Our trip to Akim-Oda and the Big Tree

Last week we traveled to Oda, which is about two hours from where we live. (The Akim means that is the name of the tribe who settled the area.) We went to have Elder and Sister Moody show us around and introduce us to the branch president there. They have a lovely new chapel with beautiful grounds.
I wanted to get a photo of the Moodys next to the chapel, but they were in the car before I got back over there. I'll get them another time.
This man is carrying a very long bamboo pole. For a long time we wondered what they did with these until we looked up one day and realized all the TV antennas are on bamboo poles. We've even seen two men around our area that carry the poles while riding their bicycles. One has it on his head at the front end. The other takes up the rear with the other end of the pole on his head. Quite a trick.
Elder Moody wanted to take us down to the river. He said he was asked to come here to see if it would be a good place for baptisms while there was no water at the chapel. He nixed the idea very quickly. It is not hard to see why when you look at the color of the water.
We just stood and watched for some time as this dugout canoe carried passengers back and forth to market. We were told we could ride across for about one dollar.
The ladies have their wares in the boat and are ready to come across.
Notice the ripple in the water on the right side. It's not a croc.
The dog didn't want to be left behind and he even made it to the shore before the passengers. The pile of "fruits" near the water is palm nuts. They are used to make the palm oil that is used here for cooking.
The ladies get loaded up and start up the river bank.
It looks like they are going to be selling firewood today. There is a lot of firewood around right now because it has been dry enough to collect it from the deeper parts of the jungle.
Off to market they go.
While Sister Moody and I were watching the river, Elder Moody and President Reynolds were talking to a man making a dugout canoe.
He said he was eighty-three years old and was making the boat to use on the river as a passenger ferry. He was going to paint it bright colors when he was finished. (We kept asking why he didn't have the young men around help him. We decided he thought they might ruin his masterpiece.)
This was the chipping tool he was using.
It has been a long, hard job to get this far. The wood is very hard and heavy. Maybe someday we'll go back and see him floating on the river.
On the way home from Oda we stopped to see what is said to be the largest tree in West Africa. Of course it is located just far enough from the road that you have to pay to see it. (And five times as much if you aren't Ghanaian.) But we decided we only live once, so we'd better go see it. These two young men were our guides. I told them they were there to be sure there were no snakes on the path. The area reminded me of walking through the Olympic Penninsula of Washington State.
This is the tree and it is indeed LARGE. It is 128 meters tall with a girth of 11 meters. It is the same kind as "my tree." I need to find out what kind it is. This one makes mine look small.
It was hard to get a photo because when I got back far enough to get the whole tree then it was hidden by other trees or I was back in the bush where I didn't want to be.
I'd like to write the tourist council and tell them it was a shame to leave wine bottles and an old table at the base of the tree. Somehow they looked out of place in this beautiful setting.
Elder Reynolds and the tree.
This was my attempt at taking a photo of the top of the tree. I almost tipped over backwards in the process. Even though we gave the young man a hard time over the price of admission, it was worth seeing the tree.
As we were walking back to our car we saw this line of ants going across the cement steps. The photo doesn't show it, but they were in a long line on either side of the steps, marching somewhere. At least they aren't in my house. Click on the photo to enlarge and see the ants.

From One P-Day to the Next

It seems this week the most productive days were the P-days. Last week the sisters came to the house to learn to make pizza. (And have a little fun.)
They had never worked with dough before and were having fun learning to knead the pizza dough. They watched me make cookies and were amazed that a blob of dough could turn into a cookie.
Our pizza wasn't the greatest, but we had fun. They borrowed my Betty Crocker cookbook. I'll probably have to fight to get it back.:-)
This photo is for those good people who have exchanged letters with Elder Mekonen. He is from Ethiopia and is such a cheerful, friendly elder.

