Ghana service day

Last Saturday all of the missions in Africa participated in a service day.   One branch cleaned up the police station in town and our branch went to a different town and worked to clean up, in and around this health clinic.   We had about 15 women and 20 men and boys show up to help.   We all put on yellow vests and began to work.   The women went inside and the men worked outside.  

 Elder Jensen and Elder Wylie were getting their instructions from one of the members in charge.  This is the clinic and grounds at which we were about to work on.

 Elder Nielson was given a grass cutter and because he didn't know how to use it we had a game of golf.    We had to chop the grass and weeds with them and the one I had was so dull all it did was lay the grass over.   Someone had a file so we sharpened all the tools and then went to work.  I got a blister on my hand soon after I started so I didn't chop as much grass as the rest of the members did.  

 I traded the golf club cutter for a cutlass which made me look cool and deadly.

 Elder wylie and Jensen learned the art of mowing with a cutlass in no time.   We cut a large section of the property down in just a few minutes.   

Sister Nielson worked inside with this little girl helper and had a big job trying to clean up the rooms.   There is no glass in the windows so the dust and insects can enter at anytime.  Because of this the cleaning effort would last for only a short time at best.   

 This cute little girl was our helper, however we didn't get much work out of her but she provided our moral support.   Her hair was in braids with little beads on the ends of each braid.   Her name is Nora.

 I took a turn at the water pump so the ladies could get water to do the mopping.    The water comes from a well.  We saw no running water inside of the clinic.  

 Some of the ladies swept up all the leaves with these small brooms.   These brooms are used by everyone here for sweeping the ground.   They are made out of the stems of the leaves from the palm trees.  

 After they swept up the leaves into piles we loaded them into the wheelbarrow.  I was the only one there with gloves so I was elected to pick up all the trash and leaves and put it onto the shovel.  

 

When we finished with our labors the branch provided us with a large meal.   Rice and beans, spaghetti, cold slaw, two kinds of really hot sauce and a smoked fish head.   It was very tasty except for the last item which the Elders dared me to eat one of the eyeballs out of so I did.   Not recommended for the faint at heart.  






When we finished our project and I
started the trunk 7 members and one
wheelbarrow jumped into the back and I had to deliver them all back to town.   I felt pretty special because after dodging all the potholes not even one of them fell out.    The Lord blessed us all with a safe ride home and a good feeling in our hearts for the service we provided.    

Moving day

 We had to completely stock two apartments before the new missionaries arrived.   I learned to carry things on my head just like the natives do.   Although I had to hold it with one hand so it wouldn't fall off.  

Here is a new refrigerator that we took to one of the apartments.   I carried it in all by myself on my head but no one took a picture of it.    

This is the trusty little bike shop where I buy all my bike parts.   There is only room for one customer at a time inside.    A lot of people here ride bikes so it is a pretty busy place.   The owner fixed a bike for me because I didn't have a special wrench which it took to remove a bolt.  It took him over an hour to fix it and he had to replace a couple of parts.   He charged me only 5cd's which is only $2.50.   I gave him 10cd's and now I have a friend for life. 

We went to market to get a cutlass to do some work at out service project.  They work great to chop grass, weeds and lions.  

New but close friends

Please meet our new but very close friends,  Elder and Sister Wall from Bountiful, Utah.  They arrived in Ghana a week before we got here.   They were very helpful and eager to show us around and get us started in our new life here in Africa.   We spent a lot of time with them for the first week or so of our mission.   We had a truck and they didn't have theirs yet so we shared the one we had.  They are the office couple and their jobs are very intense and they are very busy all the time.    They take care of all the money for the mission as well as purchasing all of the things that are needed for the missionaries apartments.   Since the mission was split right after they arrived, a ton of work was dumped into their laps.   I don't think that they have much time to relax or enjoy life outside of the office.   However the Lord could have not picked a better couple to undertake this overwhelming job.   If something is needed they find it, if you have a question they have an answer.   We were invited over to their home for dinner one night and it was a real treat to be with them.      

We went out one day and we ran across this stand where they were selling ground nuts (peanuts).  You could pick the ones with the skin on or off.  They were all roasted.   These nuts are very good and we have them in our house all the time.   Very good treat to munch on.   In a place which is so far away from home and so different from what we are used to it is a blessing to have such good friends to visit with and sometimes share experiences.   We are in the bush and they are in the city and we are separated by about 40 miles.   But we do get to town once in a while when the ground nuts run low.   

Hammin it up in the bush

I had to change the wire on my ham radio antenna so I had to climb up the tower part way.   Since my tower consists of a 35 foot bamboo pole it was a bit tricky.  But with help from above I succeeded. 

 My only audience was this small black goat.  I don't think he was at all impressed with my climbing ability.  I got my shirt caught on the spears when I came down but I came away unscaved.    

