March 2019: March 2019

03 March 2019

Today is the first day of March 2019 and it is RAINING! We needed rain so bad. The alarm sounded twice today. Once while we were away during the day because Phillip shot a soccer ball into the electric wires and set off the alarm. Richard, our neighbor, came to the rescue and turned off the power.

The second alarm sounded because of the heavy rain and the plantain leaves hung down on the wires. I could not disarm the system and ended up dissecting the inside controls until finally I cut the right wire and it stopped. It is amazingly loud and the flashing red light is alarming.

There is a dove sitting on her nest on top of the alarm loud speaker. She never moved during both attacks.

Dawn is doing better sleeping, however she is taking a benzodiazapam (similar to Valium) and can only stay on it a short time. What ever works, is what we do to get rest.

Talk about busy. I have delivered several bikes and still have calls for more. The Swedru area is now in our calling. I just delivered a bike there yesterday and when we got home from Kasoa 4 to fix their bicycle, I had another call from Swedru 5 (Elder Visae) for a replacement bike. Wow! It is amazing how many requests we get for bicycles.

Today I rode with Ebinezer to Senya to do an estimate on the repairs at the DA school. The stake president from Kaneshie is a carpenter, he went with us also. Following our visit to Senya we then coursed to Buduburam to inspect the “Mansion” apartment. Two elders from the 1^st ward in Buduburam are moving to their new apartment.

Today was “Help Me” day…Dennis came to ask me for 30 cedis to replace his axle on his bike. Linda called for 100 million Ghana to buy a new oven. (I had already given her 600 ghana)! Grace and Barbara came over late to ask for 170 cedis to get Florence out of the hospital. The water truck filled our tank again this week for 130 ghana. Some of which I can recover as mission expenses (water!).

We are off to a funeral viewing of a sister in Senya who’s children joined the church. Then we go to the official funeral on Saturday after our Kaneshie conference featuring the General RS and YW presidents visiting Ghana.

Transfer Day! Finally we have had our last transfer day. Elder Campbell is here with Elder Banza and Elder Kune is here with Elder Estrava. Elder Memmot and Elder Adzika have moved on to another location.

Today is Independence Day for Ghana. The school children have been practicing marching for the last two weeks. It is also our district meeting today in Buduburam.

The days are getting shorter for us and we are winding down. Dawn is doing the sorting and storing of items for another mission couple. I have written out a briefing for anyone to follow in dealing with the challenges we have had while living in this apartment. There are a total of 4 pages of instructions when things go wrong.

Our testimonies have grown, especially in appreciating the scriptures. We have read the B of M twice and still going. We finished the New Testament and are now reading the P of GP daily. We receive the Liahona and read the messages especially for West Africa. I am also reading the Journal of Discourses in the evenings. Brigham Young has a firm and powerful way of preaching the gospel. Much is revealed by the early church leaders on the spiritual side of living and the hereafter.

Tonight we have another night of “Lights Off”. All night last night there was no electricity. We spent a very warm night sleeping without fan or AC.

We spent 3 days in Accra with the Simpsons. Sister Simpson had a birthday so we celebrated by playing minigolf and dinner at Burger King. Unfortunately, I was involved in an accident at the mission office while leaving the compound. A car forced me to back up as I was leaving the gate and it charged in on me. Again, unfortunately a car had pulled in behind me unawares. I have been busy filling out accident reports to be sent in to the Area office.

Sister Russell and I had special interviews today after our district council. We drove to Winneba and then on to Swedru. I interviewed Ayew in Winneba. He is a 25 year old young man who will be baptized on Saturday. In Aboso, I interviewed Phillistena, a 68 year old woman who will be baptized also on Saturday. These interviews are in compliance with candidates who have been involved with funding or having an abortion. There have been many such interviews in our mission since it is common practice to terminate pregnancies without the assistance of a father to raise the child.

Sister Russell is counting the days until we leave for home. Her calendar is checked off each morning with a smiley sticker. Just a few more weeks and we will depart. It will leave the missionaries without much support for supplies and transportation not to mention our district dinners each Sunday when we get home from Senya. I need to tell more about the status of Senya.

This is the third Sunday at Senya and the final meeting we will have before leaving for home. I conducted the meeting and had three scheduled speakers. One, Bro Aquah was on time. Following him Sister Agnes walked in just as she was supposed to speak and as she was finishing Francisca came in with her mother and I invited her to address the congregation. So you see everything works out. Our Sunday School teacher did not come prepared so I ended up giving the lesson from Come Follow Me.

Yesterday, I rode my bicycle with Dennis and Ransford to the south of Awutu Breku. Once we got back after an hour ride we stopped at “Biggies” to get banku and ground nut soup, which we ate off a stool on the patio of our apartment.

Sister Russell had three Relief Society sisters here making a large 4 layer cake for the RS birthday meeting today. Their children were here and we had a house full of visitors. The Sackaties stayed for dinner. He is the branch president for the Awutu Breku branch.

The rain came last night and “lights out” once again but not for a long time. I just wonder how our missionaries will do when we leave and they have no generator to supplement power?

I did not sleep well last night due to the remarks made by my daughter, Holly about Monica. So I got up early and wrote the family an email that explained I was tired of all the bickering and the “mean girls” Robyn and Holly picking on the Kurowskis (Dawn and Monica). It makes me sick to think she is so bitter and crass. Her language is terrible and she attacks the church as a part of her discussed.

I did have a good day with meeting with the District Council and then doing a special interview in Ansufal with Kofi and Cynthia Mensahs. She was very interesting to look at because she had a full beard. The first bearded lady I have met face to face.

This has been a remarkable morning. At 5:30 the rain began. Dawn and I woke up and enjoyed the morning together then went outside in the rain. We showered under the down pour off the roof with the soft water shampoo. Afterwards we sat on the front porch and watched the rain and lightning and listened to the thunder in the distance. The coolness of the air is so refreshing.

Olivia gets her injection this morning once again for 5 days. She is combating her allergy called palmar-plantar dermatosis. With the letter we received from the doctor explaining it is not a contagious skin infection, she is able to get back into school.

I will pay for Georginia’s school fees today. Some 900 cedis for the remainder of this year and all of next, this will ensure her one more year of education outside the government school. The same for Samuel and Olivia for two years, it is quite expensive for them. The least we can do to help out those who have nothing.

Beira, Mozambique was destroyed during the typhoon last week. The news covers the devastation. We had many friends there and we will contribute to Care For Life to help those we know survive the devastation.

Time spent with Elder Hill and Sister Hill this week was special. We enjoy visiting in Akim Oda with the Hills. The Simpsons were also staying with the Hills. I was able to get my tire repaired, gas tank filled and meet with the missionaries for dinner at the Hills. The rain came and it poured. I love the rain.

Those few days we were there helped us relax and appreciate our mission and appreciate the work the Hills do to support their missionaries. We also attended Stake Conference in Asemankase. Truly a site to behold, looking over the crowded stake center at all the saints assembled from the surrounding wards and branches. Again, we visited with many of the elders we have worked with in our area that are now serving in the Asemankase stake.

Oda is very nice. There are good markets, hospital, bakery and a library in the community. Plus it rains frequently and the vegetation is abundant.

Today we have multi-zone conference in Kasoa. This will be our last conference before we go home. We are looking forward to seeing many of our missionaries for the last time before we leave next Tuesday.

There is still so much to do but so little time. It never ends until the end comes. We will continue to strive to work hard for the kingdom is growing. Africa is such a blessing to be a missionary serving here. We will surely miss our close friends in the gospel and community.