Green Things Grow

During the Rainy Season in Ghana, things grow fast and tall!

 We were told in the MTC in Provo before coming on mission to always remember, "Green Things Grow".  We feel we are still green as far as mission life goes ... we learn something new each day.  We are certainly growing and stretching in many ways.  We are experiencing things we never dreamed of.

  "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply GROWTH. We are happy when we are GROWING."

 - B W Yeats

 We love the lush greenery of Ghana and often think of how much we will miss it when it comes time to go home.  We are at the Bunso Arboretum which we visited with Elder and Sister Scoville.

 One of the great opportunities we have had while serving in the Ho Branch has been to help prepare green missionaries who are going to serve full time.  This is Elder Acquah with his mother Alice and sister Edith on the day we took him to be set apart by President Judd and then to the MTC.

 Sister Hellen Badu on the far left saying good bye to her family.  Sister Badu and Elder Acquah left for their missions on the same day ... and they are both serving in the Nigeria Lagos Mission.  On a sad note, Hellen's father (in green) passed away just a short time after she left for her mission.

 Elder and Sister Scoville of Colorado on a P-Day excursion with us at the Bunso Arboretum.  They have been in Ghana for less than a month and we are looking forward to growing along with them.

 Elder Ansah outside the mission home with his Mom, Dad and younger sister Fafa.  He was set apart to serve in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission.  What a pleasure to bring them all with us.  President Judd was very surprised to see his family with him on this special day.  Most missionaries here in Ghana come alone.

 Unusual flowers are one of the many delightful surprises in Ghana.  Does this one look familiar?  We were so happy to see one in person.

 We were enthralled by this unusual blossom!  A little creepy... look closely, the red part of the blossom is covered with red ants!

(Rumor has it that all of the ants in Africa weigh more than all of the elephants. We believe it because we see plenty ants every day and have never seen an elephant!)

 Beautiful peach colored hibiscus!

 Wish we knew the names of these flowers.  When we ask someone what's the name of that flower, the reply is always the same, "a flower".

 Pink spikey flowers ... again "a flower".  Our guide at the arboretum knew the names of trees but had no idea the names of the flowers.

 A glimpse of the dense greenery along the banks of Volta Lake, the largest man made lake in the world.

 Mount Gemi, home to the highest village in Ghana.  Maybe on a future P-Day we will venture to the top for a visit.

 A view from the Kakum National Forest Canopy walk ... talk about GREEN!!  In the leafy tree tops of the rain forest.

 Beautiful dark rain clouds, a Boabab tree, (the Ghana Tree of Life) and a typical mud home.

 Green batik cloth laying out to dry before the next design and color are added.

Ecstatic that our butternut squash is growing!  Elder Lyon has carefully hand pollinated each blossom because the bees are not plentiful in our garden.  We will have "pumpkin" pie for Thanksgiving after all!

Life is Growth ... and that is very true in the mission field.  We love this unique time in our lives to learn and grow in every aspect of life.  We love the Lord and his gospel and hope to make a small difference in this small part of his glorious vineyard.

  "The greatest and simplest tools for learning more and growing is doing more." -Washington Irving

One By One

One day a young man and his grandfather were going to the beach.  As they arrived they saw hundreds, maybe thousands of starfish stranded on the beach.  "We must do something or they will die", the young boy said, as he threw a starfish back into the sea.  The grandfather gently said to his grandson, "There are so many you cannot save them all".  To which the boy replied, "I just saved that one".  Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us.  He is concerned about us as individuals.  Bishop Morgan reminded us that we are ministering to one at a time.

 

 At District Meeting the Elders have a white board that has the names of the individuals they are teaching and who have baptismal dates.  We discuss each person one at a time.

 Elder Wheelock doing the first baptism of his mission.  He was very emotional as he said the baptismal prayer.  His heart was touched by one.

 Even though she has 2 sons that are members, Francesca just showed up to church one Sunday.  3 weeks later she was baptized and remains a strong member, being called to the branch Young Women's Presidency.

