Week of 8 January 2018 and HOME

We have been very busy this past week training Elder and Sister Fitch.  They will do awesome!  We met together with all of the Senior Couples.  It was a good time to just talk and reminisce about the last 18 months.  We will truly miss them.

It took us most of 2 days to pack and throw things away.  Especially when you have to cram everything in and have it under 50 lbs.  Somehow we managed and made it through the weighing part of the boarding process.  Here's some pictures of our last couple of days.

Clements and Sorensens.  Great couples that have done good work here in Ghana.

Here we all are, the morning we left.

We got our Kente scarves.  They will hang on our wall in our new place back home.

President and Sister Hillam have been so good to us.  We will miss them dearly.

And finally at the airport.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  Now for our 17 hour flight home!

Here's all our grand-kids and great-grand-kids that were waiting for us at the airport.  Missing two of them.

And here's our children.  All grown-up and still kids at heart!

It was a wonderful mission!  We have grown spiritually and hopefully able to continue to see the needs of others.  Ghana (Cape Coast) was an exciting place to serve.  We will never forget the experiences that we had nor the people we met.

Love you Ghana!

Week of 1 January 2018

Happy New Year!

Our weeks are getting shorter.  We were very saddened to hear the news that President Monson had passed away.  What a tower of strength he was.  And a wonderful example of service and love.

He will be missed.

These are the trainers and missionaries from the December transfers.  Great group of missionaries.

Our new Senior Couple

Elder and Sister Fitch

New Years Eve party and the Cape Coast Stake.  Lots of food.

On Tuesday we held MLC.  All Zone Leaders, STLs and District leaders.  The Assistants had us bear our testimonies.  So both Wayne and I started crying.  It is hard to say goodbye.  

President Hillam telling them that President Monson passed away.

On Thursday, we traveled to Takoradi with Elder and Sister Fitch to get their Non-citizen cards.  We had a very enjoyable luncheon with Elder and Sister Clements.

Just some pictures of the wonderful sisters we have in our mission.

Sisters Williams, Plegnon and Asante.


Sisters Ngekia and Idahosa

Sisters Ajike and Okaiteye

Training is going well.  Hopefully we can leave Elder and Sister Fitch next Wednesday alone and get to packing our things.

Wayne and I have seen things that we never dreamt of seeing.  Especially the poverty and filthy conditions that surround these people each day. We have been frightened by huge spiders, scorpions
and snakes.  We have been in sweltering heat for hours on end in our apartment because the electricity is not working, and bathed in brown water.  We have to drink filtered water and there is NO milk.  But we would not give this up for anything.  We have met some beautiful people - faithful and dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have met hundreds of young men and women that are going through the same things we are and have not heard any complaining.  They are dedicated to bringing souls unto Christ.
We are so saddened to be leaving shortly.

We love you and miss you all.
See you on the 13th.

Week of 25 December 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

We had a very good week this week.  Things were very quiet because of the holidays.

President and Sister Hillam were over in the Western Region doing interviews so we were able to get some cleaning done at the house and get ready for Elder and Sister Fitch.

They were picked up Friday evening by the President and they spent the night in Accra.  We met them on Saturday afternoon.  They will do wonderfully well in the office.

On Thursday, we went with the Hillams on a little history tour of the church here in Cape Coast.  Bishop Edwusie took us around.  He was the 4th person baptized into the church in Ghana.  They are very proud of their baptismal number.

 He took us first to the first meeting place of the church.  It now belongs to another church, but he told us of some miraculous events that took place in this building.

Sister Hillam and her daughter Maddie.  Bishop Edwusie is in the white church explaining to the two others why we are there.

Next he took us to baptismal beach.  The first 89 members were baptized here in one day.  

Over to the one side, there were vultures waiting for dead fish to appear.

Then he took us to what they call their "Cumorah Hill".  They would gather everyone together on the first Sunday of every month and meet at the top.  They would then pray and sing for several hours.  Many wonderful things happened here also.

We are on the top of the hill.  Our home is over to the left.  Not very far away and we didn't even know about this place.

It was a wonderful 3 hours.

On Sunday, we took the Fitch's to Komenda with us.  I had to get a final picture with my "kids"  They are all so cute and loving.  All of them gave me a great big hug!

Later on that night, we went with President, Sister Hillam, Maddie and the Fitchs to catch the setting of the sun.  One problem - Harmattan is in full swing and you couldn't see anything but the glow of the sun.  But the ocean was fun!

So after facing west and catching what we could of the setting sun, we turned around and there was the moon starting to rise.

It was a good week.  See you all soon.

We love you and miss you all.