Surrogate Grandkids

We found ourselves talking tonight with fellow couple missionaries about grandkids -- a regular favorite topic. The next best thing to visiting with our grandchildren on Skype, or watching little video clips and keeping up to date with current pictures from home is enjoying the beautiful children at our ward here in Accra. We're getting pretty attached to them and love watching their growth and progress, paying special attention to those the same age as our own. They remind us of 15 wonderful grandsons and granddaughters, ranging in age from 4 months to 14 years. We hope all those back home remember how much we love and miss them!

Volta River Trip

We were able to go with a group of senior couples and Ghanaian friends to the Volta River, near the Gulf of Guinea, for a boat trip and the opportunity to view an electricity-generating merry-go-round installed on a remote island to provide a village and school with a much-needed source of power. It was fun and relaxing on the water, leaving busy traffic and honking horns far behind us for a few hours.

  

We parked our cars close to the shore where the boats were
waiting for us. This was definitely a sunscreen day.

A little outboard motor kept the pace slow and easy as our
boats headed upstream on the gently rolling river.

Sister Scripture Study

Every Monday morning, wives of the area presidency plus sisters connected with missionary work, Church employment, and temple service are invited to attend a one-hour scripture study class. Since we all have different assignments in Accra, it's a nice way to see each other and spend some time studying together. We come when we can, each taking her turn to lead the discussion. It's a little different group each week, depending on everyone's availability.

The sisters above represent the U.S. and Canada, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Zimbabwe.
It's a diverse group, but we all have the gospel of Jesus Christ in common.

One of our favorite new people is Sister Caroline Martins from Nigeria. She has been called to serve for
18 months in the Accra Ghana temple, so we bump into her quite often. Today we celebrated Sister Martin's
69th birthday. It has been fun to develop great new relationships with people from all over the world.