President Atta Mills

The photos on this week's blog are more for our memory than for your interest or for the quality of the photos. Just look through them and see that when Ghana throws a party, they do it right. I took these off our TV which isn't very clear anyway. I'm sure someone could have told me how to take better shots of a television set, but I didn't have time to ask.


People gathering at Independence Square in Accra.
Traditional chief and leaders from many of the areas of Ghana were in attendance.
So were the common people.
Even though the traditional and religious leaders do not have political power, they carry a lot of influence with the government.
There were dancers to entertain the crowd while they waited.
There were military marching bands.
More tribal chiefs with their escorts.
A broad view of the square with everything set up and dignitaries arriving.
Members of the Supreme Court arriving for the swearing in ceremony.
The new head of parliment is a woman but I'm not sure if this is the right person or someone else.
More traditional leaders.
And more.
And even more.
If you look in the backgrounds of the photos you see the variety of clothing depending on the tribe and the region of the country.
The is the out-going president John Kofour.
I wanted to get a photo of the man with the hat. That is typical of the northern part of Ghana.
Notice someone is always holding a colorful shade over the dignitaries.
These men had interesting headwear.
More chiefs and leaders.
Another view.
Finally the new president, John Adda Mills.
Brian should be pleased that he is a fellow Standford University graduate. He is a lawyer and a college professor. I hope he will do what will be best for Ghana in the next four years.
Now to a family we went to see this week. This little girl was very afraid of me last time we saw her at church. I decided I was going to try to make friends with her.
She wasn't quite sure she would do that. But she loved my camera and enjoyed seeing herself.
The mother also wanted a photo of the baby. I think it is a boy since I can't see any earrings. The father is the unit leader for Tafo. Elder Max was meeting with him while I tried to entertain the rest of the family and keep them from bothering him.
The brother and sister were not shy. They hammed it up for the camera. And little sister got a bit more brave.
Then this other lady wanted her photo with the baby. I was shocked to see her just hang the baby by his arms. I quickly took the photo before the poor little guy let out a scream.
Last night Elder Max decided to try his luck at photographing the full moon. It was supposed to be the biggest moon of the year. It doesn't look so large there but the effect is nice as it peeks through the palm tree. When we first met our neighbors across the street I told the lady what a nice view she had. She said "Yes. And at night it is lit up just like America." Maybe not just like America but the lights from the city below are nice to see. (We watch for them when we have a power outage because they always get power back before we do.)

The week after the election

We were very proud of the people of Ghana as they went to the polls and voted for a new president. Many outsiders were worried about violence but the people kept telling us, "No, our people are peace-loving. All will be fine." And it was. We wish them well with their new government as it takes over on January 7th.

We had a pleasant surprise on Friday as we were at the temple site in Accra. We met a group of great people from the Roy/Fruit Heights area who were here with the LIA group started by Marie and others. This young lady is Blessing. She was the guide for this group. She picked up this baby from a young woman tending her while her parents were in the temple. Blessing didn't want to put her down.

