These are our apartment complex friends. L to R, Elaine Youngberg and her husband, area auditors, just came in last week from Bountiful, Utah; Brigitte from Germany (pronounced as in Sound of Music), Zoe Weston from Logan area and me.

We met for Sunday dinner and had a potato bar. Zoe's husband, Mike was on a zoom call.

A tro-tro, public transportation, just a minivan packed with 12 people and their belongings or shopping tied in the back.

These street pictures are taken from inside the car so they're not the best. The median in the road is packed with adults and kids selling, begging or playing. This young girl has a baby on her back. I hope it's a younger sibling and not her own child. One day I saw a woman laying on the sidewalk with three babies laying next to her. They were all the same age, they had to be triplets. I looked for her the next day to give something but she wasn't there.

Steve's office on the 3rd floor that looks out on the Accra Temple. The blinds don't go up so we just peek out. The AC is wonderful. We both received a new phone, a laptop and 2nd larger screen. We turn them all in when we leave.

I found a local NGO children's library where I can volunteer twice a week. These children come in on Tuesdays & Fridays from a very poor village called Jamestown. I was told that some are homeless. They were so clean and well dressed with some in old school uniforms. I took pictures from both ends of the table to get the best light but their sweet, dark faces still did not show up. They only know their village dialect, no English. The NGO has written many books showing the Ghanaian children and talking about fruits, games, etc. specific to them. I read a page of the book in English and the helper student repeated it in their language and again in English. They would repeat several times in English hoping in time they would remember and pick up the English. Pauline Kacher (area presidency counselor's wife I went with) said she read the book 'Arthur' to the children. Of course they couldn't relate to an aardvark as the main character and all the English references. This NGO is out of Canada and has established children's libraries around Africa.

The aid put on some traditional local rousing music and the kids loved dancing to it.

Sadly you can't see their cute faces with these crazy masks. All the children have buzzed hair. It must be to keep the lice away. We went around the table and I asked their names. Most were American names, Jennifer, Melissa, William, Joseph, etc. Only a few were African names, which I couldn't understand. The long table and stools were in a nice breezeway between two brightly painted shipping containers. Inside were books and wooden puzzles which they enjoyed. I bet they get none of this in their homes. They always take their shoes off to go inside the 'library'.

These children are so well behaved. Otherwise they get a pinch on the arm from their director. You don't hear a peep out of the children at Church either. I hope covid stays under control, so the library doesn't close. 

On Saturday a bunch of sr. missionaries carpooled to the Volta River 3 hours away. This river is the main river system in Ghana. It is the border between the Ivory Coast and Ghana. It flows southward into the Gulf of Guinea. It has a dam hundreds of miles north to generate hydroelectricity and is the largest man-made reservoir by area in the world. In the shade and the breeze it was quite comfy.

We stopped at a few islands of the river where locals live very humbly. This child just kept swimming in the river while her mother wove the baskets.. We were warned not to touch or wade into the water because of the Schistosomiasis parasite. It is a freshwater parasite that slips through the skin and into the bloodstream. Once inside the body it lives and breeds undetected for a decade or more feasting on nutrients in the blood and bringing on life-threatening illness in millions of people around the world. It has infected an estimated 200 million people, the majority of them in Africa. All the locals along the banks were swimming, bathing and doing laundry in the water. Do they not even know of the hazards? The mission medical advisor said there is a pill that can easily remedy the problem.

This 68 year old man was just starting the base of the basket. He makes them all day to sell in the market.

The baskets were only $4 but we didn't have a way to bring it home. 

One of the islands had a 'zoo' with alligators. These are months old

This guy was 17 years old. No petting this one!

Python skin.

Also some lovely homes along the river. There is such a huge discrepancy between the 'haves' and 'have nots'.

The stake center chapel in the Temple/Area office and MTC compound. Looks a lot like a chapel at home. A young man played the electric organ beautifully. We keep our masks on and sing anyway. No AC, just louvered windows, ceiling fans on high, and sun screens on the windows.

View from the open window at the stake center. Looking towards the Temple and area office.

Sisters in Relief Society. RS pres. in the orange head dress, gr'ma holding new baby and babies' mom in blue/white dress.

A few children at church. It's valentine day, I think they got a sucker.

A little taste of home. There's a small warehouse the sr. missionaries call 'little Costco'. They carry dry good Costco items. It's all very expensive. If you want it, just bite the bullet and buy it. French onions were $12, mini-wheats $15, parmesan cheese $15, the canned chicken was $20. It's odd how familiar food items bring a little joy to everyday life.

This little lady is around the corner selling her deep fried scones. They were so yummy. Also the local street vendor.

This is the view outside our kitchen window. The building with the circular top was never finished. The country doesn't have a construction or home mortgage program. You just build until you run out of money. Shells of homes and buildings are all over town. Everything is made out of cement or cinder block. No wood framing at all.

