Traffic Trauma

All roads in Ghana are covered by a variety of public transport divisible into three categories:  buses, taxis and tro-tros--none of which are particularly safe.  Each city has a "station" where all public transport leaves and arrives.  Around these stations are hundreds of the little shops with their shopkeepers selling, bartering and just plain hanging out.  The buses are just that--big buses, some of which appear to be very modern, but most look like World War I vintage.

Little mini-taxis are everywhere and account for 80% of all the vehicles on the road.  They are just plain buggy, and honking the horn and using all kinds of hand gestures out the window, are the rule.  Everyone uses them as there are very few private vehicles such as ours, and they are as economical as they are numerous.  One way trips across town (if on the main road) cost 50 pesewas (about 35 cents). Many of these taxis have been converted to propane as gasoline (called petrol) is so expensive.  About once a month the propane supplies run out and hundreds of the taxis just park all around the station and up and down the street and simply wait (hang out--sometimes for days) for the supply tanker of propane to come in.

"Tro-tro" is a catch-all term for all kinds of over-crowded mini-buses or vans.  With densely packed seating, a pervasive aura of sweat, and an incredible amount of luggage, farm produce and even cows, pigs, and goats are shoved in the back or strapped to the top.  They pack people in the tro-tros much like the days of seeing how many could squeeze into a phone booth.  Sometimes up to 30-35 people in a 12 passenger van.  It's amazing how they can cram people, luggage, whatever into a vehicle.  Road accidents occur with alarming frequency in Ghana, partially due to the horrific driving habits of the operators and partially due to the terrible state almost all of the vehicles on the road are in (no tail lights or break lights, doors tied on with ropes or string, broken windows, etc.).  When a vehicle breaks down, which is often, they simply leave it where it stands, in the middle of the road or wherever, and then they fix it when they get enough money or time.

Our mission is going to be split on July 1, 2012.  We will stay in Sunyani and be part of the new Ghana Kumasi Mission.  President Shulz, who will stay as president of the Cape Coast Mission, invited all of the senior missionaries serving now, to a couple's retreat for a get-to-gether for one last time.  We were to meet in Accra for a 2-4 day event.

We first travelled to Kumasi (2 hours away) to meet the Zolls.  Since we were still not too familiar with Kumasi, Elder Zoll said to meet him at the roundabout at Sofaline--a section of the city that's on the same road we drive in on, but has been under construction forever.

The best way to describe the roundabout at Sofaline is to compare it to when you are at the lake, on the pier, and throw bread crumbs into the water and watch the large carp go crazy, churning the water and going every which way.  That's what the traffic's like.  When we drove up, we could see someone in a white shirt standing in the middle of all the chaos.  It was Zoll, trying to get our attention in all that mess.  As soon as we reached into the intersection, he skittered between the vehicles and ran to his car and we followed him out of the area to their apartment, where we parked our car, and then began the long drive to Acca together.  The Zolls are great fun and we were excited to spend some time with them and not having to concentrate on every word just to understand what's being said.

The trip was progressing nicely and we talked and laughed until we came upon a tro-tro that had been in an accident and was pulled off to the side of the road.  Traffic was slowed to a snail's pace.  As we approached the wreck, we noticed the front windshield was shattered.  Then I looked to the side of the road, right next to our truck, and saw the dead body of a pretty young woman, her head smashed in and eyes staring straight up.  People were paying no attention and they hadn't even bothered to close her eyes or cover her body.  She was just laid out on the pavement.  It so unnerved me I couldn't really get over it for quite a while.  Life and death are such a regular occurance here, that it is regarded as just an every day, natural event.  We finally got through the traffic pile-up and proceeded to Accra without any further trauma.

Gary and Bud Zoll dropped us with the other senior missionaries who had come in the other way from Cape Coast, and then they left to go check us in at the apartment we would be staying in on the temple grounds.  They were forever returning and had been stopped for supposedly running a red light by the police.  The bailout started at 1,000 cedis because they were obrunis and obrunis are supposed to have lots of money.  They talked and pleaded and said they were just poor missionaries, and got off paying 50 cedis.

Such are the traffic woes in Ghana! 

MORE PHOTOS!

