We have not posted for a while because of much of what we have been doing has been paper work involving a few projects we are working on. The need is so great for villages to have clean water. So many diseases that we don't worry so much about in the United States are a constant battle here in Ghana. These include, Typhoid, Dysentery, Giardia and Cholera. All of these can be prevented by simply having clean water.
The fact that we deal a lot with helping them have boreholes (wells) dug, the scripture story about the Woman at the well has been fresh on my mind. This has always been one of my favorite scripture story's for many reasons. Jesus Christ is one of the best champions of women. I love him for that. Fetching water here in Africa is a chore that is usually left to the women and children. It is not an easy chore. Water is very heavy (8.34lbs per gallon). They usually put a tank up high with a spout and the women put their buckets on their heads and fill the buckets while they are already on their heads. This is so smart, otherwise they may not be able to lift them up there. I love that the savior can find us where we are. Even if we are fetching water in a remote village, he loves and cares about us. We are so blessed to try to be his hands in this way. This is not easy. We have to plan quite a bit before we trek out to some of these places. After we are there, I am so glad we made the effort.
John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." This is the peace the Gospel brings.
This is the construction of the tank stand @ borehole in Addokrom
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| This is when they were testing for to see if there was water |
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| This is the beginning of the Tank Stand |
While we were visiting a woman at this well (haha) she proceded to show us the building where the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints meet for their sacrament meetings.
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| Addokrom branch building-Look inside the door |
This building is a simple mud hut with a pulpit in the middle. I was so touched by these humble people and how do the best they can with what they have
On the way back we stumbled upon a butterfly sanctuary. I talked elder Fuell into checking it out. He was a little reluctant but the curiosity got the best of him and he relented.
This was the road we drove down. There was a sign that said "Don't be scared, we have 24 hour survailance". Haha, It was absolutely beautiful the pictures did not do it justice.
At the end of the road there was a man who lived in this house. He spoke with us about the life cycles of butterfly's. There were millions of beautiful butterfly's flying around. Pictures don't really do experiences like this justice. He told us if we followed the road further down there was a beautiful bamboo forest, but be careful, there is no place to turn around. We had to forfeit that experience, but I have a feeling we will see something similar while we are here. Those of you who know me know my favorite things in life are unexpected adventures with Louie. I live for this stuff.
The other thing we have been dealing with this week is a young Elder that has been dealing with severe stomach cramps. They had dinner with a member and they pressured them in to eating Grasscutter (a large cooked rat). It is very hard for these young Elder's to say no even though it is against the rules to eat what we call bushmeat. Bushmeat is pretty much anything that slithers or runs. They eat it. We have been praying for him and taking him to the Dr. We hope he will get better soon and get back to work. It is very hard on their companion as well when one is sick.
Elder Nelson from Orem and Elder Carinan from Naga Philipines
All Utilities here are very tenative. We have had much trouble with electricity this week. It was out for about 15 hours and that was through the night. It was a very hot humid night as we are in the rainy season and humidity is high right now. We do have a generator that the church provides. When Elder Fuell went out to start it he discovered the battery was dead. I am so grateful that I am married to Louie because if he decides he doesn't want to be uncomfortable he will figure it out. He took the battery out of the generator and decided to charge it with the truck. He didn't have jumper cables so he found some wire on the ground (because this is Africa and there is just stuff on the ground) and he charged the battery to the generator. Pretty soon I heard the generator come on and I just had to smile. This is another reason why I love this man.
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| You can tell who uploads the pictures |
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| Charging the generator battery- Hey! It worked. |
One of our Senior missionary friends is an ordained Patriarch and has been asked by the Prophet to give Patriarchal blessings to the missionaries hear who have not received one. For those of you who don't know what a patriarchal blessing is it is a special personal blessing given to a member of the church by an ordained patriarch. It provides spiritual guidance, promises and counsel based on the recipient's faithfulness. The blessing also declares the person's lineage within the House of Israel. They are considered sacred and meant for personal reflection, and are not shared publicly. Members of the church typically receive them often as a teenager, though they can be given at any age.
This Senior missionary traveled to Sunyani this week and gave blessings to 3 African missionaries who had not had an opportunity to receive this kind of blessing before they left on their missions. We invited them to dinner after the experience and visited for a short minute. We were glad and honored to serve him and his wife in this way. Once again this is not a coincidence a Patriarch was sent on a mission here and the Lord is very mindful of his people. He loves and takes care of them. We are so honored to help in small ways. Elder Fuell and I joke that we help small small. "Small small" is a Ghanaian saying that we love. Little by little.
We love and miss everyone. We are glad to be here in Ghana, despite all the challanges. We know this is where Heavenly Father would like us to be. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Ttfn
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| Zone Conference-Sunyani Feb2025 |
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Brenda made cinnamon rolls! They were fantastic! She really does love me!
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Such amazing work you are doing in very uncomfortable circumstances. We take clean water for granted here in the US. When we were in Russia, we were told to never drink the water. It was known to carry Giardia. We had a series of 3 filters under the sink that cleaned the water. When I brought fresh produce I would fill the sink with water, add clorox and dip all the produce, including lettuce in the purified water; I would then drain the produce and it was very safe to eat. I even dipped bananas in that clorox solution because sometimes I open bananas with a knife which would have introduced bacteria into the flesh. One day the water was particularly bad in the small washing machine that we had but of course there was no way to know that a head of time. The water completely stained Paul's white shirt to a dark rust color and we had to discard it. Life is different on this planet. I am so grateful for the comforts the Lord has given us. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda! 🤣🤣🤣
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