Missionary Districts and Apartments

We have tried to set up a basic schedule for each week.  Among other activities, on Tuesday morning we try to visit District meetings (a different one each week) - which each of our districts hold.  Typically, a district is one or two apartments of missionaries. This gives us a chance to meet a few missionaries at a time and get to know them better - which we are loving!  On Wednesdays we try to visit and check out 2 or 3 apartments, with Elder and Sister Wall.  These may be called apartment inspections in other places but our primary goal is to make sure the apartments have everything they need - bed nets (they are using over beds at night to keep out mosquitoes), window screens (to make sure not too many mosquitoes are entering the apartments), water filters that are working (every apartment has these to make sure missionaries are drinking pure water) and various other items - decent (or maybe adequate) beds, study tables, working outlets and plumbing - as well as water.  We are trying to make sure the missionaries are as safe and healthy as possible in their mission apartments. 

Below are some of the missionaries we've visited for District meetings.  We met for our first few weeks at the chapels - since that was they only place we knew how to find:)  My internal GPS is starting to work better but goat path takes on a whole new meaning here.  We've joked before about roads looking like someone paved a cow path but here it's more like a goat path and most are not even paved:) 

Tantra Hills District

Kaneshie District

Mateheko District

Odorkor District

Nsawam District Apartment Courtyard:

Nsawam 1 Apartment

Nsawam 1 Front Room

From the front wall.  I think this apartment has been around for awhile!

My computer with all my pictures crashed so I'm going to go ahead and post what I have so far since it has taken most of the day to get this much.  My ongoing challenge is having the internet working and the computer functioning at the same time.  We have been promised new "OUTSTANDING INTERNET SERVICE" tomorrow!  No breath holding going on here, since that has been promised before, but if it happens I'll post the rest of the pictures I had planned.

We have the best missionaries ever and feel blessed to be a part of the Ghana Accra West Mission!

Go Forth to Serve - Return With Honor

This last few weeks has been a lot of FIRSTS for us.  This post is a beginning and an end - our FIRST missionaries from the MTC and catching us up to date - our FIRST missionaries to complete their missions here and RETURN WITH HONOR:

GO FORTH TO SERVE!

Our missionaries arrived from the Ghana MTC on July 10th.  Here we are in front of the 

Tesano Chapel where we greeted them and then oriented them to our new mission.

We've decided that our mission is like a mini United Nations.

These missionaries are from the United States - Nevada & Idaho, Nigeria, Ghana & Sierra Leon.

This missionary from Lesotho (Country within South Africa) was delayed and we met him at our Mission Office. 

"Trainers"  - companions for our new missionaries waiting to be assigned.

First meeting of trainers with new missionaries.

 Just to report - these missionaries are all doing great & learning much!

RETURN WITH HONOR!

This last week, Tuesday August 6th, we also saw our first group of missionaries Return Home With Honor.  Our Office Elders brought the middle 5 to our home to spend their last day. We shared a couple of meals, a trip to the temple and a wonderful testimony meeting before delivering them to the airport traveling to Utah, Wyoming, California and Samoa.  What a special day for us!

 Waiting for interviews with President Hill.



A view of a the Accra Ghana temple.

Our session was full of members receiving their own endowments from Cote D'ivorie (Ivory Coast)  The session was in French.  A great reminder of why we are all here - to help Heavenly Father's children return to Him. 

A last farewell to the temple.

 Repacking and weighing bags:

Our missionaries with the reminder of Ghana, handmade by a member here with their name and mission name - these with Ghana Accra Mission since they were ordered before our mission began.

Final photo op with the Assistants.


Goodbye shot with President and Sister Hill - next stop - the airport - then HOME!  Thanks to President and Sister Judd for sharing these fine Elders with us for the last month of their mission!
May God Bless and Keep Them!

Ghana Accra West Mission MAIL

Just a quick post since so many have asked.  There are 2 ways to send mail from the United States (besides email).

First through the U.S. Mail.  (The address, of course, will be the same from anywhere in the world.) 

Regular package mail.  A Priority Mail envelope (9 x 12) may be used and filled.  It is best to tape all around the envelope to prevent easy opening.  That costs about $24.00.  It is like any flat rate mail in that you can fill it till it bulges. (I have seen other small packages arrive here that cost up to $70?!? because of the weight)

Missionary Name
Ghana Accra West Mission
P.O. Box 12741 Accra North
Accra, Ghana






A regular envelope may also be sent to the above address - the cost about $1 for a couple of pages.  You get it weighed at the Post Office.


The pouch in Salt Lake City is also available.  If I understand correctly, a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper should be folded in thirds, taped, addressed, return addressed and stamped and sent to  Salt Lake City at:

 

Elder/Sister_______________

Ghana Accra West Mission

P.O. Box 301050

Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0150

Today Marks One Month in Accra

I can't believe we've been in Accra for one month.  Our time here has been pretty much non-stop.

The day after we arrived we went to church in Tesano.  It is the ward we will belong to when we move to our mission home that is under construction.  (It is about 1/2 hour from where we are living right now.  When it is finished our mission office will also be on the property.) 

