THE CITY OR THE VILLAGE

I did something this week that I have been wanting to do since we got here.  I drove up to Abomosu…..with President Campbell and Patrick.  He had some interviews to do, and I had some financial matters I had to transact with the 22 missionaries living up there.  It is a three-hour drive, but more importantly, it is way out in the “bush” country.  The greater metropolitan area of Accra is an area of about 4 million people and that is our life week after week.  When we get a chance to go out to other Zones in our mission, we jump on it.  During our Zone Conferences we get to see a lot of the mission…..but I had not been to Abomosu.  You can see from the map below, it is the place way up North in our mission boundaries.   My next place to go would be Oda. 

What I liked about Abomosu was the quiet and peaceful setting.  You can see from the videos below that there is a lot of “green”.  The villages are cute and very rural.  Their shops are on the road and it is like one strip mall after another.  I have a video of a clothing shop…..which was very cute and clean, and she had her jeans hanging up on a rope outside her shop.  This shop was within a block of where the Stake Center is located.  Abomosu has two Wards and it is the center of the church in that area….. with a nice Stake Center building, which you can see below.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are taught that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God”.  Wherever we live…..whether in a large city or a small village…..our worth is the same.  But we also understand, the environments we choose can shape our ability to feel the Spirit, raise our families, and draw closer to God.  Villages and rural living can offer unique advantages that do support gospel living.  In smaller communities, life often moves at a slower pace.  We have noticed that here in Ghana wherever we are.  There is less noise, fewer people and crowds, and fewer distractions competing for our time and attention.  It depends on who you are and what kind of life you want….. to be able to decide what kind of life is better for you…..the city or the village.  My wife grew up on a farm and she prefers the life out of the city.  We have been fortunate to live in homes that did not have neighbors looking down into our backyards.  She would love to be serving outside of Accra doing some other kind of missionary/humanitarian work.  But we were called of God for a purpose…..to serve in the mission office…..and our time right now is to help this mission administratively and financially.  We are okay with that.

I love what the Savior said in Psalms…..”Be still, and know that I am God”.  Quiet surroundings can help us hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost more clearly and provide space for prayer, scripture study, and meaningful family time.  I also like the idea that in Villages and rural areas, people tend to know one another even more than in the larger City.  Neighbors watch out for each other and serve each other maybe a little more when there are fewer people around.  I know this from the stories and experiences my wife had growing up.  What she did on the farm and in the farming community is not what I did in the city.  I am not saying that city living is not as good or wrong or less righteous.  My family was raised in the city and they are all doing just fine.  The Lord needs faithful Saints everywhere.  But for many, village and rural living can create conditions that make it easier to focus on what matters most…..faith in Jesus Christ, love of family, and service to others.  As we seek environments that help us live the gospel more fully, the Lord will guide our choices.  He knows where we can best grow, serve, and become like Him.  Jill and I certainly have this one observation that teaches us and reminds us every single day…..one does not have to have money to be happy.  We see it in the faces of these beautiful people everyday…..they have nothing from a worldly standpoint…..but they are happy and they know that God loves them. 

You can see from the pictures below, we went again to the Butterfly Market. Jill loves this place and she is getting to know many of the vendors.  In fact, all of the Senior Missionary Couples like to go there because it is cute, clean, and the people are so very friendly.  The men that were making me some chicken, rice, and pot stickers…. actually lived in Japan and know the language and try and cook like the Japanese. Very talkative and very friendly.....it was fun spending some time with them.  The food was very good…..my second attempt at “street food”.  I also have a picture of a celebration with a special cake that was made….. ”God Be Praised…..GAWM…..2000”.  The Campbells wanted to celebrate the fact that our mission had over 2,000 baptisms in 2025.  That is a nice thing to celebrate. GAWM stands for Ghana Accra West Mission.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK.  BE HAPPY…..GOD LOVES YOU !!!

Sister Beeson (East Mission) and Jill at the Butterfly Market.

The map of our Mission. 8 Zones. Abomosu is at the top of our Mission. What a beautiful and peaceful place.....the Villages. You can see where our Mission Office is at the bottom, right. We are actually in the East Mission boundaries.

Some random guy in Accra.....posing for a picture, but what about the poor dog.

Elder Mateara just got over a serious (fever of 104 degrees) bout of malaria. He wanted me to send this picture to our health advisor, Sister Kaaen, to let her know he was doing just fine now. There are more mosquitoes up in the "bush" for sure.

The "bush" country..... three hours from Accra.

It was peaceful and quite a bit different experience being up here in the Villages.

More driving and scenery.

We made it. The Stake Center coming up right on the main road. Two Wards.

I liked their little shops.....the clothing shop up on the right was very cute and clean.

On our way out of town.

Lots of driving, but very much worth it.

Their communities are "home" to them and everyone knows everyone else.

The quiet and peaceful life.....but very much different than what we are used to for sure.

We attended a Zone Council.....Kaneshie Zone. Good missionaries.

There is nothing like hearing missionaries sing.

A Future missionary.

A celebration at a Mission Leaders Conference. These are the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. A great bunch of quality missionaries.

We attended one of the nicest baptisms we have seen as the people being baptized were so spiritually prepared for this major event in their lives. The sister missionaries are Archibald and Ngalula. Sister Ngalula is from the DRC and speaks French. She was able to teach two of these men in French and then bore her testimony to us all at the baptism in French so that they could understand. It was very moving.

My second attempt at eating "street" food. It was very good......chicken and rice and pot stickers. These men lived in Japan and learned how to cook there. They also speak Japanese, Twi, and English. I only know English.....everyone here seems to know more than one language. What is wrong with me?

Another video of me getting my food. Sister Beeson also got some.

I didn't go with them....they walked over by themselves, but I spied on them and it was fun.....as usual.....to see Jill smiling and having some fun. This lady was showing them pictures of her grandkids when Mom told her she had almost 38.

She bought a fan.....Why?.....because she didn't know what else to buy and one cannot go to the market without buying something. What did I buy? Bagels and Chicken and rice. That is the difference between Jill and I. She buys good stuff.....and I just buy food.

This friendly guy speaks Japanese and other languages and is a good cook. I liked the food, but I am still nervous about eating food from street vendors.