Weeks 41 and 42
Another two weeks have passed without a blog, so we will try to catch up. Last Sunday was very, very busy. We left for Swedru early that morning, got home around 1:15 p.m., and then around 2:30 p.m. we left for Accra. We did not have a chance to do a blog. Here are pictures and some explanations from the last two weeks.
On Monday, November 4, Isaac and another worker came and built a roof over the new generator. The lumber arrived on a small truck and the tin for the roof was rolled up and sticking out of the window of Isaac's car.
They had a hand saw and a hammer as their only tools. We had retrieved a level from a missionary apartment a while ago, so we took that out for them to use. Otherwise, it would have been "eye-balling" to see if things are straight.
Machetes are the "do it all" tool in Ghana. They are used for cutting, digging, weeding, and anything and everything else one can imagine.
We have a ladder that we took out for them to use.
Isaac cut down several coconuts from the tree in our compound. After trimming them and cutting the top off (with a machete), they enjoyed the juice and then ate the coconut meat.
The finished product!
On Tuesday, we went to the Winneba district council.
The zone leaders were gone and the other missionaries did not have a key to the building, so they had to track down a key. Note the tires on the roof holding the tin down!
Elders McCallister, Petersen, Secai, Johnson, Kanga, Basoah, Okopi, and Parsons.
Wednesday was apartment inspections in the Ofankor Zone.
Sisters Marume and Indayi at Chantan
Elders Ondongo and Stephens at Ofankor
Elders Ngozo and Roldan at Anyaa
Sorting through clothes and other things from de-cluttering missionary apartments.
On Thursday, November 7 we went with Sisters Lautaimi and Kendrick to do visits and teach.
Auntie and her grandkids. Martha and her daughter (by her) and a neighbor girl (by Sister Kendrick).
On Friday, we had the trash man come and take away all the accumulated trash from apartment inspections and from ours and the sisters' apartments over the last couple of weeks. We also got a delivery of a thousand gallons of water for our tank, and we caught up from being gone.
On Saturday, November 9, Dabanyin Branch had a baptism at the font at our church building.
Elder Erickson talking about baptism, and Elder Mateara singing a song he wrote for the baptism.
There were seven baptized--two women, three youth, and two eight-year-old children of record. A lot of the branch members came to attend the baptism.
The daughter of one of the ladies being baptized. The amazing Sister Judd.
Brother Acolatse (foreground) and another man tending to their crops next to the chapel.
Saturday afternoon, we went with Sisters Van der Beek and Appia to visit and teach.
Sunday, November 10th was a very full day. We left around 7:20 a.m. and drove to Swedru to go with Brother Tetteh (the Swedru Stake Gospel Literacy Specialist) to see if we could facilitate getting Gospel Literacy classes in the Swedru 1 and Swedru 3 Wards. We attended Sacrament Meeting in the Swedru 1 Ward. During the meeting, the bishop announced that Elder and Sister Judd would bear their testimonies. This was totally unexpected, but the Lord provided the message and words for each of us. We then met with three new Gospel Literacy learners and the teacher (Sister Eshun). The previous class had finished the ABC Book several months go, and the teacher is trying to get a Book 1 class started. Two of these new learners understood enough English to fit in with the Book 1 class. However, the third new learner understood very little English. As we visited with them, this new learner told her story. She is a recent convert to the Church. Her previous church had an English class, and she went to it to learn English. When the teacher of that class asked her if she had ever been to school, she told the teacher that she had not. The teacher then told her that she could never learn and asked her to just leave. So, she was very apprehensive about the Gospel Literacy class. However, Sister Judd, the Gospel Literacy teacher, and Brother Tetteh assured her that she can learn English and that the Lord will help her to do so in the Gospel Literacy class. With that, her total countenance changed to one of hope! She is at the ABC Book level, but will attend the class with the Book 1 learners who will help her with learning from the ABC Book.
