Hey everybody!
I'm running very short on time so I just thought I
would at least read the emails and send something small. Thanks for
all of the Merry Christmas wishes. I still can't believe it is
Christmas. This week has been fun and the activity on Friday was great.
We had a fun program and then we watched Forever Strong again. I'm
very excited to call home tomorrow and talk to you all! I'll make sure
to call at the times that you told me! I love you guys and have a great
Christmas Eve! I'll talk to you all tomorrow!
Love Elder Kitchen
Thursday, December 27, 2012
December 17, 2012
Hey again family!
So I'm going to start today with a funny thing that happened on Sunday. After we went to Kenkuase to visit there, we were leaving and we were lucky enough to have a taxi waiting by the trail to take us back to Nuamakrom so we wouldn't have to walk the four miles back. Then I got in and noticed how ghetto and crappy the taxi was. It was by far the worst one I've seen in Ghana...and that is saying something. The windshield was completely cracked all over, it was covered with dust inside and the doors didn't really even close. We jumped on in and then a bunch of other people piled in with us. We ended up having four people in the backseat (all adults), and then the crazy part is that we had six people in the front! and there were only two seats. There were two adults and two kids in the passenger side and two people in the driver seat. The way my companion and I put it was that it was a jungle car. The road is so crappy and we kept smashing the bottom of the car on the ground, and then the front right wheel got all jacked up and was rubbing up against the wheel well the rest of the way. The car ended up dying right as it got to our destination. It was pretty funny.
So I'm really looking forward to Christmas next week. I can't believe it is already time to call home. I'm excited to talk to you all soon. This week I went to Foso again for a meeting with the stake presidency and I again had to sleep over there. It's fun over there but it makes me so tired the next day. I never sleep on time when I'm over there. The meeting was good and the stake presidency is happy with the work that we are doing. We are still preparing about two people or so to be baptized at the end of this month so I'm hoping that everything goes through with that. The baptism would be after Christmas though. We played soccer today and I am so tired because we had to wake up at 5:00 am yesterday and today and also the game drained all of my energy. I'm not excited to travel back up to Praso on that crappy tro tro. I've become a travel machine since I have come to Praso. Traveling here isn't fun at all either. It's the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I just can't wait to drive a car and have the A/C blowing in my face! That's when riding in a car is awesome. Well I guess we'll talk more next week. I'll email you next Monday...but if I don't, it's because the power was out or something and I'll just call home the next day! Thanks everybody...I love you all.
Love Elder Kitchen
So I'm going to start today with a funny thing that happened on Sunday. After we went to Kenkuase to visit there, we were leaving and we were lucky enough to have a taxi waiting by the trail to take us back to Nuamakrom so we wouldn't have to walk the four miles back. Then I got in and noticed how ghetto and crappy the taxi was. It was by far the worst one I've seen in Ghana...and that is saying something. The windshield was completely cracked all over, it was covered with dust inside and the doors didn't really even close. We jumped on in and then a bunch of other people piled in with us. We ended up having four people in the backseat (all adults), and then the crazy part is that we had six people in the front! and there were only two seats. There were two adults and two kids in the passenger side and two people in the driver seat. The way my companion and I put it was that it was a jungle car. The road is so crappy and we kept smashing the bottom of the car on the ground, and then the front right wheel got all jacked up and was rubbing up against the wheel well the rest of the way. The car ended up dying right as it got to our destination. It was pretty funny.
So I'm really looking forward to Christmas next week. I can't believe it is already time to call home. I'm excited to talk to you all soon. This week I went to Foso again for a meeting with the stake presidency and I again had to sleep over there. It's fun over there but it makes me so tired the next day. I never sleep on time when I'm over there. The meeting was good and the stake presidency is happy with the work that we are doing. We are still preparing about two people or so to be baptized at the end of this month so I'm hoping that everything goes through with that. The baptism would be after Christmas though. We played soccer today and I am so tired because we had to wake up at 5:00 am yesterday and today and also the game drained all of my energy. I'm not excited to travel back up to Praso on that crappy tro tro. I've become a travel machine since I have come to Praso. Traveling here isn't fun at all either. It's the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I just can't wait to drive a car and have the A/C blowing in my face! That's when riding in a car is awesome. Well I guess we'll talk more next week. I'll email you next Monday...but if I don't, it's because the power was out or something and I'll just call home the next day! Thanks everybody...I love you all.
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
December 11, 2012
Hey everybody!
Another week has come and gone and now it's just two weeks until Christmas! I'm so excited to talk to all of you guys. So this week was actually pretty crazy because it was the presidential elections here so everybody was gone or only thinking about the election. Ghanaians are funny because they just like to party and dance on any occasion and the elections gives them that reason to party. I'm pretty sure that about 75% of the people that voted didn't even know what that candidate was going to do for them. When they vote, because they don't do it electronically they have to just count them by hand which leaves lots of room for corruption and error and it also takes a lot of time. They voted on Friday the seventh and didn't get the results until Sunday late in the evening. Then people were all running around outside dancing, kissing the ground, and just going crazy. Luckily Ghana is very peaceful so they don't have problems when it comes to elections. I didn't feel threatened in any way and that was cool. We have a few more people here in Praso that we are hoping to have baptized by the end of the month but it will all depend on how this week goes. I don't have too much time, as usual, I'm freaking busy. Haha. Thanks for all you guys do and have a great week! I'll talk to you all next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Another week has come and gone and now it's just two weeks until Christmas! I'm so excited to talk to all of you guys. So this week was actually pretty crazy because it was the presidential elections here so everybody was gone or only thinking about the election. Ghanaians are funny because they just like to party and dance on any occasion and the elections gives them that reason to party. I'm pretty sure that about 75% of the people that voted didn't even know what that candidate was going to do for them. When they vote, because they don't do it electronically they have to just count them by hand which leaves lots of room for corruption and error and it also takes a lot of time. They voted on Friday the seventh and didn't get the results until Sunday late in the evening. Then people were all running around outside dancing, kissing the ground, and just going crazy. Luckily Ghana is very peaceful so they don't have problems when it comes to elections. I didn't feel threatened in any way and that was cool. We have a few more people here in Praso that we are hoping to have baptized by the end of the month but it will all depend on how this week goes. I don't have too much time, as usual, I'm freaking busy. Haha. Thanks for all you guys do and have a great week! I'll talk to you all next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, December 3, 2012
December 3, 2012
Hey...it's me again.
What's up everybody! Thanks for the emails this week. I swear if every week keeps going this fast then I'll be old and dying before I know it. It was really nice to have all of those baptisms go because now I feel a lot less busy. I guess we were still busy this week though because we went on splits for three days in a row with different companionships in our zone. The first one I went out to be in an area called Nyenasi. That place is a complete village. It's clear out in the bush and there are just two missionaries there. I went with Elder Derry who I was in the MTC with and went around there. One thing that I am going to miss a lot is eating fresh coconuts. The little kids just climb up into palm tree and get them down and then they cut them open. I love drinking that water that is inside. They just taste so good! The next day I was in my own area with a new missionary from Zimbabwe and it was a good day. We starting teaching one woman that we met who has been taught by missionaries a long time ago. Then the next day I was with Elder Glider in the other area in Praso. We saw and killed a snake this week when we were at Nyenasi. I hate snakes. I know that Will would just love it here! There are so many different animals. I finally tried the thing called grasscutter this week and it was actually really good. It tasted like chicken, but the only problem is that is looks like a big rat. Sunday we had two investigators come to church. We don't have as big of numbers anymore because of the last baptism. It's alright though because we will just go find more people! We have been teaching a Muslim girl which has been cool. She's very nice and accepting to us. It would be pretty cool to baptize a Muslim before I finished my mission. I can't believe it is already December now. Less than one month and it will be 2013! I thought that year would never come! :) Well, I'll talk to you all next week! Have a great week everybody!
Elder Kitchen
What's up everybody! Thanks for the emails this week. I swear if every week keeps going this fast then I'll be old and dying before I know it. It was really nice to have all of those baptisms go because now I feel a lot less busy. I guess we were still busy this week though because we went on splits for three days in a row with different companionships in our zone. The first one I went out to be in an area called Nyenasi. That place is a complete village. It's clear out in the bush and there are just two missionaries there. I went with Elder Derry who I was in the MTC with and went around there. One thing that I am going to miss a lot is eating fresh coconuts. The little kids just climb up into palm tree and get them down and then they cut them open. I love drinking that water that is inside. They just taste so good! The next day I was in my own area with a new missionary from Zimbabwe and it was a good day. We starting teaching one woman that we met who has been taught by missionaries a long time ago. Then the next day I was with Elder Glider in the other area in Praso. We saw and killed a snake this week when we were at Nyenasi. I hate snakes. I know that Will would just love it here! There are so many different animals. I finally tried the thing called grasscutter this week and it was actually really good. It tasted like chicken, but the only problem is that is looks like a big rat. Sunday we had two investigators come to church. We don't have as big of numbers anymore because of the last baptism. It's alright though because we will just go find more people! We have been teaching a Muslim girl which has been cool. She's very nice and accepting to us. It would be pretty cool to baptize a Muslim before I finished my mission. I can't believe it is already December now. Less than one month and it will be 2013! I thought that year would never come! :) Well, I'll talk to you all next week! Have a great week everybody!
Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012
Hey everybody!
Wow, I just had such a busy week...I feel like I've been saying that ever since that I came to Praso. On Thanksgiving we weren't able to celebrate anything because we had to go to a meeting in Assin Foso with the Stake Presidency. The meeting went well and the missionary work is going well there. The Assin Foso stake had a total of 36 baptisms this last weekend so it was a pretty big weekend. Our zone was having a big baptism on Saturday and we didn't have enough clothes so we had to borrow some from the Assin Foso zone leaders. Getting all of the interviews and stuff done this week with the help of the district leader was a miracle. Saturday was the big day of the baptism. We were able to get all of the candidates to the chapel in a village called Nuamakrom except for the ones from Kenkuase. We had to end of taking a tro tro to Kenkuase and we found out that the seven people had been waiting there for two hours but the person who was supposed to come with a tro tro never came and we couldn't find him. The problem with that is also that there is no network in those places so we can't make calls. We got them to the church and got them ready and everything went perfect after that. Our zone had a total of 25 baptisms and we had a total of 13 for my companionship. We also got transfer news that night and we found out that my companion and I are staying together for the next six weeks so I'm happy about that. Monday we had our Thanksgiving dinner and it was so good. The whole day that power was out so that is why we couldn't email. Right as we were sitting down to eat at 6:00, the power came back so we were really happy. I can't believe it is almost December. Before I know it I'll be calling home! Well, have a great week, I have to go!
Love Elder Kitchen
Wow, I just had such a busy week...I feel like I've been saying that ever since that I came to Praso. On Thanksgiving we weren't able to celebrate anything because we had to go to a meeting in Assin Foso with the Stake Presidency. The meeting went well and the missionary work is going well there. The Assin Foso stake had a total of 36 baptisms this last weekend so it was a pretty big weekend. Our zone was having a big baptism on Saturday and we didn't have enough clothes so we had to borrow some from the Assin Foso zone leaders. Getting all of the interviews and stuff done this week with the help of the district leader was a miracle. Saturday was the big day of the baptism. We were able to get all of the candidates to the chapel in a village called Nuamakrom except for the ones from Kenkuase. We had to end of taking a tro tro to Kenkuase and we found out that the seven people had been waiting there for two hours but the person who was supposed to come with a tro tro never came and we couldn't find him. The problem with that is also that there is no network in those places so we can't make calls. We got them to the church and got them ready and everything went perfect after that. Our zone had a total of 25 baptisms and we had a total of 13 for my companionship. We also got transfer news that night and we found out that my companion and I are staying together for the next six weeks so I'm happy about that. Monday we had our Thanksgiving dinner and it was so good. The whole day that power was out so that is why we couldn't email. Right as we were sitting down to eat at 6:00, the power came back so we were really happy. I can't believe it is almost December. Before I know it I'll be calling home! Well, have a great week, I have to go!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, November 19, 2012
November 19, 2012
Hello again from Ghana!
So for this last week, it seems like everything was just one long day and it's all blended together. I'm trying hard to think of what's happened but I just can't remember. Oh yeah, so on Friday we went out to Kenkuase again. It feels like it was like a month ago that we did that. We hitched a ride with a guy going there so luckily we didn't have to walk so far. We got there and one of the members showed us around everywhere. He took us to some investigators and members that live there. We honestly went into the jungle to go and visit people. We walked 40 in one direction while we were walking through Cocoa tree farms and then we randomly showed up at a place where there were a few mud huts and we taught a part member family there. I tried cocoa beans and they are extremely gross. I can't believe something as great as chocolate can originate from something so bitter and gross. If I smell drying cocoa beans again I think that I'll throw up. I felt like I was going to die out cause it was so hot but it ended up being cool. That place is so cool...there's no phone reception or electricity and it is on the border of the Kakum national forest but I love it there. I just wish it wasn't so far away. Sunday we had stake conference so we all went to Assin Foso to where the stake center is and watched a broadcast from Salt Lake that was for all of Africa. They just recorded it and had all of the Stakes and Districts show it on this last Sunday. The meeting was great and it was great to hear the prophet speak since it's been quite a while since I have done that. We even got to ride to the conference in an air conditioned bus! Ghana is too dang hot...I'm sweating through my clothes as we speak! Haha. Today for P-day we went to the castle in Elmina which is next to Cape Coast. It is the largest slave castle in all of West Africa. It was sad to see the conditions that they had to pass through during those times. It was not a good time in history at all. This week is going to be extremely hectic with interviews and stuff for the whole zone...I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'll let all of you know how everything went next week. Well, thanks for everything and have a wonderful week everybody!
