Batik Class by the Ocean

Here we are at our Batik class.


(Sister Turner, Sister Myers, co-owner, Sister Sabey's newly returned missionary daughter, Sister Miles from the mission office, Sister Myers' partner, and Sister Sabey)

This is Sister Miles from the mission office stamping her fabric with wax. The wax prevents the dye from covering the material and automatically makes the design that we chose. Sister Miles is from Rexburg, Idaho. Her youngest son is on a mission and will get home the same time she and Brother Miles get home.


After stamping the design that we each chose, the fabric was taken by these two girls to be dyed. The girls put on gloves and "worked" the material for fifteen minutes in cold water to set the dye.


Here is Sister Sabey's fabric drying. She chose to just stamp a border. Then she had a skirt made and a blouse with the border on the front. It was very cute.


The green fabric is mine and it is still waiting for me to decide what to do with it. It is just the right amount to carry a baby on my back!


This is all of our fabrics blowing in the ocean breeze. Aren't they pretty?


Now our material goes into boiling water. See how it is heated outside in that big pot? The hot water melts the wax and lets the color of the material we stamped show through. Pretty clever, huh?


From the boiling hot water, the material goes into cold water to cool off.


This is my finished product from the Batik class.


While we were waiting for our fabric to process, we watched a line of fishing boats sail into the harbor. They looked like something out of a picture. There were boats that I wouldn't want to ride in!


How would you like to have your business in this beautiful beach setting?


It is always cool at this spot because of the ocean breeze and the palm trees. The ocean sound is peaceful and motivates creative and artistic ideas. After all--look at our beautiful fabrics!

--Sister Turner

Sabbath Day Thoughts

This is President Sabey, our mission president, and his wife. They are from Columbine, Colorado and are real fun loving people that like to play hard and work hard. President Sabey challenges the missionaries and encourages them to study, pray, and fast to meet their goals. Then he helps them to see the miracles that take place so the goals they are reaching for are met. Sister Sabey is aware of each missionary and their needs. We have learned so much from just watching them teach and train the elders and sisters in the zone meetings. They are very humble people and truly love what they are doing.

One thought that President Sabey brought to our attention was about Sacrament meeting. Here there is a habit that some people get into (just like in America) of being late. In some places, there are more people in the chapel after the Sacrament than before. The branch presidents have been reporting attendance at the close of the meeting. His instruction to them was to count the sacrament cups used and report that number.

Partaking of the Sacrament and renewing those covenants that we made at baptism, thinking about our week and the mistakes we made and repenting is what the Sacrament is all about--not the talks. We have gone to some branches where we were the last to come in. We weren't late, the people had to all walk (actually they all walk as no one has cars) and they are in their chairs way ahead of us. I am also impressed that when people do come in late, they say their own little prayer.


This is the area president, President Snow, and his wife along with the three Sister missionaries that live behind us. Since this picture was taken, we have added another sister. President Snow was touring the Cape Coast Mission. President Sabey arranged our zone conference so that President Snow would be the speaker and teacher. He started his talk by asking the missionaries what scripture they had read lately that caused them to feel something stir inside them as they read. As the missionaries responded to his question, he asked what kind of feelings they had and why they thought they felt that way. Some answers the elders gave were: a call to repentance, feeling good about their sacrifices, feelings of comfort, and promptings to change their actions. By doing this little exercise, President Snow taught us that any time we read the scriptures and we feel the Holy Ghost stir inside of us, we need to write down the scripture and then take time to think about what He is trying to teach us.

Then President Snow went on to teach us about the Holy Ghost--that He is a testifier, a revelator, a giver of spiritual gifts, a comforter, a sanctifier, and a promiser. He told us all that we have to be willing to lose ourselves (let the old go) and the Holy ghost will help us become a new person that will be worthy to have the Lord's spirit with us always. This must happen to us before we can help anyone else. That is something to think about. Since this picture was taken, the Snows have gone back to the United States due to health problems.


Elder Turner and I traveled to Tarkewa to visit the young man pictured on the left. He wanted to have materials to hand out to the students to encourage them to come to their Sunday meetings. There are seven young men and a woman who are meeting together. None of these men have been on missions yet. But the young man that contacted us at Christmas time and asked us to come to the college to meet with him is from the Cape Coast area.

These young men meet each Sunday. For the first hour, they have talks; the second hour they have Sunday school and study the course manual; the third hour, they have a priesthood meeting with a lesson. Then they break up into groups and visit the dorm rooms and invite people to come join them. We were so impressed with what they were doing. There are some other members in that town but there is no formal organization as of yet.


This is Agona Nkwanta, one of our branches that we deliver supplies to. I call it the "windy branch" because we have to wind our way down a crooked and bumpy road through several homes before we come to the church in this pretty little clearing. They are hoping to get electricity soon.


