Week 15

Dear Mom, 

Yeah those are shirts and pants we had made. It's actually pretty popular here so I had to get one. I'm glad to hear the 4 guys are all doing well and I hope Marshall comes over to the house more. He's a great guy and I miss him. Yes we actually did participate in the service project. We cleaned up the police station. It was a little while ago but it was really fun.  

1. (How are you getting the pictures to us?) Elder Bradshaw's camera has like a wifi hotspot thing so we can just send them from his  camera at the chapel.

2. (Have you seen any of the twelve apostle dresses? The ones that sister clegg talked about.) Yes I have seen one and it was pretty hilarious. It had President Hinckley all over it. It was pretty sweet.  

3. (Do you think you will be transferred?) I don't think I will be transferred but I pretty certain I will be getting a new companion. I'll let you know next week. I'm sure I'll have a lot of good news. 

4. (How many areas in your mission?) I'm really not sure. We have  8 zones I think maybe like 60 areas but I'm really not too sure.  

5. (How many missionaries?) 140 missionaries  

6. (Are you wearing sunscreen?)  No but I have been ok so don't worry. 

7. (Do you need bug spray?) Bug spray I don't need any. Honestly I never see too many mosquitoes but no I don't need any. We have so much in our apartment. 

8. (Have you received any letters ?) Yes I have gotten a few from Hunter, The Davis family and a few others.   

Thanks for the questions mom. I hope you are doing well and I love and miss you. Have a great week 

Happy Birthday Carly! I know it's a little late but I was thinking about you on Friday. And you can buy your own spray paint too,  don't forget about that. It sounds like you had a great birthday and everyone treated you well. I'm sure they party was fun.That song just made my week. Skyler is a master at stuff like that. So funny. Those lines are pretty hilarious.Thanks Carly for writing every week have a great week. Love you 

Kasey it's great to hear from my little hipster. I am definitely going to miss Mexico and its coming up very soon. You are going to have a great time I know it. I'm really glad you like swim and you really are a great little swimmer. You could be really good if you practice and work hard but I'm glad you are enjoying it. Love you  

Nicki I'm sure your life is cheer school and that's it.I hope you have a great week and I love you. 

Abbey is great to hear from you. It sound like cross country is going well and 24 minutes is a great time for a 5k. keep up the good work. You are a great runner. I didn't know you were the class president. I'm sure you are liking it. Yes high school is a lot better than middle school and I'm very happy you are enjoying it so much. Have a great week! I love you 

Dad my week was pretty good. It's been hard because my companion doesn't want to work very hard but I've been getting through it and I have learned a lot for sure. I'm very excited to get a new companion and I'm pretty sure that I am staying in Teshie for another transfer. No rules really for the beach just don't get it and swim is all. Oh yes soda pong is the best way better than the real thing. Sealings are great and Mom is pretty amazing. I love you both. You are both great parents and I'm grateful for the great examples you are to me. I kind of already talked about my companion but he is really a nice guy and we get along great but he is just not a hard worker and it's hard because he is your trainer but I am so excited to get a new companion and be able to use  all the things I've learned from Elder Gunda. I'm glad Marshall came over. I hope he is doing well and I miss that guy.  

Well I think that is it for this week family. I will have exciting transfer news next week and most likely a new companion so that should be good. The church is true and focus on gaining a firm testimony of the Book of Mormon. I read this book this week. A Witness and A Warning by Ezra Taft Benson. It was a great book and it made me realize how important the Book of Mormon is. I am trying to obtain a rock solid testimony of it and I know that doing so will help me when I face the adversary. Well have a great week everyone. I love you all! 

Elder Thornhill

Week 14

Dear Family, 

It's great to hear from all of you and Mom thanks for sending the package. Those are always nice to get. Yes showering last week was not the best thing but it was a good experience. The football will never be good ha but I'm sure the pep rally was good. I'm glad Carly was dressed modestly. It really does make a difference and I'm glad they do. I know I appreciate a lot when girls dress modestly. You know what they say modest is the hottest.  The companionship is good and I'm pretty sure my companion is leaving next transfer which is next Wednesday. He has been in the area for 7 months and I'm sure he is leaving. I'm excited to get a new companion. Oh before I forget Dad I heard the bad news about Lance Armstrong. I guess we can't trust anyone in the cycling world now. And also did the Aggies beat Wisconsin? Well that all I think dad. I know you probably don't watch sports anymore will all those women in the house so I'm sorry for that. 

Mom I'm glad your back is feeling better and the marathon in December should be good. I think I want to run at least one when I get back home. 26.2 miles is a long way though. you are one tough old bird. I'm actually really glad Kasey is doing swimming. I think it will help her out a lot. She has a natural gift for swimming and hopefully it will help her to worry less about things and help her to sleep.  

1. (Do you get to exercise daily?) Yes I ride my bike everywhere. I think that counts as exercise. I know I feel tired afterwards. But I think I need to start doing some pushups and sit-ups. My six pack is looong gone so I think I will start doing that. 

