Quick Update

I got to touch a real life Crocodile! It was really scary so I made Yao (our driver) come stand next to me, just in case! 

Elmina Slave Castle

Accra Temple....So Beautiful! 

A Little Slice of Heaven

Today Emily and I went to Deseret Hospital located on the outskirts of Accra.  It was started by Dr. Kissi, the brother of Stephen Abu.  Dr. Kissi is a general surgeon who received his education and training in the UK.  It was there that he learned about the Church, which he then brought back to Ghana to share with Brother Abu.

The hospital was very nice.  It was organized and clean, but kind of smaller.  When we arrived, Dr. Kissi's daughter greeted us and told us she had a surprise.  She brought us back behind the dispensary (aka the pharmacy) and laying in a bassinet on the floor was the smallest, most precious, beautiful baby I had ever seen, sleeping like an angel.  She told us that they arrived at the hospital yesterday morning and found the baby all wrapped up on the door step.  Someone must have dropped her off during the night.  The baby couldn't have been older than 4 or 5 weeks.  She was a tiny little thing; So sweet with the curliest, softest black hair you've very seen.  She was so quiet.  She just stared at us with her big black eyes.

Finally, we decided she needed a name.  As we discussed potentials and debated over what would be most appropriate, we came to two conclusions.  We liked Esther, because she had to be strong and stand tall on her own, just like Esther in the Bible.  And we liked Grace, because it was by the grace of God that she fell into our hands.  Emily quickly exclaimed, "Esther Grace!" It was perfect.  We all agreed our little Esther Grace was a little slice of heaven.

Esther Grace

After spending some time with Esther Grace, Emily and I were pulled into mother-baby.  We then proceeded to weigh babies for the next three hours.  It was a little crazy!

In Ghana they do it a little differently than we do in the U.S.  Instead of setting individual appointments for well-baby check-ups, they set aside a certain day of the month when all of the mothers and their babies come to get weighed and immunized.  It is quite a long process and involves a lot of patience and waiting on the mother's part, but when it's done, it's done  And you don't have to worry about it until the next month.

One thing I found kind of interesting was that they are really pushing for more father involvement in the child's care.  In fact, they record every time a father comes to the well-baby check-up just to see how much involvement they have.  This is ironic because in the U.S. we were taught that if a dad comes to the child's doctors appointments, abuse can be suspected (kind of the complete opposite of what the Ghanaians believe).


I think my favorite part of the day, though, was this morning when all of the mother's joined together in song and prayer.  They sang this song about The wonderful Lord all in unison, super loud, with some "Alleluias" and "Amens" thrown in there.  It was super cool! The entire courtyard was filled with their voices and clapping.  I had never heard or experienced anything like it before.  I loved it! 

Abomosu Pictures!

Playing futbol after a hard days work

Teaching about cuts, wounds, and burns in World Joy School

Our primary class we taught in the Abomosu Ward

FULL HOUSE

Last night the other half of our crew joined us here in Abomosu…That means there are 19 of us living under one roof.  It’s a little squished but very fun! You would think doing dishes with this many people would be a pain, but somehow we have found fun, maybe a little too much fun, in working in the kitchen together!

This morning we taught in the schools again! Emily and I have been teaching the children about how to take care of their cuts and burns.  It’s amazing how respectful the school children are here in Ghana.  Every time we enter the classroom and say “Good Morning! How are you?” the kids stand and respond, in unison, with, “Good Morning! We are fine.  And you?” They also stand up whenever they answer a question or read something aloud.  I was pretty impressed.

I’m starting to peel. My awesome farmer’s tan is going away…slightly.  But let me tell you the best thing about living in Africa! You don’t ever need lotion! It’s amazing! You get out of the shower and immediately are moisturized with the climate’s extreme humidity.

The weather really hasn’t been too bad…hot and humid, but either it’s getting cooler or I’m getting used to it.  The power goes out everyday.  Usually its for only a few minutes at a time, but often it can be all night… We have a generator, but when that runs out of gas…Oh well!

Tonight, we went to play football (soccer) with all the little kids again.  They are all so good… and so stinking fast.  Emily and I played with the cutest little girls named Jemima, Alice, and Rya.  They are so sweet! I will have to post pictures of them later!

Anyways, it's getting late! I should go to bed since we are getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning to go work in the corn fields! It should be an interesting experience! I'm excited!  

Yay! It's off to the Clinic we go!

Today I helped out in the pharmacy, records, and maternity areas in the Abomosu Clinic.  Wow was it different than hospitals in the U.S. No gloves, alcohols swabs…and if a pill drops on the floor or counter, you pick it up and still use it…No wasting around here!

