Week of 20251012 - Ghana Week 83: Sunday School Lesson; Night at the Hospital; Twi Manual and Research Approved; Kotokuraba Market; Kissi; Komenda; Aubra Dunkwa; Achiase; Lemon Lounge; Full Polytank
= Sunday at church included testimonies; we should have remembered that giving testimonies would be bumped a week by General Conference. I was asked to teach the Come, Follow Me lesson and did a good job.
= As Steph made tuna fish, she played an eBook by David R Clark in the background. It was powerful, and listening instead of reading kept me from skimming over the thoughts. To see the author I'm talking about, go to https://web.facebook.com/drclark3
= After 9 PM, we received a call saying that an Elder whose condition Steph had been tracking would need to go to the hospital. In the dark in 4-wheel drive, we drove a slippery trail, picked him up with two companions, and brought them to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. Steph shuttled between a local pharmacy and the hospital for requested medicine until 0400. We drove one of the companions back to his apartment, and found our bed by 0530.
= Monday, others picked up the patient and his companion. We did chores; I texted to try to grasp the location of specific bicycles and helmets. Steph built a meal that included red cabbage with apple. We watched Don't Miss This (scripture discussion), and I finally gave the Twi manual update and its research documentation to the Mission President. He agreed I should send the manual to missionaries.
= Tuesday after chasing mission issues, we ate at KFC, then went to Kotokuraba Market [Google it]. We bought spices for hair (!), a computer mouse, podcast light, keyboard, and guitar strings. Home, I reestablished an account with the gas company for our house in the States.
= Wednesday, we did apartment visits at Kissi and Komenda. I documented apartment visits by others. Steph made egg-cheese-hamburger patty sandwiches, but the patties weren't right; we tossed the meat and kept the rest. I restrung the guitar and used my old recorder.
= Thursday, we made apartment visits to Aubra Dunkwa and Achiase. I inventoried bicycles. We sang Christmas songs while waiting for a meal to cook. I pushed to get apartment issues documented for an expected meeting tomorrow.
= Friday, our ground-level polytank was full: promise of water. I sent a message to a couple who will arrive in our mission a couple of months after we leave. (We assume they will be in the field, as the Campbells are.) We worked at the office on mission issues. At 5, we went to Lemon Lounge. Home, Steph worked on medical issues for a bit, then we watched Star Trek - Next Generation past midnight; we relaxed.
= Saturday, we had rice with tomatoes, chicken, and corn. I tested the generator. I fueled the truck. For supper, we added ramen to the leftovers from lunch.
We spotted this eye care place as we left the suburbs of Cape Coast, heading north.
Big logs, though not big enough for a boat keel
Little guy running to hug my legs
Deacons reviewing their duties
It's common to see a suit like this.
Past and future: a mausoleum and a metal frame building
Notice the stairs. There may not be a second floor yet to the small white building, but you will be able to reach it when there is. Stairs are built first.
The fence between this building and the street was in place for a long time, perhaps to give someone a chance to notice and protest if it was his land. Once construction started on this metal frame building, it reached this stage in weeks.
Grazing at the edge of an open field, not in the midst of the field
Grave marker under construction or refurbishing?
Checkered pattern in marble
Root End's name echoes the use of roots in medicine; it's a homeopathic clinic.
Look very closely; there's a volleyball court.
A giant billboard for a cold store lacked one essential element: the location of the store. This white strip with that information was added after a few weeks.
'Tros going east load here.
Lights are on; a bulb has burned out.
Steph opened the kitchen window to capture some of the freshness of the rain.
0445, Monday, still at the hospital
Since we use about 150 cedis of power per day, this got our attention.
Reloaded by Elder Dimmick :)
Red cabbage with apple;
breaded chicken patties
These look a little like overflowing hearts.
Don't Miss This was just an intro today to a field trip conducted by the previous co-hosts four years ago.
Previous co-hosts, looking over Adam-ondi-Ahman
Travel time per Google if done one at a time. It takes a while to coordinate these visits with missionary rhythms. The Dimmicks run the office and so can't break away easily to do this.
My solution to dealing with the Think Pad's crippled keyboard
[Otherwise, it's a nice laptop.]
A broken dish fragment broke the A string. [Because the replacement strings were metal and the existing ones nylon, and our fingers haven't toughened, I only replaced the bottom two :) ]
Look closely for the theme.
[a certain Kentucky Colonel]
We seldom notice the buildings overlooking our road from the other side of the Audit Agency.
A view from the parking garage stairs of buildings that support Kotokuraba Market
Continuing into the market
This view is from the second floor, across the street. We bought a second computer keyboard there. I had had the idea that Steph would find the Think Pad keyboard as troublesome as I had. She went along with getting it in case mine (old school, like a Vic 20 keyboard) failed. It was not expensive.
There are many shops on the road perpendicular to this one.
When I think new drivers are ready, I have them go through this pinch point at the end of their first driving experience in Ghana. It has people walking, trucks unloading, and traffic crawling, all in one place: a confidence-builder once you're through it.
Looking in the other direction from this height, I can see the ocean.
We saw this solar panel as we walked back from the guitar store down the street a few blocks away from the market. At this point, we were taking another route to return, uphill, to the parking garage.
Two-way. You hope not to meet someone.
We don't know why there seems to be a person twice the height of cars in this image, even when zoomed in. Enjoy.
