The Sweetest Faces of Ghana

April 2026

 

I loved this artwork hanging in the mission home. I had never seen this particular picture before, but something about it stirred a deep love inside me.

The children in Ghana were absolutely adorable. They were curious about us and sometimes brave enough to say hello, come touch us, or hold our hands. Then they would squeal and run away. Most of the children were in school during the day, but we learned that some have to stay home while their families save enough money for uniforms or school supplies.

While we were visiting one of the villages, a little group of children followed us for about a block. One girl, who looked to be about five years old, had a paper bill clutched tightly in her hand. I playfully reached over and tugged on it, but she quickly pulled her hand away. I immediately felt a little bad because I could tell she had probably been given strict instructions to keep it safe.

She told me the money was for water. In Ghana, small plastic bags of drinking water can be purchased from the little shops.

Of all the children I interacted with during our trip, only one ever asked me for anything. She asked if I had any water. I didn’t, and at that moment I was separated from Brian and Parker, who had the money. I still feel badly that I wasn’t able to help her.

I think Parker was especially happy to hold this little guy—particularly since holding children wasn’t something he was allowed to do as a missionary.

The children seemed to have so little, yet they also seemed happy and resourceful. Some were playing with old tires. I remembered a picture Parker had sent home during his mission of a child playing with a sardine can that had tiny wheels attached to turn it into a car.

At one school, the children were playing in an enclosed dirt courtyard. When they saw us, they ran up the stairs to a window so they could wave. We were every bit as happy to see them—to smile, wave, and say hello—as they were to see us.

I also loved watching the women carry their babies on their backs while they worked. This little guy was Edmund, our driver’s son.

At the bus station, we saw two tiny babies nestled close to their beautiful mothers.

And this sweet little doll was blessed in Accra on the Sunday we attended church.

This little girl was on the temple grounds. I handed out lots of snap bracelets and small candies one day.

The children were a sweet and memorable part of our time in Ghana. Their curiosity, big brown eyes, and simple happiness found a permanent place in my heart.

Aubrey's First Week in Argentina

July 2026

It was so great to hear from Aubrey this week. I was feeling somewhat anxious about my girl and how she was adjusting to her new missionary life in a foreign country. Her time in the MTC definitely spoiled us because of Father's Day and the Fourth of July holidays, we were able to talk with her twice each week. Going a full seven days without hearing her voice—or knowing how she was feeling—was much harder than I expected.

Argentina is two hours ahead of us, so I loved waking up Wednesday morning to find an email waiting in my inbox. She sounded happy, positive, and like she was settling into her new life just fine.

Later that day, we were able to video chat with her as well. Seeing her smile and hearing about her first week in Argentina put this mom's heart at ease.

Here are a few pictures from our video call, along with her very first letter from Argentina.

Everyone was able to pop on for at least a hot minute and say hello. (Erin Noel too...but no picture) It's going to be tricky for Brian to join group calls because he is working at a hospital outpatient clinic as a Physical Therapy Assistant. So, he is with clients from 8-12 and 1-5 everyday. Luckily, Aubrey had a pretty flexable p-day today and was able to call Brian and I in the evening to visit a bit more.

July 15, 2026

TRAVEL DAY

The last days of the CCM (Missionary Training Center) were so fun and busy. I miss my district so much, rip.

I got a combined 5 hours of sleep Monday and Tuesday night. The plane ride from Mexico to Argentina was 9 hours, and it was actually so fun; it flew by. We had movies, music, meals, and got to talk the whole time! But I had to say bye to the Salta missionaries from my district, and that was really sad. I miss them. When we landed, we got to stay in a super nice hotel and had such a good breakfast, but I was lowkey freaking out about actually being a missionary. The CCM was awesome but nothing like actual missionary work.

ARGENTINA

We went to the mission home Wednesday and got to meet our trainers. My trainer is the absolute best ever. She is a grinder. She is so dedicated and a hard worker, and she has taught me so much. I feel so bad because I know barely any Spanish, so I am no help. She has been so patient and serves me every day. When I got here, she got me a basket and a welcome sign. She makes us food, she buys me facturas, and is so encouraging and answers my 1000+ Spanish questions. My favorite part about her is that she is bold and not ashamed. She will baja la cañe, no shame.

Updates

-The food is so good. I can't stop eating. The facturas, empanadas, bread, alfajores, mate, literally everything is so good. I genuinely eat wayyy too much.

