Some Pictures

Our descriptions can only go so far.  Therefore, it is time that we added some pictures.

Flowers in Accra

More flowers in the city

There are other interesting plants, too.

Flowers in the city.

Further examples of blossoms.

The beauty that can be found is excellent.

Sometimes they get right to the point when naming brands here.

Even in the city, goats can be seen grazing all over.  Not all parts of the city have beautiful blossoms.

I mentioned bats in a previous post.  Here are some of them.

Yes, that "fruit" hanging from the top limbs squeaks.  They are bats.

These birds think they rule the country and are not shy, or quiet!

Nor are they intimidated by the presence of a human.

This is a tro-tro.  A cross between a taxi and a bus.  But not in very good mechanical shape.

Ghanaians are a religious people and display it all over, even on tro-tros,

or on auto parts dealers!

Very nice to see these kind of signs rather than some American bumper stickers.

Street hawkers (peddlers) such as these sell wares between vehicles even during heavy traffic.

Don't give up on us.  We get busy at times, but more to come!

Elder Emfield

Bats, Cockroaches, and Geckos, Oh My!

We have been shown an area in Accra where the trees are filled by thousands of bats!  They simply hang there upside down, and from what we have been told, wait for sundown when they take off en masse.  They love mangoes so there must be some near there, though I did not see any.  One of the missionary couples that have become our good friends report that their "close encounters" are a lot closer than our bat one.  They have 3 to 4 inch cockroaches and geckos in their apartment!  I wonder which is feasting on which.

There are large numbers of beggars at the different intersections around town.  When we stop at the lights they come up to the car looking for help.  Quite a few are suffering from leprosy and will reach out with a hand that is missing all of the fingers beyond the middle joints.  Little children will also approach and make a motion with their hands towards their mouths indicating a need for food.  I do not see people lowering their windows and giving them anything but hope the few who do help them to get through the day.

I am getting pretty good at driving the Ghanaian way.  Lanes and stop signs are considered suggestions.  Stop lights are mandatory unless you are on a bicycle, motorcycle, or you are turning right and no one is coming.  Motorcycles are allowed to drive on the lines between lanes, in the lanes, on the sidewalk, or on the wrong side coming directly at oncoming traffic!  Honking a horn can mean almost anything, but most often means "I'm here" or "I'm coming through so get out of my way!"  Much of the driving is done bumper to bumper - much closer than I ever dared do at home - and people jaywalk everywhere.  At intersections, and far back from them, beggars move between the cars but so do street hawkers selling everything you can imagine: laundry detergent, windshield wipers, tools, fruit, meat pies, Valentine's Day candy, maps, shoes . . . .  Stop lights are extreeeeeemly looooong, probably so the hawkers will have time to sell their wares (which is a good thing because it allows these people to earn a living).  Driving under these conditions poses some interesting challenges and you never want to let your attention wander.  I do not listen to music or anything else in our vehicle.  I drive and nothing else.  One of the things that I have enjoyed about Ghana is how I never see the people arguing.  Well, I did see it once.  We were stopped at a light and there was a very large group of street hawkers who suddenly began to argue among themselves and it went on as long as we were stopped at the light.  To make a long story short, there was apparently a disagreement about who should be selling at this particular intersection.  It appeared to be the old timers against the interlopers.  But there was no violence.  Some loud voices and emphatic gestures, though.  The light changed and I drove away; I wonder who won.

Elder Emfield

Beginning of Assignment

While Sister Emfield continues working away at her assignment, something she has been doing since she showed up at the office on the first workday, I now began work with the assignment I was given last week.  Today was mostly orientation for me.  I am to be working with Church education in both an administrative and teaching capacity and was deluged with information on my responsibilities.  It will take quite a while to sort it all out, especially because I do not always understand the explanations I am given.  American English and Ghanaian English have their differences, especially in relation to accent.  One of the leaders with whom I spoke today spoke with a more pronounced accent than most of the people I visit with day to day.  So, I struggled to understand the instructions he gave to me.  I requested that much of the information presented be given to me in writing (There were a couple of PowerPoint presentations used.).  They obliged me, and so far that has been helpful, but I have much more reading to do.  I am excited about making a difference, and hope I do not mess this up.  The Church not only teaches seminary and institute (religious) classes here, but is beginning to supply support for general education, as well.  These things are making a significant difference in the lives of the young people here.

Sister Emfield and I had another Ghanaian meal today.  We are careful where we eat (or even where we buy our food to cook at home).  But we trust the cafeteria in the Area Offices and have quite enjoyed the food there.  Everyone always says how spicy Ghanaian food is, but we just don't find it so.  Too much Mexican, Indian, and Thai food over the years I expect.  We had spiced rice, beans (looked like chick peas), chicken, sort of a beef stew, plantain, and a green leafy vegetable concoction that the cook said was like spinach.  It was quite good, except for the beef.  The only decent beef we have found here is hamburger which we buy in an upscale store and cook at home.  But that's ok.  Ghanaian food doesn't have to be like American for me to like it, though for health reasons I have to be careful about where it comes from.

