Repeat Week

This week, again, we met with missionaries.  We so enjoy mingling with them!!  Monday was Preparation Day for the mission.  President invited the 4 "Eastern" Zones to have an activity together and a "Lite" Zone Conference, just as we did for the 3 "Western" Zones previously.

The missionaries were "settling in" to listen to instruction from President and Sister Heid.   Sister Heid had each missionary discuss with a fellow missionary for one minute as many mission rules as they could remember.  Then she asked if anyone mentioned, locking their doors and hiding their valuables?  (Occasionally, there is petty theft in the missionary apartments.) 

When Elder Pace spoke about mission finances, he said  he was wondering where he was going to hide Sister Pace.??  He got a good laugh and afterwards many missionaries talked to him about his comment.  We are not sure if the missionaries paid attention to his other instruction, like being prudent with 'sacred" funds, etc., but they remembered hiding Sister Pace.!!

We have 4 departing missionaries in June from these Zones and they were able to bear their testimonies also.

These elders are not camera shy!  Elder Kofutua, in the red T shirt, is our former AP (Assistant to the President), and will be attending firefighting school in California starting August 8.

Elder Pace is visiting with an Elder Harrigfeld from Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Elder Morris, one or our office elders, was busy reimbursing missionaries with for specific expenses.  The church gives each missionary in our mission a debit card with about $100 US each month for their food, laundry soap, once a week internet café, etc.  (The money comes from donations by members of the church all over the world, as well as missionaries and their family.  The amount on the debit card varies worldwide, depending on the cost of living in the mission.)  For this activity, the Mission President determined that the mission would reimburse the missionaries for transportation.  The missionaries also often need reimbursement for bills they have paid; like electricity, water, garbage, etc. The church directly pays rent to landlords.

 The mission also provided sub sandwiches for lunch.  The missionaries enjoy having time to relax and to visit.

Elder Nissinen, from Hillsboro, is wearing his hat.  He has red hair and is very susceptible to sunburn.  His father has a landscaping firm and takes care of our yard when we are out of the country! (One day in the office, President Heid saw a picture on Goggle Maps of our Hillsboro home.  It was taken in March 2016.  He said he missed the NW shrubs and trees he saw in our yard, since his father had owned a landscaping firm in Kirkland, WA.)

President Heid is a former football coach from Fallbrook, CA.  He was giving a few tips to missionaries as they practiced some drills.  We have several missionaries who were athletes in high school and even in college.  Elder Morris, our office elder, is a swimmer on the BYU Swim Team. 

As we headed back to the mission office after our Zone activity, we had to stop for important crossing traffic!

Tuesday we attended a District meeting (smaller group of missionaries) in Tema, which is where the Ghana Missionary Training Center is located.  Tema is about 45 minutes east of the mission home.  By the time we drove, attended the meeting and drove back, it was 1:30 pm.  This group of missionaries are all from South Africa.  During a cultural report about South Africa, they sang their national anthem to us, which included four different languages.

Sister Mhlongo is having a traditional chicken and rice farewell dinner with some of the elders.  She had collapsed four times in the last month.  After many diagnostic tests, there was not a medical issue that could be determined.  For her safety, she was released from her mission a month early so she could get medical attention at home in South Africa.  Her mom is a nurse, so we are assured she will get the best care possible!  She was escorted home by the mental health advisor and his wife.  Sister Mhlongo was one of our leader/trainers for the sister missionaries and has a college degree.  She will be missed, as we pray for her recovery. 

About a month ago, we posted a picture of this beautiful pool and it surroundings, as we enjoyed a pool party with other senior missionaries.  Well, it is now the rainy season in Ghana.  On Thursday there was a downpour which lasted about 4 hours.  The parking lot of the apartment complex was flooded about three feet, and that muddy water also engulfed the pool.  The senior missionaries were assured that the pool would be ready for our next pool party on Saturday.  Well, you can see that it did not happen, so we had an alternative activity!

 This is a favorite senior missionary "fast food" place in Accra known for Philly Steak Sandwiches. We had never been there.

Everyone was anxiously awaiting their order.  The Nays, on the right side of the picture, just arrived on their mission two weeks ago and are assigned to work on welfare projects through the Area Church office.  They just returned from touring some villages in Ghana.  They met with a village committee in hopes of bringing clean water to their village.  The church provides funds to dig a well and get it operational.  To show that the residents are serious about maintaining the well, the village has to "bank"' a certain amount for repairs before the project is started.  Training is also provided to encourage proper sanitation in the village.  The Nays also served a mission in Mongolia.  Nothing like a contrast in climates for their missions!

Stan was really surprised how good the Philly Steak Sandwich and fries tasted.  We will return!!

