Our first trip to Nigeria

 

By Debi:

The collapsed building is behind where the crane is

This has been a very sad week here in Accra.  Last Wednesday an eight story commercial building collapsed on itself early in the morning.  There were workers in the building preparing for customers when the building just fell apart.  It was a new building; the store had only been open since February.   There has been a huge rescue effort and the last we heard 70 people had been rescued but 12 people have died so far.  I don’t know if any of this has been on the world news but it has been on the people’s minds here in Ghana.

Not a clear view of the sight, but close

Today in Church we heard a very special story.  
The store is owned by a family originally from India.  Even though they do not believe as most Ghanaians, they allow the workers who want to join together to have a morning devotional and prayer before they start work.  Wednesday morning a group of Christians were gathered for their regular prayer meeting when the building collapsed.  All who were there in the prayer were shielded from the collapsing building and were able to call on their cell phones and let their families know that they were still alive inside of all of the rubble.  They have been rescued and are all right.  One woman who is usually there didn’t come to the prayer meeting that morning and she wasn’t saved from the terrible accident.  She was found dead. 

We drove by the building this morning on our way to church and there were still rescue crews there and a large crowd of people there watching and praying that somehow their loved ones would be rescued.  So the story isn’t over yet.  We could not get very close and they made us detour around the sight, which is right on the road we take home from church.  We have heard that the building was never inspected and probably there was some bribing of an official to look the other way.  The cement was very poor quality and no rebar was used in the building.  We are praying for the people and their families. 

This last Friday Greg and I flew to Lagos, Nigeria.  Lagos is one of the largest cities in Africa and also one of the fastest growing cities in the World.  We left our apartment at 2:30 in the afternoon and we arrived at our Hotel at 11:30 at night.  Mind you that it is only a one hour flight.  Why did it take so long?  Traffic, Delays, Long Lines, and lots of checking of our passports, visas, and our bags made the journey so arduous.  We decided that the next time an American complains about the airports in the United States we are going to tell them to come to Africa and give it a try.  They are so cautious here and they check everything.  Even after I had gone through security and they had screened our bags and we had walked through the metal detectors they thoroughly patted us both down.  Then we walked down a long hallway on the way to the gate.  Now we have to fill out an immigration card and be inspected again with a man looking at our cards we have filled out.  He asks a lot of questions and then he decides to let us through.  Then in order to get into the hallway with the gates we have to show our passport, visa, and airplane ticket.  Now we are almost to the gate but wait, we have to go through one more check.  They looked thoroughly through our bags, patted us down again, and looked at our passports and our tickets and our visas.  Again they ask why we are going to Nigeria and then we wait to board the plane. 

We thought we were on our way but we still had to show the stewardess our tickets one more time and then we were on our way. 

 

When we reached Nigeria (the plane was delayed by two hours because it took so long to get everyone checked in) I was surprised that the airport had Muhammad in the name.  We entered the airport and  had to do the whole process in reverse.  It is so intimidating to have men hold all of your papers and ask very serious questions and wonder if I am going to get into the country or am I going to jail. 

On our return, we had to do all of this again, again!

 

Probably the most frightening time of the day was when we came to the doors that led out to the driveway of the airport. There was a huge throng of people just standing there looking in the doors.  Many men and women, a lot dressed in Muslim attire, looking in. They may not have all been Muslim, some may have been in native African dress, it is often hard to tell the difference. We didn’t know what was going on.  We thought maybe they were protesting or something but we realized that the airport does not allow anyone in the airport without a ticket so everyone has to wait outside for their family or friend that is arriving.

This is the view we saw in the morning outside our hotel, the Best Western of Lagos (really).

When we pulled into the Hotel at night, the gate was opened by armed guards and they had mirrors that they looked under the car of the Church member that drove us.  Then we were able to get out as they closed the gate.  There was very high security so we felt save, sort of.

One very interesting thing for me while we were waiting for our car was the dress of the women.  They were dressed in the most beautiful clothing.  They looked Muslim but they didn’t have their chador (black robes and head covering)  on they had their beautifully designed clothes with beautiful colors and jewels and their headdress matched their outfit.  Their skin and hair was perfectly covered but in gorgeous colors and material.  I wished that I could have taken a picture but that would have been very rude and I was not in a position to take a picture without them knowing.