Elder Kitchen
So for this last week, it seems like everything was just one long day and it's all blended together. I'm trying hard to think of what's happened but I just can't remember. Oh yeah, so on Friday we went out to Kenkuase again. It feels like it was like a month ago that we did that. We hitched a ride with a guy going there so luckily we didn't have to walk so far. We got there and one of the members showed us around everywhere. He took us to some investigators and members that live there. We honestly went into the jungle to go and visit people. We walked 40 in one direction while we were walking through Cocoa tree farms and then we randomly showed up at a place where there were a few mud huts and we taught a part member family there. I tried cocoa beans and they are extremely gross. I can't believe something as great as chocolate can originate from something so bitter and gross. If I smell drying cocoa beans again I think that I'll throw up. I felt like I was going to die out cause it was so hot but it ended up being cool. That place is so cool...there's no phone reception or electricity and it is on the border of the Kakum national forest but I love it there. I just wish it wasn't so far away. Sunday we had stake conference so we all went to Assin Foso to where the stake center is and watched a broadcast from Salt Lake that was for all of Africa. They just recorded it and had all of the Stakes and Districts show it on this last Sunday. The meeting was great and it was great to hear the prophet speak since it's been quite a while since I have done that. We even got to ride to the conference in an air conditioned bus! Ghana is too dang hot...I'm sweating through my clothes as we speak! Haha. Today for P-day we went to the castle in Elmina which is next to Cape Coast. It is the largest slave castle in all of West Africa. It was sad to see the conditions that they had to pass through during those times. It was not a good time in history at all. This week is going to be extremely hectic with interviews and stuff for the whole zone...I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'll let all of you know how everything went next week. Well, thanks for everything and have a wonderful week everybody!
Elder Kitchen
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| Mission Tour Sitati 2012 |
Monday, November 12, 2012
November 12, 2012
What's up everybody!
So life's cool here...that's about it. haha. I can't even think about what happened this week. I feel like I'm just too busy to keep everything straight. Oh yeah, so both on Tuesday and Wednesday my companion and I went to Cape Coast to do some things. The time that we went on Wednesday was for zone leader council at the mission home. All of the zone leaders from the mission came and we met and reported on how our zones are doing and then we received some instruction from President and the APs. There wasn't anything big that came out of the meeting but it was really good. We had a huge plate of food after that was delicious. It's been about 15 months since I had eaten there so I feel like it was about time. We have some investigators in Praso that we are still trying to prepare to be baptized on the 24th of this month. It seemed far away when we started planning it but it's just getting closer and closer now. We went clear out to Kenkuase again on Sunday. It's that village that is in the middle of nowhere. The meeting was good. It's funny because they treat the missionaries as if it's general authorities coming. They get up and come over to us to ask if they can do certain things or if we can help them. They are really sweet people. The only part that I don't like about that place is the killer walk. On the way back it started to pour so we had to run and find cover. The problem was that the cover that we found was not really covering us. We were practically sitting on the ground and the rain was getting us wet. It finally stopped so we had to get back to Praso when we were drenched. I just wish that taxis or tro tro's would go out there when we wanted to go there! Today we came down to Cape to do a district activity at one of the chapel's here. We've just been playing different games and having fun all morning. So as I said before...life's cool here! Thanks for everything family! Have a great week!
Elder Kitchen
So life's cool here...that's about it. haha. I can't even think about what happened this week. I feel like I'm just too busy to keep everything straight. Oh yeah, so both on Tuesday and Wednesday my companion and I went to Cape Coast to do some things. The time that we went on Wednesday was for zone leader council at the mission home. All of the zone leaders from the mission came and we met and reported on how our zones are doing and then we received some instruction from President and the APs. There wasn't anything big that came out of the meeting but it was really good. We had a huge plate of food after that was delicious. It's been about 15 months since I had eaten there so I feel like it was about time. We have some investigators in Praso that we are still trying to prepare to be baptized on the 24th of this month. It seemed far away when we started planning it but it's just getting closer and closer now. We went clear out to Kenkuase again on Sunday. It's that village that is in the middle of nowhere. The meeting was good. It's funny because they treat the missionaries as if it's general authorities coming. They get up and come over to us to ask if they can do certain things or if we can help them. They are really sweet people. The only part that I don't like about that place is the killer walk. On the way back it started to pour so we had to run and find cover. The problem was that the cover that we found was not really covering us. We were practically sitting on the ground and the rain was getting us wet. It finally stopped so we had to get back to Praso when we were drenched. I just wish that taxis or tro tro's would go out there when we wanted to go there! Today we came down to Cape to do a district activity at one of the chapel's here. We've just been playing different games and having fun all morning. So as I said before...life's cool here! Thanks for everything family! Have a great week!
Elder Kitchen
Monday, November 5, 2012
Novemeber 5, 2012
What's up everybody!
This week was probably one of the most tiring weeks ever. One Wednesday night, we went out on splits with some Elders in a village called Nyenasi and I had to sleep on the floor which was just cement so that was extremely uncomfortable. Then we were with them for half of the day on Thursday before we came back to Praso just to go and get another tro tro to go to Assin Foso to have a meeting witht the stake presidency and the Foso zone leaders to talk about the missionary work that is happening in the Assin Foso stake. The ride there is just about 39 km but it is on a terrible dirt road and the tro tro is just bad. My shirt was completely brown by the time that we got there and I was so sweaty and gross. We had to sleep over in Foso after the meeting and then in the morning we went back to Praso on another crappy tro tro where I had a huge goat sitting under the seat by me. It kept making noise the whole time that we were going. When we got back we went and showered and got ready and then I went out with one of the Elders in another village called Hemang and I was with him for the rest of the day. I was happy that I was at least able to sleep in my bed that night. The next morning we went on splits with the Elders in my apartment and I went with Elder Cavaness. He's a great guy. He just came out, but he is really trying to work hard. So then Sunday my companion decided to go out to a village that is really far away where we have a branch but there a no missionaries there. We went because the branch president said that he has some people for us to teach. We took that crappy dirt road to a small village called Nuamakrom and then we had to walk four miles down a small path that we just in the African bush. There is no electricity or phone service in that place and they worship in a small school house that is falling apart. It was really cool to be there for church though. The walk back was not fun because we had to walk the four miles back and we were also carrying a big bag of oranges and bananas that the people gave us. I slept extremely well last night. It was just a long but successful week. Back at Praso ward some of our investigators that we are teaching came to church so we were happy about that. Life is cool here, but busy. Thanks for everybody who sent me the emails…it was great to hear from you!
Love Elder Kitchen
This week was probably one of the most tiring weeks ever. One Wednesday night, we went out on splits with some Elders in a village called Nyenasi and I had to sleep on the floor which was just cement so that was extremely uncomfortable. Then we were with them for half of the day on Thursday before we came back to Praso just to go and get another tro tro to go to Assin Foso to have a meeting witht the stake presidency and the Foso zone leaders to talk about the missionary work that is happening in the Assin Foso stake. The ride there is just about 39 km but it is on a terrible dirt road and the tro tro is just bad. My shirt was completely brown by the time that we got there and I was so sweaty and gross. We had to sleep over in Foso after the meeting and then in the morning we went back to Praso on another crappy tro tro where I had a huge goat sitting under the seat by me. It kept making noise the whole time that we were going. When we got back we went and showered and got ready and then I went out with one of the Elders in another village called Hemang and I was with him for the rest of the day. I was happy that I was at least able to sleep in my bed that night. The next morning we went on splits with the Elders in my apartment and I went with Elder Cavaness. He's a great guy. He just came out, but he is really trying to work hard. So then Sunday my companion decided to go out to a village that is really far away where we have a branch but there a no missionaries there. We went because the branch president said that he has some people for us to teach. We took that crappy dirt road to a small village called Nuamakrom and then we had to walk four miles down a small path that we just in the African bush. There is no electricity or phone service in that place and they worship in a small school house that is falling apart. It was really cool to be there for church though. The walk back was not fun because we had to walk the four miles back and we were also carrying a big bag of oranges and bananas that the people gave us. I slept extremely well last night. It was just a long but successful week. Back at Praso ward some of our investigators that we are teaching came to church so we were happy about that. Life is cool here, but busy. Thanks for everybody who sent me the emails…it was great to hear from you!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, October 29, 2012
October 29, 2012
Hello family!!!
So this week was pretty insane now that I look back on it. I guess I’ll just start from the beginning….So on Tuesday, I ate dog! I felt so bad when I was eating it but it honestly wasn’t too bad. I don’t think that I am going to do it quite often though because I feel too bad when I eat it. I even ate part of the heart and part of the lung! I couldn’t watch them kill it because it was too sad for me. I guess they eat it in the Northern part of Ghana and somebody in our zone is from that part so he got one and prepared it so that we could eat it. So that was an interesting experience…I guess all that’s left is cat. Haha. Wednesday morning the AP’s came up to be on splits with us and the Elders in our zone in an area called Hemang. We went to drop off one of the Assistants at the apartment but we ended up getting the van stuck clear down in the bush on a bad road and while it was raining so we were practically stuck in a swamp. It took us over an hour to get out of there and it really was a miracle that we got out. Some people were there helping us push the van around. We took pictures but I got mud sprayed all over my pants and my shirt so I was covered in mud. I had to run through a huge muddy puddle that went up to my shins so my shoes got mud and sand all inside of them. It was a crazy experience. We weren’t able to go out that day because of the lack of clean shirts and pants as well as dry shoes. So my companion and the AP’s just hung around the rest of the day. I have a funny picture but I can’t send pictures from this place today. I’m having a hard enough time just sending emails. So the rest of the week was pretty normal but then on Saturday we went for a mission tour in Cape Coast where Elder Sitati of the Seventy came and had conference with him. He is a really great guy to learn from and the whole conference was just awesome. He’s the only African that is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Sunday went well because a few new people came to church and also one of our other investigators came to church. Elder Oseghe and I are doing well. It’s sometimes hard now because I have to focus on the whole zone instead of just my companionship. We are hoping to have some baptisms this coming month so we are going to be working hard with those few investigators that we have. So life is cool here I guess. Just good old Ghana. Life just keeps pushing it’s way on. Thanks for all of the support everybody. Thank you to everybody who sent me an email…it was great to hear from you! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week was pretty insane now that I look back on it. I guess I’ll just start from the beginning….So on Tuesday, I ate dog! I felt so bad when I was eating it but it honestly wasn’t too bad. I don’t think that I am going to do it quite often though because I feel too bad when I eat it. I even ate part of the heart and part of the lung! I couldn’t watch them kill it because it was too sad for me. I guess they eat it in the Northern part of Ghana and somebody in our zone is from that part so he got one and prepared it so that we could eat it. So that was an interesting experience…I guess all that’s left is cat. Haha. Wednesday morning the AP’s came up to be on splits with us and the Elders in our zone in an area called Hemang. We went to drop off one of the Assistants at the apartment but we ended up getting the van stuck clear down in the bush on a bad road and while it was raining so we were practically stuck in a swamp. It took us over an hour to get out of there and it really was a miracle that we got out. Some people were there helping us push the van around. We took pictures but I got mud sprayed all over my pants and my shirt so I was covered in mud. I had to run through a huge muddy puddle that went up to my shins so my shoes got mud and sand all inside of them. It was a crazy experience. We weren’t able to go out that day because of the lack of clean shirts and pants as well as dry shoes. So my companion and the AP’s just hung around the rest of the day. I have a funny picture but I can’t send pictures from this place today. I’m having a hard enough time just sending emails. So the rest of the week was pretty normal but then on Saturday we went for a mission tour in Cape Coast where Elder Sitati of the Seventy came and had conference with him. He is a really great guy to learn from and the whole conference was just awesome. He’s the only African that is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Sunday went well because a few new people came to church and also one of our other investigators came to church. Elder Oseghe and I are doing well. It’s sometimes hard now because I have to focus on the whole zone instead of just my companionship. We are hoping to have some baptisms this coming month so we are going to be working hard with those few investigators that we have. So life is cool here I guess. Just good old Ghana. Life just keeps pushing it’s way on. Thanks for all of the support everybody. Thank you to everybody who sent me an email…it was great to hear from you! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, October 22, 2012
October 22, 2012
Hey everybody!
