August 2014 in Ghana

The biggest and best news in Ghana is that, so far, there are no recorded Ebola out breaks.  We continue to cross our fingers, knock on wood, but most importantly pray that it stays that way.  Recently the government  has taken greater precautions to try and keep Ebola from spreading to Ghana.  It is a good and a bad thing.  Yesterday, there were three bus loads of Latter-day Saints coming to the Temple from the neighboring country of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).  They were stopped at the border and checked for Ebola and thus did not get to Accra until 2:00 in the morning.  Despite their late night, many of them were up early this morning getting ready to spend the day in the Temple doing work for their kindred dead.  There are no shortages of stories in West Africa of amazing faith and sacrifice.

August, like much of July, has been the culmination of almost a years planning and implementing of young single adult multistake activities and young men/young women FSY's (For Strength of Youth) programs throughout the entire Africa West Area.  After this week, there will have been eleven multistake activities involving approximately 7,650 young single adults and and four FSY's involving about 2,400 young men/young women.  This year we and Elder and Sis. Petersen, the other missionary couple, have been quite heavily engaged in helping with the organization of these activities.  However, next year the Africans are expected to basically handle them on their own.  As Elder Dube told us at the beginning of our mission, "I want you to work yourself out of a job!"  Thus, our emphasis has been on training the leaders in principles on how to run the programs themselves and not doing it for them.  As we have worked with the wonderful people here, we have found them to be qualified, capable, and ready to take over.  The Area Presidency did not replace the other missionary couple when they left in July, and their hope is NOT to replace us when we leave. 


 

We spent the  first week in August with the YM/YW at a FSY conference.  The conference was held a senior high boarding school in the "mountains" about l l/2 hours north of Accra.  The weather was beautiful but the youth thought it was very, very cold and many wore jackets.




A young man attending a workshop held outside on the grass.  The book the young man is holding says, "Holy Bible".

Listening to the youth choir



Missionary activity where the youth divided into companionships and organized and taught a lesson from "Preach My Gospel".     

  

Scriptures were chosen and banners were painted depicting the theme of the scripture.  Cheers were also created to go with the theme and name of the group.

                                                          

 

 

The kitchen crew was amazing.  The head cook, Sister Gertrude Dadzie, had a staff of about 30 who worked continually preparing food for the next meal.


The kitchen staff cooked especially good food for the leaders and specifically for Elder Call and I.  When they learned we liked potatoes, they made them special for us every evening meal.  The last night they mashed them with butter.

The clean up crew was particularly efficient.

The last day, meeting together and wearing their FSY shirts.

Elder Call with some young men from the FSY conference
 

Saturday, August 16th was Africa Day.  That day all in Africa were supposed to clean up or fix up.  Each ward was to pick some service project to do.  The bishop of the ward we attended the week before,  planned to have his ward go to a special needs school called the New Horizon School.

So we all put on our  "Helping Hands" vests and went to work.  The men worked on the grounds outside while the women scrubbed and cleaned the inside of the school. 

The photo is of Sister Martins, a senior missionary from Nigeria.  Her assignment is to work in the Accra Temple five days/week.  She was sick for a few days several weeks ago and I tried to encourage her to stay "home" and rest, but she would have nothing to do with it.  She said, "I was called to work in the Temple and that is what I'm going to do."

All dressed and ready to go to work at the New Horizon School.  The senior missionary couple on the left had just been evacuated from Liberia. 

 

There is a market down town called the Makola Market.  It is a large area with hundreds of shops.  There was absolutely no kind of planning when the market began because there is no rhyme or reason to the streets.  For that cause, and also for the fact that the locals will charge abruni's (white people) double the price, one needs to go Makola Market with a Ghanaian. 