This is the street we had to walk down to get from the hotel to the church office building.  We really had to watch what we were doing.  Greg was carefully walking and some ladies accross the street started yelling and laughing at him.  He looked and smiled and then gave them a big wave.  They all waved back and giggled.  We are not sure what that was all about, but they were having a great time.


 

At the airport in Accra while we were waiting in line I saw a beautiful young woman.  She was decked out and was showing her shape off without any worries.  I decided to get brave and I asked her if I could take a picture of her so I could send a picture of a beautiful African woman to my daughters in the United States.  She was happy to oblige and I took her picture.  I asked her if she was a model and she said “yes”.  The women here are not embarrassed about what they have to show off and she would have given Jennifer Lopez a run for her money.

 

 

 

Greg and I went to Nigeria to do training for the Assistant Area Auditors for the Nigeria area.  We met at 8:30 in the morning and the training lasted until almost three oçlock.  The men were so happy to meet us after three months of e-mailing and phone calls.  It was like meeting an old friend that we had never met face to face.  The training went great.  The Church’s presence in Nigeria is even more than here in Ghana.  We met at the Church offices in Lagos which were very nice.  There is also a beautiful Stake Center on the grounds and some apartments for the missionaries and the mission president and his wife.  We are so grateful for these good priesthood brethren who dedicate so much of their time and their talents to help protect the funds of the Church.  They truly understand the seriousness of their callings and they are very faithful in their work.  We are so thankful to be able to work with them and now we can call them our friends.  They were so grateful that we were willing to come to Nigeria and spend the day with them and have this training for them. 

 This is Brother Sowah and Elder Haws on the Church property.  This is the Stake Center and in the distance is the Church Office Building that serves Nigeria.

We also had a luncheon with the group.  This was our first truly African meal. We have had a few dishes offered to us but now a whole meal.  They had a dish with “meats” in it.  There where livers and gizzards.  Then there was a pot of fish with their heads and tails still on that had been smoked. They also had parts of chickens that had been fried.  They had a pot of rice with some vegetables in it and a tomato sauce that was very, very spicy.  Needless to say, I couldn’t bring myself to eat the livers or the fish with their heads and tails but I did have some rice with the tomato sauce and that was very good. All of the men thought it was pretty funny that I didn’t want to eat the meat.  They all ate with gusto, the heads and bones and all!

 

Well, that is the life of an African Missionary for the week!  I hope you enjoyed it!

By Greg:

Everyone said we could not take a taxi to the airport, but we did not want to leave or car there (it might not be there when we returned) and we did not want to put someone out to take us, so we paid the 15 cedis and got in this really little cab.  I did not even try to put on my seat belt.  I did not worry as my bags were on my lap and they were as good as any air bag.  When we got to the airport were were quite the sight trying to get out of this little car with our stuff.  Debi almost broke her leg as her foot went the wrong way between the curb and the car as we tried to unwind ourselfs.

 

This is a Nigerian taxi.  It is a cross between a golf car and a motorcycle.  They are all over the place.

I went around the building and found this group of Elders.  It was transfer day and so they were all there waiting.  I held a min-zone conference with them.  The elders in the coats just arrived from the MTC in Ghana.  In fact, we met them there the week before.  I taught them the importance of member referrals.  "How many of you have been a member less than 5 years?" Over half.  "How many love the person that introduced you to the gospel?" Everyone.  "So go help the members show their love to their friends, tell them their friends will love them more!

Besides the golf cart-motor cycle taxis, there are millions of real motor cycle taxis.  This woman is riding on a taxi!

Debi is the Assistant to the Assistant Area Auditor, or AAAA!  She also carries a lot of stuff wherever we go.  She took part in this training and the men loved her.  She now has seven best friend in Nigeria.

 

 

One more thing,  Today in church, one of our new friends told an experience he had just had.  He has been learning how to design web-sites.  He has done a few for friends and on the side.  He got a call from some people who had seen his work and offered him $10,000 US to design a couple of sites for them.  This always turns into more as the sites must be maintained.  He was so excited.  Then he found out that they are not sites that we as Latter-day Saints can accept and agree with.  They may acutually be hosted here for display in the US and other places. He and his wife prayed about it, and his wife was very firm in her feelings that he not do it.  So he turned it down.  His conclusion was interesting.  "I have not stopped them from doing the web-sites, they will probably get someone else, but I have stopped me for being part of it, and that is what matters."

