Week of 20250601 - Ghana Week 64: Hand Pumps; Water Run; National Anthem; No Money Orders; Departures; Arrivals; Fosu Delivery; Supervised Medication; Abura Dunkwa; Cement Dumbbell; Breezy Day
= Sunday, we sat facing the lectern and heard well. I bore my testimony. Here's a part: To be like God, He gave us opposition so we could learn to make good choices. Jesus lived a perfect life to offer a perfect sacrifice for us so if we repent, we are not punished for our sins. We can be called by the power of God to serve our brothers and sisters as Jesus would.
= We didn't teach today (and we hadn't prepared).
= Home, Internet returned for the new month.
= Monday, I tried to demonstrate hooking up the water pumps that had arrived and asked for them to be included in apartment videos so they wouldn't get lost. I worked to get bicycles repaired.
= Home, I made another water run with the Elders next door. As I helped fill jugs, the missionary next to me, who was from Tahiti, started to hum the Canadian national anthem. When I told him I recognized it, he started to sing the American national anthem and we sang it all the way through, loudly. He pointed out that it was in the back of our hymnal.
= Tuesday, I had thought that our electric meter had a problem and typed a message to Elder Dimmick to that effect, noticed the message had a typo, and deleted the message. While crafting it again, I realized I was wrong; the meter was right. I had unseen help that kept me from unnecessarily bugging him about a non-existent problem. At the office, we had lunch with departing missionaries. Steph gave a short departure briefing.
= Downtown, we tried to get a demand draft (like a money order) in dollars from a bank to renew Steph's driver's license, but the bank manager said it couldn't be done; Ghana restricts currency transfer out of the country. Time is running out.
= We had dinner with the departing missionaries, received training with them, and heard their testimonies.
= Wednesday, the hired bus took our departing missionaries and dropped off our new missionaries. We had lunch with them. Steph briefed them and showed a video animation of malaria attacking liver and red blood cells. They were interviewed by President Morgan and went out with experienced missionaries to proselyte. We had dinner, training, and testimonies with them. Then we brought two sisters to our home to spend the night in the guest bedroom.
= Thursday, we found medication and delivered it to Fosu, an hour and a half away. The regimen is complicated enough that Steph calls each night to make sure the missionary takes the medication properly.
= Friday, we inspected an apartment in Abura Dunkwa, almost two hours away, and swapped bicycles. While there, Steph did ten reps with a cement dumbbell. Leaving the area, Steph scraped the passenger side of the vehicle against a cement wall. [We thought we had barely cleared it and didn’t spot the damage until hours later.]
= Back in Cape Coast, we ran errands and ate at Ridge Royal Hotel; we probably won't be back. Home, water was flowing. We watched Star Trek - Next Generation; we relaxed.
= Saturday, we opened all the windows; the breeze was nice and strong. We aired out the house because water drained from the washer in jugs to flush toilets smelled bad ever since we started using commercial fabric softener instead of vinegar. I emptied the jugs and will add vinegar to them going forward.
Water cooler misbehaving, or is the jugs? (The reflection on the floor is water coming from the cooler.)
Roofs don't use asphalt shingles. They're made of metal or of cement-reinforced fiber.
I tried removing this dangling obstacle, but I could not. I don't carry a cutlass in the truck. Maybe I should.
The cube is a counterweight that will hold the gate open.
Ball floats (like donuts)
But it's not supposed to do this.
in electric pressure cooker
Don't Miss This (scripture discussion). A commentary tends to chase related scriptures, translation nuances, and the cultural setting: specialized knowledge. These discussions are reactions to the scriptures on the surface: things they found interesting that they don't want you to miss. They are the kind of talks you could have with your friends about what you're reading and how it relates to your life.
Remote for the prepaid electric meter [keypad not shown]
Water meter (with water poured on it to mitigate the glare from scratches)
Our ground-level polytank: essentially empty, water level below the outlet.
Hunting for meds? I didn't write down why were downtown at 2 PM on Monday afternoon.
I don't know where they're going.
Ewu a takÉ› {It killed the one who took it}
Crushed construction debris is helping make the passage to our compound easier.
Farmer, out standing in her field.
And leftover purple cabbage and potatoes
Elders bench pressing while we're filling jugs
Taping lids; because, not all have proper plugs
The "Big House" holds items for delivery to other apartments.
Departing missionaries and the office team, with the Morgans
Somehow, one of the photos of our missionaries assisting police by putting reflective tape on barriers made it into the printed version of the Liahona, the Africa West Area section. It had no caption, was not related to the text, and is not in the online version.
It is nice that police usually let our missionaries pass through checkpoints without a hassle. The mission has worked hard to maintain this relationship.
At the mission home, "Uncle John" (groundskeeper) pounding fufu for Sister Rebecca (housekeeper)..
