How old are you?

At church we met a very interesting man, Kofi Oduro. Well, we think he is an interesting man. We couldn't speak to him because he doesn't speak English but he laughs in English and he did a lot of smiling and laughing. He came to church because his grandson, the Branch President, invited him. Our Branch President is 75 years old. The part we think is interesting about this man is that he says he is 135 years old. That is how old the President says he is, and that is how old his daughter (who came to church also) says he is. We wanted to share some pictures of him. When we asked President Ajai what he thinks the secret to his grandfathers longevity is, he said, "He is a decent man."




Kofi Oduro

 

President Ajai and his grandfather

 

 

Kofi leaving church with his daughter and great granddaughter

 

 

 

Kofi, who is wearing the robes of a chief, is surprisingly spry and alert for a gentleman of 135 years. He was born in 1880.  He is older than the combined ages of April and Mike.  We enjoy being with him because he is one of the few people who can make us feel young.

 





We love...

Since this is Valentines week we want to share a picture of the family we love at home and some of the interesting things we love seeing here in Africa that we don't see at home:

Trees full of bird nests

Calabash Trees

 


Baboons on the side of the road




A taxi full of chickens flying around loose in the back of the car



 Newborn babies in an orphanage



 Crocodiles



The LDS Temple in Accra, Ghana

Colorful bugs and colorful fabric

Beautiful churches

Pink chickens, painted to camouflage them from the hawks



There are many sights, sounds, foods, people and experiences that we love here in Africa. We are wishing all of our family and friends a very Happy Valentines Day and sending you our love.        Mike and April

CHRISTMAS EVE IN KUMASI,GHANA

We were privileged to spend Christmas Eve with some new friends at the Edwenase Rehabilitation Center in Kumasi.  The Center is for physically & mentally challenged young people who for various reasons cannot live in their homes.  At the Center they learn skills that will enable them to earn livings when they are integrated back into their communities.   We arrived there with 16 young missionaries and four couples and enjoyed 2 hours of singing, dancing, a short Christmas video, snacks and visiting.  They might be the two most valuable hours we have passed here in West Africa.  We can't imagine a better way to spend Christmas Eve. 

This girl is their song leader & sings beautifully

Our four young sisters along with the groups song leader, lead us in singing Christmas carols.

We can't believe the number of Hawks fans we see as we journey around Kumasi

Our landlady Grace and friend Collins pound Fufu.

Trisha sells apples at a busy intersection here in Kumasi.  Of all the Seahawk fans we've met here, she has the best smile and the best apples.

I don't know who these guys are but they were so friendly and also happy to display the 12th man flag that I couldn't resist taking their photo.

Victoria stopped in the middle of cooking banku to show me her Hawks flag.
She is a teenage nanny and housekeeper.

Our friend Andy is the neighborhood IT expert and helps us with our computer problems when he isn't cheering on the Hawks.

Fauzio on the right operates our favorite produce market.  Their 12th man flag was proudly displayed between the cassava and the eggplant. 

Our friend, 13 year old Rebecca returning from school, is a big Seahawks fan.

Rebecca is a nanny to Emma and her 2 brothers.

Our favorite furniture makers, Collins and Osei, proudly display their flag.

Emma used to be afraid of us but when we brought out the 12th man flag, she decided we were okay.

Dorcas with her nephew Calvin

Calvin gets the award for being the youngest and cutest Seahawk fan in the neighborhood. 

Happy Thanksgiving from Africa!

There is a song we sing every year at Thanksgiving back home. I have never heard it sung except at that time of year. In Africa they sing it all year round. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving Day here, they give thanks every day.

 

For the beauty of the earth,



For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth,

 over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise, 

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour, 

of the day and of the night,

Hill and Vale, and tree and flower

Sun and moon, and stars of light





Lord of all, to thee we raise, 

this our hymn of grateful praise.

 

For the joy of human love,





Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

For all gentle thoughts and mild,



Lord of all, to thee we raise, 

this our hymn of grateful praise.

Happy Thanksgiving to our wonderful family and friends. We are sending you our thoughts, love, prayers and thanks for your support as we are here in Ghana, Africa for another 9 months of our humanitarian mission. We just passed our half way point. We feel so blessed to be here and be able to serve the people of Africa by helping them get clean water and improve their sanitation. It amazes us every day to see that even though the people here have so little, they keep it clean and do the best they can with what they have. Everything they have is a blessing to them, everything. We count them and each of you as our blessings.

With our love,
 Mike and April