Week of 20251130 - Ghana Week 90: Sunday at Mfuom; Bakaano; Snail Stew; Water Run; Fosu Hospital Discharge; Cape Coast Stadium Clinic; Takoradi Overnight; Police Stop; Cape Coast Teaching Hospital
= Sunday, we went to Mfuom. I understood much of the talks and a little of the scripture discussion. After church, we delivered meds to Bakaano. Sister Rebecca delivered stew of snail and cuttlefish in honor of my birthday: spicy and tough to chew, but OK.
= Monday, I went to the office; Steph worked to get a missionary discharged from St Francis Hospital in Assin Fosu. In the evening, I drove to the mission compound with jugs and Elders from next door so they could have water. We had steak, but it was a tough cut. The patient's missionary companion phoned Steph almost hourly; not much sleep.
= Tuesday, the mission driver brought us to St Francis Hospital in Assin Fosu, helped to get our missionary discharged, and got us back to Cape Coast before closing time for Cape Coast Stadium Clinic to evaluate her and take over managing her care locally. We drove the missionaries and a nurse from the clinic to Raaj Diagnostics for chest x-rays. Then back to the clinic past its normal closing time. Home, I napped. Past 9, we went back to the clinic to bring the patient and her companion to our apartment.
= Wednesday, we brought them to the office, then left for Takoradi with a missionary who would fly from there to Accra tomorrow to join her twin sister, both completing missions, for their ride home. We visited the airport, went to a hotel new to us, and the three of us ate at Noble House in the evening. Power dropped a couple of times.
= Thursday, we helped the missionary get checked in at the airport, looked for bicycle helmets, and did minor shopping at Takoradi Mall.
= Although Steph had seen vehicles going in both directions on a particular road earlier in the day, when I made the turn, we were pulled over and the officer threatened to impound the truck. I called the Area Security officer, George Quayle, who defused the situation. The policeman who pulled us over gave us directions to the bicycle place we were trying to reach, and we got there without further incident. (No new bike helmets, though.)
= Friday in the afternoon, we were at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital with KFC and water. The patient and her companion had been moved there while we were in Takoradi; Cape Coast Stadium Clinic was coordinating care, even arranging for a private room.
= We then made planned purchases near Cape Coast Castle, ate at home, and watched Netflix until past midnight.
= Saturday, I handled many bicycle and clothing issues. In the late afternoon, we brought food and water to the missionaries at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. I journaled and blogged. Tuesday and Saturday, our middle daughter, Michelle, shared that she's making plans to attend college. Advice is my love language; I gave it and then backed off. :)
To church
The broken tile wound up in the rut in our "road" outside our gate.
This takes the tricycle concept to a whole new level.
People going to church at the Abura chapel
More Hope
Sunday Football {soccer}
..
They appear to be waiting for a ride.
Arms up: tough to do for a long distance
Now that serious construction has begun, they're putting up a metal fence.
Doing work on an old church
Maybe he's more comfortable on the roof.
We don't know where they're going.
You can follow the footpath to reach the rented house we worship in.
We take the first "road" after that sign, drive to the top, and walk down.
More construction is happening nearby.
The house in the background had people living in it, but now it seems abandoned.
Maybe the "road" we take to the top will have work done on it.
A pump I had not noticed before
Trays of palm oil fruit, drying in the sun..
..
Another pump not far away, outside a church
I'd say "the cattle are lowing", but really, I never hear them.
A funeral.
The item in the foreground is a simple cement mixer, lacking the funnel common on larger models.
They've added a sign and swapped out another, both touting Asanti tours.
One story, block construction, roof support almost in place. Notice the funnel on these cement mixers.
Hands of God - Fast Food
8-year development plan for the city of Cape Coast; speakers follow..
Just a trash fire
In front of a gas station: there are worse places to break down.
Those tires are not for this truck. [grin]
I doubt he'll see any cobras.
Attention-getting, but not understandable
Attractive and functional
Humility and Greatness Enterprise
If you have to tell people you're humble, are you humble?
Clothing being dried on the meridian of Jukwa road south of Pedu Junction
Abontoa Abontoa, nickname for the Ebusua Mysterious Dwarfs Football Club
Image stretched with Word to prove the point
Steph, happy about a Temu delivery
(She found that she could pay via PayPal and have it delivered to the mission compound.)
Onion powder; paprika; sea salt
Dark soy sauce; balsamic vinegar; honey
Don't Miss This (scripture discussion)
David Butler and Grace Freeman
Field trips four years ago, before Grace's mom, Emily Belle Freeman, was called as Young Women General President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Saints were driven out of the city that they had built, Nauvoo, Illinois. They, and other members from overseas, migrated to the Great Salt Basin.
Of the ten handcart companies, two left late in the season and found themselves in dire straits. This is a visit to Martin's Cove, where a handcart company was trapped by snow and aided by rescuers.
During the rescue, it became clear that these weakened Saints could not continue to push their belongings. And some of the rescue wagons still had belongings of people already in Salt Lake. The wagons needed to be filled with people (and some would still walk, but without carts). The belongings had to be guarded.
