Ebola has a name and a face!

Family Baptism Day. Mother, Father and baby have since died from Ebola.

5 Surviving Children have been given food and water but are in quarantine for 2 weeks. 

 Message below from mission president and adult missionary couple that were currently serving before the evacuation in Sierra Leone.

David Ostler added 2 new photos.

Ebola orphans. 

Simon Kamara and his wife and young child passed away from Ebola within the last two weeks. The surviving 5 children are quarantined at the home for the next 2 weeks. The oldest, probably 14 years old, is in charge. No one nearby can safely interact with them. We don't know of any family. 

We have been able to get them food and water. Life in Sierra Leone is difficult - just imagine the added difficulty of losing your parents and younger sibling to Ebola, even without the social stigma.

Why do first world problems seem so hard, when this is their reality?

Here is a picture of the surviving children at their home. Here is the family at their baptism last November

Robin Jones-Kanzler LDS Charities: Our Emergency Response staff have had discussions with other relief organizations, and are considering now how we can best be of help in Sierra Leone.

Our Emergency Team are not planning to make any shipment at the moment to Sierra Leone, however, members closer to the area are paying Fast Offering to help them. In addition the Emergency Response Team is working with the International Medical Corps. 

The Church Emergency Response Team is also working directly with the local ecclesiastical leaders and local nonprofit partners to assess and meet the most basic needs of those affected. Donation to the Humanitarian Aid Fund is one of the possibility.

Donations to the Humanitarian Aid Fund allow the Church to help people throughout the world by providing relief and help so people may help themselves. Funds for Sierra Leone will come out from the HUM Fund.

If you would like to get involved the best way to help at this time is donating to the general Humanitarian Funds.  http://ldscharities.org/articles/how-can-i-help?lang=eng#donate. 


After the quarantine is lifted for this family we are hoping we will be able to send gifts so we will keep you posted.

Our thoughts and prayers go to this family and the many others who have been affected by the devestating ebola virus. 

Ebola Round Two!?

Wow.. thats a lot of exciting news from home. Whoa banana splits and tacos in Mexico sound so good. Yeah it will be great when we all come home and head to Mexico for our annual surf trip but Baylor will be able to speak spanish so Mexico will be super cool for him haha! Tell Jeff to send me a post card from Fiji! 

During the week I forget about home and all the things that go on at there. I am really set apart so I forget about the real world, I guess that is how it is supposed to be so we can work with all our heart might mind and strength. Mondays are pretty hard, it makes me think about home, but I like to hear whats up with the family. Happy Halloween.. people here don't do Halloween, but when they see American movies about vampires and stuff like that, they think it's real. 

Ants invading our house

Elder Garcia my companion .... he is from Seattle Washington.

Yummy Fufu - it's made with pounded Kasava root and Plantain
 The fufu used to make me gag, but I put it down now. It is slipery, it goes right down, you dont even have to chew it. You need to come here and try it!

My front yard has a nice view of the bush. I have regular showers and toilets now but we still wash our clothes in a bucket. We don't use a brooking board here, just our hands so it's a little harder.

Our stove broke to say the least

Our study room

Ebola round two!  Last night we got the first announcement from the mission about Ebola. Here we go again haha...they just said we are going to be trained on it. I really hope that I wont have to leave, but I am not hopeful because of the news that I keep hearing. Every house here plays the news about it and I feel that we will leave sometime because of flight problems.

Well the work is going okay, we are helping lots of members, but coordinating with them seems to be a little hard. Our next baptism will be in December, there are a few really interested people but we will see how it goes.

We are overloaded with recent converts and less actives so alot of our attention goes to them because our areas are combined. Elder Garcia and I have been teaching some sweet lessons. We have been studying about teaching with unity and listening, and we have really taught with power and authority. I learned when we listen we wont have to think of what to say but it will be given to us, Elder Holland taught it somewhere in Preach My Gospel. I always love improving and becoming better. I have gained a great testimony of prayer and revelation. 

I also bought a cutlas this week, so I can cut open more coconuts on my own. 

Love you! Thank you for the direction in life.

PS - so mom you are going to kill me but I need my Social Security number. I promised I would memorize it when I left, but forgot it again. Can you send that to me. Thank you!

No Ebola in Ghana!

So in Ghana all of the big pastors will make posters and try to get people to come to their service, and they will have crazy themes and titles, so we made one just for fun. 

I was talking to one of the Elders who is serving here in Ghana who is from Sierra Leone, Elder Charles, he was telling me that he can't go home, even though his mission is almost done because of Ebola. He is to continue serving until something changes so he can go home. I love talking to the Sierra Leonians here, I feel like I fit here when I talk to them.  Yeah no Ebola in Ghana and we don't have any precautions yet either. I think its because the church headquarters for West Africa is here. 

