Safari...so good!

Well, we are down to only 5 weeks left of our stay.  When we arrived in January, we were shown this lovely building above that will eventually be the home for the Audiology students' classrooms.  We were told we could expect to move in "soon".  First the AC wasn't working (this is a new building), then there were too many mosquitos.  However, lovely landscaping has been planted and it is now the end of June and John is still teaching in the patient reception area of the clinic....oh well.  Guess it's not "soon" yet.  News Flash!!  The students got to take their finals in the new building!  So far...so good!

This last weekend we were absolutely delighted to have a visit from Katrina Tolman and Sierra Burris.  They are volunteering in a very small village on the coast about 3 hours drive from here (near the border with Togo) teaching kindergarten.  They decided to come visit for the weekend and they had the opportunity to do baptisms at the temple and help us out at Primary on Sunday.  The mission does not have any wards or branches yet that far east, so they were glad to be able to attend church here.  They took two copies of the Book of Mormon home with them to the village.  Could be a Branch there soon!

On Saturday, we took the girls down to the "Pit" and they had fun shopping.  This lady was busy stringing beads.
Artwork, wood carvings, and leather were in another shop below.  The man in the photo to the right was busy sanding wood to make drums.

I think the girls had the most fun, however, with the wood carvings and the jewelry.  It was delightful having them here.  They filled our apartment with laughter and we were sad to see them go back to the village on Mon. morning.
Monday evening we attended our farewell dinner at a Chinese restaurant.  The food was very good and we were saying good bye to two members of our Area Presidency along with 4 other senior missionary couples, including us!!  It is a tradition to give each couple who is leaving a banner made of the African Kente cloth.  It has our name, Africa West Mission and the dates served.  We were not here as long as most, but we feel very honored to have one.

On Tuesday, some of the sisters invited Ann to go with them to the village of Ayi Mensah, where there is a new school for small children.  The wives of the Church Employees have taken the school on as a project and have raised the money to build 5 classrooms and fill it with desks, chairs and supplies.A few years ago, the wife of the Director of Temporal Affairs found a woman sitting under this huge tree pictured below and she was teaching a small group of children.  When Sally asked what she was doing and found out there was no school nearby for the children in the area, Sally asked what she could do.  The woman suggested a classroom for the children.  The school is a result of that meeting.

Below are  pictures of the school and of the small village homes and the tree in the background.

After visiting the school, we stopped by the TK bead factory.  I explained in a previous blog the importance of beads in the Ghanaian culture.  They are very valuable and significant especially for special occasions.  Above is a photo of a young man painting the glass beads after the powdered glass was put in molds and then melted in a slow clay oven.  It was fascinating to watch the process.  As soon as they are removed from the oven, a hole is put in the beads, then they are cooled and washed and strung.  You can select colors to make your own necklace and bracelet, or you can buy them already finished.

 This last photo is very special.  All the flowers we have seen in Ghana for the last 6 months have been plastic or silk.  We have not seen a single flower shop, and absolutely no fresh flowers anywhere unless they were attached to a bush or a plant.  But...sweet John searched far and wide and found the only place in all of Ghana that actually sold fresh flowers and brought home a dozen BEAUTIFUL roses to say Happy Anniversary.  I was quite touched.  Happy 45 years!!
So far...so good!

Between the Lines

One of our very talented daughters-in-law, Brandi Lyn, began an interesting project this year called the 1 second video.  Each day she and  her family choose one second of their activities to record.  It has become an amazing glimpse into their lives thus far this year.

Here, if you are not in an apartment building, most people live in walled compounds.  In the poorer parts of Accra and other cities and villages, there are small pathways between the tiny metal "sheds" that serve as homes.  In Ghana, as we travel through the city, we glimpse quick seconds of life literally in these tiny alleyways.  Whether it is a child playing in the gutter, a woman sitting on a concrete step with her head in her hands, food in a cooking pot over an open fire, a man standing outside his door brushing his teeth, people getting ready to leave for church, or a mom carefully making her way home with her little girls, we feel like we are getting the real story of Ghana "between the lines".

