Great News!

La Familia,

  I can't even begin to explain how happy I am with all the good news I've received today! 

  I'm pleased to hear about Lacy and Geoff. They're both awesome people and I'm glad they have this opportunity to be sealed together!

  Also, Kyle's mission call....SWEET!! Man, I'm stoked for him and for the work he'll be doing. I really hope he prepares himself between now and then and really takes this time to start being a missionary NOW. If he's living the missionary standards and rules now, he'll have no problem in the field and will be accustomed to the Spirit that is present with those who live their lives as such.

  Oh, and thanks for accepting BYU!! I'm glad I made it, and the Spring semester sounds sweet! That means I'll have time to hang out with the fam and totally make you ready to chuck me out when the time comes for me to leave(;

  Ok, so Grandma, I wanted to reply to your letters you sent me recently (which I'm still VERY grateful for). That quote I also found very interesting. It brings up the point that, since the beginning of time, men have always questioned a supreme being, whether or not there is a God in our lives and, more importantly, if He cares about us. We were teaching a lesson this week and were in the book of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and we had just shared a scripture with our investigator when I noticed a verse. In Ch. 12, verse 4, Moroni gives the explanation I believe that best fits why men believe in God, and the reason I personally believe. As I continued to think about it though, I reflected that, if we really are the children of God, as I very firmly believe we are, then it would be only natural to ponder and believe in our Heavenly Father. This would support that it isn't just a mental explanation to give us comfort over the contemplation of death, but is in reality, a divine attribute we've inherited from a loving Heavenly Father who is VERY interested in our happiness and, more importantly, our journey back to Him. Your quote gave me the opportunity to really ponder and reflect upon, and I'm very grateful for that, and I hope that my insights have been somewhat coherent for you haha. 

  Ok, I realize that I made you all worry too much about me, although I am very grateful that you put my name in the temple prayer roll. I am perfectly healthy, and still loving every minute of life here in Odoben! Dad, I just want to let you know, that I haven't had cow's stomach, but I did get to have cow's tongue this past week. It wasn't bad, just very, very chewy and it gets stuck in your teeth small, which is a pain.

  This last week we got to travel to Cape Coast for the Christmas Devotional which was really nice! I got to see all my MTC buddies and we were able to swap stories of how we've been. I am inspired by the humility they all have and the anticipation they have toward missionary work. We got nice food, listened to some talks on Jesus Christ and His birth and life(which I'm a lot more interested in and grateful for) and had a talent show zone by zone. Overall, it was a great time and I got to meet a lot of other powerful missionaries. On a side note, my grandfather is going home this transfer. His name is Elder Ani, and he's been the Assistant to the Pres. since I came out and is such a humble person. He's also from Nigeria (told you I was black(; ).

  Now, about Christmas and all that business! Transfer day falls on Christmas day....but Pres. Shulz moved it a couple days ahead, so transfer day is on the 23rd now, but the news on who's training this next transfer will actually come tomorrow....a lot of the other Elders think I'll be getting a call to train, but I don't know. Whatever happens, the Lord will be in it (quote from the Restoration movie about Joseph Smith...love that movie haha). Oh, and Christmas day will also be our District Mtg. day, so I'll be able to email you and let you know what time I'll be calling later that evening. We get an hour to call, and I'm not exactly sure about all the little details yet, but just expect a call between 10am-1pm, your time.

   So, that's about it for this week! We pushed a baptism back a week because they missed sacrament meeting, which is KINDA important haha, but it'll happen next week fo sho!  Also, Ghanaians don't make shoes my size AT ALL, so could you send just a regular pair of flip flops? I don't NEED them......but they would be nice to have instead of my crocs, which I wear too much haha!

  Well, I love you all and I still pray for all of you everyday! True story(; I hope you all continue to be happy and well and recognize ways you can better serve God and be worthy of His sweet Spirit!

Elder Collins

Emailing with the Parents

*Editors note*

Sometimes when Jordan is online emailing us, we are on at the the same time so can shoot emails back and forth (I call it a tender mercy).  Here is our conversation from this last week.  Hope you enjoy it! :)

~Andrea

Jordan:  Madre!! Hey, I got 2 of your packages, the first one last week (which I'm sad to say I have already emptied, with the help of the Elders in my apartment) and the 2nd one today. Thank you sooo much for them, they are perfect!!

