Waiting for Assignment

While Sister Emfield is keeping busy, I am waiting for assignment.  I do help here and there as needed but do not have my own responsibilities yet.  I have been informed that they are coming and we were asked to attend a special meeting Sunday which I suspect has something to do with what is coming.  In the mean time, while I am waiting, I have begun driving here.  It is an interesting experience, which reminds me of a version of bumper cars in which the drivers try to get ahead of each of other, coming as close to each other as possible, without actually hitting one another.  I am not yet comfortable at it, but am not as nervous as I originally expected that I would be.  We have been assigned a four-wheel drive Nissan pick-up, and it was hinted that we will need it.  The streets around here are really not that bad, but I am told as one drives farther out towards the outskirts of the city they deteriorate, and the countryside is worse.

 We have eaten in the Area Office cafeteria twice now.  It is run by a local and thus is authentic Ghanaian food.  The first time we thought it was OK, but the second we got a local sauce, and there was a little difference in what was served.  The slight change was helpful but the sauce made even more of a difference and we decided that we quite liked it that time.  We do have to be careful though.  We assume that the Church authorities are careful as to who they have run the cafeteria.  But we eat at home mostly, and therefore have to go out and buy our own food.  All veggies and fruit must be washed in bleach water, iodine water, or peeled (I prefer washed and peeled!) because they are unsafe for human consumption otherwise.  I was talking with a Ghanaian tonight who told me to never eat lettuce because people water their lettuce with buckets and fill them from the ditches.  The ditches are where people often relieve themselves and it is not uncommon for sewer overflow to run into them.  I have been given the impression that it is similar with fruits and veggies.  There is a market that sells American, European, and even Mexican food.  We are pretty safe if we stock up there, but the prices are excessive.  So, we try to balance cost versus safety.

Sister Emfield has been helping the missionaries in need.  Even though she is a counselor and not a physician she caught a physical problem yesterday while talking to a missionary.  She didn't know what it was but could tell it wasn't psychological.  Today word came back that the tests indicated a significant physical condition.  It is also quite treatable.  That young missionary will probably be able to finish missionary service and return home, perhaps more healthy than before coming here.  Good job Sister Emfield!

We are excited to be serving here.  In the Africa West Area a new congregation (ward or branch) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized every other day on the average, as more and more people are brought to Christ.  Of course, it has its challenges for us.  We lost our power today and as I write this I am sitting in the dark, with no air conditioning (which can be important here) only able to blog because the computer has battery power.  I have no idea when we will have electricity again.  But, our neighbors found out about this earlier tonight and had us over for dinner.  There are compensations.  By the way, their power went out right after we left.

Elder Emfield