This is a termite hill, probably 10-12 feet tall. I caught this through the car window on the way to the Volta River. The termites are the reason wood is not used in building. There is a large important highway called the George W. Bush highway. We were on it on the way to the Volta region. I asked Brent Belnap how it got the name. The U.S. (under Pres. Bush) gave Ghana money to build the highway with no strings attached so they named it after him. China owns much of Ghana but when they build something they charge a high interest rate which must be paid back, bring in their own workers and all their own building supplies and equipment. They use nothing from Ghana therefore don't benefit the country's economy.

Our swimming pool and 3rd floor apartment. This complex has about 24 units. The church has leased 5 of them for sr. missionaries which makes it great to have friendships.

We went to Church here this morning, only the ground floor of the green building. They had no pianist so I got to play the electric piano, it was nice to be able to help. It got warm with only fans and open louver windows. This location was much more humble than last week's chapel.

We've decided to go out to eat once a week with neighboring senior couples. This is the first time we have dined in. I feel kind of guilty enjoying something so nice when others are barely getting by.

Tidbits:

1. Many of the African woman wear wigs. They are long and smooth, western looking. I imagine they are tired of dealing with their hair.

2. We brought our Alexa with us and we love it. We couldn't ever get it to change to our new location but we still enjoy Gilbert news, and all our previous music.  We especially like tuning into 'enable Gospel voice' which brings us Tab Choir music, conference talks, scriptures, etc.

3. I have to make a correction on the price of gas. It is $1/liter, so $4/gallon.

4. I'd give anything for my Costco saran wrap. We have some here but there is no serrated edge. I'd love to have my own knives, scissors and egg slicer. These are small things for sure but they make cooking much easier.

5. There are many sr. missionaries here working with the Young Single Adult program. Not in the sense of partying and socializing. They are setting up a program called 'the gathering'. It is a location in every stake center mimicking a sort of institute program with high speed internet, English classes, computers to use for family history and the Pathway education program, and a place to mingle with other young singles, returned missionaries, and non-members. Most African returned missionaries don't have a lot of hope for their future. Opportunities for education and good jobs are limited. Resources at the gathering location will help them with education, jobs, friendships, and will help them raise their standard of living and give them hope.

6. Young missionaries have to earn their own money to pay for their passport. The Church will give them "subsistence" to support them on their missions. For many it's the first time they've had 3 meals a day, a decent apartment to live in and medical care. Sadly many African missionaries have many health problems. One faithful young man was treated for colon cancer while on his mission, but passed away shortly after being released and returning home. Several have had their appendix taken out, many are diabetic, many have asthma (I'm not surprised with the air quality), one had cataracts in both eyes. Our fast offerings take care of missionary health care.

7. One of the best things about going on a senior mission is making so many new and wonderful friends also serving. Mike and Zoe Weston are from the Logan area and he farms 8800 acres of wheat and owns hotels and rental homes. They were mission presidents in 2012 in Nebraska and have 10 children. Everyone has an interesting story.

8. There are several church employees here from SLC who work in the area offices. Brent Belnap is the Africa West Area legal counsel.  He worked on Wall Street and they raised their 6 children in Manhattan for 26 years in a 3 bedroom apartment and never owned a car while living there. He was the stake president when 9/11 hit. He was also legal counsel in Russia for 3 years. They have 2 children still with them. All the ex-pat children attend the nearby international school. Another interesting story.

9. We haven't seen the moon or stars since coming here. Too much dust and haze in the sky.

10. Senior missionaries should never be leery of serving a mission in Africa. The high standard of apartments provided is wonderful. The driving is a little crazy. After all the driving stories we heard I chose not to get the needed international drivers license. Now I think I'll go ahead and get it. Several of the senior women drive and it gives a bit of independence.

11. The average age in Africa is 19.7, and life expectancy is 57. Sadly many of the African missionaries have lost one parent and several have lost both parents.

12. We have a monthly meeting with our area president, Elder Hugo Martinez. He and his wife are soooo nice. They are from Puerto Rico. They both received their MD degrees in Missouri where they joined the Church. They have 5 children and she went on to get her Law degree. She's only about 4ft 8in. I'm taller than someone!

13. Most of the African men are so slender and short statured. I wonder if this is normal or due to lack of nourishment.

14. We heard that many from Liberia only eat one meal a day. We also heard they don't believe Covid is real because they can't see the results. They lived through Ebola and saw people dying on the streets but Covid doesn't show much evidence.

15. On the street corners there are many children and adults who are crippled and begging. I wonder if it's from selling in the streets and getting hit by cars; or can't afford school or have no way to make a living.

16. Steve is here to help missionaries who are feeling anxiety, depression, etc. So he can't share any details of his assignment. He counsels with missionaries from 8-10am before they go out of their apartments and again in the evenings when they come back, from 6-10pm. The mission presidents are in touch with him and ask to to call different missionaries who are struggling. Lots of clinical notes, emails to missionaries and to mission presidents. We have monthly mission health councils by zoom with each mission president and wife, mission nurse sometimes and the area medical and mental health advisors. 

17. When the Mission Training Center and Temple open up that will give many of us more opportunities to serve by teaching English or helping missionaries with their reading. Some missionaries come to French speaking missions here and it would be great for them to learn English also.