All Are Alike Unto God

On March 20 and 21 the Relief Society in the Abakrampa Branch celebrated the birthday of the Relief Society...just like the rest of the church does in March. But instead of a dinner party (like we do at home) the women arrived at the church house by 7:00 am Saturday morning and cleaned the building and the grounds. Sunday they spoke and sang 4 songs in Sacrament meeting. I had the privilege of accompanying them on the keyboard. There was a wonderful spirit as these amazing sisters bore testimony in word and song.
Sister Elsie Imbrah, in orange, is the Relief Society president. Though we don't all speak the same language, we feel the bonds of sisterhood through the spirit.

These are the individuals who are taking the discussions in Elder Saunders investigator class. On the far left is Paul, a Pentecostal Minister who after fervent prayer was led to attend our church. He knows that he has "finally found the true church of Jesus Christ", and desires to be baptized. Joseph is anxiously waiting to be baptized the first of April. Next is Nelson who was an alcoholic until he came to church for the first time and partook of the sacrament. He said at that moment he "felt something" and knew he needed to change his life and reports he has not had a drink since. Next is Ama who has attended for the last two Sundays. Kobina is slowly gaining a testimony and has been attending regularly. Esi has been attending the class for several months and hopefully will be baptized soon.

Elder Saunders with some of the primary children. When they saw us take a picture of the Relief Society sisters they wanted one of their own taken with Elder Saunders. We love the children in Ghana. Whenever they see us on the streets they sing, "obrunie how are you, I am fine, thank you". This is a song they sing in school to help them learn English.

Lauren is from Idaho and is an amazing young woman. She has been in Ghana volunteering at this orphanage for the last few months. Many of these children are abandoned by their parents who simply can't afford to raise them. The conditions of the orphanage are very sad but at least these children have somewhere to call home with volunteers like Lauren to love and care for them.

Kojo loves to be held. When I picked him up he was fascinated with by badge so I let him borrow it for a few minutes. We are standing in one of the two bedrooms in the orphanage. There are 16 children that live there. The oldest is 14 years old and Kojo is the youngest.

We are meeting people and visiting places we couldn't even imagine while we sat in our comfortable home in Utah. But we have come to recognize that we are all children of God. He has commanded us to love and serve one another. Someday we will be reunited as brothers and sisters in the household of God. Then we will see how alike we really are. We love living among and serving our brothers and sisters in Ghana.

Special Mission Conference

Tuesday, Feb 23rd we were priviledged to have Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, President Steven E. Snow, Elder Craig A. Cardon, and Elder John B. Dickson visit our mission for a special conference. Many missionaries traveled up to 4 hours to attend. Before the conference Elder Holland visited the mission home and met Fifi Imbrah, one of the first saints to be baptized when the missionaries came to Ghana over 30 years ago. Elder Holland encouraged us to savor and embrace every moment of our missionary experience. He referred to missionaries as angels in white shirts and blouses, with the gift of God in their hearts. He taught us the importance of obedience and called it the foundation for success. As he taught us the gospel and the significance of the atonement, the Spirit bore witness that he was indeed an apostle of our Savior Jesus Christ and what he taught was true!

Here we are with the assistants, Elder Woodhouse and Elder Kpanakau. This day was bitter sweet because after the conference Elder Woodhouse was leaving to go home to Colorado. We love him like a son and feel honored that we were able to work so closely with him in the office.

Saying our goodbyes to Elder Wright and Elder Woodhouse. These two young men taught us how to love and serve the people of Ghana without saying a word! They were both awesome missionaries and will be greatly missed!

We love all the missionaries in this mission. Elder Saunders is standing with Elder Mackay, Elder Ekaette, Elder Kwapong and Elder Mattia. The conference was over, the visitors had left and still we basked in the spirit by being surrounded by the amazing missionaries in this mission.

These sisters live near us and have been to our home for dinner where they each shared with us their conversion story. They are amazing examples of how to overcome adversity and turn to our Savior for strength. We love Sister Boima, Sister Awuna and Sister Coleman. It is truly a priviledge to associate with the elders and sisters in our mission. We feel the love they have for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the people of Ghana. They are indeed angels with the gift of God in their hearts!

Making Memories

Our invitation for Sunday dinner was the Aikins family from Pra-Ewusi. We brought them to our home to experience an American meal. We taught them how to use a fork when eating their dinner. It was a very memorable afternoon. Sister Aikins came in contact with the church while having her hair done at a hair salon in 2002. She had just finished burying 6 of her 8 children within the previous 4 months. Something rang true in her ears that day and she went home and told her husband to investigate this new religion. He went and found the missionaries and listened to their message trying to understand what it was that caught his wife's attention. He ended up joining the church before she did. They are so loving to us and are always providing fu fu for us to eat. They are raising these two grandchildren, Ishmael and Shadrack.

