The Ladner Archives: Week of 20250921 - Ghana Week 80: Primary Program; Server Closet; Music; Dance; Returned Missionary Paralyzed; Prayer Works; Mankessim 1 and 2; Stake President; KO-SA Beach Resort; Boats on a Stick

Week of 20250921 - Ghana Week 80: Primary Program; Server Closet; Music; Dance; Returned Missionary Paralyzed; Prayer Works; Mankessim 1 and 2; Stake President; KO-SA Beach Resort; Boats on a Stick

= Sunday, we attended the 0930 service at the Abura chapel. It was the Ward's annual Primary program; youngsters gave short talks or made short statements. They sang "I Love to See the Temple": a favorite.
= The teacher did a good job leading Sunday School. However, between the accent and a mix of Twi, we had trouble following the discussion and were deer in headlights when asked to contribute ideas.
= Blogged until 9:45; worked with the new laptop; Bed by 11:30; Googled uselessly until 0130 [sigh].

= Monday, laundry. Office. File movement was easy; OneDrive connected automatically when my laptop was on the office network. When workers started to replace the office carpet, I moved to the server closet and worked in there until they were done. It felt familiar, like my working environment for much of the last few decades. [grin]. I filled four jugs for home; we're conserving until the ground-level tank has water again.
= Home, Twi manual until 9:30; bed by 10.

= Tuesday, I fielded Stateside expenses. I paid our donation to cover housing and vehicle expenses here. We had a family council to consider a sequence of actions when we return to the States.
= We played recorders; Steph also played silver flute. We watched Don't Miss This (scripture discussion), then How to Run a Global Organization: an interview of Elder Bednar by Ryan Smith in a Silicon Slopes show episode.
= I reached out to our management company and opened an account with Alabama Power to start service tomorrow.

= Wednesday, I worked on mission issues and the blog. At one point, we danced together. We arranged to visit two apartments tomorrow.
= A young man had avoided seizures for most of his mission here. A few months after his return home, he had a seizure; when he woke, he could not move his legs. Pray for him, his doctors, and his family, please.

= Thursday, we inspected Mankessim 1. Going to Mankessim 2, we got stuck in a muddy area flanked by trees on both sides. The mud on the driver’s side was touching the bottom of the truck; the wheels spun. We prayed.
= Then I thought to turn off the truck and turn it back on. It accepted 4-wheel drive, and we managed to back out. I had set the controls earlier for 4-wheel drive, but it wasn't actually there until now. (A uncleared alert when we started the truck earlier by wiggling battery connections blocked proper operation.)
= New route to Mankessim 2; inspection; roadside squid at Egyaa (delicious); Selgyn Medical (to pay a bill); warm bread at 3:30 PM; a Sunday on Monday guest gave a personal perspective on choosing a Stake President. Two men who don’t know anyone in your Stake get one day to visit and find out who God wants to preside over the 2,000-6,000 people in that Stake for the next few years. The miracle is that this works, time after time; the church has more than 3,600 Stakes.

= Friday, the office meeting had been moved up to noon from 2. After the meeting, I unloaded four jugs of water at our apartment and loaded a suitcase for our seniors' overnight at KO-SA beach resort. We paid another mission bill at Selgyn Medical, topped off diesel, and headed for KO-SA.

= President Tachie-Menson was with his wife and five of their kids - three daughters were visiting. We ate with the other senior couples and talked quite a bit about the mission, helping missionaries, and how the mission was affecting us; it was good to share and have and be sounding boards.

= Saturday, Steph started to receive calls at 0700. I looked up at 0800 but didn't awake again until 1000. After unloading our stuff back to the truck from our bungalow, we examined the water. It was clean but low. I swam a little in shallow water. Others got more involved with it. KO-SA is protected by a rocky shelf; you swim between the shelf and the sand. By the time the water rose enough to swim readily, the moment had passed for Steph.
= Kids from the community next door showed us boats on a stick: a banana leaf with a stick about half as long as the leaf, and a rock at the "bow" for balance. I tried out a hammock: comfortable but a good way to get a sunburn.
= We each had a club sandwich that was too large to eat comfortably! We slowly made it back to our vehicles. We made it home at dusk and had leftover sandwich. I journaled, reviewed scriptures again, and was in bed before 10.

At the Abura chapel this Sunday

Progress on the building across from the Audit center

To church

He needs half of the street for this repair.

Hard-cooked eggs for sale

Potholes encourage creativity in driving..

To church

Be bold or go home.

Filling potholes with dirt. That helps until the next rain comes.

I can't figure out what she plans to do.

Wedding?

Ride

A VW rides again.

Closed, at least for the morning

No need to be hungry or thirsty at Pedu Junction.

