Last Saturday afternoon we went to see Joseph, he is the man that we used to teach while we were in Saint Thomas on our last mission.  He worked in STT for over 20 years and would send his money back to Ghana to support his family.  He wanted to come back to Ghana once he retired, so he now lives with his sister in the house that he owned all along.  While we were there, there were numerous children and women coming in and out of the house and I asked them how many people lived in the house and they counted:  21!  10 chidren and 11 adults.  That is not at all unusual here.  He is always glad to see us as is his sister and her kids.  

This is the house that Joseph lives in with the other 20 people.  You can see that just the first floor of this house is finished.  This is so very typical here.  People will start to build a house and just build it as they have money to do each part.  Many times, they cannot afford to finish it at all, but at least the first floor is done on this house.  The walls are all made of cement blocks and and the floors are concrete.  Inside you will not find much furniture at all, maybe some stools and benches made out of just rough wood like what is in the picture of the truck below loaded with benches and stools.  You see the little stand at the front of the house?  That is where his sister sells things.  She sells water and snacks and just anything that she can.  This is so very typical.  People just try to make money anyway that they can .  Last time we visited, she was washing and scrubbing a big batch of shoes that she had purchased to resale, but she told us that she cannot afford to buy another batch right now, so she is trying to sell snacks and stuff.  

On Monday evening, the assistants invited us to come to a family home evening with a newly baptised family.  As you can see from the picture above, we sat outside on little benches (or rocks) and had a great discussion led by Elder Simpson about the rise and fall of King David.  After the lesson, we played Pictionary.( Elder Morgan and Elder Nielsen came too.  Elder Morgan worked in this area for over 7 months and baptised so many people that they literally started a group that has now evolved into a branch.  He and Elder Nielsen left to go home the next day. ) I love that the thing they wanted to do most the night before leaving was to visit the people that they taught .  We divided into two teams and had to draw the word with a blindfold on and then our team had to guess what it was.  They sure did love the game....by the time it was over, we had moved inside because it rained, and they have no electricity  in their house, so we used phone lights to see.  I brought ginger cookies for a treat.  It was fun to be with them and see them in action.  These young missionaries really are so sincere and dedicated.  I am in awe of them a lot!

Here is the group picture after the game.  You can see how dark it was by 6:30pm.  

Here is a picture of Elder Morgan (from Huntington Beach, CA)  and Elder Nielsen (from SLC, Utah).  The mission president and his wife always have a dinner with the returning missionaries the night before leaving and they are given these banners with their names, the mission and years that they serve on them.  These are made here in Ghana and are a great keepsake for the missionaries.  These two elders will be missed.  I got a chance to visit with them and ask them what they will miss the most about their missions and they both said the people, and the chance they had to have this 2 years to come to know Jesus Christ and serve others exclusively.  What a great foundation it is for these missionaries!  If they take what they have learned and stay strong and firm, I know that they will be so blessed in their life to come. 

I have posted before about the big deal that funerals are here.  I just snapped this picture of a poster advertising the upcoming funeral for this man because I loved what it said in the right hand corned:  "Home Call".......the people here really do have believing hearts and believe as I do that this earth life is just temporary and that we will return "home" someday.....
   

See that wad of cash that Elder Ison (one of our  wonderful office elders) is holding?  He looks pretty happy about it!  Elder Garrison had just given him 20,000 ghs to buy new phones for the mission.  That equals to about $2500.....I tell you, the church spends a ton of money supporting the missionary work around the world!

We attended District Council on Tuesday with this great District!  Elder Franklin, Elder Nuwagaba, Elder Gyasi, Sister Pitlagno, Elder Morgan, Sister Ebitimi, Elder Nielsen, Sister Ofosua, Elder Sam, Sister Musa, Elder Degelbeck and Elder Simpson.  Such a great bunch of missionairies!

This is our cook at the Mission Office: Hannah, she had made Banku for MLC (mission leadership council), the missionaries just loved it!  It is a lot of work to make but much appreciated! Don't mind my hair......it is always up these days!  Too hot for anything else!

This lady on our corner sells cassava off of this old broken down table every day.  The woman in pink is buying some....look what she is carrying on her head: just 4 dozen eggs is all!  

I could not resist taking a picture of this little guy on Sunday.  He just looked so cute!  I couldn't get him to smile at all, he was too busy buttoning his dapper little jacket.  The kids here just really melt my heart.

So this little gal is probably 11 or 12 and she is carrying her little sister.  The little one is 2.  This is fairly common to see.  The older kids take great care of the younger ones.  Aren't they just beautiful?

One of our senior couples left this last Tuesday: The Allreds.  They served for a year in Techiman, which is 3 hours to the Northwest of us.  Elder Garrison and I never got to meet them before they came to Kumasi on their way home.  Sister Moomey and I took them to do a little souvenir shopping before we had a dinner with them at the Mission Home.  It was so nice to finally meet them.  I can see why they are so loved by the missionaries and by the people they have served in Techiman.  I also realize now, after serving in the office and knowing more about what demands are put on the Kunzes as Mission Leaders that it is so helpful for them to have senior couples to serve in a mission.  They are just so valuable to be another set of hands, eyes and ears for them, as well as doing some of the many tasks that they are called to do.  I hope if there is anyone out there wondering if they should serve, THE ANSWER IS YES!  Do it, you will not regret it a bit. 

Notice that 3  (Sister Moomey and the Kunzes) of the people in this picture actually have jackets on!  We went to dinner at Piri Piri (owned by a man man from Lebanon) Friday night and it had been raining and the temperature was actually 73 degrees!  That has got to be the coolest that it has been since we got here.  To me it felt divine and I didn't need a jacket but others were actually cold!  It is definitely rainy season here in Ghana.  I love that the temperatures are a bit lower but I feel so sorry for all the people that get so wet during all this rain because the places they live don't have proper roofs.   

I love this thought so much, especially since being here in Ghana.  I see people very content with very little and they work soooo hard to just buy food.  So many things get me distracted, but I want to always remember what matters most:  Jesus Christ, family and our fellowman and the relationships we have with them.  Stuff really doesn't matter, it is relationships and people that matter.  

Hoping you all have a great week.  Thanks for your support and prayers, we feel them and are so blessed.  Stay strong and steadfast.

Love,

The Garrisons