= Sunday at church, speakers used a little English. Then Relief Society (women) and Elders Quorum (men) met. Home, I dreamt I was fired from my job and worried how I would support my family; it seemed real.
= Grace Freeman (co-host of Don't Miss This) pointed out that even at the end of this important record we've been studying (the Book of Mormon), God doesn’t force us to do anything; he invites. We can follow his example in that we can invite people to read but not push them to do so.
= Monday, I swapped current glasses (scratched up) with other glasses I had brought with me. After the weekly meeting, I tested the mission's satellite phone. Then I drove Steph to Assin Fosu (two hours north) to drop off funds to a missionary for a dental appointment tomorrow. Home, I updated chords I had applied to Christmas songs in the hymnal, used an old tool to apply them to PDFs of the songs, and sent the result to Sister Morgan.
= Tuesday, missionaries arrived to travel home. After lunch at the Morgans, this group gave the Morgans a framed photo of the Morgan that thanked them for taking them as their own children. After dinner together, they received parting instruction. We heard their testimonies; they each received a stole embroidered with their name and mission service dates.
= Wednesday, the rented bus arrived with new missionaries. Departing ones gave a few seconds of encouragement. The last missionary’s words hit home: follow the mission rules to have the Spirit. If you don’t have the Spirit, the words will come out, but they won’t reach those you are trying to teach.
= We helped in-process the new arrivals and had lunch and dinner together at the Morgans. Four of them spent the night at our house. At 8:30, one Elder played guitar and the other played piano from the regular hymnal. By 8:45, another Elder sat with them on the couch, and the last Elder was cooking eggs.
= Thursday, I bought the Elders to the Morgans for breakfast, brought suitcases to the Ola chapel, then went back for Steph. We watched some transfers, then picked up water and food, which with the Dimmicks we handed out to missionaries as their transportation left the compound. Partly because a truck with cement blocks drove in and interfered with departures until it was empty, dispensing food took a couple of hours.
= Friday, we stayed home. In the evening, we watched episodes of Star Trek Enterprise. We relaxed.
= Saturday, I practiced songs for next week's conferences. We spent the bulk of the day with Dimmicks, spending time with them at various shops; they're good company.
= Home, I began sending Christmas and New Year greetings. Steph organized the items we've been gathering as gifts for the four Elders who work mostly at the office. Steph had given each one a questionnaire about things they liked; finding such things or substitutes has been a scavenger hunt for us.
= Our studies have reached the end of the Book of Mormon; it includes this invitation: And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
To church
Burdened
Ewuradze Behwe Wɔ {The Lord Will Fall on You}
Bringing something to church?
Cardboard
I don't know what this is.
What is that object on the head?
Corn
To church
Looks hot
Crows found something.
King of the mountain (a sand pile next to where we park)
With an umbrella, the baby's head gets relief from the sun.
Free-range cattle [grin]
Heading home after services
Big ovens
Notice the serious speakers
The avocado fills a one-quart pitcher. Most avocados are this large here! (Steph wrapped it in plastic to try to keep it another day.)
Minced previously fried chicken in sauce
Don't Miss This
Onyame wɔ tumi o {God has power, definitely}
[Full-service construction planning]
Ladies act like their burdens don't exist. Notice also the crates in the background for use and re-use.
People are unconcerned about having a nice road to their nice dwellings. [This is another part of the previous photo.]
Waiting for transportation
An important commodity here, bitumen is used for road surfacing and roofing.
Nyame Nye Me Boafo {God Is My Helper} Breakbans Shop
Adom {Grace} Enterprise
Car repair
Driving against traffic on the shoulder
Market day; and school is getting out. (Notice the uniforms.)
Chair delivery
Loading objects by tossing them
Men are filling drums with diesel by tilting the dump truck to gain better access to the drums. (By the way, most such drums are plastic here, not metal.)
Beverage delivery to small stores
Adom Nyame {Grace of God}
Nana Koom Affordable Caskets: All Kinds of Caskets; Casket Flowers
Boys heading home from school
Agye Nyame {He has accepted God}
Psalm 23 Block Factory
With an overhead polytank, gravity lets you have water during power glitches.
These roads are made for walking.
Bamboo, an invasive species here, is used universally during building construction as one would use temporary piers to hold a second story. Dry, these are hard as iron and quite strong. They will be used again and again.
Corn matures grows year-round and matures in three months.
Mama Love
Apartment decoration
Psalm 23
Walking long distances is part of life.
Notice also the ladies sewing in the background.
Balanced
School's out.
Church
Me Boafo Ne Awurade {My Helper Is the Lord} Food Joint
Osoro Adom {Divine Grace} Aluminum Ventures
A piggery
Why?
Life is good.
Keep on praying
Pallets
Many financial institutions also handle Western Union.
By His Grace Supermarket
Adom Grace - Bite Your Fingers - Special Food Joint
Let's hope they get this going.
With trees overhead, our day/night display got confused.
8 x 4 plus 2: a 34-wheeler
Gravestones
Dishes are everywhere. They don't look new, though.
A few things to see: a loaded tro; the sign Hyira {Bless} Phone Repairs; and the mannequin in the shop to the right. (We get taken in by mannequins all the time at our first glance.)
Roofing material if you don't have much money.
[Perhaps...] Yaa Ba Nyame {O Son of God} Welding Shop
Have to get that tire home.
Nice ramp to the house
25 KG sacks of "Iodated" Salt
Aboboyaas don't do well uphill. So, we're all passing this one.
Unloading
God First
Young boys are pushing these wheelbarrows.
End of a long day
Holy T
She made a sale.
Big Truck. When he's passing, no one will contest him.
