July 11, 2021

 Our one month anniversary of being in Ghana. We've learned to feed ourselves and get where we need to be, mostly on-time. We've met a lot of great people both in the church and not. Today we went to a the James Town Ward. The GPS took us to a building about 1/2 mile from where we needed to be. Thankfully, the bishop answered his phone with a chuckle and told us what to do. The section of downtown Accra was one of the dirtiest yet. There was trash all along the side of the roads and people, people, people everywhere. Most of them were clothed, one mother, living behind a cinderblock wall was caring for her two little ones. She was washing the baby while the little 3 year old was washing her face with water from a bottle. Their freshly washed clothes were neatly hanging on a line next to their stool and blanket. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the poverty. 

We finally found a sign with the name of the church marking we were in the right place. Dale bravely walked down a tiny side alley, through an iron gate and into a small entrance where the bishop had graciously stationed a member to help us know we were in the right place. The prelude music was by a 12 year old deacon who was obviously learning to play a keyboard. Great job! He then passed the sacrament and offering a sacrament talk. The bishopric counselor conducting the meeting did a superb job. Every meeting we attend is impressive. I suppose we create expectations of the area based on the environment. We've misjudged every time. 

A note on “church.” All of the buildings we’ve been in have very old and very dirty stackable plastic chairs. There are a few very worn coverless hymn books, a small keyboard or no accompaniment at all, walls that are very much in need of a coat of paint, a microphone that works, and members young and old dressed and pressed in their Sunday finest.