Week of 20250824 - Ghana Week 76: Dreading Is Worse Than Doing; Bug Bites; Departing Missionaries; Waves of Missionaries; Pump Repair; Outside Lights Finally Fixed; Pinched Nerve; WhatsApp Shift
= Sunday during scripture study, the teacher cited 1 Corinthians 6:19 - What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
= Home as I performed a tedious step to prepare a meal, I had this insight: dreading is worse than doing - and dreading doesn’t produce any results. Indeed, it is almost always so. So much so that the Lord in a model prayer had his disciples focus on today, not next week or next year.
= Turning on switches for outside lights tripped breakers. [slow shake of the head]
= Monday, the pain from something that bit Steph in three places (bug bites) on her left shoulder woke her up; nothing like this has happened since our arrival in Ghana. I confirmed that the pump that boosts our water pressure had quit.
= Steph attended the monthly medical meeting. When we returned home, one of the power phases was missing, but extension cords to an outlet on a working phase quickly dealt with that, and the phase returned in a few hours. In the meantime, we listened to Christmas music while Steph cooked chicken and cabbage and then fixed large batches of sobolo.
= Tuesday, I helped unload a polytank to be sent to a missionary apartment. We had lunch with departing missionaries. After lunch, Steph briefed them on medical considerations. Elder Campbell mentioned to me that it would have been more useful for people to offer to support you on a mission before you actually signed up for one, that by the time you’ve signed up, you’ve figured out a way to pay for it.
= I drove back to the house and spent time with the electrician, whose sole test equipment appeared to be a screwdriver that incorporated a neon bulb. He repaired the connection to the pump and worked on the outside lights.
= After a dinner with the missionaries, they bore testimonies; here are three: Refining by heating removes impurities. Preparation meets opportunity; our preparation is not over. You can try your best at school and work and fail, but God will accept your best.
= Wednesday, we ate breakfast at the mission home, then greeted arriving missionaries and had lunch with them after the others departed. All were briefed together. Near dinner, I brought donated clothing to the mission home to fill gaps in what missionaries had brought. We had an informal supper with them at the mission home, then hosted three Elders for the night.
= Thursday, we were at breakfast shortly before 0600. When electricians called at perhaps 0800, we headed back to the house. By 1100, they were done: there had been a short in a sensor. To reach the sensor, they stacked three tables and stood on the top table! I finished gathering Ghana non-citizen card expiration dates and identified situations where the name on the card didn't match the name in the church roster.
= Many Elders from the U.S. had been held back due to a delay in receiving visas and showed up at 7; we were there to greet them and hosted four.
= Friday, I accidentally announced "0500" to our guests, then realized I was getting them up an hour early. I turned off the lights and left them off until 0600. at 0500 instead of at 0600. We ate breakfast together at the mission home at 0730. Instruction and testimonies followed. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 was shared; I would have added 58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
= At a noon appointment at Cape Coast Stadium Clinic, a doctor confirmed that Steph’s tingly fingers are caused by a nerve pinched by swelling at the inside of her left elbow. Next week, she’ll receive an ultrasound. In the meantime, she has pain medication. [sigh] We shopped for a few items, worked at the office until 4, then at home watched The Client and then Star Trek - Next Generation until 11 PM. We relaxed.
= Saturday, I received a call from an Elder who had received a mosquito bite last night and now thought he might have malaria: too soon to tell, but I referred him to Steph. We are heavily dependent on WhatsApp for mission communication, but WhatsApp is moving its Windows version to the browser. I moved more rock to the hole in front of our vehicle gate. I prepared for a possible meeting on Monday and fielded calls, two asking me to unlock that gate.
No longer in bloom, there is a rhythm here.
It is easier to dodge a vehicle parked up here than farther down.
Electrical items, probably for sale
There is a path from the right to join the bridge at this point.
Too nicely dressed to be selling now; perhaps later?
Jawing, or planning to ride?
Awieye ne asɛm {The end is the story}
Inya sika a wenum {Get money you drink}
Sika mmpɛ dede {Money doesn't like noise} [A social commentator discussing this phrase said that complaining about social problems makes them worse.]
Each Sunday, they set up a store at the corner of the football field.
This shot confirms that the horn is blown from the side, not the end.
The bridge is looking better but feels about the same.
I wonder how far she has to travel.
This box, added in the past few months, blocks the sign from view unless you know where to look.
And the church sign pointing to road access is gone.
After church, we encountered this..
This is how people cook with wood: a caldron or smaller pot balanced on rocks. A stick is pushed into the center as it burns.
It will be a crowded trip.
Nyame ne me Boafo {God is my Helper}
Will the goats go to the curb to avoid the motorcycle, or will they cross into my lane?
