Thoughts Back

RETROSPECTIVE

       As I finally get ready to put this blog into book form I thought I should think back five and half years. I heard sometime before leaving for Africa that going to Africa was a life changing experience. It was indeed. We arrived in Ghana towards the end of the Ebola crisis and are well into our second year now of the Covid crisis. That has given me a greater realization of how the Lord is in charge and will at some point bring us out once again at the end of another tunnel. Maybe life is a maze that we need to get through with its twists and turns and steps backwards and then we set off again on a different route. 

       How glad I am that our route took us to Ghana. It was such a blessing! Whether our work helped build the Lord's kingdom we don't know but it did help build our faith as we saw the faith of the African Saints. We saw the love they have for the Gospel of our Savior. We experienced their joy and their thankfulness for what they had no matter how small their material gifts seemed to be. We rejoiced in their righteous desires and in their desire to work and learn and become better. Their faces were a testament to their thankfulness for life.

        Even now as we see stores that have a temporary shortage of some items I still marvel at how blessed we are here in the good ole USA. We have an abundance of everything. We will never really hear the phrase; it is finished.

       Barry and I were blessed beyond measure to serve in Ghana and will forever be thankful. May this record of our mission be a testimony to our belief in the God of Heaven, His Son, Jesus Christ, and his gospel and the witness of truth that we receive from the Holy Ghost. We are grateful to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and share our testimonies of its truthfulness as the church of our Savior upon the earth in these latter-days. We thank our Father in Heaven for all of our blessings, especially our family and our dearest friends, and pray that these thoughts will forever let them know of our testimonies. 

       I write and say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

      

       

P.S. About Wisdom

The Right Place

Dear Readers,

       No, we are not out in the mission field again. Believe it or not we have been home from Ghana for 11 months. I know, where has the time gone? We have been busy but still cherish the people that we met in Ghana and still hear from some of them occasionally. I think that you might be interested in the correspondence that we had yesterday from Wisdom, now Elder Oforikumah, serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints in Cape Coast Ghana. Wisdom, you may remember, was the young man that had the club foot that adopted Barry as a surrogate father. We helped him with his studies so that he could prepare for his final exams and got him his first real shoes and first pair of socks.

       I posted about Wisdom in this blog on Sunday, April 12th, 2015. You can refer to that if you wish.

       Anyway, Wisdom did get a mission call to the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. He has been serving there for several months now. Missionary work is not easy. There is a lot of walking and many hours of it. There is one partial day for rest, usually Mondays. But that is also a shopping day and a wash day, think two buckets, not a washing machine, and a letter writing/email day. We have been corresponding with Wisdom on many of these Mondays. The following is his email from yesterday, March 6th, 2017:

      

hello, i am doing great and my week was great too, we had two of our investigators that were at church and it was wonderful.

I met Elder Warner and he is the Assistance now.

I am suffering a lot of the leg and i can not stay in the apartment too not even 2hours but i continue doing his work, but

Please the is some miracle that is happening to me now i cant even explain the full of it, we just find out that they can fix the leg and the Surgery will take place on Wednesday and i will stay at the mission home for three month and i will go home.

That small about my week. 

       Elder Warner, one of the Assistants to the Mission President, is from Gilbert, AZ. He grew up in our daughter Kristen's ward before she moved to Texas. We were at the Ghana MTC when he arrived in Ghana to serve his mission also in Cape Coast. Yes, the world is getting smaller. I contacted the Warners and this was the response that I received from Elder Warner yesterday:

wow!! this literally all happened today...this morning our mission president drove him (Wisdom)out of the mission to meet with two foot surgeons in a  city! they are doing something here for people....all things are free! they are members! soooo they assured him that they could fix his foot! sooooooo this Wednesday is his surgery! they will be snapping and stretching his Achilles tendon. breaking almost every bone in his foot, and putting in many plates and screws...all fo

r free! it's crazy! he was getting close to being released because its sooo painful everyday! and all of a sudden this opportunity came up! sooo our president hopped on it! its an answer to a lot of prayers! i'm so happy for the guy! it will be a long recovery! he will be in our apartment for three months and cant leave....he will receive new companion every week! we are in charge of it and have to choose who to be his companion. soooo its gonna be a crazy 3 months.