2.(Is the traffic crazy?) Yes the traffic is beyond crazy. I haven't been hit by a car but there have been some close calls. But don't worry the Lord is watching over me that I know for sure. 

3.(Have you spoken in church yet?) Other than bearing my testimony no I have not spoken in church. 

4. (Who are you working with? Your investigators?) The girl named Bariksu. She is kind of crazy because she always calls us but she is a sweet girl and has been to church a few times. She is definitely a character and it's always fun to be around her. 

5. (Have you had anymore baptisms?) No we have not had any more baptisms but we are planning on baptizing a husband and wife later this month so that should be good. 

6. (When are transfers?) Next Wednesday the 26th. I'm pretty certain my companion is leaving and I will be getting a new one. 

7. (How much do you get to go to the temple?) At Christmas we go and other than that not really at all.  

And yes 3rd Nephi is great and it's great to compare the be attitudes from the bible to the book of moron. It pretty great how the Book or Mormon is so clear and perfect. But I love 3rd Nephi and also Mosiah. Its great and King Benjamin is pretty powerful. Thanks for the package mom you are the best! Love you tons 

Carly thanks for the updates on your life. I'm sure you look very nice in your new uniforms and they probably make you play a lot better right? The pep rally sounded like it went well so good job with that and tell Nicki good job with partner stunting. "Being cool" in the worlds standards really isn't being cool at all. I'm glad you stood up for what you believe and have been a good example of a Latter Day Saint. I know I've told you this before but parties like that are just a waste of time and don't lead to anything good. Well I'm glad you had a great week Carly. Keep up the good work and I love and miss you. 

Kasey my favorite hipster! How are you? I'm excited to hear that you are doing swim team and I know you are a great swimmer and you will do great. I know school is not your favorite thing in the world but I know you can get through it and I know you are going to be just fine. I love you Kasey you are pretty great and you always make me feel good. Even here in Ghana when I think about you I always get a smile on my face so thank you. Have a great week. I love you 

Well family I think this is it. We had a mission tour on Thursday with President Dickson there. He is straight power and he only has one arm. But mission tour was great and Iove talking with other missionaries. I met another guy from Utah State Elder Tribe. He is sweet and I can tell we are going to be good friends. Well this week was great and I can't wait for the next one. Hope you all have a great week and stay safe. I love and miss you all.

Elder Thornhill

Week 13

Dear Family, 

Mom I'm sorry you hurt your back but I guess you are getting a little older haha. But I really do hope you start feeling better soon. I'm sure Carly and Nicki like it that you come even though you may feel like one of those crazy parents. I'm glad Abbey did well. She has a lot of potential so I hope she takes advantage of it because I know she could be a great runner. Great Job Abbey.  

1. (Have you seen any strange animals?) No strange animals yet. Just a lot of goats, chickens and sheep running around everywhere. There are big lizards here and we had a huge spider in our apartment last week but really no cool animals yet. 

2. (What is the English like there, can you understand what people are saying?) The English is a lot different and is sometimes hard to understand but I am getting use to it and can understand most everyone.  

3. (Have you picked up any words from different tribes?) Just a few words of twi here and there. It's kind of hard to learn but I'm learning small small (a little).

4. (Can you drink the water?) No but we have a filter in our apartment and we can buy these things that are basically Ziploc bags filled with water. Funny story we ran out of water this week for like 4 days so we had to use those little packs of water for everything. To shower if you can call it that. More like a light sprinkling. To cook and for everything else. It has been kind of hard but I'm very grateful for water now.  

5. (Have you been sick at all from the food?) No I have not gotten sick once from the food. My throat was sore for a few days but that has been the only time I have been sick.  

6. (What is the weather like? Hot ?) The weather is hot but it's really not to bad its getting into the dry season so it will be getting hotter but it's not too bad. 

7.( What do you want in your package we are sending you?) You're sending me a package? Alright I wasn't expecting one but thank you. Maybe some notebooks to write in for my study journals and some scripture markers. Like the colored pencil type ones that work well. And a pencil sharpener if they need it. That's about all I can think off. Thank you so much.  

8. (How are your shoes?) My shoes are very good but I think for Christmas I'm going to buy a nice pair of shoes here that I can wear to church so I can look a little more fashionable and fit in more with the Ghanaians.  

Thanks mom for the questions. Oh I got a new mosquito net this week and its pink. Haha it makes my room a lot brighter and now a have a little princess bed. It's pretty great. The pictures are really really hard to send but I will try to send some.   

Carly it's good to hear from you. And no I don't poop at parties. It seems like you are going to have a crazy week. Badminton seems like it is going well and beat all those Asians for me. I think you will win and you have my vote for homecoming queen. I'm really glad you decided to be an example to your friends Carly that is great. Parties are so stupid and that's one thing I wish I wouldn't have done in high school. I went to parties because I thought that is what the cool kids do and if I don't drink it's not a big deal. But what I know now is that it is a big deal and that we shouldn't put ourselves in those situations. So good job Carly. I'm sure you did good on the ACT and the half should be fun with Tomasi. I didn't know she was a runner. Well Jeff is going to be a great missionary and its seems weird that I am almost done with training and he is just barely going into the MTC.  Garret actually send me a letter a few weeks ago. 

