(Even though he is no longer in the Ghana MTC, we received this hand-written letter on Friday, November 26th from Elder Vaughan at the Ghana MTC dated November 14th. As you can see, it takes about 10 days for a letter to get here using the church's pouch mailing service from Ghana.)
Hello Family!
I'm going to write tiny and condensed so I can tell you of all the wonders here in Africa! But first, I have some thanks to give. Tell Helen and Heather that I am extremely grateful for the bandanna they sent me off with! I use it every day, and it's a nice piece of America. Also, please thank Sister Southworth for her Lullaby album. It's officially my favorite music to listen to here! It's absolutely lovely. Mom, thanks for making me take all of those extra things I didn't think I needed. That Tide-to-go pen sure got its use when I dropped a yam into my tomato sauce and splattered my whole shirt (but not my tie!) in red. I use the hand sanitizer every day before meals, and it was a great blessing when the water was in disrepair.
Thanks again to Helen and Heather for the candy. The Africans here had never heard of any of it, so I shared it all away. They loved it! Same with the Crystal Light drink mix packets. Apparently they don't have anything like that here. Thanks for the MP3 player and speakers. Elder Abbey is the only other Elder with a music player, but even then he does not have speakers for it. I and everyone here LOVE music! I think the best things you sent me off with though are the little hand-written notes you hid in all my books. I cherish them so much! In a place so completely foreign, a little piece of home brings so much joy.
Well, every day is an adventure here! I definitely had one of the NASTIEST foods in my life a few days ago. I can't remember what they call it, but it was basically a huge ball of bread dough mixed with ground cassava and smothered in a sticky red sauce (everyone ate this with their hands). Everything comes in a red sauce by the way. It tasted rather horrible, like a ball of dough in red sauce. The fried chicken here is fantastic though. I shall never eat KFC again. Do you remember the days when you would tell me to finish my food because there were starving children in Africa? Yeah, well I've discovered that people who starve in Africa do so because the Africans who are eating eat like three pounds of rice/beans/pasta every meal!! Their appetites are frightening.
I really like the people here though. Whenever people greet here, they give a firm handshake and use each others middle fingers to snap. It's pretty dang awesome. They also have some pretty awesome word usages. For example, they can't say “ask,” and it always comes out “axe.” Or they will say, “I so much love/hate...” something. The best one though is the word “somehow” which they use as a response to a question, indicating partial agreement or understanding. For example, “Are you prepared to teach tomorrow?” “Eh, somehow,” meaning that they might need to prepare more. I've also discovered I'm pretty good at playing football (yes, soccer) barefoot. That's how most do it around here, barefoot or in flip flops (which I am very much grateful for).
Spiritually speaking, things are very good here. Brother Gardiner, a returned missionary who served here in the Ghana Accra mission taught us about asking inspired questions. He basically pushed us into a situation where we were required to receive spiritually inspired questions to ask our investigators. It was very powerful to really begin handling the Lord's power of personal revelation like that. There are so many things that build great faith. Just like my setting-apart blessing said, there has been no room for fear in my mission. I am unafraid. I just miss my home, family and friends so much.
I've given up so much to be here. The root meaning of “sacrifice” comes from “sacri” and “facere,” which together mean “to make sacred.” You, my family, my dear friends are sacred now to me. It makes life very hard here, now that Thanksgiving is on Friday because you won't likely get this letter until after it's happened. I'll wish you a happy Thanksgiving now! I love you all so very very much and miss you like a flower misses the sun. I'm so very grateful for my family and all that you've done to support me. They say that you find what you love most when you've lost it, and it's definitely true. I don't miss any luxuries of life (except Warhammer, I'll always miss that), or any “thing” that I thought made me happy. I miss my family and friends, as they are who make me most happy. They, the Africans, don't know what Thanksgiving is. Truth be told, Thanksgiving will be the hardest day for me. Nothing says Thanksgiving around here like “dough-balls” do... Well, it's time for me to wrap up. I have yet to hear anything from anyone. Oh, and send Hil's address to me please? Thanks so much! I love you, my family and dearest friends, from here and into the next life.
Remember God, for he never forgets his sheep. I pray for you always.
Love,
Elder Chris Vaughan
P.S. I'll send pictures as soon as I have more! The Lord's errand has a way of keeping me occupied. Oh, and I'm one of the better soccer players here. Thanks Dad!
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