 I needed a small piece of wood for some repairs to the missionaries apartment so we went to a local cabinet makers shop.  What you see is his whole shop.   He had no power tools, only a hand saw, hammer, wooden block plane and a tape measure.    He made the cabinet or hutch that you can see part of in the background behind the square post.   It was very nice and he had done an extremely good job on it.  It even had drawers and glass sliding doors on the top.   He said he wanted 200 cd's for it or $100.00...Not bad for hand crafted.   Really hand crafted. 

Elder Smith and Elder Bacodie going out on their first lesson together.  They have lived in the same apartment for a long time but were not companions till Elder Christensen left.   

Big Tree and jungle

On the way to the town of Oda we ventured out into the jungle a few hundred yards to see this big tree.   It is the biggest tree in western Africa.  The pictures do not do it justice as to it's size.   It was "huge".  I think it was over 80 feet around and a couple of hundred feet high.   It was discovered over 400 years ago.  There are a lot of rituals and superstitions surrounding this tree.   One of them is that if you run around the tree three times it will change your gender.   Neither one of us wanted to give it a try.    Another one is if you go there and make a wish or request and then leave some wine it will come true.   There were many bottles of wine all around the trunk.  You can see them in the picture behind Elder Nielson (below).   

 This tree has all the roots exposed from the ground.  

 Here is the path going to the Big Tree.    The Lord's handy work in the garden really comes to light in this place.   There is no lack of beautiful and wondrous things to behold here.    

 On the right side of the tree you can see a ring or lump on the trunk,  they said that in the past someone tried to cut the tree down but could not and it healed itself.  More wine bottles and most of them were full.    The rest of the pictures are just of some of the beautiful  things that we see here everyday.

 

Farewell good friend

 Farewell dinner for Elder Christensen the night before he left for home.  He is the one in the traditional African shirt.  

We had fried chicken,  Elder Smith barbecued some hard chicken on his home made barbecue grill.  Sister Nielson baked soft chicken in the oven.   The difference in the hard and soft chicken is the hard is laying hens and the soft is regular chicken.   It looks the same but you can't hardly chew the hard.   It is kind of like jerky.   
Elder Christensen is enjoying some of the hard chicken.

Elder Christensen is shopping and saying goodbye to a member who he  taught.  He bought some African cloth from her to take home.    I'm sure it is hard to leave the people here who have become such good friends for two years.    

Looking out over the market place and the hills in the distance make leaving a painful experience.  Missionaries really become attached to the people and the areas that they serve in.  They do more than just live here, they get involved in peoples lives because of the work that they are doing for Heavenly Father.  Our love and admiration goes out to each and everyone of them for the service they provide.  You don't realize how hard they work till you live close to them and follow them day by day.    

It is very surprising how close you become with each of these missionaries in just the short time that we get to be with them.   Life long friendships develop almost overnight.   Elder Smith almost stepped on his lower lip when they said goodbye.  They always put on a good show when the cameras come out.   We know that the Lord will bless and keep these young men for the sacrifice and service that they give..  The statement that "a mission will turn boys into men" is very very true.  Good luck Elder Christensen.  

Typical day in the bush

This young lady was out in the yard preparing supper.  All the cooking is done outside on an open fire.   There are always goats around.   From old ones to middle size ones to very small cute ones.   You have to keep one eye on the ground as you walk around because they leave land mines all over the place. 

 Typical small school house.   One room, open to the world.   The black board is just a cement wall with black paint or charcoal.  The desks are wooden, one piece.   These boys were playing checkers on a very large checker board.  We tried to teach them English while we were there but none of them understood a single word we said.   They were all very happy to see us and seemed happy to be in school.  However there was no teacher around, that could be why they were happy to be in school.

There are half built buildings all over the place.  Walls only, no roofs or floors.  Grass and trees growing inside.   They build as they can afford it and it takes a long time to get the building to this stage.   Then the builder might die or move or can't afford to finish and it never gets completed.  Buildings are built out of cement blocks that are made right on the site of the building by the builder.  They have a form and a pile of sand and cement and a bucket.  Slow but strong and fireproof.   

Sister Nielson is buying what is called here "Bowl Float".  They are kind of like a scone but are round and about the size of a soft ball.   The bread is kind of sweet and they are very good but really filling.   Leaves a lump inside of you about the size of, you guessed it, a soft ball.  The price is right though,  25 cents each, that is 50 paceways here in Ghana money.  

We went down a small path out in the jungle and it opened up into this yard.   I thought this was a really cool picture.  The pot is sitting upon three supports which are made out of dirt or clay and the fire bakes them then they can hold the pot.   There are very small ones also for small pots.  They cook corn and palm nuts any many other things in these big pots, and occasionally a small missionary.  It was getting close to supper time so we thought it would be a good idea to go.  Even the people out here in the jungle are willing to talk to us and are all very nice.