Sunyani All African Service Project

The day began early--way before dawn.  We had loaded the gloves, vests, masks, rakes and tools in the truck the night before.  The streets were eerily quiet and were just starting to come alive as the sunrise was peaking over the tropical forests on the outside of town.  We parked at the top of Old Station, that section of Sunyani which is always bustling with vendors, taxis and shopkeepers.  But in the very early morning the street seemed unusually peaceful--almost quiet.  Our task was to assemble the members of the Church throughout the District and clean the gutters and streets of sewage and rubbish before the town erupted with its daily hectic African city life.  It was a tall order and a very optimistic undertaking.

As the members arrived, each was given a bright yellow vest that said "Mormon Helping Hands".  We passed out the gloves, masks and tools and off they went, attacking the garbage and debris with a vengeance.  Along each side of the streets of downtown Sunyani are deep cement gutters which are anywhere from a foot across to two feet and sometimes as deep as three feet.  They carry human waste (remember there are no public restrooms), garbage or anything else that needs to be discarded.  It really would be a fairly good system except there is no way to flush the gutters out, so everything just sits in the ditches and stinks, ferments, and gets rotten.  The stench is overwhelming--hence the masks.  It was truly a disgusting job but the members actually seemed to be having a good time.  Catherine exclaimed with a little giggle, "I never knew picking up rubbish could be fun!"

We had expected about sixty members to actually participate, but when we handed out the 91st vest, we hurriedly ordered more refreshemnts so we would have enough.  They were young and old, male and female, and even some who were not feeling well and were sick.  They all wanted to be involved.
The whole project took about three hours and by the time we finished, the market and street shops were busy selling their wares and in full swing!  They all truly appreciated our efforts and there were many "medases" (thank yous). 

We all met after at a nearby school that we had previously arranged to use, had meat pies, koko and refreshments, laughed, took pictures, played singing games and then had a huge futbol (soccer) game.

Our three main goals had been met and even surpassed all expectations.  We had helped to clean up the streets of Sunyani; we had demonstrated that the LDS Church wants to support the city and give community service; and the entire District had a memorable activity where the members worked together and bonded as friends.  It was a great day!

Trombone in a Field

A few weeks ago, early in the morning, we heard a horn playing the scales: do, re, mi, fa..... and then down do, ti, la.....and so on, over and over agian.  It was obvious the person had never used a horn before and it was truthfully awful!  He played the scale over and over, up and down, missing several notes each time and it echoed over the entire jungle area where we live.  This went on every morning for many days. Soon the player began attempting a musical phrase or just a measure of notes.

One morning while we were on our walk, we finally spotted the "musician".  In the middle of a field, on a little hill behind our apartment, stood a young man, all by himself, standing on some boards, next to a dirt pile.  He was loudly playing his trombone--no  music, no stand, no chair--just the man and his horn, playing for all the world to hear.

Even though he is still very rusty, he is finally playing short phrases over and over and over again.  His name is Benjamin and he plays (or attempts to play) early in the morning and again just at dusk.  We really don't mind.  It finally shows that someone is actually committed to something! 

Baptisms, Transfers and Corn

The new baptismal fonts at Nkwabeng and Penkwase were finally finished just in time for five baptisms that were scheduled.  They are large, much larger than we had envisioned.  They look like above-ground swimming pools with a huge stairway leading up one side and then down into the font itself.  They are completely tiled with a blue and white motif and have two metal doors that cover the top when not in use.

Our baptismal candidates were quite unique:  a young 10 year-old boy and his little 8 year-old sister who attend church every Sunday and always during mid-week activities; a slight built young Ghanaian man; a very pretty young mother and an older gentleman who suffers from some disease that has enlarged his left leg to more than triple the normal size.  It truly looks like the foot of an elephant.  He attends Church also every week and rides a small motrocycle/scooter (because he can only hobble with his bad leg).  He always brings his three little children with him (we've never seen a wife or mother) but he places the little one between his legs in front and then the two other little kids just hang on for dear life off the back.  It's quite a sight to see.  For the baptism he had to cover his leg and foot with plastic taped tight just below the knee.  Two of our large strong Elders had to help him in and out of the font.  It was one of those incredible experiences when the hard times and the struggles all seem trivial and we know why we are here.  The ceremony was so simple and beautiful and the spirit was so strong. 

