1 July 2018

Today we are half way through the mission. Also, I was able to talk to Julia through Skype. She is struggling with heart compensation and atrial fibrillation. Aging rapidly, she is slow to get around and still has much of her mind. We see she has lost weight and is very weak.

Our fast and testimony meeting was rather exciting with 60 some young people from GMAD. The chapel is filled with new recruits at the orphanage. We have talked with the branch president about what can be done because we have no room for investigators.

Our family from Senya continues to come to our meetings. It is quite remarkable because they live so far away. We also went to Fetteh last week and taught lessons to two contacts. There is one member living in Fetteh and we talked with her on the cell phone. We needed a member who is a contact. Just before we departed a man approached me introducing himself as a member from Cape Coast but his father lives in Fetteh. We hope a group would be started there soon.

Just a note as to what we did today. Sister Russell and I spent the day in Accra at the mission office. We got started on publishing the Accra Ghana West Mission cook book. We nearly assembled sixty copies. The goal is 200 so we have a ways to go. The next multi-zone conference is on the 17^th of this month. We hope to have them completed by then.

There is life after the recipe book! We hosted the Wood family while they were here visiting Eric. We have assisted them with Eric by taking him to the Winneba hospital .

When we went to the chapel on Saturday to clean there were three rooms at the chapel flooded due to an overflow on the toilet. It took 4 of us an hour scooping the water off the floor of three classrooms.

We had the missionaries over for Sunday meal. We try to rotate the missionaries between Breku and Buduburam. Since it was the 4^th of July we spent time talking about our freedom and independence. Several of the African missionaries told about their countries independence.

On the 10^th of July we took the Ballsteadts and Sister Simpson to dinner at the Cantonments Chinese restaurant. The food was delicious and we wanted to treat the office help since we had used their facilities for the cook book.

Each month I am privileged to escort Sister Russell and Sister Acoletche while they minister to sisters in our branch. Cecilia and her three boys live in Ojobi not far from Breku. They are anticipation a move into our town. We travel to Bontrose and south Breku to visit sisters in our branch.

We escorted Sister Acoletche and Sister Sacketi to the Accra temple. We did sealings before the session. There were 40 people in the sealing room and they had provided their family names. The sealer spoke in English and French when appropriate to those family members at the alter.

As always we deliver supplies and pick up spoiled bikes and fans to our missionaries.

I did a special interview to Jacob in Winneba. Pres. Simpson askes me to preform interviews for the candidate have had serious sin. Nearly all the interviews are associated with abortion. It is so common for women to have an abortion when not married and not able to care for young babies.

Brother and Sister Hill visited us and we spent time at the beach. While we were there I helped the local fishermen pull in a large net. I worked for 45 minutes and the buoys were still a long ways away. Everything is done by hand here. The Hills stayed overnight and we had a wonderful time with them.

We have had a multi-zone conference here in Kasoa. Sunday we had branch conference with visiting stake officers. The chapel was completely filled but mainly with children from GMAD. Pres. Simons attended the Teachers Quorum meeting. We had a great time.

Water Woes! Sunday we came home to a water spray behind the house from a broken water pipe. The poly tank was empties (13,000 liters) again. I was disturbed and Monday I replaced any of the inferior water PVC pipe with quality pipe. This is about the fourth time we have had pipes broke.

Sister Belinda was finally baptized after months of disputes over whether they were married legally. After evidence was presented to allow her to be baptized, they were relieved. 

We have started apartment inspections again before the 6 week transfer. There was a twist to apartment cleaning since Pres. Simpson sent out instructions to all missionaries of “Deep Cleaning Monday”. He presented an extensive list of things to clean including windows, cabinets, interior and exterior apartment structures. Sister Russell and I assisted the Awutu Breku elders in cleaning for several hours on Monday.

We are finding about half the mission apartments are being cleaned thoroughly.

Today we treated the Winneba elders to dinner at Connie’s. The 8 of enjoyed our meal while our vehicle was being washed across the street. Oh Happy Day.

Ministering with Sister Cecilia

Meals with the missionaries

My new scorpion

The Wood family visit

Dawn's wall hanging coming together

Playing Ludu with Senya locals

Belinda's baptism

Visit with the Hills

06 June 2018

06 June 2018

Today, I just finished burying a young African cobra found dead in the flower bed. Our gardener, Linda, found it and was terrified. This is the fourth venomous snake we have seen in our neighborhood. The first was a carpet viper on the trail above our home, the second was a green mamba across from the Odoben chapel, the third was a puff adder at the GMAD school and today a young cobra, which gives us cause to be cautious when out and about.

Fortunately, the folks in our community are so kind and gentle we have no problems with our neighbors. It is such a delight to live in Ghana.

