Our week

We started our week with zone conference. Most of the Koforidua Zone got together for a photo before we left.
We were waiting at the Suhum Chapel for someone to let us inside. The little girl in pink was standing close by our car. Finally she got brave enough to wave. As soon as we waved back she smiled and ran to find her girlfriends. They all came back, giggling.
They were excited to have their photo taken and then see themselves. Have you ever wondered what happens to old dance costumes? Now you know.
I went up the stairs into the building and looked to see them following me.
They hoped for more photos.
About the time we had the perfect shot a truck full of political supporters came by in a big truck.
That was a momentary distraction. (It happens every Friday all over the country.)
But soon they turned around and held still long enough to get a good picture. Notice you can tell they are all girls by the earrings.
I spent another Saturday teaching sixteen women from Effidause how to crochet. It was challenging since only four of them spoke any English. Several of them did very well. Others are still learning to chain.
The girl in the middle already knew how to crochet and started right off trying to copy the earrings I had made a few days before.
These are a few samples of what I was trying to do. I'd like to find a project that won't take very long, can be done for very little money and could possibly help someone make a few pesoas. This was one idea. They would just be worn on the posts of the common earrings here.
I'd like to say this was someone else's ear, but around here you'd know that wasn't true. The ladies liked the idea. Now they just need to learn to do it.
I promised Sally I would take a photo of my purple top. I let the lady who made the skirt pick out fabric for a top. It's much more purple than it looks. (Sally also said Ethan asks where Grandma is in all the pictures.) Then Sally also wanted to see my haircut done by my companion. He was told to take off about an inch, which turned out to be about four. Oh well. It will grow. Guess who was next in line to get his haircut!
Elder Max finally got what he wanted to bring home from Ghana. The elephants are made from ebony and are beautiful. He may have to carry them in his pockets. They are very heavy.
He said a nativity is not complete without a donkey. He asked the same man who carved the elephants and my nativity to make a donkey. The man assured him he knew how to make a donkey.
We've wondered a bit. But I really like him. He is very unique for a donkey.
One of our projects has been to clear out the boxes and boxes in the district offices. These books were sent from the area office, but have just been stored for years. We are dividing them up and taking them out to the branches to hand out to the members. The books won't help to build testimonies if they sit somewhere in boxes.
And now for the font. You will see the history of it in the following blog. We finally just took it over ourselves to redo most of the tile, steps and grout. Now all that really remains is to paint the outside and have someone clear up the area.
The far rock just below the water tank was where we saw the snake. The elders told me the description sounded like the Black Mamba or "two step drop" snake. I was happy to stay inside the font and clean grout on this visit.
This was the side we decided to leave even though we weren't happy with the work. It was much better than the rest.
All in all it looks fine now. The members in Oyoko will be happy to have it close by their chapel. The elders have three people soon to be baptized. I hope we can be there to see if it will hold water.

This little guy had high hopes of being first in line, but we had to chase him out.

THE FONT: the history

The Oyoko branch was given a portable tub and frame for baptisms. It was later decided they needed a real font in back of their chapel.

After photos and detailed drawings of a large font were agreed upon, the contractor and his helpers started the project. A hole was dug.

Cement was poured.

Blocks were stacked.

The work was going along nicely.

Would two people really fit in there for a baptism? With stairs?

No one seemed to notice!

They just continued their hard work.

It was about this point we came back into town and saw what was there. (A burial vault?)

So they started all over again.

More cement.

A much bigger floor this time.

They got it right.

Many more blocks delivered.

A work in progress.

Coming along nicely.

Putting in the steps.

Even working after dark to get it finished so he could be baptized in it.

Completing the tile work.....the first time.

Don't look too closely.

Finished, maybe. Maybe not. The railing was great from the start. No complaints there.
To see the finished job, look at the previous entry. We still need to have a tin cover made to keep the children, rain and dirt out of it. A three-month project that should have taken about a week.

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Lunch

We had a fun zone luncheon at our house last P-day. The elders and sisters ate until they could eat no more.
Besides rice, chicken and salad we had spudnuts, fresh and warm. They all felt like they were on a sugar high before they went home. (I think a few spudnuts went home with them.)
It's nice to have a big enough living room to feed everyone. It gets a little crowded, but we make it work.
A great missionary from Oregon who will be going home next week.
A great sister missionary from Nigeria who has also completed her mission.
This elder has served in our zone now for eight months. He is also going home. He lives in the Central region of Ghana. We will miss all of them. SAFE JOURNEY!
(This was supposed to be part of the next blog, but I couldn't make it work. Oh well.)

Things we did this week

We offered the elders and sisters some of our coconuts when they came to lunch this week.
Both elders and sisters know how to open a coconut here.
The sisters like to drink them. (Or carry them on their heads.)
We've had a discussion about this little bird on the wire. I think it has something caught on its tail. My companion thinks it has a long tail. One of us is right.
Once before I posted a photo of a man making gravel out of granite stone. Since the road construction has gone through that area and exposed much more rock, hundreds people are gathering the granite and pounding it into small pieces.
They light fires down in the cracks. When the rocks get very hot they pour cold water on them to make the stone crack away. There won't be much mountain left when they are finished.
Gravel is VERY expensive here. That probably has something to do with how it is made.
This cute little girl is being tended by a big sister while her mother is in a meeting at the church.
Once children get comfortable with us they become real hams for the camera. These are the Ohene children.
This wonderful lady is the Relief Society president in Suhum. She had a new baby girl about three weeks ago. They named her Joyce.
Mother and baby.
This fiesty little lady is named Mama Christy. We met her some time ago on our morning walks. She comes over and stops us every time we see her.
She teaches us something else to say in Twi. I've learned more from her than from anyone else.
She won't let us leave until we say all the phrases back to her. I wish I had video. The camera doesn't do her justice. The lady with her is named Mama Elizabeth.

I've decided this blog should be titled "Living in Africa." We don't tell much about being missionaries here. Just know we love our missionary work. We just don't take many pictures while doing it.