Week 81

It was very nice to talk with everyone. I am sure Erica did a great job on her talk and there were probably a lot of people there. I am almost done with the new testament. I have like 15 pages left and I should finish by the end of the month. The open house should be great. An Elder in our apartment got this missionary book for Christmas and I already read it all. It is called the Power of Everyday Missionaries by Clayton Christensen. If you have a chance I would really suggest it. It really just kind of open my vision I guess to what members can do to help missionary work. It's a great book. We don't usually teach it but sometimes we are asked to take the class. Well love you mom have a great week. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Dad, 

The Chuck Norris jokes are always the best. A member raises the bunnies. He is a cop but he loves animals he has bunnies and a dog and fish and all kinds of animals. Thanks dad  I love you. have a wonderful week. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 80

Dear mom, 

I think I will call around 12 or 1 your time. I'll call dads phone. We did not eat the bunny but we did kill and dress a chicken that we are eating today with our ward mission leader it was cool. Just one quick story I went on exchanges and an investigator was driving us to the area which is kind of far away. And in the middle of the hour trip the car broke down and wouldn't start. The man was trying to fix it and I kept getting the feeling to say a prayer but I brushed it off of a little. Finally I asked the man and my companion to say a prayer. The man told me to say it and after we said it he tried to start it again and it started right up. It was so sweet. Well that the story for this week. Talk to you soon. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 79

Mom, 

I was thinking the same thing. It seems like time has gone so fast. It seems weird that she is already home. That is a big change your life is no longer planned out for you. 

We had Christmas conference this week on Tuesday. It was sweet. I got to see some friends it was good seeing everyone and we ate some good food.

We also had a zone training meeting this week and we introduced some new key indicators with new defined definitions. It was good. Some elders didn't agree and weren't so fond of the standards of excellence that we set, but I think they will make us push and accomplish more. We went on exchanges on Friday to Kasoa and had a sweet open venue or a crusade as I like to call it. Just had some posters and contacting people. It was sweet and we talked to a lot of cool people. There were about 10 missionaries there and it was a great time. We also had an open house in Buduburam. It was a lot of fun and it started out a little rough because no members were there but it turned out to be a great event. I really enjoyed it and talked to a lot of people got shutdown sometimes but that is always fun. I am still going strong on the New Testament challenge. It has been great well love you have a great week. 

Week 78

Dear mom, 

That's sweet about the missionaries. I have like no time today it has been kind of hectic sorry I can't write much we have an FHE to get too. This week we had MLC it was good. We also went to iron city for a street contacting activity. It was really fun and we contacted a lot of people and hopefully they get to teach some people. I think they got like 89 names or something like that. Sorry there is not much to say. We have Christmas conference this week so that should be fun. Well gotta go love you mom

Dad,

It was really good. We got a lot done and talked about a lot of things. So hopefully at the zone meeting we will be able to convey the message. I think people forget that one of the most important parts of being a missionary is just being able to be friendly to people and be able to talk and converse with them. If you have good social skills, you can be a great missionary. Thanks dad I love you thank for all you have done for me. 

Week 77

Dear Mother, 

I am sure Logan was lovely. Just too cold for you ha. Just doing interviews for the District leaders and going on exchanges and just helping and training the missionaries. I don't have too many details yet. We have MLC this week so we'll see how that goes. My companion is Elder Ogembo from Kenya. He is cool we came at the same time. I think I am also in for the scripture challenge. I have to catch up today but I'll do it thanks for the challenge. We went on exchanges this week and were able to do some interviews. We also had an open house which was also great. We were able to contact some nice people and almost got some fufu but we had to decline the offer from  the lady ha. Pretty good week I am studying in the Doctrine and Covenants and well as the Book of Mormon and it is great. We saw some parrots today and they even said hello, it was pretty sweet. Well I think that it for this week. Love you mom. 

Dad,

Ghana is sweet things are going good. We have mission leadership council this week so that should be great. I am excited. We went on exchanges this week and I love learning things from other missionaries and seeing how they do things. It was fun. thanks dad I love you have a great week. 

