July 6, 2009

Sorry about not e-mailing... I am being lazy like Brenen said he was ha ha.... Today is p-day.... I gave myself a perm...with Brother Sidwell assisting.... Trying to get a few things done towards leaving this place...We are still staying busy...we got up at 3:00 on Saturday and took people to the Temple... Valentina got her endowment.... we had to be there by 7:00 to get her recommend okay'd by the mission President..and all her clothes and other things done so she could go through at l0:30 session.... Dad and President Reck went to two sessions, I stayed with Valentina and we went to the one...Then we came home.... and the Area Office couple from the Genealogy department came up and we went to dinner at Chances Hotel with them.... Then took them to Sacrament meeting and church the next morning...then one of the boys came to practice the keyboard on Sunday and while the boy and a friend he had brought with him were still here, the girl that we had baptized when we first came here, came to the door to visit and stayed until 5:00 and we took her to a friends...She has been living in another village l and half hours away and so we hadn't seen her since her little boy died and she went to live with her mother.... Anyway, it is always something... dad has been working on his fiance journal and has run a lot of errands for President and some for me... I have been washing Temple clothes and etc...One of the branch Young Women stopped by to visit us... she is l5 and was telling us about going away to boarding school in two months.... that is what they do here for their senior school years... three to four years..... it is sad to me that they do it this way because then you are not around your family and both the family and the student misses out on their lives...it is so strange and makes me happy that we don't send our children away that early in their lives.... It is good that they get an education though...I can't see a change for the people here for another 50 years ha ha.... did you know that the President of the US is coming to Ghana on the 10th and 11th... He and the new President of Ghana are good friends.... wow...small world...The people here just love Obama and think he will do something for them...Well hang in there all of you, we will be home soon to bother you...Love mom

June 1, 2009

Happy day, the computer works..haha ..... what's the good word for this week? We went to Accra for two days, it was very enjoyable...it is always a mixture of shopping and visiting with people we know... we didn't get to the Temple this time but will be bringing three women to Accra on Friday...Two of them, one old and uses a cane, doesn't speak English, and another lady that can speak some English, (she will help to interpret for the Mission President interview for temple recommend and for the Temple) her l8 year old daughter is going also. We have reserved rooms for them to stay in over night and go to the Temple the next day.... It will be interesting as there is no where to eat there at the Ancillary or close by.... We told them to bring some food for them to eat.... we will probably be taking them to some place and buy their dinner the evening we get there..... we'll just play it all by ear..... Dad has been buying each person that goes to the Temple, their Temple clothes and packet etc. and they also get 5 pair of garments too. It is only for first time people and the church subsidizes the payment making it very cheap compared to ours in America.... It will be a nice experience..... This time when we were in Accra we found out that a new modern movie theater had just opened up in November in the Accra Mall on the third floor in the Mall...we ended up going to the movie with our other mission couple and had popcorn and a good time...the movie was Night at the Museum 2...we thought