Interesting name for a medical center. Services include homeopathic treatment and massage therapy.
Not sure what's happening here; the boys seem to have schoolbooks.
Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II is the paramount chief of the Oguaa traditional area in Cape Coast. Ogiame Atuwatse III is the traditional king of the kingdom of Warri in Nigeria; he is also known as Olu of Warri. Olori Atuwatse III is his wife, Queen of the Warri kingdom.
Oguaa Fetu Afahye is celebrated the first Saturday of September as a time of thanksgiving and the beginning of a new year (!).
No one else is using the shoulder right now.
A couple of students at Adisadel College are mowing with cutlasses; the rest are just standing around.
A man in traditional dress, in conversation
Did someone order the vent pipes too early?
Claw marks left by heavy equipment; we drive over those claw marks now.
The area behind and above the construction across from the Audit Agency used to have cement blocks stacked there and was grazed by cattle; not now.
Someone tried to make the turn next to ours less-treacherous: the spot I freed a car from not long ago.
The light at the back of the house was faint; the one on the front of the house was off.
The hallway light worked.
The main outside lights were on.
But not the small lights.
Turning on the first switch..
Dropped a breaker in the house.
Touching the second switch..
Then it dropped the other breaker.
Not the most inspiring wiring job.
Picking up furniture for delivery to other apartments.
Elder Mayo cooked apple pies without an oven..
Steph prepared chicken breasts.
Mushrooms and red cabbage
Don't Miss This (scripture discussion)
New traffic bumps are worse than potholes.
Prepositioning a small polytank for delivery..
Eric, rolling it into position. (Upright, it's taller than a person.)
Ready to tackle another day..
But wait; dirt is being carved out next to the construction.
An area has been prepared to receive the dirt.
Mattresses, queued on the mission home porch
The Tachie-Mensons make meals as informal as they can.
..
Fufu is squishy finger food, eaten with the right hand only, as you try to scoop some of the soup into an indentation in the piece you pick up and then swallow without chewing.
Coping with the dirt that filled in the ditch to let the big trucks cross..
And with clockwork precision, another truck takes its place.
As the first truck prepares to dump its load.
Examining the small pump, trying to find where the power break has occurred
Comparing it with the big pump that feeds the overhead tanks
The culprit: a broken wire where it is supposed to reach the pump..
The side yard light will be replaced.
Much has been carved away from next to the future building.
And has been piled over here.
Much grass has been cleared away.
Weighing suitcases to satisfy the airlines.
Buffet. The little bag is banku: corn and cassava dough, cooked and fermented to give it a slightly sour taste to balance the peppery spice in most Ghanaian dishes. Sister Dimmick is in the foreground, Sister Rebecca in the background.
(Missionaries had sparkling juice to celebrate.)
Elder Bingham is conducting the meeting. As usual, the Tachie-Mensons leave the cushy recliners to their guests.
This is Elder Gordon. A few few weeks ago, he pointed out to me that it was more important for our visitors to understand Sunday meeting talks and discussions than it was for us to understand them.
Elder and Sister Dimmick
Collages featuring departing missionaries..
{Well Done!}
A close-up of the tiny missionary [grin]
With assistants to the President, Office Elders, and Elder Dimmick
As Sister Dimmick and Sister Ladner worked to take the shot
No lights tonight, except from the Big House
And the driver-side low beam was out, as usual.
Polytank moved to make room for furniture loading
I'm looking at a parking space that I never thought of as a parking space, but another vehicle can fit there the same way that the one to its right fits.
Elder Dimmick donned this lava lava in honor of a departing missionary who wore one on formal occasions..
The two men in between the Dimmicks are the ones who would legitimately wear the lava lava.
A better photo sent to me from last night.
Last night, Elder Dimmick made a production of getting the stole onto a tall missionary.
But he sank this one.
I imagine Hervé Villechaize from Fantasy Island shouting: "The Bus!" "The Bus!"
Support for arrival photo for family
Medical briefing. The item near the floor on the left is a rechargeable fly swatter.
Malaria - a shapeshifting parasite that requires multiple different hosts to survive and spread: a infected mosquito that infects a person;
an uninfected mosquito that bites an infected person and so becomes infected.
In one form, it looks harmless and takes up residence in the liver, where once past the liver's guardian cells, it produces two other forms.
Nearly all of them attack, multiply in, and destroy red blood cells.
Some of them become cells that can infect a mosquito when it bites you, repeating the cycle.
-- I would add that you need help to fight this once it takes hold of you...
