Week 36

This week included long drives to a district council meeting and apartment inspections and a day in Accra.

We went to Asamankese for district council on Tuesday and Abomosu on Wednesday for apartment inspections.  Any time we go north to the Asamankese Zone, it involves going on Crystal Palace Road which is nothing but 12 miles of pot holes and rough road.  And going to Abomosu Zone involves Crystal Palace Road and also another 9 miles of road with stretches of pot holes and rough road.  Sister Judd has an Apple Watch which she uses to track her exercising.  Two different days in the last two weeks as we were coming home on these roads, her Apple Watch has notified her that her exercise ring has closed.  All the jostling on these roads caused her Watch to think she has been exercising! 

Elders Massissa, Onyango, Laluku, Bangura, Andrianampoina, and Omerigwe 

at the Asamankese District Council

Wednesday was a 3 1/2 hour drive each way to the Abomosu Zone for apartment inspections.  We left at 5:30 a.m. and got home at 6:15 p.m.  It was a long day!

Elders Bishop, Wood, Albrecht, and Mbuyi at Kwabeng

Elders Marchant and Hatley at Akrofufu

Elders Rockwood, Wharekura, Ucheagwu, and Navarro at Asunafo

Elders Rockwood and Ucheagwu have to ride bikes 45 minutes one way up and down hills to get to the village that is their proselyting area.  They do this every day rain or shine.  Such dedication and commitment!!

Elders Kabanda and Chapman at Abomosu

On the way to Abomosu, we drive through Adeiso.  Here is a picture of a public restroom in Adeiso.  Not much privacy!  Actually, it doesn't matter much anyway since men and boys stop wherever they are and relieve themselves regardless of who is around.  

Thursday afternoon is when we go with Sister Kendrick and Sister Lautaimi to visit and teach in the Ojobi and Akoti areas.  We helped teach a lesson to Janet who is very interested and will likely be baptized but is not ready to commit to being baptized right now.  We then visited Rita.  She was introduced to the church by her husband and was baptized about 9 years ago.  Then, after getting her pregnant, her husband left her for another woman and abandoned her about 8 years ago.  She was devastated and needed love and support.  Unfortunately, the missionaries were transferred and the new missionaries stopped visiting her and no one from the branch came to visit her or minister to her.  It was too hard for her to go to church because of the distance and her circumstances.  When individuals from another church showed interest in her and started fellowshipping her, she started going to that church and has continued to do so.  We had a good visit with her.  It appears she still has a testimony, although "small small."  But, the support and social connection she received and has with the other church keeps her from considering returning to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  From our visit with her, we had confirmed to us how critically important our love for and ministering to others really is.

Thursday evening was the weekly Gospel Principles discussion class.  When we got to the church meetinghouse, it was being painted.  Sister Appia engaged in a discussion with one of the painters and ended up helping him paint a door.

Sister Appia painting a door and Sister Van der Beek playing with the Acolatse kids!

 

For Friday morning, we had scheduled an endowment session in the temple and to have the truck serviced while we were in the temple.  We planned to come home right after and do some shopping on the way and anticipated being home by mid-afternoon.  We needed to have the truck at the area office by the temple at 9:00 a.m.  The traffic is always very unpredictable driving to Accra, so we had planned on leaving home at 7:00 a.m. allowing 2 hours which normally would be plenty to travel the 25 miles.  We checked GoogleMaps as we were getting ready, and it showed that 2 hours was not going to be enough.  We hurried and left home at 6:45 a.m.  As we drove and checked GoogleMaps, the travel time got longer and longer with a 1 hour travel delay due to very heavy traffic.  It was extremely stressful!  We finally arrived at the temple just past 9:30 a.m.  Our temple appointment was for the 10:30 session.  That was good because it gave us time to walk around the temple grounds and try to unwind from being so stressed and wound up.  