It's been such a crazy week. It's felt like it went so fast but for some reason it seems like I haven't emailed home in forever. So Tuesday night I went around and said goodbye to everybody and that was sad. I was there for four transfers but it felt like the time just flew by. I really came to love that place in Swedru. Then on Wednesday I said goodbye to Elder Moore and the apartment and went on my way to Cape Coast. We got there and it was a pretty big transfer so there were a lot of missionaries at the station and it was fun to see everybody. That was where I met up with my companion Elder Oseghe from Nigeria and he is an awesome guy. He was a zone leader in an area and so we both are new to Praso but he is teaching me how to be a zone leader. The area that we are in is a new zone so my companion and I don't know that area at all so we just had to go around and try to learn everything about it. It made this last week kind of slow because we didn't know anybody but I think it will all be okay. So about my area...it's about and hour and twenty minutes north of Cape Coast. It's certainly more of a village I guess you could say. The power goes off almost everyday but it's always on at night which is very well needed. It doesn't have as much stuff to buy as Sunyani and Swedru. I was kind of blessed with being in bigger cities for the first 14 months out here. It's a lot of fun. I'm finally in a ward instead of a branch or a unit. We worship out of a rented house so my beautiful chapel from Swedru is gone. I'm in an apartment with missionaries named Elder Glider and Elder Cavaness, both from the U.S. and they are really cool too. I'm having to get used to the zone leader thing because now I'm constantly worrying about other people and also now I'm in charge of the zone money so everybody comes to me for reimbursement and other money things and it's stressful! Haha. My new companion can cook really well so we are going to be eating really well and healthy! :) I'm excited to be serving with him cause he's such a cool guy. Today we had a zone activity at Kakum so it was the second time I've gone there and it was fun to cross the rope bridges. There were quite a few Americans there that I talked too. It was weird talking to and African-American family from Georgia because I was expecting a Ghanian accent but then it was an accent from the south! On the way to Cape Coast to pick up some stuff, we had a tro tro come and pick us up. When we got there he tried to charge us 200 cedis (about $110)! The ended up paying only 40 but it was really annoying to deal with. I do feel like I'm going to like my new area though. I'm happy to be here. Well, I'm sure I forgot some things but there's always next week! Thanks for the emails! I love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
It's been such a crazy week. It's felt like it went so fast but for some reason it seems like I haven't emailed home in forever. So Tuesday night I went around and said goodbye to everybody and that was sad. I was there for four transfers but it felt like the time just flew by. I really came to love that place in Swedru. Then on Wednesday I said goodbye to Elder Moore and the apartment and went on my way to Cape Coast. We got there and it was a pretty big transfer so there were a lot of missionaries at the station and it was fun to see everybody. That was where I met up with my companion Elder Oseghe from Nigeria and he is an awesome guy. He was a zone leader in an area and so we both are new to Praso but he is teaching me how to be a zone leader. The area that we are in is a new zone so my companion and I don't know that area at all so we just had to go around and try to learn everything about it. It made this last week kind of slow because we didn't know anybody but I think it will all be okay. So about my area...it's about and hour and twenty minutes north of Cape Coast. It's certainly more of a village I guess you could say. The power goes off almost everyday but it's always on at night which is very well needed. It doesn't have as much stuff to buy as Sunyani and Swedru. I was kind of blessed with being in bigger cities for the first 14 months out here. It's a lot of fun. I'm finally in a ward instead of a branch or a unit. We worship out of a rented house so my beautiful chapel from Swedru is gone. I'm in an apartment with missionaries named Elder Glider and Elder Cavaness, both from the U.S. and they are really cool too. I'm having to get used to the zone leader thing because now I'm constantly worrying about other people and also now I'm in charge of the zone money so everybody comes to me for reimbursement and other money things and it's stressful! Haha. My new companion can cook really well so we are going to be eating really well and healthy! :) I'm excited to be serving with him cause he's such a cool guy. Today we had a zone activity at Kakum so it was the second time I've gone there and it was fun to cross the rope bridges. There were quite a few Americans there that I talked too. It was weird talking to and African-American family from Georgia because I was expecting a Ghanian accent but then it was an accent from the south! On the way to Cape Coast to pick up some stuff, we had a tro tro come and pick us up. When we got there he tried to charge us 200 cedis (about $110)! The ended up paying only 40 but it was really annoying to deal with. I do feel like I'm going to like my new area though. I'm happy to be here. Well, I'm sure I forgot some things but there's always next week! Thanks for the emails! I love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, October 15, 2012
October 15, 2012
Hey everybody!
This week has been a pretty good one. The baptism for Brother Wilson went great. We did it on Thursday night and President Acheampong also baptized his daughter who just turned 8 as well. There was a really good amount of people there and everybody really enjoyed it. The Acheampong's provided the refreshments which was a first since I've been to Ghana. The whole baptism was just really good because of all of the member support which usually doesn't happen. Two people that have been doing great are a boy named Evans and also a woman named Amelia with her children. They have each come to church the past three weeks and I'm pretty sure that they are going to be baptized. Evans has a baptism date for October 27th. Amelia is such a nice lady. She just moved from Brong Ahafo region and she is here with her four kids and she is pregnant with another. She always makes me laugh. She always calls us Obruni (whiteman) instead of our names. She can speak English pretty well and she can even read but she lacks confidence and thinks that she is bad. It's been great being able to meet her and see her progress a lot. The Kyirem family in our branch are really helping us a lot lately. They own a local drug store that is connected with there house and Sister Kyirem is always there. She's become like my Mom here in Swedru. So on Saturday there was a wedding at our chapel and it was a lot of fun to go to. Ghanians are really funny when it comes to weddings. They are usually calm people but when it comes to weddings or funerals...they are crazy! Saturday night also came with some big news as well. It was transfer day so we were expecting the transfer calls in the evening. At about six o'clock the phone starting ringing and it was President. I was confused because it's usually just the zone leaders that call for transfer. President ended up asking me if I would be zone leader in a new zone that they are opening up called Twifo Praso. There was just four missionaries there before but now there will be 8 elders and 7 sisters there. So I will be the zone leader there with a guy named Elder Osege (sp?) from Nigeria. I'm a little bit nervous about it all. I'm also really sad to be leaving Swedru because I've really gotten close with the people here. I guess that's what happens while serving a mission though. I really love Swedru and the members and the people that I've been working with. I'll be sad to leave this place. I've just been saying goodbye to everybody now and getting ready to go. I hate packing and I'm saving it all for tomorrow night. Hopefully everything will fit in my bags! Today was a fun p-day because we went and played basketball in Odoben. I'm going to miss all of those guys in that apartment as well as my companion. Everything else is going well. Thanks for all of the emails everybody. I guess until next week! Have a great week everybody!
Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
October 8, 2012
Hey everybody!
First, that's crazy about the mission age! I wish I could have watched so that I could have seen everybody's faces. I think that it's a really cool idea. I've always wondered why girls had to wait until they were 21. As for conference though, I wasn't able to listen or watch any of it. To be completely honest....I completely forgot that it was conference this weekend until I thought of it this morning when I was reading the Liahona. I wonder if I will start to get really young kids out here now before I start to go home. Hopefully I will be able watch at least one session or I'll just have to wait until about December when we will get the conference Liahonas. That's the really annoying thing about being here. I won't watch any conference for my whole entire mission. As for my week though, everything went great. We met two people in Ekwamkrom that we have taught almost everyday for the past week and they have been progressing really well. We even found out that they are related but we found them separately. They have both come to church the last two weeks and we are hoping to give them baptismal dates soon. Brother Wilson is progressing really well and should be getting baptized this coming week as long as everything goes smoothly. This saturday we have an institute program, seminary program, a wedding, and a baptism so it's going to be crazy. It's been raining a lot this week and so it actually makes it a lot worse because right after it rains, the sun comes out and it's really humid and extremely hot. We are going to get transfer news this coming saturday so I will know whether I'm staying in the area or if I am going. I'm kind of hoping that I will stay because we are teaching some people that I would really like to keep teaching because they are progressing really well and the work is going great. So all in all, my week went pretty well. It was fun to hear about conference and everything. Oh yeah, while I was getting my haircut today, the guy cutting my hair is a member and he was telling me what he's heard about the elections. I completely forgot all about that. I can't believe that will take place in a month! Well everybody, have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
First, that's crazy about the mission age! I wish I could have watched so that I could have seen everybody's faces. I think that it's a really cool idea. I've always wondered why girls had to wait until they were 21. As for conference though, I wasn't able to listen or watch any of it. To be completely honest....I completely forgot that it was conference this weekend until I thought of it this morning when I was reading the Liahona. I wonder if I will start to get really young kids out here now before I start to go home. Hopefully I will be able watch at least one session or I'll just have to wait until about December when we will get the conference Liahonas. That's the really annoying thing about being here. I won't watch any conference for my whole entire mission. As for my week though, everything went great. We met two people in Ekwamkrom that we have taught almost everyday for the past week and they have been progressing really well. We even found out that they are related but we found them separately. They have both come to church the last two weeks and we are hoping to give them baptismal dates soon. Brother Wilson is progressing really well and should be getting baptized this coming week as long as everything goes smoothly. This saturday we have an institute program, seminary program, a wedding, and a baptism so it's going to be crazy. It's been raining a lot this week and so it actually makes it a lot worse because right after it rains, the sun comes out and it's really humid and extremely hot. We are going to get transfer news this coming saturday so I will know whether I'm staying in the area or if I am going. I'm kind of hoping that I will stay because we are teaching some people that I would really like to keep teaching because they are progressing really well and the work is going great. So all in all, my week went pretty well. It was fun to hear about conference and everything. Oh yeah, while I was getting my haircut today, the guy cutting my hair is a member and he was telling me what he's heard about the elections. I completely forgot all about that. I can't believe that will take place in a month! Well everybody, have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Friday, October 5, 2012
October 1, 2012
Hey everybody!
I can't believe I am already emailing again! This week went so fast! We did have a pretty successful week. I had to do 10 baptism interviews so that was just crazy. I did five on one day and then five the next day. This week I went on splits with Elder Bush in Odoben so Elder Hintze went to my area and was with my companion. It was a lot of fun to go on splits in Odoben. It's a tiny village and nobody speaks english but I love it there. I was able to interview all of their people so it went successfully. We were able to give Brother Wilson a baptism date for this month so that was cool. He hasn't missed a day of church since we started teaching him. He's a really smart guy and he's progressing well. One cool story that happened this week was on Saturday. Elder Moore and I were walking around in Ekwamkrom and a women who was sitting down outside of where she lived with her kids said hello to us so we started to talk to her. We found out that she was new and didn't really know much about where anything was. She was living in Brong Ahafo region before, kind of close to Sunyani. We just talked to her for a little bit and then we invited her to church the next day. At church we just went through the normal sacrament meeting and then when it closed....I started to walk to the next class when I saw a women with her children sitting there smiling at me and I noticed that it was her! It was really cool to see her there with all of her kids. We went and visited her at her house after church. Hopefully we can continue to teach her and she will keep coming to church. Also, later on Sunday evening we had an activity at one of the members house with a few other families and we just had like a little family home evening thing. We want to try to do it every other week or so and everybody will be able to invite their friends and our investigators will be able to come. Nothing else really happened this week but everything was good. Thanks for all of the emails...it's always great to hear from you all!
Love Elder Kitchen
I can't believe I am already emailing again! This week went so fast! We did have a pretty successful week. I had to do 10 baptism interviews so that was just crazy. I did five on one day and then five the next day. This week I went on splits with Elder Bush in Odoben so Elder Hintze went to my area and was with my companion. It was a lot of fun to go on splits in Odoben. It's a tiny village and nobody speaks english but I love it there. I was able to interview all of their people so it went successfully. We were able to give Brother Wilson a baptism date for this month so that was cool. He hasn't missed a day of church since we started teaching him. He's a really smart guy and he's progressing well. One cool story that happened this week was on Saturday. Elder Moore and I were walking around in Ekwamkrom and a women who was sitting down outside of where she lived with her kids said hello to us so we started to talk to her. We found out that she was new and didn't really know much about where anything was. She was living in Brong Ahafo region before, kind of close to Sunyani. We just talked to her for a little bit and then we invited her to church the next day. At church we just went through the normal sacrament meeting and then when it closed....I started to walk to the next class when I saw a women with her children sitting there smiling at me and I noticed that it was her! It was really cool to see her there with all of her kids. We went and visited her at her house after church. Hopefully we can continue to teach her and she will keep coming to church. Also, later on Sunday evening we had an activity at one of the members house with a few other families and we just had like a little family home evening thing. We want to try to do it every other week or so and everybody will be able to invite their friends and our investigators will be able to come. Nothing else really happened this week but everything was good. Thanks for all of the emails...it's always great to hear from you all!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, September 24, 2012
September 24, 2012
Hey fam!
