Trees, Funerals, Bread and Frogs

We've decided we need to take photos of these favorite trees. There is so much logging going on in this region. When we ever come back for a visit we are afraid these trees will be long gone.
Their wood is prized because the trunks are so long and straight.
These trees are on the road from Kwebeng to Abomosu.
We've mentioned the elaborate funerals held here in Ghana. They end up being so expensive with rented coverings, chairs, a band, a master of ceremonies and lots of drinks.
The people spend Saturday listening to music, drinking and making pledges to the family to help pay the expenses of the funeral. It takes months to plan so this doesn't take place until the person has been dead for three or four months at the least. Then on Sunday the people are to go to the family home and pay the money they pledged.
For people who have little this is hard to understand. We've tried to get the church members to have just a church funeral service, but tradition is hard to change.
This is a typical oven used to bake bread in the villages. I have to assume it makes much better bread than my oven here.
I think this is the same little frog who jumped on me a while ago. He is a different color now. Maybe he changes colors. Who knows. Anyway, he has a strange look in his eyes. I think he knew I was taking his photo.

Missionaries and the phone line

We were happy to deliver a mission call to our good friend, Frank Adu Gyamfi. He will be going to the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. One of Marie's friends donated a piece of luggage for him to use. He was happy about the call and the help.
Frank is an orphan so the church is his family. Here are the branch president, Relief Society president and a young future missionary. They will keep in touch while he is serving.
We needed a photo for the bulletin board in Oyoko. This will do well for him. We went with him on February 26 to the Ghana Accra Temple. It was a great day for all of us.
This is a group of missionaries we ran into at the Area Office.
These two elders served with us in Koforidua.
We had a final dinner at our house with all our missionaries. We will miss them. They work hard. Elder Carson, front left, is leaving next week. He is from Lehi.
Another photo of Frank in front of the Koforidua Chapel.
You probably read the story of our phone line. The line you see is the one going into our house. Notice it goes nowhere else. Then look at the lines coming down from the pole. That is how many times this line has been cut in the past. The people find where the pole sags in the middle. They cut it there. Then they go to each pole and reach as high as they can to cut it again. Hopefully it won't happen again before we leave.

Couples' Conference

Just a couple photos from our couples' conference. I thought this was a great shot of Elder and Sister Moody. She is so short and he is so tall. They are wonderful people and great friends.
President Smith listening to Sister Sidwell.
Sister Mattinson enjoying a real keyboard. She plays very well.
Nothing to do with couples, but I took this photo on the way to Accra. We have passed by this same furniture for a year now. (I wonder why?) It somehow reminds me of the Smurfs, but I don't know the reason. It needs a home somewhere. Any takers?
We have also smiled at the small sign next to the young man. (Sit covers for sale.)

Marie and Friends came to visit

On the afternoon when Marie and her friends were to arrive to visit us, we had a terrible storm. we lost all the plantain trees with fruit on them. Our gate was latched with a lock, but not locked. It blew open and bent the gate.
We feel sorry for those who count on the their plantain for survival or their income. This can be a harsh climate sometimes.
We had some fun experiences while Marie, Kathy, Janet, James and their driver, Emmanuel were at our house. They took many, many photos. I only took a few. On Sunday after church we went out to visit the older sisters of the Oyoko branch. This dear sister has cataracts and can hardly see. She loved having so many fellow sisters come to visit her.
The district Relief Society president happened to be visiting Oyoko that day. We took her along as well as the Oyoko president and one of her counselors.
In Ghana the whole family pitches in to get the work done.
Even the small children help with the family wash. (It is interesting that their clothes get cleaner this way than mine do in a washing machine.)
This is James, who did not go with the Relief Society. He is with the driver, Emmanuel.
On Monday we drove to Boti Falls. With all the rain I was hoping there would be water coming, but it was dry. In the pond remaining there were thousands of little pollywogs swimming around.
We decided dry Boti Falls reminded us of the area of Zion's National Park called Weeping Rock. It was still a pretty place.
On Monday afternoon we took a tour of the cocoa research center. For those who had never seen the process before, it was very interesting. These are the cocoa beans drying after they have been fermented. This was a big tray they rolled out for us to see.
Then we visited the cocoa nursery where they grow new starts for their experiments. They also do research on coffee, cashew, coke and shea plants.
This is the pond they use to draw water for their research crops. The whole area was so different from the rest of Tafo. They had a golf course, swimming pool, nicely landscaped yards. It looked very British, which it used to be.
So early on Tuesday morning we told them good-bye. They were good sports to not complain about our lack of water and power. At least they got the true Ghana experience and will have some good stories to tell when they get home. Thanks for coming to see us!

