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HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!   WOW …..did we think we would ever make it to 2026.  But here we are and at the beginning of a new year.  It is always fun to think about a new year and what lies ahead.  I know we all go through the attempt of making “new year's resolutions”, but for some reason they never last long…..at least that is the case for me.  But it is nice to think about making changes for the better and seeing if we can break old habits and begin new habits that will make us a

Well…..here we are about done with another year.  2025 is about to come to a close.  And what a year it has been for Jill and I.  It is natural for all of us to reflect on what happened over the last 12 months.  We think about what went well, what was difficult, and what we wish we had done differently.  But the turning of a new year also reminds us that Heavenly Father’s plan is a plan of progression…..of endings that lead to new beginnings.  It’s important to put the past i

Just a few more days until Christmas.  I was listening to Christmas music again and reflecting on the season…..what we are doing here in Ghana…..and the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  At Christmas, our hearts naturally tun to our Savior and we once again read and ponder his birth as the baby Jesus.  I am grateful to be on a mission during this Christmas season and grateful that I can be a personal representative of Him and His church.  I hope we have all taken the time t

The “Light the World” initiative   is a special invitation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by sharing His light with others during the Christmas season through acts of kindness.  The movement aims to transform Christmas into a season of service following Christ’s example through actions like feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, visiting the sick, and showing kindness to everyone.  There is just something differ

In addition to the usual pictures and videos I share, I thought I would add some information about what it is like to celebrate Christmas in Ghana.  They are a very religious people, so they do sing the Christmas songs, do the Nativity scenes, read from Luke 2, etc.  (I’ve actually heard Johnny Mathis and Michael Buble’).  They also consider it a time for families to gather and celebrate in a culturally different way…..lots of costumes, masks, music, dancing, and food.  If yo

We have missionary training this next week, so Jill and I got out the decorations we could find and decorated the mission office the best we could. We are early.....but I'm in the mood. I guess the best way for me to get into the Christmas spirit is to write some of my thoughts of the season each week in this Blog.  There will be no gifts from Jill and I this year to the family as we celebrate Christmas here in Ghana.  It is just too difficult to do so, and Jill does not lik

When I sit down to write something on this weekly Blog, I try to think about the things that happened during the week..... the events, the activities, the people, and the unusual things we have seen or done.  This week I am going to write a little about being thankful and trying to always have an “attitude of gratitude”.  It is the Thanksgiving season, so this was a natural thing to write about.  I reflect every year at this time about how thankful I am and how the Lord has b

With the passing of Russell M. Nelson, Elder Gerald Causs’e is the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and was called and ordained by President Dallin H. Oaks on November 6, 2025.  Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Causs’e was serving as the Presiding Bishop of the church, with responsibilities over the finances, humanitarian aid, tithing, fast offerings, physical facilities, and the organization of membership records.  He would also travel f

This week we had an area Seventy visit the mission and all 170 missionaries were able to come together to meet at the Temple grounds in the stake center for a day of meetings.  It was nice to see all of them at once…..usually we hold 3 separate multi-zone conferences.  Elder Ojediran, 1 st  Counselor in the West Africa Area Presidency, presided and he is a very good speaker and teacher.  It was a nice conference.  You can see from the pictures below we were able to get everyo

Some might think that I display too many pictures and way too many videos.  I’m thinking of my wife right now.....She does. I thought about that and decided in my own mind that I don’t……. these pictures and videos are for me when I look back 10 years from now.  I take more videos on vacations than anyone.  For me, watching a video does more for me than a picture.  My wife and I dutifully took videos of all of our kids soccer and basketball games…..their proms and school perfo

I wanted to share some thoughts about what we see in these individual missionaries’ day in and day out….each and every week. Think about what they are learning as they walk the streets of Ghana and every other mission throughout the world…..all 450 of those missions…..soon to be 506 July 1, 2026.   When I was a young missionary, I was asked the question, why did you serve a mission?  When I became a Father and saw my sons and daughter go on missions, I was asked again, why d

As I noted in last week’s Blog, I wanted to follow up with some more pictures and videos of the “Ghana Make a Difference Foundation” (GMAD) and the work the doctors, nurses, volunteers, and medical professionals are doing here in Ghana.  We have a picture below of Jill and I with Corey Hoffman, the founder.  We also met his wife, Stacey, but could not find her for a picture.  There is a video below that talks about her and the work she has done. They are very busy people and

General Conference, as usual, was absolutely wonderful. It is so refreshing to be reminded of things we can do to improve our lives and become more like Christ. We will miss President Nelson, but the church will move forward with a new leader and a new First Presidency. After serving our mission now for a little over four months, we were excited to see someone from back home. Amy and Jason Hiatt, along with two of their daughters Sophie and Livvy, showed up here in Accra, Gha

Just like many of you, I have been thinking a lot about President Russell M. Nelson this week.  He passed away last Saturday at 101...

We held three Multi-Zone Conferences this week for 8 Zones.  It is so much fun to see all of the missionaries in a short period of time. ...

It is interesting when things don’t seem to be going well, problems begin piling up, and we might find ourselves getting stressed out and...

We held a Sisters Conference this week and it was wonderful and left everyone with a good feeling inside.  SISTERHOOD …..a bond that...

This was a week of entertaining and hosting.  As you recall, we live in the Mission Office. When people need things or come for...

“Enter to Learn…..Go Forth To Serve” ….. a motto of BYU and on a sign as you enter the campus.  Another motto says, “The World is our...

This was the week of departures and arrivals. It happens every six weeks.  We had 12 missionaries go home, and we had 14 new arrivals. It...