Week of 20250105 - Ghana Week 43: Early Departures; Top-loading Washer; No More Jumia; Masqueraders; Takoradi Ghana Card Renewal; Camera and Keyboard; External Lights; Phone Reports; Los Angeles Fires
= Sunday, I couldn't understand English spoken by members; I wonder whether they have the same problem when I speak Twi. I helped the clerk make us out-of-unit members so we can see branch members' contacts and they can see ours. The study topic was the restoration of the authority to act in God's name.
= Steph and others briefed missionaries who were departing tomorrow out-of-cycle.
= Monday, I asked for senior missionaries to be given top-loading washers that can be filled from jugs; seniors have front-loaders that only work if the pipes have water. Kojo Dadson picked up our truck to get the driver-side headlight to work consistently.
= I tried once more to order jug pumps through Jumia, but USAA won't do business with them anymore: that cuts off our only source for reasonably priced online purchases.
= Tuesday, we received a top-loading washer. As I stepped out to ask the Elders next door to help me move one from their storage, they were already outside bringing it to us; talk about timing! We went to medical facilities to pay bills and transported missionaries.
= We drove alongside a parade of masqueraders; Steph took video. We did some shopping; Steph "assigns" a month to each of a set of clustered shops so they don't all mob her on each visit. At the office, I sorted passport copies by trip and confirmed I had all the ones I needed (and the payment cards) to get Ghana non-citizen cards renewed.
= The top-loading washer and its spinner side work fine. (There are no dryers here, not needed.) It takes an entire five-gallon bucket to do a load, but it's our long-term solution when the overhead polytank fails. (Community water stopped flowing to us weeks ago.)
= Wednesday, we arrived at the Takoradi renewal office by 1000. Even interspersed with a dozen other walk-ins, we were done by 2. After we ate with the missionaries, the truck would not start. They went on to Shoprite in the van. Takoradi Office Elders used a jumpstart battery to get us going and we were on our way to Cape Coast by 3:15.
= Steph has offered her camera to me in the past to use when mine wears out. The motor on mine has been spinning lately when turned on, costing photo opportunities and using up battery power. Today, I accepted her offer. Also, our chargers have ceased to work with either camera.
= Thursday, we used our mission's jumpstart battery, brought it with us, and arrived in Takoradi by 0945. We were done by noon. After eating, we used the jumpstart battery and drove to the mall for Shoprite for food purchases.
= We also bought a new charger and cord. And, Steph bought me a birthday gift: a nice remote keyboard that fits in my wallet bag! In Cape Coast, we were unloaded by 5 and then I made the official request to Cyril (fleet manager) to have our truck repaired.
= Friday when Brother Bright drove Kojo Dadson to pick up our truck, I confirmed that our compound's external lights are working now after a couple of recent efforts by workers. (The lights have been out since the electric meter was replaced months ago.)
= Office Elders gave me a ride to the Jumia pickup point to get the mission's 200 key fobs. (That was our last successful order to Jumia.)
= President Morgan asked me to analyze two months of phone reports for 17 callers; I started the process.
= Saturday, I saw a WhatsApp from Michelle to our family group and so first learned of six wildfires in Los Angeles where Vince and Joshua live. 10,000 homes - gone.
= After 5, Kojo returned our truck; I brought him to the office to do a repair on the van. Then I refueled the truck for tomorrow.
To church
Heading to services..
So that's how you get in.
More people heading home..
Masqueraders..
..
Hand-cranked tricycle!
Masqueraders (at Pedu Junction)
..
..
..
A new building at our intersection to the national highway N1
From the vantage point of the small store near our compound, you can see the result of burning the area above and to the right of our compound.
Leftovers. Circles aren't ham, they're chicken, but with ham texture and seasoned.
Our new compound light. (Others hadn't been wired up yet.)
We got a light for the back as well.
The Morgans at the Monday Meeting remotely
Others filling jugs with ugly water (for flushing) from the mission borehole
Half court. It's preparation day, which includes the opportunity for recreation.
A top-loading washing machine with a separate spinner to remove water from moist clothes
Its future home. The cans are the right height - only needed one - for that corner of the device.
Closed, but someone at the diagnostic center provided results anyway.
Alternate route from there to Cape Coast Coliseum
Masqueraders are coming..
My answer in the States would have been to use a minivan; somehow they'll get this thing home.
Firewood and bundled cardboard
Life is the greatest gift
Oasis Beach Resort is not as grand as it sounds, but it is at the right turn to reach shops by Cape Coast Castle without navigating very narrow roads.
We have not found him in, but someday we hope to. He paints with his mouth because he can't use his hands.
Sensory overload. And this is just one shop. Steph focuses on one shop per month - she tells them which month is theirs - to keep vendors from wearing us out on visits to this tourist area by the Cape Coast Castle.
The workers' solution to missing ladder locks was to put screwdrivers in the joints.
The neighbor whose house shares a compound fence with us, ushering her kids to school
To Steph, driving is stress relief.
We have both headlights (for the moment).
And, the other nighttime lights have been wired up.
Running the washer with five gallons of water (one jug) of good water. Five gallons doesn't even cover all the clothes at once, but the washer spirals the clothes into the water.
Washed; spun dry; easier than by hand. This was a test. When the polytank goes out, this will how most of our laundry is handled.
Ugly water from the mission compund borehole (and water drained from the washer). The color is suspended sediment; it smells fine. We still have the luxury of using a regular flush if this doesn't do the job easily. And for most occasions, a little bleach by itself keeps things pleasant.
ATM at the edge of the Goil station near KFC. This ATM has a small limit but is reliable. The driver of the blue car is pushing it into a parking space.