February 8, 2009

Best weather news of the week was RAIN. It cleared the air, washed dust off everything and made me happy, even when I had to get out to open the gate in a downpour.
These photos are on the blog because my creative husband tore apart the power supply to the computer to fix a broken wire. I began to wonder if it would ever work again when I saw him using a hacksaw to get it apart. It looks pretty bad, but it does work. Hopefully it will last a month or so.
Children from the Nkawkaw Branch Conference.
I had been showing the little boy in purple photos of us feeding the monkeys. Just as we were getting in the car he said, "Next time you come here please bring some of your monkeys." I'd love to.
The Nkawkaw District Leaders: Elder Mattinson, Second Counselor; Seth Oppong, District President; ?, Relief Society President; Atta Oppong, Clerk; Stephen Abu, First Counselor.

The Nkawkaw Branch leaders: The ones on the back row just joined the three on the front right who are Bro Akyemfour, Bro ? and President Amankwah.
A photo taken on Kade's river bridge. It just shows the importance of water in all our lives. These people are doing laundry, bathing and just cooling off.
This looks like very ordinary jam. I put it in this jar so it would look that way. It comes in a can. When I saw it at the store curiosity got the best of me and I had to buy some.






It actually tastes very good. When I read the ingredients I had to wonder if it isn't a lot like "Stone Soup." Some things added were sugar, coloring, flavoring, etc. But it is something to consider when we have leftover tomatoes in our garden.

I need to crop and enlarge this photo so the detail is better. I've wanted to get a photo of a beauty salon with all the workers dressed alike. You can see them, but not very well. When a lady is getting extentions braided into her hair, all the workers stand around her and each take a section of her head. It is funny to see.
In Accra this week we had breakfast with two engineers from Salt Lake. It was fun to visit with them.
We ate at Frankie's which was pretty quiet at that time of the morning.
We even had the chance to drive by the ocean. Accra is on the ocean but we rarely get to see it.





WARNING: REPTILES AND SPIDERS AHEAD........










We were driving to a meeting when I saw a couple and their two children watching something on the road. I realized it was a large snake. They were afraid to keep walking that way. I pointed it out to Elder Max. He turned around and took care of it with the car. (We could have made up a very exciting story, but since we are missionaries, we only tell the truth.:-) The people were very grateful to us. I asked the man if he knew what kind it was and he said, "Cobra!" (Black cobra.) He was nice enough to hold it up for a photo (taken by Elder Max) before he tossed it in the bush. I felt sorry for the snake. I don't like to see anything killed, but they are deadly and can't be where people are walking.

This photo is for our son Dave. He is not afraid to fly planes or sky dive, but spiders totally freak him out. We were talking about that the other day. When we finished on Skype I walked in my room and found this guy on the wall. He is much bigger than he looks here.....and very, very fast. One bit me a long time ago in the night so I know they aren't deadly like the cobras.
But I don't like them either.

The week of critters

Since we couldn't get on the internet last night and I can't get to my e-mail this morning, this may be it for today. We didn't take many photos because we did typical missionary things. These are just a few photos we snapped for our own memories.
The cows that always feed along the roadside. With all the grasses to eat I'd think they would be fat.
The beetle I found by the front gate the other morning. He was gone when we got back from our walk.
The fish casket in Accra. If Elder Max determines it is a trout he may decide to bring one home in his bag. He said that way no one would have to dig a hole. They could just dump him in the lake. (Sorry, bad joke.) One would have to dig a strange shaped hole to put that casket in the ground anyway.
This is my African Black soap I told about in my weekly letter. ($1.00 worth) When I get e-mail back I will sent the explanation. It is great stuff.
Here is what my "bar" looks like after it has been out in the air. It turns dark and looks pretty strange.
Elder Max found this critter on the INSIDE of our front wall this morning. He was big and beautiful, but I'd rather not have him where we might step on him. Fortunately I've read the bigger the scorpion the less poisonous they are. I hope that is true.
You can see his size in comparison to the pen. It is probably a coincidence but we sprayed our house inside and out today for critters. We have been pretty bug-free lately but they are not going to spray here again since no one is yet scheduled to come to our house. After seeing a cockroach run across my living room floor yesterday that looked like a matchbox car, I'm glad we are spraying. I've only seen two cockroaches here in 16 months and both have been in the last two weeks. Time to spray!