December 28, 2011

Hey everybody!

 

It was so much fun to talk to all of you guys yesterday.  It was weird hearing all of your voices and knowing that you are actually alive even though it doesn't feel like it.  So I didn't really talk about what happened this week so I guess that I will just do that.  On Wednesday we went on splits with the zone leaders and that was a lot of fun.  I went with Elder Speechly and he is a really cool guy. So that was on Wednesday and then nothing really happened on Thursday.  Then on Friday we went down to Kumasi to have our Christmas party thing with the mission.  We had some talks and then an activity.  Lunch was really good and I had a massive piece of chicken that was a big as my face! Then we got to watch Forever Strong!  I really liked that movie before but I liked it even more I think because I haven't watched a movie in almost 5 months.  The best part of that day was trying to get back to Sunyani though.  The line at the bus station was huge so we decided to try and get a tro for all of us back up to Sunyani.  A little ways outside of Kumasi that tro broke down so we had to try and find another way back.  Luckily we were able to hire a bus to take us the rest of the way to Sunyani but it was an interesting adventure.  Getting back from Kumasi is always difficult for some reason.  We got back really late so we just got ready for bed and then went to sleep.  Christmas Eve was a pretty good day too.  One of the members fed us dinner and it was the best fufu and chicken that I have ever had! The chicken seemed like it was boneless chicken from back home.  The soup was perfect too.  Then we went to a baptism and after that we all went to the Eusbett and ate pizza as a zone.  It was a pretty good Christmas Eve. Then on Sunday we had church and then we waited until I could call home.  It was a pretty good week and I had a lot of fun talking to you guys.  I'm glad everthing is okay and always keep me updated! I love you all and talk to you next week! :)

 

Love Elder Kitchen

 

 

December 19, 2011

Hey everybody!

 

Dang, I am just freezing my butt off right now. This vodafone cafe has way nice air conditioning! So this week has been pretty good.  Today has probably been the best part so far.  I'll tell you more about today later on though.  So we have been teaching some good investigators.  One of my favorite is probably a guy named Frank. He is a teacher at a school and he is very smart.  I love going to teach him because he always reads everything that we leave him and he understands it very well.  We have been teaching him the plan of salvation right now. We are trying to start to teach his wife as well and that would be sweet because I don't really teach a lot of families here.  This Friday was a lot of fun because it was different.  We had to go and get our bikes that were getting fixed at the repair shop so I ended up going with Elder Eldredge to get them.  Then we had to ride them out to some place and it was really far because Elder Eldredge had to do a baptism interview.  Then we rode all of the way back to Fiapre and I was dying by that point.  It was a lot of fun though. Then we stopped at Lizzy's Fried Rice and then I switched back with Elder Belnap.  Then we went and taught some sweet lessons so it was a lot of fun.  A lot of our investigators are leaving for a month because they are students and they are on break now.  So we have to find some new investigators.  Saturday was just normal.  We went to the baptism that was happening at Nkwabeng and that was good. Then on Sunday I conducted sacrament meeting in Twi and English because we had a member write down what to say in Twi. I did terrible but the members were happy.  Then I helped in primary and we taught them how to make paper snowflakes and we helped them write Christmas cards.  So that was my last week. So today has been awesome because we are in Kumasi right now.  We came down and played a big football match.  It was a lot of fun to see everybody there.  Then we just talked with a bunch of people for a while.  It was sweet to see Elder Francom there because he went to Viewmont too!  It was weird seeing a familiar face.  Now we are just emailing at the sweet vodafone cafe and then we are going to go and shop around in Kumasi for fun.  I'm not looking forward to the drive back up though....it's just too long, especially when you are riding in a dang tro!  haha.  So I have been having fun.  It hasn't felt like Christmas yet so I haven't been homesick or anything.  I'll bet I would be if it were snowing and they were celebrating Christmas like we did.  So I hope everybody has a great week! I'm excited to talk to everybody! Whoever wants to talk just go over to Mom or Dad's house and Christmas and we'll all talk! Talk to ya soon!

 

Love Elder Kitchen

December 12, 2011

Hello!

 

How is everything going?  We had a pretty good week over here.  It started off with me giving the instruction at District Meeting.  I did it on Jacob chapter 5, the allegory of the olive tree.  I had a lot of fun with it even though I probably made myself more confused in the end. Haha.  Then the rest of the week was left with mainly teaching lessons.  The things that used to be funny or weird here are now completely normal so it is sometimes hard to think of fun or crazy experiences.  I run around chasing goats and roosters and scaring them.  I also get yelled at by little kids all of the time because I'm white. Haha.  A lot of people say, "White man, how are you?" So I say "Black man, I'm fine."  It's funny because it sounds weird but it's completely normal to them.  Maybe I can think of some other fun things to tell you while we are talking on the phone.  This Saturday I finished the Book of Mormon again.  So that was the second time I have finished it since I have been out here.  I read quite a bit this last week just for fun.  I love the part towards the end of Alma where Moroni send Ammaron an epistle and talks about how if he doesn't stop then he's going to hunt them down and kill them. Ha! He is just such a stud. It's going to be sweet to meet him someday.  Then sunday was pretty good because President and Sister Shulz were able to come to our church for sacrament meeting then we went and had a district meeting where President instructed and it was awesome.  I love being able to see President and Sister Shulz because they hardly ever come up here because they are so far away.  We were so hungry after though because we hadn't been able to eat since morning so we went back to eat but the problem was that we had run out of propane for the stove the night before so we had to cook on a little charcoal African stove thing.  Today has been a good day as well so far.  We ate fufu today for lunch and it was really good.  The chicken was delicious too.  So that was my week. I hope everything is going well.  I love all of you and hope you are having a wonderful Christmas time! :)

 

Love Elder Kitchen

Sam eating pizza!!!  He looks so happy. :)

December 5, 2011

Hey everybody!