Music To Our Ears

The one thing I didn't think we would have to worry about in Africa was musical ability.  Almost every African-American I know has incredible rhythm and is tremendously gifted when it comes to any kind of  music:  singing, dancing, playing any kind of musical instrument, etc.

The first shock came when we discovered that the only person in all four branches here in Sunyani that plays the piano is Elder Brown from Dallas, Texas.  All of the branches have been sent really nice elaborate keyboards for their chapels, but no one knows how to play.  Elder Brown goes home the middle of June--BIG PROBLEM!

The way they lead the music and sing hymns is quite unique.  Someone (a missionary, a person in the audience, the chorister) attempts to sing the first two lines of the song to hopefully get everyone in the audience familiar with the tune.  Then the chorister, who really doesn't know how to lead but rather just waves his or her hand back and forth, says, "One, two, sing," and they all start singing, usually way too slow with long pauses between verses or even measures.  If that's not bad enough, the majority of the voices are loud, way off-key, flat and sharp, and with absolutely no rhythm.  The first time we experienced it we were in Fiapre.  It wasn't bad--it was horrible; but they all sing at the top of their lungs.  Both Gary and I didn't even dare look at each other for fear of laughing out loud it was so bad.  They try so hard and they're not at all uncomfortable with just blurting it out.

One of the first things on our goals for the new district is to improve the entire area in the music department.  Where is Jane and Gary Lambert when we need them?  We started looking for someone, anyone, in Sunyani that we could hire to give piano lessons to a couple of members from each branch.  We figure that the keyboard with even a one-hand accompaniment might help in the melody department. 

President Mintah, Gary's first counselor in the district, is a young Ghanaian who served a mission several years ago and then taught at the MTC in Accra for a while.  He's very talented and has great ideas.  He also put on the goal list that we form a district choir. (Oh, heaven forbid!)  So the search is on for a choir director as well.

Then the miracle happened.  Last week, an army officer, out of the blue, attended the Sacrament Meeting of the Penkwase Branch.  He told the missionaries that he was a member but had been inactive for many years.  The missionaries got his phone number and asked President Thayne to call him and perhaps go meet him to reinforce his desire to come to church.  Gary called him and he said, "Yes, I know who you are--I see you and your wife all the time driving in your white truck."  Wow, we can't go or do anything without being noticed by everyone!

He invited us to come and visit him at his home in the Barracks (army compound).  Foreigner are not allowed in the compound but because this man is an officer (intelligence) he made arrangments and said he would escort us in and we could visit him in his home.  He met us at the gate and told the armed guards we were with him.  Then he took us through the huge, wooded, clean grounds to the married officers' quarters.  The missionaries couldn't believe it--they said they have never seen foreigners allowed even past the gate.

We went to his very modest (but nice for Sunyani) little house and met his wife Belta and his two little daughters, Anna-4 and Beverly-2.  The wife is a non-member and reluctantly agreed to have the missionaries teach her the lessons.  Then we noticed a keyboard in the corner of the room.  Daniel, the officer, said he used to play many years ago in his ward in Accra, but that he was really rusty now.  He said he loved music, sang bass, and had been in the process of organizing an area choir there in Accra, but had been transferred before it had really got going.  We couldn't believe our ears!  We told him he was a miracle--an answer to prayer.  It was unbelievable, that here we were struggling to find anyone who could help us with the music and choir and then he just appears at church out of the blue!  Miracles do happen!

The Road To Chiraa

Every Thursday morning, we pick up two of our Elders and drive thirty minutes north of town to a little village called Chiraa.  The road is horrible most of the way and filled with crater-sized potholes.  We began teaching a funny little guy named Richard.  He has a small "shop" on the main street.  It's like most of the stores in Sunyani, made from a rusty old metal container, about a 10 x 10, and filled with anything and everything they can get their hands on to possibly sell to passersby.  Whenever we would get there, he would just close it down and then we would teach him under the overhang porch of the building behind.  The traffic and big trucks barrelling through the town made it quite noisy and the flies drive us nutz, but he is so eager to learn.

After a few weeks and lessons, two more people, Portia and Albert, joined us.  The following week our little group of investigators had grown to seven and we had to move into a crude patio area in a compound behind.  It's much better and and we can actually hear and understand some of what is being said.  Now one of the older gentlemen who has joined us wants us to teach his grown children and grandchildren as well.