We either believe what we believe, or we don't.  If we believe it, we must live it.

God bless him.



 

Off to Nigeria

A group of Elder-I sent this picture to each of their mothers

By Greg:

It is Thursday and tomorrow we are flying to Nigeria.  We have been preparing for this training for a couple of weeks.  We will fly there tomorrow at 5:00 pm and get there at 7:00 pm.  When we fly home we leave there at 5:00 and get here at 5:00 pm.  It takes longer to get there than to get back.  OK, I know about the time zone thing, even though I am still confused and the daylight savings thing has now made it 7 hours different from home.

We will meet with the brethren in Nigeria for 6 hours from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.  We will give them a morning break and then lunch at noon.  The Church has an office in Lagos, Nigeria and we will meet there.  We are expecting six Assistant Area Auditors (AAAs) and the local Manager of Temproal Affairs, and us and Brother Sowah--10 total.

We are staying at the local Best Western Hotel.  That is not a joke, it is a Best Western and it is near the office.  We will have a car pick us up at the airport in Nigeria but we are taking our first cab ride from our home to the airport here in Accra.  Elder and Sister Taylor are picking us up Saturday and if we are still alive we will go out to dinner with them.  That is our incentive to live.

We are here to teach the teachers.  The teachers are the Assistant Area Auditors.  They each have a "Coordinating Council" (CC) of Stakes and Districts.  These CC have around 8 to 12 Stakes and Districts (most have both) and of course those have wards and branches.

The AAAs, as we call them, have the responsibility to train the Stakes and Districts on auditing and finance.  So as we train them, they in turn train others.  This is the pattern of the Church.

There are three CCs in the Africa West Area that do not currently have an AAA (we hace 11 total).  So in the interium I am the AAA for three CCs: Kumasi Ghana, Cape Coast Ghana and Benin.  This is why we went to Kumasi last week and Cape Coast a few weeks ago.

Now you might say that once the AAAs are trained we could go home?  It isn't that simple.  There is turnover and many of them are challenged by the computer technology as well as the actual auditing function.  We are here to help!  We are going where we are needed, any time, any place, at any risk.
Besides, how many times have we talked about Laman and Lemuel beating up Nephi?  We go over the same stuff over and over and over.




Debi made some of the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever eaten the other night.  It was hard not to eat all of them at once.  I ate too many and then drank lots of water and felt the oatmeat expanding inside of me--but it was worth it.


I know it sounded like our bags were full of white shirts, and they were, but we did have a few other things, like 2 huge bricks of cheese, a large bag of rasins, a few cans of chicken, some M & Ms (as gifts for our lady friends on the floor) and a lot of spices and gravy mixes.





Debi is a good African cook.  So far she has taken to the "pot luck" dinners a Tuna Casserol, a big dish of cooked and seasoned carrotts, a large dish of chicken pot pie, fresh pineapple and baked beans with pineapple, green peppers, and canned ham.










We saw Elder Blake Widdison from our Muskrat Springs Ward as he came to the Temple one more time.  He leaves tomorrow for Liberia.  This is the same country that Elder and Sister Miles are serving in, he hopes to see them too.  He is so pumped up and excited.  His traveling companion is from Cote d'Ivorie and speaks French and a little English.  I snuck him two Snickers candy bars that I had just purchased at the local MaxMart.  He was so happy to get them and hid them is his pack.




Last night, one of our new friends from Taylorsville, who just got here and are serving a Temple mission, called and said they were having an emergency.  They have had a pretty rough transition so far.  They needed help.  I was reading my scriptures with my eyes closed and Debi was talking with Stalee.  I grabbed my trusty Letherman tool and we went up to their apartment.

Their kitchen sink fauset had broken off and they had hot water shooting out.  Elder Cooper was trying hard to hold a pan over the gusher and force the water into the sink, but it all was not obeying.  He was soaked and there was water on the floor.  They don't have alot of things here, but they do have water pressure.

