November 2014 in Ghana

Since the days in December are quickly ticking by, I thought it best to get November's blog written.

November began with a Ghanaian tradition that we had not been aware of.  They do not have missionary "farewells" per se in Ghana, but in many wards they have a "Devotional" where the departing missionaries are honored.  Talks are given and testimonies are born by members of the ward and the departing missionaries.  They occur on a Sunday afternoon and attendance mostly comes from members of the ward.  However, the missionary can invite others if he chooses. They end with some light refreshments,which I am sure is why many of the youth attend.

The picture is of two departing missionaries.  We were acquainted with Nii Martey, the young man standing next to Elder Call.

We met Nii in Kumasi, Ghana when we were helping organize the YSA mulstistake activity.  Nii was one of the young single adult leaders and also going to school in Kumasi though had his home in Accra.    His story, like many in Africa, is one of faith and perseverance.  When he told his mother he wanted to join the church she told him she would disown him and not help pay for his schooling.  He felt so strongly about the truthfulness of the church that he joined without his mother's permission.  His problem now was, how to tell his mom.  When he came home for the Christmas break, he was watching TV with his mom when the Tabernacle Choir came on.  His mom was impressed with the choir and Nii said,"That's my church choir."  His mother became very angry but Nii remained active and said, "His mind was made up and there was no turning back."  After awhile he decided to serve a mission.  His mother again became angry and felt he was throwing his life away.  However, he submitted his papers and when he showed his mother his call letter a miracle happened. Nii's mother asked him how she could help so he would be adequately prepared to serve a mission.

Nii, is now serving a mission in Nigeria.  We received an e-mail from him today informing us that his mother passed away Nov. 21, 2014.  He is sad, but still feels he made the right decision to serve a mission.

With our mission assignment we meet many young single adults from all over Ghana.  We tell them that when they get married, to invite us to their temple sealing.  One such couple e-mailed us in November to let us know of their temple sealing date.  They traveled all alone for three hours on a bus to Accra with no family support.  We were privileged to "fill-in" as family members and witness their sealing as husband and wife.  After the sealing, we took them out to lunch  and then dropped them off at the bus station where they rode another three hours home.  I'm not certain we understood what sacrifice was until we came to Africa.








 November was spent doing a few FSY training meetings in Ghana and Nigeria.

These are actually quite enjoyable meetings which are presided over by an Area Seventy.  The above is a picture of the FSY Committee in Ghana.  The committee consists of an Area Seventy who is Elder John Koranteng sitting at the end of the table, a Session Directing Couple, a couple who serve as Logistical Administrators, two Coordinators who are young single adults, and an In-Area Advisory Couple (us).

The Coordinating Council that is doing an FSY in Nigeria decided to divide into three FSY's.  Two FSY's will be held in Uyo, on one side of the Cross River, and one FSY will be held in Calabar on the other side of the river.  The distance between the two areas is not far, but there is only one very bad road that connects the two areas and when it rains the road can become impassable. 


In Calabar we trained their leaders after an Africa Area Conference which was broadcast from Salt Lake.  It was wonderful and addressed many specific problems that the people in Africa face.  The stake center was packed and overflowing with chairs and canopies set up in the parking lot.  After the meeting the stake presidency wanted our pictures. They treat us like royalty when actually we are only senior missionaries with less authority than many members. 


The next weekend that we did FSY training also happened to be Thanksgiving weekend.  Since there are not many connecting flights in Nigeria, we actually had to leave Accra to catch our plane on Thanksgiving afternoon to be at the training by Saturday.  Fortunately,we were able to eat a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at one of the Mission President's home, before we headed off to the airport.

                                        Thanksgiving Day at the Accra airport

 

While we are in Nigeria, we are required to have a driver which doesn't allow us much freedom or flexibility.  After church our driver, Pres. Woke who was a member of the stake presidency, had another meeting so Elder Call and I decided to find a room and wait.  The room we found available also happened to be being used by several children waiting for their parents.  Elder Call and I quickly reverted to past Family Home Evening  activities and began playing  Sunday pictionary and other games to entertain the children. After a while I became exhausted ( I am not as young as I used to be) and asked them to entertain ME by singing songs.  The African people love to sing and appears to begin when they are very young.  They sing out with confidence and assurance.  However, because they often do not have accompaniment, some familiar church songs take on a different "twist" in the melody. 


I would like to end my blog by including one of the songs the children sang.  The song reflects one of the messenges we have learned from these loving and forgiving African people.