I can’t point to anything specific that made this a tough week, but we found this to be a tough week.
= Sunday at church, I taught and Steph assisted. The lesson drew from the experience in the scriptures of young men who had never fought but whom God miraculously strengthened and preserved because of their faith in Him and strict obedience. Home, I summarized the status of each activity I was involved with this week: apartment visits; bicycles; Ghana card renewal; driver credentials; family history; clothes; vehicles; and detector checks.
= Monday, that summary was helpful during the weekly meeting. I changed the instructions for the mission maps I had created in Excel to show that Excel had moved its 3D maps control from the Insert menu to the Data menu. [Microsoft had not bothered to publicize the change.] Steph cooked a whole chicken in the Instant Pot with canned beans; we think it might have been a rooster: scrawny and tough!
= Tuesday, we delivered medicine and looked for bicycle sellers to gather prices. We had been asked to support District training this Saturday, but it was stressful not knowing how much that District leaders would provide and how much we would be relied on for. We had thought that we would stay in a now-vacant house near the training the night so we wouldn’t have to get up early for a long drive, but we dropped that idea as it became clear that we might be modifying our work right up to the night before.
= I had sent a list of high points to the District Sunday School President for comment and asked for what he thought was most important. Today, I created a detailed document, mostly in English but including the Twi translation of each subheading. It included instructions for him to lead a pretend Branch Council to consider what he had thought most important.
= Wednesday, I formatted my content into a folded booklet of 20 half-pages. Steph was largely ready but was frustrated at the lack of feedback from the District Primary President. Before dark, we went to the local pickup site for Jumia, through which I had ordered tiny pumps that fit on the top of a five-gallon jug. They’re rechargeable through a USB connection. You push a button and the water flows until you push the button again or a minute goes by. They work! We'll take one home to use in the RV.
= Thursday, Steph focused on medical information. I tweaked my training document, re-checked the Twi wording, and printed 16 copies. I had no reason to expect that many people, but it felt right. [Addition on 12 September, missing from the emailed journal: Kojo Dadson picked up the truck, reattached the passenger handles, and brought it back the same day. [Weeks later, I discovered that he had also changed the oil.]]
= Friday, the Barilleaus volunteered to drive us to the training Saturday. We gratefully accepted. Steph was not feeling good. So instead of a new restaurant for date night, we bought food from KFC. Home, we watched episodes of The Rookie until past 11 PM.
= Saturday in their truck, I felt my pockets for my phone, but it was missing. I assumed it was at the house. At the Hemang chapel, we learned where we would hold our sessions and arranged those rooms. I set up a circle of chairs; others used conventional arrangements. Then a member brought me a phone, saying it had been on the ground near the Barilleaus’ truck; it was my phone! I was glad it wasn't lost or run over. When men arrived to meet with me, we needed exactly 16 copies of the training document: the number I had printed!
= We sat in a circle. I read a heading, sometimes handling the Twi myself, sometimes handing it off to someone who understands Twi. Sometimes, someone summarized things in Twi that I had said in English. Once discussion got started on a topic, I understood very little of it, but nearly everyone participated. It was an amazing, exciting time, interrupted only by lunch, and it laid a foundation for them to work with each other in the future. Steph’s group mostly understood English. All the sessions went well. Home, the bedroom air conditioner quit, but we barely noticed. Until it’s fixed, the one in the living room will be enough in this house that has good internal airflow.
Big bug, outdoors
Truck tire delivery
To church
Looking back
Steph leading a scripture discussion
On the path leading to the highway, people heat something granular in large, flat pans.
Firewood
This method to get a barrel into a truck - they loaded many - was ingenious...
See the rope?
They steady and push the barrel while the person inside uses mechanical advantage as with a pulley - one end of the rope is stationary - to pull the barrel up the planks.
Success
Canopies for a religious event.
Cement mixer. What's the device in front of it?
Emmanuel Heaven Home Furniture Enterprise. (Emmanuel is a common name here.)
Now *that's* a dump truck.
Probably friends
Cattle grazing
I don't remember what this is.
Ironic.
[just the truth]
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