Of course the first thing I checked was the shut off valve under the sink.  Now, if we can have a worldwide Nuclear Arms Treaty, why not a universal building code?  No valves under the sink.  I followed the pipes and they clearly went toward the hall.  So I went out in the hall.  I think the Coopers thought I was leaving.  Debi went for backup--Elder and Sister Powell.

I found a small door that I just knew had shut off valves behind it, but of course it was locked.  It was not a key lock, but just a very small round hole.  I tried to unlock it with my tool, but no can do.  I saw down the hall a similar door that appeared unlocked, so I went to investigate.  Now I knew the shut off valve was not down there, but that door held the key to solving my problem, not the real key, but a clue.  This is basic troubleshooting technics.

I opened the door and sure enough, two shut off valves.  I considered shutting them just for good measure but the occupants of that apartment might not have been happy.  I did discover how the lock worked and so I returned and took off the outside plate with the phillips screwdriver then worked the lock until it opened and then I became the hero as I turned off the two valves and the water stopped.

Last Monday we took a couple of hours off and took the Coopers down to see the ocean.  As they work in the Temple, and do not have a car, Mondays are their day off.  They wanted to know if there really was an ocean so close.

Well it may take some time to get their sink fixed, but we hope it will be soon.  We also hope Sister Cooper will stay with us.  We felt so bad for her.

Speaking of building codes, yesterday, right here in Accra, a big building that houses a large discount store collapsed and a lot of people were trapped and hurt and we are not sure how many died.  It was a new building and was being rented by the store. You can check it out by google Accra Ghana Building Collapse.

These school kids are typical students.  They all wear uniforms and they are waiting for a Tro-tro.  Notice that the boys have a mashettee in their hands, they call them cutlesses.  I want one!  Imagine in the US a boy taking a big knife like this to school. 






By Debi:

Well, Greg has said all that we have done this week.  I have been washing and sterilizing the fruits and vegetables that we bought today while he wrote this entry.  We are on our way to the temple this evening.  We will take lots of pictures in Nigeria and put them in our next blog. We are having a hard time finding a P-day when we go on the weekends for trainings.  So we fit in a shopping afternoon when ever we find time.

Everyone, keep their chins up.  The Church is true and we are so blessed to be in this land.  When we saw Elder Widdison this afternoon with the biggest smile ever it reminded me why we are here and helped me to recommit to working hard and helping along the effort here in Africa.

By Debi:

Clear, Clean, Blue Water!  Now you probably think I am going to talk about water! But actually I am going to talk about not having water.

 

Sister Haws, Henry and Leslie Odonkor

We went to Kumasi Friday.  Kumasi is about 5 hours away if you are driving in light traffic.  If it is busy then it will turn into 6 or 7 hours.  We had training in Kumasi for the Stake and Mission Priesthood leaders and their clerks.  We traveled with Arnold (the MSR manager) and two of his co-workers who were going to help with the training.  One surprise is that Arnold decided to bring his two very cute boys along because they had never been to Kumasi.  The ride became very tight when we added two more passengers to our seven passenger vehicle.  We also had our bags, computers and video projectors. 

 

You put your right foot in...

When I leave our apartment I have to decide how long it will take to reach another restroom that I can safely use.  I knew Friday morning that it would be my last until that evening.  I didn’t drink until after 7:00 that night.  The men were all right because they can go anywhere.  One time we stopped at a gas station and Arnold told me they had a place for women.  I went to take a look and this is what I saw. Needless to say, I didn’t use this women’s restroom. A couple of other times the men and boys just went alongside the road.  I looked away.  Men are doing this all over this country.

 

By the time we got to the Hotel that night I decided that I would either learn to have a bladder of steal or it would burst and then I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

 

We stayed at a very nice hotel.  It is called The Golden Tulip.  It even had a very beautiful swimming pool that we didn’t swim in.  I felt bad for the boys because they wanted to swim but did not bring their suits.  I would have gladly watched them if they had. The beds were hard as a wrestling mat but we actually slept very well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to our training the next morning at the Kumasi Stake Center.  I took a few pictures of Greg in the room he was going to use for the break-out session of the training.  We taught everyone in a big group and then separated the clerks and auditors.  Arnold and company taught the clerks and we taught the Audit Committees.

