Settling In for the Long Term

Stan announced that he needed a haircut.  Nearly all of the senior couple men told him that the best option was the Shell Station in Osu. Osu is a neighborhood near the office but at the Shell station???  It was true.  If you look really hard at this photo, you can see the shop behind the pumps.  It's really nice to be able to fuel your car, buy a few snacks, have your oil changed, rotate your tires and get your hair trimmed all at the same time. 

 Stan and President Heid went about 5pm to get a haircut.  There were other people waiting so they didn't get home until after 7pm.  However, Stan was able to talk with a Ghanaian about the Church and President was able to answer some emails.

 Stan after his hair cut.  Cost was 20 cedis including the tip....about $5!!  It wasn't too bad.

We really like the nice calm setting of the Mission Home.  Our office is by the bench in the background.  It looks tropical here but the climate is really Equatorial and we are in the very dry season.  Once you get out into the country, it is pretty brown.

After a hard day of "work", President and Sister Heid provided pizza for the office elders, the Assistants to the President and the senior couples.  We enjoyed having the night off from cooking.  And the pizza was very good! Stan and Elder Morris, office elder, are enjoying the night!

 On Monday mornings women who are serving missions in the Area offices or two nearby missions gather for scripture study.

Sister Heid and Sister Bodine visiting a silversmith shop in Ghana.  The owner is from Lebanon and makes her own creations.  Nancy bought a necklace.

Miracle in the Mission

Brother and Sister Sanders related an experience they had this week with their black bag.  (Sister Sanders is the mission nurse and her husband helps with medical and apartment issues.)  They had attended the temple and were exiting when someone across the street at the Area offices ran into the temple and told them one of the senior male missionaries was having extreme chest pain.  (He did have a heart attack but is ok for now but likely will return to the states for treatment.)  They hurried in their truck to get to the hospital.  The black bag had their temple clothes and they left it in their locked car in the hospital parking lot.  When they returned they found that someone broke a small back window in their vehicle and stole the black bag.  They looked for it along the street, thinking that when someone just found white clothes that it would be discarded.  They did not find it.  The next day a church member found it at an airport hotel where he works.  What are the chances???

We thought we would share a few random observations about Africa…..

* A sign that reads “To Let” means available to rent

*Many Africans have English/American First names like Shakespeare, Oswald, Rebecca, Gil

*There is a special handshake that the men do in Ghana….shake, then thumbs together, then shake again releasing with a click of your fingers.

*In Ghana you cannot cash a check over 5000 cedis (or about $1250) at one time

*A friend had a conversation with an individual who sold onions.  If she made 14 cedis (about $3.75) per week she would have enough for her needs and transportation

*Traffic circles and highway driving could be considered a demolition derby or a game of chicken.  There is no pedestrian right of way or yielding to the person coming on your right hand side. 

*Saturday morning has the least amount of traffic and is the best time to grocery shop

*Many people are Christian and reflect that belief with signs on their cars and on businesses

                Trust Jesus

                Love God

                New developments:  Heaven’s Gate and Hosanna City

A sign with religious overtones!

This modern building is right next to our apartment

Friday evening we took the opportunity to do some ordinance work in the temple.  We thought it would provide an added benefit of separating ourselves from the world as well as the heat.  Not this time.  They were having trouble with the air conditioning.  We enjoyed the experience but it was awfully warm in the temple.

The setting for the temple is wonderful

After the temple, we went out to dinner with some senior couples.  Next door was a gelato shop.  It was really good, and actually tasted like gelato!  Stan had mango (the yellow one in the display case) and Nancy had After Eight, a chocolate vanilla combo.  Yum!!

Sunday we attended church in Aflao, about 2 1/2 hours from Accra.  The building is open air and was one of the "coolest" we attended.  This is a group photo after Branch Conference (a small congregation.)  There were 11 people attending a year ago in a home. Now there are 50 members on the roll and they have this larger building to meet in each Sunday.  Next door are some other buildings for classrooms and offices.  This day there were about 170 in attendance (about 20 were visitors from the mission) and there were barely enough chairs to accommodate everyone.

 This young woman carried her daughter on her back.  She said the African women do this until the children are age 3.  This little girl was a year old.  She wouldn't smile for the camera but gave smiles many times in church.

With Sister Heid are the members of the Aflao Branch Primary

These book marks were distributed today to all those in attendance.  It describes the Africa West Area Plan, or focus for this year.  We really like the question that is asked:  "Do I love, trust and know the Savior, Jesus Christ, and do I constantly seek for the blessings of the temple?"

On the way to Aflao, we saw many of these Termite hills along the highway.  They are quite large and accommodate a nice sized family of termites.(We were not able to get a picture as the car was moving too quickly.  This photo comes from the internet!)

Also colorful pottery along the roadside...(It's a little blurry. Went by too quickly)

We hadn't been in the country long before we were approached about purchasing a Nativity with an African perspective from a local artisan.  This set is definitely unique.

We believe it is carved from Sese wood.

CHINA SIDENOTE

For those of you who followed our experiences in China, our young adult friend, Lily, was married on Sunday.   Her husband descends from Confucius and his family actually lives in the city where the great teacher was born.   She has been dating her new husband for over a year, but she kept insisting she was too young to get married and he wasn’t “the one” for her!!  Obviously her feelings changed!!  We met him when we visited China in October and he treats her well.   We are so happy for Lily.