Right after the baptism program was over, the Elders got notice about upcoming transfers.  The new Mission President apparently wanted to shake things up and boy did he.  We will be losing half of our missionaries and bringing in five new ones as well as four sister missionaries.  (Sunyani has never had sister missionaries before.)  Now we will have none of the young men we started with--they've all been transferred or gone home.  Everyone who remained here in Sunyani has been moved to new apartments, and we are desperately trying to lease another building for the increase.  Some of the Elders were crying; some were angry; some were very quiet.  It seemed no one was happy about the changes.  We explained that this is the way missions are--there are always changes and new challenges  and that right now President Holmes is wearing the mantle of running the mission and that we all need to be positive and support his decisions and direction.

So on the next Monday morning bright and early on P-day, all of the Elders met at Fiapre for one last get-together.  Three months ago we had all met the same way art Estates and had planted corn.  Now that corn was ready and the Elders from Estates had gone out, picked and shucked a ton of it.  They brought it to Fiapre and cooked it.  We brought the butter and after we all literally stuffed ourselves with corn on the cob, the Elders had one last highly competitive game of volleyball.  They all laughed and reminisced and played with the little kids from the neighborhood that Elder Riddle and Elder Belnap had been teaching for months in Primary, knowing that Belnap would probably never see them again.  It was a great morning and then it was time to move forward:  email family, pack bags and get ready for the big transfer shakeup.

It was so hard to let them go.  We get so close to these missionaries.  They endure so much as this is not an easy mission or area, but we know that is why the Lord sends us such strong, remarkable young men.  Gary said when we came to Africa, that even more than spreading the Gospel to the African people, is the fact that we are training the future leaders of the Church in our missionaries.

They are truly amazing and we shall miss them, but they will continue to grow in the Gospel and we know we will come to love the new missonaries just as much, and then they too will be transferred and move on and we shall miss them too..........that's mission!

UPDATE:
We sent our missionaries off and picked up our new missionaries at the Metro Mass (bus station):
4 sister missionaries and 3 Elders.  Of the five brand new missonaries that were sent to the Kumasi Mission this month from the MTC, Sunyani received 4 of them.  I guess that shows that President Holmes has a lot of confidence in the way things are running here.  Everyone is settling in and moving forward........that's mission!

Kathie Teaching the Kids!

Per Brittany........

What a surprise to hear Kathie is running the Young Womens, Relief Society, and Primary on a Stake Level.                        

Africa had no idea what they were getting.  

Red

Gary traded the "Harley", his very good-looking, very heavy dirt bike in for a very ugly, very lightweight bike with good components that he now loves and rides every morning before the traffic hits the road.  He has made friends with the local taxi hangout guys who tease him when he rides.  They all now look out for the "obruni Biker" and even offer to wash his bike for him.

Anyone who knows Gary very well knows he loves the color red, at least on his vehicles of any kind.  The Lexus he sold before coming on the mission was red.  Both his '63 Corvette and his new Corvette are red.  His Rhino is red and so is his boat.  His racing Cervallo bike is also ... red.

It was a complete surprise when he came in and said he wanted to paint his new "ugly" bike, but it was not a surprise that he wanted it "red".  He and Owusu went down to the Magazine (the section of town where all kinds of automotive supplies are sold) and found a paint shop.  They ordered the paint, sanding supplies, hardener and paintbrushes.

So on our "P" Day (preparation day) the project began.  At first it definately looked like he had started something that was over the top, but after sanding and three coats of paint, followed by a gloss hardener, he now has a beautiful new red bike on the porch.  The best part of the whole scenario was watching our Gatekeeper and the three workers here, watching the crazy obruni paint a bike.  They kept pointing, shaking their heads, and laughing.  I'm certain they thought he was nutz!

Update on Progress

1.  The chapels and Meeting Houses are looking better.  Penkwase has been painted inside and out.  After five months of waiting for a lawn mower to cut down the weeds and mow the yards, Gary finally stormed in one day and said he was sick of waiting for Area to supply us with a mower and that he was going to just go out and buy one himself.  As he was getting ready to leave, Prosper called and said to wait about ten minutes.  He and Kweku drove into our complex and proceded to unload a brand new Snapper mower.  I think Christmas came early for President Thayne.

2.  Nkwabeng and Penkwase both have brand new baptismal fonts.  They are quite large, tiled with huge staircases leading up and back down into the fonts.  Now we only have to transport "Big Blue", the portable font, between Faipre and Estates.

