Agona & Asamong

                                      There were Several baptisms on this day.

   The members here in Asamong and Agona love to come out and support the new members that are being baptized.  Everyone is eager to witness the baptism.   The bapismal font is next to the white brick wall in the first picture.  Its outdoors. The sister in the second picture is Charity.  She and her son Prince were baptized at end of October by Elder Onen with Elder Bonku conducting the meeting.

               See the look of anticipation on these little faces?  So cute!

      This cutie was mopping up after her big brother was baptized by the elders.
                         She must've had some practice somewhere before.  ;)

                                       Aren't these little girls precious?

This is Elder Agbeko.  He us serving in Asamong.  I love this photo of everyone crowded around him as he fills out the baptismal papers.  You can tell these people are very comfortable with him.  He's just one of our great missionaries here teaching of our Saviors atonement and love for all.

  These two little ones are twins.  They belong to Veronica who is the Mission home's cook.  She makes really great Ghanaian dishes for us.
  Have I mentioned how much I love the people of Ghana?  I love them because for the most part, they are Christlike and humble, teachable and very kind. Ghana is one of the most religious countries in the world.  Everyone worships their God regularly.  They are committed to their beliefs and practice their religion.

                             Ghana is a wonderful place to feel God's love.

Missionary life

This is a photo of the Mission home where we go to work each day.  There are many office responsibilities as the office couple. Every day is a new adventure and there's never a dull moment. Maybe as I become more adept to the work expected of me, it'll smooth out bit. One can hope anyway. Elder Halladay on the other hand has been worth his weight in gold in keeping all the computers up and running among other things. He's very good at what he does.

We have Missionaries coming and going most any day of the week. Some are there for meetings and others are arriving for the first time or leaving to go home.  

These two are companions. Aren't they lovely girls?

Can you see the light in their eyes?

These two Sisters were helping in the kitchen and the office while waiting for their flights to depart for home.  We so appreciated their help.

Elders Bishop, Lund, Robinson, Mathebe and Zulu.  This was a celebration dinner at the Nobel House restaurant for Elder Mathebe who was going home, Elder Lund who was being transferred and Elder Zulu who was just called as an AP.  They all ate until the food was gone.  Missionaries never turn down a good meal!

 

Sister Cosgrave with Sister Patrick and Sister Miselo on transfer day.

 How many men does it take to hang a heavy wood shelf?....Many hands make lighter the load.  Elder Lund got tired of holding his arms up so decided to hold up his end on his head.  True to Ghanaian form.  :)

                         The Mission Home parking area on travel days.

This is Elder and Sister Barney who left us last month to return home from their mission after serving as the Nurse and housing coordinator.  Elder Udoh and Elder Botha trained us in our office duties.  

Now that all the guests are gone, we can kick back and lick the beaters!  Wish you were here Elder Mathebe!

Unusual sights along the way

Ever seen anyone change a billboard sign like this?  Amazing.

Do it yourself exercise weights. Talk about creativity!

 We thought this was a bit unusual, turns out 'zoomlion' is the local trash pick up for smaller items.
Looks like it never made it to the dump location. The bicycle part is rusted so you know it's been there a while......

The writings on the wall......These people work hard.

She's carrying her umbrella and items for her fruit stand on her head after a long days work.

Cattle drive down the middle of the road. Good thing they weren't spooked by the passing cars.

This one is my favorite!

Rural sights

Every Sunday we drive an hour to our meetings. There's always lots to see along the way. One thing I love here is the colorful buildings and homes. Lots of the house colors are very vibrant and happy. They have character!  Clothes hanging I the lines, or bushes, or even layed out in the dirt to dry depending on what their resources are. There are always people sitting out front visiting, working or cooking and children playing. It's really a fun drive. Many are dressed in their native dress to go to their church meetings. We see lots of Muslims in their traditional clothing on their way to worship on Sunday's. Sister Cosgrave told me that fabric and clothing are important here.  It's a sign of prosperity. One of the greatest gifts you could give the king or chief is a bolt of cloth. Here are a few pictures of homes I see along the way that I think are picturesque. 

