To be Ghana long time: Rock version of a child's prayer?

Alright so now I have a decent amount of time to do some writing. The flights were long and I'm a little tired. It's almost noon at the MTC right now and we've just been going through immunizations and settling in. I crashed hard last night. I realize I haven't been out in the hot sun yet (we arrived at midnight last night), but so far I'm actually enjoying the humidity. I met up with two Elders in Salt Lake and a few more in London. I did get a few offers for help with bags and they really pass themselves off as official workers, but I was able to brush them off. We had more come with us all the way to the car and helped regardless but we didn't give them anything. I tried not to associate with them at all, but one Elder swallowed it bait, hook and sinker. He didn't lose anything, but I can't blame him; they really are cool people. ah the people. Here at the MTC they are fantastic. I wish I could tell you more about the area, but I've only been here for one morning. We're going to talk a half-hour walk outside around the grounds in a bit to shake of the jet-lag. All of my district is going to Kumasi. My companion isn't here yet but he's from Fiji. There is one Elder here from Australia and he is a really awesome guy. big too. I may be teaching sooner than you think Mom, because I'm actually only here for eleven days. I'll leave the Tuesday after next. The driving didn't seem all that bad, but then again there wasn't much traffic at midnight. It's very cloudy here and very green. I had a muffin-style bread loaf, a banana and hot chocolate for breakfast. It's not much but every bit helps. Don't worry too much about me, because I'm actually handling everything pretty well. It's hard to write so much when I really haven't done much yet, but I know Mom and Emily want more than my last rushed E-mail. Just know that I love you all and I hope everything is alright back home. –Austin

…Real quick. There is a rock version of "a child's prayer" playing in the background. cracked me up.

Alright, we have a huge crowded room full of eager missionaries, because some people don't understand how to read clocks. I'll have to make this fairly quick. In response to dad's questions, my companion actually never arrived, so I was reassigned to a Tongan companion. I call him Elder "Hoa", meaning companion in Tongan. His English is a little poor, but we're working on it. He's quite the character. speaking of characters my district "Alma" is easily the best district in the MTC. We have an Elder from Uganda named Elder Tuchabe, pronounced tooshaab. He's one of the most unique people I have ever met. such a character. The food is pretty standard. Bread, porridge, a banana and a glass of hot chocolate for breakfast. for lunch and dinner, usually a plateful of rice, a piece of chicken and a vegetable. It's not pleasure food, but it's filling and easy to eat. not sure how i'll travel to Kumasi yet. The natives have a thick accent, and sometimes when they speak quickly it is difficult to understand. for the most part it's not a problem. it sounds just like the accent of calypso from pirates of the Caribbean. Tell brooke it sounds like zecora. I actually just found the letters last night. They were wonderful and I thank you for them, especially brooke's picture. It's taped in my journal. \I've rationed out the snacks pretty well. I still have plenty left and sometimes I share them with hoa. It's just me and him rooming for now. We should have two more elders, but elder tuschabe and his companion moved in with other people. such characters. Thanks for the e-mail. as my instructor says, "Elder Silva. the lord sees you have written a lot. I can see you've written more than 500 words." I need to go now. Later.

This is an odd circumstance, but I have a chance to write again. We went to the Accra Temple today so the schedule is a little lax. Not much to say yet. The Temple was beautiful and very green. I purchased a Twi Book of Mormon today, either for kicks and giggles or maybe some language study at some point on the mission. Everyone here speaks English, but some, depending on the area, will mix Twi in as well. Glad to hear from Em. Not sure if I mentioned this previously, but I received Emily's letter as well. Thanks Em, I loved it. Well, I suppose I'll finish up now, since there's nothing else to say. Oh the driving. It's not as bad as you may think, but it is very aggressive. Think of it as a battle royale between cars. There are people selling things on the street as well. Literally on the street. They carry bananas or gum and such on their heads in between cars at traffic jams. Yes it's not just a myth. Everyone here has abnormally strong heads.