email 1/9/12 highlights

Sorry, the internet ran out last time:( but i m back another week later....the guy we went to festival with is Prince, he isn't that big, but African's hands are hard to size cuz they do all manual labor, lol (Cody wanted to get him a CTR ring but wasn't sure about the size). But his home town was maybe a 30 min drive from Makessim and we just walked around, ate fufu, he took us to the beach, and the festival. It was sweet:))
Today me and Kebbie went and worked out at my investigator's house (Ekow is his name) in Salt pond and it's a 30-45 min. bike ride but his gym is tight. We go there in the morning and work out at his homemade gym, and it's made from like gear parts and cannon balls, it's legit and the guys huge, ahah bigger than me. That, and washing is all i did today. Elder Kebbie is from Sierra Leon. Dodd and Hunt went to Cape Coast.  And yesterday we went to Sis. Elizabeth's, another investigator, and i trimmed a million of her bushes and trees and it was cool.
We have alot of appointments tomorrow 2:30 and after we are FULL. lol. We are giving our investigator and his brother a b of m. They receive one when we know they r serious haha. They read English, so they are English b of m's.
We ride our bikes everywhere. The bikes we have now are alot better and they should last. 
Thanks for all the prayers. I love you all. It's not easy though, I work hard for the things I am doing and that i have:) ahaha Kia Kaha, i will be forever strong.
I have to go soon so i love you, take care, say hi to brendan and happy birthday to him. Give him a big hug and kiss. Tell dad and everyone else hi too:)))). Tell them I love them alot and i can't wait to talk to u all again, this emailing is like one of the highlights of my week. But ya, i love you and i can't wait to see u all. I better be getting some pictures and a case for them:) u know u are allowed to send as many packages as u want?:)) lol 1-1000?? lol just saying...
Oh, and i decided i was going to send home my sd card instead of a cd. It'll be cheaper, and the cd might break:) Tell Dustin to check his email. I love you till next week :) Hugs and kisses!!:))) bye:)
Love,
Elder Cody Randall
KIA KAHA!!:)

email from Jan 3, 2012, highlights

How's my favorite mom:)?? P-day was cool. We went and worked out with our new investigator who has a home made gym. He is huge, he's bigger than me, like his arms are like as big as my head, it's crazy! We just bench, squat, and triceps, the basics. We ride our bikes like 45 mins. in the morning and 45 mins. back home, so haha, i don't need a treadmill. We went to Salt Pond, another area in Makessim by the beach, it's a tight little town, and we spent the day by the beach. The festival was cool, i'll send pics from it, very different haha. They sell small American clothes here, nothing that will really fit me. haha but i'm still shrinking. I have 1 African tie and i have an African shirt, its tight. But the Africans try to be American and wear American clothes, well half of them do, so it's not hard to adjust to. The moms here are big, yes, they stay at home and just clean and cook.
District meeting is everyone is our district, the missionaries, we just meet and talk and do stuff to learn what we could possibly do to improve and it starts at 10 and ends about 1 in the afternoon. We have a full day scheduled today. The teaching is great and the baptisms - we had 2 last Saturday, so it was cool. Hunt baptized this time.
I can't send any pics cuz i don't have my cord with me and the connection is slow. u will just have to be patient:) haha it's a virtue, aha it will be well worth it:) trust me.
I love you mom, thank u for everything:) i've learned alot and i appreciate everything u have done and given me, thanks a billion!:)

email 12/27/11 highlights

Hey!I didn't get to email yesterday because I was super busy. We went to Cape and played b ball and then we came home, washed, and had FHE, so no time. The connection is slow today and the people are plenty today.
I know things will be so different when i get home, it's crazy, ha, but please take me to McDonalds hah. It will be funny when you see me hah i'm skinny somehow and i'll be talking alot less americana and more ghanaian.
It's about to get crazy, like festival crazy! It'll be cool to see, but Friday we have a powerful member taking us to a tight festival, and it should be really fun:) Festival is just what it sounds like, a festival to celebrate Christmas and New Years. They dance and play drums, idk yet.
But i'm doing great. We just had a district meeting and we went to the store, I wanted more cornflakes, and they are ghetto, but better than oatmeal, ewwwwwww! and they have milk but it is super expensive so I just buy the dry milk, it's good i guess. They don't have chocolate milk, so i'm sad:( 
Well, I have to go, i love and miss you alot. Christmas for me was amazing hearing all you guys:)) but be safe. i love you. tell Gramps hi for me. love you:))))))

letter dated December 29, 2011

Dear Mommy,
I wish I could come home and sweep and mop the floor for you, and then we can go out and eat Cafe Rio. mmm sounds good to me! LOL. Well, I hope all is well back home and you finally got my package I sent to you! I hope you guys are having fun with Grandpa H! I miss you all alot and Christmas was definitely amazing being able to talk to you :) It was great to hear you all laugh and talk, it made me happy! But Happy early New Year's! I'm sure by the time you get this New Years will be long gone, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? But mom, I miss you and your home cooking and how we would always go shopping for good food and not just gross food. I'll be sending pictures to you soon, so don't worry!
Well, me do wu (me-doe-woo)=I love you!!
Be safe.
Love,
Elder Cody Randall

letter, dated December 17, 2011 (received 1/18/2012)