it was a safe enough movie to see for missionaries..... it was very nice and reminded me of the theaters in Provo and Orem etc..... or any mall........ anyway, we got in our truck on Friday morning to go finish our shopping etc. and it wouldn't start... this is the 4th time we have had this problem with it.....dad just called over to the mission home and Brother Hale, the mission couple there, came right over and he and dad took the battery out and took it to be charged... I stayed there and read etc. in the room.....They were looking for a new battery to put in but they were so expensive there that Brother Hales told dad to go back to HO and have one put in there, it was only l00 plus and the Accra one was 200.00....Finally got on our way, heading down Independence road on our way to Max Mart, ShopRite and then home... but dad was sailing along and the police man shouted him over, so he stopped and said why did you go through that red light.... Dad said I was in between two trucks and didn't see the red light...... he got a ticket..... but we called our mission person that handles that sort of thing and he talked to the officer and we ended up paying him $20.00 (cedi) and were on our way again.....we did our small, small shopping and went on the way home to Ho..... it started to rain about 40 miles out, it was so hard and the wind was blowing so hard that limbs off the trees were breaking and one big limb out on the road that closed the lane.... we stopped right there by that place and didn't go any further..... You couldn't see, I think that was the hardest time so far as far as raining going home...Finally we were able to go on and it only rained a little bit a few times ..... Finally dad had me drive from before the river bridge, he gets too tired.... i don't mind as long as it's out on the road and not in town with all the crazy traffic...today is p-day...our fridge is such a pain... It is little and frosts up so bad we can't open the drawers or shut the door... It happens on a regular basis.... at least every two weeks we have to get the pans of water and boil them and then put them in it and melt the ice and get it cleared out...today dad was changing the pans of scalding hot water and trying to move the one that was cold and the pan slipped and the hot water hit him in his face and all up his right arm...it really burnt him and he sat here with frozen bottle of water on his face and arm.... a small sack of ice I gathered from the fridge...his face is red anyway but you could really tell where the water had burned him and his tender arm on the inside up to his under arm..... I felt bad for him....so I just did the work myself... ha ha...cleaning, he usually helps me with it..... one sweeps, one mops... what a good team.... ha ha...we really literally have no filtered water in the tap and for weeks we have been taking cold drizzle showers, bucketing water to wash clothes..... so he is finally going down to the vacant Kpong Elders apartment and has permission to take their water pump.... There is no more Elders there now and so they won't need it..... He will take the plumber guy in our ward and go get it..... it will be nice to get some filtered water.... we have been boiling all water..... to drink or fix food and wash dishes.... oh for the life of luxury.....right Brenen? you can relate to it all, and even worse,I'm sure...yes, we did some missionary work too... but it is run here and run there..... dad is getting closer to property for the branch a new building, he is very busy with the branch Presidency and there is always something for me to do...keyboards, crocheting etc..... time is flying.......Dad and I are half way reading the D&C together, we are doing great taking turns reading every single day... course we read other things on our own..... all is well Love mom.......

