= Sunday, we saw for the first time the aftermath of a traffic accident. At the bottom of a hill, a truck was loading bamboo poles. Two other vehicles each had damage on one side. Logically, a passing maneuver gone wrong was to blame, but something didn't add up to being a passing maneuver gone wrong.
= After Sacrament, Steph was asked to teach concepts from Alma 36 and 37: Repentance is a blessing that draws us closer to God. We should counsel with Him. Through small and simple means, great things are brought to pass. (She showed how the roots of a tree had broken up concrete.)
= Home, Steph checked on bananas in our compound. She interacted with one of the birds that pecks at its reflection in our kitchen windows. She practiced on her silver flute, a gift from James Garner. I worked on the Journal and on building a Twi vocabulary list.
= Monday, I documented replacing the water filters for the compound. At the office, we celebrated birthdays of President Morgan and of Elder Hatch (who had extended to help new Office Elders after the mission split). In the early evening, we ate KFC at the mission home with President Morgan, Elder Hatch, two missionaries leaving for medical assistance, and the office staff.
= Steph and I were both impressed by the testimony of one of the Elders. He spoke almost no English when he arrived. He expressed the truth that God can take his fishes and loaves and multiply them. He said that a scripture speaking of giving your whole soul to God is what kept him going out day after day instead of staying in the apartment.
= Tuesday, I looked at year-old messages received by our home router and realized that the URL in one of them contained the router SIM card's phone number. That was the information Africa West Area was asking for in order to see why data wasn't loaded to our router. As we left our compound, many people were walking from the paved road to the new Government building. One person wore a regal robe.
= At the second pharmacy we visited today, I saw a parking space and pulled directly into it, not heeding Steph's concern that I'd never be able to back out into the thick flowing traffic. When we needed to leave, as she positioned herself to help me back up, miraculously the traffic vanished from both directions until she touched the door to get back into the truck.
= At the office, I tried unsuccessfully to connect the monitor found in an office closet to my laptop, then Steph's laptop. We have been asked to prepare to make a remote connection from the Hemang chapel to our branch this Saturday. Home, we watched Don't Miss This (scripture discussion) on my phone.
= Wednesday, we had an interesting trip to visit missionary housing in Komenda. On one of our wrong turns, we went over a yard-high cement structure to which someone had added a narrow dirt ramp, and we weaved between nets placed to protect plants. Once there, I took notes and photos of issues as we inspected the apartment. Then Steph helped an Elder take a malaria test.(The procedure involves getting a pinprick of blood onto a device, adding buffer solution, and interpreting the result based on the bars that appear on this non-electronic device.)
= At the office, I helped sort the phone boxes one more time based on whether they could be closed readily or needed repair; the lids of many had warped even though the boxes had been in an air-conditioned compartment upside down. (Missionaries will charge their phones in these boxes so the phones can't easily be stolen through barred windows.)
= Thursday, Michelle reached me via WhatsApp; she's a hotel clerk! At the office, I provided instructions for adding reflective tape to police barriers (mission-wide service project) and cut many rolls of the stuff into two-foot lengths (about 72 per roll; 32 rolls to finish this week).
= We discovered a tiny (two-inch) lizard on our bed, near the foot, on the coverlet (one more reason for making the bed every day) as if the lizard had dropped from the ceiling. I brushed it onto the floor and it found refuge under other furniture. Lizards are everywhere outdoors, not as obvious indoors. If they were mice, we would worry; but they’re not, and they’re mostly harmless to us.
= Friday, I cut tape, lots of tape. This was a task that I could do so others could concentrate on what only they could do. Nevertheless, Sister Barilleau set up a second cutting station and joined me when she could.
= Steph and I left at about 4 PM for Lemon Lounge. Walking from where we had parked, we walked into a Woodin outlet. Steph bought fabric. I bought a fancy T-shirt. At Lemon Lounge, we had fruity drinks, Hawaiian pizza, and shared an order of Red Red (bean stew) with beef. We discovered something that we do only at a restaurant: we watch sports! We followed the football match - Americans call it soccer - between Spain and France, taking place during the Olympics in Paris and stayed until the hard-fought end.
= Home, we watched The Rookie until midnight; we relaxed.
= Saturday, the Barilleaus picked us up to bring us to Kotokoraba Market. I found my short nail file outside on the ground again for the second time this week. [grin] Elder Barilleau drove us to the parking deck (!). Then we walked down through and around the outside of the structure. Sister Barilleau and Steph looked at sandals. Elder Barilleau and I mostly tagged along as Steph found cloth. We will be back.
= Home, Steph puzzled over the sewing machine. It was working almost perfectly until she tried to tweak it a little more and then it went way out of alignment. I worked on journal entries (now that we had Internet from the router) and did laundry. The washer sometimes pushed suds back through the drainpipe for the master bathroom sink onto the floor, not a large quantity but something to deal with eventually.
Believe in God
..
He's into the passing maneuver; see the oncoming traffic.
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