I helped keep records in the maternity ward.  We had a ton of patients! Almost 70 pregnant women came to see the midwife before 1:30 in the afternoon! It was crazy! I had to ask the women if they slept with mosquito nets, which in twi is tum-tum dang!

We have been having a lot of fun as a group! You would be surprised how close you can get to people in just one weeks time when you are with them 24/7! We went and played soccer in the rain with all of the kids yesterday! It was so much fun! We were slipping and sliding everywhere! Mama Karen wasn’t too happy when we came home all muddy! We have also all started to talk in really slow, simple sentences to each other because we are so used to talking to the little African children.  It’s pretty hilarious! Like today, Emily was talking to Karen and she said, “We make chocolate cake, No?”

Speaking of which, Elder and Sister Dalton, an elderly missionary couple in the area, brought over Ghana Chocolate Cake a couple nights ago! Oh my gosh! It was to die for! Maybe I was just chocolate deprived, but it really hit the spot! I scarfed it down in three seconds flat! I also got to try Sister Abu’s red-red! This is an African dish with black-eyed beans and chicken/fish, tomatoes, and onions! It was definitely different! Nothing like I’ve ever had before in my life, but it was okay! I ate it J

The Days are Flying By...

We went to church today at the Abomosu ward.  It’s only a 15-20 minute walk from where we live.  One little girl, named Evo, sat on my lap during sacrament.  She was the cutest, little six-year-old girl with the biggest black eyes and curliest eyelashes I have ever seen.  She sat there and played with my hands all throughout fast and testimony meeting.  She is such a sweet, loving girl.  Later, I saw her in primary and when I smiled and waved at her, she got this super bashful smile on her face…haha it was so cute.  Her twin sister, Ata, was one of the little girls who held my hand for almost 2 hours the other day as I roamed through the market.  They are both absolutely adorable, and don’t tell anyone, but they are secretly my favorite.

Primary! Wow!

That was an interesting experience.  Emily, Whitney, and I decided it might be fun to attend the primary here in this ward since they have so many little children.  Well, we walked into the Junior Primary room and were about to take our seats with some children in the back, when... SURPRISE! The Primary president asked us to teach the lesson and sharing time because the teacher wasn’t there! We, of course, without a moment of hesitation, jumped right to it!  She quickly gave us a lesson manual, said a prayer with us and the children, and was out the door, leaving us with twenty little black kids just staring at us like we were ghosts. 

There we were, not knowing any of the kids, or what to teach them, or how to communicate with them. We finally figured out, through a couple of English words and many, many hand gestures, that they knew how to sing “I am a Child of God.” So we sang that.  And then we sang it five more times.  But what to do next?  We still had an hour and a half left.  We struggled through a couple of other simple songs and tried to get them to say what they were grateful for.  Finally, the Primary President came back in and we were able to use her as a translator! Thank heavens! I was getting a little worried… There’s only so much you can do when they have no idea what you are saying.

I was very impressed how well behaved all of the African children were.  As I watched them both in sacrament meeting and primary, I noticed how quietly they sat in the seats and how well they listened to their parents and teachers.  They are much more disciplined than kids in the states.  But why? Is it because of the way kids are raised in the African culture.  I’m not saying one way of bringing up your children is better than the other.  I just couldn’t help but notice how obedient they are to their elders. 

Boom Roasted!

I mean I am burned like a roasted Cheez-it.  It isn’t the heat that is getting to me as much now.  In fact last night the power went off and I slept the entire night with no fans and lying in a puddle of sweat.  But it’s the sunlight! Man! Today I got scorched! You should see my nose, and the back of my neck! They are fire-truck red! And yes… I have a lovely farmer’s tan! It’s times like these I wish I brought aloe with me!

Yesterday we hiked Boti falls! It was pretty dried up, but it was way fun to hike through the jungle.  You wouldn’t believe the views we saw! Gorgeous! The only way I can describe it is the movie “George of the Jungle.” We got to climb up to Umbrella Rock, which is basically this super flat rock way up high on a mountain with breath-taking views.

Afterwards we went to the bead market in Kofuriduia.  There were so many beautiful clay African beads in so many bright colors.  I couldn’t decide which ones to buy! A man named Isaac showed me and Emily how he uses the seeds in bamboo pods to make jewelry.  They look like shiny, wooden coasters.  Isaac said, while holding up one of the bamboo seeds, “This is the only thing that comes from God polished.”  It made me laugh.

Today we were supposed to be in the clinic, but all of the nurses and staff had to go to the district office to register so they can get paid.  So, unfortunately, the clinic was closed.  And yes there were sick and injured patients just sitting outside the clinic, waiting to be seen.  But the doctors and nurses had to go register… So much different than the U.S.

