Wednesday, April 18, 2013

I traveled in the van today with our two most ill students.  We went ahead and got them checked into our hotel in Kumasi and that's basically where I hung out for the day and the evening.  Unfortunately I didn't have any luggage so I couldn't even do laundry.  The girls were really ill and couldn't keep anything down so they basically slept and actually so did I.  It was nice to get some extra rest.  Our room was on the ground floor and it sounded like a carnival outside our window---actually I think it was a bar.  I went to the restaurant to get something to eat in the evening and the waiter was so kind.  When I told him I hadn't eaten all day he said he would bring it to my room no extra charge. 

 

 

Frankly it was a little boring but boring is OK sometimes.  

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I have to describe our bus.  It does have air conditioning and a place to carry luggage underneath. There is no microphone and no lavatory facilities on the bus---we knew this in advance and brought our own little tents and pottys (thankfully we haven't had to use them yet). There are two drivers for our bus and one younger boy who helps with the loading and unloading.  They all have to fit in the cramped space up front.  We also have a van and driver (our friend "Jeff" from Ric's previous trip to Ghana).  The van takes care of the speakers and extra water we are constantly buying and loading since we cannot drink the water here.  In this heat and humidity.....well you can imagine how much water we go through.  As we left the hotel for Koforidua this morning, our bus driver pulled over to a tiny Ghanaian house, a lady climbed on the bus and a few miles later, we dropped her off.  So Ghana! 

 

 

 

We have access to very little freeway which makes for SLOW travel but the advantage is that we drive through all the little towns and watch and learn about Ghana first hand.  People here work hard physically. Almost everyone walks and carry whatever they have on their head--no hands. The mothers swaddle their babies to their backs with a long piece of fabric and go about their business. People swarm among the traffic on the road selling whatever item they have on their head....fufu, plantain chips, brooms, fabric, clothing, dishes---you name it, they sell it right at your car window. 

 

 The roads are pocked with pot holes and traffic is "whoever can get there first".  Our bus driver has a heavy hand on the  horn and the people and cars scatter when he honks---no question who would win in a show down.  If we do find a gas station with ONE bathroom, chances are it is dirty and there is no toilet paper.  We have been thankful for our shopping trip in Accra prior to leaving for Koforidua

 

 

 

We had toilet paper, hand sanitizer, an amazing first aid kit I had put together before leaving, laundry soap, bleach, water, oh yes and MORE water.  The first conference at Koforidua was amazing.  What a talented group of young eioke we are travekubg with.  We also became aware we had left Rexburg with a nasty stomach flu bug and one by one, the  students were sucumbing.  There was not a whole lot we could do but pray, hand out pepto and immodium, and try to hydrate, and wait it out.  The grueling schedule of tour had begun and we just had to roll with the schedule the best we could.

 



 

Arrival in Ghana

Monday, April 15, 2013

OK---we finally have internet access and a few minutes to write.  It seems like every time I sit down to sketch a few things something happens.  We arrived without incident in Accra last Monday. 

The students had organized a clothing drive for an orphanage we will be visiting this week and oh my goodness did we have luggage---all that clothing plus our carry ons plus the sound equipment, instruments and photographic equipment.  It was very impressive.  But we managed to schlep it al onto our not too big bus and get to the stake center next to the Accra temple.  Although we didn't know it at the time, this was our first mess up.  We unloaded all the bags with orphanage clothing to store at the stake center until we returned the following week and somehow our gift bag (for dignitaries etc.) got unloaded with everything else---as we discovered when we were far from Accra.

We were served dinner at the stake center and the students rehearsed with the Pathway Choir from Ghana---I guarded the sound equipment and it was a good thing.  After it was all signed for and sitting in the foyer, one of the delivery guys for the equipment came back in and asked me if I could go upstairs and ask someone about some medicine he had left.  I showed him where he could go to do it himself and he was back within minutes saying he would do it another time.   Right!!!!

Our first hotel check in was pretty crazy too.  We arrived late to a fairly nice hotel out in the middle of nowhere and totally overwhelmed the desk clerk.  The biggest group they had ever had check in before us was 17.  It was a comedy of errors as kids had adventures getting locked in their bathroom (Dad had to help break the door down), air conditioning not working (a big deal in this hot humid country) and numerous other funny things.  We made it through and finally figured out what needed to happen to make checkin run more smoothly.  Didn't get to bed until midnight that night.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

We are at "G-day" and counting!  Think about Christmas night and how excited you were for the next day yet just a tiny bit worried that  maybe it wouldn't turn out the way you hoped.  That's us today.  We have met & planned, made lists, checked them twice, (really tried hard not to be naughty but nice) and packed & repacked....enough with the Christmas analogy.  We are ready and so excited.  I haven't been able to sleep through the night all week but we plan on bedding down early  because our day tomorrow starts at 2:30 a.m. 

Our CHAOS:

We have a medical arsenal that is truly daunting just wish we had the nurse to go with it.  We started our malaria pills yesterday--such a pretty color:

 
We hope to get to our blog often enough to include you in our travels and share some of the stories we collect from our Ghana Tale Tree.

Our first story started yesterday when I came up from exercising and had a message on my phone from Elder Crittenden.....YEP.....the same Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden that live in Hibbard and taught several of you.  He had heard we were coming to Ghana where he and his wife are currently serving a mission.  We had no clue how to get back to him so we contacted his children and they brought a little treat to send with us. Their story is inspiring. 

The Crittendens retired several years ago and threw their hats in the ring for a mission.  They were sent to Guam Micronesia on a CES mission.   They were home less than a year when they "got the feeling" again and soon were in Croatia serving a Welfare mission.  Their next mission was in Ukraine--also CES.  They had been home a few months when they got a call from President Schulz in Ghana.  He had asked his missionaries at zone conference if any of them knew of a couple who might be available to replace their office couple.  Crittenden's grandson stood right up and said:  "My Grama and Grampa will".  Well I certainly couldn't turn from the faith of a grandson and neither could they.  They are now serving their fourth mission as the Mission Couple in Ghana, Africa. They are 73 and 74 years old and going strong.

Pray for our health and our safety because we want to do the same.  I cannot imagine a better way to enter the next few years than in serving the Lord.  We even heard of one couple who sold their home and leave on a new mission every six-eight months and live with different children in between.  Would be very interesting not to have a home base but I think I could live with that. 

We bus to SLC at 4 a.m. on Sunday and fly to Accra via New York, arriving Monday morning.  Love to all and stay safe and happy!!!!