1-July-2015 African Experiences

This has been a great stretch of time. We now have a new Mission President from Highlands Utah.

President and Sister Cosgrave. President and Sister Holmes have returned home to South Africa.

Some changes in our assignments as well. Over the past 10 months, we have been attending two small branches, Agona and Mampong,  about an hour and a half North East of Kumasi. President Holmes created a District there two weeks ago, and so we now turn the branch training over to the District and we, Sister Barney and I, will find another branch to assist for the remaining three months of our mission.

Can you believe it's already July........

See how time flies when you are having fun and working hard.

Here are some pics for your entertainment and enlightenment.

       

 This is a picture from Bongo, the village I talked about last time. 

 Nothing grows here. Our question..what do they eat? 

 Sista Barney teaching midwives in Bongo

 This is in front of the Regional Health Department

 A market on the side of the road near Bongo.

Notice all they have are onions and some small squash they call "garden eggs"

They are yellow and in the foreground.

Market after market has only onions.

 We made a sort of emergency stop along the roadway

for Sista Barney...Great landscaping.

 We are heading to a District meeting in Agona, we stopped to pick up the missionaries

and ended up with a packed vehicle. Can I go? Can I go?

 Sunday Best!

 Preparing the Sacrament. None of these new priesthood holders

have never seen more that two trays used at a time.

 The new Agona District Presidency.

Left to right...Clerk, 2nd Counselor, President, 1st Counselor.

I'd tell you their names, but I don't have a clue about the spelling.

 We had to rent a pavilion from the Seventh Day Adventists.

The official count was 262 attending.

 I snapped this picture of an elementary class at a private school

Notice they are mostly blurs....I never did see a teacher.

 Another class at the same school.

 We held a small Farewell open house for the President and Sister Holmes at

our apartment. This is Frances (white shirt and tie) the grounds keeper

and all around handyman at the mission home, with his wife and 3 children.

 A groupe picture of the missionaries that attended.

Three senior couples, office Elders, the Ap's and of course

the guests of honor.

 President and Sister Holmes.

See the BIG smiles.....

 Turning over the Phone and Keys and see you later....

 Change of subject. 

This is a small (12 member) branch near Sunyani that we attended last Sunday.

 The Relief Society at the Abesim Branch

(This is Sista talking) It is just the 2 of them. I taught them how to care for one another. 

I explained that one day they will be official Visiting Teachers, but for now keep it simple. 

A phone call   or  visit when they pass by at the market or hug when they see one another at church.

 These are straw baskets made in Bolgatanga.

They are amazing.

 Fans made in Bolgatanga.

FOOD SECTION

 Mangos from a street vendor. all six for 5 Ghana Cedi...or $1.25 US

 Butter chicken and rice at a local (Trusted) cafe.

 Baked a cake one day, but had to wait for the "weevil" to float to the top

before baking. They are easily removed.

 The street that we live on.

For all you googlers.

 Yes, bananas do grow "upside down"

 Gotta have TV to keep up on the Soaps.

 A sign on the side of the road to Sunyani.

At least they are trying.

When the power is off, Sista Barney runs for the battery powered fan.

We have slept many a night with it between us trying to share the breeze.

6 June 2015 And we're back!!

Good day!

It has been an exciting few weeks. But first I need to apologize for the space between posts. I honestly have been trying to get it done, but our internet connection has been extra bad the past few weeks. Even the mission home has been falling behind on official business because of it.

Sister Barney and I headed North again in anticipation of teaching in the Bongo community, but at the last minute it was canceled. We did get some things accomplished in Techiman and Tamale. I was able to have 4 new Melchizedek Priesthood brethren sustained,  and two 2nd councilors in two of the branches in Techiman. It is a marvelous thing watching the Gospel of Jesus Christ work in people's lives when they accept and live it.

We also made a quick trip to Accra with two missionaries in-tow so that one of them could receive testing for his eyes. One of our Nigerian Elders has been losing his vision and it's been a scramble to figure out what the problem is. It turned out to be some sort of trauma to the optic nerve. Only time will tell what the outcome will be.

Here are some pics:

 This is a cocoa pod cut open to reveal the beans inside.

 Our first sighting of a fuel tanker. We started noticing that most have the typical warning

stenciled on them, then we noticed they were getting creative. some would say

HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE

 And it has gone down hill from there.

 What more could you ask for to get you back on your feet

and pointed in the right direction.

 Sister Barney is into fonts, and this one is a major grate

on here nerves. "Crystal Rose" made out of rustic wood Bark? Really?

 Dried Plantain that is sold by street vendors everywhere.

It also comes in chips. Plantain looks like large bananas.

 Wow, I'm at a loss for words.

 We ordered a pizza at this outdoor shop and Sister Barney is keeping an eye on the chef.

We ended up having a great time with the entire staff, laughing and teasing.

One lady ended up on the ground she was laughing so hard.

 the pizza turned out great

 In the oven

 they build the fire on the side

 This is Comfort, our landlady, cooking in her half of our duplex. Indoor charcoal stove. That would explain the wood ashes that float in thru our ceiling when the wind blows.

 The stew she is making. It smells wonderful.

 We see this lady around the neighborhood, usually being

pushed by one of the children.

 This little girl is always at the little corner shop sweeping

and taking care of the dirty work.

 This little guy is carrying hot coals to his mothers chop bar

so she can get the food cooking. They share coals around the neighborhood.

 This is one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, and it right

here in Kumasi. It's called Adum.

 We are standing on the edge of a footbridge that spans the old railroad station

that has been taken over by the vendors.

 You can buy anything imaginable down there. 

We had to walk down for a closer look, but they don't like their 

picture taken. Too Bad.

 We are into the rainy season and things are really greening up.

The elephant grass gets to be 10 feet tall

 Who is that handsome dude??

 Lots of termite mounds around. They are as hard as cement.

Some are extremely tall.

 One time downtown, we hear sirens coming, and 5 or 6 vehicles pull up with one being a Rolls Royce. Military types push back the people and several people jump out and escort the Ashanti Chief into one of the shops.

 Techiman primary girl. She is sooo little and her mother got her to say, "Sister Barney" just as plain as can be. My heart melted. Sure miss my little ones at moments like this. SB

 And her big sister

 Making...guess what...in primary.

 This is a new member. He was baptized about a month ago.

We gave him a new member pack which has a Bible, Triple, and several 

other lesson books and pamphlets in it.

He said it is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for him.

He has been reading and asking question ever since.

 And just when you were starting to feel sorry for us over here

without any of the "Modern Conveniences"

 A little cloud burst and things can get a little wild.

 This is a school that the Humanitarian department has provided a well

and storage tanks for. It was started by a little old lady and has grown to 840 students.

They were continually running out of water from their hand dug well,

 This is the cafateria

 This is the outdoor kitchen

 There were some funds left over from the well, so they were provided with

a library. The Devers had some shelves made, purchased some books, tables, chairs,

paint and so forth. The kids were so excited.

 This is one of the class rooms.

 The Devers (tall ones) and the school staff.

The lady that started it is in the center. She is 80+