 Sarah is helping the Wama family take care of their youngest son Jesse.  She was recently baptized and taught a lesson at Young Single Adult's Home Evening, her very first one.

 Hellen Badu is now serving her mission in Lagos, Nigeria.  She has set the example for everyone to follow because she is the first female missionary from the Ho Branch.  Even though her father passed away while she was there, she continues to serve, finding the one.

 The young man is Courage.  He has been called to serve a mission in Sierra Leone.  He is special to us because he has been one we have helped a lot in preparing for his mission.

 The child standing on the fence is Gabriella.  Her parents came to us some time ago and were desperate for help.  Gabriella was not able to eat and when she did, she couldn't keep anything down.  She was so sick, all she could do was just lay there.  They needed to take her to the hospital but did not have the money, so we took them there and helped with the medical bills.  As you can see, today she is one happy and healthy little girl.

 Here are 3 children Elder Lyon did baptismal interviews for in Kpong.  The father is a member so through one, 3 more joined the church.

 This is Nephi.  He is following the example of his father Prosper.  You never know when a little one is watching what you do.

 Sometimes we get calls from families that are in need.  This day we went to the market with a mother, Patience to get some food for her family, because they had none.  Can you guess which one is Sister Lyon?

 As part of nurses training after graduation, the government has a posting and assigns them to different areas as a community health nurse.  We are here with Emelia who was sent way out in the bush to a remote hospital.  We traveled far over very rough roads so we could meet with one member.

 Out of each individual seed springs a very beautiful garden.  Just as each seed brings beauty, it reminds us that each one of our Heavenly Father's children brings their own beauty to this earth.

We were in Kpong for some baptismal interviews and had some extra time.  The Elders were invited to a members house for an FM (free meal) so they invited us to join them.  This is the first time we have ever tried fufu, a local dish.  It was served with fish and a lite soup.  Yes, everyone used their fingers and ate from one bowl.

To say Ghana is not the cleanest country in an understatement.  Unfortunately everyone throws garbage out the windows of the cars or on the ground when they are walking.  When a dumpster gets full, they just start putting everything on the ground around it.  This is one of the service projects we had with the Young Single Adults as they try to Help Keep Ghana Clean.

 The joy that is on Elder Anderson's face as one Mona monkey from the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary eats a banana from his hand.

This is what happens the one time we leave our camera where the Elders can use it.

Elder Bednar recently taught at a Stake Conference in Scottsdale North Stake, the phrase one by one can be found in the Book of Mormon 6 times.  

"And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety, and did bear record, that is was He, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come."      3 Nephi 11:15

One Year InCountry R & R

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary by traveling to Cape Coast with Elder Wayne and Sister Kay Baker from Teton, Idaho, serving in the Ghana Accra Mission in the town of Koforidua.  We were delighted that President Judd gave us permission to travel to Cape Coast, although only 3 hours from Accra it is part of the Ghana Cape Coast Mission.  The Bakers left for home on September 19th and wanted to see these additional parts of Ghana before they departed.  We were glad to join them.  We had a wonderful time and there were many amazing things to see.

 

 We drove along the Cape Coast Highway and not too long after our first sighting of ocean we came across this quaint fishing village, Saltpond.  We loved the rustic nature of the boats carved from the Odum trees which are huge and very heavy.

 This is typical Elder Baker, wanting to get the details of what the men are doing.

 Many old slave castles dot the coastline of West Africa and were built between 1383 and 1870.  The Cape Coast Castle is one of the very few that has been well preserved and maintained as a museum and historical site.  After negotiating a much lower "Abruni" price we took a very dramatic, sobering tour of the castle. Side note: All Ghanaian points of interest charge a Ghanaian price (very low) and a Non-Ghanaian price (at least double).  We were able to get the price down by letting them know we were missionaries and had been in Ghana for a year paying taxes on all the items we purchase.

