THE VISIT PART 2
- Elder Denny Blodgett
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
I can easily remember over 50 years ago when I was a young missionary how I missed my family. I spent two years up in Toronto, Canada. In those days, we wrote letters and that was it…..no emails, no text messages, and no facetime. We were allowed to call our mothers on Mother’s Day and our family on Christmas. Other than that…..no communication for two years except for the letters we wrote and the letters we received. After a couple of months in the mission field, the homesickness went away. I still missed the family, but life went on and I was just fine for the next 22 months and very excited when I was able to see them again.
As I mentioned last week, Denae and Landon came for a surprise visit, and it was so good to see them. When they left after four days, Jill and I were reminded once again how much we missed our family and the fun we have being around them. We have a very close family (which makes us happy as the parents) and even here in Africa we get phone calls every day from one of them….. maybe more than one in a day. When you have 8 kids, 38 grandkids, and 3 great-grandkids…..there is always someone that wants to say hi to Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa…..which we are very grateful for. We do see them on Facebook or Instagram and our text messages have a lot of pictures. But being here is different than being around them at home.
I have highlighted below some of the pictures we took of the activities we did during the four days they were here. Jill and I still had some missionary work to do, but we did manage to get away, and we had lots of fun. I cannot imagine what life would be like without my family. I love each and every one of them very much. They bring so much joy to my life.
One of the greatest blessings we have as members of our church is the belief and knowledge that families can be together forever. It is not automatic…..we still have to work at following the Savior’s example and being true to promises we made to Him. But the fact that there is that possibility that we can be together forever is what keeps me going and keeps me trying to be a good person and living the way my Heavenly Father would want me to live. I have a lot of work to do to keep me on the straight and narrow path that leads back to Him…..but that is what keeps me going each and every day.
We live in a world where so much of what we do feels temporary. But the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us something about eternity. That is what gives so many people here in Ghana the hope they are looking for…..that life will be better someday. Through God’s plan of happiness…..our relationships with those we love are not meant to end at death. Instead, they can continue beyond this life. That promise and that doctrine changes how I see my family today. It changes how people learning about the church think about their own lives and their own futures. That is why so many are readily accepting the invitation to be baptized and come unto Christ. This church and its doctrine give them hope…..to have hope in Him. Life is temporary…..but our existence doesn’t end when we die. We go on and live forever because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” He also said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Because of Him…..we will all be resurrected and live forever. It is His gift to each of us. Unconditionally!!! The kind of life we live in the next phase of our existence…..after we die….. will depend upon how we lived our life here on Earth. There will be a lot of time to work things out….beginning now….or 1,000 years of the Millenium…..but when all is said and done, the Savior will be our judge, and He loves each of us very much. I love what President Dallin H. Oaks said years ago…..”the final judgment is not merely an evaluation of the sum total of good and evil acts….what we have done…..but rather an acknowledgement of the final effect of our acts and thoughts…..what we have become.” I love that idea.....that when all is said and done…..it is not what we did on earth…..it is who we have become.
Happy Easter. Be grateful for the Savior…..He died for us all….. that we might live again.
Landon and Denae and their very "surprising" visit....which included getting a yellow fever shot.
They need your fingerprints or you don't get in.....or you don't leave.
Here they come.....and we are so grateful for their visit.
Now the party.....and the laughing begins.
They wanted a picture of our vehicle.....and everything else they saw and what we did as senior couple missionaries. They wanted an experience of what it was like to be us here in Ghana.
You have seen videos like this.....Landon is now experiencing it for real.
They certainly wanted to meet our "convert of three weeks".....Gilbert.
They grow some unbelievable vegetables here in Ghana.
Just spending some time at home.....in our kitchen.
Basket shopping.
If you are there.....you have to buy one.
The Temple grounds at the Area Offices are pretty spectacular.
It was a Saturday.....so the Area Office was closed.....but we have a pass to get in.
This is the chapel at the Temple. The Christian-Boher Chapel.
We went to dinner a couple of times and to a small Ward about 45 minutes away on Sunday.
A little guy looking at more "white" people.....we must look strange to them.
After church we walked over to a ladies home that wanted to show us some of her ties.
Walking in the neighborhood after church.
Very humble surroundings.....but very beautiful people, with very strong testimonies.
This is her home.....and her neighborhood.
We can never get over the women carrying things on their heads.
The largest Mosque in Western Africa. About 5,000 people can pray in this room all at once.
This was our guide. Very beautiful place.
Hundreds and hundreds of bats.....you have to see it to appreciate how many bats there are.
And yes....part of our mission is playing Pickleball in the early mornings at 5:45am.
They will be tired by the end of the day.....just like Jill and I are....but it is one of the most fun things we do each and every week.
This is at the Chapel by the Temple.
After Pickleball....a dip in our pool. I do this about 3-4 times each week...for only about 10-15 minutes, but it feels so good. And I am always the only one in the pool.
The temperature is always around 75 degrees or warmer....because the temperature outside is always the same.....75 - 90.....even at 2:00am in the morning.
An adventure at the Central Market.....thousands and thousands of people.
These ladies got a kick out of me for some reason.....they wanted a picture of me. I showed them a picture of my family and they were shocked.....and very happy for me.
This place is crazy....and a lot going on.
This is Jill getting into it with some random woman....who is having so much fun.
It was a fun time at the market.....for sure !!! Gilbert was our guide....you kind of have to go with a Ghanaian....or they will try and rip you off. But I don't negotiate because they are trying to make a living and the cost of what we are buying is nothing.
Landon liked our office and where we worked.
Landon helped me do a little counting of the money.
This woman takes my money at the Momo stand and sends it to where I need it to go.
When you are here in person.....everything seems crazy and so that is why the videos.
This tree is called the "Tree of Life". Lots of carvings up close telling many stories.
More trees at Aburi Gardens.
This is what we get to do everyday.....what an adventure.
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