The new ABC Book learner, the teacher, and Sister Judd
Brother Tetteh, the three new learners, the teacher, and Sister Judd
We then met with the bishop, his first counselor, and the Gospel Literacy teacher of the Swedru 3 Ward. They have been very hit and miss (mostly miss) with having a Book 1 class. This is partly because of poor support from the bishopric and the teacher also being the Primary President causing the class to be held sporadically or not at all. We have learned that for a Gospel Literacy class to be successful, one of the key things is that the class is held every week no matter what. It is especially important for the teacher to be 100% committed to being there. So, for the teacher to be Primary President causes concern. As we talked, the teacher said that she now has someone who can take over for her in Primary which she did not have before. We also found out that a previous Gospel Literacy learner was very competent in English now. We suggested to the bishop that this person (who does not currently have a calling) might be called as a Gospel Literacy teacher who could be in the class all the time and could take over when the main teacher has to go to Primary. Hopefully, this will allow their Gospel Literacy class to get going again and be successful.
With that, we left for home. The quickest route to Swedru and back from our apartment is taking a short-cut on a dirt road (full of potholes, of course!). As we were returning home on the cut-off road, we passed some workers stringing new power lines by hand--no bucket trucks, wire hauling and unrolling equipment, or any other equipment than a come-along to tighten the wires.
They climb the poles with attachments to their shoes which are "C" shaped. They put this around the pole and the friction and grip keep them from sliding back down the pole.
You can't see if very well in the picture, but there is a "come-along" attached to the wire on the right of the pole that the worker is using to pull the wire tight.
We got about one-fourth of the way along the cut-off road, and then we came upon this dilemma.
There is a huge mud hole here. The dump truck on the right got stuck trying to go through it. The tanker truck on the left tried to go around the dump truck and got stuck. There was no way to continue down the cut-off road. So, we had to turn around and go back and go the long way home.
We got home about 2:30 p.m., packed our suitcases, and left for Accra to spend the night at the mission home. Traffic going to Accra in the mornings, especially Monday mornings is absolutely terrible and takes at least 2 hours and most of the time 2 1/2 to 3 hours to go the 30 miles to the mission office. That is why we drove to Accra on Sunday afternoon rather than Monday morning.
We have a family Zoom call every other Sunday. We started doing this when we were on our first mission in Nashville, Tennessee during COVID and have continued ever since. The challenge here in Ghana where we live is having poor or non-existent internet. We have two routers and two service providers. Sometimes one works, sometimes the other one works, sometimes they both work, and sometimes neither of them work. It is the worst on the weekends and especially Sunday evenings. Since we have been in Ghana, we have not been able to connect on the family Zoom or, if we get connected, stay connected. This has been extremely frustrating not being able to communicate and interact with our family as we would like to. So, one of the wonderful blessings about staying over night at the mission home was to have an internet connection that works. For the first time, we were able to connect, stay connected the entire time, and have a perfectly good connection! What a much needed blessing that was!
Monday and Tuesday (November 11 and 12) were a mission tour with Elder Isaac B. Morrison, General Authority Seventy and counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency, and Sister Hannah Morrison. The entire mission travelled to the stake center next to the Accra Temple for the mission tour. It really isn't a "tour" as much as it is a time of instruction, inspiration, and fulfillment spending time with a general authority and his wife. The entire mission was together on Monday, and the Mission Leadership Council was with Elder and Sister Morrison on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, Elder and Sister Morrison spent time with the three senior couples for an hour or so. Of course, President and Sister Jacobsen are involved in everything as well as spending one on one time with the Morrison's. Since the couples were not involved in the morning. We were able to do an endowment session in the temple that morning, which was particularly uplifting.
.jpeg)
Thursday, November 14, we again went with Sisters Kendrick and Lautaimi.
As we were going to our truck after teaching, we met this small girl with a huge bucket full of water on her head going up the hill toward her house. No water was being spilled!!
On Thursday evening we went to the branch Gospel Principles class and then met with the branch president after. He asked us to meet with three of the members of the branch and help them prepare to receive their endowments in the temple.
