Christmas Is Coming to an End

Christmas is Coming to an End
 

        Like every year, no matter where you are, Christmas comes and goes so quickly. This year was no exception. We found an optic tree for 10 cedis, about $3.00, at Shoprite, one of the grocery stores.

         Our nativity was hand carved by a man named Wisdom. It is made from a wood native to Ghana. It is quite light and varies in colors from light to dark.

         We enjoyed activities with some of the Elders and Sisters in our mission in two different zones, Medina and Tema.

Typical Soccer Field. Hard to believe how long they played in the heat.

One of the Sisters, she played the entire time barefooted.

Sister Heid on the right.

What can you learn on your mission? Juggling in pairs.

How to be best buds and keep juggling.

If you are a New Zealand Maori let others help you express yourself.

No one thinks anything about wearing the same dress. It is actually a compliment.

Mulicultural

 

       Christmas Eve Day

        We went to the Movenpick Hotel which was decorated so nicely to get a picture in front of their gorgeous tree and just enjoy the thoughts of being together for this Christmas so far away.

           We joined the other senior couples for dinner and a white elephant gift exchange.

Sister Watson and her husband serve as Family History Missionaries. She chose our white optic tree. Another Shoprite special. She was delighted.

Sister Martins is from Nigeria and serves in the Temple. She got a plastic snake. Not her cup of tea.

Brother Slater took the snake off her hands and she chose again. What a good sport, a new tie.

Third time's the charm. She got our blinking Rudolf and famously danced while we sang.

 

 

Sister Terry (Literacy) and Sister Martins, Elder Wilde (Secretary to the Area President) laughing behind.

Christmas Day

        The day dawned with the same rooster and the same birds that like clock work wake us every morning at 5:30. No cool weather, no fireplace, definitely no snow to make even an Arizonaian feel like Christmas. However, the joy in knowing that on this day we celebrate the birth of our Savior still gives us that special feeling of joy. We have strong testimonies that He came to Earth as a humble babe, that His birth was the glorious gift from our Heavenly Father and that through the example of  His life we have someone to follow, someone to look to as an example and someone to lift us up. Because of His atonement and His death we have an advocate with our Heavenly Father and a Savior of the world. We are indeed blessed to have this knowledge.

        

        Again the senior couples, met this time at the Missionary Training Center for lunch with the young Elders and Sisters there. Currently there are 31 missionaries there. They are from Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Madagascar and South Africa. All are black with the exception of one white Elder from Tennessee. He fit in perfectly. Some are learning French and some English and some already speak English so they are not "learning a language". The will serve in Togo or Coite de Voire, French speaking, or Nigeria, or South Africa, to name a few.

A family in awe of a battery operated reindeer. There are no parks in Ghana so the green grass at church is a big draw.

Some of the countries represented at the MTC.

MTC dining room.

Sisters Martins,Terry, Afful, Pack, Kirkham, Heid, & Wilde.

Our lunch companions here to learn French.

Eight Elders from Madagascar here to learn English and go to South Africa.

Elder Moss from Tennessee.

Sister Hill, the Mission Doctor's wife, trying to teach charades,

This Elder's name has 23 letters in it. Really.

        We are blessed to be here, to have been kept safe and healthy while we have driven these crazy roads, we have met wonderful new people, missionaries and Ghanaians. We look forward to the New Year to see what it has in store for us.