There has to be a careful rhythm between the person doing the pounding and the person folding the dough between each strike so the person folding the dough isn't injured. The pounder is using considerable force.
Sister Rebecca is forming balls of fufu, one per serving.
Steph getting a good look.
Just as you don't eat ribs with a fork and knife, you don't use utensils with fufu. Instead, you wash your hands - a restaurant will bring you a pitcher, bowl, and a little soap to do this - and you use your *right* hand to scoop up soup in a piece of fufu that you pinch off of the ball.
Departing missionaries, with the Morgans and office staff.
A closer look. We're trying to be able to scoop the liquid in a dimple of the piece that we break off. Then you swallow, never chew, the result.
(If the soup has bones, pay attention and feel for bones before you swallow, but don't chew every bite; those around will think you're very strange if you do.)
I think Steph got it this time.
I'm still learning.
We sing..
We see some photos of those departing. The missionary on the right is wearing formal clothing from his home country.
They're drawing water from a well. Water is not plentiful from Christmas through Easter, and when community water fails, we turn to wells or water deliveries.
..
After parting advice and bearing testimonies, our missionaries receive commemorative stoles.
This time, one of them gave President Morgan a lei.
Luggage was kept under cover until the last moment.
I looked at my photos of the arriving missionaries and decided it wasn't fair to post them; they had been up since 0300 and were wondering what would happen next. But here are the departing ones.
After a presentation about the Mission President and his wife, Steph gave a medical briefing.
Malaria attacking your liver
Malaria attacking your red blood cells
In the waiting area for interviews, a crash course in Twi
After interviews, suitcase inventories, and proselyting with seasoned missionaries, dinner.
Seniors are at a separate table. The guests of honor are the young missionaries.
Active mission
[I was sitting at an extreme angle relative to the TV monitor, so I stretched this horizontally in Word for legibility.]
We want the people we teach to have somewhere nearby to go to church; so, we proselyte within boundaries of existing units of the church, which in turn follow main highways.
This is about a third of the missionaries.(We don't try to have all of us in one place at once.)
Missionaries invite.
Baptism is only the first step. New members need friends, continued spiritual nourishment, and specific ways to help each other. That's the role of the existing members in their branches and wards.
(Missionaries, including senior missionaries, help them with that.)
Steph's so good she scares me sometimes.
The statue in the roundabout holds a book and a stick.
Young adults are encouraged to attend Institute one evening a week.
At transfer meetings, new companionships are formed..
And those attending physically get to visit. Most attend via Zoom.
Missionaries seek Steph's advice.
Sister Dimmick makes English Connect references and replacement name tags available.
A previous annex of Ola chapel was taken down to make room for this new, much larger building.
A pedestrian walkway from University Cape Coast to the ocean side of N1 appears complete.
Let Them Say
A meal provided to missionaries as their taxi or 'tro leaves the transfer meeting.
Yes, people are riding in the truck.
(next to an NFL logo)
[I think; I can't confirm this.]
A pink Land Rover with the personalized tag: Queen 1 21
Awurade bɛhwɛ wo {The Lord will take care of you}
At least three possibilities:
{I don't know}
{Rumors}
or the name of an entertainment news website.
The red color is a tip-off that this procession is associated with a funeral.
I apologize for missing the best shot: a rider who had his body slung alongside his motorcycle. (I've also seen a person stand on his motorcycle; again, it's hard not to be so astonished as to miss the shot.)
Going back to encourage more participation
Nana Koom Affordable Caskets
I've substituted this for my blurry photo. Human beings were auctioned here, then compelled to walk to the coast to be imprisoned until ships arrived to take them from their home forever.
"Welcome" in this context sounds more like "Welcome to Hell".
There is a truck somewhere under those tires.
We weren't sure what we were looking at, at first..
Then we still weren't sure. If the whole thing flipped on its side, where are the rest of the wheels?
A view of the pendant I gave Steph. The symbol - Except for God - echoes the truth that God is Supreme.
She was trying to package these pills in a way that would make sense relative to the varying dosage over a series of days. [She eventually had to explain each night how many to take on that night.]
Kids ride beyond infancy.
The motorcyclist may take some of our pavement to avoid the rough shoulder.
The House in the Trees - Guest House
(Nice marketing)
I would much rather use a cart.
Kids gaggled outside the Fosu South Stake Center.
[A cautionary tale?]
Never Rush in Life - Jah [Jehovah] Guide
Bathrooms; I didn't notice them while driving but see the signs in this photo.
People ride, not just cargo.
A chop bar named "Food"
(Tires, I think)
Look closely; we almost witnessed a tragedy. (The smaller vehicle barely completed a passing maneuver.
Likely Kae MebrÉ› {Remember I Am Tired} Chop Bar
The wreck we saw earlier is easier to understand from this direction. This is the back of the trailer; it's the truck that's missing.
Pavement repair. Asphalt is flattened with a portable device.