Hey Dad!It's Saturday, December 17, here in Africa. It's a beautiful day here. The sun is shining, and the kids are playing outside. It's a good day. Currently, me and my companion are listening to a talk called teaching by the spirit. It's really interesting. I've only been listening to it shortly, but it's cool. He says to always have a prayer in your heart, whether to help you teach or to help you convey your message. Then he showed an example of how a 14 year old boy had to give his first talk and he was mumbling and just staring at his paper and there was a man sitting in the back just thinking, and said, "why didn't the Bishop call someone else better to talk, this kid sucks." While a man sitting next to him was saying a prayer in  his heart that the young 14 year old boy would feel comfortable and be able to share his message with the congregation. Maybe 2 mins later, the boy looked up and said, "now brothers and sisters I don't know much about what's on this paper,"  and then he bore a very powerful testimony that brought tears to many. It was a cool story! But, I'm enjoying Africa. Teaching a lot of people and it's cool to teach these people when we don't exactly know what to say or what they want to know, so we teach by the spirit, it's awesome! But being on my mission has taught me alot. I'm learning alot, praying alot, and everything. I know I still have more to learn and I'm ready to learn. It's a great experience to be here. Well, dad , I love you and I know the church is true. I know through prayer we can have our questions answered and can receive help in no matter what we may need.  Everything and everybody can learn new things. It's great we can always learn something new. Knowledge is one of the only things we can take with us. Thank you dad for everything you have given me and taught me. I love you. Be safe.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Love,
Elder Cody Randall

Christmas phone call

A fi she a pa! (uh-fee-she-uh-paw) Merry Christmas in Fante! (Don't know if we got the spelling right)!  It was so great to get to talk to Elder Randall on Christmas day! We talked for almost 2 hours! He sounded so good, best Christmas present!!
He told us all about the teaching, his companion Elder Hunt, and the trials they face. They will be companions until at least February 8th. Then he will be a trainer. Crazy. It is harder than he thought it would be, but he is adjusting and learning to love it! Mondays are his p-days, and he gave us a summary of what his days are typically like. Wakes up at 6:30 a.m., eats at 7, personal study for 1 hour, then companion study, then lunch, then appointments and out teaching and proselyting till 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. then dinner and bed. Sleep, wake up and repeat!
Some sayings he shared: abolo (uh-bow-low) big man
When Cody arrives someplace where he knows the people he says, "Abolo aha" which means the big man is here!
"spoiled" means broken
"somehow" means maybe
"kwenti" means alot
"fresh boy" means you look good
"ampah" means true
"ji case" means stop talking
and many other new expressions which we did not catch:)
He is amazed at how family-oriented the people of Ghana are. Family is everything to them. He has enjoyed the slower pace of things, even though they walk ALOT! He has had huge blisters, but is enjoying the exercise.  And now, he has a bike, so they ride more, and he does NOT like to wash his clothes by hand! Also, for Christmas dinner, they went to "market" and bought 3 rabbits, and made rabbit stew! Yes, hard to believe that one, but he said it was really good. His roommate is a "country boy" and is definitely influencing the cooking. Mom is still having a hard time believing that one! haha:)
His testimony is growing and it is so great to hear him!! We love him so much and we are so proud of all the hard work he is doing! It is amazing to see the changes in him as he changes other people's lives!!
He misses us all, and we miss him, too!! He loves to get letters! So please, if you are reading this, please write to him:)
A fi she a pa!

email highlights from Dec. 20, 2011

(Note: Cody's Grandpa Randall passed away this last week and we had to notify him by email. This is the first communication after his learning of his grandfather's passing.)

Wow, that's crazy. How's dad doing? I m good. i know where he's going, we'll see him soon:) r u okay?
(I told him we are all ok, just very emotional. But yes, what a great thing to know where we are going)

The connection was down yesterday so we came today:) but yesterday we traveled to Cape Coast and played soccer, i did amazing:) had two assists and a goal:) aha im a beast! then we went shopping for food and got alot. We made spaghetti last night with homemade sauce it was yummy:) we just used hot dogs as the meat, not as good as urs:/ i miss ur food. I would like maybe some cake and pudding mixes ? idk, haha, we can bake a cake at the bread ladies place, or even a cake or some recipe would be awesome:) chocolate or vanilla or snickerdoodle or something like that, anything would be amazing:)
Yes, i m taking pics, no worries, ha, but i haven't burned them yet, i will soon. i will burn them and send them to u by all means necessary. U will have pics i promise. and yes i am feeling good, and no more hits, haha.
We had our Christmas celebration with the mission president last Thursday. It was cool, we got to watch "Forever Strong"!!:)))))))))  (Cody's favorite movie), and had rice and chicken, and we also got an awesome tie, Kente, it is sick:) and an oil vial:) sweet stuff.
I don't care about eating with my fingers haa its weird but its whatever, haha but i like it here, im losing weight so its nice:) ha. About the letter i sent, it is detailed like nothin else so don't worry and it's in the Christmas package so hurry home and get ur package haha, but ya i love you all:)
Missionary work is great!! teaching alot, but no more baptisms until the 31 Dec. And yes, I will be calling you on Christmas, in the morning, so no worries. We have a phone, i buy a chip and some credits and call u:) so don't worry, just be ready to get the call:)
Nyame do we means God loves you and mi do wu means i love you and haha im learning small small, haha.
I love you all so much and i miss you all. i can't wait to talk to u on Christmas, it'll be fun:) i love you be safe, be smart, eat alot of food for me and all that jazz aha. and u can write me letters too u know haha, jus saying. But anyway, i love you, have fun with the family, tell them all hi for me, and i love them and im sorry im not there but i know grandpa is in a better place! i love u all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!