So this week I don't have much to update about. This week was just normal. Yesterday was a good day at church because we had about six investigators come to church. We've still been working mainly in that small town called Ekwamkrom and it has seemed to give us some good results. The members that live there are really trying to help us out as much as they can and it is a great help. Without the members help, missionary work especially in Ghana would just fail. The members need to be involved or it won't work. They especially help us with the language barrier. I hate not being able to talk with a lot of the people here but it's what we have to do I guess. I wish they would teach us Twi in the MTC. Our most progressing investigator is named Brother Wilson and he already considers himself a member. He is even bringing family and friends to the church so it has been really cool. Hopefully we should be having a baptism in October with an unknown number of people. We will just have to see what happens by that time. Last night the Odoben Elders slept at our place again and then we all went early to Cape Coast and we had a really fun football match there. We played 7 on 7 and the team I was on ended up taking it all! I played keeper the whole time and it was awesome. I got burned pretty bad though. I don't understand why I can go and proselyte all day in the sun and not get burned but I play sports in the sun for a few hours and I get burned. It doesn't make any sense. This week might be busy because I possibly have to have 10 baptism interviews in my district which would be a lot of work but it would be cool because it would mean that the work was progressing in my district! Well fam, nothing much else happened this week. I hope that everything is great and I was happy to hear from all of you. Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week I don't have much to update about. This week was just normal. Yesterday was a good day at church because we had about six investigators come to church. We've still been working mainly in that small town called Ekwamkrom and it has seemed to give us some good results. The members that live there are really trying to help us out as much as they can and it is a great help. Without the members help, missionary work especially in Ghana would just fail. The members need to be involved or it won't work. They especially help us with the language barrier. I hate not being able to talk with a lot of the people here but it's what we have to do I guess. I wish they would teach us Twi in the MTC. Our most progressing investigator is named Brother Wilson and he already considers himself a member. He is even bringing family and friends to the church so it has been really cool. Hopefully we should be having a baptism in October with an unknown number of people. We will just have to see what happens by that time. Last night the Odoben Elders slept at our place again and then we all went early to Cape Coast and we had a really fun football match there. We played 7 on 7 and the team I was on ended up taking it all! I played keeper the whole time and it was awesome. I got burned pretty bad though. I don't understand why I can go and proselyte all day in the sun and not get burned but I play sports in the sun for a few hours and I get burned. It doesn't make any sense. This week might be busy because I possibly have to have 10 baptism interviews in my district which would be a lot of work but it would be cool because it would mean that the work was progressing in my district! Well fam, nothing much else happened this week. I hope that everything is great and I was happy to hear from all of you. Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
September 17, 2012
Hey family!
So this week was a pretty hectic but fun week. On Tuesday we had a mission conference in Cape Coast so the whole mission came and met up and we had a big meeting. The meeting and everything went great but they funnest part of the night didn't happen until later. We weren't able to get back to Swedru until late and all of the Elders the stay at Odoben had to end up staying the night at our apartment. There were six of us and only two mattresses. Let's just say the sleeping arrangements were two mattresses, 8 chairs, and a Muslim praying mat. We didn't get any sleep at all! Haha, but it was a lot of fun. Almost like we were back home having a big sleepover, but then reality hit when we had to wake up early and get back to missionary work. Elder Moore was sick on Saturday so we weren't able to go out so I just spent the whole day reading out of the Old Testament. I'm now over halfway done with reading the Old Testament and it is really interesting. As we have been working in the small town called Ekwamkrom, the work has been going really well. Right now we have about three people after this week that we are pretty sure that they will be baptized soon as well as maybe a couple of others. Sunday was really busy after church because we just kept moving from appointment to appointment and almost all of our lessons we had a member with us. We are going to try and start doing a rotating FHE with the member families in Ekwamkrom on Sunday nights where they can bring their friends and we can also just teach the members how they can help us. So everything is going great this week! I don't think there was anything else that really happened. Have a great week everybody!
So this week was a pretty hectic but fun week. On Tuesday we had a mission conference in Cape Coast so the whole mission came and met up and we had a big meeting. The meeting and everything went great but they funnest part of the night didn't happen until later. We weren't able to get back to Swedru until late and all of the Elders the stay at Odoben had to end up staying the night at our apartment. There were six of us and only two mattresses. Let's just say the sleeping arrangements were two mattresses, 8 chairs, and a Muslim praying mat. We didn't get any sleep at all! Haha, but it was a lot of fun. Almost like we were back home having a big sleepover, but then reality hit when we had to wake up early and get back to missionary work. Elder Moore was sick on Saturday so we weren't able to go out so I just spent the whole day reading out of the Old Testament. I'm now over halfway done with reading the Old Testament and it is really interesting. As we have been working in the small town called Ekwamkrom, the work has been going really well. Right now we have about three people after this week that we are pretty sure that they will be baptized soon as well as maybe a couple of others. Sunday was really busy after church because we just kept moving from appointment to appointment and almost all of our lessons we had a member with us. We are going to try and start doing a rotating FHE with the member families in Ekwamkrom on Sunday nights where they can bring their friends and we can also just teach the members how they can help us. So everything is going great this week! I don't think there was anything else that really happened. Have a great week everybody!
I love you all!
Love Elder Kitchen
Love Elder Kitchen
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| Mission Conference 2012 |
Monday, September 10, 2012
September 10, 2012
Hey Everyone!
This week was pretty awesome if I could say the least! Haha. So from the start, on Wednesday we had transfers and so we had to pick up the two new Elders that were coming to our apartment and also we were going to help the Odoben Elders pick up the new missionaries that they were going to start training. The morning I got a text from the Odoben Elders saying the one of them was going to be training Elder Hintze! So he came to be in my district and I saw him on Wednesday and helped him get on a tro tro to go to his new area. He's in a great area with 3 other great missionaries. So then Thursday was spent showing around the two new missionaries in our area because they are taking part of our area. So we weren't really able to get much work done until Friday. Friday just seemed like a great day. Because there are 4 missionaries in my area now, Elder Moore and I will be able to focus much better on one part of our area and I'm really excited about it. We will mostly be proselyting in a small town right outside of Swedru called Ekwamkrom. It's much less busy and a little bit more villagy you could say. Then Saturday I went to Cape Coast for a meeting for all of the district leaders. It was fun to go there and then at the end we got brownies and ice cream! It was very delicious. Sunday was also a great day because we were able to go and teach a family that was referred to us by the 1st counselor. The lesson went great and we also went and ate dinner at the 1st counselors house right after that. Then today Elder Moore and I went to the Odoben chapel and played basketball with the Odoben Elders so I was able to see Elder Hintze today and it was a lot of fun! This week has just seemed like a really rewarding week. Elder Moore and I have really been focusing on being as obedient as possible...not that we were being disobedient before but we are really focusing on it and I can promise that we are seeing the blessings! It's just been a great week! Thanks for everything everybody! I love you all and have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
This week was pretty awesome if I could say the least! Haha. So from the start, on Wednesday we had transfers and so we had to pick up the two new Elders that were coming to our apartment and also we were going to help the Odoben Elders pick up the new missionaries that they were going to start training. The morning I got a text from the Odoben Elders saying the one of them was going to be training Elder Hintze! So he came to be in my district and I saw him on Wednesday and helped him get on a tro tro to go to his new area. He's in a great area with 3 other great missionaries. So then Thursday was spent showing around the two new missionaries in our area because they are taking part of our area. So we weren't really able to get much work done until Friday. Friday just seemed like a great day. Because there are 4 missionaries in my area now, Elder Moore and I will be able to focus much better on one part of our area and I'm really excited about it. We will mostly be proselyting in a small town right outside of Swedru called Ekwamkrom. It's much less busy and a little bit more villagy you could say. Then Saturday I went to Cape Coast for a meeting for all of the district leaders. It was fun to go there and then at the end we got brownies and ice cream! It was very delicious. Sunday was also a great day because we were able to go and teach a family that was referred to us by the 1st counselor. The lesson went great and we also went and ate dinner at the 1st counselors house right after that. Then today Elder Moore and I went to the Odoben chapel and played basketball with the Odoben Elders so I was able to see Elder Hintze today and it was a lot of fun! This week has just seemed like a really rewarding week. Elder Moore and I have really been focusing on being as obedient as possible...not that we were being disobedient before but we are really focusing on it and I can promise that we are seeing the blessings! It's just been a great week! Thanks for everything everybody! I love you all and have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
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| Elder Kitchen ~ I'm on top of the world! |
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| Elder Bush, Elder Kitchen and Elder Hintze |
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
September 3, 2012
Hey everybody!
It was great to hear from you. This week was a successful week. The baptism for Mercy and her two kids Raphael and Erica went great. The only problem was that the lights went out at the church and the baptism was in the evening so we had to do it in the dark. Luckily the sun hadn't quite gone down all of the way so we had a little bit of light. Also this weekend we recieved transfer news and I am still going to be staying here in Swedru with Elder Moore, but the big news is that they are going to be sending two new missionaries to our apartment and they are going to share our area with us. President had us split our area into two and the new missionaries will be going to our church with us. There have just been so many missionaries coming
and not too many going so President doesn't have any place to put missionaries so he has to put them in either new areas or make it so the area has four missionaries. It's going to make our apartment kind of crazy with all of the people but it should be fun. The sad part is that we will have to give some of our investigators to the guys coming in because they are in the part that they will be proselyting in. There are two missionaries in my district that are going to train so we will just have to see who comes to go there. This coming week will probably consist of us showing those new guys around where they are going to proselyte so I don't know how much stuff we are going to be doing throughout the week. Other than those few things nothing really happened too much. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you all next week! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
It was great to hear from you. This week was a successful week. The baptism for Mercy and her two kids Raphael and Erica went great. The only problem was that the lights went out at the church and the baptism was in the evening so we had to do it in the dark. Luckily the sun hadn't quite gone down all of the way so we had a little bit of light. Also this weekend we recieved transfer news and I am still going to be staying here in Swedru with Elder Moore, but the big news is that they are going to be sending two new missionaries to our apartment and they are going to share our area with us. President had us split our area into two and the new missionaries will be going to our church with us. There have just been so many missionaries coming
and not too many going so President doesn't have any place to put missionaries so he has to put them in either new areas or make it so the area has four missionaries. It's going to make our apartment kind of crazy with all of the people but it should be fun. The sad part is that we will have to give some of our investigators to the guys coming in because they are in the part that they will be proselyting in. There are two missionaries in my district that are going to train so we will just have to see who comes to go there. This coming week will probably consist of us showing those new guys around where they are going to proselyte so I don't know how much stuff we are going to be doing throughout the week. Other than those few things nothing really happened too much. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you all next week! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, August 27, 2012
August 27, 2012
Hey everybody!
I hope you all had a great week! Mine was just kind of normal as usual. We are still preparing a few people to be baptized and that baptism will hopefully be this coming Friday but we still have a little bit of work to do with that. President and Sister Shulz came to our district meeting and it was good to see them. This week in the training of Elder Moore was week 11 which means I gave him the phone and the keys and became the junior companion for the week. It was a really nice feeling to not be the one that was taking the lead in the planning and teaching situations. Today we went to Cape Coast for our p-day and it pretty fun. We played basketball for a while and I haven't really played that for a long time. It's funny how out of shape I am. I feel like I could walk for miles and miles but if I have to run for just a few minutes...I just die. It doesn't help that it was pretty hot and humid today. Transfers are this Saturday and we are pretty sure that they are going to put two more missionaries into our apartment so we would have six people in the apartment which would be a little crazy. Nothing is for sure yet but the guy that supplies the apartments with stuff said he was bringing two beds to the apartment for two new missionaries so....we are pretty sure it's going to happen. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens because I'm not really sure where the two missionaries would do their proselyting and where they would go to church. They are going to be opening up 10 new areas in the mission because there are a lot of missionaries coming but there aren't very many that are going home so there has to be places where the missionaries will go. The mission split was sad but it has been really nice and I think it will help the church to grow so much more effectively here in Ghana. It's still weird to think about how young the church is here compared to the church in the rest of the world. The people here are just so receptive to everything and that is why the church has grown so fast here. The only problem is finding good leadership in the church to help it grow better. Sometimes it seems like the church is growing too fast but I guess that is a problem that we will just have to deal with. So I might have interesting news to tell you next week about the transfer but I guess we will just have to wait and see! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
I hope you all had a great week! Mine was just kind of normal as usual. We are still preparing a few people to be baptized and that baptism will hopefully be this coming Friday but we still have a little bit of work to do with that. President and Sister Shulz came to our district meeting and it was good to see them. This week in the training of Elder Moore was week 11 which means I gave him the phone and the keys and became the junior companion for the week. It was a really nice feeling to not be the one that was taking the lead in the planning and teaching situations. Today we went to Cape Coast for our p-day and it pretty fun. We played basketball for a while and I haven't really played that for a long time. It's funny how out of shape I am. I feel like I could walk for miles and miles but if I have to run for just a few minutes...I just die. It doesn't help that it was pretty hot and humid today. Transfers are this Saturday and we are pretty sure that they are going to put two more missionaries into our apartment so we would have six people in the apartment which would be a little crazy. Nothing is for sure yet but the guy that supplies the apartments with stuff said he was bringing two beds to the apartment for two new missionaries so....we are pretty sure it's going to happen. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens because I'm not really sure where the two missionaries would do their proselyting and where they would go to church. They are going to be opening up 10 new areas in the mission because there are a lot of missionaries coming but there aren't very many that are going home so there has to be places where the missionaries will go. The mission split was sad but it has been really nice and I think it will help the church to grow so much more effectively here in Ghana. It's still weird to think about how young the church is here compared to the church in the rest of the world. The people here are just so receptive to everything and that is why the church has grown so fast here. The only problem is finding good leadership in the church to help it grow better. Sometimes it seems like the church is growing too fast but I guess that is a problem that we will just have to deal with. So I might have interesting news to tell you next week about the transfer but I guess we will just have to wait and see! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
August 20, 2012
Hey everybody!