-The sidewalks and roads are not smooth at all, and I keep tripping. The other day,we thought we would be time efficient and cross the railroads. We practically climbed a mountain and were tumbling down the side

- I went on an intercambio (where you switch companions for the day), and I was with a solo Spanish speaker. It was a long day of trying to come up with words I knew to talk to her. Shoutout to the EI test at the CCM for helping me have 1 minute responses about movies, family, books, etc

-On my first actual day, I started by saying "Podemos compartir una tarjeta de Jesucristo". It felt like such a big deal. Now, a week later, I am talking so much more. I help in lessons, try to add a new contacting line every day, testify, pray, etc. I want to learn so badly. Never in my life have I had such a desire to learn. I want so badly to share with the people where they can find joy and learn more about Jesus. It has been hard not understanding or being able to say what I want to say. I'd greatly appreciate prayers about me learning Spanish.

-I love all of our friends and members. I'll tell y'all about two of them.

Ramiro-He is a convert of 8 months and speaks English and is in his 20s. He is so willing to help and learn, and we are working with him on reading The Book of Mormon and going to the temple. The other day we made a bet that we would read more chapters of the BOM out loud in Spanish than him. This way we could get better at Spanish, and he could read more. The loser had to buy the other facturas. He stayed up all night and got so far. And then he slept through church, so it kinda backfired lol.

-We met Carlos on my first day here and stacked a fetcha with him. He has had us over for lessons twice, and it is so cute. He sets up a table with tea, crackers, facturas, and makes sure that his sister comes over so we can go in. Sometimes we have friends who are more interested in the company rather than the gospel which sucks, we might have to drop him (move on to find others more interested) if he doesn't come to church this week so 

Speaking of that, asistencias are the death of me. Pretty much we work hard and have so much hope and so many friends all week, but if they don't come to church we have to decide if we are dropping them. This week only 1 of our 5, CONFIRMED btw, friends came. It was really sad cause that sets the work back a lot. But it was a miracle. We woke up to everyone saying they weren't coming or ignoring us. It was really defeating. We said probably 10 prayers together before church at 10am, walked and knocked on their doors, and we walked into church and Ivan was there!!!! We were so surprised and happy. God hears prayers and answers them. My testimony on that has already grown so much.

Spiritual Thought

President Fewkes, my mission leader,  gave a fire message on our first day. He said there are two big questions as a missionary.

Are you willing to leave everything behind?

Are you willing to give everything?

He said y'all have already left your family and friends and life and country. Give everything. I love this so much. We have focused so much on consecrating our time and going to work. I have the unique opportunity to focus on others and serve them and my Savior for 18 months. I am grateful for that. I can't wait to give everything I have, forget myself, improve, and show others the love and joy this gospel brings.

Alma 26:12

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Love Y'all

Nos vemos pronto

Ps My p-day (preparation day) is Monday but got moved to today because of the World Cup semi-final game. Vamos Argentina

Idk if I want Argentina to win or lose. If they win, it will be hard to talk to anyone, especially with another game on Sunday. If they lose, we might have to stay in cause we are white, and there might be some chaos. So kinda a lose-lose situation. 

Hermana Naulder from Rupert, Idaho 

Her p-day will usually be on Monday, but her mission leaders moved it to Wednesday and gave them permission to gather as zones to watch the game. Argentina did win against England and the final game will be on Sunday against Spain. The missionaries had to gather 10 days of food so they would be prepared for chaos/unrest if Argentina lost. I'm sure they will need to do that this weekend as well.

The other missionary she went out with for a day.

Brian and I were laughing so hard listening to Aubrey talk about all the food she's been eating. Brian finally joked, "What have you done with my daughter?" 😂

Anyone who knows Aubrey knows she would have never tried a dish like the one above at home. Her list of foods she didn't like was always a mile long! But during our phone call this week, she excitedly told us about several foods she's discovered she loves—different meats, onions, sauces, and other things she would have completely avoided before. I'm happy to see her becoming more adventurous. I know when I served a mission and had members feed us dinner, I realized I actually liked a lot more variety than I thought.

I know mission life will stretch her in so many ways. I am glad she has a trainer she loves and had a good first week in the field.