We had another landmark week this week.  Two of our students hooked up by tele health with a teacher at the University of Utah.  So...clear across the Atlantic ocean and then most of the US.  How cool is that?  

Since our sons had fun fixing up the old Logan Art Cinema a couple years ago, I found them a new theater to work on.  The Rex.  On Sundays they use it for church.

One of our students had some African clothing made for us.  We match!  It was very sweet of her.

Often when we drive to or from work, we see women spreading out these huge sheets of plastic and then spreading large buckets of this white "grain looking" stuff to apparently dry in the sun. Just found out it is Gari, a creamy white grnular flour with a slightly fermented flavor and a slightly sour taste made from fermented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers.
This is part of the 5 day drying and fermenting process.

Last Saturday we went to a gallery where a group called the Ghanaian Allied Artists bring their wares to display and sell.  It was full of incredible works of art, and some antiques collected over time from villages all over Ghana.  We fell in love with the work of one of the water color artists, but he was a little out of our price range.
 This crab and the fish below are beautiful caskets.
 John didn't want to climb inside so we could show you how they work.

To the right is an old Kente cloth loom.  It is incredible how they pass the designs on down through generations.    The thread is held in the mouth and two hands in order to weave the cloth.

We got a call last Sunday evening from Ike Ferguson (our boss at LDS Charities) who told us that 4 young people who work for World Joy were stranded for the night at the airport before they could go up to Abomosu.  They are teachers and will be working with teachers here in Ghana for 6 weeks on how to effectively teach reading.  So we collected them from Yao, our old driver, and it was fun to have them overnight for a visit.

This is Joseph and his family from our Jamestown Branch.  The little boy is "false advertising".  He is full of spit and vinegar during Sacrament meeting.    We have asked our students how the children do not end up bowlegged after being carried by their Mothers all day long for up to 4 years with their little legs strapped around Mom.  They just laughed at us.
On Sunday, for Father's Day, our Primary sang two songs about Dads in Sacrament Meeting.  It was somewhat strange for some of the children, since the relationship between family members is a little different here in Ghana.  Not too much physical interaction or affection is shown.  The children made Father's Day cards with papers we printed and some crayons and stickers that our sweet grand children, Elijah and Hailey, sent for them.

Lately, some of our students have been posting sweet remarks.  Thought we would include some for our blog so we could save them.
Have a great week!

Graham Amponsah I pray for good health for YOU and PAPA JOHN. May the Almighty God restore every strength you people have lost.I know it has not been easy but you are doing this because of your quest to help change lives and your love for humanity. I pray for abundant blessings in your life and may you live long, long and long because the world needs good people like you two! Ronald Nkansah Adjekum  Where do we go from here...how do we continue to live our lives the same...how do we try to explain this experience that we have right here...ALL I CAN SAY IS MY LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME... I LOVE YOU JOHN AND ANN RIBERA! Williams (after hearing that Ann was ill for a couple of days) sent this text: "Good morning Prof. I would like to find out how our great mother is faring today? I have been praying for her and I believe the healer of healers, the most high God, will make her well. Wishing her speedy recovery. Amen."

"I Bless the Rain Down in Africa...."

We're not sure we ever understood the words to this old song by Toto.  John says it has been misinterpreted as "I left my Brains Down in Africa", which may also be true by the time we return home...

But, the other day while standing at the kitchen window, we blessed the rain.  If you can believe it, things seem greener in the rainy season and the flowers from bushes and trees are re-blooming.  The thunder was so loud it set off our car alarm and the downpour is really something to behold!  It is truly different.

The dust is finally settling from the humanitarian trip and the USU students have uploaded some incredible photos...thanks, guys.  One of them actually caught us smiling!  We are saying goodbye to seven of the senior missionary couples in the next two months, including our Area President, Elder Dickson.  It will be a bit of a turnover here.

Our granddaughter, Emily, sent us this and we thought it was pretty funny.  Interestingly enough, we have not seen any golden arches, but there are 2 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants!  We have skipped those, too.