 

 

 

At noon, they brought in lunch for everyone.  It was a meat pie (they never say what kind of meat) and a malt drink that they all love but it tasted very nasty to me.  Plus, remember I didn’t want to drink after 8:00 in the morning. I knew that after we left the church I wouldn’t find another restroom until we were safely back in our apartment 7 hours away. Greg took a picture of me in the room with all of the men.  Sometimes I forget that I am a different color from everyone else.   

 

I do have to say that the drive was very beautiful.  The foliage was so lush and green.  Trees and bushes and the grasses were thick.  The mountains were rugged and covered with greenery.  I tried to imagine Tarzan living around here.  We saw several farms with rice fields, banana trees, cocoa trees, and lots of corn.  We saw animals but not the kind you would think from Africa.  We saw cattle, goats, and chickens.

 

On our way home from Kumasi we saw many funerals in progress.  People wear black and red.  That is the funeral colors. They usually have funerals on Saturdays.  Funerals here are very important.  So important that sometimes it takes a year to plan everything and pay for everything (they put the body on ice for that time).  It puts the families in a lot of financial trouble.  As it got dark, it was very hard for Arnold (who drove home) to see these black people dressed in black and walking along the road with no sidewalks or even a shoulder.  It is amazing we did not create the need for another expensive funeral.

 

Arnold’s two boys are very cute and very well behaved.  On the way home they fell asleep in the back. William and Folly had to stay over and so there were just 5 of us coming home.  I think they were either going to take a bus or a plane home.  I just had to take a picture of these boys because I miss my own grandsons at home.  I let them play games on my ipad and they loved it.  I guess boys are the same all over the world.

 

Today at church we watched two sessions of conference.  I am so grateful to have the experience of being here in Africa.  Instead of watching conference at home in their PJs they come to church and watch two sessions right in a row with their little children.  That is a real sacrifice.  They don’t think so, they think it is a real blessing to hear the Prophet’s voice and hear the instructions from the Priesthood brethren in Salt Lake.  It was a very special moment to watch them lift their hands to sustain the Prophet.

 

At the break they had a beautiful birthday party for one of the little girls in the ward.  I couldn’t believe how fancy the cake was. It was a white Barbie cake. They even lit candles in the church.  They passed cake out to the little children and everyone was so happy.

 

I am still amazed here in Africa.  I learn something about the people, the country, or about myself every day. I thank my Father Heaven for this opportunity to grow, learn, and become a better person.

 

By Greg:

 

Well good luck on the Presidential Election.  When we get up Wednesday morning it will be midnight Tuesday and maybe we will check to see how it all turns out.  Here, the big campaign issue is free SHS (senior high school).  This is a very welcomed event and all of the candidates are promising they will make it happen.

 

 

 

 

 

One thing that was really interesting as we traveled in the country was that there are two very competitive cell phone companies: GLO and MTN.  In order to advertise, they sent out painters to paint houses, shops and buildings for free if they could put their label on them.  So all the way from Accra (and all around Accra,) the buildings and shacks are either blue or yellow.  This was a good thing as most of the country needed painting.

 

I also noted that in almost every town there were several Christian church buildings, some very old, and usually one Mosque.  The Mosques are all similar, with an open room that they can pray in.  The Muslims here are not Arab, and therefore not so radical.  However, they believe something is about to happen, big time!

 

 

 

They highways are very interesting.  They alternate from country roads to divided highways.  It seems to be an option to use the entire road if possible.  We escaped two crashes; the first one scared the xxxx out of me.  But we made it.  This is not a divided highway.

There is a lot of truck traffic, all the trucks are over loaded and the trucks are constantly breaking down.  I think the first skill needed to be a truck driver is to be a mechanic.  The only thing more common than a broken truck along the side of the road (being repaired right on the spot) were the roadside shops selling everything from palm oil, pottery, bananas and cassavas, and a thousand other things.

 

The Golden Tulip hotel is an international hotel chain.  The government of Ghana built the hotel several years ago but it failed due to government abuse and lack of financial incentive.  Every government leader at any level thought he was entitled to stay and eat for free, and bring his family and guests as well.  It sat empty for several years and then the Golden Tulip came and remodeled it and now it is very successful.  The people here do not think the government should run businesses!

