Akwaabo! This is going to be a real bittersweet email because this will be the last one that I will send from Ghana. I don't want to go into too many details now, but I'll talk about it in a sec! First things first, thank you all so much for your emails this week and for your prayers that I've been able to see answered. It means a lot to me whenever I see your names pop up in my inbox! It makes me so happy. I'm glad that a lot of you are on vacation right now and I really hope that everyone has a great time and that you all return home safely!
I won't waste too much time this week, so I'll jump straight into your questions!
1. Any travel plans yet for your move to Liberia?
President Stevenson called me this morning and (finally) alerted me of my plans! I will be leaving on Thursday afternoon and will need to be at the mission home in Cape Coast on Wednesday for my farewell fufu! So Wednesday morning I will go to Cape, probably visit the Castle one more time and then sleep the night at the mission home. Then Elder Mocke will drive us to Accra the following morning, and off I go. It's been a hard week for me because I've had to say goodbye to all of the amazing people in Axim. I can't believe how many memories I have made here in Ghana in the past year and it's been difficult for me to come to terms that I am actually leaving. I don't think that it has really hit me yet.
2. I am assuming that you will have to travel to Accra to leave. Will you have a chance to go to the temple?
I sure hope so! I would love that more than anything. I will let you know next week!
3. How far do you have to travel to get to your Branch? Can you walk to it?
Our chapel is a beautiful chapel that overlooks the ocean and it's only about a 10 minute walk from our apartment! Sadly, there are many places in my area though that it takes 30 to 45 minutes to walk to the chapel, which makes coming to church a really hard thing for investigators!
4. Any new investigators this week?
We had a few referrals from members after we followed President Stevenson's challenge to focus on referrals! The people that we got referred to were all Part-Member family members with great support around them. I'm excited to hear what happens with them!
5. What are your feelings about leaving your companion/mission? Do you think you will get to see President Stevenson on your way home?
I don't even know what to feel anymore. When I first got the call to go to Liberia I was so excited to try something new and serve new people. I still have that same excitement, but in the past few weeks, I've come to see how much I really do love Ghana. It's been really hard for me to think that this is one of the last times I will be here with these people. I really love them so much, and as my departure date reaches closer and closer, the harder it is for me. I know I'm doing what the Lord wants and I know I will love the people in Liberia, but it's not easy leaving behind what I've labored so hard for the past year.
6. What was the yummiest thing you ate this week? The grossest?
We don't get very many free meals here in Axim, so I get to choose what I eat! It's actually a great blessing! I get sick less often... But funny story! This week we almost got dashed a dolphin to take home. I'm not kidding. A DOLPHIN! One of our members called us down to the seashore to give it to us, but his wife convinced him to give us massive fish instead. We were so close to eating a dolphin!!
Well, I don't have too much time left today, but I want to thank everyone again for the support that they have given to me as I've been preparing to make this transition in my mission! I will ask you to please remember me in your prayers this week as I am traveling. I love all of you so much and I can't wait to hear from you again next week!
Love,
Elder Degen
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