Mom:  Did you get the birthday package with the Halloween stuff?

Jordan:  Yes!! And the other Elders in my apartment were pleasantly surprised

for their goodies as well (although Elder Kirumira left right before the package arrived, so I'm saving his goodies until we see him at the Christmas devotional on the 13th of Dec.) I also got the package with the hot chocolate and other stuff in it today. I only opened a little part, so I can't see all of it, but it looks good haha.

Mom:  I’m glad you liked it all! What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Jordan:  About thanksgiving, the Ivie's are bringing us potatoes and coleslaw, while the other Elders in the apartment want to go for some cat....they originally wanted dog, but Elder Lee and I are set against that haha. And for Christmas...skypeing depends on whether or not we can use a members laptop. So, that's basically a no for our area haha, but I'll find out for sure.

Mom:  Are you really having cat?

Let me know about calling on Christmas!  I am so excited to talk to you!!

How are things going with your investigators?  How are the Elders in your

apartment?  How are you feeling?

Jordan:  As for the cat situation...I think I'll probably try in all honesty, I've heard from a lot of Elders that cat is pretty good (apparently dog is the best meat there is though...still not having that).

We actually dropped a lot of investigators because they weren't progressing\keeping their commitments etc. But that's ok, because now

we have time to focus on those who are serious, and the seed has been

planted in the ones we dropped, someone else will just harvest them.

Florence hasn't come to church for a month now, even after we went and

resolved concerns TWICE...so Elder Lee and I are looking at the

unhappy prospect of dropping her as well. On the other hand, we have a

candidate named John Yeboah who is SWEET!!! He is set for this Saturday and is soooo committed!! He has a 14 yr. old daughter named Sarah who we're planning on baptizing on the 14th, with her dad being the baptizer.

My stomach is pain free now, which I think means I've become accustomed to Ghana haha.

Mom:  What do you think of the headlamp I sent you?

Jordan:  Hahaha I got the headlamp, which the other Elders teased me about it a little just because of the idea of me proselyting in it, but the power goes out in our apartment so much that I can use it around our apartment, outside of our apartment though...probably not haha, but just because it might take away from the missionary appearance.

Oh, and tell dad that we have a mission goal of 5 gospel conversations a day, and I now can do them pretty much all in Fante (very basic Fante, but Fante all the same haha)

Dad:  Oh yeah well Jordan this is Dad,  Will you be speaking Fante in other parts of your mission as well?

Jordan:  Oh, hey dad haha. Fante is dominant in the Cape Coast mission, but

they speak a lot of chi as well, which is similar to fante, so yes, I'll be using Fante a lot.  Can you tell me about your mission? Who you trained, your experiences? That's all for today, gotta go, love ya bye!!!!

Another week in Odoben

Odoben continues to get sweeter and sweeter the longer I'm here. Fante is coming slowly to me, but I'm still learning, and I'm at the point where I can have a small conversation with people, and bear my testimony cra cra cra cra (small small). Elder Lee and I are really starting to grow close as a companionship. The key has been communication. We've been really good about addressing our problems and talking to each other, and we always come out stronger than before after talking. Every day we go out and proselyte for 9 hours, and it amazes me that, everyday, I never get tired or run low on energy. I always manage to do everything we planned to do, get home, close and plan for the next day, and then almost immediately afterward, my eyelids get really heavy. This is just evidence to me that the Spirit is with us very strongly while we are out and in need of it and is constantly keeping us up and serving.

  Elder Lee and I had a funny experience this week that nearly had me crying. So, we had just gotten back from proselyting and walked into our room in our apartment, when Elder Lee finds this HUGE spider right behind our door. The pictures we took don't do it real justice. You could see it's eye from a few feet back, if that helps you understand the size of this thing. Anyways, after taking some pictures, Elder Lee (having a dislike of spiders) hands me a flip flop and tells me to "finish him". Well, let's just say the beast was faster than I gave him credit for, and escaped my swat. So we spent a few minutes trying to get it out from behind Elder Lee's bed, but to no avail. Finally, Elder Lee leaves, returns with a bottle of insect repellant, and exclaims, "Either you or I die this instant" then starts bombarding it with the spray. After 10 min. of this, and as it's life drew to a close, I played the song, God Be With You Till We Meet Again, while Elder Lee kept repeating the words "Die die die"....It was a memorable experience haha!!

