Week of 20250112 - Ghana Week 44: Steph Teaching; Dance Floor; Philippine Adobo; Water Delivery; Meeting with Clinic Director; Flexible Calling; Jukwa Visit; Empty Again; Singing Together; Arm Pain
= Sunday, I understood talks better; a major topic: the choices we make determine the kind of people we will become. Steph was asked unexpectedly to lead the lesson on the introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants, this year's study topic. She did an excellent job!
= Some takeaways: This is a *living* church! We have things to do. We don’t just sit there. We teach, lead, speak when called upon, and care about each other. We are each other's cheerleaders. Not doing these things has negative spiritual consequences.
= Home after some other activity, I moved living room furniture to create a dance area; Steph needs movement.
= Monday, we had our usual Monday meetings. President Morgan gave me three more numbers to look for in phone reports. At 6 PM, Elder Soria served Adobo, a Philippine dish, for the Office Elders, Morgans, Dimmicks, and us at the Morgans. It amazingly looked like tender beef but was actually chicken. Very nice. Then on to scraping uneven PDF data into Excel for phone analysis until 0100.
= Tuesday at about 0600, we received a water delivery! A tanker filled the ground-level polytank we share with the Elders next door. At the office, I formalized repair estimates for six bicycles, and Steph met here with the director of the Cape Coast Stadium Clinic. Result: his office will bill us instead of Steph having to drop off payment every time we send a missionary there!
= We drove to Oak Tree Medical and paid a bill. Post office to mail RV payment. Stores to buy a speaker to dance to. Home, phone analysis until finished at 11:30.
= Wednesday, I did laundry and worked on incident reports. Steph remarked that our callings are perfect: We can travel, work late at home and take breaks during the day; and we have a branch to interact with and are often asked to teach. I journaled. I organized visits by seniors to missionary apartments; they're on board with the plan.
= Thursday, after two blockages at the end of very rugged "roads", Steph found a way to reach the Jukwa apartment and we noted many things to be repaired. And, we found extra wires coming from the electric meter: someone was stealing power.
= At Cape Coast, pharmacy at Goil; KFC for lunch; time at the office. Home.
= Friday, the ground-level polytank was empty again. Not surprising: it feeds our elevated polytank and the one for the four-to-six Elders next door. I worked on incidents. I prepared six jugs for us to fill. Office Elders eventually led us to where the Bishop lives who has the vehicle gate key to the chapel downtown that had the good borehole; now we'll know where to get the key when he's available.
= We ate at Lemon Lounge and shopped at Melcom. We were without power for a half hour. I played guitar. Steph and I sang together in Steph’s range; nice. Steph directed me through a few yoga moves. We watched Star Trek - Enterprise until 1 AM. We relaxed.
= Saturday, Steph's left arm continues to hurt her. Vitamins in the morning are helping her get to sleep in the evening, but arm pain wakes her several times a night. We stayed put today. She worked on incoming texts; I blogged, journaled, and sent email.
Three fingers for the three points in Steph's Sunday Snippets
Preparing to leave, I marred my shirt. I hand-scrubbed it and put it back on.
It's loaded, but now they have to change a tire.
Every meeting needs tables and chairs
Going to market
Washing his KK
Door frames. Cement buildings need wooden door frames.
Football {Soccer}
Tros are in great demand; they go between towns. You do usually need to wait until they're full before they'll move.
Serious recycling; people on the move
Football
Fun; Steph enjoys driving
Unloading bags of 30 sachets of water by tossing them
Progress for somebody
Road to where we park for church; looks good
Someone is clearing space near where we meet for church.
The Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ is the topic this year in a study of the Doctrine and Covenants.
After a pause, Steph was asked to teach today. Surprise!
The preface to the Doctrine and Covenants says the gospel will be spread by the weak and the simple. In this case, it's being shared by someone not so simple but who wasn't expecting to teach today.
The warning is given to everyone through prophets, scripture, study, and each other - to help them avoid Satan, be cleansed, be chastened, repent, prepare for what's coming, and use God's priesthood.
The big "do not enter" symbol scraped across the discussion points emphasizes that if you don't harken, you separate yourself from God.