Motorcycles..

Ramen, cheese

Beans and breaded chicken

Bacon bits

And bacon bits

The boards will be used to make forms for cement rafters.

The carpet was being replaced in the office.

Not wanting to stop what I was doing, I made a workspace in the server room. (I was moving files to the new laptop.)

When they reached the inner office, they closed the door on me. It was rather like my working conditions for much of the past few decades: familiar, comforting.

Airing out the inner office, we got to see the back yard through a window whose blinds are usually closed.

While getting the truck to start, the driver-side low-beam headlamp was out, as usual.

With bacon bits

Much enjoyed

About four days power left

Refilled

Specific method for folding sheet a sheet set..

Shelves in a drying room wardrobe hold sheet sets nicely (for company).

Silver flute

(Interestingly, the flute is resting on a fingering chart for a recorder; we have recorders with us also.)

Spaghetti never fits.

Messages revealed by the electric pressure cooker..

My first chicken gizzards: delicious!

Don't Miss This

I don't remember what this is

Leak between the living room and the hall

A reminder that I have to wiggle the positive battery connection each time I want to start the truck.

You can't say they're not trying. And they have a giant parking area to match.

He passed us on this hill.

He made it.

We haven't seen this used for anything since he made the cement steps.

Ephatha

Mark 7:32, 34 - And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

Water jugs are taking on an added importance.

Edwuradze bekwɛ wo {The Lord will watch over you}

Yams for sale, along with other vegetables

But since we don't know what we're dealing with, we generally leave them alone unless we're shopping with someone who lives here. Two common root crops have natural defenses that can poison people too:

- Cassava is popular in tropical climates worldwide, but has to be boiled for 45 minutes and the water thrown away to remove cyanide compounds that can cause paralysis.

- Taro (called cocoyam here) is also popular in tropical climates - you may have read about it in Geography class - but it contains needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate that can irritate the skin and throat and increase the risk of kidney stone formation. Boiling for an hour or roasting can break down the crystals, but the substance remains.

Let's hope he doesn't have far to go.

The same items being sold all the way up this hill

Unless they kill God

[Describes something that can't be stopped.]

Glimpse of the ocean

So do you want the plantains or not?

Adom wɔ wim {Grace is in the air}

Carrying

Anomabo Beach Resort

Posting this, I checked (curious). Unlike some other resorts, this one isn't separated from the beach by a breakwater. (However, I didn't see anyone in the water in photos; you might have to walk a distance in the water for it to be deep enough for swimming.)

Ever Faithful

Luggage

Canada

Ambulance

[Odd that it doesn't name the organization associated with it.]

Pepto-Bismol pink

Seagoing canoe bases waiting to be used. The wait might be a while. To reduce overfishing, you can replace boats, not add to the number of boats (in theory).

Ride

Together

No shop? Roll out a tarp to put your wares on.

An umbrella works too.

Sachet water sales (in bags of 30)

Carrying

A celebration; I can't read the details.

Has to wait

The van clears the hill.

He can't see but passes anyway.

The curve flattens, and it's a free-for-all.

(but look closely..)

[zoomed in]

Two vehicles are facing oncoming traffic, but they're already committed.

They cleared the big truck in front of us; the gray sedan will wait.

He'll try again, even though we can see oncoming traffic and there might be more in the dip in the road.

He made it.

This should have been nice corn.

God day

[should have been God dey {God is there}]

Pidgin: dey ~ they [is]

We share the road with some pretty big loads.

Graves

Gravestones are usually built up. They often have marble facings; they often have photos.

Occasionally, one will have a pavilion.

They're not separated from the rest of life.

Yesu Medase {Thank you Jesus}

Turn off of the pavement at this facility to go to the Mankessim 1 apartment.

A storage unit can be a shop. Notice the open doors of the unit to our right.

Heading home

Here's the Mankessim 1 compound. (The wooden object is a temporary guard shack.)

God Did

Heading north from the Mankessim roundabout for Mankessim 2

[busy enough for you?]

Leaving pavement; don't go this way! (We won't again.)

Mud-brick construction, or small blocks poorly cemented?

Setting up for a left turn here

Setting up for another left turn here

The trouble spot is coming up, in between those trees.

We made it between the trees the last time we were here.

But not today. People tried to fill a depression with garbage (and it smelled like it).

Adding plants behind us didn't take us out of mud up to the bottom of the truck in the front. The tires just spun.

Steph hunted for more stuff to put behind the back wheels..

Hey, a little levity wouldn't hurt.

We prayed. Then I thought to turn off the truck and turn it back on. It accepted 4-wheel drive, and we managed to back out. I had set the controls earlier for 4-wheel drive, but it didn't actually go into 4-wheel drive until now. (This morning, I had had to wiggle the battery connections to start the truck. That had left it with an uncleared 4WD alert.)