 

Bernice, is a member of the Church and also owns a local shop called "Bags by Bernice".  She often goes to Makola Market to buy fabric for her shop and she agreed to "guide" a group of us sister missionaries through the streets of the Market.   I went basically for the experience, but of course, ended up purchasing a few things.  Elder Call thinks I have tried to adopt the attitude I had when we lived in Israel, i.e. try and bless as many shop keepers as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Kirkham, Sister Cannon, Sister Wilde and Sister Call shopping at Makola Market.                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August ended with a trip to Cape Coast to do some training.  While eating at the hotel restaurant, the junior missionaries came in.  They said they were looking for a place on the beach to have their zone conference.  Since we knew they didn't have money to buy dinner at such an expensive hotel, we offered to pay for their dinner.   I also wanted to take their picture so I could send a photo to their Moms' to let them know their sons were eating well.  Also, having had missionaries myself, I know how exciting it is to get e-mails about your missionaries.  When I told them I wanted to e-mail their Moms, they asked if I would send them and e-mail also; which I did. 

 

 

 

 

I received an e-mail back from Elder Moleme from South Africa.  I wanted to end the blog with the message he wrote to us.

 

"Elder and Sister Call, I am nearing my end and am still active in my Lord's harvest...He's coming soon and I am well aware that 'the laborer is worthy of his hire'...allow me to share a few thoughts on the matter:

And after this manner do I bear record: The eye has never seen nor has the ear heard...I have seen miracles.  I have been a witness to this marvelous work and a wonder.  No tongue can speak, neither can the heart of any man conceive...I have seen the hearts of  people change, I have felt the power of the Priesthood of our God...I have beheld God moving in His majesty.

Mission is an unspeakable joy...I know that my Redeemer lives, I KNOW! God is good...always."
Yours,

Elder Moleme



July in Ghana

I better get July's blog written before another month flies by and I have two months to report.

First, I need to report that so far there have been no Ebola cases reported in Ghana.  The two countries hardest hit by Ebola are the two poorest, Sierra Leone and Liberia.   We had a training planned for Sierra Leone, but it has since been canceled.  All missionaries, including the Mission President, have been evacuated from those two countries.  Many have been reassigned to Ghana, so it is a blessing for us.  Nigeria has just reported it's first cases of Ebola, but so far travel to Nigeria has not been affected.  The church is watching and monitoring the situation carefully.  Please continue to keep us and all of West Africa in your prayers.

July is a month of celebrations in America with Independence Day and Pioneer Day.  We didn't exactly celebrate those two holidays, but July did start with a holiday.  On July 1, a few missionaries decided to go to Aburi Gardens to do some souvenir shopping.  We stopped by a local restaurant for lunch.  It's always great to be with the missionaries.

From left to right:
Elder and Sister Wilde - Area Presidency Executive Secretary
Elder and Sister Pack - Self Reliance Missionaries
Elder and Sister Watson - Family History Missionaries
President and Sister Robinson - President of the Ghana MTC

America's Independence Day is obviously not celebrated in Ghana, however, I decided to remind our Ghanaian friends that we as Americans were celebrating a special day.  So, I made a "traditional" American dessert (Rice Krispie treats) printed off a few flags (thanks to Google) and Elder Call and I took them around to the employees at the office.  One of the employees started to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" when we handed him his treat; we of course joined in.  When we got to the part that says, "Oh say, does that star spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free...and the home of the brave?" I got all choked up and couldn't continue very well and then Elder Call got choked up...to say the least we ended the song somewhat weak in volume but big with emotion. 

July had us going for another training in Nigeria.  Nigeria is just east of Ghana and the two countries look a lot alike.  Nigeria, however, is quite a bit larger than Ghana and oil was discovered sooner, so there are some who are very rich in Nigeria.  Unfortunately, the wealth is held by a few and the money hasn't trickled down to the general population.

This is a picture from our hotel window.  We are not allowed to walk around in Nigeria for security reasons.  The church is pretty careful to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel and to and from church buildings. 