What's going on back home?  Africa is just the same as it has been for the last four months.  The beginning of the week was sweet because we watched conference on Tuesday during district meeting.  We watched the sunday morning session of this last conference.  I loved watching it this year.  I don't know why I used to complain while I watched it.  Then the rest of the week was pretty normal.  We just taught some lessons and stuff but we were a little more busy because we were trying to make sure that we had the two people that were getting baptized ready.  Luckily we got them both ready and everything went great.  So we were able to baptize both of those investigators and it was really sweet.  I love being able to see the change that happens in their lives when they learn about the gospel.  I can honestly say that they always just seem so much happier when they accept it and begin to live it.  It is so sweet!  Friday was fun too because Elder Eldredge and I went on splits and that was our first time doing that since I have been to Ghana.  We both came up to Sunyani together so we have been in the same apartment for a while.  We had a lot of fun especially when we decided to get pizza for lunch! It was so good!  I miss having pizza a lot back home.  I just miss good food in general. haha.  But I guess I would say that the highlight of my week was the baptism.  Church was stressful though because there were only about 5 people there when we started and by the end there were 22 people but about 14 of them were kids!  Sometimes it's really difficult to get people to come to church on time...let alone at all.  The work is still going though and we are doing our best and that's all we can do.  The rest is out of our hands.  So my week was good but stressful.  It sounds like everybody got hit pretty hard with a storm!  I hope everybody is okay.  If I was in freezing cold weather with wind right now I think that I would die because I don't think I've been in a temperature below like 80 degrees since like May or June!  I'm going to have a difficult time the first winter that I get back.  I won't miss the sweating though.  Honestly, I smell terrible all of the time.  haha. Well, I hope everybody is doing well! I love you guys a lot!  Have a great week and be safe!

Love Elder Kitchen   

November 28, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

We had a pretty good week this week!  This week, a miracle happened on Wednesday.  Not one of our appointments failed! It was so sweet because we taught so many lessons!  Also, we got two people commited for baptism this coming Saturday.  I'm pretty positive about one of them being baptized but I'm really hoping that the other one will be too.  Then, the hightlight of my week....THANKSGIVING!!!! You all probably were thinking..."Oh poor Sam, he's in Africa and will have bad food for Thanksgiving..."  But you are all wrong!!! It was the best dinner that I have had in Ghana!  We had mashed potatos, homemade chicken gravy, stuffing, chicken, corn, chips, minerals (soda, for you American speakers), chocolate pudding and jell-o!  It was so good!  I can honestly say that it rivaled past Thanksgivings that I have had. Then we just sat around the table and talked about what we are thankful for and stuff.  So thanksgiving was pretty sweet.  Then I woke up at 6:30 the next morning and thought about all of the people back home that were about to be busting into stores and going crazy in about a half hour.  The two people the came to my mind were Jeff and Kyle.  Did you guys go black friday shopping again?   So I had potatos and gravy on Friday for lunch.  Even though there wasn't leftovers...I thought I would make some leftovers.  Those instant mashed potato things are really good!  I got the Christmas package that Dad and Cindy sent.  It got here really fast.  I heard that I got a package and I was really excited but then I figured out that I couldn't see what was in it until christmas so I was like, Dang it! Haha. Sunday was sweet too because we had a few really awesome investigators come to church. Hopefully they will keep coming the next couple of weeks because I know that will really help them.  We watched a film called
The Lord's Errand today for our p-day activity.  It was a really sweet film about President Monson's life.  Then we just wandered around town until we came to email. So  this week was pretty sweet.  I'm glad everybody had a good Thanksgiving! I'm really thankful for all of you and am glad to have such a good support group from my family and friends. I love you all!

Love Elder Kitchen

Thanksgiving 2011 in Africa.

All the good food.

Excited about all the good food!

Elder Kitchen and Elder Eldrege

November 21, 2011

Hey everybody!

So this week was pretty crazy.  Wednesday was transfer day and as I told you before, I got a new companion.  We went to the bus station early in the morning and dropped off Elder Hernandez because he got transfered down to Kumasi.  Then I just went around all day with the other two missinaries that are in my apartment.  Then at about 6:00 that night, we went to go and pick up my new companion.  He is just getting out from the MTC.  His name is Elder Belnap from Idaho.  He is a great missionary so we should be doing a lot of good soon.  So when we picked him up we went back to the apartment so that he could get all set up with everything. Being the trainer is not as easy as it was to be the new guy.  Now I'm the one who is having to make the decisions. It's helping me grow a lot faster though.  Then, the next morning was just a normal day.  We went out and had a lot of good lessons.  The rest of the weekend just went the same too.  A lot of people commited to come to church, but of course....only one of the investigators came.   I even called one of the people and they said that they were coming, but they never showed up.  The people here are very nice, but they don't really know how to keep their promises.  So we started out church with like 10 people there, but we ended up having about 21 people come to church so it was a pretty slow week.  Then all of our appointments failed that afternoon so it was a real downer. Africans eat a lot of fufu and also some stuff called Banku.  I'm not a huge fan of all their food, but I'm starting to get used to some of it. They don't really like sugar too much but they like it a little bit.  Not as much as I do.  I can't believe it is already almost Thanksgiving.  We are planning to use the mashed potatos and gravy stuff that Mom sent and then buying some chicken and having a good thanksgiving feast.  So, that was my week, crazy, but at the same time, just as it always is.  I hope everybody is doing well.  Have a great week everybody!

Love Elder Kitchen

November 14, 2011 ~ Transfer Week

Hey everybody!

This week felt long because we were waiting for transfer news all week.  We knew that I was going to be training but we didn't know anything else about it.  So this week was just full of teaching and waiting.  I got a haircut this week.  It looks the same as it did in the MTC....so it doesn't look very good. haha.  On Saturday, the Assistants came up and delivered some stuff for us.  I got two packages from Mom and I also got that huge tub full of food!!!!  All of those packages just made my week!  There is so much American food for me I don't think I know what I am going to do with myself.  I'm going to be eating very well for the next little while. That was also the same day that transfer news came.  Elder Hernandez figured out that he is going to go and be the new Bantama zone leader in Kumasi and I am going to stay in Fiapre and train the new missionary that is coming.  I won't figure out who it is until Tuesday or Wednesday and he will get here on Wednesday night. He better be ready to have some fun though because we are going to party! (Like the good missionary kind of partying...)  So Saturday was pretty eventful.  This means that I'm going to be the senior companion know. Africa better look out because they won't know what hit them...because I have no clue what I am going to be doing! haha.  Don't worry though, we will be fine. Sunday was just normal again.  I gave another talk and conducted sacrament meeting.  I can't wait until I can just go to church and not have to worry about anything!  We had some lessons and then that was about it.  So that was my week. I'm going to be training a new missionary very soon so everybody....pray for me.  Well, I love you all and will talk to you again next week!

