July 2022

Getting comfortable in Africa is a process, so we decided to help our newly arrived YSA missionary partners, the PLATTS, get acclimated by taking a few car trips with them to see Ghana. We traveled four hours north to Kumasi to visit with a stake president who is doing great things with his Gathering Place. His stake was holding a Business & Career Fair to feature and sell items they had made. (Very much against Church policy, but when you’re out of Accra, the eye of the lawyer doesn’t hover.)

On the drive the four of us enjoyed reading the words printed on the back of tro-tro windows as we bumped along. This one was a favorite, “Shut-up are you God?” Not to be out done by, “Wickedness Never Was Happiness.” We laughed and laughed to see the reach of influence the Church has in Ghana.

At the fair there were products from bread to herbal healing oils and beaded purses to batik fabrics. The most unique and interesting was Dan; the shoemaker. Shoes, real shoes make to order. Dale ordered a conservative pair of black loafers that are quite good looking and comfortable. The price: 225 cedi or $22.50. The stake president, a flashy guy with a winning smile, chose a pair with plaid across the instep. 

There were about 40 YSA in the ward we attended Sunday. There was a mix of trade-skill workers and university students. The YSA we talked with are grateful for the Gathering Place. Some learn job skills; others appreciate that the building is 24/7 with good internet so they can study. 

On the long return trip to Accra Sunday, we took an adventurous drive through the jungle on dirt and mud roads to check-on the first bore hole we donated. The trip taught us that we have become acclimatized to Africa. We watched the wide eyes and white knuckles of our new missionaries as we slipped in mudholes and climbed through hanging vegetation covering the dirt paths that connected the sparsely placed huts. Platts were amazed at the remote homes made from a mud-plaster process tucked in the dense trees. Mostly they marveled at how primitive the area was. Jungle living!

Once at the bore hole village we decide to walk to the waterhole that once supplied all the village water, including the drinking water. In the picture, Dale is talking to a lady who was out gathering bananas that he met along the path. She warned him that it was far too muddy and slippery for us to go forward. She said it would be best for us to turn back. Remembering the steep decent and rough path, we followed her advice. 

The borehole was in good working order and, according to the two women we saw, and the people are appreciative. The village was surprisingly empty. Apparently, on Sunday everyone walks to the local church building to worship and on their way home they go into the jungle and gather what food they can. Fresh Sunday dinner!

The senior missionaries couldn’t let the FOURTH OF JULY go unnoticed! We had an impromptu barbeque complete with American flags to wave as we sang patriotic favorites and ate grilled burgers. (Ghanian hamburger meat, called minced meat, just isn’t the same.) 

Remember Ernest, the staff worker at our apartment who got baptized? He had a white shirt. Dale gave him two ties, and now he has a blazer! He got a recommend to participate in doing BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD and invited us to participate with him. It was so fun to see him literally have light come into his eyes as he eagerly embraced the gospel. 

We had friends from Mapleton, Betsy & Darin Ekton, come to visit! So great to see faces from home. They are on the Board of Empower Playgrounds, the company that drilled our boreholes. We spent a day together touring parts of Accra where Dale and I hadn’t been. The JAMES TOWN area dates back to the English occupation days. Poor and run down, but rich in history. Of course, when a group of school children saw us, they insisted on a picture. Betsy and I, both teachers, were pleased to oblige. The other pictures are of the children’s school. There didn’t seem to be electricity, or at least the lights weren’t on. In one classroom the teacher was giving them a lesson that included the acting out the Nativity. 

Below is the headquarters building for English army, note the two cultures. Lions and cannons for the British. Africa is represented by an artistic relief of a tribal chief shielded from the sun with a ceremonial umbrella.

The gold figure on the wall below (green arrow) is a relief of a “stool.” A tribe’s stool is very sacred and highly esteemed. The relief is next to the room where locked doors secure the actual stools that have been used through the ages. The stools come in various shapes, sizes, and materials reflecting the diversity of the tribes and civilizations. The Ashanti stool holds great significance among the Ashanti people of Ghana. They consider stools sacred and believe that they house the souls of their ancestors. These stools are beautifully crafted and are often adorned with gold ornaments symbolizing the wealth and power of the Ashanti kingdom. Each chief has a unique stool that represents their lineage and authority.

Families in Ghana are central to the culture. The relief on the other side of the door represents the depth of commitment the members of families have to one another. Just as the root of a tree goes deep to support the tree, the root of a family goes deep to unite and support its members. Note the two figures in the purple circle. One is helping another climb the tree. It is a depiction of the cultural importance of an individual’s depth of character, and the importance of supporting and lifting your brother. 

We paid the man in the picture above to take us with our white skin and light-colored hair into this community that was composed of buildings built by the British during the occupation. The warm and engaging demeanor of most communities was not present. It was obviously a place where whites were not to go alone. I quickly took a picture of one tabletop vendor. Note the painted words, a great example of the Christian ethic. Although English is the official language in Ghana, people communicate in their tribal tongue making their English awkward.  The words read, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gifty of God is internal life.” 

The image with the men sitting by the yellow wall shows woven plastic bags of charcoal used by the women in their daily meal preparation. On the outside balcony hangs laundry. This is a building that remains from the days of the English.

 

Senior Volta River Trip 

We traveled the river to an island and then spent the night at a resort. It was our last trip with the Youngbergs, Gibbs, and Lewises before their release dates. The camaraderie between the couples has been an unexpected highlight of serving. It would be easy to live the law of consecreation with these folks.  

Typical of all trips, there was a glitch! When we turned down the dirt road that led to the hotel there was a large dump truck stuck in the mud perpendicular to the road. Stuck. Couldn’t go forward. Couldn’t go backward. It just spun its wheels digging deeper and deeper into the muck. The helpful male senior missionaries tried to push. It was no help. Finally, one suggested raising the bed of the truck, changing the weight distribution. It worked! The truck was released from the mud and we were able to travel down the road. 

 

A special good-bye to our dear neighbors, Diane and Randal Gibb. We lived on the same floor in Beaufort Apartments and shared meals, conversation, shopping trips, excursions, happy and sad experiences, and our love of the African people and especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We miss them.