It's truly a testimony-builder to watch the gospel in action.  We sit on crude wooden benches, over-turned 5 gallon buckets or anything that's available.  The people are so humble.  They know their Bibles inside and out and are very religious, even the young people.  It really helps because we can truly teach the lessons and doctrine based on scripture because they are so knowledgable.  Several of them have even been paying for taxis back into Sunyani to attend Church on Sunday.

Richard and Albert have set their baptism dates for June 10, and starting next week, the missionaries will travel to Chiraa each Sunday and have Sunday School in a school so they can teach more people.  We are hoping when the mission splits in July, we will be opening new areas for missionaries and Chiraa would be at the top of our list.

 

Monkey See - Monkey Do

The day had finally arrived.  We had been trying to plan a trip with the Owusus to visit the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary for weeks.  We were so excited that we would be able to see some kind of African wildlife as opposed to goats and chickens. Lucy managed to get a day off work and we cleared our schedules so everything was set.  We had to leave Sunyani by 5:00 a.m. in order to arrive in the little village of Fiema by 8:30 a.m., because the monkeys come out of the bush early each morning, then leave and go back into the jungle and return in the late afternoon.  We weren't sure exactly how to get there so we wanted to leave early.

The day before we were to leave, the electrician (I use the term loosely) who was working on some of the apartments in our complex, crossed two wires or something, and blew up a transformer box and started a fire.  He and David managed to get the fire out but it blew the entire complex.  No power.  They all think that's OK for us since we do have a back-up generator, but they don't realize you can't leave the generator going 24/7.  Of course, no African male can ever admit he messed up, so they tried to blame the explosion on the food plant down the road. The food plant still had power and there were no problems there, so we were all pretty sure what truly happened. Long story short--no power--and it was hotter than blazes!  We figured maybe they could get it fixed while we were gone to see the monkeys, so we just sweltered through that night.

About 1 in the morning I woke up to a weird noise.  I went into the bathroom and one of the shower faucets in our walk-in shower had burst at the seam and was spewing water all over.  Typical Africa.  I woke Gary and we went out and turned off the water main to the apartment.  No water.  We were lucky we had showered and gotten somewhat ready the night before, because we had to leave by 4:30 a.m. to pickup Owusus by 5.  We didn't want to wake everyone up at that hour so we just figured we'd go anyway and worry about it when we got back.  Typical Africa.

We awoke to a really dense fog over the whole valley.  Yaki was on Gatekeeper duty and he can't hear, so we just let ourselves out the gate and inched our way toward the Owusu home.  The fog was so thick you could barely see the front of the truck, but we made it.  Owusus brought along their grandson Chris, who is 12 and had never seen a monkey, so our adventure began.

We headed north and then had to turn off the main road.  It was then over dirt roads and through little villages.  Sometimes it was 4 wheel drive trauma and the fog and rain made it quite the ordeal.  Owusu would ask at every village (in Twi) if we were headed right and the people directed us from one little town to the next.  We would have never found it if Gary and I had tried it alone.  We finally arrived at about 8:15 at a makeshift visitors' center.  I don't think they really get many visitors.  There was a rustic little gazebo and it wasn't time to leave yet, so Lucy pulled out breakfast.  The lady is amazing.  We had rice porridge, which tastes a lot like Cream-O-Wheat and Lucy pulled mangoes off the trees for us to eat.  While we were waiting, we met a group of students from the US who are doing graduate and PhD work and staying at the sanctuary for 3 to 6 months. 

A few monkeys began wandering through the center and around the gazebo.  The sanctuary has two different kinds of monkeys; the mona monkeys who are usually shy but here they were quite friendly, and the black and white colobus monkeys who are much more timid and stay pretty much in the trees.  The  monkeys in these two little villages are considered sacred.  In fact, it is the death penalty for anyone hurting a monkey.  Because they have been so protected they have florished here.  We had expected to see only a handful--boy, were we surprised!