Another piggery
Firewood awaiting transportation; ladies bringing items home
Heading home
Car washes are common here; they use a pressure washer. Or a taxi driver will pull partly into the shoulder and wash his vehicle with a bucket.
An aboboyaa picking up that firewood
Macaroni
The pizza was good.
This departing group presented the Morgans an annotated photo: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Words can't express how grateful we are for your leadership and for taking us as your own children. Yedaase Pa!" {We thank you very much}
The group..
..
It takes skill to take these photos from the right distance. Elders Soria, Anagbo, Hampton (with assist from Elder Tew). Elder and Sister Dimmick are looking on.
Steph is removing stickers from the badges of incoming missionaries. The departing missionaries will say a few words...
Then the bus will back out..
As we say good-bye.
Some of the missionaries spending the night with us found the energy to make music.
And another day dawned.
This stretch of street is his furniture store.
KFC, open 24 hours
Jesus is Lord.
Cement mixers here have a scoop attached.
Pushcarts are used here.
Transfers were complicated by construction. Only bags of incoming missionaries are seen here; the other bags are arranged in the rest of the parking lot (not shown) by zone.
Coconuts
Looks complicated, but no one had to wait long.
Beats walking
The oncoming lane is a little crowded.
Peace and Love
Pizza Hut is coming very soon.
Adom {Grace}
Look closely. This church bathroom has a handicapped rail that folds down from the wall and an emergency button.
Bamboo and other temporary posts
We expect missionaries to do a lot, and they do. It's easy to forget how young they are.
Central courtyards like this allow air to flow through classrooms and the chapel. There are air conditioners for offices, the high council room, and for this building, the distribution center.
New missionaries introducing themselves
The Dimmicks introducing themselves
New companionships being formed..
..
Sister Morgan
This load of cement blocks came at the worst time. Tros can't get out and can't readily turn around.
The Dimmicks helped hand out food and water as missionaries left for their apartments..
..
Football toss. Notice Elder Dimmick in the fray..
..
..
..
..
Ready to hand out food when transports arrive to move missionaries
Missionaries
I can't re-glue this pair. The upper is too worn to adhere to the sole.
Supper
Our Christmas decorations
Just Married
When you have to move it, move it
So Nice
Slow Down!! High Accident Area. Donated by Mrs. Mary Kweku and Family, Phila, PA, USA.
Only God.
Holy Driving Institute
The back side of Cape Coast Castle, looking to the sea
Metal sheets are used as construction fences.
Me taking a photo of Sister Dimmick taking a photo of the four of us at the entrance to Lemon Lounge. [We're facing a large mirror.]
The Dimmicks
Salad and Hawaiian Pizza
Burgers and Fries
A more traditional photo
Momma, waiting for the last chick to join her
The dress store that Steph favors has a tree growing through it.
A better shot of the sea from behind Cape Coast Castle
..
..
..
..
= Grace Freeman (co-host of Don't Miss This) pointed out that even at the end of this important record we've been studying (the Book of Mormon), God doesn’t force us to do anything; he invites. We can follow his example in that we can invite people to read but not push them to do so.
= Monday, I swapped current glasses (scratched up) with other glasses I had brought with me. After the weekly meeting, I tested the mission's satellite phone. Then I drove Steph to Assin Fosu (two hours north) to drop off funds to a missionary for a dental appointment tomorrow. Home, I updated chords I had applied to Christmas songs in the hymnal, used an old tool to apply them to PDFs of the songs, and sent the result to Sister Morgan.
= Tuesday, missionaries arrived to travel home. After lunch at the Morgans, this group gave the Morgans a framed photo of the Morgan that thanked them for taking them as their own children. After dinner together, they received parting instruction. We heard their testimonies; they each received a stole embroidered with their name and mission service dates.
= Wednesday, the rented bus arrived with new missionaries. Departing ones gave a few seconds of encouragement. The last missionary’s words hit home: follow the mission rules to have the Spirit. If you don’t have the Spirit, the words will come out, but they won’t reach those you are trying to teach.
= We helped in-process the new arrivals and had lunch and dinner together at the Morgans. Four of them spent the night at our house. At 8:30, one Elder played guitar and the other played piano from the regular hymnal. By 8:45, another Elder sat with them on the couch, and the last Elder was cooking eggs.
= Thursday, I bought the Elders to the Morgans for breakfast, brought suitcases to the Ola chapel, then went back for Steph. We watched some transfers, then picked up water and food, which with the Dimmicks we handed out to missionaries as their transportation left the compound. Partly because a truck with cement blocks drove in and interfered with departures until it was empty, dispensing food took a couple of hours.
= Friday, we stayed home. In the evening, we watched episodes of Star Trek Enterprise. We relaxed.
= Saturday, I practiced songs for next week's conferences. We spent the bulk of the day with Dimmicks, spending time with them at various shops; they're good company.
= Home, I began sending Christmas and New Year greetings. Steph organized the items we've been gathering as gifts for the four Elders who work mostly at the office. Steph had given each one a questionnaire about things they liked; finding such things or substitutes has been a scavenger hunt for us.
= Our studies have reached the end of the Book of Mormon; it includes this invitation: And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Notice that the truck has a metal frame extending from its front! And someone is hanging laundry across the street, but there are no homes nearby.
[The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want....]
[Probably intended to say] Odomfo Yesu {Gracious Jesus} Organic Fertilizer
[a vanity plate]
Notice someone carrying propane. People typically cook with wood or propane here. (We use propane.)
This is at Pedu Junction coming south from Jukwa Road.
Vendors ply their trade.
Missionaries in Action
No comments:
Post a Comment