There are aspects of this mission that are quite amusing.  And it has required somewhat of a mental adjustment.  Consider: back in the U.S. we would fear going out after dark in large areas of Chicago, or in crime ridden areas of other cities.  Here one does not fear that but petting that dog over there, or brushing your teeth with unfiltered water, or being bitten by a mosquito because you went out after dark is terrifying because it can be fatal!  Quite a change in perspective.

Elder Emfield

Finding the Rhythm of Life - Week 2

We have now been in Accra two weeks.  Last week was much less chaotic and we are starting to feel the rhythm of life here.  We got our truck and Elder Emfield started driving.  I have not been brave enough yet to drive but it takes two sets of eyes to try and stay safe, so I am the official navigator.  We have to be aware of so much going on around us as we drive.  Motorcycles drive wherever they want, and that includes between lanes, darting in and out of cars, sidewalks, both against and with traffic, etc. They do not have to obey traffic rules and can run stoplights, etc.  They constantly honk so you know they are there.  Tro tros are their public transportation.  They are little vans (usually in very poor condition)  that have a yellow line painted around the lower sides.  They pack them with people and get paid by how many people they carry.  Therefore, nothing is more important to them than being able to get to more people to transport.  They will do whatever it takes to do that.  That means they do not follow any traffic rules and will force their way in between you and the next car and you had better move.  Traffic is very heavy.  Bicycles are also common. At the lights, which are very long, people come into the streets selling everything you can imagine. We have seen all sorts of food, belts, jump ropes, windshield wipers (which they install on site), yoga pants, CDs, toilet paper, watches, car mats, etc.  If they can carry it, you can find it on the street.  There are also a lot of people begging and many are blind or crippled, sometimes sitting on little scooter boards low on the ground.  It is very hard to see everything and make sure you don't injure them, yourself or your vehicle.  We are glad we have a truck so we are sitting up higher and are more able to see.  I will post pictures of this as soon as I can take some.  Right now, I don't dare take my eyes off the road to help watch for anything we could run into.

I am finding that my calls involve both mental and physical health so consult often with the AMA (Area Medical Adviser).  Often medical issues are emotionally driven, but I am also finding that with a lot of the Africans, the mental health is often driven by an underlying untreated physical problem.  So many of our missionaries are in countries out in the bush and away from any contact with medical help, so we call the Mission Presidents and get them into the Mission Home and whatever interventions are needed.  Liberia and Sierra Leone are especially that way.  We all rely on each other to stay in contact with them and pull together as a team to keep them safe.  Of course, without the Spirit, we would often miss these problems, especially when dealing by phone.

Elder Emfield got his assignment on Friday.  He will be working on a counsel with the Global Education Initiative.  What exactly that entails is yet to be seen. He will learn more this week.  The Church is trying to make education more easily accessible to everyone. However, they have found that building schools and taking children to them is not the best way. They are trying to keep the children home with their families and bring education to them.  Ghana is a pilot program for this.  Many of the children here leave home and go to boarding school to get an education.  Most of the education is learning by rote, not critical thinking which puts the children at a disadvantage if they don't learn those skills.  It also separates them from their families.  The Church is growing here, but most of the missionaries from this area come from those who are baptized when they are in their late teens, early twenties.  The children who are "raised in the church" really haven't been in much contact with the Church or their families much, so they fall away and lack understanding of the teachings.  Their families have very little influence in their lives.  Hopefully, this will help families educate their children and help the children develop good thinking and leadership skills. Local people are in charge of the program here, but in counsel with others, so it will still meet the needs of the local people and not be a "we outsiders know best" kind of program.

We lost power for about 24 hours this past week.  That meant no lights, no air conditioning, no internet, no hot water and no filtered water.  We have to filter our water or drink bottled water here.  The regular water is so unsanitary we cannot even brush our teeth with it.  We are told not to even keep the toothbrush where regular water can splash on it or we could get very sick.  The power goes out a lot here.  One of the elders told me there is a Chi word for power outage - dumos. This means off/on because that happens so much.  When I went to church in the Anyaa ward last week, the power was off for the first 30 minutes.  It was nice when then fans came back on to move the air.

We went to church in the Cantonments Ward today because we haven't been assigned a ward here yet.  It's much like things in the States.  When it came time for testimonies, the members were reminded to bear a testimony, not tell stories etc. and that there were other platforms where those stories could be shared.  The members rush to the stand and there isn't a pause until the time to end. Their testimonies are very basic and pure.  It is wonderful!  One difference we noted was that while we attended in the US, we rarely saw General Authorities.  Today we attended with two General Authority Seventies and two Area Authority Seventies.  It has been so nice to get to know them and see that they are real people, just like the rest of us.  Elder Nash is the Area President and we have enjoyed getting to know him.  He and Elder Emfield have really hit it off talking history.  Elder Martinez is the person I report to.  His wife is very sweet and offered to take me to Market (sort of like a big craft fair) with her when it comes next month because I couldn't remember how to get there yesterday. We have met  Elder Dube and have a meeting with him on Thursday.  We are working together with LDS Family Services to coordinate Mental Health Resources and establish a hotline that can be reached 24/7 to help people contact mental health services.  There is no line or status here between callings in the Church.  We are all just here trying to bring people to Christ and each have our own role in it.