After I fed one of the mona monkeys a mango, we were assigned a funny little guide named Edmund and we started our journey into the jungle.  It was a narrow trail, through thick foilage, and all of a sudden, Edmund stopped, and pointed up.  There were dozens of the most beautiful colobus monkeys in the trees right above our heads.  They have the longest feathery white tails and they live in families.  We were fortunate to be able to see them this close as Edmund explained that this was one of the largest families and that they usually hang out further in the trees.

The jungle trail was amazing and we passed huge ficus trees, some over 150 years old.  We finally arrived in the little village.  It was as if time had passed it by.  There was so sign of any modern conveniences at all--only mud huts and village people working and monkeys EVERYWHERE!  These were the mona monkeys and they scurried about, in and out of the huts, and around us and up trees.  It was incredible!

Edmund explained that whenever a monkey (colobus or mona) is about to die, it goes into the village and dies there.  The village people regard the monkeys' death like that of  humans.  They make a little casket, and have a funeral service and bury the monkey in the cemetary with the townsfolk.  They even have little headstones.  Edmund took us to the cemetary.  He told us another strange occurance that takes place in Fiemo.  Sometimes, the colobus monkeys come closer to the town and they howl from midnight until 4 every morning for seven days.  At the end of the seventh day they quit and a person in the village dies.  He says it happens every time someone dies and when the monkeys begin to howl, all the villagers look around and wonder who's going to expire.

Gary bought me a carved wooden rhino and Lucy a wooden beaded necklace and earrings from the only craftsperson in the whole town.  I love it and it will always bring memories of this incredible day. The monkeys began going back into the jungle, so we decided to head back. As we were leaving we met a group of students, on the trail--young adults--who were on a retreat to the sanctuary.  They immediately began swarming around me asking to have their photo with the obruni.  At first I smiled and motioned it was alright.  Then it got out of hand.  I was literally mobbed!  Dozens of young people pushing, shoving, trying to get in the picture.  Now I know what J-Lo goes through on a small scale.  The only difference is I don't get the big bucks that go along with the celebrity status.  I learned that President Thayne was being mobbed as well.  We finally were able to break away and retreated back to our truck and the Owusus.

The town of Kintampo was just about 30 minutes further north and they have a beautiful waterfall so we decided as long as we were this far, we ought to visit the falls.  The Kintampo Falls are a series of three waterfalls, deep in the center of Ghana.  They are really lovely and the third one has 152 steps that lead steeply down to where the water deposits at the bottom.  I considered not attempting the descent (due to bad knees and a questionable hip), but I figured we were only going to be here once, so we went for it.  It was beautiful and worth the steps, both down and back up.  We stopped and ate lunch at some little chop bar.  Lucy had fish fufu--what an experience.  We made it back to Sunyani in time for a baptism--two young girls, 10 and 13.  The electrician had jerry-rigged the power cables, so we have temporary power and we taped the faucet (Africa-style) until it can be replaced next week.  All is well in Africa and our trip to the monkey sanctuary will always be fondly remembered and cherished.

Life is Good . . . Sometimes

We try to be positive and we really do have a lot to be thankful for.  If you can look past the basic  ramifications of living in a third world country, we truly are blessed and can find simple joys in simple things:

1.  Our new apartment, though relatively small, is probably the nicest living quarters in all of Sunyani.  It's brand new, has lovely marble tile floors throughout, a very large dining-living area, an office, a walk-in shower, and we even have a washer and dryer.  We have hot water most of the time, not only in the shower, but in the kitchen as well (unheard of in Sunyani), and we have 3 air conditioners.

2.  Unlike the first complex we lived in where I had to open and unlock and close the huge iron gates myself, as Gary drove the car in and out, here at our new place we have two gatekeepers.  David and Yaki open the huge gate whenever we drive in and they even carry any groceries or bundles into the house for us, and they sweep our front verandah and talk "bikes" with President Thayne.  They take turns staying here all night so we have 24 hour security.  (Of course, Yaki is deaf, but it is comforting.)

3.  We have a young man named Effah who helps us whenever needed -- and whatever is needed.  He leaves work to help us and always smiles and even made an art easel for me to paint on.

4.  Although we live on a dirt road, Gary has a car-boy (also named  David) who washes and details our truck inside and out, like with a toothbrush.  He comes every couple of days or whenever needed, spends 2-3 hours cleaning it, won't take pay, and is at Gary's beck and call.  We usually try to slip him 5 cedis for food.