A young women's class in Nigeria.  When I took their picture I asked them to do the "African pose".  When I go to take a picture of a girl in West Africa, they almost always put their hand on their hip.  So I have named it the "African pose". 









One of the sweetest things that happened on our trip to Nigeria in July was meeting this woman on the plane.

Her name is Ifeoma, which means "something beautiful".  I think she was properly named.  I sat next to her as we traveled from the Abuja airport to the Owerri Airport, both in Nigeria.  We began a conversation and as usual, it turns pretty quickly to religion since I wear this wonderful  black name tag with the church's name on it.  I asked her about her church and she asked about our church.  There were a lot of questions about her church that she didn't know the answers to and I think it intrigued her that I knew the answers about our church.  She seemed to get more interested as we talked.  Then she asked if we paid tithes in our church and I told her we did for it is mentioned in the Bible. I had explained our church was the same church Christ organized when He lived on the earth. Then she asked if we gave "first fruits".  I had to have her explain what she meant.  Apparently in her church, besides paying tithing, they require the whole month's income in January as a "first fruits" offering.  I told her not only did we not have a "first fruits" offering but we didn't have a paid ministry either. 

To make a long story short, by the end of the plane ride, she was writing all the contact information she could think of so the missionaries could come and teach her.  In the process of our conversation, I had also learned that 6 years before, her 3 year old daughter had passed away and then 3 weeks later her husband passed away.  When I told her she could be with her daughter and husband again because families were forever, she got this amazed look on her face and said, "How can that be?"  I told her about temples and how families can be sealed together for eternity.  To make an even longer story short, we gave her name and contact information to the Mission President and the last information we heard was that the missionaries were teaching her and she was planning on attending church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the "good news" and it is such a pleasure to share that good news with others. 

The biggest event for us in July was the multistake activity for young single adults that was held in the city of Kumasi, Ghana.  Kumasi is about a 4-5 hour drive north of Accra.  We had trained the stake leaders and YSA responsible for the event and have been working with them for many months.  We wanted to give them direction, but we wanted them to plan the event and carry it out themselves.  We were happy with the outcome.  The young single adults worked with their priesthood leaders and the whole event went well with about 450 young single adults in attendance.  the only "hitch" was that the food was a little late a couple of times, other than that it was a near flawless event.  Elder Call and I were so pleased!  I hope you enjoy some pictures we took.

A Group Leader registering the YSA and passing out name tags.        

                                                          A group of young men getting settled in their dorm rooms

                                   Having discussion groups for morning Devotional

Relay games.  They had to first, fill a bottle with water using their hands, next thread a needle and last, walk down the length of the room and back again holding a small ball on a spoon.  Though only one young woman was chosen to "represent" her team; she ended up being the over all winner because she not only could fill the bottle more effectively with her hands, but could thread a needle much quicker than any of the young men.

A class on how to use the church's Perpetual Education Fund.  He wrote the following on a white board, "opportunitiesarenowhere".  He told the youth that they could read it in two ways, but if they would use the resources the church has provided that it could be read, "opportunities are now here", not "opportunities are no where".

By-the-way, Elder Call and I taught a class on "The Ordinances and Covenants of Marriage".  We had a great time doing it and it was well received by the young single adults.  In fact, we had a couple get engaged at the multistake activity as a result of our class.

The final picture was taken at the stadium on the last day.  If you look toward the bottom left hand corner, you shouldn't have any trouble finding Elder Call and I.  When I am with these good people, I feel I am no different than they.  But then when a picture is taken, I realize we are sooooo white.  In fact, they call us "abruni's" meaning "the white ones". 

As you can tell, we are still feeling  privileged to be among these wonderful people.  In fact, we passed our "hump date" and we feel amazed we have now been in Ghana one year.  I know the second half will go faster than the first and I think I am coming to understand why Ammon and his brethren went on a 14 year mission!!  If it weren't for family in the States, another 13 years wouldn't seem too long. 