3.  The District Office still has no furniture and we were told the computers would be coming on August 4th.  Typical Africa--they postponed again.  The building is working out pretty good.  We share it with four of the Elders and they aren't quite as tidy as we would like, but their focus is on spreading the Gospel, not cleaning, so that's OK and as it should be.

4.  Fiapre has now been formally designated as a Branch which means they can function as a ward.  They too are waiting for a computer and furniture.

5.  Our training meetings for all of the auxiliaries are up and running and have been very successful.  I never dreamed I would be the equivalent of the Stake Relief Society President, the Stake Primary President and the Stake Young Women's President all at the same time.  It was a good thing I'd served as President of all three organizations in the past as I've had to dig pretty deep to train in all three areas.

6.  District Choir is up and running and planning a Christmas Concert and Sister Fife (Area Doctor's wife) is graciously planning on training two members from each branch on the keyboard at the end of this month.

7.  Richard and Albert who we drove to teach in Chiraa have both been baptised and are now trying to get the whole town to listen to the lessons.  They take a taxi every Sunday and travel the 30 minutes to get here for Sacrament Meeting.

8.  The volleyball net at Fiapre is finished and the lawn is mowed and looks great.  The missionaries had a baptism and then planned a huge fireside extravaganza for members and friends and then played games and volleyball and watched a DVD after.  They expected about 50 people and ended up with over 90.  It was a huge success!

9.  We've been encouraged and are hoping President Holmes will be able to increase the missionaries' subsistance.  Our Elders really need more money to get by on.  They do amazingly well, but prices have been going up even since we've been here.

10.  Gary got his very first big red ripe tomato from his little garden, and many more are on their way, so it looks like tomato sandwiches will be the lunch of choice.  He gave this first tomato to Yaki for helping him.

  

Kenyasi Gold

Several members of the Estates Branch have been begging us to open a church unit in Kenyasi, a mining town where they live.  We took Elder McFarland and Elder Sarpong with us and drove the 45 minutes south of Sunyani to visit and assess the possibility.  We had no idea what to expect. 

After meeting one of the members in a little community on the way, we followed him into gold mining country.  Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd. is the major employer and as we drove on 4 lane dirt roads through acres and acres of forest, huge piles of tailings, as large as mountains loomed up out of the jungle.  It is a mammoth operation!  At one cross section of roads, guards manning huge crossing gates monitored traffic as GIANT ore trucks, larger than tanks, barreled by on their deliveries.  It reminded us of the excavating at Kennecott Copper.  Gold is a leading export for Ghana.  They pull huge gold deposits out of this mine alone every week. 

When we arrived in Kenyasi we were met by Eric Bentum, another member.  He had several of his buddies at the shop where we stopped and we couldn't help but notice the Book of Mormons on several of their shelves.  We then looked at a house that would be suitable for a meetinghouse as well as a missionary apartment, visited several members, and then were taken to a high school of over 1600 students.  It was clean, well-orgainzed and on every classroom door was a sign that read "Only English Spoken Here."  We met the head mistress whose name was Naomi and who also is a member.  They are literally pleading for the Church to have a presence in Kenyasi.

It was an incredible day.  We had no idea the gold mining industry was so huge.  We've forwarded all of the information and the members' requests to the Mission President and to Area.  Now we wait and see.

The Challenge of Committment

One of our greatest challenges here in Sunyani is that of committment.  It is very difficult to teach the members the concept of committment when their culture really isn't committed to anything.  Take the family unit for example.  Very few of the people in Sunyani live in traditional family units as we know them.  Everyone lives with everyone--extended aunts and uncles or grandparents raise the children of perhaps a distant cousin or relative somewhere down the line.  In the entire district we can think of only one family living together in a primary family unit as we know it and even they are raising a niece along with their own children.

Car David lives with a grandmother who is actually a second aunt.  Gate David is struggling just to feed his family (wife and 2 kids) and then we find out his senior brother's teenage son has been living with them for four years.  Robert lives with his aunt.  Gary's counselor in the District, Alfred Mintah, is divorced (actually just separated) and his mother is raising their son in some town about four hours from here.  Owusu and Lucy are raising their grandson Chris.  Sister Agartha, the Relief Society President in Nkwabeng, lives with her sister and is raising two little children as well as a teenage boy.  We're not sure how he fits in.  Auntie Mary, our neighbor at Nkwabeng, lives in a wood hut with her senior sister and has Ernestina (27), Ellen (11), and Abena (6) living there but we're not sure whose children any of them are.  She also has several young men who pop in and out every now and then.  All in all, it is amazing how they will care for any member of extended family, but there is not much immediate parental committment to offspring.  hIf things get tough, they just figure someone down the line will raise the kids--and they do.