The belongings were left at an abandoned fort, Fort Fort Seminoe, in the care of twenty men who had only rations for 20 days but would have to winter there for five months. Somehow, all twenty men survived the winter.
Companies crossed the Sweetwater River several times, but the last crossing, in their weakened condition, was a great trial for many. For those that needed it, young men carried them through the ice-cold water, making many trips until they were all across.
Rocky Ridge was such a tough climb that some did it once and then went back to do it again with those who had faltered on the way.
Steph, contemplating our floor repair.
I helped the Elders next door hook up their hand pump so they could push water from jugs through the kitchen sink filter for drinking.
Snail and cuttlefish stew. We cut some up into smaller chunks to make it easier to chew.
It was a good Ghanaian stew, but it was so spicy that we couldn't pick out the flavors of the snails and cuttlefish. [sigh]
Fresh-basked cookies [grin]
I scrubbed the soiled exercise mats..
The ground-level polytank was effectively empty.
So, we used the top-loader, instead of the regular washer, to conserve the water in our overhead tank.
The spinner wrings out the water before we hang the items up to finish drying.
Notice the washer side. The disk moves back and forth, providing a washboard effect.
Someone near where we live has gathered firewood for sale.
The first layer of cement is drying.
Throw a switch at the back of the mission home..
Open a spigot-type valve..
Begin an early-evening run to the mission compound with several Elders and a cargo bay completely full of empty jugs.
Fill jugs from the tank that's filled from the mission borehole.
Loading jugs into the truck. (Jugs marked with duct tape were there just to hold the others in place; they were not filled; they had held laundry rinse water for flushing and so were not suitable for other purposes.)
Unloaded to their porch
I had thought this was butter.
There's some butter in it.
The meat was a little tough; the cut matters.
I had thought dad was standing up..
His son might actually be on a second seat.
Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway. This is intended to widen the existing two-lane road to six lanes, from Nigeria to Côte d'Ivoire. This route currently carries 75 percent of the trade volume in West Africa. This will be a public-private partnership with tolls involved. The most lucrative portion of the project from a business standpoint is the stretch within Ghana. https://mrh.gov.gh/
Ghana's portion of the highway is more than half. https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/
Divine Power
I assume this statue at a school is of someone reading a book.
Michael, the mission driver, brought us to Assin Fosu in the van. The ride had to be fast; so, it was rough.
Broken chairs being recycled
God Never Fail Enterprise
I don't know what this structure is. It reminds me of milking stalls, but I don't think much milk is produced here.
The green fruit? Probably oranges.
The farther we get from Cape Coast, the worse this gets (in general).
Good location: under a large tree
Alpha and Omega .. Services
Aduane {Food} .. chop bar
102
(The bottles hold the poster down.)
[In this case, it fits his name: Rockson Boateng.]
Ask God
Fa Nyame {Take God}
Psalm 23 - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want... Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Recycling. At this point, we've left the hospital in Assin Fosu and are headed back to Cape Coast.
Note the sign. This stretch is short but very busy.
Missionaries
His Grace Creation
Small polytank on an aboboyaa. (Even large tanks are surprisingly light when empty.)
Of course: the pinch point
This mattress? No problem.
Nkwa na hia {Life is precious}
The items protruding from the taxi look like they're photoshopped here, but they're not.
Granted, the flags aren't attached well, but the only way the American Flag got this way was for it to be attached upside down.
One of our chapels
Washing his taxi
Chemical sprayer
Drying palm oil fruit
Tire shrapnel
Mannequins
He's missing the back end.
I started holding Steph's hand. She gets motion sickness.
Likely built over a drainage ditch
(Note that box springs aren't used here. Wooden slats hold very thick foam mattresses designed to last for a decade or more.)
Psalm 35 - Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me... And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 - Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(Let it out)
Keels for seagoing canoes
Psalm 54 - Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength... I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
By His Grace Vulcanizer Shop
Heavily advertised here; shirts with the emblem are widely worn.
Due to Michael's skillful driving and translation, he brought us to Cape Coast Stadium Clinic before closing. I drove the patient, and her companion (and Steph) to Raaj Diagnostics; x-rays were taken; and notice that it's not quite dark yet as we head back to the clinic.
Home for a few hours rest.
Back to the clinic to pick up the patient and her companion..
to bring them to our house for the night.
They didn't want to eat. We had turkey noodle soup: delicious!
The water tanker is backing out after delivering water to the ground-level polytank that serves both houses in our compound.
A neighbor is watching to see how this goes.
Missionaries are heading out.
Hammocks; conversation; nets
Front grounded; rear suspended
More the attitude I would expect
Many pans. Coconut hulls.
A hotel sign that also advertises stone cutting!
as in Ɔnso Nyame yɛ {Nothing is impossible for God}
Housing for workers?
We're seeing signs of road widening for the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor.
Unusual place for a spare; you'd have to remove it to dump.
At least there's some shade nearby.
There used to be tolls charged on this road.
