CHRISTMAS IN GHANA

In addition to the usual pictures and videos I share, I thought I would add some information about what it is like to celebrate Christmas in Ghana.  They are a very religious people, so they do sing the Christmas songs, do the Nativity scenes, read from Luke 2, etc.  (I’ve actually heard Johnny Mathis and Michael Buble’).  They also consider it a time for families to gather and celebrate in a culturally different way…..lots of costumes, masks, music, dancing, and food.  If you were to look it up on the internet what Christmas is like in Ghana, it would say, “Christmas in Ghana is a vibrant, family-focused celebration marked by religious services, festive meals with traditional dishes like Fufu and jollof rice, and large community gatherings.  The celebrations run from December 20^th to early January and include special traditions like caroling on Christmas Eve, masquerade festivals with dancing and costumes, and fireworks”. 

We attended a Christmas fireside with lots of singing, and I showed you some videos of that last week.  I asked Patrick, who works with us, what Christmas was like in his home, and he said about the same as it is mentioned above.  The Christmas gifts are a smaller part of their celebration than what we see in the United States.  They do give some smaller gifts, if they can afford it, but the majority of the Ghanaians cannot afford gifts, so the food is what they get very excited about. Patrick has a teenage daughter, and I did ask about the gifts, and he said they save up for months and months to be able to get something nice.  The people here do not have credit cards and do not go into debt to buy gifts.  They do have debit cards, so what they spend comes out of their bank accounts.  No debt.  I’ve attached a video of some people on the street giving their thoughts about Christmas.  You will see that they don’t really mention the religious aspect of Christmas, but that is about the same response we would get in America if someone was asked what they like about Christmas.  Christ is the reason for the season, but no one ever really talks about it outside of Church. 

I love the pictures below.....many of them taken at a Stake Conference in Kasoa.  The people love to have their pictures taken…..so the close ups were taken with permission.  I also had some time for golf…..which I will do more of as we get closer to the Spring.  I enjoy it…..and it is good to get outside.  We tee off at 5:45 am…..because of the heat.  We had some missionary training, and it is always fun to have the missionaries around, and then we gathered yesterday as Senior Couples and put together all of the items for the missionary Christmas gift.  Jill had us line up into "stations" and we all put 3-4 items each into their Christmas “bags”.  We will have two Christmas Multi-Zone Conferences next week, where we have some teaching, and then some music, and then some games, a spectacular dinner, and then hand out the gifts.  It will be fun. 

One of the fun movies that came out many years ago, based on a book from Dr. Suess was, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”…..where the Grinch was determined to rob Who-Ville of every holiday treat.  In a devilish scheme, the Grinch dressed up as Santa himself, and moved through Who-Ville taking every package, tree, ornament, and stocking.  After being successful in this endeavor…..this is what followed:

“As He stared down at Who-Ville, the Grinch popped his eyes, then He shook..... What he saw was a shocking surprise.  Every Who down in Who-Ville, the tall and the small…..was singing!  Without any presents at all !   He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming, it came.

Somehow or other, it came just the same.  And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling:  “How could it be so?”  It came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes, or bags.

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  MAYBE CHRISTMAS, HE THOUGHT, DOESN’T COME FROM A STORE…..MAYBE CHRISTMAS…..PERHAPS…..MEANS A LITTLE BIT MORE”.

Christmas does mean more.  The gifts and decorations, and ribbons, and bows are fun, but Christmas doesn’t come from a store.  We celebrate the season because of the birth of Christ.  As much as the world wants to take Christ out of Christmas…..it is His spirit that touches our lives and causes us to change our hearts. It is Christ that makes people change…..whether the world wants to believe that or not. 

David O. McKay, a former Prophet of our Church, said “True happiness comes only by making others happy….the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it”. The Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit.  With all the hustling around…..all the hurrying to do everything on our lists…..all the activities we want to attend…..and yes, even the stressful moments we will have…..take the time in the next few weeks to do something else.  Go find a quiet place, go to your knees, and give thanks for the blessing of life..... and that you have found Christ and his church here upon the earth.  The gifts we share at Christmas time are soon forgotten…..the gifts received from our Heavenly Father are with us for eternity. 

Just like the video below reminds us…..the first gift of Christmas was given by a loving Heavenly Father.....to all of His children.  He gave His son…..He is the Christ. He is Christmas.

He is the Gift. This Christmas…..Discover the Gift…..Embrace the Gift…..Share the Gift. 

Precious and so very innocent. You hate to see them have to grow up. But I guess that is part of life and the reason we came to earth. The innocence and purity of a little child.......

Looking at these little ones....Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me.... For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven"

Random people on the Street being asked what they like about Christmas. And of course, it is never about Jesus.

This little girl came to the Office for a visit.....Her Dad was a missionary here in Ghana years ago and now lives in Arizona. He married a girl from Ghana. His father-in-law works with us and takes care of our Mission Home and Mission Office.

The Temple grounds, along with the MTC and Stake Center. It is quite a sight in person. Not as good as the Salt Lake Temple grounds, or even the Oakland Temple grounds, but it is nice to see.

Driving down the busy street with the lights of the Temple grounds to see.

Beautiful, faithful, strong, and loving are the women of Ghana. More below.

Stake Conference at Kasoa. Not many vacant chairs. And they dress so nice.

Our missionaries greeting everyone as they come for Stake Conference. If you saw this coming into the church building.....wouldn't it put a smile on your face?

I know I post a lot of women pictures.....but the men over here are also very faithful and know the doctrine of Christ extremely well.

A happy family, except for the young boy, I guess. They love Sundays and love coming to church. This is their best day of the week.

The members look to the missionaries for support and knowledge and direction. What a wonderful program we have in the church where these young people take the time in their lives to bring others unto Christ. The members here absolutely love the missionaries.

They do like their pictures taken.....

Go ahead.....take my picture.

Brad Findlay and Clyde Barton. Second time golfing for me. More rounds will come in the spring as I get closer to going home. I love to golf.....but I have lousy clubs and the course is not really what I'm used to. I guess I'm kind of a golf snob.

I still have the same stupid golf swing.....but it works.....at least it did 6 months ago when I shot 1 under my age.....that's a 71 for those of you counting. A 71 at Oakhurst Country Club....that was my goal.....to shoot my age and I actually shot one better.

This is Ebenezer. He has worked for the church in the Area offices for 20 years. He negotiates all of our missionary apartment leases and makes sure the apartments are taken care of and the Landlords keep our missionaries safe. He is also a very good dresser.....check out his sleeves and bracelet. It was a holiday here in Ghana so he dressed casual.

We had Mission Leader Training this week. All of the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders came to the Mission Home.

This group is just like all the Zone Leaders throughout the World. They are faithful and obedient and work hard at what they have been called to do. These are a type of the future leaders of the church. When you think about 100,000 missionaries worldwide......the church is in good hands.

Now we are getting down to Christmas time. Jill had us in "stations" and we all added something to the gift bags. I think many of our missionaries will be pleasantly surprised to see what they got.

Jill is a worker and an organizer. To gather up about 15 items for each bag, for 175 missionaries and then get them into a Christmas package? She is amazing. And even though we will not be around our children and grandchildren this Christmas.....giving out these gifts will be very nice.

This is our group.....without Sister Campbell. She happens to be in the United States right now tending to a family matter. We missed her.....but we got it done !!!

Still working into the evening. Getting labels made for all the packages.

I've always loved her smile.....that is one of Heavenly Father's gifts to me.

I love this video. It helps keep me focused on what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. Heavenly Father's gift to all of us.....His only begotten Son. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosover believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life".