THE WEEK OF HOSTING

This was a week of entertaining and hosting.  As you recall, we live in the Mission Office. When people need things or come for interviews with the Mission Leaders, they usually come to the Office first.  We like that because we like being around the missionaries.  Sometimes they surprise us with their visits and sometimes it could be at 8:00 – 9:00 at night…..sometimes at 6:45 in the morning. That is what happened this week…..lots of entertaining and hosting.  First of all, we began the week with a Mission Leader Conference.  This is where all of the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leaders come for training at the Mission Home for about 5 hours.  But first they stop off at the Office to have some breakfast, so Jill cooked pancakes for 24 missionaries.  And I do help…..usually in the form of making chocolate milk and doing dishes afterwards.  But it is fun to talk with them and hear their stories.  From breakfast, they go to the Mission Home, which is two doors down from the Office.  We then see the missionaries at lunch and then when the training is over they come for some travel money to go back to their areas.  Because we had a new sister coming the next day, two of the sisters decided to stay and spend the night at the Mission Home.  However, they did not hang out at the Mission Home, they stayed with us for about 5 hours.  That is when Jill decided to get out the puzzles and you can see some pictures of that below.  And of course, around dinner time they needed to be fed, so we decided to take them out for a hamburger and milkshake. They loved this more than you can imagine. Where they live, they don’t get food like this…..and they were so excited for the milkshake. They are very sweet missionaries, very strong and work very hard.  One is from the Ogden area and one is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo….great missionaries. Pictures below.

The next night, we had two Elders spend the night as one was going home and the other was getting a new companion. The Church will send missionaries to our mission at times that Visas are not given to their assigned areas……and the missionary will serve in Ghana until they get cleared to go to their assigned mission.  Sometimes it takes a month, sometimes several months.  We fed these two, took the one to the airport the next morning at 6:30, and then came back and entertained the other missionary until the AP’s got here.  He had never worked on a puzzle before and loved it.  If you are asking why the puzzles?  Missionaries are studying all the time and reading, etc.  They can do that for only so long and they need something else to do.  So, Jill gets out the puzzles and they love it. 

The next day we went to the 40-year anniversary of the Ghana Mission.  July 1985 our mission was created.  It was a nice celebration with a dinner.  The part we liked, which you can see below, is when they highlighted each of the mission leaders over the last 40 years and John and Naomi Riding were up on the big screen….. and the missionaries that served with them stood up and everyone clapped.  I think it was about 10-15 that served with them.  It was nice. Picture and video below.  Finally, Saturday we decided to go to the Cape Coast area, which is out of our mission, but Senior Couples can do that with permission from the mission president.  We went with two other couples, and it also felt like we were once gain hosting and entertaining. it was a 6-hour drive up and back on a road that hurt my neck.  It was very interesting and very sad at the same time…..as this is the area where the slave trade began in the 1,400’s in Western Africa.  Very historic, but very sad.  We then went to a place where they have built these rope bridges, very high in the sky, and we walked through the forest on these rope bridges.  It was something people told us we had to do……so we did it and we were glad we did.  You can see some pictures below it was fun….kind of like zip-lining but walking instead.

I wanted to end with an experience that happened here a while ago.  Two sister missionaries were walking in the street and if you have noticed in the picture some of the gutters can be very deep…..about 3 feet deep or so.  She was talking and not paying attention and fell into one of the gutters.  She just stepped back and fell.  It was very traumatic for her, she got hurt pretty badly, was bleeding, etc. and a man in a close-by shop rushed out to help her get out.  As she was laying there crying and the man helping with the bleeding, she began to tell him who she was and why she was in Ghana…..and began teaching him about the Plan of Salvation while they waited for more help to get there.  She asked if they could talk again…..he said yes.  She thanked him for helping her and they made an appointment to see each other again. A couple of months later, after meeting several times, He was baptized.  And then later he baptized his daughter.  All of this because she fell, was hurt, he helped, and she opened her mouth.  She is now home and has a scar on her leg but does not call it a scar…..she calls it a “mark”….. because that is the name of the man that helped her.  That was a pretty cool story, but it also tells us that many times adversity and difficult times can lead to something that would not have happened…..in this case, meeting a man who was ready to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

It was another good week in Ghana.  I wanted to end with some comments made by President Nelson a few years ago that I just love.  He said, “My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.  When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of happiness….and Jesus Christ and His gospel….we can feel joy regardless of what is happening – or not happening—in our lives.  Joy comes from and because of Him.  He is the source of all joy….that is why our missionaries leave their homes to preach His gospel.  Their goal is not to increase the number of church members. Rather…..our missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy to the people of the world”. (October 2016). We are feeling joy as we serve the people of Ghana !!!

