26-November-2014 An African Thanksgiving

An African Thanksgiving...

A Thanksgiving  in Africa will be unlike any other and we are so excited to experience it.  We realize we will never pass this way again and so we don't want to miss this!   

It will be different and we are just fine with that. 

Without all of the usual festivities  and busyness of food and family we will be able to ponder on what we are really grateful for and what the Lord has done for us. 

We do miss all of you. We do miss America, land that we love.  And  we know that this time away from those things has given us the opportunity to deepen our gratefulness and appreciation and love for them.

But everyday here in Africa we have so many experiences that make our hearts swell with gratitude.

We are grateful for...

beautiful children that allow us to hug them when we are missing ours. 

 the humble hearts and willingness of those we are attempting to teach.

 sweet Sister Missionaries in our backyard that are teaching us about local traditions, like pounding fufu, and whose angelic singing carries through our kitchen window bringing us such joy.

 the many colors and varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables.

 Great  missionaries who humbly take correction and still smile at us. 

all of the startling  things  we see each day that  create in us a sense of wonder and awe, 

not unlike a child seeing Christmas for the first time!

 Africa and all its beauty that  causes us to pause and reminds us of 

where we are and what we are about.

 

 simple, sporadic electricity and 

 cool filtered water to quench our thirst, 

 and air conditioning,

our bragging wall and the  memories of family it stirs within us.

We certainly hope you all have a Great Thanksgiving!

16-November-2014 "Fall is a great time of the year"

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving... I love the fall with the change in weather and trees. There is none of that here. The days here all feel the same. It goes up to about 85+ during the day and drops clear down to 79 or so at night. The sun comes up at around 6:am and goes out of sight at around 6:pm year around. Also we have noticed that the water in the toilet bowl circles in both directions (not at once). We have spotted a few things that have reminded us of home. You'll have to check out the pictures. We have had two more Elders with malaria, an almost appendix, possibly a bad gallbladder cooking as we speak, and a few normal allergies and colds. We have put on a few miles visiting the sick and afflicted and Sue has been hopping with the charting. We are also in charge of apartment inspections, and that's a real treat. For the most part, the missionaries do quite well with their cleaning and care of things. Once and a while we run into a mess, but they are few and far between. Sister Barney always bakes something for a reward if there is improvement.

 This is "Faustia" the vegetable and fruit lady that we frequently buy from.

She is all so friendly, and loves to tease.

 I took this for Joe, The first we have seen in 7 months. 

Were not sure what they are for, because nobody can give directions

well enough to get them where they would be of use.

 We and the other couples are trying out an Italian place called L'italy.

The food was OK... a little pricey, but the ice cream is really yummy.

 These are local "Apples" as we are told. They are really sweet, slimmy, and have big black seeds.

All in all they are not too bad once you get by the slimy feeling.

 Our new pantry that we bought on the street for about $60 American.

We kept all of our extras on a shelf and that didn't work so well., 

 Not quite a years supply.

 Some tidy elders enjoying cinnamon rolls because they

keep a clean and tidy apartment.

 This is Elder and Sister Preator from Cody WY.

They are the office couple.

 Check this out... there is even a choice... decorated large, or a plain small.

They are the only two we have seen.

 Chinese Date Honey... I'm not sure if you give it to your sweetheart

before the movies, or if the bees only like dates.

 More honey that is a lot lighter than we usually find here in West Africa.

These were found at an oriental store here in Kumasi.

 I think this is a leg from some sort of bird. Can you imagine eating chicken leg from a bag that has traveled on a slow boat and then sat on a shelf in a hot store forever?

 Speaking of birds, we spotted these on the way to Mampong

this morning. Every little sound and they went off in  a gobble.

If they only knew that Turkey day is only 2 weeks away!

 Hay "Pretty Lady"

 Fall is always for farmers, here is the local MF dealership.

 A few posts ago I showed a picture of some nice ladies that

were peddling pots on the side of the road. Today we noticed that they were all smashed.

Not sure what happened, a car, a truck, taxi, or unsatisfied customer but what a mess.

Last but not least, here is a picture for the Hornes in Nampa

26-Oct-2014 We earned our money today!!

It's Sunday afternoon and we have a pretty sick Elder on our couch. A screaming case of Malaria.
When they do the Blood Smear for the test, they give you the results with a + behind it.
Malaria is a tiny parasite that invades the red blood cells and causes them to burst. A one plus (+) means 25% of the blood cells have been damaged/destroyed, a (++) means 50% and so forth. This Elder had (+++) and is he ever feeling punk. We have brought him to our apartment to keep a close eye on him. We just got back from the University Hospital for more testing. Scanned the results to the Area Medical Adviser in Accra. Now we are really pushing fluids.

While traveling about the countryside the past few days, we were able to stop at a few fabric stores.
No...not "JoAnns" or "The Cotton Barn" or "Wal-Mart" ....just fabric stores.
These are the places where it is all taken care of while you wait, or, place your order and come back in a day or two. Customer service is "King".

Sister Barney negotiates with the owner/manager while I 

check out the factory floor where the work is done.

Check out the fabrics on the wall.

One of the seamstress working at her machine while her assistant

in the basket is doing the pressing.

 They take raw material and stamp it with designs dipped in hot wax,

then they dip the cloth in the dye of the day, boil out the wax that keeps

the dye from absorbing, and you have a finished product.  "Batik"

Boilers/dyers

 The wax is in the bowl on the ground.

 Another pic of the seamstresses.

 Now we move on the a "Tie & Dye" factory

 Isle no. 4

 Dying location

 Isle two

 Dying pots again...notice the colors

 Not sure who works here, or who is curious.

Sister Barney feels like the "Pied Piper".

The young man in the blue shirt is packing our selections.

 Here is how you blow the whistle for service.

 Folded material being dipped for coloring

 This young girl had a pot of dried corn.

It was full of corn and some sort of crawley things.

The kids said they were "Animals".

 Finally a sales clerk

 A few negotiations and special orders.

 Small bundles out of the pot with dye on one side.

Now they are going to change color for the next dipping

 That was hard work. Everyone needs a break in the shade

 This pic is just for the kids.

Every once and a while we spot a pet that is in control.

This monkey is at the entrance to a Chinese Restaurant that we tried out.

 He is tethered to the bottom of a tree that he sleeps in at night

We passed crowd after crowd jamed into small cafes.

Turns out that they are watching a "Football Game" (Soccer)

Every now and then we would hear a mighty cheer rise from the crowds.

I think Ghana finally won a game.