Week 12

We are grateful for the blessing of serving here in the Ghana Accra West Mission.  We love interacting with the missionaries, members, and the Ghanaian people.  In spite of the challenging life the Ghanaians live, they are a happy people and smile easily when they are acknowledged.

Here are some photos and explanations from this past week.

We went to the Buduburan district council on Monday.  The Elders living in the house within our compound are part of this district, so it was like being home after traveling to the far reaches of the mission the last several weeks.

The Buduburam District

On Wednesday, we drove 3 1/2 hours north to the north end of the mission.  Passing through one of the villages on the way, we were able to get this photo of a young boy sweeping.  Every morning you see the women and sometimes the children sweeping the dirt in the front of their houses and shops using a home made bundle of stiff stocks of a plant.  In the beginning, it seemed strange to us for them to sweep the dirt.  However, we have come to realize that that space is in essence an extension of their home or shop.  They are cleaning up the leaves, trash, and whatever else had accumulated during the prior day and night.  They are beautifying what is theirs.  

Young boy sweeping                                                 "Broom"

We did four apartment inspections on Wednesday in the Abomosu Zone in the northern most part of the mission.  We left at 5:30 a.m. and finally got home at 7:30 p.m.  As always, we came home with the bed of the truck totally full with trash and unusable items from the missionary apartments from decluttering and the back seat of the truck filled with extra pamphlets and items to return to the mission office.    

Elders Razafimbelo, Conteh, Otin, and Stephens in the Kwabeng apartment

Somehow we missed taking a picture of Elder Olsen and Elder Mayima in the Asunafo apartment

Elders Parker, Abekah, Dymock, and Black in the Abomosu apartment

Elder Onyango and Elder Kamara in the Sankubenase apartment

At the Winneba Stake Conference a week ago, we happened to meet Anthony Flomo.  Anthony was the first missionary from the Buduburam Ward.  So, we made arrangements to visit with him and learn more about his history and experiences in order to include it in the history of the Church in Buduburam we are writing.  He was four years old and living with his aunt and uncle when the First Liberian civil war started and was not able to reunite with his parents.  His aunt and uncle were members of the Church and came to Buduburam with the other Liberian refugees to escape the war and brought Anthony with them.  His aunt and uncle were faithful, committed members who taught and raised him in the gospel.  In spite of their poverty and challenging living conditions, Anthony had some faith building experiences where the hand of the Lord was manifested such that he was able to return to Liberia in his early 20's to get a Liberian passport and to have the means provided to serve a mission.  Life for Anthony, his wife (Comfort), and his children is challenging because he is Liberian and is discriminated against in finding employment.  Nevertheless, they continue to be faithful, committed members of the Church.

Anthony, Comfort, and their adorable children

On Friday evening, we were blessed to do an endowment session in the Accra Temple and go to dinner with Elder and Sister Topham (office missionaries).  On the first and third Saturdays, there is what is called the Butterfly Market just down the road a little from the mission office.  The market sells all kinds of handmade arts, crafts, and anything you can imagine.  There were a few things Sister Judd wanted to get to take home with us.  So, we stayed over at the mission office on Friday night to go to the Butterfly Market on Saturday morning.

Sister Judd buying a colorful Ghanaian apron 

Purchases from the Butterfly Market:  Colorful table runner, "Greetings from Ghana", Ghanaian heads to match Elder Judd's Brazilian heads, Sister Judd's apron, and statue of Ghanaian woman carrying water on her head and a baby on her back.

On Sunday, we attended Church in the Dabanyin Branch.  The meetings are held in the "Ghana Make a Difference" shelter for children.

The reason for going to Dabanyin was to attend the Gospel Literacy class.  Brother Andoh is the teacher and Portia and Gloria are the learners.  Learning to read and write English is important to these two wonderful individuals.  Gloria said the opening prayer, and we have never heard such a humble and heart-felt prayer.

From Dabanyin, we hurried back to our Awutu Breku Branch to be there for the baptisms of three youth.  Two of those baptized are children of members, and the third is a young girl joining the Church with no other family as members.  The father of one of the boys performed the baptisms.       

Sister Judd watching the baptisms with Patience and   

her daughters.  They are being taught by the missionaries.

            We were greeted by this sight at the turn to the lane that leads to our apartment compound.

It is laundry drying on a pile of rocks.  It is common to see laundry laid out to dry like this. 

As we begin another week, we are getting used to the daily power outages, pot holed roads, constant heat, torrential rains, the 'thrill' of driving in Ghanaian traffic, children calling us 'Oburoni', and these beautiful people and their brilliant smiles. (We have noticed how straight and white their teeth are-and no one wears braces!)  We continue to repeat our personal mission motto, "Keep Going and Doing Joyfully" and are remembering to be "grateful in ALL things"!

May the Lord bless all of you.

Love, 

Elder and Sister Judd