Week 76

Dear Mom, 

That is so sweet mom sounds like a packed day. I also did some acts of service. A lady was carrying some bags and it was raining so she started to struggle and as I watched her, the line did not let them past by saying sometime I'll try but go and do something today so I helped her to situate her bags and her face as she looked up to me was just priceless she looked so happy. Me and my companion gave someone a blessing and then we sang to some people that live in our compound. It was great. We went to Buduburam to do interviews and we went to this place called the Liberia camp and it was a refugee camp for Liberians and it was kind of crazy. Just some pad things going on but luckily we were there during the day but we interviewed some few people and they were amazing. Saturday we had an open house in my old ward Kasoa it rained a lot so that was bad but it was fun.  Sunday was crazy. Our landlord died one week ago so they had this massive party for her. There must have been at least 300 people in the compound where we live. 

They played music so loud until like 9. It was crazy but we got some nice food so that was good. well things are going good here. Thanks mom for the example you are I love you 

Week 75

Dear Mother, 

The new area is cool. Odorkor is pretty big and we have a somewhat challenging area but I feel that things will be good. My companion Elder Ogembo, he is from Kenya and he is awesome. We were actually in the same MTC group so we came together. It's cool I guess just a few more responsibilities. But it is going well. And happy birthday mom you are the big 5 0. Well I will do my two acts of service tomorrow. Well mom I just typed a nice letter but it got deleted and I don't have much time. We had a good week and we had stake conference and heard from Elder Vinson and that was great. It was good seeing all the missionaries. We had a baptism for Saturday and we interviewed 2 people me and Elder Bass were teaching so that is great. Mom, I love you, have a wonderful birthday tomorrow you are amazing. Love you

Dear Dad, 

My week was good, numbers weren't too bad on Sunday so that was good. Elder Ogembo is my companion and he is a zone leader as well. He is from Kenya and oddly enough likes to run ha. The area is good. We are about half and half: half with other things and half in our area so it's good. Thanks dad I love you sorry not much time.

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 74

Dear Mom, 

Monday- Failed FHE with a Less active family. We did some finding and that was good. 

Tuesday- Temple trip. The best. I loved it so much.  

Wednesday- We taught a lot of lessons and we meet this sweet guy named Ebenezer. He lived in the Bronx for like 10 years. It was cool.  

Thursday- Kind of a slower day. But this man that worked at a filling station called us over and we were able to teach him. HE is very interested and hopefully he will be able to come to church.  

Friday- Another day. A lot of finding didn't find too many serious people but still a good day.  

Saturday- Very busy day and we were able to teach a lot of great lessons.   

Sunday- We had a missionary Sunday so that we could help the ward know about the open house. It was good. But it was kind of sad because I won't be there for it really. I am getting transferred on Wednesday to Odorkor.. It was a shock because I just got here and I am in the middle of training. But that's how things go. It will be great. Well that was my week. Love you mom. 

Love Your Son. 

Dear Dad, 

I am grateful for my YM leaders. ha Elder McConkie has some powerful talks. thanks dad I love you too. I guess I need some fatherly advice. I am going to be a zone leader starting on Wednesday and that's why I'm getting transferred. But do you have any advice for me. I just want to do the best I can. Any advice would be much appreciated I love you 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 73

Dear Mother, 

Well sounds like a good week. 

Monday- Met this man named Antwi I thought he wasn't very interested but he was pretty cool. Nothing too exciting. 

Tuesday- Had coordination and that was good. We have a good relationship with the ward which is really nice. I love our bishop he is a taxi driver.  

Wednesday- I am not sure if I talked about this last week but we found a man named Joel and he was baptized in 1989 in Ivory Coast and it has been a long time since he has been to church. We were able to get him a French Book of Mormon and hopefully we can get him back to church. He is pretty cool. We also met a man named George and we taught him about the Book of Mormon. He is very educated and seemed interested. Its sometimes nice working with educated people and hopefully he progresses.  