 Elder Lyon going down the long, dark tunnel into the male slave dungeon.

 Sister Lyon taking in the ocean view of the well fortified castle.

 Sister Lyon does not want to go into the female slave dungeon.

 View of the Cape Coast Castle from inside the fort.  This was a very sobering and enlightening tour. A plaque on the wall of the castle stated, "In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors . . . . May humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity . . . We, the living vow to uphold this."

 Sister Baker and Sister Lyon are glad to be safely out of the slave castle and find good accommodations.

 Ghana does have a few beautiful beaches, this beach lover enjoys discovering them.

 This beach lover really enjoys walking in the sand!

 What a beautiful sight to find the next morning as we were taking a stroll on the beach.  Possibly  this guitarist will end up in a painting.

 The small village of Elmina close to the hotel property boasts a very large fleet of fishing boats . . . they stretched as far as our eyes could see.

 About a 45 minute drive from Cape Coast is Kakum National Park which has the famous Canopy Walkway. The canopy walk is 333 meters long and suspends 27 meters above the ground. Trees support the walkway, the ropes are changed every six months, nothing is nailed or bolted to the trees to protect them from damage.  The canopy walk is supported by 300-400 year old trees.  We are walking about 12 stories above this beautiful rain forest.

 We really feel like monkeys in the trees.  We were told there are many wildlife species including elephants, monkeys, bushbuck, and of course birds, but the trees hide them from our view in this thick rain forest.

In the leafy treetops.  What a beautiful world Heavenly Father created for us!  What a treat it was to celebrate our 1 year mark in Ghana this way.

What Do You Do In The Summertime?

What do you do in the summertime?  Just like in the United States, the children in Ghana have a summer vacation from school.

If your summers are like the summer vacations in our home, you always had to do chores before you could play ... The top photo Sherpherd and her young brothers and sisters breaking rocks, their summer job.  The rocks are used for construction ... they put them in concrete to make cement go farther.  The next photo is Seraphim pounding pineapple peelings and leaves to make a medicine for fever.  In the photo below young boys are taking the cart to get ready to haul whatever their father asks them to haul.

 Of course, after working hard you need to take a break and enjoy some cold refreshment. This is the Fan Milk man.  He rides a bicycle with a "cooler" on the front. They are all around town, all year actually.  They ring a bell as they go so people will know the "ice-cream" man is around.  The frozen treats are only three ... Fan Ice (vanilla ice-cream), Fan Choco (frozen chocolate milk), and Fan Yogo (frozen strawberry yogurt).  Each is sold for .50 pesewas (about 25 cents).  The frozen treat is always put in a black plastic bag.  The frozen treat itself is in a plastic "sachet" which you bite off a small corner of and enjoy by eating it right out of the package.

 After work and treats games are then played.  The above game is called Ampe.  The game involves clapping, jumping and using strategy to outwit your opponent.  The game is played in pairs, the follower has to match the leaders foot work or they are out.  When asked what their favorite activity is most young people will answer either Ampe or Soccer.

 Boys love their wheels.  Any old abandoned wheel is attached to a stick and rolled down the road.  Sometimes you see them just rolling an old tire, or rolling a tire with two sticks.  They usually are going real fast so it is hard to snap a photo.  These boys stopped to pose, so we were lucky.

 These boys were very creative.  They have sardine cans attached to pieces of tied together cloth.  "Walking" the dog?

 Summer time fun ... off to Youth Camp!

Meet little girl Francesca Jr., she is in the hospital because of asthma attacks.  She was delighted to get some plastic crayons and a Friend magazine to color!  Not all summer vacations go as planned.

Summer officially ends here on Monday, September 3rd.  Back to School! In this land where the sun rises and sets at the same time each day and the weather only changes from wet to dry, we have a difficult time noticing the changing seasons.  We could definitely tell it was summer vacation time because we did not see children in school uniforms in the mornings and afternoons walking to and from school. We hope you have all had  a great summer and are all ready to learn well again!