A few fun things from the week: 

On Thursday after we finished studying we walked into our parlor and found thousands of ants pouring out a hole they made in the middle of our concrete floor. We also found them in the kitchen and in the halls. They were carrying their eggs around so we killed a few thousand ants this week. They aren't the standard ants you see at home, they are about half inch big. The neighbors said that they will come back in about a month or so when they find a new route, so we will be expecting them. I also learned how to open a bottle with my teeth (don't know if I will do that too much, but at least I learned how.) I also received  the post cards you sent and the letter. Very much appreciated. It made me really excited about going to Hawaii. 

Having a little fun in Ghana!!

The work in Ghana is a little bit slow. People are a little hesitant to hear us because they are afraid of the book of Mormon, they think it has some juju or something. The part of Ghana that I am in is almost all Christian. I can hardly find a Muslim. I am happy when I do because they remind me of Sierra Leone.

Ghana is much cleaner and nicer than Sierra Leone

Elder Garcia and I have had our hands full his week with the areas combined we have had so many people to see. We weren't even able to see all of the people we wanted too but we have had some of the most powerful lessons together and really work well together. Its great when I am with a companion that wants to grow and do things the way the Lord wants. Ee are having a good time here doing some great stuff. 

One of the greatest things that has happened this week is seeing the members here in Adweso really get involved in missionary work. We have been busy trying to see all of our investigators and recent converts that we have had little time to find and do some street contacting but no doubt the members have helped the area. We received 8 referrals this week from families, and they are so interested and ready to hear from us. 

The work is done best by the members of the branches and ward whether you are just a friend to someone or you invite people to church. It's good to be good friends with non members because they will be likely to invite the missionaries in when they come knocking on their door. So be an example and be ready to give a reason for the hope we have. 

Love you, 

I'll see you soon!

It seems as though I am really looked after by God!

Here's a nice bug for you. Milipede or Centipede?

Well this week was different. Not much teaching was done. One of the Elders in my district got malaria for the second time in three weeks, so he was at home the whole week. We got to work on Tuesday and half  Wednesday because I fell sick and had to stay home on Thursday. The same elder who had malaria got a wakeup call from President Heid on Friday saying that he would have to go home, and maybe finish his mission in the u.s. so Friday we were trying to help him get ready to go. 

I am not sure what happened, I just woke up with this on my finger! Ingrown fingernail? It popped and all the puss came out... hopefully it wont come back.

Halfway through our day of Friday President Heid called me and said that the other area in my district would close and my companion would be transfered and I received  the elder who was companions with the malaria elder. So our areas has been combined into a huge area and we are a two man district for the next four weeks. My companion is Elder Garcia from Washington. He is a sweet guy and we get along really well and we are both ready to work. Elder Garcia fell sick on Saturday and Sunday so again we didn't work. So not to much happened but I did inherit some really cool stuff from elder Steinman (the one who went home). His parents just sent him a package, so he left tons of sweet stuff for us.

With my last companion, Elder Odume, we didn't always see eye to eye with the work, and sometimes would disagree on how to work. I knew that I would be with him for a long while  so I had been trying to help us get along. So in the past week before he was transfered, we were able to work out our differences and really get working together. It always seems like as soon as I see my problems... they are solved or when I learn from my surroundings, things change and I receive a new enviornment. So that happened this week with my companion. It seems as though I am really looked after by god and there are things that I have to learn wherever I am and what ever I do, so when I learn, things change and I can move forward much better than before..

Sitting around the apartment all week led to some boredom, so I cleaned everything, fixed the swamp problem in our front yard by draining the water, and got to watch "The Other Side of Heaven". That movie makes me never want to leave this place. 

With our areas combined we have lots of people to teach and tons of less active members, so we are going to be really busy the next few weeks.

elder beckett 

Note from Pres. Heid

 Map of Cody's new mission in Ghana Accra. He is Currently serving in an area   called Koforidua.

Cody's new mission president and wife. Below is a portion of an email he sent us about Cody. 

First, let me tell you how much we enjoy your son.  You would be very pleased to see how he is growing to be a man in so many ways.  He is getting his feet on the ground in our mission and he is providing a good example and strong leadership.  Thanks for sending us a great, kind hearted, and obedient Elder!

Best,

David Heid


Bio about Pres. & Sis Heid:

David Louis Heid, 63, and Delynn Susan Parry Heid, three children, Fallbrook 2nd Ward, Vista California Stake: Ghana Accra Mission, succeeding President Daniel K Judd and Sister Kaye Judd. Brother Heid serves as a high priests group leader assistant and is a former PEF missionary in the Africa West Area (Ghana), counselor in a stake presidency, bishop, stake mission president, stake Young Men president, seminary teacher and missionary in the South Africa Mission. Educator and coach. Born in Seattle, Wash., to Elmer Louis and Bonnie Jean Paris Heid.

Sister Heid serves as a stake public affairs director and is a former PEF missionary in Ghana, ward Primary president, counselor in a ward Young Women presidency, ward missionary, temple ordinance worker and seminary teacher. Born in Alhambra, Calif., to Richard Keith and Shirley Ruth Parry.