Thursday- The zone and district leaders had a meeting in Accra at the temple site so we had to wake up early to go. We got there by 7 30 and we had a nice meeting. We talked about a lot of things and I enjoyed it. It was also Halloween and we ate some candy ha. 

Friday-we had an interesting lesson with two men. We were contacting some houses and I thought we should go down this one path way and then we walked into this compound and there were two men sitting down and we were able to sit down and that is when the fun began. Both of them were anti to the church and they started asking all kind of questions. They could not accept the Book of Mormon and did not think it was scripture. One of the men boldly declared that the Book of Mormon was not scripture and that he would never accept it. It was kind of frustrating and sad that they were so hard in their hearts that they wouldn't even read. But my testimony was strengthened as me and my companion were able to share our testimonies with them that we know the Book of Mormon to be true. it was a crazy lesson and I hope that someday they will read and pray about the Book of Mormon. 

Saturday- Meet a great guy named Larry. Very educated and we told him about Conference and we showed him on his computer and he seems so cool.  

Sunday- We watched conference and that was great. We also had a surprise fufu fm and that was nice. 

Well I think that is it for the week. We are going to the temple tomorrow and that will be great. Things are good. I am continuing to learn from my companion and I am grateful for my testimony and the knowledge that I have. Well love you have a nice week 

Love Elder Thornhill

Dear Dad, 

That is pretty great. That is a great hymn I have gained a deeper appreciation of the hymns since being here and I have come to love so many more. thanks dad I love you. Things are going well and I really am trying to be the best companion. Love you have a great week 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 74

Dear Mother, 

Monday-we had an FHE fall through so we went and saw some investigators. Nothing too crazy to say. 

Tuesday-had district meeting and coordination. met a less active named Isaac. He is a sweet guy and he was even able to come to church again and so that was great. Bishop was very grateful that he came. We got our open house more planned put and the relationship with the ward is good. 

Wednesday- A slower day with failed appointments but it was good. Did some good finding and worked  

Thursday- the assistants came to our area for exchanges and that was good. It was good to see Elder Christensen and go proselyting with him. We're pretty good friends so it was a good time. We met some cool people. had a good lesson with a women named Sheila.  

Friday- We met a man named George. It was kind of late and he was sitting outside his house. We could barely see cause it was really dark with no lights but I thought he was maybe 25 so we teach him and find out that he is 19 with a wife and a one year old daughter. So I am sure he is struggling a little bit I can't imagine having a kid and a wife to support. But he said that he was still trying to finish his room so we offered to help him build his room. We are doing that on Wednesday. I have never helped build a room so I will let you know how that goes. But it was kind of funny early in the night we went to see an investigator and she was putting fish into a freezer and we offered to help her but she didn't let us and I wanted to help her so bad and so I was a little disappointed but we continued on our way and even though it was kind of late we decided do to some contacting and that is when we found George and I can't wait to give service.    

Saturday- Had an open house in Ashtown and that was fun. President was there. it was a good time. I got the package and it cost like a 100 cedi but thank you so much. The shirts were much appreciated. thank you so much.  

Sunday- had some people come to church and got banku from the Primary President who also might be the oldest women in our ward ha.  

Well things are good. I have been reading the Book of Mormon and it has been so great. love you mom have a great week 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 71

Dear Mother, 

Monday- We had a FHE with a family in our ward. The Acquah family. They are very rich and they have a nice house and they were so nice. The wife has a sister that has been to church a lot but has stopped so we are trying to meet with her and see what happened. 

Tuesday- I went on an exchange with Elder Dike from the other companionship in the district. it was good and they have some good people they are working with. we also had coordination so that was good. 

Wednesday-We had an interesting lesson with a women named Faustina. She understands that the Book of Mormon is important but she says she is not going to read from it because she had the bible. She is somewhat stubborn and it was just a little frustrating but it's ok. 

Thursday- We meet some good people just by knocking on doors and things. This one women named Josephine lives pretty far from the church but she even came on Sunday and I think she enjoyed it. It's always great when you meet people like that.  