 

In the lobby of the hotel there are art works celebrating other cities with Golden Tulips.  This is the one for New York.  It is really bizarre and we were not sure of its meaning beyond the 911 plane crashes.  The thing on the side maybe Osoma being killed, but we were not sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debi is a real trooper!  She was so nice to those two boys, sitting in the third seat with them and letting them play with her Ipad all day.  Then sitting through the training and enduring the ride home.  She does it all with a smile.  I don’t know how to solve the bathroom issue.  The gas stations have this outside urination pits, some with separated ones for Ladies and Gents.  But still, they are outside and I don’t know what you do if you need number two?

 

At one of the stops, I was stretching my legs after using the pit and a taxi cab pulled through the gas station full of children.  I waved at them and they all waved back.  They kept waving.  I held my hand up for them to stop so I could take their picture.  I grabbed our camera and my Malinda Allred bag full of suckers.  At least ten children were in this little car.  I gave them a sucker and took their picture.  I wonder what impact such a small thing like that may have on them in their lives.  Will they remember that somewhere in the bush of Ghana they met an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he gave them a sucker.  Will they ask, “I wonder what else he has for us?”

 

 

Next week we go to Lagos, Nigeria.  I think using the restroom will not be our biggest concern.

I want to add one more thing, sorry if our blogs are so long.

 

The Church tries to have its meeting houses close to the people but also visible to the general public.  We were with the Shulz’s last week and they like to go to the only KFC in Ghana.  I was talking to a man who was doing security for KFC (really helping people park).  He said he was baptized and was looking for the Church.  Sister Haws pointed to a sign just over his shoulder.  We have a chapel just down the road from KFC.  He was happy to know that.

 

Today in Church I was talking to a friend from the Ofankor Ward.  I asked how long he had been in the Church. He joined in 1987.  He and his wife were disillusioned about churches and had decided to live without a church.  One day his wife saw one of our signs (this was before the Freeze) and she attended.  She came home with missionaries.  This brother wanted nothing to do with them, but allowed his wife to have lessons.  One time, his wife said the missionaries could not continue without meeting with him, as he was the head of the house.  He agreed to give them five minutes.  They spent 2 hours together.  He said these young men had answers to all his questions.  He has been a leader, first branch then district, then he was a Stake President and a counselor in the Temple Presidency.  Now he is a sealer and teaches the High Priests in the Ofankor Ward.  He is a great man.  All because of a sign!

Goodbye October

By Greg:

 

The Ghana MTC-happy anniversary!

We had a very different Halloween and today is our 39^th wedding anniversary.  Who would have thought…?

 

Well, we visited the Ghana MTC yesterday.  President and Sister Shulz came to Accra to take a missionary to the airport and invited us to go to Tema, which is about 30 km from here, and spend the night.  We were glad to join them for two reasons:  First, we have wanted to see the MTC and second, we knew that Elder Blake Widdison was there.  Elder Widdison is from the Muskrat Springs Ward, which is also the home Ward of the Shulz’ and us.  It was fun to see him in his element and to spend a few minutes with him.  We also ate breakfast with him the next morning.  He is going to be a great missionary and is very enthusiastic about his call.

Elder Widdison at Ghana MTC

 

The Shulz' go to the MTC all the time.  They drive their in a van and pick up their missionaries.  They know the place well.

 

The Ghana MTC is 10 years old.  It is very nice.  They have a couple of apartments that are available to Mission Presidents who come and go often.  These two apartments are air conditioned and very comfortable.  We felt bad knowing that the missionary rooms are not air conditioned, but they do have ceiling fans.

 

 

 

They served us hot chocolate, a boiled egg, bread and tom brown soup. Everyone dipped their bread in the soup, so we did also.

 

 

Today there are 56 missionaries at the MTC.  There are 4 sisters and 5 of the Elders are white.  One is from Samoa.  The rest are Africans.  They are all going to one of the 10 missions in our Area or to one of the two missions in DR Congo or to Madagascar.  This MTC also teaches in French for the incoming elders who speak French so that is why some other Africans come here.  In fact, they said that when they build the new MTC next to the Temple, that one will be English and the Tema MTC will continue in French.

 

One of the sister missionaries came up to Sister Haws and told her she looked just like her mother.  Now, if she had been on her mission for 18 months I would have said, “Sister, it is time for you to go home!” But she is just starting.  She was a beautiful young woman and I guess her mother could look just like Sister Haws????