  Before I close, I learned this week, that missionaries don't bcome good at teaching because they study a lot or have a good memory. It's because as they learn and teach, they become more and more sure for themselves that what they teach ios true, so they no longer teach just a "good message" but an eterrnal truth that brings not only enlightenment, but happiness as well. The future is bright, and there is work to be done, so let us all just keep on, keepinl on!

Elder Collins

Where's Jordan?

Where's Jordan?

Can you spot Jordan?  Check out the haircut!  He said they don't know how to cut "white boys" hair, but that he actually likes it this short and not to worry about sending anymore gel anytime soon! 

Obroni vs Obrofi vs Bebinni vs Ghanaian

  Akwaaba!! I hope everyone is well with in their lives! As for me, I'm doing great!! I can definitely say that this is one of the happiest times of my life! 

  Life in Odoben is pretty sweet. We walk, we ride a tro (which is simply a cargo van turned into a transport vehicle that is only supposed to hold 12 people tops and always gets 20 people stuffed in somehow), but most importantly, we talk to people. 

  All day my companion, Elder Lee, and I are followed by little Ghanaian children calling out "Obroni, Obroni" which means white person. Others, usually adults, sometimes call out Obrofi, which means "from abroad". We usually reply with the phrase "Meh Bebinni", which means I'm a black person, which always elicits a laugh out of whoever is present. But my goal is to pass through the Obroni stage, the Obrofi stage, and even the Bebinni stage, until I can call myself Ghanaian and people accept it. My skin color is a handicap, but I'm learning the language and hoping that I get good enough to persuade them of the truth(;

  If I could send pictures, they would consist of lush, green jungle, colorfully clad school kids, and the foods I've experienced (some good, others...not so good). I truly believe that anyone who wants to better themselves should move to Ghana (that is, if they don't want to try the gospel of Jesus Christ) because the people here teach more of perseverance and humility than any other. I love being here around them and am excited for the next 23 months!

  Anyways, I don't always know when I'll be able to post, so try and bear with me, and I'll do my best! Take care, and remember, Asari Nkwari (the church is true)!!

Elder Collins

Jordan's Letter to the Family

Hola Familia!!

  Sorry, I'm spanish deprived(; So I feel like soooo much has happened since I last got to write you guys!! I'll explain how it's been (we're at an internet cafe with SUPER slow internet and we have an appointment with an investigator in a couple hours who is about to get baptized, so I only have 40 minutes to write).

  Well, first off I am in the wonderful village, yes village, of Odeben! It's a smallish sized little place with lots of people, goats, and dogs...not like Chloe though (I miss her). My companion is Elder Lee and he's from Modesto!! yep, we're only a meager 2 hours away from where he lives! He's 19, has only been out 3 months and is already training! I like him a lot and have a lot to learn from him!

  A little more about Odeben. We're in the Odeben 1st Branch, which means we get 1/2 of the village while the other Elders get the other half *Elders Kirumira and Adair, awesome guys) Odeben, to be quite honest, stinks. We live right next to the dump, which might be one of the issues, but the main thing is that everywhere is everyone's bathroom. Yep, that means I see people going to the bathroom all day long...fun stuff for a missionary(; Also the people love to eat stinky fish, and a lot of it too! Children run around naked, women breastfeed or dont wear shirts in public, and guys take showers in semi enclosed areas. Now you may be thinking, "Why Elder Collins, that doesn't sound like a very nice place?" Ah, but you see, that is but the surface of Odeben, Underneath all of it, the people are gold!! They are the nicest and friendliest people I have met...besides you guys(; Even though the smells can get strong and the dirtiness of it all can feel overwhelming, what makes it worth it are the bright smiling faces of all these amazing people. Most of them live in a hut made of clay, rock, and aluminum, but they welcome you in and are proud of their home.

