Sunday, March 28, 2021. We made a call last night to Bishop Mensah of the Danfa ward.  It is about 30 minutes north of us on a good traffic day.  Last night Google maps showed 45 minutes.  As usual, we chose the ward at random from the meetinghouselocator app on Tools.   The traffic was good this morning.  The closer we got to the ward house, the heavier the traffic in the opposite direction.  Most of the traffic looked to be people going to church.  There is, however, a bustling business for food and goods along the highway and streets. We arrived and met two young men assigned to help members and visitors wash their hands before entering the building.  It was Ebenezer and Godwe ("God we").  They looked sharp in their dark pants, white shirts and ties.  It is a big building compared to others we have seen.  The chapel is upstairs.  We met the bishop upstairs.  He said hello and asked, "Do I look familiar?".  Goo...

It's Saturday (March 27, 2021) and we want to explore.  The three couples can't go far today because there is a birthday gathering in the early afternoon that we can't miss.  Mostly because the birthday girl is in our group and she needs to be home to receive the guests. Osu Castle is not far away.  Just east of where we work at the Area office.  We are in the area in minutes.  On the way we passed by two cemeteries; the military one (the Ghana equivalent to our Arlington National in D.C.) and a public cemetery.  People were gathering at the public one.  Everyone is in bright, colorful clothing.  We drive past the football stadium where Ghana's premier league plays and where the national team plays their home games in the Africa Cup tournament, and qualifying games for the World Cup.  Ross wants to catch a game while we are in the country.  Doesn't really matter what game, just a game. We get closer to the coast line where the Castle is....

Being Sunday (March 21, 2021), we visited a new ward, this one in Teshie some thirty minutes to the east of our apartment.  The traffic was light.  Sunday mornings are always that way and a pleasure to drive so we generally take turns.  It is a beautiful day with some blue skies.  That doesn't happen every day as the skies are generally brownish in color; light brown of course. The chapel is maybe only fifty yards off the main highway and easy to get to.  The road off the highway looks like an alley, however, and it is always a comfort to see the church sign which is standard here announcing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and visitors are welcome. Here is the ward house.  Nungua 3rd ward.  A really nice place. Getting out of the car we could hear a hymn being sung and as we approached the building we realized it was coming from off the property.  There was a large building across the alley and it was likely coming from there....

Well, it happened.  Just today (March 18, 2021) as I was leaving the Area office.  I got a good feeling that things are progressing.  For a few weeks we have each day done what we felt we needed to do, not knowing precisely what that was.  Considering what would benefit us in the coming months as our responsibilities came into focus.  A lot of preparation work.  Sort of like sharpening your sickle before the harvest.  Just preparing and trying to be good about it.  We learn patience at every age it seems.  While I have been in the Area office or working remotely from the apartment, Elaine and two friends have been helping at a local library.  Three times a week they teach English to various age groups.  Little kids, older kids and some adults.  It's been a good thing to do as English is essential to getting a good education or a good job. Since arriving, we have had things to do relative to our calls. However, it wasn't as inte...

 This year Ghana's independence day was on Saturday, March 6.   The holiday was celebrated on Monday so people could take the day off of work.  There were no public celebrations like the fireworks we do in the states.  My friend Komla said the president said there should be no public celebrations because of Covid-19 so there were none. We decided to do something different on Monday.  We hadn't seen any beaches and since we live close to the ocean, that's what we decided to do.  I checked out local beaches from various websites and decided to tryout Sakumono Beach.  Not too far from us but still a long drive for us.  The longest drive so far on our own.  It is southeast of us. Like most touristy things we have seen so far, it isn't what it ought to be.  Beaches are a natural resource and are a natural gathering place for people who want to spend some time in the sun on a free day, however, that concept either hasn't caught on or, mor...

We visited another ward house today (March 7, 2021).  Not far from our apartment.  It takes maybe 15 minutes to drive there.  We do this each Sunday to meet the bishop, see another ward building, get to know the saints there, and get acquainted with the area.  The most interesting part of the drive was the last kilometer.  Not a straight street, but one that took a slow, arcing turn to the left.  More picturesque that way.  There were the usual shops selling stuff along the street and the deadly gutters with their gaping jaws.  Not today boys.  We noticed more abandoned and junk cars than usual.  Some just seemingly with a flat tire and not much else wrong.  Some were rusting out and some were sort of newer, used cars.  They lined the street for a long way.  We came across a field of rusted out, junk cars that were obviously parked to create some kind of sense to the inventory, but in a strange way.  It was a big fiel...

We woke up.  It was Saturday (March 6, 2021) and time to get ready for a morning at the market with our friends.  There is a market the senior missionaries like to go to.  It has local arts and crafts of all kinds.  It also have a few things to eat.  It is held under these huge and tall trees whose limbs stretch out overhead touching each other creating this grand, shaded spot where vendors below set up their tables and booths.  It is not a small place.  Women's clothing, women's accessories, men's clothing, paintings of various sizes, wood products of various uses, brass products, drinks, honey, pies, desserts and even bagels.  The bagels are really good.  A guy will measure your foot and make sandals to your specifications. Ladies find cloth they like and arrange to get a dress made.  A guy makes various things out of brass.  There are some wall hooks of animal images and other things I will get sometime soon.  Everything is ...

 I was thinking this week that we have been in West Africa now for a month.  Today marks the one month mark.  The fifth of February to the fifth of March.  As such, we have likely lost the luster in some eyes and have been upstaged by something new and of more interest in America.  Not the novelty act anymore.  Maybe for you (or for some), but certainly not for us.  Each day and each week here in Africa brings new insights in this land and in ourselves.   Did you know that some countries of the world are conflicted? Not knowing how to be peaceful or not, and because of that lapse in effective and timely decision making, deciding to take the road too often traveled and demonstrate a nasty tendency to harm their fellow citizens?   I became aware recently that travel issues in some countries are real.  In some countries, one decides not to travel out of the local area because your town has a tiff with the neighboring town and it i...

Leaving the main roads of Accra and venturing into the neighborhoods of the lower economic class is a punch to the emotional gut.  At least it works that way when one does the mental comparison game; what I have back home compared to what my eyes behold.  It was particularly clear this morning when we decided to take a different route to the Area Office than the usual drive down Liberation Boulevard.  We are used to that way after three weeks of it.  We want to know more of the City.  We drove south, down the Hilla Limann Highway which parallels Liberation, with maybe a kilometer or so between them.  Both are busy, common thoroughfares.  Hilla Limann first surprised me a week ago in our first drive on it coming back from a Sunday afternoon lunch with friends who live at Beauford Apartments.  There are small shops along both sides of the highway, but particularly the west side.  These businesses/homes are in some places only eight feet from th...