We had zone conference for three zones on Tuesday. We even managed to all line up for a photo. Elder Max is taking the pictures, along with Sister Hale, but the rest of us are all there.
This is Elder Amoako_Ababio. He will finish his mission tomorrow. We are happy though because he is from Koforidua. We will be using him to help us in one of the branches. We told him all he was getting was another transfer. (He stayed at our house last fall while his companion was sick with malaria. )
Several people asked me about my "favorite tree" when I posted it before. There are many huge trees like this but not many that are out in the open by themselves. Enlarge the photo and look at the interesting trunk. The tree is MUCH larger than it appears in a photo.
Elder, President, Farmer Max planting our back forty. (Notice his planting tool.) He has put in corn, beans, watermelon, cucumbers and who knows what else. Now he just keeps hoping it will rain since we have no extra water or a hose for irrigation. As of this morning he had corn poking its head above the ground. I just hope it gets higher before the chickens discover the seeds.
This young man's name is Reginald. We have become friends with him as he lives in our neighborhood. He stopped by a couple weeks ago for a visit. He is going to a tech school where he is studying computer networking. He is a very bright young man and enjoys talking to people from other cultures. Last Saturday night he stopped by again. We had a 2 1/2 hour conversation about many things including Ghana, United States, careers, religion and Oware.
This is my Oware game board I bought a few weeks ago from a cute little lady who took the time in her shop to show me how the game was played. This board is not very fancy, but it serves the purpose.
Reginald was telling me his mother was very good at the game. She grew up in a village and was too poor to have a board. They just dug holes in the sand and played with small stones. The game requires a lot of strategy like chess. Some of these Ghanaians are so good at it. They just play so quickly. Each player owns one side of the board. There are four seeds in each hole. By moving the seeds around counter-clockwise you gain seeds and can begin to take over the other players "holes." There is a lot more to it than that. Tradition has it that the chiefs in early Ghana were chosen by seeing who could win an Oware game. Better than a duel or even an election, maybe? (This looked to me like a game for Brian and Andrea's family.)
On this P-Day before transfers we invited all the missionaries in our zone, plus District President Owusu to our house for lunch. I got out of cooking the meal by having a sister in the branch cook it for me. I don't have big enough pans to feed that many. We had a good time. You can see the two elders playing my Oware.
The American elders were teaching the game of Uno to the Ghanaian elders. (And one of those elders actually won!)
The elders from Suhum arrived a bit late, but were happy we'd left some food for them. The elder at the end of the table is Elder Musiimaami from Uganda. He is being transferred to Accra and we will miss him. One side note, in October 2006 while ushering at General Conference I spoke with a man and his wife from Uganda who had just been sealed in the Salt Lake temple the day before. I was telling this elder about that and found out it was his branch president and his wife. It is a very small world after all.
It will be Elder Nartey's birthday tomorrow and he is also being transferred. I like the birthday traditions better in Ghana.:-) When he got to our house he told me it was his birthday tomorrow and because of that he had a small gift for everyone. Isn't that a good idea? Sounded good to me. He gave all the elders and sisters a pen and a handkerchief. I will miss Elder Nartey! We were the ones who transferred him here in November and will probably be the ones to drive him to his new assignment in Kade.

It's great to be in Ghana

We had to smile when we looked in the ovens at the church buildings. The seminary students use them to store their books and supplies so they don't have to carry them back and forth to the church. Most people here have never used an oven, so I guess storage is as good a use as any.
This is Sister Bauss. She is the office sister. She has been so much help to us and has become a dear friend. I think she found it hard to smile and talk on the phone at the same time.
This is Elder Bauss. He and his wife go home in April. They will be missed so much. We have made many calls to him about our water problems, power problems, wall problems, car problems and so on. We hope we can see them again when we get home.
One day last week we had to go get some copies made. We stopped at a little shop along the main road. We were amazed as we walked inside and saw this wonderful old printing press. The owner was happy to show it to us and even pose for a photo.
We tried to figure out how old it was but didn't find a date on it. The great thing about it is that this man uses it every day in his business. He prints receipt books and funeral notices among other things. It was so interesting to look at the tiny detail of the type set pieces. That is truly a talent to put all of it together.
I had to wonder if the man wouldn't get as much money by selling his press to an antique dealer as he would make the rest of his life. But he probably wouldn't be nearly as happy.
There are several old trucks around Koforidua that Max enjoys seeing. He always wants me to take a photo as he drives by going about 50 klm. This photo happened to work out. There is one truck that is totally covered with wood. We'll have to photograph it sometime.
Last Saturday we drove to Nkawkaw for an Open House. The scenery here is very pretty. The mountains are more rugged than where we live.
We had a hard time finding the chapel, but did eventually get there on a very bumpy road. You can see the back end of our latest vehicle. It is supposed to be a shade of grey, but as the elders like to tell us......it is Purple. Oh well, it has four wheels and runs well. We like it just fine.
Here is a view of the Nkawkaw chapel with President Brockbank just walking up to the gate. There were some hang gliders flying around by that mountain top, but I don't think they made it into the photo.
On the way home we saw quite a few young men selling snails along the roadside. We drove up to this young man and I got out. He would have been happy to sell me three snails for the 1 Gh I gave him. But he was even happier when I told him I just wanted to pay him for taking a photo of his snails. He could keep the money and sell the snails to someone else. (When we moved into our house, we had snails like this all over the yard. We gathered them and took them to someone who raises them. That works much better when we are trying to mow the lawn.)
This is just typical of the trucks that drive the Kumasi/Accra highway. They are so overloaded that someone is always trying to turn too quickly and flipping the truck on its side.
While waiting for a branch activity, we taught the African elders and sisters how to play "Cat's cradle." They had a lot of fun learning to do it, even if the only string was a roll of dental floss I had in my purse.
I later gave them each a piece of yarn to keep so they could continue practicing.
Here Sister Gray and Sister Otchere are figuring out a new move. Way to go, sisters.