Party Time!

I arrived at the office the morning of my birthday to discover my "little corner" was TP'd! The Assistants, Elder Lewis and Elder Dunford used their imagination and toilet paper (two-ply even!)to wish me a Happy Birthday! I was very touched by their thoughtfulness!! They are the greatest!

Our District Leader, Elder Chesa (sitting in the front with his arm around Elder Adams) conveniently moved our district meeting from the usual Tuesday to Friday. With the change he wondered if "someone" (hint hint) would bring cake and ice cream to celebrate my birthday. I was glad to and we had a wonderful (and tasty) meeting. Here I am with 12 of the greatest missionaries in the world! We love serving with the Elders in this mission. They are all incredible young men and women and exceptional missionaries!

In the evening the couples went out to dinner and than came back to the mission home for cake and ice cream. After listening to President's spiel about the importance of blowing out ALL the candles to get my wish, I took a deep breath and blew and blew and blew. After the third try I realized they had used two trick candles! But no worries I was assured I still get my wish!!

We love serving and working side by side with these amazing couples, the Sabeys, the Turners, and the Lambs. Though I am away from my family on birthdays and holidays I am surrounded by love and those I now consider my mission family. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and consider it a great priviledge to be serving in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission.

Another day in Ghana

We were at the Cape Coast Castle waiting for the zone leaders to arrive along with President & Sister Sabey. As we were waiting we decided to walk over to the edge of the hill and look at the waves hitting the rocks below. We had just turned around and Sister Sabey snapped our photo. All the leaders were gathered for zone council meeting and had gone to the castle to have lunch at the Cape Coast Castle restuarant. Just another great day in Ghana.

Easter Blessings

Sister Saunders says she's working, but I tend to think she has other things on her mind. The young ladie's name is "Blessing". Her mother cleans and cooks for the mission president and his wife. While she cleans, Sister Saunders willingly takes every opportunity to hold Blessing.

On April 3rd, we had a baptism scheduled at 4:00 PM. I asked the members to be ready at 3:30 so I could pick them up. When I arrived at Pra-Ewusi they were not ready, (this is Ghana) so while I waited for them to get ready, I got the local children singing, dancing and reciting English. Usually they do not smile when they have their picture taken, but I asked them to smile at the funny looking white person who was taking the picture. It worked. We then traveled to Abakrampa to pick up three of the candidates who were getting baptized. Of course all were not there, so we also waited for them. Next we traveled to "New-Ebu" to pick up the final candidate, who was no where to be found. A couple of the members went through the village and finally located her. She said she had changed her mind. (After having the mission president interview her in a special interview for clearance). We made it to Yamoransa for the baptism 20 minutes late. (Remember this is Ghana) The wait was worth it....

Here Sister Saunders and I pose with Esi Essiawa, Paul Aggrey-Fynn, and Joseph Yawson. Three of the choicest individuals I have met here. All were confirmed the following day in Sacrament meeting. The work is so sweet. This really is His work. It is a "blessing" to be here and assist in His work.

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.