Thank you Jesus Enterprise
Football
The God of Mercy
Trust in God
Masqueraders..
Looking for plantains and bananas
Rice and local spam, with many seasonings
Water delivery!
(Selfie)
..
Ground-level polytank, full (water touching the float to turn off community water input, if we had any)
Our dance floor
We push a button to start our truck and the loose key is for the cargo roof. I didn't know that the truck key (useful if someone redundantly locks the tailgate) was *inside* the fob.
Cattle and a trash truck opposite a tiny recycling center on the only road to Oak Tree Medical Center
Nested load
Small polytank
Hope they don't have to unpack just part of the load.
At the Morgans. Elder Soria, Elder Tew
The Dimmicks
Elders Anagbo and Hampton
Another satisfied dress customer
Bishop Kobi and Sister Rebecca (his wife) measuring Steph for a dress
Bicycles dismantled for repair
The new Pizza Hut is air-conditioned, but the music videos playing there are loud and uncomfortable.
Cement block load. The license plate of the Hyundai says "Thank U Jesus".
Unusually customized
This vehicle is parked in the center of the intersection! Pizza anyone?
Unusual. The "mate" usually hangs out a *side* window or side door to beckon people to ride.
Nyame {God}
Tumi {Power}
So {on, above; to be big; to carry}
[The text could mean any of these; pronunciation differentiates some, but not all, of these meanings.]
Testing the ability to use Zoom with the dance floor (to see ones' self)
Crippled Instant Pot
Useless fish ruined by it
Fallback meal
Don't Miss This [scripture discussion]
Who loaded these heavy tires to this height; the Rock?
How nonchalant
Keep your secret
I have puzzled about these wooden frames for a while, and I think I've figured out what they are though I have no confirmation. They're mirrors!
3 on a motorcycle: typical; we've seen 5
Long load
Large load
Precious Cargo [water].
The windshield says God Dey {God exists}
Adom No Nti {Therefore, the Grace}
Men do carry
Sugar cane
Recess
A good night's sleep. Anyone remember the play "Princess and the Pea"?
Boa Aponsem Ahenfie {Help the Aponsem Palace}
This is in Jukwa, where Aponsem Square is also located.
Exodus 14:14
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Ɛkoo {It fought}
[need context]
Nana {grandparent or grandchild}!
Even English can be confusing. Saloon?
Cat? Dog? Pig?
Attempt number two to reach the apartment to inspect..
..
..
..
..
I walked ahead to see whether we would want to drive it. Nope.
The "road" looked even worse coming out than it did going in.
Beautiful view. Steph took a road that the GPS claimed was blocked..
And found our destination. Success.
What we thought was stealing power turned out to be legitimate. The company ran out of proper poles; so, the neighbor's meter (the good-looking one) was placed here..
And the wire was run along various makeshift poles to its destination.
We didn't see a sign, but coffins are sold here.
Nyame Ye {God Is the One} Enterprise and Auto Parts
Abura Chapel, Cape Coast
Walking inventory
Heavy Equipment refueling (diesel) at an ordinary Goil station
Count 'em. Notice that not all the wheels are used all the time. It's still long, though.
No fence? Cattle will graze your lawn.
Someone is accumulating firewood for pickup barely outside of the Audit building property.
Sister Morgan relating a memory..
What story? You'll have to ask her.
The ground-level polytank for our compound is essentially empty; that water is below the drain.
Empty jugs to try to fill
Adwen[e] bon ma ahokyire {Mind valley for recovery}
(I don't understand it either.)
Adom Nyame {Grace of God} Ventures
Not every tree grows this way.
Could be the same man, 20 minutes later.
Fufu pounding sticks to sell
Lemon Lounge has added a backdrop to block the alley view.
[not enough stuff inside the chicken]
She heard us and turned; we complimented them on their matching outfits.
They will put the load back on the Aboboyaa when it gets up this small but steep hill.
Recent fire (on purpose; people seem to burn only in the dry season here; logical, in a way) has made the house on the hill noticeable.
Steph's Sunday Snippets. Click the button at the top of this blog..
No, this did not work. I grated the half-block of local spam and blended only the corn.
Better. There were few leftovers.
Activity
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