Friday- meet another man named Patrick he is 18 and we taught him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We went and saw him on Sunday and he had good questions and he seems very interested. His parents are not too interested though. but here every member of the family can attend a different church. But hopefully we can work with them.  

Saturday- A little bit of a slower day but we met this sweet person named Cynthia. We contacted her a few days ago. We were on our way to an appointment around 7 30 and we had just called the person to make sure he was home. And there was just this compound that I thought we should go and contacted so we talked to this lady and set a return appointment but it failed so then we set another appointment and she was home. We taught a great lesson and she said she was wondering why we were so persistent and she didn't say it but I think she now understands why we wanted to met with her so bad. 

Sunday- A good day and had some few people come to church. which was really nice. and was able to teach some lessons after church and got an FM from an investigator. Overall a great week. I have been studying the Book of Mormon a  lot and it has been so great. I feel that my love and understanding of it is increasing and also my testimony. Well that was my week love you mom. 

Love Your Son

Week 70

Dear Family, 

Monday- We had an FHE at one of the members that lives by us. It was good getting to know them. 

Tuesday- We had Zone Training meeting in Odorkor. President came and it was nice to see him again. I really liked the meeting and I learned a lot. We also went to ShopRite after which is a really nice grocery store I didn't buy too much though. It was weird being in that nice of a place. 

Wednesday- Met some good people. One named Maabena. we were just walking past her compound and she was just sitting there and called to us and she didn't seem very serious at all but we sat down with here and had a great lesson. She had good questions. so that was nice. 

Thursday- More finding. More door knocking. found a nice women named Florence. She just had a baby and has been married for about a year and she needs the gospel so bad. She said she just feels a little overwhelmed and from what I could tell her church has really been helping here. she is definitely prepared.    

Friday- some more failed appointments and more finding. We met an interesting man named Cosmos. similar in personality to Cosmo Kramer. ha  

Saturday- Met with the other missionaries in our ward and they showed us some of their investigators that live in our area.  had a nice bike ride.  

Sunday- Church was wonderful got to know the members more and then went to a members house for dinner. They were actually in Mataheko ward when I was there so I knew them but they moved into a new house here. It is so nice and it was a great meal. 

I already thought of a Christmas idea. Just have everyone pick out a tie for me and then write like there favorite scripture or something like that. thanks for everything mother I love you 

Elder Thornhill

Dear Dad, 

Its going good. I can say training this time is harder than the first one. for me it's more just making sure that my companion learns how to teach and learns scriptures and how to answer questions and getting that solid testimony. By the way the office couple is sweet. You will have to met them some day. Elder and Sister Wall. we have found some good people but still need to find more. We are having trouble getting people to church since it is kind of far but I know that we can do it. we did have some good times that is for sure. thanks dad things are going good and I think me training is probably more for me than it is for my companion. I am learning a lot it is great. 

Love your son

Week 69

Dear Mom, 

Well it has been an exciting week, Glad to hear the marathon went well. 

Wednesday- Picked up my son. His name is Elder Bass and he is from Lehi. He is cool. We then took a tro tro to our new area. I didn't really know the place very well and to make things worse I got my camera stolen at circle. That was kind of a bummer and all my pictures so that kind of stinks. We got our stuff from the office elders in the evening and then went out finding. 

Thursday- All day of finding so that was good we met some good people so that was good. I really enjoyed a lesson with this man named Collins. We focused on the Book of Mormon with him so that was good. 

Friday- Oh by the way our apartment is really nice. So that makes things good. Little bit of a slower day it rained but we still got some good work done. 

Saturday- We rode around with the other elders to get to know the area more. My companion got really sunburnt and was really tired so it was a tough day. 

Sunday- The ward is great and church was awesome. I was able to bear my testimony and I just love feeling comfortable on the pulpit and being able to address the congregation. I actually knew a few people in the ward from previous areas and I am glad I was friendly with them so they were happy to see me. Things are going good here and although it may be a little difficult I know that with the Lords help I can do it. 

