There are now three stakes in Cape Coast which is 90 miles west from Accra, or a 3 ½ hours drive, if there is no traffic. The stakes are very interconnected with history and tradition, so they chose to launch their Gathering Places together. Because of the distance, we decided to make a weekend of it and see the sights along the way. Cape Coast is where the painful historical slave trade was very active, there are still two castles there where the captured men and women were held until the slave ships loaded them and carried them to their final destination in either South America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, or North America. This is also the location where the first West Africans were baptized in 1978 after President Kimball announced that all worthy male members could hold the priesthood. Baptism Beach and the events of those first baptisms is still within the memories of many of the local members. The people here reverence those early days of the church in Africa and hold them as a sacred time in their lives. We personally work with one member of a stake presidency who is the son of one of the most influential saints, Stephen Abu. We’ve also worked with a member of Ghana’s Parliament, Dr. Dickson Kissi, whose father was also a significant force in the early days of the West Africa church. (Both men are so humble that we only figured this out as we read the book, “Walking in the Sand,” by Dr. Emmanuel Kissi.) (Images 1-2)
The launches were scheduled for Saturday morning at 9:00, so we headed out of Accra at 7:00 am Friday to give enough time to visit some sites and find our hotel before sundown at 6:30 pm. Our first planned stop was Kakum National Park where there is a canopy walk 100 feet above the rain forest. Yes, long suspended swinging rope bridges--seven of them, a total of 1,150 feet in length. Yikes!! I didn’t want to be the wet blanket in the party, so I worked on my mental game for weeks, telling myself I could do it. Luckily, before we put our feet on the swinging, swaying bridge the guide reviewed how and who had built the structures and that every day they are inspected prior to use. Our travel friends and fellow YSA couple, the Mondragon’s, reminded me, as I was in the middle of the first expanse, to think of the second Indiana Jones movie if the bridge broke, and remember to wrap my leg around the rope and dodge big trees as I flew by. Not funny! Once again, the humidity was draining. Sweat was literally dripping off us while we were there. (Image 3)
In addition to the canopy walk we took a guided hike where unique trees were pointed out. There were rubber trees, trees with a large base that when hit with a stick sounds like a hollow drum used to announce your location when lost, and another covered with pointed knobs. Historically the knobs were cut off for the chiefs and used to adorn sandals and rings to signify royalty. When the knobs are removed the tree dies. Royalty wins. (Images 4-7)
Our next stop was the Elmina Slave Castle. It was built by the Portuguese in 1482 for storing gold and other commodities while waiting for trade ships. It was repurposed as a place for holding slaves during the height of the Atlantic slave trade. Very sobering.
The Coconut Grove Resort Elmina, was lovely. It was the first clean beach we’ve seen since we’ve been here. The shore was lined with gently swaying palm trees--like a movie set. But, it was still Ghana. The hotel mattress was literally as hard as a rock, the water was unfiltered and the drapes over the first-floor windows only partially closed. But, TIA—This Is Africa. The restaurant was open air right on the beach, magical. The food was not. But the company made up for the food. It turned out that five missionary couples had been on assignments that caused them to be traveling, so to avoid the very dangerous night driving situations they decided to stop for the night. Such good and dedicated people who love serving the Lord.
Saturday morning was Gathering Place Launch day for Cape Coast, Abura and Yamoransa Stakes. The young people were excited, the leaders were delegating and hopeful. Our part on the program was speaking on the importance of forming eternal marriage relationships through the Gathering Place. (Image 8)
A fun piece of information we learned during our lunch of rice and chicken in the stake president’s office was that the Yamoransa president, President Antwi, was a counselor in the original Cape Coast Stake, when the other two stake presidents were YSA in that stake. President Laing, Abura Stake, and President Woananu, Cape Coast Stake, grew up together, left on their missions the same day, served in the same mission and returned home the same day. Then, many years later, they were called as stake presidents on the same day. They praised President Antwi as the leader who made a difference in their lives. (Image 9)
The launch was over about 3:00, so we headed to Cape Coast Slave Castle to end our day. This one was more sobering than the first, perhaps because it was built specifically to hold captives until the slave ships arrived to carry them off. The stories told by the guide were horrific. This is the Castle I read about in the book “Homegoing.” Man’s inhumanity to man. We stood in one dungeon where the floor had been excavated. We were able to see a line on the wall about one foot off the current floor where excavation analysis revealed human urine, feces, vomit, blood, and food droppings and once been there. The other dungeons had not been excavated, so visitors literally walked on human excrement. (Image 10-11)
As awful as the castle and the stories are, the local fishing boats in the surrounding ocean waters are lovely. Each evening the fishermen line up their boats and sail to sea, just as they have for hundreds of years. (Image 12)
Two missionary experiences happened this weekend. The first was at Kakum. As we walked to the desk to pay our fee, the manager took over from the clerk. Matthew, the manager, told us that many people like us (white with black badges) have come to the Park and were always kind and interested. He offered us a discount and chose his favorite guide to lead us. When we returned from our tour, he asked Dale if he would share more about the church. Dale talked with him, handed him a Book of Mormon and took his name. I watched Matthew walk away holding the book with a content smile on his face, he sat down on a nearby bench and started reading. We gave Matthew’s name to the mission president on Monday. Later that day we got a text from a set of missionaries saying they had set an appointment.
The second experience was at the Cape Coast Castle. I was standing in the courtyard trying to visualize the people who had lived there, when an African man walked past me and told me I was beautiful! Bless that man!! He then asked about my name badge. I told him that I was a missionary, to which he said he wanted to join our church. He wrote down his information which we also passed along to the local mission president.
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