At Legon Botanical Garden

Dec. 27th we went to Legon Botanical Garden located next to the University of Ghana.  Our guides to the garden were Elder and Sister Nay.  They are one of two humanitarian couples for the Africa West Area.

Sister Moore and Elder and Sister Nay.  Look at the canopy of that tree.

Termite mound.  The mound is as hard as concrete.

That is the sun.  There is a haze in the air caused by the harmattan, a dry desert wind from the north that blows sand from the Sahara Desert.

Elder Moore in front of a termite mound.

Papaya

Tawny eagle.

Pied crow.

Cattle egrets.

This mother duck was upset because we were  near this spot.  There were 3 ducklings that we did not see at first.  She came over and got the ducklings and swam away with them. 

Jungle gym in the play area  next to the botanical garden.

Even a play area for the adults.

I think this one is confused.  Are the flowers supposed to be white or pink?

Birthday

Dec. 26th Sister Moore's Birthday.

Today we celebrated Sister Moore's birthday by doing laundry all day long.  We have a small washing machine and each load takes 45 minutes to an hour.  Guess we should have been doing small loads all week then it would not have been so much in one day. 

Well, there was a little play time.  We went to the swimming pool here in the apartment complex (Alema Court) where we live.

Elder Moore's lack of imagination shows through again.  Here is another set of earrings he made before leaving home and brought to Ghana for Sister Moore's birthday.  This wood is Mahogany.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day Dec. 25th.

Christmas was on Sunday this year what a double blessing.  One to celebrate the Savior's birth and the other to worship in Church.

Hand carved nativity set.  The detail is absolutely wonderful.  Our 1st souvenir from Ghana.  This is a welcome addition to our collection of nativities. 

Elder Moore has limited imagination.  These are earrings he made out of Purple heart wood and brought with him to Ghana for Sister Moore's Christmas present.

Sister Moore was given this pendant by one of the other Senior sisters.  The heart shaped pendant and bead are made of recycled glass.  This is made here in Ghana by local women, they melt the glass and shape it making the pendents and the beads.

Homemade spaghetti sauce given to us by Elder and Sister Anderson.  The ingredients were grown in Elder Anderson's garden.

Christmas Eve Party

Christmas Eve Dec 24th.

Christmas Eve the Accra, Ghana area couples gathered at the Temple View apartments for a Christmas Eve celebration.

The celebration was held poolside at the Temple View apartments.

Setting up for the ("feast") the potluck meal.  Each senior couple brought a part of the meal to share.

Since the meal was poolside some of the people decided to use the pool.  No one fell in that did not want to get wet.

Can you believe it?  Fresh corn on the cob for Christmas.  One of the senior missionaries (Elder Anderson, the Area Medical Adviser) has a garden.  He got permission from his neighbor to use an empty lot for a garden and grows fresh vegetables.  The corn was absolutely delicious.

Sister Webster and Sister Simpson performing a traditional New Zealand dance. 

 Our selfie at the gathering.

Look through the trees you can see the Accra, Ghana temple.  This is why the apartments are called Temple View.

Walking the Temple Grounds

Friday Dec 23rd.

At noon we walked around the grounds of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Accra, Ghana Temple grounds.

The Accra, Ghana temple.  There is a nativity between the sign with the name of the temple and the temple itself.

This gentleman (I guess it was male) was in the parking lot.  Those colors are real.  This is an Agama lizard.

The window of the temple.  It is in an African motif.

This evening we had the opportunity to go into the temple and do vicarious sealing ordinances for the deceased.  The sealing ordinance makes it possible for families to be together for the eternities not just for this life.

Hard Day and What We Bought

One day after coming home from the office.

It must have been a really hard day.

We went grocery shopping.  Now if we just knew what we bought.

The prepared food comes from France, Dubai, Belgium, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, China, Cyprus, Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Ghana.

Monday Night Family Home Evening

Monday Dec. 19th

Family Home Evening gift exchange at President Graham's apartment.  President Graham is in charge of the Accra, Ghana LDS Temple.

The senior couples meet at President Grahams for Family Home Evening on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month.  This Monday was a secret Santa gift exchange.  We had a potluck meal, exchanged gifts (well sort of, the gifts were all placed on a table and each person drew a number, as your number came up you could choose a wrapped gift from the table or "steal" a gift that had already been chosen), and last of all we sang Christmas songs.

Our selfie.

This really good looking lady was at the party.

Lots of senior couples and lots of food.

Singing Christmas songs.

Our gifts from the gift exchange.  Elder Moore got a backscratcher and Sister Moore got a pen and a Ghanaian Symbol for God.  The hand on the backscratcher is made out of a piece of recycled plastic.

Ghana Here We Are!!!!!

We arrived in Ghana Saturday morning Dec. 17, 2016.  After two flights, 1st to New York and then to Accra, Ghana, going through immigration, claiming our luggage, and going through customs we were totally beat, it was time to go to our flat (apartment).  We rested for 2 hours then went to the ATM to get some money (Cedi$) then went shopping for some food to make it through the weekend.

On Sunday Dec. 18th we went to Church for the 1st time in Ghana, it felt like home, we felt very comfortable in the meetings.

Monday Dec. 19th found us in the office.

Sister Moore thinks it's unfair that she doesn't have an outside window.

But then Elder Moore can't sneak out of the office without sister Moore knowing.

Family History Training

We had 4 days of Family History training in Salt Lake City, Utah to help us learn what we are to do as Family History Advisers for the Africa West Area.

The training was from Dec. 12th to Dec. 15th.

Each day we rode the Front Runner to and from Salt Lake City and then rode Trax into and out of downtown Salt Lake City.  Front Runner is a commuter train that runs from Provo to Ogden, Utah with stops in-between.  Trax is the street car commuter system in Salt Lake City.

Here we are in one of the conference rooms in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah where we had our training.

This is the view of the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the conference room where we had our training to be Family History Advisers.

Left to right:  Sister Hanks, Elder Hanks, Sister Lewis, Sister Moore, Elder Moore.

Elder and Sister Hanks are going to the Philippines, Sister Lewis was the coordinator for our training and of course we (Elder and Sister Moore) are headed to Ghana, Africa.