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

Week 11

Dear Family, 

Thanks for the updates and I just finished emailing Erica and she sounds like she is doing good. (What does your apartment look like?) The apartment is very plain I actually have some pictures that I will try and send soon. It's very simple. Concrete floors very simple toilet and shower. Just two beds in the rooms and a little closet thing. (Who are some of the people you are working with?)  Ricahard and his wife. He's been to church a few times and he's great. He's getting married this month and I think he's very interested in eternal marriage. Saul as well he's 24 and we introduced the Book of Mormon to him last week. He is great and his girlfriend is a member. I really hope we can get him to church. I think it will take some effort but I know he will love it when he comes. (What is the funniest thing that has happened to you since you have been in Ghana?) Umm  funniest thing I don't really know. There's a lot of funny things but we burned a shirt last night because it was my companions one year mark. So that was pretty cool. (How long does it take you to wash your clothes?) Today I think we did it in about an hour and a half. It went fast today and its good cause I do it with Elder Bradshaw. (What are the stores like?) A lot are just little shops that people have. There are very few stores that you actually walk in and the stuff is more expensive there anyway. So there is just a lot of stands with stuff to buy.   

Kasey it's great to hear from you and I'm sure goodwill is as good as ever. I hope school is going well and that's cool dad bought a jacket for Skyler. yes Randolph was fun and a great experience I hope you enjoyed it. The food is ok and I'm still getting use to it but I'm sure I will love it eventually. Have a great week and stay hipster.  

Thanks dad that update about Randolph was great and is sounds like you had a great time . I'm sure Randy will love to talk to you in the next life. Thanks Dad you are the best. I hope work is good and you are enjoying taking the bus and being a desk jockey ha. I hope the calling is going well and I'm sure it's a lot of work but very rewarding. I love you dad and I miss you. You are a great example to me and I hope your week is great. ha thanks for the joke and it's good to see James has a mission call. 

Carly it's good to hear from you and it sounds like everything went great. The pep rally sounded pretty legit so good job with that. Yea that stinks about the game but you can't win them all right. That's sad about Kristin's mom and that's sad. her mom was pretty sweet. I love you all and I'm having a great time here and this work cannot be stopped. I love it here and I hope all of you have a great week I love and miss you all. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 10

Dear Family, 

Good to hear from you Carly. I'm sure you are getting excited for buff week and I know the pep rally will go great. I'm sure the seminary party was fun. Congrats on being captain that's great. I've never been captain of anything ha. Yes spread the nectar love. America is a great place. That should be exciting to hear from Erica. Thanks again Carly have a great week and good luck with everything. 

Thanks for all the questions dad ha. Teshie is pretty big I'm not really sure how big but there are enough members to have three wards. We just work in one ward the other elders are in another ward and then the sisters are in the last ward. We all make up the Teshie district. The ward is good not as good as the other elders ward but the bishop is good and a lot of people come. I like it and its like my bed is a little tent. I sleep very good. Yes we actually got a another white guy in the apartment on Wednesday so I played with him. His name is Elder Bradshaw from Alpine,  Utah. He's really sweet and we have a lot in common. It's good to talk to him. I'm sure mom did great and tell her thanks for the shout out. Oh yes I remember when we did that. That should be a great experience. Skyler better get his eagle. Thanks dad I hope all is well with the bishopric and I know you are doing a great job. I love you too. 

Hi mom. The new missionary is great. He really made me thankful that I have not gotten sick at all and that I haven't really been homesick at all either. I have been very blessed with being out here and the Lord is watching over me. we have 4 elders that live in our apartment. My companion is from Zimbabwe and so it the other elder in the apartment. Yes we eat at members homes a lot and they make pretty good food. The city is crazy and its always an adventure to ride our bikes to the chapel. The chapel is like in the middle of town where it's the busiest and our apartment is kind of far away so we get to ride there. Dad said you did great on Sunday and I'm sure you have a great talk. Oh and thanks for the package. I got it this week. The candy was great and didn't last long ha-ha but really thank you for sending all that stuff. The youth are great and very faithful and we are over one ward. They treat us very well so that's good. Thanks mom for everything. I'm glad Marshall is coming over and tell him I still hate the Lakers haha he'll like that.  

Nicki it look like life is cheer and school but that's good. I'm sure the game will go good and cheer your little heart out haha. Good luck with school and I know if you work hard you will do fine. Have a great week. Abbey I hope all is good and enjoy high school. I hope cross country is going well and I know you will do great. 