This week was the multi-zone conference in Kasoa. Each conference is filled with instruction and the spirit of revelation. Our missionaries instruct as well as our mission president. We were also shown a video of Pres. Nelson’s conference talk on “receiving revelation”. In addition, we also saw Elder LeGrand Curtis’ talk on the Book of Mormon and the church established in West Africa.

Also, we just returned from a three day stay with the Hills in Oda. We left our home due to the fumigation efforts of our apartment managers using Dursban organophosphate insecticide. The agent is too powerful for us to stay until it is diminished.

Oda is higher elevation and slightly cooler. We visited the community of Kokobeng, where there is a group started attached to Ansini branch. We attended the baptism of two new members from that area on Saturday. We visited the bakery, market and the beautiful Oda ward chapel. On our way home we stopped to see the West Africa Giant Tree.

Dawn is struggling with sleep issues. I am very concerned since she cannot get good sleep and is very anxious during the day. Her problem comes from using other sleep agents that begin to show serious side effects and then withdrawals follow. She also suffers from the heat and humidity common in Ghana.  I seem to do better.

There is much more to be said about the growth of the church here in our part of the mission and the business of caring for the missionary needs. This is regular service for us and it has become routine.

There is another part of our living here that I can mention that takes up much of our time and resources. The children and some adults that are in need, tend to congregate at the Russell’s home. We feed them, work them, care for their school needs and often clothes that need repair or replaced. Care for the poor and needy is truly a part of this mission that needs to be managed well.

Moving right along in mission progress, next week is inspection week and then six week transfers once again. Progress has been made on the mission cook book. Sister Russell has refined it for printing after including all the recipes received from our missionaries. There are some eighty pages of fine entries. Now we have to print it and assemble it before delivery. Pres. Simpson has encouraged us to follow his directions in putting it together.

We visited Sena Breku with four of our full time missionaries. The community is about 40 minutes toward the ocean near Winneba. We have taught two lessons to a family and talked with several others in the community. We are hoping to start a group meeting soon. In Senya there is an old Dutch fort, Fort Good Hope. The facility was used to collect slaves and considered one of the nicest holding on the African coast.  So sad to think what happened in the slave trade here in Africa.

The construction of the second home on the property is still underway. It will not be too long and the second story with be constructed. We hope it will be complete before we leave.

I returned from a long trip with Solomon, social worker, to Krobo to visit with Martha. She is doing well and we continue to support her care and medicine needs. The success lies in the fact the family are pleased to have her back and functional and Martha is as happy as can be expected.

Between our recent multi-zone conference and district meetings we get to be among the greatest missionaries in the church.

The beginning of another week here in Awutu Breku serving in the Accra Ghana Africa West mission and we are busy supporting the mission. This last week we visited all the apartments in our assigned three zones. There were 18 in all. We are still unsure of the locations of the apartments in the Kanishie zone. It is so difficult to find Gbawe ( Weija) and New Gbawe because the streets are not marked and are not streets but auto paths. Our GPS will indicate a road and there is no road.

This week is transfers and we assist missionaries in coming and going in our assigned area. Besides picking up elders and sisters we pick up spoiled bicycles and take them to Accra.

Brother and Sister Wood are here from New Zealand and will be staying with us for two weeks. They are arranging to move Eric (a crippled young man). They were missionaries in Kumasi for nearly two years. A lesson to be learned, whenever you assist anyone here it never ends as to the amount of help they need. We are assisting three young people with their education expenses. It will not end until we leave Africa.

Home! All is well with Julia and Ben to date. We want so much to have their health sustained while we are away. We put their names on the temple rolls this month. On the other hand, Joshua has caused us considerable grief. He is accusing us as abandoning our responsibilities as parents and grandparents to him and his children. It stems from his misfit ideas on the importance of families above all else in life and in church doctrine. He is disgruntled with the bishop of his ward and has withdrawn his support and trust. He has established strict belief in what members should do to preserve their families and excluded or altered doctrine to support his new beliefs. As a result of our serving a mission and not being there for his family, we have been labeled neglectful. Robyn had similar feelings but seems to accept us more for our service here and not so much as being neglectful. All the other children seem to be OK with us being here.

The end of June marks the half way mark in our mission. We have been here 9 months and 9 more to go. I am concerned because it is going by way to fast

 




Yoo Mart lunch!



 

Senya family discussion

 

Elder Tualuva and Davies at Fort Good Hope

 

Snail ranch!

 

Oda hardwoods

Oda chapel

Giant tree of West Africa

Senya proselyting

Contacts at Fort Good Hope

Martha is doing well!

 

Linda cutting the grass

 

 

 

 

 

Mission 2018