       As I was messaging Elder Warner's dad he (Elder Warner) and his mother were emailing at the same time so I was grateful to get this quick and informative text message from him. He took the time to let me know about someone I care about. The world is small, technology is unbelievable but this was the hand of the Lord. We met Wisdom, he persevered until he was able to go to serve a mission, he worked through pain and suffering while serving and now he has been connected with knowledgeable doctors that give of their time and talents. It won't be easy for Wisdom but with our thoughts and prayers he will make it. It's been 20 years of pain and he has pushed through. He will again. The fates aligned so that he was in the Right Place but it was truly the Hand of the Lord. Our Savior knows each one of us personally.

       If you have a few extra minutes tomorrow will you say a prayer for Wisdom? I know that it will be appreciated. Thanks, I'll keep you posted.

By the Sea, By the Sea

Cape Coast, Ghana

        Cape Coast is clearly defined as the tourist area of Ghana and a must see. This was our second visit there. It has some wonderful beaches and the castles of Cape Coast and Elmina in the town called Elmina. The towns are 15 km apart.

        Cape Coast is the first capital of Britain's Gold Coast colony and the modern capital of Ghana's Central Region. Probably founded in the early 15th century, its English name is most likely a derivation of Cabo Corso - Short Cape - the name given to it by Portuguese sea captains in 1471.  Cape Coast was originally founded as a market town and a fishing village.

        The village changed hands several times in the 17th century. Abandoned by the Portuguese it was occupied by the Swedes in 1652, six years later by the Danes, who signed a treaty with the paramount chief, allowing them to build a larger fort nearby at Amanful. The new fort fell briefly to the Dutch before being taken over by the British following the Anglo-Dutch War of 1664-1665. Cape coast would continue to grow into the largest and most important trading port along the coast. The paramount chief of Efutu moved his capital from the island village of Efutu to what is now Victoria Park.

        The following pictures show the area by the sea. Fishing boats and colorful nets and an industrious people still doing somethings as they have been done for centuries. The fishing boats are out in the early morning and again after dark lining up along the coast with a solitary light illuminating until morning.

P.S.

Not To Be Left Out

        While we are still in the head and feet mode here are a few random samples of other things that have passed in front of the camera.

Hats from home.

Togo Military

Braids

      Feet

Not exactly the right size but they'll do.

No opportunity missed to dress up. Love the contrast between the two.

   

These leggings are a lot cooler. Just paint them on.

Heads and Feet

Tip to Toe

        One of my favorite things about the people of Ghana is their head wraps and their shoes. The shoes are usually some form of a flip flop that they call slippers. They can be the very simplest rubber style, maybe even worn with socks by women or men. They maybe leather, usually hand made by local shoemakers, beaded or plain. and of course they are also what seem to be millions of imitation leather, aka plastic ones from China. Despite the rough terrain that everyone must walk in you will see many women in high heels both in Ghana fabric prints and Western styles.

        For me there is such beauty in how the women wrap their heads in scarves either contrasting or in fabrics that match their outfits. I have seen them, without a mirror, just twist and twirl and a thing of beauty is born. 

        Below are some examples:

     
               For the very height of fashion they are called Duku Crowns. These are pictures of Printex Fabrics Spring 2016 ad campaign that we see on bill boards. The models are gorgeous but appear to be having trouble holding their heads up. Ha! Ha! I am pretty sure that I would and they are just not that attractive on us obrunis.

Islam in the North of Ghana

Larabanga Mosque

        

        The Mosque at Larabanga is perhaps the oldest building in Ghana but nobody agrees on how old it is, or even who built it. Locals use the year 1421 and accredit the construction to the Islamic trader who was called Ayuba. In Accra at the National Museum the Larabanga display credits Imam Bramah with building the mosque over the period of 1643-1675. 

         Larabanga is the most holy of the mud and thatch mosques in Ghana. Over the centuries it has served as a surrogate Mecca for Ghanaian Muslims but it is difficult to verify. It is very old and very interesting and we happened to be there on a day when there was a sacrifice taking place. We were not really welcomed it appeared but that is the beauty of not understanding the language.

This tree is reported to have been there since the mosque was built.

The village around the mosque.

This woman is the oldest in the village. I have never seen another person with snow white hair.

Inside a home.

Storage jars and cooking stove.

Birthing bowl.

Hard to see.

Trying to get a better view.

Best show in town. Where are your little ones?

Carrying off ones portion.

The prized hooves.