This view is after we backed out. The trees were too close to let us avoid this mudhole; so, we had to turn around and ask for a different route.

Christ Nti {Because of Christ}

Celebration sponsored by the Mankessim Traditional Council

Making Mankessim the hub of vegetable production in Ghana. [I think of commerce, not vegetables, in what I see of Mankessim.]

Back to a paved road

Good so far

When you see this, turn right; a mosque will be on that road.

Continue

Set up for a left turn here at the blue store.

Turning. (Notice the building with chest-high metal from the previous photo.)

Here we go.

Park when you see the dollar signs; blockages won't let this big truck get any closer.

An aboboyaa could probably come this way. Turn left past this building.

Turn right at the storefront ahead.

Turning right

Almost there

Last door on the right: Mankessim 2.

Walking back out, this storefront was our turn; looking back.

After this turn, looking back at the mud.

Trying to avoid the mud.

Looking back, this is where we started walking.

And looking ahead, here's the vehicle.

The road looks more dramatic looking down (as here) than it did looking up.

Together

Back to the roundabout

Kae me brɛ {Remember I'm tired}

I'm sure God already knows.

This is not a cigarette; it's too long. I've only seen one person smoke here in almost two years, and that was a foreigner.

It's a chewing stick.

At the roundabout

At our previous destination, I had learned that the microwave I had put on the back seat was actually for Mankessim 1. So after leaving the roundabout (heading south) and crossing the bridge, we made a right turn here to get back to Mankessim 1.

Coming up on the turn from the paved road.

(Can you do this?)

Recognize the tower? Here's the turn.

(Having made the turn)

A covered stove.

Ɔdɔ
Nyame Tease

{Love}

{God Lives}

I can read the end: Blessed 1

I can't read the inscription on the blue vehicle, but the white vehicle says The Lord.

Revelations 2:10 - Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Nkyira Nka Boafoɔ {Blessed be [the] Helper}

This may be pork on the hoof.

More squid, ready-to-eat. (I stick with the body; softer. Steph takes the body and tentacles.)

Nothing is impossible with God

We wondered at first, but this van is definitely leaning.

I don't think I've seen one that was carried any other way.

All be lies.

[Some conversations sound like that.]

Nyame Oye {God is Good}

Doctors In Service: food as any, open 24 hours, and less delay than sending someone to the teaching hospital late at night.

Fuzzy, warm, and a satin cap inside "to keep your hair out of the way while you do makeup

[From Georgina's Beauty Citadel, across from DIS Clinic]

Fresh butter bread from Rhabbles

Consider the lavish praise heaped upon British kings and queens throughout much of history when you read this:

He comes not just as a king, not merely a ruler, but as the divine rope that binds the soul of the Denkyira kingdom.

A building near our home is being remodeled.

We had some squid left over - we had bought extra.

So we had it with ramen, and probably with squid bullion cube, crushed.

Wood will be added to the boards supported by bamboo to create forms for cement and rebar.

Wood on the KK.

Elder Bingham, Elder Hall (with the clipboard) and Brother Bright

Getting water for washing from the mission borehole

Steph posing from the other end of the compound

I moved in closer.

North on Jukwa road to Selgyn Medical

Almost there; the road at this intersection is disintegrating again.

At the breakwater, on our way to KO-SA Beach Resort

The Spirit never dies

It's not falling off.

Passing at the traffic hump

Born Again

[My birth as a new creature continues to be under construction and is renewed constantly.]

The couple on the right might be contemplating the truck that's being propped up so it doesn't fall all the way over.

The vehicle in front of us is loaded with people and with cargo.

Passing on a blind curve: normal.

We love the use of color; clothes don't have to be boring or two-tone.

I think he's reviewing his wares before he rolls them up again.

On the "road" to KO-SA. 4 km feels like 10.

I had looked at this sign as a joke; researching later, I learned that there really is a Twitter Paradise Guest House.

Turn right; no choice, really

Turn right again; this intersection can be tricky: barely enough room to swing and often muddy after the turn.

Reassurance that you are on the correct "road".

Almost there

We're at KO-SA, across from Charlestina Beach Resort

Our bungalow

Shoes provided. (The shower didn't work, though.)

Senior retreat

Sister Dimmick, President Tachie-Menson, Steph

(President was here with family; so, we mostly chatted among ourselves, which was the point, I think.)

Tomato soup; I don't remember what's in it.

The Campbells, the Dimmicks, Steph

The others weren't far away.

We are blessed..

The reception office; we put most of our stuff back in the truck before hitting the beach.