Ewurade wÉ” tumi oo {The Lord has power - Oh!]
Wood is attached across the top of bamboo to form a "T". The "T" supports a board overhead. Rebar is positioned on the board with cement blocks laid on a flat side so the holes face outside the board. Wood is nailed to the sides of the board to create a form. Cement is poured into the form.
Surprise! Both headlights worked.
Bringing your tools to work
Ready to launch?
Coconut hulls; the liquid has been consumed.
Perhaps this is an aboboyaa without its body.
Adom Ara Kwa {Just Grace}
This looks odd: it would take several passes to disc the width of the tractor using this attachment.
Drive between these buildings
The people aren't bad either.
But the missionaries live on this side. The "shed" encloses the porch. Here's the Kissi apartment.
We speculated that the owners might be preparing the building for sale.
Road being finished. The "road closed" sign has been set to the side.
Rigs for very large items
Bathtubs are filled to give cattle access to water.
The Komenda apartment is up these steps.
Electric bills delivered by the meter reader stack up on the meter.
A broader view of the factory compound
Komenda Traditional Area Presents - Nyeyi Festival 2025
Theme: Empowering Traditions for a Sustainable Future
Ɔkatakyi Komeh VIII - Paramount Chief of Komenda Traditional Area
Special Guest of Honor - Her Excellency Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang - Vice President of the Republic of Ghana
Gye Nyame {Receive God} Mortuary
At least there's a wide shoulder here if something goes wrong.
Buildings marbled are beautiful.
Not the Stateside Home Depot [tm]
We'll fit.
The basket is in the shape of a fish to dramatize the impact of waste on wildlife.
Not by might. Zechariah 4:6, 9 - Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
Proverbs 18:3 [5] - When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
[I added 5.]
Victory
We enjoy stopping at the Elmina Shell station. This ice cream is vanilla with caramel swirls, coated with chocolate and almonds.
Passing on the shoulder at reinforced traffic bumps.
Egg, cheese, and burger; we tossed the burger patties and kept the rest.
Gorilla Tour
[no gorillas here]
Because most people walk, poor, middle-class, and well-to-do interact more than they otherwise might.
Nyame Na AyÉ› {God Has Done It}
He wants people to notice what he makes.
Silver Jubilee Celebration of Okatakyi Prof. Amanfi VII, Omanhene of Asebu State - Apayemkese Festival '25
Celebrating 25 Years of Impactful Leadership and Over 1,000 Years of Asebu Heritage: Honouring the Past, Empowering the Future
Grand Durbar [formal, ceremonial gathtering] 22 November
Aborɔsan Ase {Aboriginal} Bar-n-kitchen
The shoulder is not empty, but it might be needed.
Breakdown; notice the greenery augmenting the triangles.
We made a right turn past this building
Turn after the building. Missing the pole's guy wire puts you too close to the wall. A better route is needed.
The road was blocked by someone unloading.
Consider how heavy those bags must be.
On our first trip, we tried to drive by the chicken coop to our right, but that didn't work; we could only wait.
I think the children are playing, not laying out clothes to dry.
A well-organized chicken coop. We saw more details on the previous attempt to use a route that passes it.
They moved aside to let us pass, then resumed loading.
Driving has not been easy.
Abura Dunkwa compound. The missionaries are on the second floor.
Heading out, uncertain that this route would work
I looked *back* for this shot; we want others to retrace our steps to use this route instead of how we got here.
This image shows us *leaving* the dirt road (Nyameyie Street). This dirt road is a better way to get to the destination.
Spread out, like so many big walking birds
Leave the paved road here to get to the Achiase apartment.
Assembling items into a sales point. I think the man is holding bush meat, though the photo is not clear.
Triumph of design over legibility on the back of a truck
Here's the second word, stretched. The two together say: speed limit.
[I don't have a second source to confirm this, but it seems reasonable.]
Wind took the drying rack.
I set it up on the Elders' porch.
Separating tomato paste into useful sections for freezing
..
Nice
A familiar turn from the Cape Coast Castle; it leads to a fruit vendor, ABSA bank, Lemon Lounge, and Melcom.
Star Trek - Next Generation
Rice and corn to bulk up the leftovers
On generator, which usually puts out close to 220 volts. [The regulator feeds 230 to the refrigerator.]
Yes, it's as strange as it looks, but we're glad to have it.
Some people here live past 100
Asempa yÉ› tia {[The] good news is short}
[Perhaps..]
Asɛmpa ye tia {[The] gospel is short}
Asɛmpa no ye tia {The gospel is short}
[Can't tell for sure which was meant; spelling and exact wording are fluid in window slogans; but you get the idea.]
Don't want to wait for vehicles to crawl over the reinforced traffic bumps ahead? Just make another lane.
Clearly for sale, but no sign tells whom to contact.
Nyame ayÉ› bi {God has done some}
[Perhaps..]
Nyame ayÉ› biribi {God has done something}
Name ayÉ› {God has done it}
He'll try to pass on the right.
I will build my church upon this rock
It cites Matthew 16:18 but should really cite 16:17-18 to get the point across that the rock is revelation.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Setting up for the left turn
Added ramen, for variation number three on this meal
Activity
[The Campbells are in the center.]
I have no idea what they're doing.
Claire Qui[gley] (vocalist)
Aborɔsan Ase {Aboriginal} Bar-n-kitchen
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