  Now, to tell you a little bit about MY home. I live in an apartment building with the other Elders, which consists of 2 rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining area, and another smaller room. We have a sink that has running water (when the electricity is working) and also has filtered water. The toilet and shower, however, are different matters. Neither of them have running water, so we have to draw water from a well (yes a well) and dump that in the toilet to "flush", and for the shower, we fill up a bucket, use a tesla coil to heat it up to desired temperature (again, when the power is on) and use a cup to pour the water over ourselves....we call it a "bucket shower"!!!! To be honest, it's a little fun...minus the toilet part(; I share my room with Elder Lee of course, and we both have a mattress with a mosquito net over it, as well as a fan at the foot of the bed to help battle the humidity and heat (which hasn't been too bad since arriving) All in all, our living arrangements are pretty nice compared to the people.

  You wanna hear about the food mom? Ok, well, for starters, I've already had snail. Oh yeah, and it was about 4 inches big....ya know, because I'm a growing boy, right? It was in a bowl of fufu that some investigators made for us. Elder Lee and I actually had no problem with the snail, or the fish with all their organs still in them, no, it was the fufu that was enough for 4 people that we couldn't handle. We both went to the point where we were gagging from the amount of fufu we had eaten, which wasn't even half, and we both said we couldn't eat anymore. But, the Lord provides for His servants when they've done their best. So Elder Lee looks to his right, sees a dog, and starts dropping the fufu on the ground by the table we were eating at....we quickly finished off the rest of the fufu haha!! We were sly though, so don't worry, no hurt feelings anywhere...in fact, the dog and us Elders had a little connection after that(;

  As you can expect, I'm taller than EVERYONE, no surprise there, right? Mom, you would absolutely love the kids here! They are the happiest, cutest, and most energetic kids I have ever met. Everywhere we go we hear their high pitched voices yelling "Obruni, obruni, ete sen?" which is Fante for "White guy(person), how are you? To which we reply "Eh yeh" which means I'm fine. Yes, I am in fact learning a language haha. Tomorrow will be a week for me, and I've already learned enough Fante to somewhat communicate with someone. I love their language, and if I work hard at it, I could become somewhat fluent before my training is done!

 Oh, and my p-days are Mondays, but we can't access computers till district meetings on Tuesdays, so this is when I'll email.

  I'm glad Taylor and Tyler are doing well, and that Adam is getting taller haha, I miss them all!! I'm running out of time, but I love you all and can't wait to be able to send you pics of me and Odoben (these computers have viruses on them so we can't send pics while I'm here...Anyways though, if you want to send letters to me, I would have more time for that! I love you all, and I'll email again in a small time!

Love Elder Collins 

Pictures from Ghana

Elder Collins with his MTC companion

Jordan in the MTC (Mission Training Center) in Accra, Ghana

Looks like he is having a good time!

Ghana is Great!

What's up everyone!? 

Did you miss me? 

Don't worry, if you did I won't tell anyone...well, other than my African brotha's.

 Oh yeah, in case you forgot, I'm kinda living in Ghana right now, specifically Accra.

  I got here 12 days ago and have loved every single little bit of it! From the 2 lane roads that really can be squeezed into 5 if you try REALLY hard, to the African elders who sing American songs better than us Americans, to the spicy food and never-ending rice that the Ghanians love....yep, all of that!

  Let me tell you about my first encounter with the people real quick though. So we got off the plane at the Accra airport and went through customs and baggage claim and all that fun stuff, and then made it out into the main lobby area. I could literally read people's minds as they saw a group of 24 white American 18/19 year olds huddled together into a group, not unlike cattle. Most of them had that look like, "Jeez, poor school kids got on the wrong plane". 

We all just smiled back, at least those of us that weren't scared out of our minds

 (I was too hungry to focus on fears at that time)

  Our rides showed up finally...three 15 seater vans that are the same size as our suburbans pretty much, 

just a little longer and skinnier. If you've never been to Six Flags, don't go! 

Just hop on a plane to Africa and take a quick ride through town and In guarantee that you'll experience more fear and thoughts of death than the Medusa and Superman combined...easily! 

The rules to driving here are:

 1)If a car in front of you is going too slow, honk till they move. If they don't, then drive around them, even if it means going off the road (which is most of the time)

 2) When driving, use the road ONLY as a last resort. The dirt roads and shoulders are way more popular, not to mention more fun(;

 and 3) If a car only seats 15 legally, don't worry, you can fit at least 8 more before considering to stop letting people in.