First view of the Tesano chapel:

We were greeted warmly, invited to sit on the stand and share our testimonies.  I do know that this is where the Lord wants us to be!

That evening President and Sister Dickson came by our home to visit before they left Ghana for Utah.  He has been Area President here and will always be special to us for the precious experience we shared together when he called Norman to the Stake Presidency in Lagos, Nigeria.  We are sad they are not staying here but know they have much to catch up on with their family back in the US.  

I shared a couple of pictures last week from our conferences with all the mission - the Tri-Zone, which includes the 3 Stakes we are responsible for - Kaneshie, Tesano and Kasoa (the names, as well of our 3 Zones) and Asamankese Zone which includes two districts, Abomosu & Asamankese (both 2-4 hours away in the bush).  Here are a few more pictures from those events held that first Friday and Saturday.

Kaneshie Stake Center, where we held the Tri-Zone Conference.

 A few spontaneous shots of the Tri-Zone Conference.  Brother and Sister Wall on the left - our awesome office couple from Centerville, Utah.  We're trying to convince them to stay our full three years!!!

We split the group into Zones and had the Assistants instruct 2 of the groups while President Hill and I visited with the third group.

3 Zones:

It's hard to say goodbye when you are gathered with all of your friends!

We drove out to Asamankese on Saturday, the 6th of July.
Pre-Zone conference visiting:

First view of Asamankese Chapel:

 Closer! An OASIS!





Pre & post-conference:

The lawn-mowing team:

 

Our great Senior Couple in Asamankese, the Nielsons, from Monroe, Utah - the Hills and President Wellington.   Brother Wall in the background doing a "street contact" with 2 local girls. 

Group shot - Asamankese Zone with Walls, Zone Leaders and District President, President Wellington in back.

 
GREAT FIRST WEEK!

I'm trying to post as many pictures as possible.  For those of you wishing more pictures from your missionaries, let me just say, downloading pictures is EXTREMELY SLOW and I have lots more time than they do.

Thanks for being the greatest missionaries (our missionaries here) and a great missionary support team back home, wherever home may be!   Know that your sacrifice for the Lord is honored and you will be blessed!

WE ARRIVED IN ACCRA

We've been in Accra now for 3 weeks.  So much has happened that I'm not sure where to start.  First I probably want to share a disclaimer.  It seems every time I've had time to work on this blog we haven't had internet - so there's my excuse.  I'll probably have to come up with something new when the internet is more reliable:)
From leaving Houston, to the MTC, to my parents 89th birthday celebration, to saying goodbyes, to a new mission, meeting new missionaries, Zone conferences, missionary apartment visits, district meetings, transfers and getting our first missionaries from the MTC, trips to the "bush"& lots of new sights and sounds it has so far been quite an adventure!
I'll start with our first day in Ghana, but reserve the right to post later about the MTC and goodbyes.
Our adventure began with our flight to JFK airport.  We met a Ghanaian Brother from Bountiful and 2 missionaries who were heading to the MTC in Ghana.  Their flight had been delayed out of Salt Lake City and since they would have missed their flight in New York the missionaries got to spend the night at the home of the Elder from Bountiful.  (That Mom got one extra night with her missionary son)  As we were getting off the plane in New York we met Sister Reeves from the Relief Society General Board Presidency.  She was off to pick up a son from a mission.

We arrived at the Ghana airport on Saturday June 29th (2 hours late).  Our first view out the window of Accra.

 

A mural on the wall just as we walked in the airport

 

As we waited for our flight out of JFK we discovered another Elder who had missed the flight to Accra the night before only he had spent his night in the JFK airport.  Here we all are leaving customs heading out for our adventures in Ghana.  They were all going to the Cape Coast Mission, though we thought we should get first choice since we found them first:)

President Hill and our luggage.

Our new AP's, Elder Christensen & Elder Kyeremteng and Brother and Sister Wall, our office Senior couple, were there to greet us (after patiently waiting for our late flight - we found our later).

 Our first view of our Mission Home (temporarily while the other is being built), as we arrived with our AP's and Brother and Sister Wall.

Saturday evening we met President and Sister Judd, who preside over the Ghana Accra Mission.  They not only greeted us warmly, have helped us regularly but have also shared some really awesome missionaries with us.  We couldn't be more grateful for their generosity!

We met all of our missionaries in the first week.  Here's a preview of those awesome missionaries!
Our first Tri-Zone Conference at Kaneshie Chapel.


 Tri-Zone Conference #1

 Tri-Zone Conference #2

Sister Missionaries and Sister Hill

 Missionaries in the "bush" at Asamankese Chapel

We began with 93 missionaries, added 10 from the MTC July 10th and will add approximately 60 more in the next 6 months (sadly losing a few as they are released and return to their families.

Our first missionaries from the Ghana MTC!

 One Elder had a Visa delay, went to the MTC in South Africa and arrived later in the day.

I apologize if I missed missionaries.  I'm trying to capture & share them all!  More about our awesome missionaries next blog!