On our last trip we were waiting for someone from the branch presidency to meet us. While we were waiting and walking around the building, a family beyond the church was watching us. Soon their two young children came down with one chair for me (their chairs were solid wood and heavy) and then they returned with a chair for Elder Turner. The father was keeping an eye on the children and us too. As we got ready to leave, we returned the chairs and talked to the father. They are not members but watch what goes on at the branch each Sunday. We invited them to attend any time they wanted even though they attend another church. This is what these people are like--kind and thoughtful. Since Elder Turner had a chair to sit on, he opened the back of the truck and went to work at his "desk"!

--Sister Turner

Elder Turner Gets Ill, Takes a Spill

This past week has been rough on Elder Turner. First he came down with Malaria which is like a flu with all of those nasty symptoms but it lingers longer than a flu with loss of appetite and energy. He has been on the mend and taking it a little bit easy.

After spending a couple days in bed, we decided to go out. We parked the car near a shop of a lady named Agnus that we had been teaching. We wanted to stop and say hi to her. I wanted to go across the street to see a baby shop. Agnus warned us about the ditch. I was careful to find a spot to cross but I am not sure what Elder Turner did. After I jumped across and was heading across the street, I heard him call to me saying, "I fell in!" All I could see of him was from the waist up! He said, "My feet are stuck and my back hurts!" I just looked at him, wondering what to do next. He had started to jump across this little ditch but because the side was rounded, his foot slipped and went into the muck. His bottom hit the grassy ground, jarring his back.

Before I could even blink, Agnus and another young man were trying to pull him out. I heard him cry out about his back and that his feet were stuck. So they pulled on his legs and then went back to pull him out by his arms but as he stood up again, his feet sank back into the muck. This pulling and tugging went on until each of them grabbed a leg and an arm at the same time and pulled him out!

Agnus immediately got a bucket of water and a bottle of soap and went to work washing the dirt off his hands. Then she slopped the water on his pants and feet to rinse off the muck. This ditch catches rain water, waste water, people water and all kinds of trash. It was truly black muck! Agnus was so sweet and showed such concern for him as did this other man,a stranger, that came to our aid. I have a new found respect and love for Agnus!



(This is the ditch where Elder Turner slipped and also the spot where Agnus cleaned him up. You can see the water and the dirt she washed off of his shoes.)

We went home to really get cleaned up. Elder Turner hopped in the shower while I took his clothes and shoes outside to finish cleaning them off. The sister missionaries were outside and one sister came to my aide and and scrubbed his shoes with soap and water and rinsed out his muddy socks and his pants. She was doing her wash so she just threw his in with hers! She said,"I want to do this for you."

There was nothing broken in Elder Turner's back but he is sure sore and it is hard for him to get in and out of bed and up and down from chairs. Tomorrow will be the third day since he fell and I sure hope that his muscles relax and he starts getting better. We have people to see, places to go, and piano lessons to teach. But he is still hurting...maybe tomorrow.

--Sister Turner

Cape Coast Clouds

These pictures show just how black the sky gets when it is going to rain. We were traveling home when this storm started to form. You can see a few raindrops on the window. We actually traveled out of it before it even got started! Lucky for us, we missed having to drive in this storm. Changes in the sky like this are beautiful and makes us glad because rain is coming. That means cool for a while! It also washes away all of the red dirt that gets on the tree leaves.

April Shower Brings Restful Hours

(Looking out from our front door)

The sky above our house was just as the sky would normally be in the early afternoon--clear, with the air being very warm and humid. It was quiet, a little too quiet. I noticed that the birds were not making their usual chatter. I walked out into the yard and noticed the horizon to the east of us. It was very dark. There was a storm brewing. I took a few pictures and didn't think much more of it. I continued on with the duties of cleaning house, not paying too much attention to what was happening outside. All of the sudden, a huge clap of thunder announced that the storm was now right overhead!


(Looking over the house to the side of our house)


(This is the driveway and gate to the apartment behind us where the sister missionaries live. Notice how the electricity wires cross over each other!)

This was no "small, small" storm as they say here. The rain started and soon it was pouring. There was lightning and thunder all around. The electricity went off (but that happens on a regular basis whether it is raining or not). Cape Coast got a bath and best of all, it was cool! We actually slept with the air conditioner off and the spread over us all night.


This morning the house is cool and outside is cool and beautiful as the dust has been washed off the leaves of the plants and trees. The birds are singing as the sun is working its way upward. The chicken that flew into our yard yesterday and spent her time running from bush to bush in the rain is happy and announced that she has laid an egg somewhere! Either that or else she is just crowing to find a way out of our yard! I have not been this cool and COMFORTABLE in a long time. Yes, today Cape Coast, Ghana is beautiful. I can even hear the roar of the ocean this morning.