Meetings, Missionaries and Motoring in the Bush

This week involved meeting with missionaries every day except Friday.  We were supposed to meet as an Office Council with the office elders and assistants on that day, but President cancelled.  I think he was "Done"!!  During these meetings we were able to mingle with missionaries and were on the agenda to help with some training.  We enjoy being with them, feeling their enthusiasm, giving hugs (Sister Heid and Nancy get to hug the girls) and giving warm handshakes to the young men, plus doing a little "parenting".

President Heid approved a three zone activity and "Lite' Zone Conference for this Monday P Day.  Usually on P Day missionaries email home, do laundry, stock up on food, exercise or get together with other missionaries.  Their P Day ends at 6pm when they are supposed to be out doing missionary work.  President Heid decided to basically have the entire mission meet with him over a two week period.  So the missionaries had fun activities for about three hours and then we had 1 1/2 hours of instruction and lunch.  This week we interacted with those on the west side of our mission.

 Sister Heid with some of our sister missionaries.

Several of our missionaries play the piano quite well.

The missionaries enjoy meeting with one another.  Sometimes they see a companion they served with previously or someone they met at the Mission Training Center.  We do have a few missionaries who are from the same area in Africa and knew each other prior to their missions.

 Sub sandwiches for lunch!

President was encouraging everyone to be on their way home.

On Tuesday we rode out to Tema, where the Ghana MTC is located, to attend the Klagon District Meeting.  We were greeted warmly by the District leader and we noticed the agenda on the whiteboard in front.  We were on the program!!  (President told them we were coming to their meeting!)  One thing we have learned here is that you have to always be prepared to CONTRIBUTE! (Africans use the word contribute like we use the word "share" or "comment.")

Elder Dabata has been on his mission for five months and was given the task to 'instruct" at this meeting.  He talked about trying to be obedient missionaries.

Due to the morning "commute", we drove to Tema along the beach road.  (Unfortunately, Ghana has not yet learned the benefits of protecting their beaches, so it is not the Caribbean).  On the way home, the elders suggested it would be faster to take a dirt road to the motorway.  This "tunnel" goes underneath the motorway and is only one lane.  It is like the "eye of the needle."  There are people who earn money by directing traffic through the underpass.  (They are not policemen or officials of any kind.)

Wednesday we helped with computer class.  On Thursday we had a monthly Missionary Leadership Council meeting with all those young elders and sisters who "supervise" the other missionaries under President's direction.  We met at the Area Office Building across from the temple and took a group photo on the temple steps.

These sharp looking missionaries stopped by the mission office after attending a temple session.  They were meeting up with their companions who had met with President Heid for interviews or attended computer class.

Sister Moyo had some pain across her foot, so after an x-ray was negative, the doctor ordered her to use crutches for a few days.  Elder Kofotua, with the huge smile, is a former assistant and now back "in the field'.  He offered his strength to get the crutches in the proper position.

Stan really likes this picture out our living room window.

President and Sister Heid invited us on an overnight "road" trip to the bush.  President Heid was going to divide a branch (like a small ward) on Sunday.   Stan had helped submit some of the paper work to church headquarters which was needed to make this change. 

We had been in the Koforidua area before, as that is where our senior couple, the Taylors, had lived, before they needed to return home for medical reasons.  We drove a different route and enjoyed the scenery.

As we drove through a small village we spotted Elder Burdick (from Albany, Oregon) and Elder Angelsey teaching a lesson on the street to a family.  When they saw President Heid in the truck with us, they were very happy that they had their Bibles open and were doing effective missionary work!

One of our destinations was Boti Falls.  There are actually two waterfalls together.  This is the main falls.

  These falls were partially hidden by the beautiful tropical foliage.

President and Sister Heid on our way to Boti Falls.

This African artwork was on the wall as we exited Boti Falls.

Look at the size of the avocado we brought back from the senior apartment "orchard" in Koforidua!

After our Sunday meeting to split the Effiduase branch, we drove a few miles to a brand new Oyoko church building.  Church was just finishing and we saw Elder Shelton visiting with three sisters and their friend.

Another stop was in Suhum where a new church building is being constructed.  Workman actually live on the site during the building process.

Can you believe this is Africa?

We did not have to cook dinner following our return from the bush, as Sunday evening we were invited to dinner at the Webster's home.  We met them in the MTC in Provo.  He is a retired attorney from California and is a missionary assisting in the legal department of the Area office.  They live in a large 4 bedroom home and will be moving to a brand new modern apartment within two blocks of our location.  Their home will be occupied by a family.  The father is Ghanaian and will supervise all the "temporal" affairs in the church in this area.