Bridges of Ropes through the forest. Kind of like zip-lining, but walking. And kind of scary.

The group of Senior Couples having a fun day together.

The guide took the picture. Kind of lame.

Jill has beautiful, piercing eyes.....when she wants you to pay attention.

These bridges got moving and swinging. It was not a cake walk.

Elmina Castle. Built in 1482 by the Portuguese. Became a major hub of the transatlantic slave trade. The Dutch took over in 1637. The British took over in 1872. Very sad.

Elmina Castle right on the ocean at Cape Coast, Ghana.

Yes, there was a church in the middle of the Castle. Somewhat ironic considering what they were doing in the dungeons to the people they were selling as slaves.

The top of the Castle and surrounding area.

Beautiful woman, with messy hair and She will not be happy that I posted this picture.

We are now done with this Castle and done forever with what happened here.

Our Mission Leaders, the Campbells of Provo, Utah.....off to clean up around the neighborhood.

Trying to make a difference....but I don't know if we even dented what could be done.

Stake Conference in Swedru. 17 Chiefs of various Tribes attended and were very appreciative of the church and what we are doing in Ghana. Two of them spoke, along with an Area Seventy Authority and mentioned they are aware of what our church is doing with our youth. They said, "our youth are our future"....they know of the converts to our church that go on to serve missions.

You can pick out President and Sister Campbell. Kind of surprised they attended, but they were very complimentary of the church and the work we are doing in Ghana.....humanitarian projects and missionary service. "All are Gods children". They know that and they believe that.

We walk places we would not walk in America and feel very safe.

Mission Leaders Conference. I love these young people.....everyone does because of their commitment and dedication and taking time out of their young lives to serve a mission. What an experience they are receiving and the "education" of life living away from home in Ghana.

The history of the church in Ghana. Members began joining the church in 1978....even though there were practicing members before they were baptized.

The puzzles....Jill was in her "happy" place as she loves puzzles and I don't really do them.

We had a very fun evening with these two good sister missionaries. One from Ogden....one from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They were excited to have a milkshake.

And they finished their puzzle in one day.

Jill likes to walk with this woman.....she is Sister Beeson.....the Mission President's wife of the Ghana, Accra, East mission. She lives just three doors down from us. She is from Orem, Utah.

Another missionary getting hooked on puzzles. He had never done one. Jill had to teach him how after she saw him trying to jam the pieces into places that did not fit.

I haven't tried the coconut on the Street yet. I probably will soon.

This was a celebration of the 40-year anniversary of the church in Ghana. The first mission was created July 1985. There was a guy that was the first missionary there in attendance. Below you can see the video of John and Naomi Riding being recognized and the missionaries that served with them stood up and clapped. It was a nice event. Now there are 6 missions in Ghana.

Just as beautiful as little angels can be. They love to look at us and think it is strange to see people that are so white. We smile and it lights up their cute faces. We take their pictures and show them.......and it brings more smiles to see their faces on our phones.

This is right after church is over and what was so amazing was that all the youth quickly go up to the front and begin singing as people are leaving. It could be a nice tradition to have in America.

As soon as we opened the door, looked away to talk to someone, this little guy was in the drivers seat and ready to go home with us.

After already spending 2 1/2 hours in church....members of the Primary showed up at the baptism to sing some songs.....as two of the people getting baptized today were 8 and 11. They came to support their new members. It was very sweet. And we are amazed at how reverent and quiet they are through the whole meeting and you can see, there are no teachers or leaders sitting by them. We also liked the fact that they had one of their own leading the music.