17-23 January 2016

The last night with Tara and Richelle.  We had dinner together
at Tara's with their two families.  

.

Carin and Matt and their family visited us our last weekend, too.

Carin and Matt's girls have grown so much since we took this
same picture almost six years ago before leaving for Belgium.

Bella and Mia tried to stow away in grandma's suitcase.

Danielle and Jeff said goodbye as we loaded up for the airport. 

Dottie Orme was so kind to drive us to the airport.

We need a lot of stuff for a year.  Even in Africa.

We met Elder Marie, from France, in the Amsterdam airport.
He is one of our missionaries going to Benin and Togo.
Two countries in West Africa.  He didn't speak much English
 but we communicated through Google translate.

I guess this applies to us for the next year.  It was on the wall
at the airport in Accra.

 

Elder and Sister Malmrose from the Seattle area.  They are
patiently training us.

We did this in the Provo MTC and six years
later in the Ghana MTC.

Immunizations aren't a favorite part of a new missionaries
first two days in the MTC.

They receive immunizations for Meningococcal Meningitis,
Polio, Tetanus, and Hepatitis B.

Paula's faking.  She already had her immunizations.  These are
the Sanders, a wonderful senior couple who come to help us give shots.
He's an EMT and she's the mission nurse both both missions in Accra.

Paula does a wellness questionaire and explains the exercise
 opportunities to the missionaries.

President and Sister Brubaker at the initial welcome.
President Brubaker was suffering with bronchitis he
got at the Provo MTC>

Dr, Hill is the Africa West Area doctor.  Sister Hill assists and
serves in the Ghana Temple.  They go home next month. She has
on an African wig she had made for $145. She's just trying it on
for us.  She said she'll wear it at Halloween, etc.

All of our current sisters.

All of the current missionaries.  Some have been here four days
and those learning French and English as a second language
have been here for five weeks.

The sisters wanted a picture with the new elder.

Ishmael is one of our food service employees and
often brings some food to our apartment in the
evening.

This was kind of a different breakfast.  Soup is often on the
menu for breakfast.

Axel Night Tibbitts was born the day we arrived in Ghana.
He's Dustin and Jen's new baby.

The dusty haze is from the Harmattan, a dry dusty wind that

 blows down from the Sahara Desert between the end of

November and the middle of March.

Then the rainy season starts.

So here we are, almost at the end of our first week.  What an experience!
Loel is swamped with trying to learn all these data bases before the Malmroses
leave and I'm trying to learn how to be a nurse before they leave.  Living in our cute
little one room apt is fine - small, but comfortable.  The cafeteria has been supplying
all our meals and the food is pretty good.  We love the missionaries - there are only
a few Americans; all the rest are Africans.  I can't understand the French speakers
and have a hard time understanding the English speakers because of their strong
accents.  They love to expound on Gospel principles and they love to sing -
REALLY loud and with all kinds of descants they throw in.  The Brubakers
are great to be with here - always up for an adventure. As we've walked or
had someone drive us into town, it's quite the culture shock - brown, poor, dirty,
unfinished buildings everywhere, wild traffic, lots of  vendors selling things
in booths, etc.  We're told to wash all fresh produce, eggs, and even cans before
we open them in a clorox rinse.  Only bottled or filtered water. We don't go out
much after dark at all (6:00 am sunrise, 6:00 pm sunset) as the bad mosquitos
come out at night and the driving isn't safe at night.  I can't believe I'm
living in Africa.