Temple trip to Ghana
We along with another missionary couple, the Blanchards, were assigned to be their escorts and guides. All except for one of the Africans had never before been out of their country or on an airplane. We had to show them how to do basic things such as entering and exiting an escalator. With the one exception none of them had ever been inside of an airport. When we got to the apartment accommodations by the temple we had to show them how to operate their air conditioners and how do control the hot and cold water for their showers. They were all intelligent people it's just that they have not been exposed to much of the modern world.
Fortunately they were at the temple for three days and by the time they left they were familiar and comfortable with the temple ordinances and they began to comprehend the meaning of the things they had experienced. The highlight of the trip was when each of the three families were sealed for time and eternity. They understood and appreciated that quite well. The spirit of the Lord that was present during each of their ceilings gave a feeling of great appreciation and confidence in the ordinance.
It was a privilege and blessing for Cheryl and I to be there.
This is part of our group waiting for the flight home. The young man in the middle of the picture with the white shirt on has a very large head. When he was just a child he had some sort of condition that caused fluid on his brain which caused his head to become large. Other than his head size he has no other disabilities.
When we were in Ghana we had dinner one night with Elder and Sister Ostler. We were glad to escape the cafeteria that was feeding our Liberian group. The church provides meals that the visiting groups are familiar with. In the case of the Liberian it was the typical menu of rice and fried chicken. Every lunch and dinner was almost the same. For breakfast it was eggs on bread with usually some sort of creamed rice. With the Ostlers we had good Mexican food. The Ostlers are the new humanitarian couple in Ghana. By the time we leave they will be the only humanitarian couple in West Africa.
The insects are usually super sized here. This spider was on the wall behind the branch presidency first counselor. It didn't move the entire meeting so he was okay.
We have finally finished the project of remodeling the JFK hospital neonatal intensive care room. The project was on hold for a while because when the new government came into power there was a freeze on the funds during the transition and the hospital was not able to pay their portion of the project expense.
In this neonatal intensive care area we installed new aluminum walls, new tile on the floor and ceiling, new paint and new electrical. We have also supplied some of the intensive care equipment such as incubators and baby warmers. The new babies should be occupying the room in just a few days.
This is Reverend Samuel. He owns and operates a small orphanage. He has 20 orphans that stay overnight at the orphanage and 20 that stay with guardians and come to the orphanage during the day. He provides meals, education and medical. He funds this operation with two motorcycles that are used for public transportation. He also gets some donations from the community.
He's asked for our help to install a water well and pump, three bathrooms and a general meeting room that will also be for medical care. We usually don't fund private enterprises like this because our donations would increase his personal assets. In this case the man is obviously just caring for others and receives no financial benefit. With the improvements he wants from us he will increase the capacity of his orphanage to about 75. Even though we won't help there is a large donor from America who I'm in contact with who is looking for ways to bless the people in this country. I'll give this referral to him.
Comments
Post a Comment