video

I think I figured it out, now to figure the audio, well sorta....

trying to put up video again

trying

YES SUCCESS,  NOW MY VERSION HAS SOUND BUT I HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO TRANSFER IT TO THE BLOG,, PATIENCE I SUPPOSE, NOT MY GREATEST ASSET

I WILL NOW LEARN HOW TO IMPROVE THE VIDEO

Chrism Mass

Have Chrism Mass today, 10 am started at 1030 ish, finished after 1, lunch and then retreat for the afternoon and supper after 6pm, yes I'm pooped, the Good News was that supper was provided
so NO COOKING!!!!yea
retreat had many topics covered, strategic plan for the diocese, outline of services for the remainder of Holy Week, synod booked for June (I will have left) changes in diocesan structure, along with singing and prayers.

There are 3 different piles of containers with oil, for the sick, for baptism, for confirmation and ordination, this is a ritual when all priests surround the table and one by one the groups of oils are blessed by the bishop, then everyone is anointed by the bishop and then back to a regular Eucharist.

BEEN INVITED TO ST. PETER'S IN BEREKUM FOR EASTER (where the school is being built)

PALM SUNDAY 2015

started off well, no hydro so generator is working overtime for 9am service, it is now 620pm and still no hydro or water anyway life goes on
Service was 5 and half hours, dancing singing, walking up and down the street with trumpets and drums, diocesan choir (new since last year and they are good)singing several pieces, 2 or 3 offertories ( I forgot my purse ) Blessing of the new choir, blessing of the wardens and council elected last week at Vestry,,
, service started at 9, sermon at 1015. the Great Thanksgiving started at 1pm, home by245pm
I had layers and layers of clothes on
my new outfit, cassock and surplice and I thought a red stole to top it off, BUT since everyone (about 85% of everyone there, had clothing made out of Diocesan Cloth it was decided that all priests need to wear chasubles made out of diocesan cloth with matching stole omg I was warned it would be a long service so I came with my lunch bag, water, nuts and cookies and a towel to mop up the perspiration. Lordy Lordy no fans as we are using the generator for the sound system, Lordy Lordy it was warm, everyone were mopping their brows
I took some video as well as pictures and I tries to tape some of the singing so here goes to see whether I get it on the blog.........  well sending video from my phone to my computer  is taking a while ...like hours so I will can that for the moment

bishop blessing palms with incense

diocesan choir all with clothes made out of diocesan clothmarching to the beat of the drums

 

walking in front of the dean with my yellow terry cloth wipe cloth  tight in my hand, I don't go any where without it

Bishop , chaplain and curate waiting to knock on the west door to come in

you can look up the background on that if you want

The Diocesan choir et all

 

Mother Ben David and I after 5 and half hours of church (she is my contact for the school in Berekum, I understand that it will be named after her late husband who was the first priest at St. Peter's in Berekum               

outfit looks great eh!!!

I took my cassock etc off after the service and folks were very pleased

that I too, had worn Diocesan cloth

Its now near 10pm Hydro and water back after a 12 hour gap, fan is working well,  now I am charging phone etc. in preparation for the next time   lol

Given the water is back on I am taking the shower I wanted to when I got home from church but could not



 

 

DIOCESAN CLOTH OUTFIT ARRIVED

well actually I got a taxi to take me to Vivians
They do make clothes here that fit to a tee, I will wear it Sunday and have it loosened a bit, not used to clothes fitting exactly

the top front has pleats that have the edge serged

and the skirt has 3 pleats front and back

the real fun with getting something made,

I never have any idea what the style will be until I see the finished outfit

....  wait till Sunday to see how it fits

 

making a booklet

I know I have been on this topic before but I clearly did not get it last time, typed a 11 page booklet today for Holy Week for the cathedral. I tried to use a frame last time but cant make it work so I need to learn in the summer as today I type each page as a document and then cut and paste to put it together, maybe one day I'll get it. and then maybe not ......

ordinary day

shopping, laundry, ironing, some typing of documents, researching on line, trying to set up the next newsletter, gathering info for a power point, reading, hydro comes and goes, water comes and goes (a bit of a pain when I have clothes washed and they need rinsing but water comes back so they get to the clothes line to dry) got some yam today and had 2 helping for supper, found a new brown bread with at least one raison in it so far

trying to insert video

I took some video with my phone as I cant figure out how to do it with my camera.
I hope I can upload to this posting.
Dean's wife Mary and Atta making pound ( cassava and plantain cooked and then mashed together, looks like bread ready to rise) this in a bowl covered with a soup would be supper. The process takes 20 to 25 minutes and it takes 2 to tango,one with the bowl continually adding water and turning it over so it does not stick and the other with the pound stick

here it is and it works

yipeeeeeeeeee

a big treat for Palm Sunday

I just found out that everyone is wearing diocesan cloth this Sunday. Cloth with pictures of 3 bishops who have been here, the diocesan crest and picture of the cathedral, purple on white
SO I bought cloth from the dean, going to Vivian tomorrow to see if she can make me an outfit for me to wear on Sunday, everyone tonight said I will look out of place and I pointed to my skin and said I always look out of place with white skin...gales of laughter
Dean will drive me to Vivian's and I hopefully will be in diocesan cloth on Sunday

