Ghana Cape Coast Mission

  The majority of the people in Ghana are amazing, humble, and faithful.  They love God and treat us missionaries with love and respect. Crystal, a new convert.  Happy that she received her passport and will now be able to submit her papers to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 90 degrees, 85% humidity.  This baby couldn't be happier.  Daniel proudly showing us the casava he just dug up.  This will be used to make Fufu

  We drove west across Ghana to Takoradi and then to jungle beach called Ankobra beach.  The wild almond and coconut trees would reach out over the water on this nearly deserted beach. I think we were the only ones staying there for two nights as the parking lot was empty and we didn't see any other guests. We also visited Nzulezu which was a village built on a remote river only accessible by canoe.  This tribe came to Ghana 400 years ago to escape war in Senegal.   The tribe has modernized somewhat over the years primarily due to non-profit organizations and government subsidizes.  They had electricity brought recently and every stilt hut has a dish for TV.  Since TV was put in the reproduction rate in this polygamist village has dropped dramatically. Each person, including children, gets their own dug out canoe.  This allows the children, after they go into 8th grade to paddle miles into town every day to get higher education.  It allows th...

  Cocoa bean in the pod.  You suck the sweet jelly off the beans and throw out the hard seed.  The hard seeds are dried and turned into chocolate The sweet chocolate we eat starts in the jungle in these cocoa plants.  When the pods are green they are not ripe.  When the pods turn yellow it is time to harvest.  If the pods have turned black they are no good Our hosts in the jungle

The last bath was the last stop 40 miles from the coast where the slaves were brought to clean up before they were taken to the Castles on the Ghana coast to auction.  If was very sobering to see where they were chained and shackled, washed, branded, and often buried. The river was beautiful.   From the road we walked through a tunnel of trees and vines down to the river they called the "last bath"  However, hiding within the waters were untold horrors including a chain and shackle that kept the enslaved from escaping.

 Shelly and I take a morning walk through our village of NKanfoa.  At 6:00am the village is alive and bustling.  Lot of youth "fetching" water for their homes.  These young boys carry about 5 gallons of water on their heads for about a mile.  You should see their calf muscles! At the main junction of the village they blare news and village announcements.  I think the practice is useful but does it really need to start at 5:00am.   The mud huts or houses are surrounded by motes which are deep gutters for the grey water that comes out of the homes.  This drawbridge is a little rickety. 

 

  I am amazed at the rate of growth and decay in Africa.  If I laid on the ground too long I feel I would be swallowed up by something.  Termites build their mounds on old tree stumps and eat into the stump until there is nothing left except a pile of something.  This electrical pole is being consumed by hungry termites.    I have become fascinated by vines in Africa.  They are beautiful and odd.  This is called the Stinky Passion Flower.  I was curious about its name and discovered, after popping one of the pods in my fingers, where it got its name. This vine is called the Mexican Creeper.  The flower is thick and pink.  The leaf is a perfect heart.  They use this vine for ornamental purposes at weddings and funerals.  It is considered a roadside vine and easy to access. This vine climbing up a telephone wire is called "Mile a Minute" vine.  It has a beautiful purple flower but can cover a forest or fence or electric...