Saturday afternoon and early evening we helped Sisters Van der Beek and Appia. Elder Goffi was scheduled to do baptismal interviews with three individuals so they could be baptized on Sunday. Because of health issues, Elder Goffi and his companion had been in Accra on Friday and then went back to Accra on Saturday. So, they were coming from Accra on a Tro-Tro which is totally unpredictable as to arrival time. They finally arrived at Fetteh Junction and we took them and the Sisters to do the first baptism interview with James. While Elder Goffi was doing the interview, we and the Sisters had a good visit with Nevis (James' mother) and Alexandra (James' sister) who were baptized a few months ago.
We then took the Elders and Sisters to Richmond and Junior. While Elder Goffi was interviewing them, we helped the Sisters teach their mother, Elizabeth. We shared about the Savior and faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As we shared and visited with Elizabeth, we noticed a change in her where she seemed to show and feel hope that had not been there before. The Savior and His gospel truly brings hope to those who need it.
When we finished and were going to the truck, we noticed this small boy and girl.
Their toy is an old computer keyboard they found somewhere and were pulling around by the cord.
Sister Judd tried to talk with them, but the girl was scared of the "obroni" (white person) and started to cry! Elders Osebi and Goffi interacting with the kids.
Sisters Van der Beek and Appia had also scheduled a visit with someone (another Elizabeth) they have just started teaching. The plan had been that the baptism interviews would be long done, and so we and the Sisters would go there, eat fufu, and teach. Because of waiting so long for the Elders to come and then the time to do the interviews, we were much later than planned. So, we went there with all of us including the Elders. We met her and talked for a minute and then apologized that we could not stay to eat fufu because we needed to take the Elders to their apartment since it was getting late.
Elizabeth's children
When we got to the truck, we encountered this group of kids enjoying themselves.
As we were taking Elders Goffi and Opeki to their apartment, they decided they needed to go to the Church meetinghouse to get it ready for Sunday. By the time we got there, it was dark. Here is a picture in the dark (since there are no lights except Elder Goffi's cell phone light) of where the Nkwantanan Group has their Sunday meetings.
It is essentially a shed with a dirt floor. The table in the back is the Sacrament table,
and the table in the front is the "podium."
We arrived early for our (Awutu Breku Branch) meetings on Sunday, November 17th.
This deacon is rolling up and tying the side tarps on the Chapel getting it ready for Church meetings. Sister Judd finding a seat directly under a ceiling fan!
Sisters Van der Beek, Appia, Kendrick, and Lautaimi are doing amazing finding, teaching, baptizing, and growing the Awutu Breku Branch.
This is Sunday School with visitors (not members) comprising nearly half of those attending.
After Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School was a baptismal service for four YSA age men and two young men.
Sisters Kendrick and Lautaimi, James, Hughton, Patmos, Sampson, Richmond, Junior,
Austine (performed baptisms), Evans, and Sisters Appia and Van der Beek.
Princess enjoying Sister Judd's lap during the baptism service
Here are some interesting pictures from Ghana:
Tro-tro loaded to the max inside and on top. Load of charcoal with workers riding on top.
This is not the first time we have seen a goat or goats being hauled on top of a Tro-tro,
except this time we were able to get a picture!
As we conclude our blog for this week, we have wondered what to share of significance. Our thoughts turned to President Nelson's message from October General Conference. He said:
"My dear brothers and sisters, in a coming day, Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the millennial Messiah. So today I call upon you to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ. I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ, and rejoice in Christ!"
"Come unto Christ and 'offer your whole [soul]' to Him. This is the secret to a life of joy!"
"The best is yet to come, my dear brothers and sisters, because the Savior is coming again! The best is yet to come because the Lord is hastening His work. The best is yet to come as we fully turn our hearts and our lives to Jesus Christ."
Regarding gathering scattered Israel, President Nelson previously said, "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that."
May we each intentionally strive to rededicate our lives to Jesus Christ, increase our faith in Him, testify of Him, help gather scattered Israel, and rejoice in Christ so we each individually will be prepared for His Second Coming and will help others prepare.
The Savior lives! He is the One and the only Way!
Love,
Sister and Elder Judd
Comments
Post a Comment