We caught up with some of the revelers.
My God Is Able - Supermarket and Cold Store
A better look at that road hazard
I assume they all came out of the van.
Normally, a goat would ride up here just fine, but this one was having trouble with the shifting load under him.
Our photographer for the goat chase
We didn't follow this truck closely.
The van tucks in - in time.
Get ready for another round of leapfrog..
He does it again, and there isn't much clearance this time.
The person who built it doesn't want it; the person who buys it doesn't use it. The person who uses it doesn't know he's using it.
The manufacturing floor (implied by the sewing machine)?
Or just more display models?
Maybe the sewing machine is for the internal touches.
The goat is still hanging in there.
Nyame ayÉ› {God has done it}
I removed the filters in case it was blocking water flow. As you can see, there's no water to block.
I suppose we're holding up progress; they could pass if we and cars behind us weren't in the way.
He needs room to make the turn.
Need more display room? Rent a canopy.
It's Friday morning; I have no explanation..
A possible explanation, much farther down the road..
Motorcycles carry more than people.
Market..
..
Very large collection of palm oil fruit clusters, much larger than would have come in a single aboboyaa.
Osahene Christo {Commander Christo}
This is how smaller quantities of palm oil fruit clusters are weighed.
Our turn for Abura Dunkwa
Pearls Solid Foundation School. Motto: Fear God.
A well-organized chicken coop: watering mechanisms; tall enough to stand in. (The colorful reflection is Steph's dress.) Plastic halfway down provides protection from the elements..
We couldn't figure out how to get there that way; so, we doubled back.
Trying another road to the left of this building as we face it.
The apartment we're visiting is on the second floor.
Steph and the cement dumbbell
She is also lifting her purse on the same arm each time.
..
..
Triumphant. Elders Hampton and Keil look on.
"Hope's Kitchen" at the end of an aboboyaa garage
An abandoned poster being put to good use
Would you climb this ladder mor than once?
Mom with baby, checking on repair progress
Yes, he's traveling kilometers in a wheelchair.
I imagine a connection here. Kid carrying Dad's sprayer backpack; Mom carrying a water jug; Dad carrying nothing (at the moment).
Paused convoy of those orange trucks?
Also rockin' it in her own way
Pay attention as a pedestrian. We know of someone in the States who survived a minor accident only to be run over while standing in the street using her cellphone.
Notice that a car is ready to use the same shoulder as this pedestrian.
A triangle in addition to the traditional pulled-up weeds to warn of a breakdown
My attempt at numbering the bicycles. Oil removes "permanent marker"; I mark the tape in multiple places in the hope that one of the sets of numbers will remain legible.
Ocean view, probably not access; not much else that we can imagine.
These 20-piece packs of foil pans for 79 cedis would have been $5 at the beginning of April 2025, but in early June 2025 they cost about $7.60. When we arrived, we were counseled to think of the exchange rate as $10 to 100 cedis: easy math. It's approaching that now.
How Wal-Mart Great Value products made it to a Melcom chain store in Ghana is anyone's guess.
Eating at Ridge Royal for Date Night..
Buffet cold and tough
Alfredo pasta limp
This is our second visit; we won't be back.
Trying to avoid a power pole guy wire and a clothesline leaving the Agona Abrem apartment, Steph scraped a building. We thought we had made it through that gauntlet unscathed until we looked at our truck in the Ridge Royal parking lot. (As photographer, I cast the shadow here.)
The ditch below our compound is looking better.
The polytank water level is still below the outlet: effectively empty.
Star Trek - Next Generation
Credits for Turkish voice-over for the show!
We opened our windows..
View from the living room
..
I'm demonstrating the force of the breeze by holding this sandwich bag in the kitchen doorway.
View from the guest bedroom
View from the door of the guest bedroom, looking across the hall through the living room; these homes are designed for ventilation.
A view of our overhead polytank, which still has an unknown amount of water, pumped from the ground-level polytank when water is available; this is seen from the drying room window. [The drying room has clotheslines strung within it, but people could bring in sleeping mats in a pinch.]
View through the hall window of the drying room, looking across the hall through the living room
From the living room to the guest bedroom and drying room
Eggplant, cucumbers, bacon bits, and ranch dressing
We put waste water from the top-loading washer into this small set of jugs, marked with tape. We use this waste water only for flushing toilets.
Activity
A triangle in addition to the traditional pulled-up weeds to warn of a breakdown
Nice photo op, though
Trying to avoid a power pole guy wire and a clothesline leaving the Agona Abrem apartment, Steph scraped a building. We thought we had made it through that gauntlet unscathed until we looked at our truck in the Ridge Royal parking lot. (As photographer, I cast the shadow here.)
The ditch below our compound is looking better.
The polytank water level is still below the outlet: effectively empty.
Star Trek - Next Generation
Credits for Turkish voice-over for the show!
We opened our windows..
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