--Sister Turner

THE TEMPLE IN ACCRA

When Ghanaians are converted to the Church they are truly converted. There is a genuineness, a humility, a desire to serve, an innocence in them which is beautiful to behold. And seeing them in the temple in their whites is truly something special. The dedication of those who serve and attend regularly is inspiring.

It is a three hour trip to the temple from Cape Coast, depending upon the time of day. People usually stay overnight in the temple apartments. It is quite a commitment. They lose two days of income and spend money on trotros or buses which stretches their budgets. I know one man and his wife who go every Tuesday and Wednesday, another who go Thursdays through Saturdays every other week. The latter man is an electrician by trade and has been working on his house for twelve years. His temple service consumes time and resources that could otherwise be used to finish his home, but he would have it no other way.

A group of eight from the small village of Nkfoful waited too late to make reservations for their planned excursion yesterday and were, thus, unable to secure room reservations. Undeterred, they left from home at 3AM, traveled six hours to the temple and returned home quite late last night.


Usually Karma and I are the only whites in attendance at the temple, so obviously we stand out. Everyone smiles warmly at us and many want to shake our hands, particularly the French speaking patrons from the Ivory Coast for some reason. We were chosen for a special part of the service a few weeks ago, and that was really special.

At the reception desk of the temple I read the name card of the fellow manning the desk and remembered seeing the name in the book "Footprints in Sand" (history of the Church in Ghana). I asked this elegant man if he was the James Ewusie that I had read about who served with Billy Johnson (first person to be baptized in Cape Coast, first branch president, and organizer of ten congregations). He sat up a little straighter and with a wide grin said: "Yes sir, Billie's right hand man, second in command." Later that day we gave him a ride home to Cape Coast with us. He talked about the early days of the Church and must have said a dozen times: "The Church is true!"


Last week at a special place in the temple Brother Ewusie took my hand and was as surprised as I was to see who it was. He grinned from ear to ear, hugged me and patted my back. In a very short time we have become friends.

James Ewusie was the fourth person to be baptized in Cape Coast.

--Elder Turner

OBAMA

Obama is a huge hero here. Many people wear his image on badges on their clothing. His picture is prominently displayed on calendars and on tee shirts. I am frequently asked about him. I usually tell people that I hope he will become what they believe him to be, that he will be able to see the vision of his responsibility to Americans, white and black, and to black people the world over, and that he can overcome his past associations with less than favorable people and his lack of preparation to be in the position in which he now finds himself. People usually just look at me with blank stares and don't say anything more. Coupled with their limited understanding of English and the unexpected reponse which they get from me, they seem bewildered.

--Elder Turner

Happy Easter

Dear Friends and Family,

This is just a little Easter message from a part of the world where nobody has ever heard of an Easter Bunny or Easter eggs.

Have you ever truly contemplated the awesome, almost unthinkable thing that Jesus volunteered to do when He agreed to take upon Himself the sins of the world, to allow Himself to be crucified? Raising Himself up in resurrection had to be the easy part, although I don't really have any way of knowing that. He had to know that his time in the Garden of Gethsemane and the events leading up to His crucifiction would be excruciatingly difficult and yet I wonder if even He knew just how hard it would be. The fact that He asked his Father three times in the Garden if the cup could be taken from his lips and on the cross pleaded: "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" suggests that the experience may have been beyond that which even He had anticipated.

Nevertheless, He didn't quit, He didn't run, He didn't call down ten legions of rescuing angels. And even though, from the point of view of the mob, the frightening scene was centered upon this man called Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus himself was focused on you and I, on providing the way for us to be forgiven for the sins which we could never hope to repay on our own, on preparing the way for us return to our Heavenly Father, and upon the more immediate safety of those around Him. To the mob He said: "Let these go their way." He restored the ear of the high priest's servant. He was even concerned for the His persecutors when He said from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." To one of the two men crucified on either side of him He said: "Today I will see thee in Paradise." And when He saw His mother and His disciple John standing beneath him, He said to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son!" and to John: "Behold, your mother" thus ensuring that she would be looked after for the remainder of her life. Only then did He commend His spirit to the Father and give up the ghost.

The only way we can repay Jesus for the wonderful gift which He gave to us was expressed most eloquently to me by Billy Johnson, the first person to be baptized in Cape Coast, the first branch president and organizer of the first ten congregations. He said: "All of the gold in the world, all of the diamonds, all of the silver, and all of the money can never repay the Lord for for sending the missionaries to Ghana. The only way we can repay this is to live the commandments of the Lord to the best of our abilities."

We love you and miss you very, very much.

Happy Easter!
Elder & Sister Turner