Kasey you are the greatest. I am always telling Elder Bradshaw about your hipster ways. I hope goodwill is treating you well. Yes I remember Mexico. My whole body hurt so bad and I had to wear socks but it made for a great rap didn't it? I'm sure you will enjoy it this year and swim plenty. No cool animals yet but hopefully one day. Have a great week Kasey. 

Dad mission life is good and I definitely laughed a lot this week. Elder Bradshaw and I are pretty good friends now so we are always laughing and smiling. It's pretty great and I'm becoming way more comfortable with the people. Just the other day we were trying to buy some oranges but we didn't have any money. I was just asking the price so we could come back but we just talked to the people there and they gave us like 15 free oranges it was pretty awesome. Thanks for the sport updates. I'm glad the Aggies are doing well this year. Hopefully they can continue to get better. That was a huge win against the U and if they keep playing like they did I'm sure they will make it to a bowl game. Elder Bradshaw actually lived with Chuckie last year in the LLC so he knows him pretty well. Yes he is a great player. I'm sorry about the pictures but it takes forever to send them but I will really try this next week to send them. On Thursday we have a mission tour and Elder Dickson of the seventy will be there. We all have to prepare talks about tithing and he will pick 3 or 4 missionaries to share their talks on Thursday. That kind of scares me but I know if I prepare and I'm guided by the spirit I will be just fine. This week is going to be great and today we might get some lobster to eat. We are going by the ocean with one of our investigators who is a fisherman and hopefully he will hook us up with some stuff. Well that's it for this week. I love and miss you all. 

Love Elder Thornhill   

Week 12

Dear Family, 

Carly it's good to hear from you and you always give me great updates on everything so keep up the good work. Thanks Carly you're great and have a great week and be safe. 

Hello mom. Oh first off I used my hair clippers for the first time and they worked pretty well. Elder Bradshaw gave me a nice haircut but definitely not what I'm use to ha.  

1. (Where do you get a computer?) Basically anywhere there are internet cafe's all over the place. There is one by our apartment but right now we are at one by the chapel. But really anywhere you go there are cafe's that you can use. 

2. (Do you see your mission president a lot?) Umm not really but he writes us a letter every week. The only time we see him is during zone conferences. But President Judd is pretty much amazing. He is very powerful and I'm sure he will be an apostle some day. He's great and I love him.  

3. (Is your bed comfortable?) Yes my bed is very comfortable and I sleep like a baby. I look forward to my bed each night and it is surprisingly comfortable. I have like a mattress and then like a smaller pad that I sleep on.  

4. (What do you do on your preparation day?) Get up, Wash, study, clean, go shopping for food and then cafe. I get a lot done on p day  and I love it.  

5. (Do you use your Frisbee?) Yes I have used it a little. I think me and Elder Bradshaw are going to try and use it more. He will actually play with me so that's good. 

6. (Where did you get the bike?) They had them already at the apartment. They have them at every apartment and when you get transferred you just get the one that's left at your new apartment.  

Thank you for all the questions and I had a great week. I spent 10 cedi's on ice cream that I thought was going to last me a week but ended up only lasting me a day so that was good hah. Lesson learned never buy 1 big thing of ice cream cause I will just eat it all. Mom I hope you have a great week and I love and miss you. Don't worry about me really I'm just dandy. 

Dad you almost had me going with the Nicki story. I might almost believe it. Mom and everyone loves that dog too much ha. It's comforting to know that everyone cares about me back home and send everyone in the ward my greetings. I'm glad mom did well and she always does a great job at here talks. Maybe someday I'll be like her. Thanks for writing dad it means a lot. Thanks for everything that you do and the great example you are. I love you. 

The mission has been great so far and the traveling was very extensive. The plane ride was very long but I guess it's kind of necessary. My companion is a great man from Zimbabwe and he is very nice. We get along great it's amazing. The spirit here is very strong and Sunday meetings are a great time for me and partaking of the sacrament each week has taken on a greater importance. My testimony is very strong and I know that the more we share our testimonies the more they will grow and be strengthened. The people in Ghana are amazing and I love it here. There is something about serving the Lord that is so great it's hard to describe. I hope everyone back in Alameda ward is doing great. 

There it is. I hope it's ok. Well this week was also the Teshie festival which was actually pretty crazy. There were so many people and everyone was running up and down the road. It was pretty crazy but a great experience. This week has been good and I found one of my new favorite scriptures during my personal study. Jacob 6:12. "O be wise What can I say more?" I really love this scripture and it is so simple. Be wise that's it. I hope that I can use this scripture and remember always to be wise and I think that life will be a lot easier and temptations wont have as much power. Well I think that's it for now. Family have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week. I love and miss you all. 

Love Elder Thornhill