I think that is it for this week. I am not sure if you want to send me a new camera or what but just let me know. I love you have a great week. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Dear Dad, 

I know I need to be here. Yes it's nice to be back in the field we are in Kasoa and we opened a new area called Iron City. Yeah I have met both Elder Vinson and Elder Dude. Elder Vinson reminds me of Bruce from Finding Nemo. Thanks dad love you

Week 68

Dear mother, 

Monday- I don't know if I said this last week but we had an open house in Ofankor. It rained the whole time ha. We were all soaking wet but it was great. President was out too and all wet so that was good to see that he is also willing to do that. 

Tuesday-We had district meeting and that was good. Then I did some baptismal interviews for the assistants. There people were really cool. I also did an interview for Tantra as well. It was a very big lady and she is actually naming her son Nephi so that was pretty sweet. 

Wednesday- We had an open house in Kade. It is pretty far away so it took awhile to get there. They just met in a small rented building but it was still nice and many people were able to come through. We also got some refreshment which consisted of a massive piece of chicken and a mineral. We started the journey back a little late because we picked up the trainers for the trainers council on Thursday. The drive back was crazy, because it had rained a lot the bumps were even worse. But it was good. So we get to our apartment to drop off the assistants and then President pulls me aside and asks me to train a new missionary. So I was very surprised at that. So we had trainers council the next day. It should be exciting. Both of us will be new the area but it should be great. 

Thursday- We saw Rosemary a small girl we prepared for baptism and she is great. Her parents aren't members but she lives by our bishop and her sister is a member. We also had correlation meeting. I took a picture with our assistant ward mission leader and I will try to send it. 

Friday- We had office council and I did some more baptismal interviews so that was good. 

Saturday- We had an open house in Oda and we had to get up very early to be able to get there by 9. it is like a 3 hour drive and the chapel was so beautiful. It was hard to get people to come though because it was far from the main part of the city. It was still fun and right after the open house finished at 12 we made our way down in Accra to another open house in Dansoman. We got there a little late but we still had some good time to contact people and it was also successful. We also had a baptism on Saturday but we missed it but there were some good people and all of them were confirmed on Sunday. Oh we also went to the Oda big tree which is supposed to be the biggest tree in west Africa but I'm not sure, it wasn't that big.  

Sunday- had a great time at church it was sad to say bye to everyone and I am going to miss this ward a lot. 

Well I don't have much time but I will get a new companion on Wednesday and I am hoping a go to Kasoa but I guess we will see. Thanks for everything love you 

Love your son

Week 67

Dear Mother, 

We had another open house today and it was raining pretty good so that was fun and we got nice and wet. I'll have to shine my shoes really well.  

Monday- Went to a members house and I don't know if I told you but they have a monkey that lives in their compound and I think we are planning on teaching the owner so that is nice. 

Tuesday- I did a interview and the person was so sweet. She had such a great testimony. And we got in a car accident on Tuesday as well. I was driving and I am still new to the roads here and driving stick but thankfully it wasn't my fault. No one was hurt but we got a nice dent in the side of the van. So that was kind of exciting. 

Wednesday- We met a women named Gladys. We also met with Richard and he is doing well he just traveled this weekend and didn't tell us but that is ok. He has had a spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon so that is wonderful. 

Thursday- had coordination. Our assistant ward mission leader named Thomas is going to Sierra Leone and he is sweet I love that guy. 

Friday- We had an open house at the temple site. I was able to see President Judd and I saw my son Elder Nelson so that was really nice.   

Saturday- Open house in the bush we also got to play some small basketball so that was good. and we made it back in time for the temple open house as well. 

Sunday- Went to the baptism to the person I interviewed and that was good President Hill was there too so that was good. 

Things are going great we have transfers next week. I am not sure how long I will be here I could leave this transfer but I'm not sure just depends I guess. thanks for everything

Love your son

"an open house in Asunafo it was in the middle of nowhere"

"last week Sunday and brother Dickson he tries to kill us with food"

"me and Elder Christensen. He is pretty sweet and we have become good friends. He wants to go back to Utah State so who knows we might be roommates."