This picture made us miss home, well, really our grandchildren. This little guy is an African twin of our grandson Canon. He has to spend most of the day at his dad's weaving and mom's jewelry stands. Like Canon, our master builder with whatever scraps he can find, he was busy about his own business. He found broken pieces of tile and was very intent as he constructed his masterpiece. No batteries needed.
The children here are beautiful, but I know we've said that before!
We have the opportunity to meet so many local people, because they are all so friendly. Since everyone walks here, it's easy to meet people. You can stop to talk to almost anyone as you're walking down the street, and they love to talk about Jesus and about the scriptures. They are very familiar with the Bible. We are in awe at how clearly they discuss and how easily they understand Gospel teachings.
We are often stopped at police barricades along the roads, and most of the time when they see we are missionaries all they ask us for is a Bible. They are very happy when we share Books of Mormon with them. I hope we don't go home and try to give police scriptures if they stop us. Or maybe we will try that. Elder Watson and Elder Smith are having great conversations.
The roads and people out in the countryside are very humble. This is a single home on the roadside. They do have many villages along every road. Those homes are usually made of mud blocks or cinderblocks.
Transportation is a family matter. There are motor scooters and motorcycles everywhere. On her head she has goods to sell at her market stand or along the street. She may be selling produce from her own garden, goods she or others made, or something she bought from others to sell. Usually in pictures like this there are also 2-3 children riding between the parents.
We visited Dodowa Branch last Sunday, a wonderful small branch of the Church. They met in a rented house and had to construct this baptismal font in the back yard. They often have 5 baptisms a week in these small congregations.
.JPG)
Yes, you can tell by the clothes that this is Elder Fryer's and Gelter's (he was one of our MTC missionaries) P-day preparation day or day to do laundry, grocery shopping, run errands, etc. But these guys were on a very important errand.
Elder Fryer, on the left, is from Australia. His grandmother is a member of the Church, but his parents were not. She took him to church as a boy. As he approached mission age he decided all he wanted to do was play sports on a college team. Much to his surprise, his father disapproved. Elder Fryer said his dad would get him up at 6:00 in the morning before he was to leave for school and lecture him about how he had to go on a mission to be the best person he could and fulfill his commitments.
He realized his dad was right and decided to go on his mission. After he had been here only a few weeks his father suddenly passed away.
That was one year before this picture. Elder Fryer was so excited. He came to ask us to help him prepare his father's records, so that he could go to the temple for his father. They attended the Temple the next week. It was an amazing experience. I have never seen a happier young man. We know his father is proud of him.
.JPG)
I mentioned the deep religious feelings of the people of West Africa. This is the door to our hotel room in Ho, in the Volta Region. Many people have similar doors on their homes. Wouldn't that be neat!? It shows Christ knocking on the door but no knob on His side. It is up to us to open the door. He is patiently waiting to be with us and share all He has with us. We must invite Him in.
We love you all and are SO grateful for your support and all the news from home. Our Verizon email is sometimes blocked or late getting to us, so please don't think we are ignoring anyone. We think of you often. FYI - there is no Ebola in Ghana. We are fine. We pray for those others in West Africa and in the USA who are effected.
Elder and Sister Watson
No comments:
Post a Comment