May 25, 2009

Truck battery down again today.... I wish we could just get a new one.... ya ...... make bread, cleaned house, no water in sink just drip, drip. I boil water to wash dishes, hard to wash and the shower is small, small drizzle, just under luke warm ha ha, but other than that everything is fine...Dad and I are trying to read the D& C to the end together, that's the key, together, he reads and then I read.... we are going right a long.... we just might get to the end by the time we leave...and then some new goals will be in the making ha ha...Hope everyone is progressing well in Ryan's mission.... we never hear.... tell him we love and miss him...I don't hear from him...Brenen's, who knows... moving along just like the rest of the crew.... so interesting to read their letters.... it is great to have a computer in this day and age to get messages sent...especially when the computer is working... We love you all .... love mom

May 20, 2009

We went to Accra on Monday, had lunch with the Mattinsons and then they had to go back home to take two sister missionaries to their place... We had a great day shopping at the Art Center and then the area office and dinner with the Hales... they are the office couple...she has had tyfoid fever now for over a month and many tests to see why she is still sick one day and then feel okay and then sick again etc...they told her she had exstended tyfoid fever and will be like that for 6 months... she will not go home but keep working in the office when she can... they are great people about 56 yrs old and are extending as the office couple for l3 more months...they will go home for two and then come back...that will be hard....On Tuesday dad and I went to the temple and then to the area office, friends there...I had taken banana cupcakes to Ray Johnson's wife Jill, who has loved them so much when she came up here to visit and requested more...Jill is very helpful and a big asset to the area office people...she is very talelnted in music and writing and has helped write a literacy book for the church...it will probably be used all over Africa and other places to help people teach english...we had brought two more suitcases in the truck with us and ask one of the white men who had just come out of the area office, about taking a suitcase home for us and he said yes and steve could take the other....we could have hugged him right there... anyway two more suitcases, 7 and 8 will leave here sometime Friday night and they will call you on Sunday or Monday to pick them up...Marcus is from Salt Lake and Steve from Pleasant Grove just down the canyon road from us on the left hand side somewhere above the blue cylows (spellling). They are here doing auditing for the church... isn't it a small world? Can you believe how easy that was? I pray they will get home to you safely....Inside the black one, down in the middle area between the baskets is a white envelope.... hopefully it has the phone and address of Moody's ..... they are the mission couple from Orem that just went home.... he forgot to take his credit cards out of the mission office safe and I said I would send them in my suitcase....will you see that they get them? He also left a coat... I will see if I can get it in one of mine later...This couple has been on four missions, one of them to the Lindon Cannery and one to the conference center in Salt Lake and another one to Africa, I can't remember where..... they have l4 children from previous marriages, since the oldest child was l2 years, so that is a long time ha ha...tomorrrow we leave at 4:30 am and take 4 missionaries to Accra for an all Zone Conference, it will be so great because we will get to see all the missionaries that have been here in HO and we love them all and will be happy to talk with them since we will be leaving soon and might not get to see them again...It should be fun, but a long day.....we hope all is well with everyone and grats to Jayson on his graduation..... And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all the birhday kids this month and my big son Randy. We love you all ... let us hear from you ...... Love mom and dad Can you send this on to all the others this time... I don't have time now to do it..... I have to make dozens of cookies tonight and take to conference tomorrow.... all is well and we are happy ........

May 11, 2009

...this is the second time I have typed this or something like it...me and the computer don't get along...anyway thank you for the picture of Brenen, it was good to see him...we didn't get to talk with him on Sunday, (why am I not surprised... it's the same way with the mail here... a pain in the Butt) The picture of Ryan was so cute and just like him... he is such a fun boy to be around... it sounds like he is doing okay... has it really been a year? My the time has gone fast ha ha... It is the same ol' thing here, only different, does that make sense? A small variation, now dad is lst Counselor and we don't have to go to Single Adult family home evening, but he now has the primary and I can really bend his ear...and other things to do... Tomorrow we go to Kpong to the District meeting with the Elders there for a change and Sister Sidwell gets to give the instruction... It is nothing great, but they seem to like it when I do the instruction cause I do a lot of drawing etc. on the board and tell them a lot of baloney ha ha...you know they are African boys after all and like cartoons or what ever. ha ha.... What is going on there now? There is never peace and quite is there? Thank you so much for all you do for us... talk to you later.... love mom..... forgot to say we called the mission President there in Paraguay and just happens Brenen is there with him to a Zone Leaders council today. It will be out at 1:00 Paraguay time and 5:00 for us in Africa... four hours different he tells us instead of three..... We will call the number he gave us and hope to talk to our son.... love mom