 

thank goodness for batteries as hydro off, no fan but I will look great on Sunday    lol

VESTRY AT THE CATHEDRAL

timing was very African
830 am service to start at 9, Morning Prayer did start, then procession of the clergy and servers present at 915,service is in progress, procession with the bishop at 930, sermon at 10,
vestry meeting at 11 ending at 115, then Eucharist, announcements and home by 215pm
Only once a year ....  thanks be to God

hydro back

it was out for an hour or so, I really like my fan

NO HYDRO

NO FAN....HOT

FINALLY.....

finally found 3A batteries, in buying bread and there they were hanging on the wall behind the cashier, what a find!!!
and finally got to the Cold Store (meat store that is made up of only a walk in freezer in a shed) got chicken, it comes soft or hard and not remembering what that meant, soft means it can be fried, hard means its for stews, anyway got soft, AND because chicken does not come on a Styrofoam plate covered with saran wrap, nor does it come skinless, one needs to fill in those blanks oneself. after skinning and chopping of the excess fat etc I packaged in ziplock sandwich  bags and put in the freezer

 





kept one out to have for supper with rice, one pot wonder, and I had 3 servings, enough left for lunch tomorrow.

Actually never made it to the office today between running errands and having a visit with Gifty (has the workshop for the disabled) and we caught up with each other's lives with lots of laughs

Met bishop as he was leaving and I was returning,, see him tomorrow

I REALLY MISS 'STAPLES'

looking for some hanging file folders today, one store had about 10 that looked like they had been through a war, second store had none and the third one had 16 but I need 100 so Lydia will order me 4 boxes = 100 and call me when they come in next week, oh for a mall of big box stores BUT then I would not have mangos, plantain chips and temp of 32c along with the chicks chirping for food outside my window, ok ..... I wait for the file folders, a small price to pay for the great ambiance of Sunyani

what do you think   A BIT OVERLOADED ?????

and the beat goes on

bought a little change purse from the shop run by
the Sisters of the Holy Paraclette,
nice and colourful and holds lots of stuff even if it is small, about 5 by 5 inches
 I had baked beans (from a can, Heinz actually) and brown bread for supper, quite tasty             

A DILEMMA ...... still searching

 2 remotes but only 2 batteries, have not found any AAA's in the market yet

                                               so I play switch the batteries to utilize both

SUNDAY....CHURCH

Ahhh....... church with drumming, lots of lively music, smells and bells,
welcoming smiles and lots of Akwaabahs (you are welcome whereas we might say  ..welcome back)Today the executive from the Clergy Wives Association worshipped with us.
And
I still need to get with the program.
Service times are 7 and 9am. So I get up and out for 7 and the cathedral doors are still shut ???????? Go back home, see Dean a little later and ask when church was.. 9am: only one service as the Clergy Wives will be with us.   ugh, got up so early for naught.
So service unfolds as per usual followed with Blessings, an anniversary requiem, announcements, unveiling and blessing by the bishop of a new pew and back home in front of my fan by 1:15 pm.

a selfie waiting for church

the Executive

on the new bench

Bishop

After service in front of cathedral

AND THE WINDS CAME

winds, rain, thunder, lightening   the curtains are almost parallel with the ceiling, (all the windows are louvers that never shut tight, are about 15 degrees from shutting)  still got electricity (miracle of miracles) and here I sit, reading, not bad  eh!   life is good!

Saturday is here

Phone still acting up, Vodafone is closed until Monday  oh hum....
Went to meeting of the executive of the Clergy Wives Group, getting food ready and eating ready was top priority at the Bishop's Court (which includes the home for the bishop, a chapel, meeting rooms, and guest bedrooms) After eating I left, as the heat was giving me a headache. Soon  I will get used to it I hope. just think though 8 days ago I was in Toronto and it was -10c.

from the freezer into the fire so to speak

running errands

I feel that I am back to normal what ever my normal is.     lol
Joseph visited, then to lunch at the Mandela Restaurant (left overs for supper). went to see Daniel the drum maker, to order one to bring back with me. He is always very sweet. If you want it, it is first come first serve and it would not be available until September as I use it as a prop for my discussions while in Canada for the summer.
bought sachets of water, a bag of 30 sachets costs $1.25 and it is the only water that I drink and it saves me boiling and storing in the fridge. each sachet holds 500cc.
Just found my license to be a priest in the Diocese of  Sunyani. I guess now I am legit.