5.  We are literally treated like celebrities wherever we go.  Everyone knows us and loves it if we even say hi or acknowledge them.   We are always given chairs wherever we go and are always pushed to the front of any line wherever we go.

6.  Everyone always wants to say hello to the "Muh-dom" (Madame).  They always inquire about how I am or say, "Give my best to Muh-dom."  They truly revere and respect and love older women and me being white even seems to elevate the position.

7.  President Owusu is our guardian angel.  He is anywhere and everywhere.  The other day when the ATM failed to give us our cash, we didn't know what to do.  I turned around and there was Owusu, and we were on the other side of town.  He took us into the main branch of that ATM's bank which was back in the center of Sunyani.  We never would have found it.  When we walked in, there were six lines of about 20 people deep behind every teller.  He just marched us up to the front, introduced us to the bank manager and we had it all cleared up in just a few minutes.

8.  Although there are bars and gates on all the windows and doors, we have never felt threatened or in danger at any time. The people are truly very poor, but they are loving and kind and generous and accepting in every way.  It makes it easier to overlook the primitive conditions and concentrate on helping them.

A Great Day for Sunyani!

On May 6, 2012, the town of Sunyani deep in the rainforest of Ghana officially was designated a district by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Sunyani is the capital of the Brong-Ahafo Region and has about 150,000 (or more?) residents.  The Church opened up Sunyani to missionaries about a year and a half ago and it now has three branches and one unit which will become a branch in the very near future.  The members are very humble and dedicated and have been praying for this recognition.

The Area Conference where the announcement was made was held at the Nkwabeng Chapel.  Members had been working diligently to have everything cleaned and perfect for the celebration.  Four huge tents were ordered to be set up in the courtyard and parking area for shade and chairs and extra hymnbooks were hauled in from other chapels. 

The day before and set up progressed as "typical Africa".  The tents were supposed to arrive and be erected by 4 p.m. on Saturday.  At 7 p.m. there were still no sign of the tents and no one could be reached by telephone.  Then the call came that they couldn't be set up until the next morning.  That was entirely not suitable as the conference started at 10 a.m. and tents and chairs would not be up in time.  The Elders hopped in our truck and off we went to find out what the problem was or to possibly get another tent source.  As we were on our way, they called and said they were coming after all so we turned back to Nkwabeng to wait for them.  They finally arrived and the four huge tents were erected.  It took until after 10:30 p.m. so it was good that we hadn't tried to get it done in the morning.  We double-checked the sound system and made certain all was working perfectly.  We set the chairs for the congregation under the tent canopies and had the speakers and the podium under the porch overhang.  The weather was looking a little ominous but President Owusu said he thought it would be alright so we finally all locked up and went home.

Events in Africa happen so strangely.  During the middle of the night, President Owusu was prompted to get up and go to the Chapel which is about a block from his home. He thought he was worried about the rain and didn't know why, but he moved the speakers, sound board and all the electronic equipment from the porch into the main chapel, secured the doors, and went home and back to bed.  The next morning when we arrived early, we found that the barbed wire perimeter around the compound had been cut and burglers had invaded the grounds.  They tried to break into the President's office, the Chapel, as well as the clerks' office and got nothing.  Had President Owusu not heeded his prompting, the sound system would have been stolen and the conference could not have gone on.

The day was incredible!  The weather was just perfect--a little cooler than usual.  Each of the Branch Presidents spoke and then Gary was put in and sustained as the first District President of the Sunyani Ghana District.  There were over 200 people in attendance and when our ten Elders and President Shulz (Mission President) and President Thayne stood and sang "Ye Elders of Israel" there was not a dry eye.  President Shulz and Sister Shulz and Gary and I all spoke and it was truly a beautiful morning.  These people are so loving and humble and dedicated.  Only a couple have cars so they all had to pay for taxis to transport them to the conference which is a huge deal as many don't even have enough money for dinner that night.  They are truly amazing!   With this new designation we can move forward with training and lessons and helping them learn the Gospel as they continue to grow.
We are now beginning to understand why we have been sent to Sunyani.