It was great to hear from you all and it seems like you are all just doing great! So this week was just another normal week. Nothing really too crazy happened over here. I'm trying to remember some of the things that happened. We are trying to prepare some more people for baptism and that is always stressful because we always try to work in an organized manner but Ghanains are just so laid back and relaxed that they kind of slow things down and mess with the timing but it's all still going well. Yesterday at church Daniel blessed the sacrament and he did a great job. After church we were going around with the branch presidency and we went to Daniel's place and we started to teach his wife. She is pregnant and will probably have her baby at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. She is really quiet and shy but I'm sure that she will start to come to church with Daniel. The funny thing is that I'm really starting to love this area. I really don't want to get transferred very soon because it seems like there is a lot of potential here. Now that I've said that I know I'll probably leave. Haha. We've been working really well with the branch presidency and it has been helping us a lot. We have about 4 baptisms coming up soon and maybe a potential of about 4 more that I can think of right now. It might take a little bit of time but I'm pretty excited with what is happening here. It's completely different from my last area because that place we were trying to build the foundation of the church there out of nothing but here we have a decent foundation so it makes it easier to go out and work and actually see some progress. So everything is going well and I'm happy. Soon we'll be entering into September and that is just crazy to me that we are hitting the last 1/3 of the year. This year has just flown by. Last year at this time I was just about leaving the MTC...it's crazy how much has changed. Well, thanks for the updates everybody and I'm glad you're all safe! Love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
It was great to hear from you all and it seems like you are all just doing great! So this week was just another normal week. Nothing really too crazy happened over here. I'm trying to remember some of the things that happened. We are trying to prepare some more people for baptism and that is always stressful because we always try to work in an organized manner but Ghanains are just so laid back and relaxed that they kind of slow things down and mess with the timing but it's all still going well. Yesterday at church Daniel blessed the sacrament and he did a great job. After church we were going around with the branch presidency and we went to Daniel's place and we started to teach his wife. She is pregnant and will probably have her baby at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. She is really quiet and shy but I'm sure that she will start to come to church with Daniel. The funny thing is that I'm really starting to love this area. I really don't want to get transferred very soon because it seems like there is a lot of potential here. Now that I've said that I know I'll probably leave. Haha. We've been working really well with the branch presidency and it has been helping us a lot. We have about 4 baptisms coming up soon and maybe a potential of about 4 more that I can think of right now. It might take a little bit of time but I'm pretty excited with what is happening here. It's completely different from my last area because that place we were trying to build the foundation of the church there out of nothing but here we have a decent foundation so it makes it easier to go out and work and actually see some progress. So everything is going well and I'm happy. Soon we'll be entering into September and that is just crazy to me that we are hitting the last 1/3 of the year. This year has just flown by. Last year at this time I was just about leaving the MTC...it's crazy how much has changed. Well, thanks for the updates everybody and I'm glad you're all safe! Love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
August 13, 2012
What's up everybody!
So this week was another pretty good week. We really just spent the whole week preparing for the baptism that we had on this last Saturday. We had the interview with both Daniel and and little Deborah early in the week. They both were very prepared. It was so great to see Daniel get baptized because he was so prepared. He was so excited and it was so cool to see how much it all meant to him. On Sunday they all came and received the gift of the holy ghost and then after church Daniel even received the Aaronic Priesthood. So that was a nice little weekend with the baptism that we had. Also right after church we taught a lesson to a guy named Isaac. He has been to church for about 4 weeks straight now and he even comes to the activities during the week as well. He is a friend of the 2nd counselor. We taught him up through the Book of Mormon and we asked him if he would like to be baptized at the end of this month and he accepted which was really cool. Lately the branch seems to be trying really hard to help us and it has really been a great help. When I first came out, especially because I was in Sunyani where there is not any members, I just tried to do everything by myself. I just thought it was easier not to work with the members and everything. Now I can just see how much more effective it is. The people that we teach that have good friends in the church just progress so fast and they are so much more willing to come and learn. We have been going around with the two counselors at least once a week and it really makes the work more fun. I think when you see progress it makes things a lot easier and a lot less stressful. Other then that we have just been pushing along and doing missionary stuff. So I think that is about it. Oh yeah...I got a call on Saturday night and it was the assistants and they told me that I was going to be the new district leader so I guess we will just have to see how that goes. So thanks for the emails and I'll talk to you all next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week was another pretty good week. We really just spent the whole week preparing for the baptism that we had on this last Saturday. We had the interview with both Daniel and and little Deborah early in the week. They both were very prepared. It was so great to see Daniel get baptized because he was so prepared. He was so excited and it was so cool to see how much it all meant to him. On Sunday they all came and received the gift of the holy ghost and then after church Daniel even received the Aaronic Priesthood. So that was a nice little weekend with the baptism that we had. Also right after church we taught a lesson to a guy named Isaac. He has been to church for about 4 weeks straight now and he even comes to the activities during the week as well. He is a friend of the 2nd counselor. We taught him up through the Book of Mormon and we asked him if he would like to be baptized at the end of this month and he accepted which was really cool. Lately the branch seems to be trying really hard to help us and it has really been a great help. When I first came out, especially because I was in Sunyani where there is not any members, I just tried to do everything by myself. I just thought it was easier not to work with the members and everything. Now I can just see how much more effective it is. The people that we teach that have good friends in the church just progress so fast and they are so much more willing to come and learn. We have been going around with the two counselors at least once a week and it really makes the work more fun. I think when you see progress it makes things a lot easier and a lot less stressful. Other then that we have just been pushing along and doing missionary stuff. So I think that is about it. Oh yeah...I got a call on Saturday night and it was the assistants and they told me that I was going to be the new district leader so I guess we will just have to see how that goes. So thanks for the emails and I'll talk to you all next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
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| Elder Kitchen and Kojo - a very funny man who is nice to us. |
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| Ping pong |
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| Elder Kitchen and his pizza:D (to celebrate his one year mark) |
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| Pretty view. |
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| Daniel and Elder Kitchen |
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
August 6, 2012
Hey everybody!
So this week I hit my one year which was pretty crazy....it feels like I just got here a few months ago and now I'm halfway done! This week we have been trying to prepare a few people for baptism. Especially Daniel, he has been progressing really well. Daniel's baptism will be this weekend and he is really excited for it. He hasn't missed a week of church since we started to see him and he always contributes well in classes and you can tell he is excited to be baptized. I think he is probably the most prepared person that I've taught before his baptism. We have also been trying to get Eric, Mercy and their kids ready for baptism. The only thing really slowing it down right now is that it is really hard to meet with Eric. He is a firefighter so he works a lot and his hours are pretty crazy. Mercy told us that her and the kids are ready to be baptized so we just have to talk with Eric and see what happens but I'm sure everything will work out. We've been going up to a little village called Obuasi the last few weeks with the 1st and 2nd counselors and it has been great. We have taught some really smart and good people up there. Hopefully if they get enough members there then they can just start a little group up there so that they don't have to go so far to get to church. That is where the 2nd counselor currently lives. For my one year celebration we went to a place that makes pizza and also french fries so we got that and it was so good! I do love the food here but I sure miss American food...especially after that meal! I guess you could say that this week was just another normal week. It was good talkin' to ya'll! I'll be looking forward to talking to you again next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week I hit my one year which was pretty crazy....it feels like I just got here a few months ago and now I'm halfway done! This week we have been trying to prepare a few people for baptism. Especially Daniel, he has been progressing really well. Daniel's baptism will be this weekend and he is really excited for it. He hasn't missed a week of church since we started to see him and he always contributes well in classes and you can tell he is excited to be baptized. I think he is probably the most prepared person that I've taught before his baptism. We have also been trying to get Eric, Mercy and their kids ready for baptism. The only thing really slowing it down right now is that it is really hard to meet with Eric. He is a firefighter so he works a lot and his hours are pretty crazy. Mercy told us that her and the kids are ready to be baptized so we just have to talk with Eric and see what happens but I'm sure everything will work out. We've been going up to a little village called Obuasi the last few weeks with the 1st and 2nd counselors and it has been great. We have taught some really smart and good people up there. Hopefully if they get enough members there then they can just start a little group up there so that they don't have to go so far to get to church. That is where the 2nd counselor currently lives. For my one year celebration we went to a place that makes pizza and also french fries so we got that and it was so good! I do love the food here but I sure miss American food...especially after that meal! I guess you could say that this week was just another normal week. It was good talkin' to ya'll! I'll be looking forward to talking to you again next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, July 30, 2012
July 30, 2012
Hey everybody!
It was just another great week here in Swedru, Ghana and I'm lovin'
it! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now! :) This week we
went on splits with both the AP's and the Zone leaders and it was
great. I think on Thursday we went up to a small village a little bit
away from Swedru where our 2nd counselor lives. The 1st counselor
drove us up in his car and we taught a few different people.. It was
nice teaching up in a quite and calm place far away from all of the
noise of Swedru. It's been a while since I've been able to teach in an
environment like that. The people that we met up there were all really
nice and hopefully will progress. Daniel came to church again this week
and gave a lot of really good contributions. It was great to see him
like that. I can't wait to see him progress in the gospel. Hopefully
we can start teaching his wife soon so that she can be coming to church
with him. So today we went to Cape and had an activity. It was cool
because I was able to see a lot of the missionaries that I haven't seen
in a while. One Elder came up to me and asked me if I remembered
teaching a guy named Opoku Daniel. I'm sure you guys don't remember but
he was a guy that I started teaching with Elder Hernandez and he was
really smart but he just didn't have time. Then he told me that Daniel
had moved down to his area and has been coming to church and is going to
be getting baptized this next week. It was really cool because it
helped me realized that my job as a missionary won't always be to just
baptize people but to introduce them to the gospel and maybe sometime
later in their life they will accept it and live it in their life. This
was one that didn't take too long but it makes me feel better about all
of the people that I've taught that haven't been baptized that there
will be more chances if the Lord has truely prepared that person to
recieve the gospel. So that was my cool story for the week. Everything
is going well here and I'm happy! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
July 23, 2012
Hey everybody!
So this week was kind of slow at first but it ended up being a
really good week. This weekend at the church they organized a couples
night for the adults and they invited us missionaries to be there
because they were hoping to have lots of non-members at the event. We
showed up and it was pretty small at first but a lot of people ended up
coming to it. They just did a small class thing first and Elder Moore
and I had to make it so all of the kids that were there didn't disturb.
We turned into babysitters for about an hour and I was sweating pretty
hard the whole time. Those little ones were stressing me out! Then they
all came back outside and had a big dinner and it was a lot of fun.
Some of our investigators came and we also ended up getting about 20
names and numbers of people that were there that we could call to try
and go teach! Hopefully the members that brought them will actually
help us though. Then on Sunday we had our branch conference and there
were quite a lot of people that came. We were also able to get some
referrals there as well so we should be doing pretty well when it comes
to having people to teach. I wanted to try and think of something funny
that happened this week but I don't really notice weird things anymore.
Everyday seems to be an adventure when you are a missionary in the
Ghana Cape Coast mission! haha. So...another week down and I'm still
livin'. I'm happy and having a great time here in Ghana! I love all you
guys back home! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
p.s. Go to lds.org and read the story about Elder Holland in Africa...I liked it. :D
Monday, July 16, 2012
July 16, 2012
Hey everybody!
This week seemed to have just flown
by. I can't believe that it is already halfway through July now. It
sounds like you guys had a pretty fun week with everybody up and around
for the week. Last Tuesday is when we ended up having the family home
evening with the Mensah family as well as Eric and Mercy. It was really
good and I think it helped Eric and Mercy a lot. Oh yeah, we also saw a
guy get hit by a car that day too! Luckily he was okay and the guy who
hit him took him to the hospital. I just looked back and saw him
flying off of the street right about where we were. It was crazy. Then
Wednesday we had a combined district meeting and President came and
instructed. He talked a lot about why we use the Book of Mormon in our
teaching and how important it is. I liked the instruction a lot. Then
on Thursday is when we had a lesson with Mercy and her two kids. Eric
wasn't able to be there this time. We ended up asking them if they
would like to be baptized at the end of this month and they accepted so
hopefully everything works out with them! Later in the week we had a
really good lesson with Daniel and talked to him about the Restoration
and about being baptized. He said that he would pray about when he
would like to be baptized. Mercy with her two kids and also Daniel came
to church this week and it was great to see them there. I'm really
excited for these next couple of weeks because we should be having a few
baptisms. I'll just keep you updated with them I guess. So that's it
with my week really. Everything is still the same with me. So until
next week I guess!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, July 9, 2012
July 9, 2012
What's up fam!?
How was the week!? That's awesome to
hear the Noah was born this week! I wish that I could see them. Also,
thanks for the pictures of both Noah and Penny this week. It was great
to see them both. My week was just another average week. Lately I've
felt a little overwhelmed with all of the people we have been teaching
because there have just been too many of them. I know, you'll probably
just roll your eyes at that one but we are trying to figure out which of
them are serious and usually most aren't. The members have been trying
to work together lately to help us and that has been nice. The work
always goes better when we have their help. I was sad to miss fireworks
this last week. Elder Moore and I went and split a pizza for the 4th
of July and it was really good. Mostly because of the cheese...it was
expensive though. We have a few investigators that are progressing
well. Hopefully they will continue to do that. Eric, Mercy, and their
kids came to church yesterday and we are going to have a joint family
home evening with them and another family in the branch tonight. So
that's kind of it...it was great to hear from you all this week. Have a
great week and I'll be waiting to hear about everything next week.