CAMELS WRESTLING !

Watching a Berlin channel and they had a piece about camels wrestling, a sport in Turkey.
 the camels are treated by their owners like pets, like part of the family, and it is said that this tradition has gone on for many years. There are events around the countryside. The event begins with all the camels with decorated saddles and cloths, and their owners parading through the streets, then at the arena the events are organized like a rodeo and the big winner takes home the trophy   

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT    EH!!!!

Still settling in

I have found the heat more of a challenge that I remember. The explanation is that the sun is moving north to the equator and will be overhead for another month. Everyone agrees with me about the heat so I guess its not me.
taxi to and fro to shopping makes the trip much better.
Got a clock for the kitchen/living room, Thanks to Susan I have a hammer so hanging it was a breeze.

tried to download a picture but after half hour I gave up...sorry ...no hammer pic

still getting organized

phone not work so went back and all it needed to have credits added    ...    oh hum
still doing laundry and cleaning, maybe finish tomorrow, at least all I am going to do, with the red dust here settling everywhere all the time, one is never ever finished

I'm surprised at the countries from which folks are viewing the blog

Canada110Ghana13United States13Russia5Germany3Kenya2Ukraine2France1Indonesia
Interesting eh!

ARRIVED INTACT !!!

10 1/2 hour flight from New York on Friday, seats seem smaller some how. landed about noon on Saturday, got out of airport close to 2pm, Africa are the winners for line ups remember
Paul (Bishop's son ) picked me up, he has a daughter who is 3 months old and of course, pictures on his phone
- then hotel and slept till 6pm and then woke up again at midnight and then again at 730am on Sunday, food was not my top priority.
- to airport for flight to Sunyani, 55 minutes to fly and about 10 hours to drive
- got to my place about145 pm, opening up is like the cottage, clean, unpack, sort luggage, get some food,
Today
got phone and internet re-established and withdrew $ from the bank and continued the settling process, did laundry for all the sheets and covers over furniture etc.
my fan and I are going steady as the temp is 34c
otherwise all is well.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

My favourite past time ..... waiting.
Was chatting with a fellow passenger at Pearson, he was much better at keeping track of which gate we were supposed to use and we needed to change gates once. His wife is a Church administrator for a Lutheran church in Indianapolis in a part of town called THE HOOD. The location makes him nervous but  she has seen it as a call for the last 30 years. He says for his employment ... he sells himself and then industrial ball bearings for a French company.
As we got closer to boarding he asked what seat I was assigned, wrote it on his boarding pass and wrote his seat on mine, saying I should sit in his assigned seat plus gave me a hand full of Canadian coins, Relocated to Row 1, at the front. WOW lots of leg room, wine, champagne and snacks, a sweet treat for me while he sat in my cramped seat towards the back. Nice angel visit for me.

Same time, next day

Through USA immigration and security, sitting in waiting lounge of boarding gate, very early but at least this way I do not miss the plane
so this I hope is a go ......

still thursday .... still in Toronto

plane off a runway in New York and airport closed,
other 2 airport had to accommodate extra flights as a result so my flight was cancelled. SO I am travelling tomorrow same flights, same times.
I was at the airport without my cell phone and therefore had no phone numbers  of anyone to call. Had an old phone book with some current numbers in it, so phoned around to get Tanya's number and to find a willing body to pick me up, house, feed me and return me to the airport tomorrow.

The interesting part of the journey has begun   :) :) :)

AT AIRPORT

got visa yesterday  .....    thank goodness

very cold leaving the house this am, but off to warmer climates
waiting now for departure, am very early so I don't fret that I will get stuck in traffic and miss the plane
fly to New York, wait, then 10 1/2 hour direct flight to Accra arriving 11am tomorrow their time, stay in hotel Friday night , I will catch a 1 hour flight to Sunyani Saturday morning (saves a 10 hour car ride)

LOOKING AHEAD

temperature on Friday in Sunyani forecast is 38c, will I be able to handle it?    

.........          bring it on

packing done so what is not in the bags, stays home, only get 2 bags as the 3rd bag generosity has been discontinued  :( :( :(                             I will ship the excess in the summer.

- visa the last piece to get