Christmas at the Ghana MTC

One of the two LDS Missionary Training Centers in Africa is located in Tema, about 25 kilometers from Accra. The MTC is bustling with activity, even at Christmastime, because of a constant flow of new missionaries entering to prepare for their missions. On Christmas Day the senior couples in the area helped make and take lunch for themselves, the Accra Temple president and his wife, the MTC presidency and their wives, and 33 hungry young missionaries. We drove to Tema on practically empty roads (heavenly!), laden with goodies and gifts and games for this enthusiastic group of young people. Except for a handful of Ghanaians, the rest of us were celebrating Christmas away from home -- Utah, Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, Virginia, Canada, Australia, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Congo, and Madagascar. Who says it isn't fun to celebrate Christmas in Africa?     

  

 Sister Robison, the MTC president's wife, with the employees
who helped serve mounds of food on Christmas Day.  

Ghana Accra West mission president, Norman Hill, chatted
with missionaries learning to speak English in the MTC.   

Roadside Costco

Indoor shopping malls are a fairly new concept in Ghana. There are two in Accra -- one opened in 2008 and the other in 2012. A much larger mall recently opened 11 miles outside of Accra. But this type of shopping is not affordable for most Ghanaians.

Makola Market and Kaneshie Market are colorful open-air "department stores" in Accra. Each spreads over many street blocks. Hot, noisy and full of pungent smells, they are a bewildering sprawl of kitchenware, jewelery, textiles, notions, clothing, shoes, food (dead and alive) and much, much more. If we can't find what we want in the stores where we shop, the answer to our question "Where can I find it?" is always the same: "In the market."

On weekends we are often exposed to smaller outdoor markets that are found in the suburbs of Accra, lining both sides of the roads with local merchants and shoppers who spill into the streets and often make it difficult to drive anywhere quickly. Markets are kept local because of lack of transportation for most residents. When we are in the car, I usually carry the camera on my lap, ready for a good picture. But it's difficult to capture the amazing array of merchandise and activity we pass through in these markets.

Last Sunday, as we drove through Ashaiman's "choked" market on the way to church, I couldn't get my camera up and in focus fast enough to catch a man juggling an armful of furry animal legs with hoofs, cut just below the knee. I want to know who buys them, how they are cooked and eaten. No, maybe I don't want to know.

  

Buckets, brooms, waste baskets, rugs, ironing boards

Men's shirts, probably last year's styles from the U.S.

Christmas Holidays in West Africa

There may not be snow in West Africa, but there is plenty of Christmas spirit among the Church employees and the senior missionary couples. One of the nicest occasions planned for the employees is a devotional and catered lunch on the first Monday of December. The senior missionaries are invited to attend.

  

The ceiling fans run at top speed and the louvered windows
are open to allow any possible breeze -- all year round.

An employee choir prepares several Christmas hymns and
traditional music for the special occasion.

Thomas the Carver

Ghana boasts many craftsmen and small businesses who sell their merchandise in open air markets on available lots or along the side of the road. Many owners set up shop in small colorful shipping containers. Some build little wooden structures with corrugated metal roofs.

One popular group of shops among the senior missionaries is called the Pit. We're not sure where the name comes from, but the businesses are located in an area below a busy main street in Accra. An especially talented carver at the Pit has been making wooden Nativity sets and Noah's Ark sets for us to take back to the U.S. We stopped by the other day to pick up our order from Thomas.

The Pit is a quiet little group of shops with clothing, jewelry, bags, paintings, handmade toys, 
trinkets, baskets, batik fabric, kente cloth, brass, wall hangings, statues and wood carvings. 

Ashaiman Stake Conference

Our favorite day of the week is Sunday, when we are able to spend time with the members of the LDS wards and stakes in the Accra area. Lately we have participated in a stake that has grown so large that the stake presidency was not able to spend adequate time with each of the 16 units. Tema Stake was divided a few weeks ago. With the division, we are now involved with the brand new Ashaiman Stake. We recently attended a regional stake conference that was broadcast from Salt Lake City to members of the Church all over Africa on the same day. The Ashaiman chapel was packed, with overflow in the cultural hall and in several of the larger auxiliary rooms throughout the building. Screens were set up so everyone could view the broadcast. It was a wonderful day for the new Ashaiman stake presidency and the members of the stake, including a terrific group of youth who prepared and sang so well. We loved being a part of this very first conference for the Ghana Ashaiman Stake.

  

Filled to capacity

Several rooms held the overflow