but, she ended up having to leave for school, so it never happened. I am so glad that she was the first person I interviewed because she knew everything perfectly. She actually didn't have to be re-taught anything. She really is cool. None of us actually counted her as our baptism though. Then for me it was just a lot of visiting members and investigators to say goodbye. I really did not want to leave, it was tough to say goodbye. I hope that I get the chance to serve in Kof Town again because I love it so much! 

This last week in Kpone was really good. I am starting to learn the area a little, and I am no longer district leader. I don't know how long it will last though, because the district leader is pretty old in the district. We were supposed to have a baptism, but the interview never happened so we have to re-schedule it to next month. It is not a big deal though, because Jonathan really wants to get baptized, so we have no worries. 

It actually feels really weird being in the city again but I love it and am ready to go to work!! I know that the Gospel is true and that the work is real, I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel and that a man can get nearer to God if he abides by its principles. I know that Joseph Smith restored this Gospel and was chosen before the foundation of the world to restore it. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God chosen to lead and guide us. I know these things are true and I say them in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  

I love all of you!!!!!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission

Dec. 26, 2016 & Jan. 2, 2017

How is everyone?!!!!

I hope that you all had a good Christmas and New Years! I know that I did! It was so wonderful to Skype with my parents! I loved the packages I got for Christmas, especially the new WHITE garments. I hope that all of the nieces and nephews got wonderful presents from Santa and I hope that we were all able to remember the true meaning of Christmas. It is so wonderful that the world uses this time of year to remember the birth of Christ. I am so thankful that He came and died for us. 

Christmas day was really good. We went to a couple of members homes and enjoyed their company and ate lots of rice. I used Mary Afasi's phone to Skype with my parents, she is the sister of the branch president. The other member's home we went to was Bro. Joseph, he is originally from Nigeria. On the 26th we got together with the zone for P-day and had a great time playing sports and just having fun. 

We have been able to set a baptism date for Michael, Ernest and hopefully two others for the 14th of January. That will be right before I leave Suhum, so that would be awesome. The teaching has been going really well and we have seen some great results from our efforts. 

I also hope that everyone had a wonderful New Years. We definitely had a good one here in Ghana. We went to the branch party and then we were able to watch fireworks that night, it was lots of fun. After the party we were at Bro. Attah's and had lots of good food and a great night visiting with everyone. Bro. Attah is the first counselor in the branch presidency.

It is hard to believe that I come home this year. It really is a weird feeling. The work is going good up here in Suhum. Just trying to buckle down and trying to get a baptism before I leave in a couple of weeks. I am so thankful to be a missionary and am so glad to be serving a mission. I hope that you all have a wonderful week!!

Love,

--

Elder Travis J. Roberts

Ghana Accra Mission