June 2014

Another exciting month in Ghana!! It began with the birth of our first Ghanaian grandchild, Darilyn Call Kitson-Mills, born to Larry and Doris Kitson-Mills.  We were worried Darilyn

 was going to be born breach, but after some fasting and prayers, she turned and was born normally.  It is quite a serious problem to have a breach baby here in Ghana.  The baby must be taken caesarean and the chances of having more children are greatly reduced.

 One of the most exciting things for us to do in Ghana is to witness Temple ordinances.  In June we witnessed the sealing of Charles Mensah and his beautiful wife, Eva.  Charles works in the IT Department here in the Area Office.  We got to know him well because of all the computer and phone problems we had when we first arrived.  When I would get a "little upset" at my computer he would tell me not to despair.  He would say, "Computers are NOT like humans, we must take away their agency".  Then he would proceed to fix the problem.  As a small token of our appreciation, Charles has received many a treat from the Call kitchen. 

Another friend we have met in the Area Office is named Stephen Ghartey who works in the Finance Department.  After noticing Elder Call's cheery disposition, one day he said, "Elder Call, why are you always so happy?"  Elder Call's reply was, "Because I am happily married."  The answer was most intriguing to Stephen since he was a young single adult and thus not married.  It led to some "counseling sessions" and one day he told us he had someone for us to meet.  He brought a beautiful young lady, Bridgette, to our apartment for dinner.  They were married also in June.

 The sport of choice in Ghana is clearly soccer, or what they call "football".  For those who may not be aware, the World Cup was held this year in Brazil which are the soccer play-offs for teams around the world.  Ghana qualified to be in the World Cup again this year and you can only imagine the excitement over here, particularly when Ghana was playing that day.  Things got really interesting when Ghana played the USA. (By-the-way, the States beat Ghana 2-1.)   Elder Call and I are not real soccer fans, and since we are currently living in Ghana, our allegiance definitely leaned toward the "Black Stars".  One night, to get into the spirit of the games, we made pop corn and Ghanaian flags with the words, "Go Ghana" on them.  We took them around to the Ghanaians here watching the game.  Apparently it did not work well because Ghana lost that game and the popcorn was blamed as the jinx for the loss.

The highlight of June was a visit from two of our children.  Before we received our mission call, several of our children mentioned how they would like to come and  visit us.  When the call came to serve in West Africa, the desire to visit seemed to dwindle.  However, Todd and Cassie braved the required shots, the malaria pills, and left their 4 children with Anson and Shauna to come to Ghana for a week visit in June.  Since our schedule is rather flexible, we took the week off and did a whirl-wind tour.  The weather cooperated beautifully and we had a marvelous time.   

 

We visited one place that Elder Call and I had not previously been to.  It is a small African village on the edge of the Volta River and is reached by boat.  The people in the villages along the river live in mud huts the same way they have lived for centuries.  Several years ago some BYU student/professors devised a method to provide battery-powered electricity to many of the villages by using playground equipment.  As the children turn and play on the equipment, the large red batteries in the middle of the twirly-whirl are charged.  It is fascinating and ingenious!

They also have a clinic there with a nurse that provides some medications.  It is pretty basic but at least it is something.  I asked the nurse how common HIV was and she said it was very common.

Cassie in front of the clinic   

                                                                                       
 The resident nurse and maternity ward









As we approached the school, the younger school children were outside playing and rushed up to us as we approached.  They taught us a fun new African game.  We did not understand what they were chanting, but got on pretty fast to what we were supposed to do.

The children were particularly fascinated with Cassie and her blonde hair.

After touring the village and meeting the chief, we headed down the Volta River on a motorized flatboat to the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean.  On the way, we passed many small villages and waved our greeting to many fishermen. 

A particularly large and colorful fishing boat

 

  The next day we headed to Cape   

   Coast to visit Kakum National

   Park and go on the canopy walk. 