This week was another great week and I've really realized how blessed I am and how hard it is for some people to adjust to mission life and living in Ghana and being away from there family. I really have been blessed and Heavenly father loves me. The church is true and I hope all is well in Tempe and know your little boy is doing fine in Africa. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 9

Dear Family, 

Wow this was a long letter this week. It's good to hear from all of you and I'm very grateful that I hear from you every week. Yes transfers are on Wednesday and the other elder in our apartment is training and I think it's going to be an oh bruni. It will be nice to have a another white person to talk too. thank you for the prayer for the 4 banger. it needs all the help it can get. I hope Nicki is treating it well. Ah dang my honey badger is letting me down. It will be good to hear from him.  

Here's the letter:

The work here in Ghana is very good and people are ready to hear the gospel. It's great to see the African saint and the great faith that they have. We teach a lot and I have had the great privilege of baptizing a few people. The food is a little different but I'm surviving and things are definitely very different. I am loving my mission and the great joy that comes with     sharing the gospel.  

Carly it's good to hear about your first week. I'm sure you will do fine and the pep rally will be great. Congrats on number 1 that's great. I'm sure you are very busy with school and everything but make sure you don't forget about the Lord. If I can tell you one thing to do that is do read your scriptures every day. It will give you great strength.

Abbey yes I did have Mrs. Reynolds and she was a great teacher you will like her. That's good about cross country and I know you will do great this year. Remember to practice hard and I know you will succeed. I hope you like seminary and make sure you give 100% when you are in class and you will learn so much. 

Kasey it's good to hear from the little hipster. I know school is not cool but you have to do it. Try to enjoy it as much as you can. Goodwill is the best and when I get home we will have to do some shopping sprees at goodwill. thanks for repping the gun socks make me proud.    

Mom wow six weeks is a long time. The gift of tongues is there mom pray for it ha. I'm sure you will have the chance when you convince dad to go on a mission. Thank you for asking for my advice, I'm sure you will get much greater advice in the temple but ill share what I'm thinking. Tell the young women to never think they are too cool to follow the standards. Don't think you are too cool and that I can go to this party and not drink and just hang out. That's one thing I regret is going to parties. I was tempted and the situation is just not good. You can have so much more fun with people that are not drunk. Never think you're too cool to friend that person that is sitting alone in class or to help someone in need. You are never too cool to follow the standards and be more Christ like, Well that I'll I got I hope it helps a little and if not I'm sorry.  

"Be more specific on the details." Like details about what? Oh I have an experience. We found this man named bright and started teaching him. I bore him my testimony that I know that God knows his name and loves him so much. It was a great moment and I felt the spirit so strong.  

I had to wash all my clothes today by myself. Usually the Ghanaian missionary helps me but since he's leaving I thought I might as well get use to it. My hands are sore but I feel good. We had a FM yesterday and I ate fufu with groundnut soup. It's hard to describe what it's like but it's not too bad. It seems crazy that I've already been out for one transfer. It will be interesting to have another white man in the apartment and I'm sure I'll have stories about that next week. One thing that I have been studying and trying to more fully understand is the Atonement. It is central to the Plan of Salvation and is so important. Oh I almost forgot I got to go to the temple this week on Thursday. It was so great and just what I needed. WE walked to the independence square and that is where the picture is taken. The President of Ghana died last week so they had his funeral this week. This week was great and I hope that this upcoming week is better and that I can strengthen my testimony and teach better. I hope all is well and good luck girls with school and with everything else. I love you all and miss you. 

Love Elder Thornhill

Week 8

Dear Family,

Thanks for talking to Brad it means a lot. The work is good. We have a lot of investigators to teach. My companion is good we are very different but its good. Its teaching me to live with someone very different and its definitely teaching me patience. I think that something very important that I need to learn here. 

Yes Mom the weeks actually do go by very fast. A lot faster than I would have thought. I'm glad you had fun at your class reunion and made good use of the champ hat haha I'm sure that was a funny sight. Yes It was an investigator that is a white guy that's my age. He is doing service at an orphanage here and so we taught him and some of the orphans. He was just difficult to teach and very stubborn.

Carly it sounds like senior year is already going great. One thing I kind of regret now is not being super involved but you don't really have to worry about that cause you are very involved. Enjoy your senior year and you only live it once so take advantage of it. It is great. Wow I'm surprised Erica cut her hair so short. But have fun at school and good

luck.

This week was good. We didn't have any baptisms but we taught a lot and found a lot. I realize that one great way to strengthen your testimony is by sharing it. I bore my testimony to an investigator and it really helped me to receive confirmation from the spirit that what I was saying was true. The best way to gain a testimony is to share it so I would encourage everyone even the little girls to share their testimonies and I know that they will be strengthened. That about it for this week. We did a lot of cleaning today  and I'm going to cook some chicken later so I'm looking forward to that. The church is true and always do the little things to have the spirit and I know that everything will be ok, I love and miss you all.

Love Elder Thornhill