Here is the group. The two on the front left are teachers at Roy High. The others are students and teachers from the area. Several of them have made multiple trips here and love the country like we do. They came here to finish setting up a library in the Ada area. They were having a great time. We were very happy to see them. When they told us about the blizzard on the morning they left Salt Lake, our heat didn't seem quite so bad anymore.
This is Elder Opoku from the Koforidua Branch with the MTC President and his wife. (President and Sister Harmon.) After taking six sons to the MTC in Provo, I still have feelings of not wanting to walk out the door when I bring these great elders to leave on their missions.
Elder Opoku told us his parents are not members of our church, but his grandmother is a member and introduced him to the gospel about ten years ago. He is going to Nigeria and will be a great asset to his mission.
On Sunday we had a training meeting in Oda. We took the branch presidency from Kade back to their village. Getting all four of these good-sized men in the back of our little car was a bit of a challenge. The trip took about an hour and they jabbered in Twi all the way. I guess that is about as close to riding in a tro tro as I will get while I am here. (That is especially true since even though we had the air-conditioning going full blast they wanted to ride with the windows open so they would be cooler. I don't think they had ever been in an air-conditioned car before. So we tried to be cool in the front while they enjoyed the breeze and the hot air coming in the back.) The branch president on the left is a very strong leader and has developed a strong branch in only the last two years.
While attending the Kade Primary today Sister Moody and I taught the children some of the new songs for next year. There were about three times this many children in the Primary. I just caught a photo of the ones who stayed behind after we gave them each a bracelets.
I tried to capture some of the scenery around Kade. It is hard to do that without video. This is a palm oil plantation in the background. Palm oil is a big export product here in Ghana.
This area is also covered with orange groves. The oranges are ripe now. They make the most wonderful fresh squeezed juice but have a few too many seed to make them easy to eat. We have fresh juice once in a while.
Last of all I had to prove to my companion I have a frog who likes to shower with me. I don't know where he hides out the rest of the time, but he gets me a bit unsettled when I spot him clinging to the shower wall. As long as he stays out of the water and off me he is welcome.

Mattinson's Christmas Eve

(Just finishing the rest of the photos I couldn't do yesterday.)
Elder and Sister Mattinson spent Christmas Eve day with us in Koforidua. She wanted it to seem as little like Christmas as possible as she was worried about being homesick.
We drove up to Boti Falls to see if there was still water flowing. It was small but still very pretty. Elder Mattinson used to work with a lumber business so he was taking photos of all the interesting trees and roots.
Then we ventured into the Koforidua Marketplace. I don't recommend that on the day before Christmas. The place was so crowded. The sellers were very merry as they danced in the aisles. We were being bumped and pushed from side to side as we tried to move along and tried to stay together.
Notice the dried fish on the table at the right. These are sold everywhere to put in the local light soups.
I was buying plastic bags but I heard my companion was showing these ladies a few moves of his own. They are such fun people who enjoy life even though they have few material possessions. We soon got claustrophobic and left the marketplace to go have lunch at the quiet Mac Dic Hotel.

December 24, 2008

I've tried to have a better eye for photos while I have been here. It doesn't happen often, but I saw this and knew I had a photo I would enjoy. Now if I just knew more about lighting and such......
We spent Christmas Eve with Elder and Sister Mattinson. We went to Boti Falls and to the Kororidua Marketplace. For some reason I can't load the rest of my photos from that day. I'll try later. So this is all for now....


It had to be a good day if Elder Max got a chance to throw a fishing line in the water. No matter that it didn't have a hook on the end. He looks serious about catching something.
And as the New Year approaches, please follow the advice on this sign on a tro tro and avoid "drink" driving. (Actually you'll probably be trying to avoid "drink" drivers.)
Most of all, have a very Happy New Year!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Just a peek to help you understand why we will be happy when the elections are over. Getting through these rallies can be "interesting."

We had our Christmas conference on December 23 in Accra. There was plenty of food for all. Note the "goodies" on one elder's plate.
The couples enjoyed visiting together. (The goodies had all been stashed away in backpacks before any of us got there.)

This looks like the South Sea Island group. They made a table on the floor.
We held this conference at the Christianborg Chapel. It is on the temple grounds and is huge.
These are the two new sisters serving in Koforidua. One is from Ghana and the other from Liberia.
Elder and Sister Sidwell. We don't see them often as they serve on the other side of the mission.
President and Sister Smith. Sister Smith and Sister Hale worked so hard to put all this together. They did a great job.
The mission presidency. Brother Labinjo, President Smith and Elder Max.
And finally, it wouldn't be Christmas here without finding at least one Santa. This one was handing out candy to children at Max Mart. These elders didn't get candy, but Santa was happy to pose for a photo. So from Ghana.......
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!