It as been a busy week.  John is finishing the last couple of weeks of classes for the students, then there are two weeks of finals.  He was finally able to get into the ENG (balance test) lab this week, which is great since we are running out of time and no one here knows how to use the equipment!  The Deaf School up at Mompong is back in session and 16 of the University of Ghana students and staff are going up this next Sat. to do some screening and work with the children.

No reason to stick this cute little truck in...I just liked it.  It has 3 wheels and is a common type to be seen on the roads.

This gentleman, and we say that seriously, is our favorite policeman in all of Ghana.  We usually stay as far away from police here as we can since they love to harass the "obruni".  This dear man, however, does his very best to make everyone's day delightful.  He directs traffic not far from our apt. during rush hour and always does it with the best of humor and a smile.  He is a treasure!

Speaking of smiles...our student, Joyce, fit a hearing aid at one of the deaf schools and look at the face of the young girl who could suddenly hear sounds.  Precious!








The event of the week here was Thursday when John was invited to speak at a Public Lecture at the School of Allied Health Sciences on "Audiology:  The Emerging Allied Healthcare Profession in Ghana."
The Lecture Hall was standing room only and he gave an interesting (magnificent) presentation.  Our students were in attendance and he introduced them all to the audience.  Our staff at the clinic even closed the clinic and all attended in their 'best dress'.  So sweet!

Photos are a little dark since they turned out the lights to be able to see the slides.

Our incredible students above, except for one.
To the left is a future audiologist peeking in the door of our office.

Potpurri

We have been going through our photos preparing for a lecture John has to give to the College of Health Sciences in Ghana next week, and we found some photos we wanted to post on the blog that have not been included yet.  Hope you enjoy the random views!

The first is John talking in the library to the faculty of the State School for the Deaf while preparing for our humanitarian visit.  Not all of the buildings are in such good shape as evidenced by their sign.

The people of Ghana, especially the children love soccer!  (Football)  Their team is the Black Stars named for the star in the middle of their national flag.  The gift of soccer balls (75) that Kade and Hunter Jensen brought during their Humanitarian trip was very appreciated both by individuals and schools.

Skateboarding, however, is non-existent.  We pass these ramps at a nearby school on our way to work each morning.  They are rusty and broken.  The only skateboards we have seen are used by disabled people who actually sit on them and scoot around to beg on the streets at stoplights.

Most men (and some women) in Ghana do not use public bathrooms, but instead park their cars or just stop while walking or shopping and then urinate outside anywhere.  There are many of these signs apparently posted by those who do not appreciate the tradition.

Above is the smoke from a massive fire a couple weeks ago which burned down a large marketplace in Accra.  Since then there have been demonstrations against the government by thousands of local residents who want to rebuild their small stores.  The government, however, wants new modern buildings, not the small individual shacks that used to be there.

Below is Ronald, one of our students who is collaborating with Graham on Telehealth.  Graham has been testing newborns using the a video conferencing system donated by LDS Charities and sending the results home to us.  They have an article they have written that is ready to be published.  It is a huge step forward for rural Ghana.

Not only women carry items on their heads.  Above we have some of our deacons from the Jamestown Branch putting away the hymnbooks after the Sunday meeting.  Cute.

Below is John presenting money we brought from some donors in the US to the Dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences earmarked for our first graduate students to do their research.  Thanks so much to you who support this mission.  These young people really need it.

We often have our internet quitting on us, so we then use a little device from Vodafone which picks up the internet through the phone line.  It will only work in one area of the house, so we put a chair there and marked the place and named him "Elijah".

 In Ghana it is Fast Foo (for foo foo) instead of Fast Food.  I would recommend not stopping for dinner at the "special food joint" below.  It makes us chuckle every day.

We were surprised to find the sign below when we checked into our hotel at Cape Coast.  It was at the edge of the golf course.
Guess what!  There really are crocodiles there!
Catfish, too.  Should make for an interesting golf game!

Finally got the numbers  in from the Humanitarian mission:  It was quite the effort!  Good job, students!

Hearing screenings 1150

Ear canal cleaning 1320

Ear mold impressions 500

Hearing aid fitting 180

Medical referrals 145