Ships are moored next door.

Low tide; the dot in the water is Sister Campbell, sitting down.

Steph, in the shade

The rocky shelf protects the beach.

Boys playing next door

Others playing to the other side of us, near gift shops (clothing, paintings)

Elder Dimmick, Sister Dimmick, and Elder Campbell

Playing with a ship on a stick

Ships next door

Elder Campbell demonstrated that there's life in this shell.

Boys with Elder and Sister Dimmick

Sister Campbell, Elder Dimmick

Ship on a stick

Elder Dimmick tried to use it.

The hand of an exert

Sister Campbell contemplating it

Imagine guiding this ship, this large seagoing canoe, past the rocks to reach the sandy shore.

The Dimmicks, contemplating the scene

Zooming in to the previous scene a moment later; see the ship?

See the motor on the side facing us?

It's home.

The tide is a little higher now. Sister Dimmick is at the deepest part. Elder Dimmick will teach one of the Tachie-Menson's sons now to snorkel.

President and Sister Tachie-Menson

The snorkeling lesson..

He's holding him by the shirt so he can't turn on his back and fill the snorkel with water.

The Tachie-Mensons

A beach like this has a lot for them (and us) to look at.

Snorkeling

One of their daughters is getting feet wet.

As they climb together

And another daughter

The summit

More siblings

Joining them

Another ship is in the distance.

On the shore

Coming in

As the previous ship did, this one seemed to head for the rocky ledge until the last moment.

Then it straightens out

And reaches shore.

Until now, all the ones I've seen have a motor on this side, but I don't see a motor on this one.

Elder Campbell is getting to snorkel now.

The water continues to get deeper.

The waves are felt more strongly now.

You can barely see Elder Dimmick's head.

(just surf here)

Elder Campbell found something.

Examining the find

Sister Dimmick, sunglasses ready

Enough water for them

Sister Dimmick tows Elder Dimmick to shore (in fun).

A common pose for me: feet extended from the water

Sister Campbell follows suit.

Volleyball. It was in fun, but I enjoyed the intensity the participants brought to it, reaching with their might to return the ball.

Checking for messages. As Mission Health Coordinator, Steph is always on-duty.

The edge of KO-SA to the left

Moving slightly right

Nowhere near the center yet, but a view of hammocks, including one I tried

To the right of KO-SA facing the water, after you pass a dress shop (omitted in this photo series by accident), there's what appears to be another resort. It isn't abandoned, or the grass would have grown up. It was the site of a wedding celebration on one of our visits here.

Chairs: another hint that this hasn't been abandoned

A shop next door sells paintings, but I can't bring a camera there; it wouldn't be fair.

Heading back to KO-SA

A view of paintings in relief

Plastic water bottles filled with sand and cemented in

Elder Campbell (his back to us) checking on the Tachie-Mensons

Steph looking at necklace/ bracelet beaded designs

I'm in the shade with a view of the sea.

Elder Dimmick

Steph checking the dinner menu

Our "umbrella"

Necklace delivery

Some went back to volleyball

Steph migrated temporarily to the pavilion.

I donned my bleach-stained slacks.

WhatsApp messages seldom stop.

I'm in the shirt that has a red pattern across the chest, teamed with Sister Tachie-Menson.

Yes, the ball cleared the net.

One-on-one; President Tachie-Menson has his back to the camera.

Like an ad for a cruise line

A discovery..

This man (a KO-SA staff member) is holding a squid.

He's pushing it against a tree trunk.

We think of squid as having no bones, but that isn't quite right. And in fact, I think we've been conflating squid with cuttlefish and have been eating cuttlefish. He's showing off the cuttlebone. See oceanconservancy.org

He's removing ink (though it is edible).

Testing the water

Contemplation

Ahhh

Snack

Mmm!

Late lunch

Hungry yet?

The unusual layer is sliced chicken hot dogs.

Uncertain about mayonnaise on French fries

Big sandwich with "a lot going on"

Beef strips with potatoes

Watching their kids

Leaving KO-SA for probably the last time. The original owners have sold; the special relationship between them and one of the previous senior missionaries is gone; and the attention to detail is fading.

Ebenezer {Stone of Help}

Nyame Na Adom Ara Kwa {God, and Simply grace}

It is well

[A school motto]

Knowledge is Power

Working our way over potholes back to the main road, we hoped to be mostly home before dark.

Pineapple

Sheep

Together

Psalm 23 - The LORD is my Shepherd...

Drivers work hard to not follow a large truck; large trucks usually crawl uphill. You see cooperation at work here.

As I was saying..

The aboboyaa has just finished passing the truck, and he's about to have company, never mind that we'd like to use this lane soon. (It all works out.)