Sister Saunders visiting with two of the 60 students at this small school. It is about 125 kilometers from us, but a member wanted us to see how a good school is run. The parents pay .30 pesiwas per day or about .21 cents for the meals at the school and everything else is free. Most of the school supplies are donated. Many of the desks were donated by the LDS church. The children start school at age 18 months of age. This school includes students up until the first grade.

The gentleman sitting on the desk is Patrick, our Fante instructor. Notice the desks have an inscription on them. The woman is the teacher, and the gentlemen holding the child is one of the members here in Cape Coast that went with us to the school.

Part of the Abura zone wanted to go to KaKum national forest and walk the canopy walkway. The assistants asked if we would go and help transport some of the missionaries. It was a very hot day. All of us who decided to go on the nature hike underneath the forest canopy are standing inside the roots of a tree. It was very sunny and hot this day, but underneath the growth it gets rather dark. It feels like being in a sauna. Working with the people and the missionaries is a life changing experience. We cherish the lasting memories being made.

A Weekend in Kumasi

We had a surprise birthday party for President Sabey on his 59th birthday. Sister Kiffer made him a chocolate cake which was to die for. The couples gave president and sister Sabey aprons with African art work and had a seamstress stitch onto the aprons a portion of a statement that we often here the President say, "We are here to serve, not be served". From the Left is Elder and Sister Turner from Thousand Oaks, California, President and Sister Sabey, Sister Saunders and Elder Saunders (standing), Elder and Sister Kiffer from Ketchichan Alaska, and Elder and Sister Lamb from Bountiful. We love serving with these wonderful couples.

Here we are standing next to a tree stump which someone had carved some african wildlife onto. As you take a closer look, you will find a giraffe, an elephant, a warrior's mask and a woman with a child on her back. The carvings went all around the stump. The village this was found in, is where the kente cloth is woven.

From the left is Sister Sabey , Elder Kiffer , Sister Lamb and Sister Saunders. The four are standing in front of a Calabash tree. The large woody fruit, may grow to 25 centimeters. It takes up to seven months for the fruit to ripen. The gourd-like fruit is used to make bowels and also often becomes part of various musical instruments. The fruit is used for medical purposes and the natives use it to heal asthma and other aliments.

Sister Saunders is pointing to cocoa fruit attached to the trunk of this cocoa tree. One of the natives picked the fruit and we were able to eat some of the fruit inside. The fruit is very sweet and has a pleasant taste. The hard bean like center is used to make cocoa. The center has several individual beans surrounded with the fruit. This was in the Kente village when we visited Kumasi. Kumasi is a much further advanced city than most cities and villages in Ghana. The city lies in the center of the Ashanti Empire, which controls most of the gold mined in Ghana. It is much more developed than any other city or village we have visited.

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.

Called to Serve

Christmas zone conference 2009 held at the Abura Stake Center. There are six zones represented at this zone conference. The remaining two zones held their conference in Kumasi. Notice how everyone happened to be wearing the exact same tie. President and Sister Sabey gave all of the elders a Kente tie, and all of the sisters received a Kente bag.

Sister Saunders with Sister Turner, Sister Lamb and Sister Sabey. Four of the five senior sisters in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. Working with the other senior couples in the mission has been a real blessing in our lives. It would be hard to find nicer people to work with.

Here we are with Elders Woodhouse and Kpanakau, who are the mission presidents assistants, and to our left is Elder Carton who trained us in our office responsibilities. The three are great young men. Elder Woodhouse is from Colorado, Elder Kpanakau is from Monrovia, Liberia, and Elder Carton is from Clarkston, Washington.

Shopping Day

Here margaret is standing in the fish market with a water melon under her arms. No!, we did not purchase any fish.

Here Margaret is standing in front of the produce market where we buy such things as carrots, cabbages, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, banana's and water melons. This is our favorite market place to buy fruits and vegetables. It is one of the larger shops. We had just purchased apples from another lady, but told "Sela" that we would start buying them from her. She is very friendly and often adds a little extra for us (called dashing). This picture does not do the market scene justice, since it cannot depict the smell and the flys that are on all the food. Once we get the food home, we wash all of it with soap and water, then we soak it in clorox water for two minutes and then rinse with filtered water. It's a long process, but the Area Office recommends we do it in order to avoid catching typhoid or worms.