Making Time for Friends

July 11, 2026

Tonight was our third game night together over the past several months, and I hope it's a tradition that continues. We used to gather with friends when our kids were little, and I think life got too busy during their teen years to keep it going. It's been fun to start up again. 

February gathering at the Winfreys: Kara & Ryan Thompson, Debbie Carlston, Natalia Winfrey, Dave C., Mike W., me and Brian

Our little group is made up of the Relief Society presidency and our spouses. It's one of those combinations where everyone just clicks. (We were a little surprised by that, to be honest. The ladies are friends— but not besties, and we didn't know it would work so well with our husbands.) 

Conversation is easy, laughter comes naturally, and nobody has to work hard to keep things going. We all happen to be about the same age, enjoy playing games, and have a lot of shared experiences, which makes getting together simple and fun.

We've played all sorts of games: Taboo, Compatability, The Newlywed Game, The Sock Game, Wavelink, Clairvoyance and more.

Everyone brings snacks to share (although one time we made it a dinner night), and we probably eat too much. Between the friendly competition, the stories, and the laughter, the evenings are a lot of fun--it's good for my soul.

I'm grateful for these couples. They make ordinary evenings memorable and remind me that it is important to make time for relationships. Here's to many more game nights

Home MTC: Zoom Life, Spanish and Spiritual Growth

May 27-June 10, 2026

All three of our kiddos who have served missions have had the Home MTC (Mission Training Center) experience, and each one has looked a little different.

Aubrey's was unique because she had the challenge (and opportunity) of learning Spanish in addition to the gospel study and teaching side of things. She was also home for two weeks rather than one.

Brian and I loved having the chance to be a part of the beginning of their missions. Here are a few things, from my perspective, that I want to remember about Aubrey's home MTC experience.

I witnessed her countenance soften as she began immersing herself in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I loved hearing her share parts of conference talks or firesides that impacted her. About 10 days into her training, she said something like, "I'm listening to conference talks for the first time, and they are good. I've also come to realize that Jeffrey R. Holland is really amazing."

(Sidenote: she's listened to conference talks all of her life... but I understood what she meant. Also, welcome to the President Holland fan club!)

Seven plus hours of Zoom a day is ROUGH....but she pushed through everyday. She also had about three more hours of personal gospel study, Spanish study and companionship study daily. Whew.

Not going to lie... there were some rough moments, especially when it came to Spanish class. 

Luke 13:28: "There shall be weeping (and wailing) and gnashing of teeth...." 

It was a three-hour class at the end of the day and didn't end until 10:00 p.m. She was mentally and emotionally worn out. From day one, the class was taught entirely in Spanish. It was a lot.

There were tears, pep talks, back rubs and late-night walks pretty much every night. 

But then she would be up early again the next day with renewed energy, determination, and a smile on her face. It was impressive.

I loved walking by her room and hearing her laugh and interact with her district. She loved them and couldn't wait to meet them in person at the Mexico MTC.

I tried to stay pretty available so when she popped out throughout the day for an eight-minute break, she had someone to talk to... and I wanted to hear everything she had to share.

Brian and I also spoiled her in one of her love languages: fast food. Her lunch or dinner wish was our command. (Well... we picked up food for her once a day — and sometimes Diet Coke or ice cream too.) She had short breaks and a packed schedule, so she often had to scarf down her food!

A couple of times we were able to have a late family lunch and include Aubrey. Her schedule was full, so mostly she wasn't available.

"Girl lunch" at Olive Garden. Every Thursday my dad, Britney, and I eat out together. This time we included Britney's girls, Aubrey, and Kaide.

Speaking of Kaide, one of Aubrey's favorite things was having him come in and out of her room during breaks to give her a hug. He was always hoping she could play with him, but she was a busy sister missionary. She was especially happy when he happened to be over and her eight-minute break lined up.

One really fun thing about home MTC is a little flexibility as a missionary. Her Sundays were much more open, and these amazing friends came over one week. I LOVED hearing them talk and laugh as they watched a church show and made bookmarks. I could tell it rejuvenated her. 

Joseph, Kate, and Wells were in town for a few days, and they were so sweet to stop by one last time to wish Aubrey the best before she left. (Home MTC perk for sure!)

I love this girl. I am so proud of her for choosing to serve a mission. I know how much it will bless her life too. Heavenly Father is so good. She is sacrificing 18 months to serve, but I know how He will be able to bless her life forever through this experience.