If You See Someone Without a Smile....Give Them one of Yours !

It is interesting when things don’t seem to be going well, problems begin piling up, and we might find ourselves getting stressed out and under pressure…..the remedy could very well be that all we have to do is take a minute and look around.  There is good even on the bad days. The happiness you’re looking for is all around you, don’t forget to notice it.  Happiness is defined as a positive emotional state.  It’s a state that people strive to experience….. to achieve well-being, peace and contentment in their life.  The most important thing is to enjoy your life …..to be happy. That’s all that matters. I have written about it before…..”Happiness is the object and design of our existence”…..but I think about it a lot here in Ghana. Here are some quotes from people you may have heard of:

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself”.                       

Leo Tolstoy said, “If you want to be happy, be”.                                       

Walt Disney said, "Happiness is a state of mind.  It’s all about the way you look at things”.    

Mark Twain said, “Never regret anything that made you smile”.                       

Anne Frank said, “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy”…..that is a pretty amazing thought considering what she went through. 

Happiness is seeing life for what it is…..in all the little moments.  The secret to being happy is to find peace where you are even if you’re not yet where you want to be.  We could go on and on about saying what we think happiness is and how we find it.  The truth of the matter is that “the Plan of Happiness”…..Heavenly Father’s plan…..is right here in our midst.  We have found what we came to Earth to find.  We just have to live our lives to embrace it, to exercise faith and live by that faith, and I promise you that if you do..... you will find the happiness you are searching for. 

There were several events that happened this week that I wanted to share.  Some were good and some were not so good…..depending how we look at them. They could have put a dent into our happiness for a while, but they didn’t.  By the end of the week, all is well.

There is good all around us. We just have to look for it.

First Experience --  we have a Senior Couple here in our Mission that are serving out in the “bush” country.  It’s a “Member Leader Support” mission. Their circumstances are much different than ours.  They were driving down the highway and all of a sudden they heard the thumping and boom…..a flat tire….. completely flat so all they could do is pull over to the side of the road.  Just as they did this…..within one minute…..several men and a couple of young men came to help.  Elder Burtonshaw got out, didn’t know where his spare tire was…..a man crawled into his truck and lifted up the seat and got it out.  He told Elder Burtonshaw to just stand back and watch…..”We will fix your tire…..I don’t want you to get your white shirt dirty”.  He found the tools he needed, changed the spare tire, and was done in short period of time.  When Elder Burtenshaw got his money out to pay him for his help…..he said, “No thank you.  I do not want your money.  Someday I will need help, and I hope someone will be there for me”.

Second Experience – Jill and I were driving to a mall to get a few things and in the very busy traffic and complicated roads and signs, I ended up going down a one-way road but did not know it until a policeman sitting in the bushes came out onto the road, held up his arms, stopped me,  and told me to pull over.  I did.  He looked at me and said, “Do you want to get yourself killed?”  Do you know how to drive? Are you crazy…..you are going to get hurt. Do you have a driver’s license?  This is a one-way road.  You need to be more careful.  You need to be more observant”.  He went on and on.  Realizing I did break the law and that there was oncoming traffic, I could have been hurt.  I told him I was sorry.  I made a mistake.  I did not notice the one-way traffic sign.  Because I was humble and admitted my mistake, He looked at me and said, “Please be more careful.  Please be more observant. I don’t want you to die”.  He then stopped the traffic coming from the other direction and let me turn around and did not give me a ticket.  That was a shock and a blessing.  They usually want some money…..I should have paid him for not asking for it.

Third Experience – One other Senior Couple was driving on a busy street and a policeman came out into the intersection with his hands held up and demanding Elder Kaaen to stop.  Just like they did me.  He did.  And the car behind him drove right into the back of his truck.   Pretty bad.  It left a huge dent in the truck and the Tro was totaled (a Tro is like a mini-bus they use here as taxis). There were several passengers in the bus. There were some bloody lips and cuts, etc.  but no one was seriously injured.   Elder Kaaen’s truck is damaged pretty bad, but he could drive it.  After some yelling by the policeman and the same coming from the other driver, (because the policeman was at fault), Elder Kaaen had to go to the police station.  They sat there for about 4 hours, they took his keys and said they were going to impound his truck for further investigation of the accident.  What they really wanted was some money and this could all go away.  The church does not encourage bribes.  Elder Kaaen was not going to pay. Finally, a man walked into the police station, every officer there stood up immediately, they showed this man a tremendous amount of respect, and he said, “give this man his keys”.  It took just a couple of minutes. Elder Kaaen then followed him out and he told him to fill out this report, don’t say too much, and drive home.  I will fix everything else.  Evidently, the Area Office of the church called this man.  He is a high ranking official, a national celebrity of some sort, a national hero, and was treated as such.  We still don’t know who he is and what he does. He is not a member of our church.  But he did help out the Kaaen’s and did it very quickly.  Elder Kaaen said the respect he received by the other policemen in the station was incredible. 