While we were waiting for the session to start, a sister came into the endowment room and sat next to Sister Judd, and they talked quietly.  Her husband came in a little while later and sat in the row ahead of Elder Judd.  When we got into the Celestial Room after the session, Sister Judd was excited to share that Elder and Sister Eastman were on their way home from serving in the Cape Coast and then Takoradi Missions for a year.  They are from Mapleton where our daughter, Bethany, lives.  After we got dressed and reconnected with them outside, we discovered that Sister Eastman was a teacher's aid at Mappleton Elementary and knows Landon and Rachel.  Elder Eastman was the assistant cross country coach at Maple Mountain High School and knows Alessia and Cardston.  Sister Judd asked Sister Eastman to give Bethany a big "Mama" hug when she gets home.  We (especially Sister Judd) have been missing family a lot lately.  So, it was a tender mercy to make this connection with the Eastman's.

Elder and Sister Eastman with Sister and Elder Judd

The truck was not ready, of course, since this is Ghana.  Patrick picked us up and took us to the mission office to wait for the truck to be ready.  We had left our lunch in the truck, so we did not have anything to eat.  There is a French restaurant not too far from the mission office that we have been to several times with the other senior couples.  It has a goat cheese salad that is Sister Judd's favorite.

Sister Judd with her goat cheese salad and Elder Judd with lemon chicken

We enjoyed a nice meal and much needed time together.  We went back to the mission office and continued to wait.  Finally, the dealership called at 3:30 p.m. saying the truck was ready.  It took almost an hour to go the short distance to the dealership because of heavy traffic and closed roads.  We finally left for home around 4:30 and got home close to 6:30.

Saturday afternoon, we went with Sisters Van der Beek and Appia to do visits and teach.  We stopped and visited for a little bit with Justice who was baptized last Sunday.  We then went and taught Kelvin.  We had helped teach him and his friend Peace last Saturday.  They both came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed being there.  The Sisters had taught them again on Tuesday, and they were very receptive.  When we got to where they stay, Peace had left to go to start school in another community.  We taught Kelvin and ended up putting him on date to be baptized on October 27th.

Because of the time difference, the Saturday morning session of General Conference started at 4:00 p.m. Ghanaian time.  So we listened to/watched that session and the Saturday afternoon session from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.  We watched/listened to the replay of the Saturday night session Sunday morning, the Sunday morning session from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., and the Sunday afternoon session at 8:00 p.m. Sunday night.  We have two routers with different carriers and our Ghanaian cell phones.  We have to use three devices with each on a different router or cell carrier.  This gives us three options.  The internet is very unreliable on weekends.  Having three different options allows us to switch around in the middle of talks and music to whichever is working at the moment so we will not (hopefully) miss anything from conference!

Neighbor kids to the branch president full of smiles and fun!

Now, the "rest of the story" regarding the drive into Accra to the temple and truck service.  (1) We have been missing family a lot lately.  (2) Because the Ghanaians have so little and have so much need, many of them see white Americans and think $$$.  It weighs on us to see so much need and not being able to help.  Or, someone getting friendly with us only to find out that it is their lead-in to asking for something (usually money).  (3) Being honest, we simply get weary at times.  And, (4) our motto has been "Keep going and doing joyfully."  We do good with the going and doing but have not gotten the "joyfully" down yet like we need to!  Hence, the traffic stress just added "the straw that broke the camel's back."  We had hit our limit!  However, after Sister Judd (acting as voice on behalf of both of us) pleaded with our Heavenly Father in prayer and poured out her heart for relief and strength and faith, we were able to feel the Savior's peace that we needed.  Being in the temple allowed us to then feel renewed and spiritually strengthened to go forth once again.  

One of the timely and real messages we were impressed with from General Conference is that we need to turn to God first and not wait until things are too hard before we turn to the Lord.  Turning to and relying on the Savior needs to be the very first thing we think about and do, in everything.

We bear our witness of the importance, power, and blessings of living prophets, seers, and revelators to guide us and instruct us each six months.  We bear our witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer, and the One who can lift us and carry us if we turn to Him and let Him.

We love you and are grateful for your prayers in our behalf.

Love,

Sister and Elder Judd