If the U.S. equivalent of a nickel (50 pesewas) was too much to pay for a car, what will be the reaction when tolls are enacted on this route again?
Anita Loshmanova placed this and the next image on YouTube, 25 Feb 2020. Watch her video: Boneshaker
He ran for the wagon and caught it.
You're not likely to see a mammy wagon today.
Notice the unusual support for the front basket.
Transfer. Notice the goats.
On the modern span, by the old span
Cargo container conversion - this does not look comfortable.
Pallets move goods worldwide.
Medaase {Thank You}
Brick kilns
Mysteries: Goods are exposed, but the store appears locked. The stairs only go about halfway.
No condition is permanent. Note that the truck is for sale.
Someone's lying on the front seat; see the shoe in the window?
Just as this road was once narrower here.
This school has been recently rebranded.
Perhaps the gate suggested the new name.
It was originally St Andrew's Senior High School, and this might be a change in name only.
Historically, schools in Ghana were founded by religious faiths. For many years the government has helped pay teacher salaries, fund infrastructure, and has specified a national curriculum.
Well-advertised on this truck. Hair care thrives everywhere.
What are they finding to eat in this dirt?
One of our chapels near Takoradi
It is time. Ironic to see an ambulance/ hearse behind it.
Alcoholic carbonated drinks are marketed alongside soda.
Adom Ne Asomdwie {Grace and Peace} Company, Limited.
Traffic is blocked while a vehicle fire is dealt with.
Kids heading home
Action takers are money makers.
Clearing the intersection
Takoradi's fish statue
Waterfront
The previous President of Ghana unveiled this statue of himself while still President. A leg was damaged and repaired shortly before he left office, and then the statue was placed in this condition shortly after he left office in January 2025. It still looked like this in December, almost a year later.
West Africa Mills Company (WAMCO). Odd to see a mostly windowless building.
Our accommodations for the night
We ate with the departing Sister at Noble House, close to the hotel.
The airport is on a Ghanaian Air Force Base, so no photos there. Seeing these kids walking to the entrance reminded me of The Month of the Military Child and experiences of our oldest kids.
After the airport, we went to Takoradi Mall. This spot used to be a computer store.
Posing with Mechanical Santa
He played incessantly, close to space that the mall wanted to rent out for conferences and offices. The noise, including his music, negated any advantages of that space.
.
Shoprite, a supermarket, the mall's anchor store. Religious music played there; it wasn't restricted to Santa stuff.
The computer store had moved, not closed
Sad that we didn't find this excellent shawarma until our last trip to Takoradi.
It's in the bar right next to Peter Pan pizza, outside the mall.
Go there if you have the opportunity.
Since this was our last trip, I satisfied my curiosity regarding the "event centre" behind Takoradi Mall. Big enough for football, but no stands. Perhaps a venue for music groups.
Elvis Khebab City GH, where I had my first taste of goat more than a year ago.
It's next to the taxi stand in the mall parking lot.
Getting into and out of the mall area is easier than it used to be; you used to climb the curb.
Finding bicycles, but not helmets to go with them
Don't take any more dirt from here.
The rear windshield wiper is where you hang things that don't fit.
I don't know what this is, but it got my attention.
This platform for people to wait for a ride is cantilevered over a big drop.
The statues are preaching..
Adinkra Alphabet - A fun way to read and write
[Not for me; but they're only a few generations removed from this.]
Psalm 35
Twin Cities - A sustainable partnership project. Kojokrom Township Spatial Plan.
Trains might use these rails.
Had it not been for the power pole, that bit of dirt might also be gone.
Every intersection is a sales opportunity.
Nyame ne me boafo {God is my helper}
Sure, but next to a pirate symbol?
Fa akoma pa nante {Walk with a good heart}
These graves might not have to be moved.
God is good. Steph tells me of a faith tradition where the pastor says "God is good" and the parishioners respond "all the time".
How many people does it take to change a tire?
Ɔbra pa {Virtue}
Wash rack in the background
..
There's a church building nearby, not quite visible.
Three
Another view of the burned fuel truck
The improved route is taking shape.
Kɛsɛ wɔ kan {Great in the first place}
Adom Nyame Tsease {The Grace of God Lives}
The depth of this cut is like the road construction as you approach Accra.
This construction is going to dominate the landscape for a long time.
It will change the face of the villages along the way.
We've reached the Cape Coast breakwater
Left shoulder occupied, opposing traffic in both lanes
The end of a successful Takoradi trip
Taking a photo so I can toss these shoes. They've been reglued already. It's time to let them go.
Cape Coast Teaching Hospital
KFC
God dey - We dey {God is there - We are there}
(I'm ignoring that this became a political slogan at one point.)
Coming out of Residential Road means that we did something downtown after going to the hospital.
Both lights working
We watched The Bourne Ultimatum
And The Bourne Legacy [which does not feature Jason Bourne]
Star Trek - Next Generation
Cape Coast Teaching Hospital
Both headlights twice in a row
Activity
They've added a sign and swapped out another, both touting Asanti tours.
Ask God
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