Love Elder Kitchen

Elder Kitchen and Elder Eldredge with the packages they received.  (Notice the mosquito nets over their beds.)

November 8, 2011

Hello everybody!

So...I have some big news for the week this week!  I got to eat cereal for the first time since I have been in Ghana!....wait a second, that's not the big news.  I'll just tell you the big news in the course of this email.  So started out as just a normal week.  Nothing too special was happening.  We were just teaching some lessons everyday and doing our work, but that was about it.  We watched the Joseph Smith movie with one of our members this week and that was fun. I am still in awe when I see what the members of the church had to go through when the church began.  I honestly don't think I could have done it if I would have been there. Nothing else really happened until the fifth.  This is when the big news came about....I guess I should just tell you.  I got a call from President Shulz and guess what...?  I'm going to be a trainer!  Yes, yes I know....you are probably thinking the exact same thing I was.  I'm guessing your thoughts are going something like this...."Sam, a trainer!? He just barely got there!  What are those people thinking!  Him and the new
guy are going to get themselves killed!"  So, if they aren't your thoughts, they are mine. Haha.  I'm not as nervous as I was before, but I still am pretty nervous.  So that is the reason that I did not email yesterday. I had to go down to Kumasi for a training of the trainers meeting.  The meeting was good.  We got down there and President and Sister Shulz were there and we just talked about training.  Then we had dessert and it was so good!  It was brownies with strawberry ice cream and then chocolate syrup on top.  I slept over at the Asokwa apartment and then just came back to Sunyani.  I really hate that bus ride.  Oh well, so that's how my week went.  Not too bad I guess.  Oh yeah, this morning I had cereal at the Zoll's and it was so good! Well, I hope everybody has a good week!  I love you guys!

Love Elder Kitchen

Uncle Again

Elder Kitchen was excited that he was able to announce that his sister Marianne was expecting again.          Congrats Mar, Nick and Aaron.  We're all excited!

Notice the African tie.

October 31, 2011 ~ Sweetness

What's up everybody?

How is everything going?  This week was pretty sweet.  I'll start with last Tuesday.  That day was our p-day and after we did everything in town and stuff, we came back and made some barbeque chicken that the Bennett's had left us and it was really good. Then for dessert, we all pitched in and Elder Eldredge made us some brownies, they were so delicious!  The next day was just full of lessons. We had some good lessons with Harriett and with Vivian.  Harriett is really awesome, but we aren't really able to teach her very often.  Vivian is the one who we baptized this last Saturday.  I started reading the Book of Mormon a week and a half ago or so and I'm in about Alma chapter 45 or something.  I really love that book!  It has the sweetest stories in it!  Then the next day, I went on splits with Elder Obasi because Elder Eldredge had to go and interview Vivian for the baptism.  That day was sweet because I was playing the leader because it was my area and I actually felt like I did pretty good.  Then Sister Affiah made us some dinner and I don't really know what it was called.  It was plantains and some sauce stuff.  It was pretty good.  Then on Friday, the Zoll's came up.  They are the couple missionaries down in Kumasi and they are awesome!  They bought us pizza and talked to us about how they are the ones who we call for emergencys now and stuff.  It was a really sweet day.  Then on Saturday, we had my first baptism!  It was a really sweet experience.  Vivian is such a nice lady and one of our strongest members now.  After that, our day went downhill and everybody was failing their appointments.  So during dinner, Elder Hernandez and I carved watermelons for Halloween!  We couldn't find pumpkins so we just stuck to watermelons.  It actually worked really well.  Then on sunday, I gave another talk and then I confirmed Vivian during church.  I was really nervous to do it because it was my first time.  Then that night, Vivian called us and told us to come over so we did and she was making us fufu.  It was really good. I also have to say that I ate every part of the chicken that was given to me...spine and all. Haha you guys are all more picky then I am now!  and for dessert we came back to the apartment and made brownies again.  So that was my week.  It was pretty sweet and I had a lot of fun.  I hope that you all are good back home!  I'm praying for you guys all the time!  I love you and talk to you next week! 

Love Elder Kitchen

Elder Hernandez, Vivian, and Elder Kitchen at Vivian's Baptism

Elder Kitchen and Winnefred (little girl that we are teaching her older brother)

Elder Kitchen and Phillip the watermelon (no pumpkins available)

October 25, 2011

Hey everybody!

This week was a pretty good week.  This has been a long but good week. I'll just start from the beginning.  Last tuesday at district meeting, the Bennett's left us a bunch of their food because they had no need for it so we just all split it up.  I got some peanut butter, cream of chicken soup, and some other good stuff.  It has been really nice but it is pretty much all gone now.  Then we had family night at the church on Wednesday and that was fun.  We taught them popcorn popping on the apricot tree this week.  It is really funny to see all
of these people singing these songs and doing the actions.  Thursday was just a boring day...pretty much everybody failed their appointments and it was just extrememly hot.  On Thursday, we went to teach Vivian in the morning and she surprised us with a bunch of Banku that she made for us. It was a little better this time, but it is still not my favorite.  It was with a tomato and onion sauce.  It also had sardines in it. It was my first time eating sardines and they really weren't that bad.  She is such a nice lady.  Her baptism is on this Saturday so that will be my first baptism.  We were suppossed to have more people baptized on Saturday but they have just stopped progressing so we are going to have to work on them a little bit more. The next day at night, we were teaching some people and we were pretty far away from the appartment and it started to pour.  It was about 9:00 at night so we waited for a little while, but we just decided to go because it kept getting worse.  So we were running back in the dark from the middle of the African bush while all of the dirt roads had turned to rivers.  It was so much fun!  We got completely soaked.  Luckily I was wearing my sandals and not my normal shoes. There was so much water everywhere!  Then we had church the next day and that went good.  I conducted sacrament meeting and I also gave a talk.  My talk was on exaltation so it probably went in one ear and out of the other for everybody in the audience but I had a good time. My talk was 20 minutes long and it only took about a half hour to prepare it.  Then yesterday, we went down to Kumasi for a zone conference where a member of the quorum of the seventy was there to talk to us.  His name was Elder Gavarret.  It was really cool to have him there.  The main point that I got out of the whole thing was that we need to be able to use the Book of Mormon better when we teach.  It was really long though.  It went from 10:00 AM- 4:15 PM.  I was really tired, then we had to get in a bus for another two and a half hours back up to Sunyani so I was really tired.  So that was my week.  I also got a package from Grandma Jensen when I was down in Kumasi. Thanks Grandma, I love you!  Well, I hope everybody has a good week this week!  I love you all!

