Hello from Ghana

Hello from Ghana It started out as such an ordinary week we doubted it would be
worth our time to write today as it would be such a disappointing message, but the
end of the week proved interesting. We did our big banking and carried home $11,000
of cash without incident and spent most of the week doing mundane office tasks, we
were here alone most of the week. Thursday we had visitors, Elder and Sister
Shipley came to Cape Coast from the area office. They flew out with us and Elder
Shipley serves as the executive secretary to the Area Presidency. They were able to
have a few days off as the Presidency were in SLC for general conference. They
brought us some of our favorite cereal from Accra and invited us to join them for
dinner on Friday night at the Coconut Grove. We did that with President and Sister
Dil. It was fun to be out at night and be able to see the stars from a different
part of the world. It felt just a little bit like being home and was very
enjoyable. Before we went to dinner our baptism candidate needed to be interviewed
by the assistants, because there are no real addresses here we showed them to her
house and waited for them while the interview took place. It is a small village,
when we arrived we were greeted by 6 or 7 children. As we waited in and by the car
the word spread that white people were in the village. I was sitting in the car
with the window down and the children crowded around and would put out one finger
and touch my arm. Most did not speak English but I asked one who did if they had
seen a white person before and she said they had not. I felt kind of like I was in
one of those booths at the fair! Enoch was standing outside the car and some would
touch him but they got very close kind of in your face close. I got out to take a
picture and as one girl carrying a baby got close so she could be in the picture,
the baby burst into tears, just scared to death. It reminded of us when Santa
visited the grandchildren. Anyway it was a very amusing event! Anita passed her
interview, then we ran into a snag. She does not reside in the Abakrampa boundaries
and so she would not be able to be comfirmed. Today we stopped at the Yamoransa
Ward to get permission for the baptism and confirmation, the Bishop Coleman gave
permission only if Anita promised to attend the ward there afterwards and because he
really likes the assistants and trusted them. Anita agreed so we will procede with
the baptism and then attend church with her next week in Yamoransa to have her
confirmed and that is where she will attend. We loved seeing the leadership handle
everything in the proper order. Saturday we did not have a p-day because there was
Zone Leader Council which I had to take notes at and then a nice luncheon and
afterwards we were able to get conference via the internet. The whole first session
went without an interrruption, which is a miracle! It was a wonderful opportunity
to sustain a new Prophet and know that he is God's chosen leader on the earth at
this time and are so grateful for that knowledge. That was at 4:00 p.m. our time
(10:00 a.m. MST) It was great to view it though. We did not stay for the second
session and President Dil said that the computer would not stay on for that one. We
have now just finished watching the first session today and are writing our e-mails
and then will see if we can get the second session. It is already dark at 6:25 p.m.
We do some night driving but try to avoid it as there are so many pedestrains and
it is so dark you really don't see them until you are right on them. If you hit one
of them and you stopped you would be responsible for that person for the rest of
their life or if death resulted for all funeral expenses and possible jail! We
always pray before driving and gives thanks for safety every night. It is a real
blessing. I thought this week was going to be so boring that we could tell you about
names, church records, and marriages, but that will have to wait for another week.
We are grateful to be here serving a mission to share the message of the restoration
of Christ's church on the earth. The people of Africa have waited a long time and
it is such a blessing to those who accept this message, we feel blessed to be part
of this great work. Love, The Miles'

Attached are some pictures including the tomato salesman who comes to our door on
Saturday's, some pictures of the highway out of Accra, complete with goat in the
back of pickup, also some pictures of Takoradi marketplace and the soccer stadium
nearby. A chapel in Takoradi, Enoch at the Toyota dealership - note the top of the
building, most structures here are in this incomplete mode. We went to Toyota to
get a tire fixed and also to get a new oil cap. When the main mechanic opened the
hood of our car, it was like a magnet drew all of the help to watch the boss try an
oil cap on, and then it didn't fit. Then there's a picture of a typical telephone
pole, straight lines are highly overrated here.

I noticed that I hadn't explained a couple pictures. The second picture isthe view
from the Cape Coast post office. Across the street you'll see a lot of cinder
blocks and if you look closely or zoom in you'll see a man pushing a wheelbarrow
full of dirt into the construction site. He has no shoes or shirt on. Wheelbarrows
are called "wheelies" here. You'll also see the dirt road leading up the hill, it
is very steep. You'll also see a picture of a dump truck on the beach. It is being
filled with sand by people using only buckets and tubs to scoop up the sand and
carry to the truck. The sand will be used for construction and brick making. It's
sort of the reverse of America where sand is hauled in to reclaim beaches. Here,
the sand is being carried off the beaches. Where are the environmentalists?