Memorial Day Week In Ghana

This is the week of Memorial Day celebrations in the US.  On Wednesday we also had a holiday.  It was African Unity Day.  It celebrates the day in 1963 when leaders of thirty of the thirty-two African independent countries signed a charter to establish an economic community.  According to one of the Ghanaians who stopped by our mission office, it is a holiday that many people do not "remember."  It is very low key here in Accra.  However, it was a public holiday, so traffic was very light and few businesses, street vendors or banks were open.

Every two weeks the senior missionary couples, who are at the Church Africa West offices, plus the Ghana Accra West and Ghana Accra missions, have a potluck and program on Monday night for a family home evening activity.  It is held at the Temple President's apartment which is quite large and modern.  This week we sang personal favorite hymns.  Some were selected because they helped someone through a difficult trial or the words reminded them of an ancestor in another country.  We sang up to tempo....which the Africans generally do not do... and enjoyed the evening together.

The rain clouds opened up on our way to a Tuesday Adenta District missionary meeting.  Traffic was going every direction!  This intersection was blocked because too many people were trying to take advantage of the light.  Sometimes you wait 5 minutes at traffic signals! 

As we were driving on another road, we looked at the intersection ahead and there were oncoming cars directly across from us!!  There were no policemen or signs, just cars!  A block later, we saw there was a construction vehicle taking up two lanes, so traffic was being diverted into our lanes.  We were able to dodge the oncoming cars, but not sure what happened to the cars behind us!

Missionaries at the Adenta district meeting.  The district leader, Elder Dekaye, stuck out his tongue!!  Be assured, however, that he conducted the meeting with dignity. Elder Kasuku, behind Stan with his thumb up, is from Ivory Coast and a French speaker with very limited English skills.  He has only been in the mission field a few weeks.  During his testimony he got very emotional and could not speak.  (Elder Dekaye tenderly got up out of his seat and put his arm around him).  Elder Kasuku expressed that he had been very frustrated about not being able to understand investigators when they spoke and had prayed diligently for the "gift of tongues".  He feels like his prayers have been answered and expressed gratitude that he can now know what people are saying, probably better than we do! 

Elder Burdick, kneeling in the front of the group, is from Oregon and his Stake President was on our temple shift at the Portland Oregon Temple.

This week we spent evenings transferring our clothes, food, etc. from our apartment to one across the hall that was formerly occupied by the Sanders.  They have gone back to the US and the mission wants to install new energy efficient windows before the other senior couple arrives the end of July.  Fortunately, we did not need to move furniture since both apartments have similar items.  Stan likes the ceramic tile floor rather than the wood parquet that we had.  However, it easily shows dirt!!

Stan is trying to help me organize the new kitchen.  We wanted to make sure both apartments had similar equipment. We discovered that our "old" apartment had a rolling pin and pie tins, but our "new" apartment did not, so we made some purchases.

Nancy was with Sister Heid at a welcome lunch at Le Must for Sister Liljenquist.  We had yummy French onion soup and a bacon avocado salad.   Sister Liljenquist had just arrived this week with her husband, who will be legal counsel at the Area office.  Sister Liljenquist has a graphic arts background and will help with the Area West website plus assist Sister Heid with special projects.

Tropical flowers around our apartment

On our way to church today, we spotted several cloths with a white powder drying in the sun.  We think it is flour.

We attended Adenta Stake Conference today.  Again, the building was packed.  People were in their seats about 45 minutes early and the choir sang that entire time.  (The two obrunis ((foreigners)) on the stand are the Heids.) 

The Stake President Kabason asked the congregation if they are coming unto Christ or coming unto the church? (like for social reasons).  An Area Seventy spoke about picking a gospel principle and trying to consistently live it through the end of the year.  A member of the temple presidency expressed love for his wife and said he thinks of her as a newlywed.  (Africans are not known for publicly saying they love their spouse.)  Sister Heid followed up with a story about a Russian student that President Heid had in English class.  They befriended her, took her shopping, had her to dinner and invited her to church.  At church a couple spoke about their love for one another and this Russian student was amazed at that expression since it was not part of her culture either.  Later on this Russian student joined the church and was married in the temple.  It was a wonderful meeting and we situated ourselves under a ceiling fan which made the temperature in the building tolerable for us obrunis!!

As Nancy was putting baptism records into the computer this week, she was amused at the addresses in Africa.  The city may have street signs or not, so often people identify where they live by local landmarks:

Emef's Junction
Across from the police station
Agapet Filling Station
Car Park
Near Abanu Jr. High School
U Compound

Update:  Last week we mentioned the young sister missionary who had some seizures.  All of her tests were negative and she has had no more incidents, although she has been taking medication.  The US doctor has been consulting with Salt Lake City about the next step, but at least really serious concerns have been eliminated.

Her mission release date is July 11, so hopefully she will continue to do well and be able to finish and return to her home in Durban, South Africa.