A little about Abomosu:

Population: 8-9,000 people

4 schools: 2 World Joy, 1 Catholic, 1 Presbyterian

Market days: Tuesday, Friday

Health clinics: one

Brother Abu, who brought the gospel to Abomosu, showed us his farm today!  It was so cool! I got to suck on the fruit surrounding the cocoa bean from one of his cocoa trees.  It was delicious.  I also got to try some coconut and I got to try chopping grass with a machete…so freaky!

Brother Abu also showed us the open gold mines right behind his property.  The gold miners basically take their tractor to the land and destroy it.  They dig and turn up all of the dirt, and when they have found the gold they are looking for, they pack up and move on to the next patch of land, leaving a destroyed mess behind.  It’s so sad.  And it’s caused a lot of problems.  Apparently all of the lose dirt has caused flooding! And we are talking major floods that took out a couple of houses.

The houses here in Abomosu are made from brick and plaster.  But some people can’t afford to surround the brick in plaster, so the rains end up washing away part of the brick, eroding the house away.

The children are teaching me words in twi…”How are you?” is “Wo ho te sen” and “I’m fine” is “ Me ho ye”  It’s so cute… The kids always come running up to us yelling “Obronee, obronee,” which basically means “white person, white person!” And when you ask them how they are doing, they always respond with “I’m fine” With some of the younger kids who barely speak any English at all, you can ask them any question like “What is you’re name?” and they will respond, “I’m fine!” haha it’s so funny and freaking adorable.  

Anyways, I can't wait till tomorrow! Hopefully we will finally have a chance to be in the clinic! And hopefully I don't get any more sunburn!  

Day 2 in Abomosu

We went for a run through the village early this morning.  It was hot, but we didn’t care.  We were too excited to stay inside and what better way to explore the village.

Everyone was out and about, waving hi to us and asking us how we were doing.  Then, later, we got to go out and play with the children.  Oh my gosh! The kids are absolutely beautiful.  They would follow us wherever we would go.  Once we sang, “If you’re happy and you know it,” they wouldn’t let us leave! They just wanted to keep singing and clapping their hands over and over again.  It was adorable! They also love getting their picture taken, so I have plenty of their gorgeous little faces on my camera now.

My favorite thing today though, was when the little girls wanted to play hand game.  It reminded me of India.  I taught them concentration, and they taught me a hand game about our grandma, and brushing your teeth, and washing your face.  To be honest I couldn’t understand what they were saying! But it was fun.

Bugs! Let me just take a few seconds to address the issue.  I’m trying to be a brave big girl, but I’m freaking out inside.  They are everywhere.  And the spiders I have seen crawling around the house are NOT small by any means.  Don’t even get me started on the mouse and cockroach we found in the kitchen.

Well that was my two seconds of complaints! Right now I should be learning how to teach about malaria so I can teach some of the teachers in the village about it!

Tomorrow we are hiking to a waterfall! I’m so excited!

Okay first things first...

I'm in Ghana! We've made it! After almost 24 hours of traveling we made it to Accra, Ghana!

We spent the morning doing a windshield assessment of our population we will be working with.  We walked around the tiny streets, which have no sidewalks, while trying not to get hit by cars, and asked local sreet vendors about hospitals, access to healthcare, etc.  Some of the responses we received were interesting.  One lady, who made and sold beautiful African pottery told us that she didn't eat cow meat because she had heard it was bad for her kidneys.  Instead she occassionally will eat some fish for protein.

After walking the streets for an hour or two, we headed to the Accra mall, the newest addition to the city.  Boy was it busy! Today is a national holiday, Worker's Day, so everyone was there eating lunch and shopping.  We exchanged our U.S. dollars for Ghanaian Cides, and got some lunch.  We ate authentic African....PIZZA! Yes, my first meal was pizza, but I'm not complaining! Pizza is my favorite food! Then we hit up the grocery store and got all the food we will need for the next week and a half, before we began the 4 hour trek to Abomosu.  Let me just say, that those 4 hours felt like eternity.  There were about 20 suitcases, 2-3 coolers full of food, grocery bags, newborn and dental hygiene kits, and 11 people all piled into 1 van.  The three of us in back didn't have enough room to sit with all the luggage so I spent half of the long, bumpy ride on my knees...lovely! But at least the van had air conditioning.  I don't think I would have made it if it wasn't for that one reddeming quality.  Our driver, Yao, knows his way through the streets pretty well and got us safely to our destination: A little village known as Abomosu.  We arrived in Abomosu at night, so I didn't get to see much of the village, but the place we are staying is quite comfortable and homey!

It is a cute little house with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen and family room.  No air conditioning, but fans! It feels a little more humid out here, than in the city! haha Anyways, I am eager to get to bed! I am exhausted! Can't wait to explore the village tomorrow!