This little guy (Helaman) wanted to get into our truck so badly he was climbing all over it. One of the Elders had to hold him while we drove away. Just today I waved at a baby on the back of her mommy and she started crying, it is like looking at a ghost and if they have not seen white people before they are scared. Now once they get to know you and are not scared they like us. The kids like the missionaries a lot! Mostly because they give them lots of attention. I have no doubt that the parents love their children here, but maybe because they tie them on their back, out of sight out of mind. Parents here don't give their children a lot of attention, I have a hard time placing some little ones with their parents (unless of course they are on their back). Kids are just running everywhere in church and not many people give them a bit of notice. When their behavior gets too bad WHACK,but it could be coming from their parents or some other adult nearby.
Last week we had to drive up toward Asamankese - and meet the Neilsons halfway. One of our missionary apartments was not getting any water from the city water, so we had to fill the Poly tank with water all the time, come to find out, unbeknownst to us the Land Lady had hired a plumber and tapped herself and all the other renters in the compound into our Poly tank (they all have poly tanks too, but free is better) so we were having to fill it up all the time and it cost us so much. If this sounds familiar it is because this has happened a few times to our missionaries. We are now digging a well on this property , but we are going to close it and put a cement lid on it and a pump that will only go into the missionaries house. ( we will see if that works)
So we were meeting the Neilsons to give them the money for the well. We met in this little village, Terry and Elder Neilson were talking and SisterNeilson and I were talking, pretty soon we had some of the children waving and talking to us, not that we could understand and talk to them. they were kind of showing off for us. They were cutting the top of their sugar cane with this big knife, when they gave it to the 2 year old to play with, we thought we had better leave, before she hurt herself showing off. They did want us to take a picture of them. All the kids wear uniforms to school, and they usually look pretty nice, you can see the blue and white dresses these girls wear to school.
We have had a busy couple of weeks in the mission on Oct. 1, three of our missionaries left to go home and the next day we had our transfer day with 18 new missionaries and a lot of our other missionaries just getting moved around. These are 6 of our Great Missionaries with Sister Hill, they seem happy in their new apartment ( the name of the area is Pig Farm, named after what used to be raised in the area, interesting because a lot of Muslims live in the area.. We have a lot of North American Missionaries. When our mission opened in July we were about 25-30% North American, now we are at least 50% because all our new ones are from North America.
This is a picture of my Relief Society Sisters. we were having a Stake women's meeting, everyone brought some things that they learned to make for weekday Relief Society Meeting. I tasted some foo foo in ground nut soup real Ghanaian foods. I am so glad that I am getting to know these women better, even though we have a little language barrier, many of them only know some English and they speak a lot of Twi in church.Women in Ghana work very hard, many of them support their families with selling of food etc.
While Heidi was at the Tesano Stake Relief Society meeting I went out with missionaries Elder Saleh and Elder Paletaoga and taught four discussions in four hours, one at a barber shop to Eric the barber, one to a lady named Grace in her food store, a metal building on a dirt road, one at a Bullfloat stand (a round doughnut fried in Palm oil, not bad tasting) to a couple we met there when going to talk to the owner. And finally to Dixon, with Grace and Comfort in attendance. Grace and Comfort are members that stay in the same hostile and introduced Dixon to the missionaries and gospel. All three are studying at the Ghana Computer Unitversity. We taught Dixon in Grace and Comforts bedroom, the only place we could meet. It was an awesome day except for the fourth runny tummy had for a few hours in the morning. I was so ill again I wasn't sure I would be able to drive Heidi to the meetings but we knelt in pray and ask for a blessing so I could work with the elders and take Heidi. I did not want her driving herself as it is about 10 Kilometers and the police are on the lookout for white faces that will give them a dash (under the table money). We know what profiling is.
I have just returned from looking at a new apartment, with a agent and our facilities manager, for missionaries in McCarthy Hills. It is new 2 bedroom, bath, hall way and kitchen. We have to go on Sundays to see one if it is available, because if one is available and we do not act quickly it will not be available the next day. There seems to be a shortage of apartments in the Accra area, the agent told me there is 1 million apartments for 2 1/2 million people. So we are finding apartments with high rent, which is payed for two years in advance, water problems and often facilities that do not work as promised, it sure keeps Ben, our facilities manager hoping. We are feeling blest and know the Lord answers our pleas for help. Although we are feeling our age people are shocked when they learn how old we are. Most folks here do not last but into their fifties. It is unusual to see someone with white hair, so the children are rally scared of the white ghost I am but love it when I give them a high five. We learned this morning our branch presidents son Daniel, about 3 years old has been very sick with Malaria, and has been in the hospital for 3 days. Malaria is not unusual to a Ghanaian, that is why we have to take our Doxycycline every day.
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