April 20, 2009

Dear Brenen, What's up this week? Did you get your shoes? If not where are they? I haven't heard from too many lately maybe cause I haven't e-mailed anyone either...except Janalee. Her and Jill had been down to Arizonia for Easter and didn't come back until Wed...hopefully she will e-mail you and tell you about it...We had an intersting experience this past week. We took some things down to the mission office on Thursday night and then stayed the night at the Ancillary. We went to the temple on Thusday night... Next morning at 6:30 we were on our way to Oda, which is 3 hours up in the central region of Africa, bordering the Cape Coast Mission. Our mission couple, the Moodys, live there. They are going home on May 6th, so we wanted to see where they live, their area. We found our way there, with Moodys directing us. As we got so far we would call them and ask for directions. There was one place that you had to turn right or you would go the wrong way....anyway we made it okay by 9:30.... it was fun, they showed us all around, it was really a pretty and green area. I thought they had way more trees than in our area... anyway they took us down by the dirty river and showed us the wooden boat that carries people from one side to the other...it was pure brown water, yuck, but the little boys, 8-9 or somewhere in there were swimming and having a good time some in their birthday suits (if you know what I mean), nobody cares, it's a way of life...people pee everywhere and the world is their bathroom...the people here drink that water too. Thank goodness for our filtered water...we went to eat at a little "eating place" for lunch, it was upstairs in this building of stucco. We are in Africa remember. On the patio area as you came up the stairs were a couple of tables. We ordered at the counter, there was no place to go in.... so you just ordered at the counter... There were many things on it..... but all that was available to eat was ... surprise, chicken and rice and a spoonful of cabbage salad....we laughed...the rice tasted okay, so did the salad but the chicken was a piece of neck, about 1 and 1/2 inch by 1 and 1/2 inch with not even one bite of chicken on it. This is typical of eating out ha ha ...We went back to Moodys house and said good-bye.... she gave us some no bake cookies in a bag. We went on our way... we drove on and by 2:30 we are saying this doesn't look like anywhere we have been before.....we felt a little fright, thinking where are we? We had the map but it is a jungley highway, narrow with trees and green plants...there are just not any places to turn around and etc... finally we came to a town, lots of narrow streets and many people and stores and business.... we asked someone the name of the place to see if we could find it on the map, but we couldn't understand anyone...e finally dad asked a tro-tro driver close-by and he said follow me. He took us down one street and over another and we were trying to follow him... people all over in the streets and many tro-tros and cars, taxis etc....he took us to a tro-tro stop and while we were waiting in line in the traffic there was a knock on the window and there stood two angels in the form of two Elders... we rolled the window down and talked with them.... they had seen us pass by in the truck and had run after us from their apartment.... they saw us and thought we were a new mission couple for their area. We were in a town called Agona Swedru and were in the Cape Coast Mission. The two Elders were both from Tonga and had been out a while and this was their assigned area.... they wanted to show us how to go...... we finally said okay and they got in the truck and said we were about 45 minutes from the coast to a place called Winneba. If you happen to have a map it is about an hour and a half along the coast to Accra and the other way goes to Cape Coast... a couple of hours...they got in, ate our no bake cookies, rode with us to Winneba, we paid them for their tro-tro ride back to Agona Swedru and we had had a wonderful experience getting to know them and were so thankful that the Lord so fit to help us out of our lost situation and we learned alot and saw some of the different country...We also had trouble finding our way back into Acrra because the road did not go directly in and we had to figure out again where we were, but had a map of the Accra city area and we ask a few times and also learned maybe for another time how to get to a few more places when we go to Accra. Long story, but it was such a neat experince all around... We did our shopping at the Mall and left Accra in the dark to drive 2 and 1/2 hours back to Ho...We were very tired. It is kinda dangerous to drive in the dark and there are always people on the roads and they are narrow but we made it by 9:30 and all is well...This week we got a new Branch President.... President Smith came up Sunday to make the change.... The new President was the lst counselor and President Smith said Brother Sidwell to stay as second counselor and stay right by his side to help him...Dad thought he would be released but no...not yet. Then President Smith had brought Brother and Sister Eppel of the Area... he is over all the buildings, temples etc. in West Africa.... for Brother Sidwell to take them around and show them all the area that we had found for a new Branch meeting house. They were impressed with a few and will send another man up sometime this week to start talking with the owners etc to get the property purchased.... things are moving along...... we are trying to keep busy and do all we can besides all the little things that happen in our house.... like no water sometimes and power going out... bugs (no snakes...) but saw a dead one on the street we walk on) and all other little daily things.... We are happy.... Our release time is August 4th but we don't know yet whether we will stay until then or come on July 25th..... we will have to see..... How is everyone... good I hope . Please let us hear from you...Hope this can get to all of you... it is hard to write this much to each one... Love mom