Bill Gates says: With malaria, each [instance of this parasite] can present up to 60 different proteins—and thanks to a mechanism that tells the parasite to alter its surface periodically, they shuffle these proteins around in different combinations every few days. As a result, by the time your immune system has figured out how to attack one shape, the parasite has transformed, and your body’s defenses are useless. Your immune system adjusts, but not before the parasite has shifted again. It’s as if there’s a door on the surface of the parasite, but it keeps changing the locks so your body never has the right key.
Wash your hands to avoid other diseases. If you have a problem, don't lay in bed thinking it will go away by itself. Call.
Elder Dimmick, briefing budgeting and related topics.
President Tachie-Menson, with Sister Tachie-Menson
Clothing left by other missionaries for newcomers who didn't bring enough.
The white, sealed items in the foreground are new pillows that fluff up when unsealed: one per missionary.
Kitchen cabinets to be distributed to apartments.
(Apartments are bare walls when first leased.)
Sister Dimmick carrying clothes
Elder Bingham reviewing a kill.
Driver-side low beam, out again
Experienced Elders coming to help
Great photo of Sister Rebecca
Aboboyaa, parked temporarily
Just a reminder that we've had to keep tightening the battery connections to start the truck; my tools aren't good enough to do the job properly.
And the shield for the positive connection doesn't quite fit.
The dozer and trucks have done their work. I wonder whey they didn't carve this cliff before they started the building.
I hope these aren't active water lines, going up the hill, exposed to easy accident.
Now that the earth has been moved, this man gets to dig the drainage ditch back out (not that the ditch gets water anyway; the sides are higher than the road).
This will look better in a few months.
The master switch is in the ECG [power company] position.
The light at the side of the house has been replaced.
I didn't take the photo in time. There were three tables stacked here to reach the light and sensor.
The old wires had burned..
Note to self: don't put Vienna sausages in a meal again. Eat them by themselves or not at all. They are definitely not a hot dog substitute.
Work review, and new holes
The side and back lights work.
The front light works. The Big House light works.
The light behind the Big House works.
The low lights work. The fence lights work..
Visa problems delayed Stateside missionaries by a day. They reached us Thursday night after 7.
Phoning family to let them know they've arrived safely
Sister Tachie-Menson is in yellow.
President Tachie-Menson is urging them to eat pizza.
House guests. Notice we have both low-beam headlights tonight.
A missionary left his packet. Do you see it?
A path we hadn't noticed behind the Nkanfoa chapel.
Psalm 35:1-5 - Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. 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. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.
Commerce on foot, waiting for the light to change
Lady cyclist, a rarity here
Yes, they pushed the aboboyaa up the hill..
Christ in You - The Hope of Glory
True God's Power Bridal Centre
Meat Towel = Tripe -- Google Arts and Culture
Tripe, also known as offal, is a cut of meat that comes from the stomach lining of farm animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. Because of its distinctive scent and mild flavor, it’s typically heavily spiced and combined with other flavorful foods. -- WebMD
Osagyefo {Honorable, Reverend}
Ɔsagyɛfo {Scientist}
It's hard to know what point is being made here.
With God
Nyame Yɛ Nyame {God is God}
Imagine the conversation: Sammy, get this propane container refilled at the gas station.
When we first arrived, the church couldn't get permission to bring Permethrin into the country to use on clothing and mosquito nets. I saw this at a pharmacy recently; I don't know whether it has always been there. The box advertises it for scabies and lice.
Apparently Chiefs, outside the Central Regional House of Chiefs
Mpaebo Tiefoɔ {Hearer of Prayer}
He could use some right now; the shoulder is full, there's an oncoming car, and there may not be much room in front of the truck he wants to pass.
Everybody made it, unscathed.
Three vehicles oncoming, one trying to pass me
Smart and Fast Enterprise
Speaking of big loads, the truck stops, and the load keeps on going.
Advertising for a nice restaurant on the way to Mankessim.
Bitumen (road surfacing material) seen from the parking lot of Mama Lee's Kitchen. I had thought we would try it, but it didn't have any food we were interested in.
Need to move a wardrobe? No problem!
Heading away from a likely sales point at 3:30 PM
'Tros load along the road on this side of Pedu Junction heading east.
Picturesque
Me3 Menu
Nice tiling on the back side of the Abura Chapel fence. (Won't ever have to be painted.)
The green building tucked into a corner of Pedu Junction has the name Nice Conner [likely a pun on corner].
The Campbells sent us videos of playing in the snow. I told him this is as close to powder snow as we get. [It looks like a snow globe, but...]
It's sugar (larger granules than in the States)
Star Trek - Next Generation
We use half of a can of fake spam in meals - it goes a long way - and retain the other half for another meal. Otherwise, you can see what went into this.
Activity
Commerce on foot, waiting for the light to change
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