All of the above experiences happened on the road. They could have all turned out much worse than they did. The Burtenshaw’s don’t look at their experience as a flat tire, they look at it as an experience where they found a new friend and how kind and helpful this “good Samaritan” was to them.  They have now seen him in the village once in a while and have made a new friend.  Jill and I are thankful we did not get a ticket or taken to the police station and we kind of laughed at how this guy thought I was “crazy”, was trying to kill myself, and did not know how to drive.  And finally…..the Kaaen’s experience was much more serious, and people could have gotten hurt.  But once again, they were so impressed at the man that came to help and the respect he was given by the other police officers.  Considering the way I drive, I may need this man’s help in the future.  All experiences ended up turning out just fine and they will be rehearsed again and again in the future as we tell about our mission experiences.

The pictures and videos this week are of more people and smiles…..I particularly like the smiles.  I do show the flat tire episode and the “good Samaritans”.  We talk about the religious atmosphere here in Ghana with their signs and people dressing up to go to church…..we even saw a sign with the “10 Commandments” as you enter a movie theatre.  We did not go to the movie but saw the sign and it put a smile on our faces. I have another video of our pool…..pretty nice perk for Senior Couples on a mission in Ghana.  Jill loves the fruit and vegetable stands.  And of course all the  Missionaries.....even President Campbell out walking the streets of Ghana with the Elders.

All of us as Senior Couples had different experiences this week and have talked about them. We smile and share about the little things that happened and the way people act and react to different situations.  Are we still happy?  Yes.  Do difficult situations happen to good people? Yes. Do bad things happen to good people? Yes. We are happy today because we were all protected and taken care of in our time of need.  And if we were not protected and got seriously injured, we would still be happy because there is so much to be thankful for. And of course, we are happy because we know that Heavenly Father is real, we know that He loves each one of us, we know that He sent His Son to save us all from death and our sins, and we know that families can be together forever. That is enough to make anyone happy .

Life happens….. and some experiences are not so good and don’t turn out the way we would want.  Gordon B. Hinckley said, “in all of living, have much fun and laughter.  Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured”.  Dolly Parton said, “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”  Whenever you are feeling sad, just remember that some of the best days of your life have yet to come.  I hope you all have a great week.  Look around……find the good in everything and everyone.  One thing I am doing here in Ghana is that I smile and say hello to everyone I meet.  It makes me feel good to see their reactions. It puts a smile on their faces…..and it makes me feel good.  Try it…..It just simply works!!!

There is nothing better than a smile to make someone feel better.

The two wives of the Accra East and West Missions.....Sister Beeson on the right. Sister Campbell on the left.....a day off shopping at the Butterfly Market.

A beautiful smile indeed !!!

Everyone smiles for a camera

This Elder loves the people and they know it. When you are around him.....you just feel better. It is very sad for the members when these missionaries transferred.

These are the parents of the guy I do Momo with. I give him money and he transfers it via his phone.....kind of like our Venmo, but no bank involved. His Mom is a member and I am working with my Momo guy to take the missionary lessons.

President Campbell loves to go out with the missionaries and be around the people and do what the Elders do. It is quite the experience.

This guy loves to lead the music and he makes us all want to sing.

The vegetables are huge....and look delicious.....if you are into vegetables.

One of the "perks" of living in the Office. This pool is about 200 feet from where we live.

Very religious people.....even the movie theaters have "10 Commandments".

This was a day of training for the missionaries and their companions who have only been together for a few weeks. Jill is becoming an expert at fixing breakfast for large groups of people.

I love to watch the missionaries go back to work.....they are faithful and committed.

This is Patrick and his daughter. He is a Bishop in one of the local wards and does everything for us.....drives, buys food, fixes bikes, delivers supplies to missionaries (washing machines, fans, bedding, etc.). He is awesome and we could not function as well as we do without him.

The Burtonshaw's flat tire. This was the "good Samaritan" and it was pretty amazing and kind to help them. He didn't do it for the money.....He didn't accept it when offered. He did out of the kindness of his heart.

They were all over his Truck and told him to stand by and just watch. "We don't want you to get your white shirt dirty".

The main guy is in the blue shirt.....but they all helped. He's in a previous picture.

The Burtonshaw's on the left. MLS mission. The Kaaen's on the right. Medical Advisor, English Connect,and Pathway mission.

Just like walking a dog.....He thought he would walk his truck loading with water.

Ran into this guy yesterday. Elder De Hoya. He is here on a communications mission. He said it was game day.....so he wore what he wears back home.