  
      



                                                    
Later that day we were given a tour of  the 2nd Hill Cumorah and other Church History sites in Ghana by James Ewudzie, the fourth person to be officially baptized in Ghana.

Elder Call and James Ewudzie at "Baptism Beach" where Bro. Ewudzie was baptized December 8, 1978.  He was 27 years old at the time of his baptism. 

The following day we were able to visit Elmina Castle built by the Dutch to trade goods from Africa and then converted into dungeons for slaves; and Cape Coast Castle built by the British for the trading of slaves. 

 The court yard in Cape Coast Castle.                                                       

 

 The days went on with more and exciting adventures. However, one of my favorite highlights was our visit to the Temple.  I had researched some names for temple ordinances before I left for our mission.  I gave them to David and Mindy to have our oldest grandchildren do the baptisms and confirmations.  Mindy then distributed them among the other children for the other ordinances.  Cassie brought her names to Ghana.  Since Elder Call and I are temple ordinance workers, we were able to officiate in the initiatories and were also the officiators during the endowment session while Cassie and Todd were the witness couple.  It was a very choice and sacred experience and I am so grateful to Cassie for bringing the names to have their ordinance work done in Ghana. 

 In front of the Temple with  Cassie and Todd and Sarah Gyampoh our "adopted" Ghanaian daughter.

 

So another marvelous month has flown by.  Each month I marvel at the experiences we are able to have.  I feel so grateful and privileged to have been able to have two of our children share, in a small way, the joy we feel to be in Ghana.  The Ghanaian people are such a kind and good people and Cassie and Todd where able to witness that for themselves.  I feel Todd expressed it well when he said, "There is not a nicer group of people in the world than Ghana.  They are very very poor in temporal things, but very rich in spirit and love."

 

 

                        

May 2014

We started off the month of May with a holiday, so a couple of the senior missionaries decided to go on a little excursion to see a couple of waterfalls here in Ghana.  Before reaching the waterfalls we passed through a local village.  It was market day.  It was such a typical scene of so many other market days in West Africa, I decided to include a picture.

 

We visited two waterfalls.  The first was Boti Falls and was quite crowded with many visitors. The President of Ghana used to have a home by Boti Falls.  The home is still there, but it is no longer a residence of the president but is used as a guest house.  There is also a 1 l/2 hour optional hike, which option we chose not to take. By-the way, note in the picture the large mango in Elder Call's hand.  He bought it as we hiked back from the falls from the young boy in the picture.  We've seen some pretty big mangoes, but this was one of the biggest.  The fact that a persuasive young boy asked if he would buy one, may also have had something to do with his purchase.  For your information, he did not buy any apples from the other young boy, but he did give extra money to the mango seller to share with his friend. 



 

The trail down to the falls had the typical lush vegetation of an African jungle.  It looks beautiful...  however the humidity and heat makes it feel not as beautiful as it looks, i.e. it's hot  and muggy.

   

 

 There were two falls, and if you look closely, you can see both of them in this picture.  Also notice the brown water.  It makes it rather unappealing for swimming.  The soil here in West Africa is very rich and has a dark reddish color making the streams and river a brown color.  However, the red color of the rivers and streams comes from two sources, the color of the soil and the removal of the vegetation, thus soil erosion. 












The second falls were called the Akaa Waterfalls.  These were not as spectacular as Boti Falls, but we also had the falls to ourselves, which was nice.






May also included three trips for training.  May began in Nigeria and ended in Nigeria with a trip to Cape Coast in between.  The first trip to Nigeria was to the city of Enugu.  This was our first visit to the city of Enugu and we found the people there as wonderful as ever.  One of the training we do is to help each coordinating council organize multistake activities for their young single adults.  While in Enugu, we had a chance to visit the facility/university the stake was considering to hold their multistake conference.  During our visit we met some students attending the university.  We asked questions about them, and then, of course, told them why we were there and if they had ever heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They responded that they had, and one young man had been particularly impressed with the church and wanted to know more.  We got his information and made yet another missionary contact.  He is the one with "the shades".