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, July 2, 2012
July 2, 2012
Hey everybody!
That's awesome news that Penny came this week! I wish that I could have seen some pictures! ;) but that's okay. Haha. Maybe next week. It also sounds like next week I should be expecting Noah so that's really cool. So this last week was pretty good. Tuesday was district meeting and Elder Bush gave a really good instruction on personal revelation. We were all sharing stories about how we have feel the Lord's hand in our missionary work so far and it was really good. Afia has been progressing really well and says that she knows that what we are teaching is true but she said that she needs a little bit of time, especially to tell her family because they aren't members. Hopefully it keeps going well. Wednesday the zone leaders came on splits with us and it was sweet. All of our appointments failed but we talked to and met a lot of people that day. This week hasn't been crazy or anything but it's just been normal. I woke up on Sunday and I couldn't believe that it is July. Last July felt like it was just yesterday! Time really does fly when you are out here. People aren't kidding. Life is going well though. I feel like lately I've really started to love the people a lot more then before. I think that has just come with time I guess. It's so awesome though. I really love Ghana even though it's a freakin' crazy place. The mission officially split on Sunday too so that was sad because Elder Hunt and Elder Larsen are up there. Today we had a fun activity in cape coast and we played football on the beach and frisbee as well. I hurt my ankle but luckily it only hurts if I move it a lot. If I just walk then there are no problems. Everything else is sweet though. Just pushing along with the work! I love you guys! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
That's awesome news that Penny came this week! I wish that I could have seen some pictures! ;) but that's okay. Haha. Maybe next week. It also sounds like next week I should be expecting Noah so that's really cool. So this last week was pretty good. Tuesday was district meeting and Elder Bush gave a really good instruction on personal revelation. We were all sharing stories about how we have feel the Lord's hand in our missionary work so far and it was really good. Afia has been progressing really well and says that she knows that what we are teaching is true but she said that she needs a little bit of time, especially to tell her family because they aren't members. Hopefully it keeps going well. Wednesday the zone leaders came on splits with us and it was sweet. All of our appointments failed but we talked to and met a lot of people that day. This week hasn't been crazy or anything but it's just been normal. I woke up on Sunday and I couldn't believe that it is July. Last July felt like it was just yesterday! Time really does fly when you are out here. People aren't kidding. Life is going well though. I feel like lately I've really started to love the people a lot more then before. I think that has just come with time I guess. It's so awesome though. I really love Ghana even though it's a freakin' crazy place. The mission officially split on Sunday too so that was sad because Elder Hunt and Elder Larsen are up there. Today we had a fun activity in cape coast and we played football on the beach and frisbee as well. I hurt my ankle but luckily it only hurts if I move it a lot. If I just walk then there are no problems. Everything else is sweet though. Just pushing along with the work! I love you guys! Have a great week everybody!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, June 25, 2012
June 25, 2012
Hey Everybody!
This last week has been a pretty good week. Starting from last Tuesday, we had district meeting and out of the 8 missionaries, there were 4 that were new to the zone. We just did a get to know you and everything and it was fun. This week was Elder Moore's first full week and it went pretty well. In the middle of the week, some crazy and drunk guy named Kojo came running up to us and started talking to us. It was really funny and he makes no sense when he talks. We just talked to him for a second and left. Then during the week, he kept randomly popping up out of nowhere and just being crazy. Who knows, maybe he'll show up at church one of these days! On friday we had a really good lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Afia. She was telling us that she knows what we are teaching her is true, but she is just worried about what her family will say if she joins the church. Hopefully we will be able to help her with that one. After, they pounded fufu for us and it was the first time that Elder Moore had tried it. He was a little unlucky because it was with fish and snail! Haha. Let's just say that he didn't like it at all so I had to eat a very large portion. The snail that I ate was pretty big and it wasn't at all like the one one the cruise that one time. Elder Moore tried to eat his snail...he ended throwing in up but luckily nobody that made it for us knew that he did. Friday during study time I finished reading the Book of Luke and it was really good. I'm trying to read the New Testament, but I'm not doing it in order. Sunday we had two pretty good lessons with Dora and her family as well as Mercy and her two kids. Mercy's son Raphael who is twelve gave his talk in church this week and it went really good. I still think it is so funny how they asked him to talk and he isn't even baptized. I've really been thinking about the Book of Mormon this week as we've been teaching. It's amazing how that book really is the do or die point for the church. If it is true then the church is true and if it isn't true, then the church isn't true. It's pretty crazy. I've really grown to love the Book of Mormon since I've gotten here. It truely is an amazing book. It's cool being able to be here and teach people about it when they have never heard of it before. Everything else is going well, I'm happy and just pushin' along. I hope everybody else is great! I was surprised to hear that there were no babies this week...we'll see next week! Love all you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, June 18, 2012
June 18, 2012
Hey Everybody!
So this week was a pretty good one. On Tuesday we had a combined district meeting with everybody in our
zone and then after, some of the guys wanted to try a pizza place that is close to my apartment. The pizza was really good because they put a lot of cheese on it. The rest of that day was spent going around and letting Elder Samai say goodbye to everybody. The next day, we sent both Elder Mathemba and Samai off and Elder Limu and I waited around for our companions to come. Elder Limu's companion came first and then I got a call and they told me that I was going to be training a missionary named Elder Moore from England. He got here and seemed a little culture shocked but everything was good. The next few days were just spent showing him the new area and helping him get used to things. It's funny how used to everything I am now and how he thinks everything is so weird. It's really funny. On Saturday there was a big district youth activity that was happening at our chapel. They played football and had lots of activities and so we went because lots of people brought their friends. Also we had a really good time teaching Eric, Mercy and their kids this week. Eric and Mercy weren't able to come to church this week, but both of their kids came and that was pretty cool. We had a pretty long lesson with them and we were able to talk about the Book of Mormon and everything with them. They had lots of good questions and it was just a great lesson. We are hoping that this week we will able to set a baptismal date with them. We also taught Dora and fam and it was great. They are still having a hard time coming to church but they are accepting everything pretty well. We met some new people this week that we started teaching so hopefully they might start to progress. Well, I hope that you all have a great week. I'm doing great and I'm happy! I love you all and talk to you next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week was a pretty good one. On Tuesday we had a combined district meeting with everybody in our
zone and then after, some of the guys wanted to try a pizza place that is close to my apartment. The pizza was really good because they put a lot of cheese on it. The rest of that day was spent going around and letting Elder Samai say goodbye to everybody. The next day, we sent both Elder Mathemba and Samai off and Elder Limu and I waited around for our companions to come. Elder Limu's companion came first and then I got a call and they told me that I was going to be training a missionary named Elder Moore from England. He got here and seemed a little culture shocked but everything was good. The next few days were just spent showing him the new area and helping him get used to things. It's funny how used to everything I am now and how he thinks everything is so weird. It's really funny. On Saturday there was a big district youth activity that was happening at our chapel. They played football and had lots of activities and so we went because lots of people brought their friends. Also we had a really good time teaching Eric, Mercy and their kids this week. Eric and Mercy weren't able to come to church this week, but both of their kids came and that was pretty cool. We had a pretty long lesson with them and we were able to talk about the Book of Mormon and everything with them. They had lots of good questions and it was just a great lesson. We are hoping that this week we will able to set a baptismal date with them. We also taught Dora and fam and it was great. They are still having a hard time coming to church but they are accepting everything pretty well. We met some new people this week that we started teaching so hopefully they might start to progress. Well, I hope that you all have a great week. I'm doing great and I'm happy! I love you all and talk to you next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
June 11, 2012
Hello everybody!
So last week after I emailed you, I received some news from the mission president. He called me up and asked me, "Elder Kitchen, I need you to train one of the new missionaries that's coming. Can you do that for me?" Well, I wanted to say no but of course I said yes. So I'm going to be training again! The next day we had district meeting and that's all I can remember about that day. Wednesday, we went to a members house who wanted to make me a late birthday dinner. She made us big fufu with light soup and chicken and it was so good! There was so much chicken and it was just delicious. Then on Thursday, I went to Cape Coast with Elder Weaver to the mission home for the meeting for the trainers. It was weird being there because the last time I was there was when I was leaving to go up to Sunyani in August. On Friday we had a good lesson with Eric, Mercy and their kids. They have been coming to church and going to activities with the branch. We were able to teach them about the apostasy but we weren't able to move on though. I'm really excited about that family because I'm pretty sure that they are going to be baptized. They were a referral from a member and it helps so much when it is like that. Saturday we found out transfer news and they told my companion that he is going up to a place called Achiase and I guess we have been hearing that it is a village. He'll do great there though. Church was good on Sunday. The organization here still kills me. I get so stressed with everything but I can't do anything because I'm just a missionary. Things just run so much smoother back home. Elder Samai went and said goodbye to a bunch of members. So my week went pretty good. I'm just tired right now and I don't know why. I don't get enough rest on P-day's. Well everybody, have a great week!
Talk to ya soon!
Love Elder Kitchen
So last week after I emailed you, I received some news from the mission president. He called me up and asked me, "Elder Kitchen, I need you to train one of the new missionaries that's coming. Can you do that for me?" Well, I wanted to say no but of course I said yes. So I'm going to be training again! The next day we had district meeting and that's all I can remember about that day. Wednesday, we went to a members house who wanted to make me a late birthday dinner. She made us big fufu with light soup and chicken and it was so good! There was so much chicken and it was just delicious. Then on Thursday, I went to Cape Coast with Elder Weaver to the mission home for the meeting for the trainers. It was weird being there because the last time I was there was when I was leaving to go up to Sunyani in August. On Friday we had a good lesson with Eric, Mercy and their kids. They have been coming to church and going to activities with the branch. We were able to teach them about the apostasy but we weren't able to move on though. I'm really excited about that family because I'm pretty sure that they are going to be baptized. They were a referral from a member and it helps so much when it is like that. Saturday we found out transfer news and they told my companion that he is going up to a place called Achiase and I guess we have been hearing that it is a village. He'll do great there though. Church was good on Sunday. The organization here still kills me. I get so stressed with everything but I can't do anything because I'm just a missionary. Things just run so much smoother back home. Elder Samai went and said goodbye to a bunch of members. So my week went pretty good. I'm just tired right now and I don't know why. I don't get enough rest on P-day's. Well everybody, have a great week!
Talk to ya soon!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, June 4, 2012
June 4, 2012
Hey everybody!
Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes. I had a good day yesterday and it has been a pretty good week. We had a zone conference on Thursday over in Cape Coast. We went over and met up with the Assin Fosu zone and had our meeting. We talked a lot about how we are going to try and use members a lot more in teaching and pretty much everything that we do. I think that it is really going to help the way we do missionary work here if we try to follow the new plan. Then the next day president and sister shulz came to the apartments and did apartment checks and interviews. Don't worry the apartment passed the cleaning test...we are living in very habitable conditions. ;) Sunday I woke up and it was my birthday!...but it didn't feel like anything. Haha. I just woke up and went to church. It turns out Elder Samai told a bunch of the people in the branch that it was my birthday so everybody was telling me happy birthday and stuff. It was really fun. After church, they gave me a coke and some biscuits and everything to eat later. Sister Achempong invited us over to eat dinner for my birthday and we ate spaghetti and stew with chicken. It was really good. It was fun to talk to them because they have lived in Utah for about 6 years and they have been to Lagoon and everything...so we were talking about all different kinds of things. So my birthday went pretty good....no complaints I guess. It didn't really feel like a birthday though. Then today we went to a place called Kakum. It's a place by Cape Coast where they have rope bridge type things over the forest. It was pretty cool. Then we went to a place on the way back where we were able to touch crocodiles. That was pretty cool too. Then we just came back to Swedru. We had to wake up at about 4:30 this morning so I'm really tired now. Thanks again for all of the birthday wishes. It was great to hear from all of you!
Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes. I had a good day yesterday and it has been a pretty good week. We had a zone conference on Thursday over in Cape Coast. We went over and met up with the Assin Fosu zone and had our meeting. We talked a lot about how we are going to try and use members a lot more in teaching and pretty much everything that we do. I think that it is really going to help the way we do missionary work here if we try to follow the new plan. Then the next day president and sister shulz came to the apartments and did apartment checks and interviews. Don't worry the apartment passed the cleaning test...we are living in very habitable conditions. ;) Sunday I woke up and it was my birthday!...but it didn't feel like anything. Haha. I just woke up and went to church. It turns out Elder Samai told a bunch of the people in the branch that it was my birthday so everybody was telling me happy birthday and stuff. It was really fun. After church, they gave me a coke and some biscuits and everything to eat later. Sister Achempong invited us over to eat dinner for my birthday and we ate spaghetti and stew with chicken. It was really good. It was fun to talk to them because they have lived in Utah for about 6 years and they have been to Lagoon and everything...so we were talking about all different kinds of things. So my birthday went pretty good....no complaints I guess. It didn't really feel like a birthday though. Then today we went to a place called Kakum. It's a place by Cape Coast where they have rope bridge type things over the forest. It was pretty cool. Then we went to a place on the way back where we were able to touch crocodiles. That was pretty cool too. Then we just came back to Swedru. We had to wake up at about 4:30 this morning so I'm really tired now. Thanks again for all of the birthday wishes. It was great to hear from all of you!
Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
P.S. Sam's mom asked him what he eats everyday and this is what he said.
I eat a lot of egg sandwiches, Indo Mie
(top ramen), eggs, French toast, and
rice.
He mentioned that he now loves many African dishes that he said, “I can’t believe I didn’t like
them at first.”
 |
| Elder Samai and Elder Kitchen |
May 28, 2012
Hey everybody!
So this week went pretty good and it seemed to go really fast as well. Last Tuesday we went to district meeting at Odoben which is the other area in our district. It is in the middle of nowhere and it's a village but they have a nice chapel. After district meeting, we were all craving fufu so we went and found a chop bar and bought some nice fufu. It seems like I don't get it as much here so I am missing it. Then on Wednesday we had a good lesson with Dora, and her kids, Alice and Obed. The second counselor in the branch presidency came with us and we introduced the Book of Mormon to them. The lesson was great and they were really happy to learn about it. Then on Thursday we walked a lot and only had a couple of appointments. At the end of the day I was tired and hungry so we bought banku and I got a lot of it and it was very good. It's funny to think that I absolutely hated it the first time that I tried it. Friday was also another day that was just full of lessons. I can't really think about which ones that they were so I guess I won't tell you about them. Then on Saturday we started by seeing an investigator named Jennifer. Then we went and saw a kid named Bless and also a girl named Afia. Nothing else really happened after that so that ended our Saturday. Sunday was a good day because lots of people brought their friends who aren't members. One of them was a family and the dad's name is Eric and his wife's name is Mercy. Also, a guy that is from Germany who is teaching school here for a year came with a member as well. Brett, I told him about you and how you served a mission in Germany and he thought that was pretty cool. After church we went around and had a few lessons before going and seeing Dora and her family again. We talked more about the Book of Mormon with them and we talked about how they need to read and pray about it to know if it is true. It was a really great lesson. After that, we went and met with Eric and his family with the members that know them. He was really nice and I'm excited to start teaching them. The last part of the week was really good. I was just happier for some reason and it felt good. I'm getting pretty good about knowing the area as well. I'm not as lost as I walk around now. So everything is going great! I love all of you guys back home! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
So this week went pretty good and it seemed to go really fast as well. Last Tuesday we went to district meeting at Odoben which is the other area in our district. It is in the middle of nowhere and it's a village but they have a nice chapel. After district meeting, we were all craving fufu so we went and found a chop bar and bought some nice fufu. It seems like I don't get it as much here so I am missing it. Then on Wednesday we had a good lesson with Dora, and her kids, Alice and Obed. The second counselor in the branch presidency came with us and we introduced the Book of Mormon to them. The lesson was great and they were really happy to learn about it. Then on Thursday we walked a lot and only had a couple of appointments. At the end of the day I was tired and hungry so we bought banku and I got a lot of it and it was very good. It's funny to think that I absolutely hated it the first time that I tried it. Friday was also another day that was just full of lessons. I can't really think about which ones that they were so I guess I won't tell you about them. Then on Saturday we started by seeing an investigator named Jennifer. Then we went and saw a kid named Bless and also a girl named Afia. Nothing else really happened after that so that ended our Saturday. Sunday was a good day because lots of people brought their friends who aren't members. One of them was a family and the dad's name is Eric and his wife's name is Mercy. Also, a guy that is from Germany who is teaching school here for a year came with a member as well. Brett, I told him about you and how you served a mission in Germany and he thought that was pretty cool. After church we went around and had a few lessons before going and seeing Dora and her family again. We talked more about the Book of Mormon with them and we talked about how they need to read and pray about it to know if it is true. It was a really great lesson. After that, we went and met with Eric and his family with the members that know them. He was really nice and I'm excited to start teaching them. The last part of the week was really good. I was just happier for some reason and it felt good. I'm getting pretty good about knowing the area as well. I'm not as lost as I walk around now. So everything is going great! I love all of you guys back home! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, May 21, 2012
May 21, 2012
Hey everybody!
This week seemed to just fly by. On Tuesday we had a combined district meeting at our chapel and so our whole zone was there. There were 16 of us there. Then after the meeting, the zone leaders came on
splits with our apartment so Elder Bunker came with us. We had a really good day with some good lessons. We went to teach a girl named Esther and she wasn't there so we ended up just teaching her dad named
Gordon and he was really smart. Hopefully we will be able to keep teaching him. Then wednesday we just seemed to walk a lot because people weren't keeping their appointments. Then on Thursday, the best
thing that probably happened was our lesson with Dora and her kids, Obed and Alice. We taught them about the Apostasy and then the Restoration. They were really excited to talk about the Book of Mormon as well but we didn't have time so we are going to teach them about it next time. Friday and Saturday were both kind of like Wednesday because nothing really happened. When we were teaching somebody on Saturday though, out of nowhere a huge storm blew in and started blowing things everywhere and I got blasted with sand and then the rain came. We had to stand inside of a little cell phone shop for about 2 hours before the rain finally let up. It was a pretty crazy storm. Then on Sunday we had church and it went well. They were running out of time during sacrament meeting so they called on me to bear my testimony. Then we just went out and visited some more people. So my week went pretty good and fast. I'm still getting used to the area because it is just so big compared to Fiapre. We have to walk so far just to get to appointments. I'm starting to like it more and more though so that's good. I love you guys and hope you have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
This week seemed to just fly by. On Tuesday we had a combined district meeting at our chapel and so our whole zone was there. There were 16 of us there. Then after the meeting, the zone leaders came on
splits with our apartment so Elder Bunker came with us. We had a really good day with some good lessons. We went to teach a girl named Esther and she wasn't there so we ended up just teaching her dad named
Gordon and he was really smart. Hopefully we will be able to keep teaching him. Then wednesday we just seemed to walk a lot because people weren't keeping their appointments. Then on Thursday, the best
thing that probably happened was our lesson with Dora and her kids, Obed and Alice. We taught them about the Apostasy and then the Restoration. They were really excited to talk about the Book of Mormon as well but we didn't have time so we are going to teach them about it next time. Friday and Saturday were both kind of like Wednesday because nothing really happened. When we were teaching somebody on Saturday though, out of nowhere a huge storm blew in and started blowing things everywhere and I got blasted with sand and then the rain came. We had to stand inside of a little cell phone shop for about 2 hours before the rain finally let up. It was a pretty crazy storm. Then on Sunday we had church and it went well. They were running out of time during sacrament meeting so they called on me to bear my testimony. Then we just went out and visited some more people. So my week went pretty good and fast. I'm still getting used to the area because it is just so big compared to Fiapre. We have to walk so far just to get to appointments. I'm starting to like it more and more though so that's good. I love you guys and hope you have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
May 14, 2012
Hey everybody!
It was great to hear from you all! I
had a lot of fun talking to everybody. So I kind of talked to you guys
about everything that is happening over here on the phone yesterday so
this email will be kind of short. So I'm liking my new area but I'm for
sure having to get used to it. The area is really big and it's more of
a city so there are a lot of people and everything. So I'm just
getting used to everything and still pushing on with the missionary
work! Thanks everybody for talking with me yesterday! It meant a lot
to hear from all of you! I'll try to send some pictures somehow but I
don't know if I will be able to. Talk to you guys next week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, May 7, 2012
May 7, 2012 ~ Greetings from Swedru!
Hey everybody!
It's been quite the week over here and I guess it has been quite the week over there too. Congrats Mar and having the baby! Tell Ethan his uncle Sam says hello! That was such cool news to get today! I don't even care about my week now! haha, but I guess I'll let you all know anyways.
So Tuesday was my very last day in Fiapre and it was really sad. It feels like eternities ago but I guess it was only one week. We just went and I said goodbye to everybody and the thing that killed me was that people were actually sad to see me go! I would just tell people that I was leaving and it made them sad which made me really sad. We went to Sister Afia's house and said goodbye and they pounded us fufu and gave us chicken light soup which is my favorite. I'm really going to miss that family. They always took care of me the whole time that I was there. Then Wednesday I woke up early and went to the metro mass station and said goodbye to everybody before getting on a bus and going to Kumasi. I got there and Elder Zoll picked us up and took us to the other bus station and we found out that the bus to cape coast was cancelled so we had to rent out a shaddy tro tro to take us down to cape. It was a long drive but we made it safely to Cape Coast. Then Elder Weaver and I got on another tro tro and it took us all of the way over to Swedru and I got picked up there and everything was good. I was really tired but safe in Swedru. My new companion is Elder Samai from Sierra Leone. He came out to the mission field at the same time as Elder Belnap so I'm still a senior companion which I'm not thrilled about but what am I going to do? haha. The rest of the week has just been crazy trying to get used to the area and everything. Church was sweet because it was in an actual church building! It was cool. We watched conference at church too and I was extremely excited to watch it until I found out that it was in Fante so I didn't understand anything! So Swedru isn't on the coast but it's kind of close so today for p-day our zone went to the beach and it was so awesome! The beach was beautiful and we played football which was a lot of fun. I've been waiting to see the ocean for the last nine months and I finally did today! So I'm getting used to everything here and it's been good. I miss Sunyani a lot but changes are good I guess. Well, I'll be calling on Sunday so it will be great to hear all of you! Love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
It's been quite the week over here and I guess it has been quite the week over there too. Congrats Mar and having the baby! Tell Ethan his uncle Sam says hello! That was such cool news to get today! I don't even care about my week now! haha, but I guess I'll let you all know anyways.
So Tuesday was my very last day in Fiapre and it was really sad. It feels like eternities ago but I guess it was only one week. We just went and I said goodbye to everybody and the thing that killed me was that people were actually sad to see me go! I would just tell people that I was leaving and it made them sad which made me really sad. We went to Sister Afia's house and said goodbye and they pounded us fufu and gave us chicken light soup which is my favorite. I'm really going to miss that family. They always took care of me the whole time that I was there. Then Wednesday I woke up early and went to the metro mass station and said goodbye to everybody before getting on a bus and going to Kumasi. I got there and Elder Zoll picked us up and took us to the other bus station and we found out that the bus to cape coast was cancelled so we had to rent out a shaddy tro tro to take us down to cape. It was a long drive but we made it safely to Cape Coast. Then Elder Weaver and I got on another tro tro and it took us all of the way over to Swedru and I got picked up there and everything was good. I was really tired but safe in Swedru. My new companion is Elder Samai from Sierra Leone. He came out to the mission field at the same time as Elder Belnap so I'm still a senior companion which I'm not thrilled about but what am I going to do? haha. The rest of the week has just been crazy trying to get used to the area and everything. Church was sweet because it was in an actual church building! It was cool. We watched conference at church too and I was extremely excited to watch it until I found out that it was in Fante so I didn't understand anything! So Swedru isn't on the coast but it's kind of close so today for p-day our zone went to the beach and it was so awesome! The beach was beautiful and we played football which was a lot of fun. I've been waiting to see the ocean for the last nine months and I finally did today! So I'm getting used to everything here and it's been good. I miss Sunyani a lot but changes are good I guess. Well, I'll be calling on Sunday so it will be great to hear all of you! Love you guys!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, April 30, 2012
April 30, 2012
Hey everybody!
So, I have some big news this week! I am going to be transferred! I'm very sad to be leaving Sunyani after being here for about the last 9 months but I'm ready for a change. I will be going all of the way down to the coast to a place called Swedru. It will be about seven hours on a bus down to cape coast and then two hours to get over to Swedru. It's in between cape coast and Accra. So it will be quite the adventure. So this week starting on Tuesday we had district meeting and both Elder Belnap and Elder Mensah from my apartment instructed and they did a great job. Then nothing else really happened. Wednesday we met with a guy who had met with the missionaries in about 2004 and he seems interested again. He really wanted us to bring him a Book of Mormon because that is pretty much all that he remembered. We also went to Sister Affiah's and she gave us Konkonte. It's kind of like fufu and it was pretty good. Not really my favorite but that's okay. Then that night is when President called Elder Belnap and told him that he was going to be a trainer! He is going to be a really good trainer, a lot better than I was. When we got the call, we knew that I would most likely be going because he probably wouldn't train in a new area. On Friday we went by Bertha's because she finally came back from Accra and I told her I would most likely be going. She was sad but understood. They were making fufu so they made us stay to eat some. It was pretty good but the one thing that I didn't like is that I ended up eating a fish head! The little thing was just staring at me in the soup! Then I started at the base where the brain is and ate it from there! The weirdest part was eating the mouth of it. Haha. Then on friday we went and got pizza because it would be my last time doing that. Right after we went and saw Gladis and she took us to get fufu from that shady chop bar again and the soup was so spicy. African spicy is a little different then Mexican spicy and it killed me. Also, we ate antelope and it was actually really good. There was no fat and it was kind of tender. That night we had a lesson with Emmanuel and Bernice and it went great. Emmanuel is such a good kid and I'm going to miss him. Saturday we had some good lessons and everything and I was just dying waiting for the transfer calls to come. They finally came and that is when I found out that I was going to Swedru. Then church on sunday was sad because it was my last in Fiapre. I gave my farewell testimony and it made me really sad that I would probably never see any of them again. After church we went with the Thaynes to their place and they did the training for Elder Belnap. Then Sister Thayne brought out dinner and it was enchiladas! We had such an awesome dinner with them and it was so much fun to just talk and everything. I had my first real sunday dinner in about 9 months! The Thaynes are so cool and I'm really going to miss them since I am leaving Sunyani. So I had an interesting week but it was good. So next week I will be emailing from clear down, pretty much on the coast. So until next week everyone!
