Tuesday, February 9, 2010

People and Places

Ghana has beautiful cotton fabrics. Two sisters that are members of the church own their own shop on the beach next to the Cape Coast Castle. Here they create colorful printed cloth from white cotton fabric. They use wax and stamps to create the designs and dye it in pots over hot coals to set the dye. They also have a little shop on the beach where I purchased the finished product. Sister Saunders took her cloth to a seamstress that works on a little dirt road in Cape Coast. Linda is an amazing seamstress and sews on a manuel sewing machine. Whenever we visit her these two women are either sitting or sleeping in front of her shop. Linda's husband works for the mission and is the Branch President of the Nkanfoa Branch. Linda works with her 18 month daughter either asleep on her back or playing on the floor of her shop.
Francesca makes beautiful jewerly. Here she is in front of her shop. I went to find a gift for my grand daughters 4th birthday. She didn't have any children's jewerly so she offered to make it especially for her. I also found a few treasures for myself and for another special February birthday.
Sister Saunders at the post office in her new skirt and bracelet. We love the friendly and hard working people of Cape Coast. They are quickly becoming some of our dearest friends.

All the packages and some of the letters for the Ghana Cape Coast Mission pass through this little post office in Cape Coast. The post office has a customs office in it and thus the packages are sent here. All of the packages are opened that clear customs, thus Sister Saunders and I get to see what is inside every package from family and or girlfriends. It is amazing what is sent to the missionaries. The gentleman in this picture is a customs clerk who helps us on a daily basis clear the packages through customs. He works on the weekends as a pentacostal minister in his own church in Moree. We pay all the custom duties for the missionaries and then bill them. Their duty fees are deducted from their subsistance which they receive every four weeks. You will notice that Sister Saunders has a big smile on her face this day. Two of the packages were from our family and thus it was a very good day. It is always a very good day, when letters and packages are received here in Ghana.

2 comments:

  1. i can hardly believe that you live there. how lucky are you to meet such amazing people and witness all their talents. i love your new skirt and bracelet mom. you look gorgeous!(as always!) and i noticed a few new shirts! :) i'm glad they fit! the smile on your face in the last photo makes me want to send packages everyday!! i love you.

    p.s. why no pics of dad???

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  2. I agree with Marci- your new skirt is really cute! I love the belt too. What an adventure to live in a country so different from our own. Keep the pictures coming!

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