Love Elder Kitchen

Elder Kitchen and Elder Hernandez with Elder Gavarret (member
of the 70) and his wife.

 

October 17, 2011

Hey!

This week was a pretty good week.  Since last week it was transfers and stuff we now have a completely transformed zone.  This week something sad happened. :(  The Bennett's had to leave because of some medical stuff.  They are fine but the mission sent them home because they didn't want anything to happen while they were here.  It's sad because the Bennett's did so much for us missionaries and now we don't really know what to do.  We cleaned out the a room that had a bunch of the landlords stuff in it so we could have enough room to have a primary class.    It was so dang hot this week.  I swear, when you are standing in the sun it feels so dang miserable.  It is one of the worst feelings that I have ever had.  We went to a baptism at Nkwabeng this week.  It was the zone leaders who baptized four people.  It went really good.  That same day, we went to a members house and we did some service for her. We did some weeding in her garden so she made us some Banku and Okra stew.  I guess you could say that it was not my favorite.  When it comes to African food....I'll stick with fufu.  In church this week I taught the priesthood class.  It went really good.  One of our really awesome investigators is named Harriet.  We only teach her on sundays because she is so busy.  She is really smart and the most organized Ghanain I have ever met.  We just taught her about the Book of Mormon and it went really well.  We are really excited about her.  We are also teaching an older man named Micheal.  He seems like he could be a really good investigator.  We are pretty much teaching him everyday so it is going really well.  So that was my week.  Not too crazy or exciting.  Next week I'll be in Kumasi on monday so it will be a lot more interesting.  Well, talk to you all next week! 

Love Elder Kitchen

Pictures

October 10, 2011

Hey everybody!

How is everything going?  So this week was just another normal week for me.  Nothing really special happened. Last Tuesday the power went off at night so it was extremely hot because I wasn't able to sleep with my fan on.  It was transfer week so we went and dropped off a couple of the elders to the bus station because they were leaving Sunyani.  Luckily when we got back the power came back on.  Then we just had a normal day of going out and teaching.  We were going to have have family home evening but because there were a few clouds which made it look like it was going to rain...nobody came!  Some of these people are just too scared of the rain.  It was really annoying because we had planned everything that we were going to do and everything but we just had to sit around and waste our night.  Then the power went off again at the same time as the night before so we had to sleep without fans again!  Sleeping without a fan is not easy here in Ghana.  I heard this week that this is the 4th hottest mission!! I believe it too.  So the next day we got our electricity fixed because we didn't want it to happen again.  It costed us 110 cedis, but it wasn't our money, so I'm just glad that it got fixed.  That day the new Elder came up.  His name is Elder Obasi from Nigeria.  Friday was sweet because we had some good lessons.  Our first lesson was with Vivian.  She said that she still plans on getting baptized at the end of this month so that is pretty sweet.  Also, there is a couple named Harriet and Reginald.  They are from Accra and they are awesome.  They are probably the smartest people that I know in Ghana.  The lesson was just so awesome with them.  We taught them about the first vision and the Book of Mormon.  They were really interested and it just was really sweet.  The only problem is that we can't meet them very often.  They are really busy because they both work and travel a lot.  Hopefully everything keeps going good with them.  Saturday one of our members made us some fufu for dinner.  It was so good!  I really like fufu now.  It was in a chicken soup and it was just delicious.  Sunday was just a normal day as well.  The power all over Fiapre was out though so we couldn't turn on our air conditioner or fans so it was not comfortable at all!  The power came back on right as church was ending.  I saw a bunch of people trying to beat up a guy because he tried to steal something.  It was really weird.  It just made me think that this is one of the reasons that Ghana is still not progressing very much.  I still love the people though, it was just a little weird to see that and there was nothing that I could do.  Then it started to pour so we had to run back to the apartment.  We couldn't do anything else because of the rain so we just sat around in the apartment.  Then today we went and played volleyball. It was a lot of fun.  I miss playing sports all of the time.  Oh yeah, I'm going to buy some weights from my companion.  He got them for 120 cedis but I'm going to get them for like 60 cedis.  It seems like a lot but I really need something to work out with.  Also, I will be able to sell them when I am done with them so it's all good.  So that was my week...just an average week for an African missionary.  I hope everything is going well back home!  I love you guys!

Love Elder Kitchen

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Hey Mom!

I wish that we had some more fruits and vegetables.  I eat an egg sandwich every morning and then maybe some rice or Indo Mie (top ramen) and then maybe I will make some tortillas or something with some beans and stuff for dinner.  There really isn't any variety here.  I had fufu this weekend though and I loved it!  We are still a unit not a branch.  The other three units became branches.  Fiapre is the one that has been here for the shortest amount of time.  I think in December it will be one year.  Yes, me and Elder Hernandez are still companions.  I'm not sure about next transfer though.  That is in the middle of November.  I can't wait for that thing.  I hope that I get it soon because I need some good food.  I was thinking that maybe if you could send some of that whey protein stuff.  It might be able to fit in a flat rate envelope.  I am trying to work out in the morning and also I don't really get any protein so I was thinking that it might help me out.  Just let me know what you think.  I can't wait to get packages...they are the best. Thanks for fasting for me. :) I'm having fun, but it is really hard at the same time.  So, how is work and everything going?  Is school still going good?  Well, thanks for all of the support!  I love you and miss you a lot!  Have a great week! 