We see lots of people along the roadside as well. Thier transportation varies. 

It's never a boring ride to church for sure!  

Builders

Combo Dryer and Washing machines we put in our missionaries apartments.... humm. Maybe one shirt at a time?

They use Bamboo poles to support the structure while pouring cement for above ground levels. Note the number of poles used to support the weight.

One of several early morning markets. People come to these central locations early and buy what they will sell at various other locations throughout the day. Every street and neighborhood has multiple street vendors. Very easy to find fresh fruit and vegetables this way.

Note the bamboo poles holding up the cement on the fourth level. Pretty strong stuff.

Even the outside scaffolding is made of bamboo. Pretty impressive.

This looks like a new church. Note the poles inside on the third level. All of the cement is mixed by hand and the blocks are poured one at a time by hand, dried and then used to build with.

This land Rover looks out of place but you see many fairly nice vehicles here. Most are rebuilt titles though but they can and will fix anything. I have seen some of the coolest old Mercedes dump trucks easily from the forties, still running.

Industrious people!

The Apostles Revelation Society School. Ghanain's are very religious and strong believers, mostly christian and very friendly and approachable.

This section of the highway has tons of tires for sale. Nothing goes to waste here. A nearly worn out tire, if it holds air, still has value and will be used until it blows out. 

Lots of furniture manufacturing by families as a business. Look closely on the left side of the picture and you can see the frames being made prior to adding foam. They have LOTS of foam. must be several large manufactures of it here. It is everywhere as furniture and mattresses etc. You can see a chunk of it laying on the ground in the middle of the picture. Ghanians are extremely hard working and waste nothing, and full of two handed waves and smiles all the time.

Making Charcoal and then selling it is a huge business here. Further away from town people will gather sticks and branches from trees, build a pile 5-6 feet tall,  cover it with dirt and light it in the center before closing in the pile with dirt. A few hours later they have charcoal that is bagged and hauled to the larger towns. Virtually all cooking and heating of food and water comes from charcoal, homemade! I will try and get some pictures of the trucks that haul it. Amazing how much a truck can be overloaded!

The Church has helped many people start their own businesses, one of which is raising chickens for sale. Such a small investment with some training really helps lift a family to better life.

Saturday's outing with the Barneys

Saturday was our last hurrah with the Barneys before they left to go back to the US. They have been our guides since we arrived.  We've grown to love them and will really miss their companionship. 

Today's adventure took us to a roadside stand where they make wooden treasures as well as pottery. We purchased mahogany rolling pins here.  They are heavy!!!

Right down the road from there we noticed a family making foo foo for dinner. They were kind enough to let us get close and watch the process. Foo foo is a favorite among the Ghanains. It's made by crushing (pounding) plantain and a root vegetable together. It makes a pasty substance which they then cook and use like bread to scoop up their stews with. We've not tasted it yet but the missionaries like it. The long pole is to pound down on top of the vegetables to smash them in the bowl below. The vegetables are very hard and fiberous.  This makes a dough like mixture.  The woman sitting at the bowl at the bottom has the job of flipping an the dough before the next pound with the base of the pole. Risky job if you ask me. 

Our next stop was in Mampongten where they tyedye cloth.  After the cloth is dyed, they lay it out on the ground to dry in the sun.  This sets the colors. On the days they dye the cloth, there is fabric layed out everywhere in the village. After the fabric dries, they roll it in bundles and keep it in a small room where you can go select your purchase. 

The kids of the village are once again like all the children here, very friendly and excited to see "Obruni's".  (White people). 

Mr. Personality!

This compound is where the family lives.  As you can see, they are harvesting corn and drying it in the sun. 

After all that touring, we were hot and thirsty so we stopped at a roadside coconut vendor. He sells young coconuts that he will gladly trim the outer hard shell off with his machete so you can drink the coconut water inside.  I must say, it's much tastier coconut water than what we purchase in the stores back in the US.  All in all, it was a great day for touring!