This mom is carrying a propane tank to the car. Many gas stations refill propane tanks..
Some shops apply or embellish patterns in metal by hand, one dimple at a time. (This particular pattern may have been done by machine.)
I was on the lookout for bicycles.
You do what you have to do.
A heavy load for an aboboyaa
Greenery strewn on the road means one thing..
Having passed on a curve, this vehicle still has plenty of time to give us our lane back.
[Get on God's Side]
Can they fit a couple more?
We made it past as well. The red vehicle says Adom OO {Yea for grace}
Ɔkyɛso Nyame {God of Protection} Electronics
Nyame Ne Me Boafo {God Is My Helper} Casket Centre
Adonai - Phones Repairs and Accessories
Psalm 118:22 - The stone which the builders refused Is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; It is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
What is written is written
[I would add that it's only part of the story.]
Dismounted cowboy at prayer
Outside the bank that hosts the Ghana card office in Takoradi
Heavy greens. The triangle on the vehicle means it's not going anywhere. Traffic flowed around it in this direction on both sides.
Ngosra no nti {Because of the Anointing}
People posing at Takoradi Mall
But we're only passing the mall. Waiting for a jump start cost us too much time, and of course we'd need another jump when the truck was turned off.
In God We Trust - Atangnaba Meat Shop
We made the Cape Coast breakwater before nightfall and picked up the jumpstart battery from the mission office.
Home can be where you hang your hat.
The camera motor spins pointlessly, eating battery. (And, the lens has a chip that blurs part of the picture in some lighting.) [alas!]
Steph rescued me with hers. [relief!]
God's Time Is The Best - Beauty Salon
The only one pillar is Jesus.
Isaiah 28:16-18 - Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
Normal in Ghana. Sometimes, two Elders will ride behind the driver of a motorcycle. (Not recommended, but sometimes they're stranded in an outlying area without a reasonable alternative.)
Nyame Ne Me Boafo {God is my Helper} Casket Centre
Adom Arakwa [likely Adom Ara Kwa {Just a Grace}
Still Okukuseku {Still to smile at you}
or
Still Okukseku {Still Laughter}
Public Toilet and Bath House
Carrying is done on the head.
Have Faith
Passing on the traffic hump
The same driver, being insistent
So he can make a right turn less than a minute later. (This is an Uber driver.)
Institute of Distance Learning (IDL) Learning Centre
Lean to the left. (It's tied down.)
Driver and distributor of water
Onipa Bewu Na Sika Tease {Man Will Die And Money Lives}
This reminded me of Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 - Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
Walkers, wheelchair, crutches
(We applaud here by snapping fingers. Yes, I need to clean the windshield.)
[I'm struggling with this one. The closest I can get is
{The Blood of Jesus He is pouring}
Some of our missionaries, waiting hours for Ghana non-citizen card renewal..
Lunch, pre-ordered by our Office Elders
A landmark visible from many points: Western Serene Atlantic Hotel, AKA Best Western Plus. It's the only place we have stayed in Takoradi.
I took a photo of this box on the very unlikely chance that I saw a place that might sell something similar: our jug pump.
The approach to Takoradi Mall where Shoprite lives is congested; perhaps a half-acre of small shops are next to the mall, but they're only accessible on foot, and you'd have to be dropped off: no parking.
(The window sticker says: On God.)
Aduane Pa {very much food (Aduane)} or simply {food food}
No boxes provided by Shoprite this time; we'll bring our own next time, now that we know. The bread was hanging in an attempt to keep it from getting squashed. (It eventually fell, laying down on the jumpstart battery.) That's my reflection in the window.
A bicycle seller. But take a closer look at the young man.
He's carrying a copy of the Book of Mormon: not in Twi or Fante - titles in those languages are different. So, likely in English.
Yes, let's step on the wood because we can. [grin]
Show Show Nyame N'Adom {God's Grace}
The load appears to be growing out of the red truck.
Ɔkɛso Nyame {Great God} Ventures
Psalm 35:4 - Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Boafoɔ Ne Nyame {Helper and God}
Sometimes, not all the wheels are used. Notice the two that have been marked.
They're surprised too. We haven't seen anything like this in nine months.
Clearly, it can happen. Blessedly, the engine took the brunt of the impact.
A good distance from anywhere, but we're told they find their way back at night
Notice the feet. This is how babies ride.
An ambulance, not an ambulance/ hearse
Not the nicest place to work on a tire, but the truck will tip over if it he moves it to the shoulder any farther
By His Grace Plumbing and Engineering Works
Yɛ bɛdan egya {We will become a fire}
A uniform, or just the same bolt of fabric?
Well-earned rest. That's a net in the foreground.
He somehow got his vehicle near the shore.
Almost finished. The compartment facing us is where the outboard motor goes, alongside the vessel in a fixed position.
Missionaries waiting for us
Not shown is most of our protein supply: cans of jack mackerel, tuna, and the locally available equivalent of spam [luncheon meat with no pork, mostly chicken]. And of course, Steph added to the freezer.
Assistants to the President drove me to the Jumia pickup station.
Round windows, the only ones I've seen
These steps face a football pitch; they double as bleachers.
Bean stew and fried plantains from Elders next door
When I broke an old egg getting it out of the tray, I had to wash and put them in the refrigerator.
Across from the mission compound. The best time to burn is apparently in the dry season when things burn more readily. (Yes, I know that's the opposite of what people do Stateside.)
Treat people well. Who knows?
Watching Don't Miss This while snacking on tuna fish with potato crackers, a candy bowl
Missionary Activities
Heading to services..
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