Love Elder Kitchen
So, I have some big news this week! I am going to be transferred! I'm very sad to be leaving Sunyani after being here for about the last 9 months but I'm ready for a change. I will be going all of the way down to the coast to a place called Swedru. It will be about seven hours on a bus down to cape coast and then two hours to get over to Swedru. It's in between cape coast and Accra. So it will be quite the adventure. So this week starting on Tuesday we had district meeting and both Elder Belnap and Elder Mensah from my apartment instructed and they did a great job. Then nothing else really happened. Wednesday we met with a guy who had met with the missionaries in about 2004 and he seems interested again. He really wanted us to bring him a Book of Mormon because that is pretty much all that he remembered. We also went to Sister Affiah's and she gave us Konkonte. It's kind of like fufu and it was pretty good. Not really my favorite but that's okay. Then that night is when President called Elder Belnap and told him that he was going to be a trainer! He is going to be a really good trainer, a lot better than I was. When we got the call, we knew that I would most likely be going because he probably wouldn't train in a new area. On Friday we went by Bertha's because she finally came back from Accra and I told her I would most likely be going. She was sad but understood. They were making fufu so they made us stay to eat some. It was pretty good but the one thing that I didn't like is that I ended up eating a fish head! The little thing was just staring at me in the soup! Then I started at the base where the brain is and ate it from there! The weirdest part was eating the mouth of it. Haha. Then on friday we went and got pizza because it would be my last time doing that. Right after we went and saw Gladis and she took us to get fufu from that shady chop bar again and the soup was so spicy. African spicy is a little different then Mexican spicy and it killed me. Also, we ate antelope and it was actually really good. There was no fat and it was kind of tender. That night we had a lesson with Emmanuel and Bernice and it went great. Emmanuel is such a good kid and I'm going to miss him. Saturday we had some good lessons and everything and I was just dying waiting for the transfer calls to come. They finally came and that is when I found out that I was going to Swedru. Then church on sunday was sad because it was my last in Fiapre. I gave my farewell testimony and it made me really sad that I would probably never see any of them again. After church we went with the Thaynes to their place and they did the training for Elder Belnap. Then Sister Thayne brought out dinner and it was enchiladas! We had such an awesome dinner with them and it was so much fun to just talk and everything. I had my first real sunday dinner in about 9 months! The Thaynes are so cool and I'm really going to miss them since I am leaving Sunyani. So I had an interesting week but it was good. So next week I will be emailing from clear down, pretty much on the coast. So until next week everyone!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, April 23, 2012
April 23, 2012
Hey!
How are all of ya!? I've had a good week over here. The first part of the week was mainly us just going and teaching lessons so that was pretty good for us. On Tuesday we had district meeting and we had it at the Thayne's new place and it was a lot of fun. It is kind of far away from everybody but I'm sure they like it better then their last place. We taught some good lessons that day and it was great. Then on Wednesday it was just another day of lessons and Thursday was the same and we had Mid-week at night and quite a few people showed up so it was a lot of fun. Friday we had lessons throughout the day and then at the end Elder Obasi helped Elder Belnap and I make a large tomato and onion stew. It's really good and you just put it over rice or spaghetti and stuff. So now we have so much of that so I'll be eating that a lot. Saturday was an interesting day. We went out and we had 3 quick lessons before noon. The second one was interesting because it ended up just being Elder Belnap and I giving some people some marriage advice. I don't know why they ask us...we are two 19 year olds who have never been married! Haha but the lessons were very far apart and we were very tired. Oh yeah, I also woke up feeling really crappy and my whole body was aching. So we came back and I layed down and couldn't really get up again. My body felt like I had just run sprints for the past 3 hours and my head hurt and my body was really hot. So we just had to stay inside for a while because I felt like I was going to die. Luckily the next day I woke up and was feeling better. So Sunday was just a normal Sunday. We had church and quite a few people came. After church we just went out and around like always. Transfer news is coming this weekend so there is a very good chance that I will leave but we will have to see I guess! I'll have news about that next week. Oh yeah, also, Mother's Day is coming up and I was just wondering the plan for calling. Just let me know what you want me to do and we will do that. Alright, I love all of you guys! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
How are all of ya!? I've had a good week over here. The first part of the week was mainly us just going and teaching lessons so that was pretty good for us. On Tuesday we had district meeting and we had it at the Thayne's new place and it was a lot of fun. It is kind of far away from everybody but I'm sure they like it better then their last place. We taught some good lessons that day and it was great. Then on Wednesday it was just another day of lessons and Thursday was the same and we had Mid-week at night and quite a few people showed up so it was a lot of fun. Friday we had lessons throughout the day and then at the end Elder Obasi helped Elder Belnap and I make a large tomato and onion stew. It's really good and you just put it over rice or spaghetti and stuff. So now we have so much of that so I'll be eating that a lot. Saturday was an interesting day. We went out and we had 3 quick lessons before noon. The second one was interesting because it ended up just being Elder Belnap and I giving some people some marriage advice. I don't know why they ask us...we are two 19 year olds who have never been married! Haha but the lessons were very far apart and we were very tired. Oh yeah, I also woke up feeling really crappy and my whole body was aching. So we came back and I layed down and couldn't really get up again. My body felt like I had just run sprints for the past 3 hours and my head hurt and my body was really hot. So we just had to stay inside for a while because I felt like I was going to die. Luckily the next day I woke up and was feeling better. So Sunday was just a normal Sunday. We had church and quite a few people came. After church we just went out and around like always. Transfer news is coming this weekend so there is a very good chance that I will leave but we will have to see I guess! I'll have news about that next week. Oh yeah, also, Mother's Day is coming up and I was just wondering the plan for calling. Just let me know what you want me to do and we will do that. Alright, I love all of you guys! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
Monday, April 16, 2012
April 16, 2012
Hey everybody!
I hope you all had a great week! Mine was pretty good except that I had a really bad cold for most of it.
Wednesday is when I woke up and had a sore throat and really bad congestion. Normally cold's don't really get to me but this one was just really bad for some reason. Then that day we had a lesson with somebody that we had met a few days before. She lives up on campus at the Catholic University so we went up there for the first time to have a lesson with her and her friend. It was fun going up there because we had to take a taxi just to get there and it was cool to see the campus. The campus wasn't as big as we thought it was going to be. It's a lot smaller then the ones back home. So that was an interesting experience. Then on Thursday I woke up feeling even worse. We just had a normal day and then we had our mid-week at the end and it went well. Friday we had a lesson with Frank again and it was good. He is such a nice guy. He is still progressing but just very slowly. He is still having a hard time wondering why he needs to leave his church but he always tells us that he loves everything we have taught him and he knows it's true. Then later that night Emmanuel, Bernice, and Francisca came to the church and we had a lesson with them and it was fun. Then it came to Saturday. The baptism for Gladis was supposed to be at six but it got moved to seven because some of the people needed it to be later, so we went and told her in the morning and she ended up taking us to some little chop bar on the side of the road that sold fufu. I had no clue this place even sold food and we pass by it everyday! It was extremely shady but we couldn't really do anything. So we ate and it wasn't too bad. We looked at the meat in it and asked Gladis what it was and she said it was the head of a goat! We even found an eyeball in the soup! Luckily she just threw it out so we didn't have to eat it. Oh yeah, a chicken also randomly jumped onto Elder Belnap's back and then flew off, it was really funny. Then all of our appointments failed us that day. Luckily we had the baptism to make everything better. The baptism went great and I was so happy to see her get baptized. The baptism was at Penkwase so we went back to Fiapre and she bought rice and we all ate dinner together. It was a really good night. Then on Sunday Gladis wasn't able to come to church to get confirmed because Saturday night after the baptism I guess she twisted her ankle and she couldn't walk all of the way to the church and she couldn't find a taxi to get to the church. So she will just have to be confirmed next week. Then after church we passed by a bunch of people and just greeted them and talked to them. It was a pretty good day. Then this morning I just did my wash and everything and so I don't have to do it later which I'm very happy about. So, I hope you all had a great week! I love you all!
Love Elder Kitchen
I hope you all had a great week! Mine was pretty good except that I had a really bad cold for most of it.
Wednesday is when I woke up and had a sore throat and really bad congestion. Normally cold's don't really get to me but this one was just really bad for some reason. Then that day we had a lesson with somebody that we had met a few days before. She lives up on campus at the Catholic University so we went up there for the first time to have a lesson with her and her friend. It was fun going up there because we had to take a taxi just to get there and it was cool to see the campus. The campus wasn't as big as we thought it was going to be. It's a lot smaller then the ones back home. So that was an interesting experience. Then on Thursday I woke up feeling even worse. We just had a normal day and then we had our mid-week at the end and it went well. Friday we had a lesson with Frank again and it was good. He is such a nice guy. He is still progressing but just very slowly. He is still having a hard time wondering why he needs to leave his church but he always tells us that he loves everything we have taught him and he knows it's true. Then later that night Emmanuel, Bernice, and Francisca came to the church and we had a lesson with them and it was fun. Then it came to Saturday. The baptism for Gladis was supposed to be at six but it got moved to seven because some of the people needed it to be later, so we went and told her in the morning and she ended up taking us to some little chop bar on the side of the road that sold fufu. I had no clue this place even sold food and we pass by it everyday! It was extremely shady but we couldn't really do anything. So we ate and it wasn't too bad. We looked at the meat in it and asked Gladis what it was and she said it was the head of a goat! We even found an eyeball in the soup! Luckily she just threw it out so we didn't have to eat it. Oh yeah, a chicken also randomly jumped onto Elder Belnap's back and then flew off, it was really funny. Then all of our appointments failed us that day. Luckily we had the baptism to make everything better. The baptism went great and I was so happy to see her get baptized. The baptism was at Penkwase so we went back to Fiapre and she bought rice and we all ate dinner together. It was a really good night. Then on Sunday Gladis wasn't able to come to church to get confirmed because Saturday night after the baptism I guess she twisted her ankle and she couldn't walk all of the way to the church and she couldn't find a taxi to get to the church. So she will just have to be confirmed next week. Then after church we passed by a bunch of people and just greeted them and talked to them. It was a pretty good day. Then this morning I just did my wash and everything and so I don't have to do it later which I'm very happy about. So, I hope you all had a great week! I love you all!
Love Elder Kitchen
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| Elder Belnap and Elder Kitchen |
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| Elder Belnap, Gladis, Elder Kitchen |
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| This is a chicken they took the feathers off. |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
April 10, 2012
Hey everybody!
Happy Easter! I know it's late
but that's okay. This week was a pretty good one. Last week on
Tuesday we just had district meeting and there wasn't anything special
about that. Then we went and saw Gladis later that day and she fed us
some banku and it had a chicken foot in it. Luckily she ended up eating
that because I sure didn't want to. Wednesday was kind of a slow day
but there was a really funny part. Bertha's dog Jack really likes Elder
Belnap and I and he ended up following us after we left all of the way
to Gladis' house and he wouldn't leave. So we had to take him all of the
way back to his house. It was really funny. Then on Thursday, Elder
Belnap and I were making tortillas to go with our bean stew that we
made. We had to go and get flour from the market and Gladis saw us and
asked what we were doing. We told her and so she told us that we had to
bring her some so we did! We told her it was Mexican food and so she
kept going around telling people that she just ate Mexico food. It was a
lot of fun. Then that night nobody came to the institute class so it
was kind of disappointing. Friday we had a service project at the
chapel in the morning and we weeded the whole front part. The members
came and they did a great job. We had some lesson that day with Frank
and Elijah and they went alright. Saturday we had a meeting with
president and it was good. They brought up some mail and I got some
packages. :) Thank you Dad, Cindy, Mom, and Katie. I loved everything
that you guys sent. Then it was Easter. I conducted Sacrament this
week and gave a talk about the resurrection of Christ. We had a lesson
with Joyce right after church and we talked about our purpose on earth.
It didn't really feel like Easter. It just felt like any other regular
day. Then yesterday was p-day. We played football for our activity.
Then Elder Belnap and I had to go and see Bertha. She wanted to feed us
for Easter. They fed us first fried rice and then a lot of fufu. It was
very good. We also found out that the cafe that we normally email at
was closed for the day because of Easter so that is why we emailed
today. Today at district meeting we had a fufu party after which we
were supposed to have after football yesterday but we weren't able to
because of time. It was a lot of fun! Also, Gladis came to church on
Sunday so we are planning to have a baptism on Saturday! I just hope
everything works out! Thanks everybody for everything! I love all of
you guys! Have a great week!
Love Elder Kitchen
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