Employment is another huge issue.  Statistics show Ghana has a very hig employment rate.   They all claim to have jobs, but the job often times involves laying a few tomatoes or bananas on a table at the side of the road and selling a few to passersby.  If they're tired, they stretch out and take a nap on their bench.  No one has a watch or cares about time.  They open their little shop when they get around to it and close when they're tired or out of "stuff' or if something that they want to do comes along.  Ghanaians generally take life at a relaxed pace, viewing time as a series of events rather than a matter of hours and minutes.

Sacrament Meeting begins in all four branches at 9:00 a.m.  Usually 2 or 3 people are there when it begins.  Many trail in about 30 minutes late and by the end of the meeting, most have showed up.  They're not embarrassed or apologetic about it at all.  It's just the way it is.

We're trying desperately to figure out a way to teach committment to a people whose culture is non-committed to just about anything and who place no value on time.  It has opened our eyes to the fact that we are way too stressed the other way and place much too much emphasis on things that don't really matter.  Somewhere in the middle would be nice!

David and Ophelia

Our gate-keeper David has become a special project for President Thayne.  He and his little family (wife Ophelia and a 4 year-old daughter and 2 year-old son) live way across town in a section called Fiapre.  Every morning David would leave very early to ride his delapitated old bike to our compound to get to work.  The gate-keepers put in 12 hours on each shift and take turns watching days or nights.  For this they are paid 100 cedis per month (about $65).

Gary had two extra bikes that were in such bad shape that the missionaries couldn't ride them, so he let David use one of them as they were still better than David's old brakeless, one gear, seat-missing bicycle.  He was most appreciative.  We all prefered David working the night shift as Yaki (known as the "old man") cannot hear and isn't much security.  David has been attending Church in Fiapre near his home and the missionaries are teaching his family.

A few weeks ago David was working days and a carpenter named Solomon was here, so David left the compound in Solomon's care and went into town to buy medicine for his little boy who was sick again.  The owner, Christopher, called while he was gone and to make a very long story short, David was "sacked".

On his days off David has been supplementing his income by helping mow and clean up and get the chapels and district office in better shape.  Of course, this can't pay enough to support his family, so now he is deperately trying to find work.  Ophelia takes the children and works at a co-op type garden to help out with the food.

We took David home one day and it's difficult to describe their family's living conditions.  They live in a wooden hut down an enbankment by the river-- a huge breeding place for mosquitos.  It has a tin roof atop rough-hewn boards tacked haphazardly together to form a shed with two single rooms and no windows and a cloth for a door.  David's family lives in one side (half the shack), one room about an 8 x 8.  The floor is made of rocks and when it rains (daily now as we are in the rainy season) the dirty water flows freely through the shack and through the holes in the roof.  There is a twin-sized mattress on one side where the whole family sleeps and pots and fufu pans for cooking stacked against the other wall.  A rope tied across the center of the room had a few clothes hanging on it to keep them dry and out of the muddy water.  He introduced us to his 11 year-old nephew, Gideon, who also lives with them, and he sleeps on the rock floor.  The whole situation is deplorable.

We have now paid for a larger, cleaner room away from the river for David and his family to move into.  He will seal the ceiling and roof and we've given him old mosquito nets that I washed and repaired the holes in.  The room is 20 cedis a month but in Ghana it is necessary to pay cash for everything and also they require payment for two years in advance and up front.  We paid the cash so they could move and explained to David that it was a loan and that he needs to pay us back.  David was so happy just to get his family into something that wasn't infested with mosquitos all the time that he was more than willing to work to pay Gary back.  We have decided that we will just put the money away that he pays us and then we plan to give it back to him when the debt is paid off or when we leave.  This way Gary is teaching him to realize that he must pay back a debt, but then he will be able to see the benefits of doing so.  It will be a nice little nest egg for his family, and hopefully we have been able to make a positive influence in their lives.