Love Sam

October 3, 2011

Hello everybody!

This week has been a pretty sweet week.  We didn't really get to go out and proselyte too much.  Darn!  haha, I'm not too disappointed. Last Tuesday I instructed at my first district meeting.  I was pretty nervous to do it.  I don't think that I did a very good job, but it is done and over with and I did it. Haha.  We also are teaching a man named Elijah and he is really cool.  He seems like he is really accepting everything that we teach him.  We asked him if he would be baptized at the end of October and he said that he would if learns a little more about the church!  Hopefully he will continue to want to learn more.  After that, we went to the Eusbett Hotel restaurant and had some PIZZA!!!  It was the first American food that I have had since I have been here.  The only problem is that I may or may not have spent 12 cedis to get it and I also may or may not have bought 9 cedis worth of Dr. Pepper to go along with it....Hey!  Don't be getting mad at me!  It was something that had to be done!  Also, our district leader was with us and he just went home today and so we had to have a party for him.  So I spent a grand total of 21 cedis and all of that stuff and I only get 120 cedis in a month! haha, I'm still on track for the rest of the month.  It was sooooo goood!!!!  I love pizza.  The next day, our district leader was still on splits with us in our apartment because his companion was in a meeting down in cape coast for a couple of days, so me, Elder Hernandez, and Elder Vanchiere went to his area to go to some of his appointments.  I got some sweet sunglasses that I would never ever wear back home, but I thought, "What the heck?! I'm in Africa."  I'll have to send you a picture of them sometime.  After that, we came back to Fiapre to have family night, but again, it got rained out.  It absolutely poured on that day!  I had to run through it and I got so soaked.  So we just decided to make some no-bake cookies and stuff because we couldn't go out.  Then on the 29th, we had our cleaning day because apartment checks were the next day.  We spent the whole entire day cleaning that dang apartment!  It was super clean after though.  Then the next day, President and Sister Shulz came up and did the apartment checks and interviews.  It was fun to see them because we don't really ever get to see them up here in Sunyani.  Mom, I noticed in your email that you saw pictures of Sister Shulz's blog and it talked about them coming up and having a conference.  That was up where I am in Sunyani.  They made 3 out of the 4 units into branches up here.  The only one that isn't a branch now is ours.  The church has only been up in Sunyani for one year now.  So on Saturday, we just set up everything for that conference and stuff and we all just hung out as a zone.  The assistants drove us around and stuff so we had a lot of fun.  Some members made all of us some Fufu and it was really good.  I really like Fufu now.  Right after that, we went back to the Bennett's apartment and had a pancake party!!!!  I was already full, but those pancakes were delicious.  So on Sunday we had our District Conference.  It was sweet to not have to plan church for one week.  After the conference and everything, another member make all of us some Fufu because a couple of the Elders left this week.  There was so much Fufu!  It was really good though.  I have eaten more African food this weekend then I have the whole time that I have been in Ghana.  haha.  So that was my week.  Really busy with a lot of different things.  This week is going to be back to normal.  I'm actually kind of glad for that.  It is transfer week this week just if you were wondering.  So I have now been out in Sunyani for one transfer.  Well, I hope everything is going well at home.  Tell everybody hello and that I love them.  Talk to you next week!

Love Elder Kitchen

p.s. Happy Birthday to Brett and Jeff! I hope you had a great birthday Brett and Jeff, I hope that you have a great birthday as well!

Pictures

Packages/letters from home - Happy day!

Sunyani (Is that an outhouse?)

September 26, 2011

Hey everybody!

 

So this week was a pretty good week.  Last p-day was sweet down in Kumasi!  There are so many people there!  It is also pretty dirty, but I'm getting used to that living here in Africa.  We were supposed to get our mail and stuff that day in Kumasi but they didn't send it up!  We weren't too happy because the one chance they get in like a month to send stuff up to us, they don't take advantage of it.  I bought a couple of African ties down in Kumasi too. I think that they look pretty sweet.  On Tuesday, we just did our normal thing and had district meeting and went out and proselyted.  On Wednesday we got all ready to have our family night, but it rained a bunch so people didn't show up on time.  It kind of ruined the whole thing, but when it stopped raining a lot of people came and we just played Uno the whole time.  It is so funny to play with all of the Africans because they absolutely love that game.  Everytime we go and teach some of the people, they ask if we can play Uno.  It's pretty funny.  One of the Elders in my apartment made some no bake cookies and they were so good! The only problem is that they are expensive to make so we can't have them very much.  On Thursday, we found out that Propser, who is a man that works for the church was coming up and bringing our mail!  It was so great!  I got two packages from Mom and some letters and all that fun stuff!  It was so awesome to open up those packages and get good food and candy!  Don't ever worry about sending me too much stuff.  Haha.  Thanks for the SD card reader Mom, it is just what I wanted.  On Friday we did a service project in the market in Sunyani.  We woke up at like 5:00 in the morning and went and cleaned the garbage off of a really dirty street.  Everything went good except we were really tired after.  We also found out that day that we had no water because the man weeding our yard with a machete chopped our main water line in half the night before and didn't tell us!  He just shoved a stick down the pipe to try and fix it! Haha.  We needed to shower after the project so we hooked up the hose to the main water line and fed it through the window and into the bathroom and screwed the shower head onto the end of the hose.  It worked so great!  I got a sweet video of it so I will have to get it home sometime soon.  Also, right as we were doing that, our power went out so we had no power and no water.  Our shower was so awesome though.  On Sunday, I got to teach Sunday school this week. I think that it went really good.  I taught for a good 40 minutes and I had more material, but I just ran out of time.  That is one thing that I wouldn't have been able to do back home.  I love church because that is the one time we get to turn on our air conditioner!  It feels so great!  We started our third hour of church this last week too.  We taught a way good lesson on Sunday too.  We taught Harriet and the lesson went really good!  The only problem is that we can only meet her once a week.  We think that she could be a really great member because she is really smart.  Our other investigators are going pretty good.  Elijah and Micheal are progressing good.  Hopefully we can get a baptismal date for Elijah soon.  Also, Rita is coming along, but not as good as before so we will probably have to baptize her at the end of October instead of the beginning.  Other than that, life it going good.  It is still extremely hot and humid here and I'm still trying to get used to that!  Well, I hope everybody is doing well!  I love you all and miss you!  Have a great week!

