Hosting President Boateng

 Things are starting to ramp up around here.  Saturday night we had the Ghana National elections.  It was quite similar to the United States in that it really came down to 2 candidates.  One Candidate won and the other quickly conceded, so there was no significant rioting.  No rioting where we are at.  I guess there was a little bit in small isolated areas but all in all it was a peaceful transfer of power.

We had a zone conference and we got to get together with the Techiman zone.  That was fun to all be together and see missionaries we hadn't seen in a while.  I'm getting kind of attached to these young missionaries.  They are simply wonderful!  For those that don't know, a zone in a mission consists of about 10 to 15 companionships of young missionaries.  We are in the Sunyani zone.  

Here are some of our new favorite people!  The Elders wanted to wear bow ties.  

Our mission president has to travel about 3 hours north of the mission home to attend this conference.  We had the best experience hosting President Boateng and feeding Bishop Cobina (physical facilities manager for our mission).  We received amazing council from President Boateng at our conference and had a little fun too!  We played musical chairs...these kids have moves and can really dance!!  It was so much fun.  I laughed my head off.
musical chairs getting started.
I tried some new food this week.  I had an opportunity to eat some Banku.  Banku is a dough made from corn meal, but it has a little vinegar taste to it.  You dip it in a sauce that is super spicy hot and eat it.  It was just okay.  Not my favorite so far.  I also was able to eat Talapia that came from Lake Volta.  This was delicious.  I'm not sure how it was prepared but it had a hot spice to it as well.  Loved it.  

We have been out checking young missionary apartments today.  We stopped and talked to a family who was making fufu.  This was so fun to watch.  The husband's name was Jims, his wife Debora and his daughter Elizabeth.  They became fast friends.  We will visit them again sometime.  Very nice people!
This family was making such good use of everything.
They had plantain peels and Casava  husks drying in the sun to feed to their sheep.
They also had ground up corn husks that they feed their chickens.  He said the chickens get nice and big eating this and they stay closer to home and don't run off.

We helped the zone leaders teach a young girl by the name of Sylvia.  Louie was able to baptize her on Sunday.
walking to Sylvia's house

teaching Sylvia with Elder Weaver and Elder Kadzanja
Louie teaching Martha how he would baptize her.  Many Ghanaian people don't swim and so the idea of being submersed in water can create some anxiety for them.
Sylvia and Martha's baptism
This beautiful sister allowed me to take her picture so I can show you how they carry their baby's here.  I think it is so smart and probably less back pain.  See how she sleeps peacefully.  They are very resourceful about how they carry things.  They can carry many items because they will balance things on their heads as well as in their arms and on their backs.  They absolutely amaze me.
people in a mototruck.  It is a motor cycle with a truck on it.














Comments

  1. VickieGDecember 12, 2024 at 5:59 AM

    Beautiful post Brenda. Thanks for sharing. When Paul and I worked in the Swahili speaking branch in Sugarhouse, the mothers all carried their babies the way you have pictured. If they were sitting in RS, they would sit on the edge of the chair and lean forward. The babies all go to sleep instantly when they are held this way. Our refugees were coming from Rwanda, Tanzania, and DR Congo.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher's quarters and boreholes

Image
 Hello friends and family!  This last month has been really busy.  We will start by telling you about a school we went to go look at up north.  We had to travel 9 hours north to a town by the name of Bolgatanga.  It is a little difficult to travel because there are no public restrooms and very few places to eat.  We try to plan for this.  I usually make banana muffins and boil a few eggs the day before we travel and we pack easy to grab and eat food like apples and oranges.  We strategically visit other senior couples along the way so we can visit for a minute and utilize their washrooms (restrooms).  We passed through Techiman and we had thought the Vousden's were in Sunyani.  If that happens we can stop at Kintampo Falls.  Sometimes we can use the restroom there with out paying to get in.  We then traveled to a town called Tamale where we stayed with the Elder and Sister Jones.  The next day we traveled the last 4 hours ...
Read more

Lots of play and behind the scene's computer work!!!

Image
  Temple rendering of the Kumasi Temple by Elder Milan Miller We have plenty to catch up on, so this might be a long post. We have been very busy getting a gospel literacy class going in a little town called Duyaw Nkwanta.  The Gospel literacy classes are so amazing.  We are starting in the first book where we teach them the ABC's and we introduce a gospel topic as well as learn a letter.  These humble people are so excited to learn to read and write in English.  I know it will greatly bless their lives.  We introduce the class and then we turn it over to a teacher from amongst their peers who can speak english and Twi.  We have 11 other congregations that we need to get it started in. These are the beautiful ladies that were interested in learning English Sadly, we have been saying goodbye to good friends and missionaries.  We are quickly becoming old in the mission.  Our good friends Elder and Sister Hess have been transferred to Accra to b...
Read more

Rebecca's Visit and many projects underway

Image
 We have been doing plenty of traveling.  We made a quick trip to Kumasi to check on some projects and while we were there the area asked us to stop by a hospital and put some stickers on items the church donated to the hospital. We stopped by our friends at "Better Life for Women" and gave them some stickers to put on donated equipment for children and young adults with physical and mental challenges. members of the "Better Life for Women" Organization This organization goes into the homes of physically and mentally challenged adults and children to offer physical and occupational therapy to these friends.  Ghana is challenging enough to navigate so we felt like this was a group we could support with a little help from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We will be handing over these donations to the community soon! We stopped by KATH hospital in Kumasi and tagged some donations there as well This hospital bed was amongst many donations that were give...
Read more