Wednesday 7 September 2016

July 3 to September 5, 2016




On July 3,2016 we left our home in Kelowna, British Columbia to serve an 18 month mission in Accra, Ghana.  Meg is going to serve as a mission nurse and I will help with coordinating apartment repairs for the missionaries.  The picture below is the view from our backyard in Kelowna which we will really miss.   After being in Ghana for over a month we can also state that another thing that is truly missed is COSTCO!


After visiting family for a week we entered the mission training centre in Provo Utah for a week of missionary training.


This is the group of Senior Missionaries we trained with.  They all had different assignments around the world.  We became instant friends!  The young people were our teachers and they were really good!











The day after arriving in Accra we attended a huge missionary multi zone conference with about 80 missionaries.  It was great meeting so many wonderful young men and women so willing to serve away from their homes for 2 years.















As a remembrance of their time served the departing missionaries are given a scarf with their name, years served and mission name woven in the fabric.
The picture above is the person that weaves these scarfs in a place called Ho.





The departing missionaries are also taken to a nice place to eat such as "The Lord of the Wings".  One of our favourite places to eat in Accra.
This is the back up nurse Adwoa Ennin and her daughter.  We met her in the Accra mall and bought her a pizza.  She did not eat it but saved it to take home to her family.

 




We used a 2013 Nissan Navara to navigate the off road conditions encountered throughout the city.




Or to make your way through heavy traffic like we encountered at the Medina market on a Saturday.

Bubba, our security guard, lives in the hut and opens and closes the gate for us.  You would not want to mess with him.

Less than 40% of Ghanaians have full time employment and there is no government safety net.  The rest have to hustle to get by.  People are trying to sell things at traffic lights and by the roadside such as these bed frames. 





There is a new big mosque being constructed (with money from Turkey) close to where we live.


Dramane, Miriam and Junior travelled from Bamako, Mali to Accra to be taught by the missionaries and to be baptised members of the church.  Dramane had previously lived in Utah for 10 months and became acquainted with the church,




We went out to eat at "Burgers and Relish" where this missionary demonstrated his ability to devour a monster hamburger.








Junior had never seen the ocean or been on a horse so we took an afternoon off and went to the beach. I was beset with hawkers trying to sell everything imaginable including a head massage.  I will never go back there.


Dramane's friend also travelled to Accra to become a member.  I like this picture showing Dramane and Francois at the baptismal font.





The driving conditions can be hard on vehicles as we found out when we went through the very crowded Ashaiman market and got squished between a truck and a deep gutter.




We went to a district conference in Ho where we tried some banku which is a doughball dipped in a broth.  Meg says she liked it but I will not eat it again.


We enjoyed the district conference that was well attended.  Over 100 people were crowded into this 55 passenger bus.




17 comments:

  1. Well done Wayne! You did a great job of our first blog.

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  2. This is GREAT!!! Thanks for setting it up!! Oh my gosh I burst out laughing when i saw the picture of dad getting a head massage at the beach.... and he says he won't go back.. somehow I doubt that!! Love you guys!!!

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  4. Lol the head massage picture is what got me laughing too. Where was that lady when we were kids and dad would ask us to scratch his head?? I hope you have her a good tip :)

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  5. Hey both...great blog thanks for sharing! Good luck and happy adventures. I definitely need to come for a visit. I will look forward to your next blog.

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  6. Congratulations on starting a blog. We love seeing your pictures and reading about your experiences. Obviously our mission experiences are quite a bit different than yours. When we get a blog going, you'll see pictures of Darrell 'ricing' with the Bemidji Ward bishop. We love our mission and we love you and Meg. We're so thankful that we met you both at the MTC!

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    1. We love you guys too. We are so glad you replied and will look forward to the "ricing" pictures. We are at Ho Kente festival this weekend and will have more pictures. Take care!

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  7. Thanks for letting us know, we will check in on your blog to see how you are doing. It will be fun to be able to keep tabs on you! It looked great, we are intimidated by this whole blog thing, so you have done far better than us! We have a group e-mail, if you'll send us your email, we will add you to our list.
    Take care,
    Elder and Sister Russell

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    1. That would be great. We would love to hear from you. Our email is:
      apachewayne@yahoo.com

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  8. So great to follow along on your adventure... We love and miss you guys!!

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  9. I just loved reading this blog post and seeing all your photos! It made me laugh to hear Wayne list the things he doesn't want to try again (I don't blame you on not liking them trying to sell you everything...I didn't like all the agressive people selling when we were in parts of Europe....though a head massage sounds nice)
    I can't believe you guys drive over there!! I like driving but I don't know if I would do it there. It sounds scary! Cam's Uncle and Aunt are serving their mission in Laos and they have a chauffeur!
    I look forward to reading your future blog posts!! Keep them coming!

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  10. I just loved reading this blog post and seeing all your photos! It made me laugh to hear Wayne list the things he doesn't want to try again (I don't blame you on not liking them trying to sell you everything...I didn't like all the agressive people selling when we were in parts of Europe....though a head massage sounds nice)
    I can't believe you guys drive over there!! I like driving but I don't know if I would do it there. It sounds scary! Cam's Uncle and Aunt are serving their mission in Laos and they have a chauffeur!
    I look forward to reading your future blog posts!! Keep them coming!

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  11. I think a head massage at the beach sounds wonderful - maybe I should set up a stand at gellatly!?!?!?!

    jilaine

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  12. Love your Blog.....

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  13. Randy just sent me your blog address! I totally loved reading everything and seeing all the pictures! Thank you! I want to go on a mission but just looking at all your pictures humbles me VERY much! So proud of both of you! I'm excited to follow your blog through your mission. Megan Fibke

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  14. Wow! We love hearing about all your adventures! What great experiences you're having...keep 'em coming! Love & miss your mugs! 😊😘 Randy & Brenda

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