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.

August 16, 2011

Akwaaba! (Welcome)

The MTC is pretty boring so far.  I just got my haircut today and it looks terrible.  It is really short because that is the only thing that they can do.  We went to the temple today and that was really fun because we did something other than just going to classes.  I'm getting so bored being couped up here.  All of the days have just blended together.  I don't really have anything to tell you about.  I'm just going to classes everyday and eating really crappy food.  Camping sounds like it would have been really fun! I wish I could have been there.  I don't really know about baby powder or anything because I haven't really been outside much.  We just sit inside pretty much all day.  We did a service project yesterday and we washed the MTC president's car.  I'm learning a lot but I really just want to get out of the MTC.  I'm leaving to Cape Coast next Wednesday so I'm pretty excited.  I've made some pretty good friends out here.  I usually hang around Elder Willyerd, Elder Larsen, Elder Adair, Elder Nelson, and Elder Hunt.  We are all from America so we don't have that weird culture difference.  The African elders are starting to go to sleep on time because they are getting in trouble, but today some of them woke up at like 4:30! I was ready to kill them.  I'm really hoping that I just get some companions that don't wake up too early.  I wish there was more to tell you but there really isn't.  I don't know if there will be any other time while I'm in the MTC that I will be able to email so the next time that you will maybe here from me might be when I am out in Cape Coast or something.  The main things that I really need is just food.  You might just want to send that stuff to my mission address instead of my MTC address.  Hopefully I'll have more stories to tell on my next email.  Tell people to write me!!! I love you all.

August 12, 2011

Hey! I have sent a letter to you but I do not think that it is there yet.  They just got their computer lab up and running.  Everything went really well on my way to Ghana.  I made it to Atlanta and met up with about 8 other missionaries.  It has been a pretty crazy week.  The food has not been very good and I'm really having to get used to it.  We have classes pretty much everyday and it gets really long and boring.  My companion is Elder Orobator from Nigeria.   I'm having to get used to these keyboards, they are really weird.  Whenever you send packages, it would be great if you just sent some beef jerky and food like that.  Also I would like some more pictures of everyone and stuff.   I also need a plug adapter so that I can charge my camera.  I think you can get them from Walmart and you can just make sure it works for Ghana.  This week has felt like a really long week.  I can't really remember what has happened.  The letters I sent will have more information about the first days and stuff.  Yesterday we went to the temple and it was really fun.  It was a really small temple though.  There are 56 missionaries in the MTC with us I think  and well over half of them speak only french.  This isn't p-day so I don't have too much more time to write, but I really just wanted to make sure that you knew that I was here and safe.  If you could forward this to everybody and stuff.  I need peoples emails so that I can write them all down.  My next p-day is on Tuesday so that is when I will write next.  I hope everything is going really well.  I love all of you back home and miss you a lot.  Send me a letter before Tuesday so that I can have something else to write to you guys.

Love you all so much, Elder Kitchen


August 7, 2011

Dear Mom,

I hope you know that I made it safe. It’s Sunday today. They only let us write letters during our resting time on Sundays. I made it safely to Ghana after an extremely long plane ride. It felt like forever. I slept on the plane for about half of the time. We had a two hour delay in Atlanta so we were pretty late to the MTC. I traveled from Atlanta with 7 other missionaries from the U.S. They are all a lot of fun and we are all hanging out here at the MTC together. We have 57 missionaries here and there are 9 white guys, but one guy is from France. About 2/3 of the missionaries speak French and the rest speak English. The Hymns are fun because we are all either singing in French or English. The food is pretty gross but I’m trying to eat it. They give you so much food and I never eat the whole thing. The only thing that I actually like is the pineapple! Crazy, huh? It tastes really good. More like the candy pineapple. We have mainly just done a lot of classes and stuff. I’m getting pretty bored of the MTC. I just want to go out and start teaching. My companion is a guy named Elder Orobato from Nigeria. He is a really nice guy. He irons my shirts and shines my shoes for me. I told him not too, but he was really persistent so I didn’t complain. I need to take him everywhere on my mission with me! I room with my companion, Elder Adair from Arizona and Elder Ighama from Nigeria. The Africans decided that we should go to sleep at 12:00 and wake up at 5:00! All of us Americans keep yelling at them to go to sleep. It’s pretty funny. So pretty much I’m pretty tired the whole time. It’s really humid but not too hot right now. They have got really nice air conditioners in the classrooms so it is nice. Well, I hope there isn’t anything else I was going to say. I hope to hear from you soon! Tell everybody hello for me.

Love Elder Kitchen

P.S. I forgot to say that I leave the MTC on the 24th.