  I've been in the MTC this whole time, but as of tomorrow I'll be leaving and heading to another part of Ghana to begin my missionary work! I can't wait, and hopefully then I'll be able to provide pictures(: 

Anyways, stay cool my friends and family in the states, and keep enjoying that peanut butter!!

Funny moment of the stay: My companion from Ghana singing Demi Lovato from Camp Rock, and then getting confused when I couldn't breathe from laughing so hard.

Love,

Elder Collins

New Beginnings

  Hey everyone!! This is my first blog EVER so please....bear in mind. As many are aware I'm leaving to go to Ghana to serve a mission for my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormon), and I thought that a blog would be an easy way to keep people caught up on what I'm doing and such while I'm gone! I'm hoping that I'll be able to have a post a week along with some pictures as well, just to give everyone a taste of what I'll be experiencing. I'll try and express in words how truly amazing Ghana and its people really are, and maybe you can get a feel for their culture as I do(:
  So a little background on Ghana...Ghana is really religious! 71% of the people are Christian, as is evidenced by the taxis that sport little religious statements on their windshields and such. The people mainly work agriculture, largely in the form of cocoa (they're the world's 2nd leading exporter of it...hopefully they leave enough for me!), and they are first when it comes to exporting gold. You'd think that this would make them a pretty rich people right...wrong! Most of the people collect a yearly income of $2000, which makes even our homeless look wealthy. However, I want to let everyone know that, the one thing I have heard over and over again about the people is that they are HAPPY!!! They live in what we consider poverty, but they have found what really makes people happy in this world: Family and God. That is why I am sooooo excited to meet these people, because they are humble and have their priorities straight, and most importantly, have righteous desires!
  In case some of you don't know (that is, supposing that anyone besides my mom reads this) the purpose of a missionary, aka me, is to bring anyone and everyone that we can closer to Christ and share His gospel, as well as to serve the people in any way, shape, or form. Now I would like to take a little creative liberty and explain some further reasons as to why I'm travelling all the way to Africa to share a message with people I don't know in a culture totally different than the one I've lived with my entire life.
  First and foremost, I KNOW that God is real! I know that He is our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we will ever comprehend on this earth. I know that our older brother Christ was chosen before the earth was even created to come down and atone for our sins, and I can't express in words how truly amazing that is. I know that, because of the love of God, He allowed Joseph Smith to find the gold plates and translate them through divine guidance into what we now have as the Book of Mormon, and I know that this is a miracle just as miraculous as Christ walking on water, or Moses parting the Red Sea. I know that, because of this one book, I have found more peace and truth than any other book that I have read. I know that, through a personal witness from the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it is indeed an account of the people that lived in the Americas before, during, and after the time of Christ, and that He did visit them after His resurrection. I know that I would be completely selfish if I did not share this simple message to the rest of the world, that Christ lives! Through His gospel my family has enjoyed more happiness and peace than we would have ever found without, and I know that we will be an eternal family up in heaven. I know that I am imperfect and have a lot of flaws, but with the help of my Savior and through His atonement, I can become an instrument in His hands and hopefully bring light to those who are in darkness. My ultimate reason for serving a mission is to help others to experience the same happiness that I have and help them know that they have a Heavenly Father that knows them personally and wants nothing more than for them to be happy, and to return to live with Him someday.
  If I have offended someone with what I have written, I am truly sorry, my intentions are not to offend or insult anyone in any way, they are simply to let others know my beliefs and how firmly I believe them to be true. Seeing as my full-time job for the next two years will be a missionary, you can expect a good portion of my posts to be religious in content, so if you don't want to read that, then by all means, please don't feel obligated to follow. But if you do decide to keep up with me on my crazy adventures, then go right on ahead, and I hope I don't disappoint!! At the very least, you can use my blogs as a way to fall asleep if you are ever having trouble(;
  Anyways, Thank you to all those that decide to read what I write! I sincerely wish you all the best while I'm in Africa, and I can't wait to catch up with you guys when I get back! Best of wishes, and God be with you till we meet again!!
P.S. My posts from here on out will most likely NOT be this long...or anywhere close for that matter...and will probably contain more references to food(;
-Elder Collins


Hey, I'm hoping this works, but here's my first blog, which I hope to be keeping while I'm in Africa. This was just a trial run of sorts, but I hope you enjoy!