This past week I spent more time with Excel trying to figure out our working fund spreadsheet than any time since I retired from Shell. This thing is a monster. Over twenty worksheets, each with detailed reporting about the costs incurred across the mission. Over time it has been changed here and there so that whatever consistency used to exist has long since diminished. It is one thing to have a process and a spreadsheet that matches the process. It is another thing to have a spreadsheet that is disconnected from a process that changes with every Financial Secretary (it is difficult to hand down an unwritten process). And so this week, in an effort to help improve the handling of our working fund (which is not insignificant), I set out with the goal to figure out a process and then match the spreadsheet to that process. It is particularly difficult because we “close out” the working fund spreadsheet each week, but the process of submitting the expenses in the same week as the advances doesn’t always happen. To add additional worksheets to cover individuals with working fund balances (zone leaders, sister training leaders, senior couples, mission driver, facilities manager, etc.) is a significant effort. I probably spent 10 hours on it last week and it needs more this week. I am determined not to lose this battle with the software, but as of Monday evening, it is proving an apt competitor!

Besides using every available minute on the spreadsheet, we spent the week completing 44 interviews of missionaries in the University, Dichemso, and Suame zones. On Tuesday we drove to Effiduase and attended the district council where Elder Polaulu is the District Leader. It was well done and we enjoyed being with them. From there we drove to Kwamo 1st Ward and interviewed more. On Thursday we had the rest of the missionaries in the zone (except the Office Elders and Assistants) come to the University Stake Center.

On Wednesday, we drove to Dichemso Stake Center and interviewed 5 of the 6 companionships who serve there. I also snapped a picture of LaDawn doing phone checks. This has become an incredibly important part of helping the missionaries stay focused on their purpose.

On Friday, we traveled first to Atafoa and then on to the Suame Stake Center where we interviewed 14 of the 18 missionaries who serve in that amazing zone.

On the way home from Kwamo on Tuesday we stopped for a special treat. I mentioned in an earlier post that the Noble House Hotel and Restaurant now has a Pinocchio’s Ice Cream bar in its lobby. So after finishing our interviews we stopped on the way home and bought ice cream cones (officially it is gelato). It is such an amazing treat as we have yet to find fresh ice cream that is very good anywhere else in Kumasi. This stuff is genuinely excellent!

Saturday morning I worked on missionary letters and on Saturday early afternoon, we drove to the Kumasi Mall and purchased a printer for the Samuelson’s. It is something we have needed to do for some time now but have struggled to find the time. We simply decided on Saturday to make the time. It usually takes us a lot longer to make a purchase there than it did on Saturday and we were grateful.

After returning home, I pulled together this weeks letter to the missionaries titled “Unity – Part III” and worked a bit more on my instruction for zone conference titled “A Soft Heart”. LaDawn also spent time working on her instruction outlining the “9 Points for Receiving Joy”.

On Sunday we attended church in the Obuasi 2nd branch. It was fast and testimony meeting and while nearly everyone was there in time to partake of the sacrament (60 people), there were few who felt the Spirit encourage them to bear their testimony. At the end of the meeting I stood and shared my testimony and my concern that we need the members to “awake and arise” and come to Church prepared to bless others rather than just to be fed spiritually themselves. After the meeting I met with a member associated with a membership council we were to hold. As it turns out we decided to delay it for 3 weeks to gather a bit more information. Following the conclusion of that meeting, I interviewed two prospective missionaries. The first needs a bit more preparation and the second was very impressive. Mary Ayando is a 23 year old who was baptized in 2018, fell less active for some time and then was reactivated by Elder Dossia and Elder Lekopa, two Ghana Kumasi Missionaries. She has prepared herself well and is so ready to consecrate her life for 18 months to the gathering of Israel. I love interviews like this.

Before leaving Obuasi, I stepped into a financial training meeting. Eugene Ghorman (far back left corner) is our mission clerk and he traveled to Obuasi to look at the audit exceptions and train the clerks and branch presidents on the proper method for recording expenses with the proper documentation. This is a meeting we hold each audit cycle to make sure everyone understands the nature of audit exceptions and how to avoid them. We have had some significant issues in our districts lately with priesthood leaders being careless with the Lord’s funds. I was grateful for just a couple of minutes to step into the meeting and ask them all to be better and do better when it comes to using sacred funds wisely.

By the time I finished with my meetings and interviews, it was almost 3 pm. LaDawn patiently waited that entire time. With Elder Loveland and Elder Pack (now serving as Obuasi District Councilors) in the financial training meeting, Sister Loveland and Sister Pack were able to keep her company. Turns our we left before the Lovelands and the Pacs and managed to get back home just after 4 pm. We broke our fast around 5:00 pm and then I met with our Assistants at 7 pm for one final review of our plans for the upcoming zone conferences. The end to another great week! (Based on these posts going from Monday to Sunday.)

While we never anticipated we would be spending a lot of time on spreadsheets, phone checks, and helping to get our senior couples established by purchasing things like printers, we are grateful for the variety of activities required of us as mission leaders. It is said that variety is the spice of life and lately life has been spicy! Preparing for zone conferences is always a revelatory process. Solving problems that arise across the member districts as well as the mission zones has become the norm. We will forever be grateful for the Holy Ghost which magnifies our efforts far beyond what we are capable of as we work tirelessly to gather Israel, one last time, Together in Ghana.