The people here are very easy to love.  They are very friendly and welcoming.  When they find you are new here, they always say "You are welcome."  It is a greeting often used for newcomers.

We are loving our time here and are looking forward to growing and learning from the opportunities and people we are surrounded with.

Sister Emfield

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

Special Assignment

Uh, wow!  I received a special assignment last week.  One of the young missionaries (an American) had a health crisis and needed to be returned to the States.  I was designated as his companion with the responsibility to see that he got there safely.  I had only been in Ghana for four days when we took off for the old U.S. again.  Everything went smoothly, except for navigating Heathrow Airport in the U.K.  Those of you who know it probably know what I am talking about.  What sense does it make to take people who have already been through security before boarding a plane and take them through security at Heathrow, again, when they have simply gone from the landing gate directly to the departure one?  At other airports you stay in secure areas and do not need to go through it all again.  You cannot do that at Heathrow.  Oh, well.  Anyway, the trip was fine, as was my young companion.  But it was long.  We flew into the east coast where I turned him over to family and to his branch president (for those of you less familiar with our Church organization, think pastor) who took him off to be taken care of, and I was provided with a hotel in Virginia.  I stayed overnight, and flew out for Africa the next day.  Spent a lot of time sitting in airports and on planes the next two days, but arrived back last night.  JET LAG!  Somewhat ill today but that is to be expected.  I have spent as much time going between North America, Europe, and Africa this week as I have living in Africa.  It is sure nice to be back with Sister Emfield and in our own place here.

We are still making cultural adjustments.  For example, people do go to the bathroom on the sides of the streets so it is important to take your shoes off when you come into your own home.  All veggies, fruits, lettuce, etc. must be thoroughly washed and in the case of the former two peeled before eating. If not, you can acquire some interesting things that I would rather avoid.  One of the teachers we had during our training in Utah was a young man who served here and during his time of service he acquired two worms and typhoid fever.  Of course, he didn't live in Ghana and wasn't as careful as he should have been.  I would rather avoid the experience, though.  But, these people are easy to love.  In a recent Church meeting women from what we would consider very humble material circumstances were discussing the importance of giving to those in need.  I can't but help love people like that.

Elder Emfield

Settling In

We are settling in.  Our car has not yet been given to us but that is a blessing.  Traffic laws are almost the same here, but driving customs are d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-t!  Aggressive driving is the rule of the day and if you are on a motorcycle anything goes: drive the wrong way, OK; drive on the sidewalk, OK; weave between cars, OK.  Lanes appear to be a suggestion only.  Some drivers even seem to believe the same about red lights and stop signs.  As a result, I will have to make some adjustments to my driving skills before I will feel safe behind the wheel!

We are also adjusting to other differences.  The tap water is not safe, and so we must not drink it, brush our teeth with it, allow it to splash into our mouths or onto anything that goes there (This makes washing your hair an interesting challenge and means that a toothbrush cannot be set on the vanity top.).  Some extra care must be taken when washing dishes or silverware.  Some people wash them in Clorox water, others in extremely hot water, etc.  But this can be adjusted to and we are doing pretty well at it.

Unfortunately, one of my suitcases was broken into apparently at the airport prior to it being placed on the carousel.  The same was true of one suitcase of a missionary friend of ours who arrived with us.  I only lost a few things but the other missionary lost quite a bit of clothing.  While that was not a positive introduction to Ghana, most everything since then has been.

The people here are warm and friendly.  They laugh easily, having a love of life and a good sense of humor, but do not do so rudely.  While I suspect it is inevitable that some individuals laugh at others, etc., those with whom I have had the privilege of associating laugh together, not at the expense of others.  I got a couple of them laughing with me over my bald head yesterday, but it was not at my expense.  I initiated it and we all laughed over an obvious trait that just is - and one that I said one of them was going to have someday.  ;-)  They are also a spiritual people, and about 70% are Christians.  They take their beliefs seriously.  Businesses around town are often called by religious names, e.g. "The Virgin Birth Laundry," or "Waters of Jordon Shoe Repair."  Billboards, and automobiles around the city have religious slogans, etc.  For example, we keep seeing a van (actually called a tro-tro, sort of a taxi) around with "He Lives!" written on the back window.  Also, the musical talent is astounding.  We attended a devotional on Monday morning and the amateur, volunteer choir was phenomenal!!  They sang with all their hearts and with devotion.  What's more, they were soooo musically talented.  Amateurs who sounded professional.  These people are easy to love.

We tried our first Ghanaian food for lunch this week.  It was nothing fancy but was quite filling and fairly good.  But it was a pretty basic dish.  We have yet to try the special food.  Each country has both types and we look forward to trying fu-fu or other local specialties.  I spoke with a missionary from Nigeria on Monday and he said that he loved the food here because it was so much spicier than at home.

I have not as yet received my personal assignment, but have been given some tasks to help out with in the meantime.  Sister Emfield's assignment was made before we ever came, and she was put to work immediately and has hardly had time to breathe since.

Elder Emfield