From left to right:  two students, a member of the church showing us around campus, the counselor in the district presidency, the young man interested in the church, AND the most handsome senior missionary ever...Elder Call. 

We stayed over Saturday night and so were able to go to church in a small branch in Enugu District.  Though the branch is small, the church is growing very rapidly in Nigeria and the church is finding it very hard to either rent/or build enough buildings to keep up with the convert baptisms. 

The middle of May took us to Cape Coast where the Stake Presidency had asked us to come and speak at their stake conference.  Elder Call spoke at the priesthood session, on Saturday morning; we both spoke Saturday afternoon; and then both spoke again on Sunday.  I think by the end of the conference they had had enough of Elder and Sister Call. :)  The fun part of speaking there was that, except for the priesthood session, Elder Call and I stood at the pulpit together to speak.  They had not given us a subject but asked us to choose our own.  So, Saturday we spoke on "The Joy of Marriage"  and Sunday we spoke on "Raising Righteous Families". 

 

Cape Coast is, as its name suggests, on the coast.  The hotel we stay at is therefore also, on the coast.  However, we have yet to take our suits and take a swim in the ocean.

 

Cape Coast is also the area in which the very first baptisms of the church took place.  After stake conference on Sunday, we had a meeting to help the young single adults plan their multistake conference.  After the meeting, we asked if they could show us on our map, where the first church services took place and also where the first baptisms took place; known as Baptism Beach.  They told us they would do better than that...they would take us there. 

 

 

We all got in our car and we went to the first building where church services were held before missionaries ever came to Ghana.  It is known as "The Cocoa Shed" because it was originally built to dry cocoa beans before they are ground into chocolate.  The first Ghanaians were converted by one single Book of Mormon.  It was one of those old blue paperback books with the statue of Angle Moroni on the front.  To decorate the room, the first "members" had a statue of Angel Moroni made and it was placed at the front of the room. 

 

The building was locked, but we were able to look through a window.  If you look closely, you may see there are holes in the ceiling.  There were also holes in the ceiling when the members first met there for church.  When it rained, which it does often, members had to be careful where they sat.

 

Next we drove to Baptism Beach.  Our "guides" told us it looked somewhat different when the first baptisms where performed, but this was the exact spot.  Much of the sand has been removed from the beach exposing more rocks, thus when the first baptisms where performed, they walked down to the pool of water formed by the rocks in the ocean, on a sandy beach.  Though the area is more rocky, there is still a special feeling there. 

 

 

 

 

One of our guides, was actually baptized at Baptism Beach in 1988, ten years after the first baptisms in 1978.  They were having a water shortage in Cape Coast, so they used the ocean once more for baptisms.  It is an especially sacred place for him.

I mentioned that May began in Nigeria and ended in Nigeria.  After we returned from Cape Coast, we flew to Nigeria to do some training in the cities of Uyo and Calabar.  There was a little problem with our flight, but  with the Lord's help/hand in our lives, we eventually got where we were supposed to be. 

 

I have mentioned before that the Church takes care of its senior missionaries.  One of the nicest hotels we stay in is called "The Meridian Hotel" and it is located on the outskirts of the city of Uyo, Nigeria.  Thought I would give you a couple of pictures to get those of you who are planning on a mission, desirous to request Africa; and those Not planning to serve a mission....anxious to go. 



 

 

 I wanted to end with a picture of one of the reasons we have been called to serve a mission in Africa.  It is a picture of the young single adults in the Calabar 3rd Ward where we attended church the Sunday we were in Calabar.  The church, and thus the Lord, is very concerned with this particular age group and thus they send missionaries from the other side of the globe to train in programs to help, support, and strengthen them.  They are the future of the church, they are "the hope of Israel" in Africa.  And...of what we have seen of the young single adults here, the church in West Africa will be in great hands!