Week of 20240707 - Ghana Week 17: Temple-Ready; Beating the Sewing Machine; Medical; Frozen Rabbits; Resort
= Sunday, I got to help a neighbor get her stuck car to firm ground. We arrived at church just in time for the Sacrament. The Branch President chose to deliver a lesson based on our good impulses and bad impulses. I was taken at how good a speaker he was and how well he interacted with the congregation.
= Afterward, as scheduled, I gave an overview of ways to prepare spiritually to go to the temple for the first time. Then Steph detailed physical things that have to get done for that trip: get your temple recommend; plan and schedule the trip, including making appointments with the temple; arrange for travel; plan to be wearing Sunday clothes; bring escorts (or let the temple provide them); arrange for babysitting at home; purchase one or two sets of garments but don’t put them on; if being sealed, prepare and bring documentation.
= In the evening, Steph had an hour-and-a-half call with the Takoradi Mission President’s wife, Sister Helland. Sister Helland will coordinate medical issues for the Takoradi mission until a Senior Missionary with a medical background arrives in September.
= Monday, this was the first week that all physical issues for apartments were handled through me instead of having some of them come from other sources into the agenda. On balance, it was a success. Later, I sat down with the Morgans and we settled on a better way to teach life lessons to missionaries while helping them with clothing issues.
= Tuesday, Steph literally beat our hand-crank sewing machine from India into submission. It had an indentation you’re supposed to poke a hole in for a post to hold the spool while winding the bobbin. Then an existing hole had to be enlarged for a post to hold the spool for regular sewing. The person on YouTube beat these posts with a hammer to put them in place. That’s the level of force Steph successfully used.
= Wednesday, with President Morgan’s permission, we left a case of copies of the Book of Mormon with the Elders in Hemang for a seminary teacher to use. While we were there, we did an apartment inspection. As in Alabama in the 1880s, the kitchen was separate from the rest of the house, connected by a breezeway.
= Next stop: a medicine delivery to the Kissi apartment. We dropped it off there, then picked up more meds at the London Bridge pharmacy at the Goil station next to KFC.
= Thursday, we delivered two bicycles to the Otuam location and picked up two bicycles that needed repair. The road to their location has to be navigated slowly due to major potholes until you get into the village itself. I left tools I had purchased personally last week in the hope that Elders in this house will be able to make minor repairs in the future.
= On the way back, Steph drank coconut water directly from a coconut. We worked at the office until nearly 6 PM. That coconut succumbed to her cleaver when we got home to get to its soft meat. Late in the evening, Elders coming from Foso so one of them could see a doctor tomorrow arrived at the house next to ours.
= Friday, we brought them to the teaching hospital. One of them received surgery after Steph used mission funds for a card to access records later, for the consultation, for the surgery, and once the young man was already on the table, for the medication to be used in the surgery. Each of these steps was three steps: get a slip with the amount; pay the amount and get a receipt; and receive the item or permission to receive the service. The process sounds strange to our ears, but it went well.
= Afterward, we initially brought them to Yamoransa to catch transportation to Foso, then realized they hadn't eaten. We picked them back up and brought them to KFC. That's how we met the ladies with the frozen rabbits. These ladies had been in western Ghana and now were preparing to cook and season rabbit in a demonstration to show that there might be a market for the meat. Their project was to spread the acceptance of rabbit as something people would want to eat if they tried it and to help people learn to earn money by raising rabbits.
= After we dropped off the missionaries and arrived at the office, we gave up our vehicle to make sure it continued to move readily between four-wheel and two-wheel drive.
= Saturday, the Barilleaus drove us to KO-SA resort, where we ate and traded stories at length with them and with the Morgans. Before dropping us off at our compound, the Barileaus showed us where they refill propane tanks locally (and sometimes have the tanks repaired). Home, Steph worked with the sewing machine a bit more; to use the machine, you turn the crank with your right hand while you guide the fabric with your left.
= Afterward, as scheduled, I gave an overview of ways to prepare spiritually to go to the temple for the first time. Then Steph detailed physical things that have to get done for that trip: get your temple recommend; plan and schedule the trip, including making appointments with the temple; arrange for travel; plan to be wearing Sunday clothes; bring escorts (or let the temple provide them); arrange for babysitting at home; purchase one or two sets of garments but don’t put them on; if being sealed, prepare and bring documentation.
= In the evening, Steph had an hour-and-a-half call with the Takoradi Mission President’s wife, Sister Helland. Sister Helland will coordinate medical issues for the Takoradi mission until a Senior Missionary with a medical background arrives in September.
= Monday, this was the first week that all physical issues for apartments were handled through me instead of having some of them come from other sources into the agenda. On balance, it was a success. Later, I sat down with the Morgans and we settled on a better way to teach life lessons to missionaries while helping them with clothing issues.
= Tuesday, Steph literally beat our hand-crank sewing machine from India into submission. It had an indentation you’re supposed to poke a hole in for a post to hold the spool while winding the bobbin. Then an existing hole had to be enlarged for a post to hold the spool for regular sewing. The person on YouTube beat these posts with a hammer to put them in place. That’s the level of force Steph successfully used.
= Wednesday, with President Morgan’s permission, we left a case of copies of the Book of Mormon with the Elders in Hemang for a seminary teacher to use. While we were there, we did an apartment inspection. As in Alabama in the 1880s, the kitchen was separate from the rest of the house, connected by a breezeway.
= Next stop: a medicine delivery to the Kissi apartment. We dropped it off there, then picked up more meds at the London Bridge pharmacy at the Goil station next to KFC.
= Thursday, we delivered two bicycles to the Otuam location and picked up two bicycles that needed repair. The road to their location has to be navigated slowly due to major potholes until you get into the village itself. I left tools I had purchased personally last week in the hope that Elders in this house will be able to make minor repairs in the future.
= On the way back, Steph drank coconut water directly from a coconut. We worked at the office until nearly 6 PM. That coconut succumbed to her cleaver when we got home to get to its soft meat. Late in the evening, Elders coming from Foso so one of them could see a doctor tomorrow arrived at the house next to ours.
= Friday, we brought them to the teaching hospital. One of them received surgery after Steph used mission funds for a card to access records later, for the consultation, for the surgery, and once the young man was already on the table, for the medication to be used in the surgery. Each of these steps was three steps: get a slip with the amount; pay the amount and get a receipt; and receive the item or permission to receive the service. The process sounds strange to our ears, but it went well.
= Afterward, we initially brought them to Yamoransa to catch transportation to Foso, then realized they hadn't eaten. We picked them back up and brought them to KFC. That's how we met the ladies with the frozen rabbits. These ladies had been in western Ghana and now were preparing to cook and season rabbit in a demonstration to show that there might be a market for the meat. Their project was to spread the acceptance of rabbit as something people would want to eat if they tried it and to help people learn to earn money by raising rabbits.
= After we dropped off the missionaries and arrived at the office, we gave up our vehicle to make sure it continued to move readily between four-wheel and two-wheel drive.
= Saturday, the Barilleaus drove us to KO-SA resort, where we ate and traded stories at length with them and with the Morgans. Before dropping us off at our compound, the Barileaus showed us where they refill propane tanks locally (and sometimes have the tanks repaired). Home, Steph worked with the sewing machine a bit more; to use the machine, you turn the crank with your right hand while you guide the fabric with your left.
Kingdom radio
Drivers have to pass; this reminds me of Turkey.
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