 

Love Elder Kitchen

This is a letter to Elder Kitchen's Grandma Kitchen from a senior couple serving in his mission.

Hello Pat--

I thought that I would email you a picture that I took of Elder Kitchen.  He is a good elder and learning a lot.
I watch him do the sacrament and lead the singing (that means standing up in front and singing a little bit of the song to set the pitch and then leading.  I don't think that he did a lot of that at home) then speak spur of the moment at the baptism and teach and I know that he is being used by the Lord in ways that will bless his life.  The work is hard and often slower than we would want but it is coming.  The area where he is (Fiapre)  is a little behind the rest of Sunyani because they got started later so there is a lot to be done there.

The picture is of Elder Hernandez, Elder Kitchen's companion and Elder Kitchen and some of the kids in Fiapre.

I don't remember if I sent you this second picture or not, so I included it again.  It was taken at our district meeting.

Tell all hello for us.  We're doing well. 

Love, Marlene

Pictures

Elder Hernandez and Elder Kitchen with local children.

Elder Kitchen with dinner.

Local Scenery

Elder Kitchen

Elder Eldredge, Elder Kitchen, Elder Hernandez and Elder Akpan

 

Elder Kitchen

 

Elder Kitchen pounding Fufu for the first time.

September 19, 2011

Hello everybody!

I hope that everything is going well back home in the States.  Things are going pretty good over here in Ghana.  We just do the same thing everyday over here.  I wake up at 6:30 and then get ready for the day.  We taught 40 lessons this week so we were pretty dang busy.  One of our investigators told us this week that she prayed and heard a voice telling her that this is the true church so that was pretty sweet.  She wants to be baptized but she wants to wait until October 29th because she wants to try and get her Mom to come with her.  This sunday we introduced the members to the member missionary goal.  They came up with 15 as the number of people that they want to have baptized by the end of the year.  We only have like 30 people coming to church right now!  It sounds like it is going to be difficult but hopefully it ends up being good.  I'm pretty excited to see how it goes.  One of our investigators that we taught on Sunday was awesome.  She is like the first person that I feel like I could have a really good discussion with about the church because she understands things really well and she doesn't get confused very easily.  I really don't know what else happened this week, I'm sorry that this email is so lame.  I forgot to write down the things that I have done during the week and that makes it nearly impossible to remember what happened.  I'm in Kumasi right now for P-day.  I'm excited about going out because I have been told that Central Market is pretty crazy.  Hopefully all goes well.  Well, next week's email will be a lot better.  I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Love Elder Kitchen

September 12, 2011

Hey everybody!
           
So how are you all doing?  My week has been pretty good.  Let's see...what did I do this past week...So last P-day after I emailed all of you, I went and bought some Dr. Pepper and Coke because it was my 1 month mark!  It was so amazing, I love American stuff.  Then we went and taught one of our investigators named Emmanuel.  He is like a 14 or 15 year old kid and we teach his 2 sisters and their one friend.  It is going pretty sweet.  He comes to church a lot and he has never had the lessons.  He had just gotten a Book of Mormon from the old Elders and that was it.  The next day was zone conference and that was pretty awesome, except for the 2 and a 1/2 hour car ride that we were extremely squished in the backseat of the Bennett's truck!  We had four of us in the back.  We got down to Kumasi and I met up with four of my good MTC friends.  That was fun to see how they were doing.  The main message from President was that we need to make sure we are obedient to all of the rules.  After zone conference, we went and picked up our washer!  It's pretty sweet to have a washer because we don't have to wash our stuff by hand like a lot of the others have to do.  Then the ride back up was just as uncomfortable as the one coming down.  Later that day, Elder Hernandez and I gave one of our members a blessing because she had been having some really bad head pains and the next day she was fine!  That was pretty cool.  On Thursday it rained a bunch so we couldn't really go out because all of Ghana shuts down when it rains.  People won't let you teach them if it rains and taxi drivers even pull over and stop driving people around.  After it stopped raining, we went and ate at a chop bar and I had some rice balls and ground nut soup.  Not a huge fan of it, but I can eat it.  On Friday, we went to go and see a cultural dance thing at the cultural center and it turns out that they decided not to dance that day.  They just cancel things when they don't feel like doing it.  So that day was just another normal day.  On our way back to the apartment at night, there was a Pentacost church that were all praying in tongues.  Over here, lots of people think that praying in tongues is yelling and screaming gibberish as much as they can.  Satan has done a pretty good job here confusing the people here and distorting the doctrines of the Bible.  You could just tell there was something not good about that place.  Saturday, was a little crazy.  I had to go on emergency splits with Elder Akpan because we needed people to stay at the apartment while it was getting fixed.  I ended up teaching pretty much a whole lesson and that was pretty sweet.  Then on Sunday, I had to give a talk.  I prepared a fifteen minute talk in about an hour.  That is something I couldn't have done a few months ago.  All of the Elders wore their suits on sunday because we have air conditioning.  We all looked awesome!  We also gave three people callings.  It feels pretty sweet sitting up in front of everybody because I feel like the bishop!  It's pretty funny, but I would die if I actually was a bishop.  We had a record number of people come to church!  There were 32 people there this sunday.  So that was my week.  It wasn't too exciting but it was pretty sweet.  I hope all is going well at home.  I love you all and would love to keep hearing from you all!  Until next week!

Elder Kitchen

September 5, 2011

Hey everybody!