 

Our shirt project is turning out well.  The members of the Hooper Stake contributed over 225 white shirts and some ties for the missionaries and children in the Cape Coast mission.  Sister Haws and I took home all of our suitcases and brought them back full to capacity.  President and Sister Shulz were so excited to get these shirts.  I am sure we will hear more about them in the future.

 

There is one little side light to the shirts.  A young member of one of the Wards that meet here at the Temple grounds drowned a few days ago.  He was at the ocean and got caught in a rip tide and could not swim.  The family is poor and is trying very hard to follow the counsel of the Church to have a simple funeral rather than an expensive multi-day-feed-everyone-in-the-city traditional funeral.  Well, they did not even have clothes to bury him so we gave him one of the Hooper Stake shirts and a tie.  We were so glad to be able to help.  Thank you Hooper Stake!

 

 

I am still a sucker for giving out suckers.  In my bag coming back were two huge bags of dumb-dumb suckers and some rubber balls.  The kids don't have anything to play with when they are at the temple.  They are so cute.  Notice the white shirts and clip on ties!

 

 

 

 

 

This little girl is learning young how to carry heavy things on her head.  Her little sister has one of my rubber bounching balls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Debi:

 

We returned, though it was not always clear that we would.  We came back a lot heavier (at least our bags were) than when we traveled the first time.

As Greg said today is our 39^th anniversary.  We have been married for 39 years and we have eight children and 29 grandchildren. That almost makes 39.  One for each year. When we went home last week we were able to help our daughter, Judi, with her new baby.  He is so cute and such a good baby.  They named him Nathan Haws Coburn.  Judi and baby are doing great and we are so happy we could spend a week with them.  We also were able to visit with Stalee and family, Joni and family,  J.B. and family and also Sunee and her family drove up from St. George for a day and we spent some wonderful time with them in Salt Lake. We were very sad that we didn’t get to see Katie, Rindi, or Millie and their families. We did spend some time on the phone though. Coming back to Africa was one of the hardest things I have done but we are here and we are trying to get use to the time change again and put our whole hearts into the work. 

 

Yesterday we spent the evening at the MTC.  The building is so nice and so clean.  We enjoyed our stay so much and we enjoyed visiting with Elder Widdison.  He is so tall and handsome and really sticks out in a crowd.  He will be a fantastic missionary and he will definitely draw  the people to him.  He will be able to use that to his advantage and teach a lot of people about the gospel.  He is working hard and is very excited to get out into the mission field and get to work.  Pres. Shulz said that he is going to the fastest growing part of Africa and they have the highest number of baptisms in the area.  Good Luck, Elder Widdison!

 

I need to tell a little more about the sister missionary Greg mentioned.  As we were talking to Elder Widdison I noticed a beautiful young woman who really caught my attention.  In fact, I thought about going over and telling her how beautiful she is and that she will make a great missionary but then I lost track of her and didn’t know where she had gone.  As Greg and I were on our way to our room to stay the night she called out “Sister Haws!” I turned and there she was.  She said “You remind me of my mother”.  I was so surprised but I put my arms around her and told her “Then maybe you can be one of my daughters.” I told her that I have 7 daughters and she was so surprised.  I wished her well and told her that she will be a wonderful missionary.  I am sure she is very homesick but I am happy that I could hug her and show her a little love.

 

The White Shirt Project of the Hooper Stake has been a smashing hit over here at the Africa West Area.  Everyone here knows about the project and the hundreds of shirts and ties that we brought back.  They are all so impressed with our Stake and their ability to pull this project together so fast and with such a great turn out.  Thank you to all who read this blog.  We are going to send an official thank-you note home to the Stake with some pictures of the Elders and young men and boys who receive the shirts.  The thank- note will be coming in a week or so when we get the pictures back from the Shulz’.  But for now know that they are so welcomed and will be so loved by the people of the Cape Coast, Ghana mission.

 

 

This is President and Sister Graham of the MTC with the Haws and Shulz.

 

Greg and I are going to Kumasi this weekend to give some training.  Then the next weekend we are flying to Nigeria to train some of the assistant auditors there.  We are nervous and excited at the same time.  Someone told us that Lagos, Nigeria is like New York City, just more crowded and it moves faster.  We will take pictures and tell you of our adventure!  Coming Soon.