April 9, 2009

Hope all is well with you all... Lots of Bithdays this month... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF YOU...We had the opportunity to go to Koforidua recently to check the Elders and Sisters apartments there... Usually Reynolds do it but they have now gone home...Pres. Smith has been sick with Tyfoid fever and so he had us go.... It is about 2 -1/2 hours down a ways and over the mountain...it was a fun experience for us...we took a lunch and headed out, one sister aptartment and two Elders... it was great to see where they live and compare with HO.... it was also good to talk and joke with them.... after checking the apartments we drove back over to the road that heads up to a couple of water falls, close to Umbrella rock where we had been last July and climbed to it.... This time we could drive practically right to the water falls... except a small trail leading to stairs that went down to the falls...220 steps to the Akaa Falls and 250 to the Boti Falls...that's all fine to go down but then you have to go up that many to get back out... then to top that off I forgot to take my camera when we went down the Akaa falls and so we went back down after we had ate our yummy tuna sandwich and drank our mineral water. The truck was parked in the shade and a man brought us out a chair to sit on, but I prefered to sit on the seat of the truck as the chair was so dirty.... kind jesture on the part of the little african man that took our money (a fee of 2.oo each) wow to go see the falls..... But after lunch and a rest we went back down. So 480 steps to that falls and then up and down when we went over to the other area, (a couple of miles away) and went to the other falls, which actually had two water falls. They called one the female and the other the male.... naturally the male one was just a little larger than the other....we figured we had gone up and down l480 steps.... my legs could really tell by the way they felt the next day. ha ha....it was a good day and we made it home inby 5:00 before dark. This past week we went to Accra Saturday morning after I taught all my keyboard lesson, which start at 7:00 over to the branch and we have anywhere between two to five at a time because of the new keyboards I had ordered from salt Lake...Anyway we went home at 9:30 on the spur of the moment decided to go to Accra to watch conference.... we got to Accra by l2:l5 and went straight in to the Temple and did an endowment session and were out by 2:30... We had called Pres. Cobb at the Temple to see if we could get a room for the weekend in the Ancillary bldg.. .(Pres. Cobb is incharge of the Ancillary rooms) because they are mainly for Temple patrons... so we did get a room and after getting settled in we went to the Chinese Resturant called Pearls and had our dinner, as we hadn't eaten for the day...then over to the Area office by 4:00 to watch conference....we went quickly to the store for a few items and then back to conference at 8 oclock...We really enjoyed conference and all the talks...it is the first time we have been able to see or hear conference since we started our mission...Anywyay the next day was Sunday and the office couple, our friends the Hales from Centerfield, Utah, invited us to go to church with them.... but he had to do some interviews for President Smith and so we went to the Ashiaman ward and then to the Tsisti ward for part of the time... it was very interesting to see the buildings and people etc. there...afterward Hales invited us to dinner at their house, which we were thankful for because we would have gotten anorexia if we had to miss a meal ha ha.... afterwards we all had a little nap, mine was short as I decided to go and wash the dishes so that Sis Hales could rest as she has had tyfoid fever also...Then Sister Hales and I played a game of Scrabble and then it was time to go to the Sunday sessions of conferencae at 4--- and then 8 oclock in the evening...Bed... up the next day, did our shopping and came back to Ho...We have been without water for days now... as something is wrong with the city water...we live across from the water company and so Charles always walks across the street to see if it's a problem at our house or the whole city.... This time it was the whole city..... occassionally there is a drop or two but I boil water to wash dishes after collecting it in a pan from the occassion drip. Thank goodness we have a small storage of bottled filtered water for us to brush teeth and fix a meal...or a sponge bath... not complaining, just explaining... life is great and we are really here in Africa where most people go long distances each morning with a jar or big bowl etc. on their head to get water...or take a bath...even small children and all sizes really can be seen with a container or things on their heads getting water or selling things...What an adventrure this is even if we don't do anything but convert ourselves. ha ha How many times have I said that in regards to sending out one of my children on a mission, if they only convert themselves it will be worth it...enough for now... just remember that we love you and your Heavenly Father loves you and you are very blessed even if America is having economical problems... follow the Prophet and don't fear but have faith.... stay close to your Heavenly Father and His Divine Son