It was nice to get all of the emails.  All of the days over here are starting to blend together.  We teach lessons all day and that's about it.  I don't know if I've told you all this, but in Sunyani, the missionaries run the churches.  We are the smallest place because we are a unit.  Everybody else in Sunyani is a branch.  Yesterday I conducted sacrament meeting! So that was a crazy experience. We also confirmed three new members and gave two of them the Aaronic Priesthood so yesterday was a pretty busy day.  The people here are extremely nice, but that sometimes causes problems because they will just lie to your face because they don't want to make you mad.  They will call us and tell us to meet them at a specific time and then they won't be there.  They are all kind of flaky but they are very nice people.  So I'm trying to think of the eventful things that happened this week...I stepped in a huge nasty thing of mujd and possible human waste the first time I wore my sandals.  That was really gross because it smelled really bad and I wasn't able to clean it off until after our next two appointments. So it is still hot and very humid here and I guess it will only get hotter.  I'm having to get used to the smell too.  Africa is kind of a smelly place.  I'm getting used to the food.  I had a very good egg sandwich from some little street vendor.  I could get used to eating that all of the time.  I don't know if I said this last time but in my apartment, there is Elder Akpan from Nigeria, Elder Eldredge from Idaho, and my companion Elder Hernandez.  I'm pretty lucky because we all get along really well.  So I just remembered one thing that happened.  I almost got hit by a car!  The dang taxi was on the wrong side of the road and almost hit some other car so he had to swerve off of the road and he almost hit me.  I had no clue what was going on so I didn't even move out of the way.  Elder Hernandez was wondering how the car didn't hit me because it was so close.  I need to get better organized with my thoughts. I'll tell you about one of my investigators.  His name is Elijah and he is a really nice guy.  We just introduced the Book of Mormon to him and it was way awesome to see his face.  It just seemed liked something clicked for him and everything made sense to him.  I love those parts of the lessons that we teach.  We taught 24 lessons this past week and that was with half of the people failing their appointments.  Sorry this email is so bad.  I will make sure next weeks is a lot better.  I love you all and keep sending me emails because I love them.  Sorry if I don't respond sometimes.  I get a little short on time here at the cafe.  I love you all and can't wait to here from you next week!

Love, Elder Kitchen  

This is a letter sent to Elder Kitchen's Grandma from a senior couple that live by her and are serving in his mission.

Dear Pat—

What a fun surprise it was to hear that the new elder assigned to Sunyani was Elder Kitchen!  Most of the transfers take place on Wednesday but because it is so far to get here we pick new elders up on Thursday.  Elder Kitchen came with another experienced elder who was transferred from Cape Coast to sunyani with him.  We so miss the elders that leave Sunyani because we are somehow like a family here, but it sweetened the loss to have Elder Kitchen come. 

We picked him up this morning at the bus station after his bus trip to Sunyani from Kumasi.  He seemed to be handling things well.  At least he wasn’t crying and seemed to able to go with the flow.  It is quite a cultural shock for a little while.  That’s a lie it is a monumental cultural shock, but it doesn’t seem to take long for the elders to feel right at home.  We took him and his companion shopping to buy a few things to eat.  He had no idea what he should get but we all helped him out.  In a few days he will know more what he really wants to eat and buy.   

We then bought them some lunch and took them to their apartment.  Which you will remember is part church. 

We like to think, and we are quite sure that it is only the elders that are the cream of the crop that are assigned to Sunyani because of the things that they are asked to do, and how far away they are from the mission home.  In three days he will be in church and will probably lead the singing, do the sacrament, speak in church or teach the Sunday school lesson if not more.  Plus, since the church is so new there are really no referrals from members which the missionaries in the others areas have so many of, so here the elders just walk the area and contact or talk to the people they meet and see if they can find people interested in hearing the gospel message.  It is truly a missions mission. 

We are grateful that he is here.  We need him in the Fiapre area of Sunyani. 

He made it safely.  The sunyani family will take good care of him. 

Love, Marlene

Sister Shulz, Elder Kitchen, President Shulz

Elder Kitchen with all the new missionaries at the Mission Home
before leaving for their first assignment.

We hope you will enjoy this picture of your missionary arriving at the Mission Home.  We are so please to have Elder Kitchen in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission.  We appreciate your efforts in preparing him for this mission.

His first assignment will be with Elder Hernandez in the Sunyani Zone.  We are grateful for his willingness to dedicate this time to the Lord and know he will come to love his service here.  We have taught him that he is literally the representative of the Savior to the people in his area.  We have promised him that as he strives to do what the Savior would do each day, he will steadily become more like the Master whom he is serving.

Missionaries love to hear from those at home.  Letters are a valuable aid in helping them to be happy and do their best.  Therefore, we encourage you to write often.  

Thank you for sharing your son with us.  We consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to serve with him and will delight to see him progress spiritually as he learns to love and serve our Heavenly Father's children here in Ghana.

Sincerely,

President Shulz
Ghana Cape Cost Mission

August 25, 2011

Hey everybody! Wo ho te sen? (How are you?)

