February 28, 2022 We look at this board every day at the office.  It can't be missed because as you enter the room, it stares you in the face if you are looking straight ahead.  Not exciting I know, but very informative if you know what it is and intended to do.  We have sixteen coordinating councils ("CCs") in the Africa West Area ("AWA").  We have an "audit manager" (we call them A2AAs) over several CCs who, in turn, has more assistant area auditors ("AAAs") under him.  His AAAs could be from different countries.  We keep track of our team and take pictures of them as new ones are called so we know who they.  It is good to have a visual to make things come alive. I am creating this blog so I can easily remember how we organized things and how many great people we worked with regularly to manage the six-month Church unit audits.  For the December 31, 2021 year end audits, we have almost 1,700 audits being performed.  Stake auditors pe...

One of my favorite street hawkers, "The ball guy".  We became fast and true friends when I purchased a ball one day to give to some kids in Wote, and we waved to each other from then on as Elaine and I commuted home up Independence Way.  I have no idea where he got the hat or if he knows what it means.  He isn't one, just a guy who needed a hat and there it was.  Fashion is not a big deal here.  You wear it because you need to wear it, and he just needed a hat. February 28, 2022  I hadn't blogged for many weeks until the other night.  It felt good.  It feels good to document something of our activities here away, from our family and friends.  I don't want to forget details of our wonderful experience.  Remember, we are living in Africa (!!).  It feels good to emphasize, at least to myself, that I exist.  Not only exist, but that I am important.  You are important.  We don't always feel that way, do we?  Then we g...

  February 20, 2022 After our visit to Cedi Beads, we drove up further north for an hour and arrived at Akosombo where the dam is.  It was built from 1961 to 1965 to create Lake Volta.  We stayed at the Volta Hotel Akosombo, one of the best we have seen in Ghana.  The picture above is from the dining room of the Hotel, with the dam and Lake in the distance. It was great to relax, mingle with our friends and get to know them better.  We work together and see each other often, but with events like this we are able to get to know each other better.  We arrived at the hotel Friday night and then took the cruise the next day on the Lake.  Another view of the lake from our hotel balcony. The upper floor of the boat where the band was set up.  The crew guided us to the floor, and it didn't take much time for me to find the main level dining area as soon as the band cranked up for the big send off and beginning of our adventure.  I could hear and fee...

  February 20, 2022 Friday and Saturday we took a trip up north with our senior missionary friends to see how beads are made and the largest man-made lake  in the world.  Our first stop on Friday was in Krobo, two hours north of Accra, to see a guy named Cedi and his bead making company, Cedi Beads, and why they are so good at it.  He is well known in this part of the world. It is a family run business; the third generation. The beads are made from recycled glass; beer bottles, coke bottles, milk of magnesia bottles, and many other bottles.  Each bottle has different characteristics and Cedi and his people know how to make various kinds of beads using these recycled products.  They understand the colors produced by what glass, and use special powders to produce other colors they want. By the way, he got his name "Cedi" because he was born at the time the Government of Ghana switched from using the British Pound to the Ghana Cedi.  The name has stuck. T...