So, a lot has happened since the last email.  I don't really know where to begin.  Last wednesday, I left the MTC for the mission field.  I was pretty dang excited to get out of the infernal building called the MTC.  Just kidding, it wasn't that bad...I guess.  So we drove for a long time and got to the Mission home in Cape Coast.  The drive was about three hours long or so.  When I got to the Mission home, there was a little surprise waiting for me.  The package was already there! Thank you so much for all of the food.  It has been so awesome.  I just finished the corn nuts today and I'm very sad about that.  I still haven't eaten the beef jerky though!  One thing about the packages though, from now on it would probably be best to send it in one of those flat rate envelopes because there is no duty on it.  I think normally when the people have to pay the duty to pick it up, it will come out of my monthly subsistence and that's no bueno.  Luckily no money got taken out and the package was awesome!  I would absolutely love a lot more packages...like tomorrowish.  Ha ha.  So after I got my package, we figured out where we were all going.  I found out that I was going to Sunyani, which was about a seven hour drive from the mission home!  All of us MT's said goodbye to each other which was kinda sad but I was so happy to be figuring out where I was going.  I also found out who my companion was.  His name is Elder Hernandez from West Jordan.  According to President Shulz, he is one of the best Elder's out here and I would probably agree even though I don't know very many.  He is a way cool guy and very funny.  Also, his family owns a place called Tony's Cheesesteaks out in West Jordan, so Dad and anybody else who would like, I am giving you homework and the homework is to go there and try it for me because it sounds really good! I have had a lot of fun since I have gotten here.  The trip up was pretty long.  I stayed the night in Kumasi at the Bantama apartment.  We will just say that it was a very interesting experience.  Ha ha it was pretty funny though.  Mom, I met Elder Lunt there but I couldn't remember where the camera was so I didn't give it to him.  I found it when I was unpacking everything at my apartment so I'm giving it to him next week at Zone Conference.  So after I stayed in Kumasi, they put me and Elder Eldredge on bus up to Sunyani.  I don't know if Grandma Kitchen knows this but that is where the Bennett's are so I've gotten to know them a little bit.  I'm actually in a little area called Fiapre but it is right next to Sunyani.  I got to the apartment and found out that I am pretty lucky and have a pretty sweet apartment.  Sunyani hasn't been open for very long so there are not very many members yet so we actually have church at our apartment.  There is just a big room where we meet in.  There aren't even enough people yet to make a branch so it is still a unit.  We are trying to make it a branch pretty soon.  So in my apartment there is me, Elder Hernandez, Elder Eldredge from Shelly, Idaho, and Elder Akpan from Nigeria.  It has been pretty fun.  So proselyting has been pretty fun.  Our days are usually pretty full with lessons.  We schedule about one per hour or so.  I'm getting better at helping in the lessons and stuff but I'm still getting used to it.  So I keep telling everybody that I want more pictures, but nobody will send me any.  I really want more pictures of everybody so in the next email, I want pictures, and also in the next package, I would like some more pictures...and more food ;).  So on one of the days me and Elder Hernandez were out and it had been raining.  There was a huge pothole full of water and mud.  Right as we walked by it, a freakin' huge truck drove right through it and splashed mud all over me!  It was pretty hilarious.  I got a couple of pictures but I don't think they do it any justice.  Also, I had fufu for the very first time yesterday!  It doesn't taste bad but you really have to get used to having to swallow it.  It is really weird.  I have had to become a lot less picky.  Guess what I ate today everybody...done guessing?  Yeah, I just ate a chicken bone.  Ha ha I normally hate even having chicken when it's one that has a bone, but I ate the freakin' bone!  They all do that around here so I decided to try in and it isn't too bad.  I'm feeling a lot better since I have been out in the field but I'm really going to have to get used to everything.  This last week has been a blur so I really don't know if I missed anything.  If anybody has more questions just let me know.  My p-days are on mondays so I'll be emailing every week at this time.  It was way awesome to get everybody's emails!  Mi dasi every body!  I love you all so much!

Elder Kitchen



Language training:

Mi dasi means "thank you"
Mi dasi bae bri  means "thank you very much"
Akwaaba is a greeting such as "welcome"
Ye do mo paa  means "we love you"
Me do mo paa means "I love you"
 Wehutisein (sp?) means "how are you?"
 Me hoy ye  means "I am fine"
 Afishyapa (sp?) means Merry Christmas!


Hi Mom!
That blog is pretty cool!  They weren't really teaching me any languages in the MTC but I've learned a little bit of stuff in Twi. When you say "Twi", it sounds more like you are saying "tree."  It's kinda weird.  I hope school is going good.  How often do you have to go up there?  My p-day's are on mondays so that is when I will be writing every week.  That would be great if Meg and Will would write me an email.  Will would absolutely love it here!  There are hundreds of lizards running around.  There are also a bunch of frogs, dogs, and chickens everywhere.  I always think of Will when we are walking around.  He would love it here.  Also, Meg would love it because they all have hair extensions.  It is pretty funny because you walk around and there are hair salons everywhere and they all of fake hair extensions in the windows.  Also, I already told everybody but the best way to send stuff is those flat rate envelopes.  They don't open those or charge a duty on them.  Anything in a box they will open are you have to pay to get it.  Everybody here speaks Twi, I forgot to put this in the big email but all of the little African kids call us Oburoni's which means white person.  It's pretty funny.  Elder Hernandez taught me to call them bibanies because that means black person.  It's like a game to all of them.  It is cool, I've already gotten people just yelling, "Elder Kitchen!" as I walk by.  It's pretty funny.  So I hope everything is going good!  I love you mom and love to get emails from you! Thanks!

Love, Elder Kitchen 

August 21, 2011

Hey everybody!

I hope everything is going good.  Thanks for all of the emails! You should make sure to do that all of the time!  Things have been going pretty good.  I'm really excited to leave the MTC pretty soon.  I'm starting to get used to the food, but it still isn't that great.  I've already made a plan for when I get home.  If I get home at night, then we are going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then the next morning Dad is going to make biscuits and gravy and then for lunch I'm getting fast food.  Then for dinner, Mom will make rump roast and mashed potatoes and gravy with lemon ice cream.  Sound good everybody?...because it sounds freakin' good to me!!! So yesterday we went out for two hours and did some street contacting! It was pretty weird and I was pretty nervous.  We talked to about four people and they seemed interested but who knows if they really were.  It was soooo hot yesterday and there were no clouds! I'm really going to have to get used to that.  Also, we did a service project yesterday morning and that was nice because we didn't have to have classes in the morning.  We went to the Community Center and just cleaned up all of the garabage and stuff.  It was pretty stinky out there because the sewage is really close.  Everything else is going good.  I don't really have too much to talk about because we don't do anything except go to classes and stuff.  I'll have a lot more to talk about next time because I'll be in some crazy Ghana city and stuff.  Tell everybody hello for me.  Everybody keep writing!!! Ma fii wo papa! (I miss you very much!) I love you guys!

Elder Kitchen

p.s. just forward this to anybody who I didn't send it to. Oh and Elder Adair said his mom has talked to you mom! That's awesome!

Pictures

Just arrived in Ghana on the way to the MTC in Accra

From L to R: Elder Larsen, Elder Willyerd, Elder Kitchen, Elder Martin,
Elder Hunt, Elder Adair, Elder Nelson in front of the Temple.

Sam and Elder Willyerd

Sam pointing to Cape Coast Africa.

P-day

P-day

Sam's companion Elder Orobator.

Sam with his new haircut.

This is Elder Geico.

Pineapple in the top right corner, some type of meat and fufu on the plate.