the Deacon Nat and Janet were blessed in marriage

card reader doing it's refuse to act thing , maybe later
today I preached on Trinity Sunday and Marriage,, an interesting combination.
Bags are zipped, floor had a lick and a promise, defrosted fridge, covered everything to avoid  the red dust, thank goodness there was a box lunch after the wedding as I had, have very little food on hand
car picking me up at 830 am SO I will try to find wifi on route, in To very late Tuesday evening,
ciao and  ta ta
ok so I am back, photos were downloaded

blessing by the bishop upon arrival

with Dad

once they are husband and wife, they change from sitting in the centre aisle
to under a canopy, that usually is trimmed with  tulle and fairy light blinking on and off

me and, Mother Janet  with Fr. Eramus next to me looking else where

Mr.and Mrs.

Gifty made me a stole

it is decorated with Hand woven Kente cloth ... very nice

I have a green chausible with stole I am bringing back, I love it but do not need it so if anyone is interested I will make you a great deal, it is long, to my ankles

computer recognized the error of its ways and got pics

                                                                        From the back

 

       



   Cathedral is very nicely decorated

                                                                    From beside the altar

Blessed by the bishop on arrival

Dad is waiting

Register signed....time to dance

Mr. and Mrs.

 There were 12 ordained in the Sanctuary

nice wedding

Francis and Dufie tied the knot today, no pics as card reader in computer not recognizing the SD card and I do not have the cord to connect the camera directly to the computer,   me thinks this computer is trying to tell me something....that it is getting tired, figure it out when I get back to Toronto
- a wedding tomorrow for the deacon at the cathedral, he had a traditional wedding and is now getting it blessed.

resurrection !!!!

last night... no internet ...   oh hum
got computer back today and it works   yipeeeeee    
wedding tomorrow and Sunday, getting packing done and cleaning
water was off most of yesterday as the construction next door broke the water line, working today,

computer crashed today

at least its not working, techy looking at it, able to copy hard drive on  to an ext hard drive thank goodness, now using a tablet that I had brought with me, not as easy to work as lap top but yes it does work,  bought plane ticket to Accra for next Monday, packing is progressing both my bags and putting the place to sleep for a few months, looks a little bare with pictures down and boxes around , synod stuff is coming along, barring any major catastrophes things are good to go.

the beat goes on

packing, synod stuff, food shop, I am bringing my Ghana phone home to use it in a free wifi place  with Whats App but I need it topped up before October, so I go to my favourite staff at Vodafone as I want to keep my same number but it needs to be topped up while out of the country, SO he tops it up till August and then if someone in Ghana tops up their phone and transfers it to my number I will be good to go with the same phone number when I get back   yep it should work,

the 'leaving' routine

I washed all the curtains and will pack them away so I can put up clean ones 

when I return in October.

Got a bag made for the drum at the Skill centre, they designed the cloth and 

made it either to be carry like a back pack or in one;s hand

Sunday with silence on the home front

very quiet around here, the dean has moved and the precentor has not moved in yet, I think this week he is moving, just hens and chicks and roosters strutting around, scratching looking for food. I broke up some cookies last night and made two piles, one for the baby chicks and told them to eat fast and one for the adults who know to eat fast

lazy,hazy day of summer

cool breeze but sun to dry the clothes on the line, electricity and water on at the same, it is very quiet here as cathedral folks have gone to the funeral of a chorister's mother I think, a long way by bus (10 hours or so), they left last night but will be home before midnight tonight,  I am starting to pack my place up, pack suitcases to travel and make a dent in stuff for synod so after discussion with a few I chose to stay home, yesterday a nice lunch at the bishops with a few of his classmates from high school, they move around the country visiting each other, nice idea. cleaning is least favour task, I know I say that all the time but today I am cleaning so I am reminded again how I dislike it,
I know, I know, here's a quarter, call someone who cares ( it may actually be a loonnie now) lol

a good read

Sycamore Row by John Grisham,

walking is good for the soul so they tell me

so between walking and taxis I got my errands done today.

no electricity sorta cramps one's style in getting anything done, no one can believe that we may have one power outage in a year or two, I tries to explain how disruptive it is for everyone, we in Canada rely on hydro for almost everything, here in Ghana flashlights, solar lights, propane stoves, generators and life carries on a little weaker but no one gets their knickers in a knot, had fried plantain off the street vender today, it smells so good when cooking, the sugar caramelizes I guess, very good anyway

ode to the car

I had Matthias (driver) check out the car after the 'road hole' episode last night, tested it, put a little air in another tire which was soft and said it was good to go

After Dean and family left today, moving to their home in Kumasi, next they will go to a new assignment in Nkoranza, I start to run errands, banks, withdraw money, put gas in the car and buy drinking water sachets and off to Vivian's (to pick up a  new clergy shirt made with Diocesan cloth) Vivian not there so back down a very bad road, car acting like a gutless wonder, 20km up a hill and then the smell, something was burning, stopped near the cultural centre to check the water in the radiator, put water in, a gentleman stops by and looks at the engine and says its a gasket ????? ok I know nothing about these things. I call Matthias, he says leave the car, he will look at it tomorrow, next we have two men looking at the situation, they are going to push the car to the side of the road but the steering wheel is locked, then cant find the keys, there is not a second one so really need to find them, so for the next 15 minutes I look through my purse, the car , the road ..no keys I empty my purse into a bag...no keys, both men go through my purse ..no keys all the while they ask it they are in my pockets, check pocket several times ... no keys, I ask the men to check their pockets, ..no keys. where the h--- are they, Vivian happens by and stops, she looks through the bag and the purse too, no keys then she checks my pocket AND there are the keys, I feel quite stupid and apologize all over the place, get car parked at the side of the road, offer a tip to the men, one said he could not take it, Vivian takes me to her place, try on the shirt, no buttons yet so she will bring it to church on Sunday with it finished, Vivian talks to Matthias as she thinks the battery (a new battery so that would be a pain) will be stolen if the car stays on the road over night, so he has just come for the keys and says he will bring back here. My warning to him was that something is burning that smells really bad, so the ode to the old car continues ....

ps
Matthias is back with the car. its the clutch and he will inform the bishop when he is back in town, I think a taxi is a better bet at this time and if it breaks down, then hail another  .....  no sweat

the road got the best of me

drove Mother Mary to the market, parking was so bad it might have been easier to walk but be that as it may.  She bought food stuff and I bought 2 pieces of cloth. Driving home we had three more passengers who were going to a meeting at the cathedral. Mother tells me about a hole in the road on my right and I see a depression about 4 inches so do not avoid it completely but drive slowly over it as there are many many road holes on every street, WELL the hole was actually 2 feet deep and the passenger front tire was suspended with the car resting on the frame A BIG OOOPSY  Mother gets out, reminding me she told me to avoid the hole, 4 men came along, I put the car in reverse and they lifted that corner while I moved the car back, OH MY, the first time the road beat me, I am sure it will not be the last   lol car seems no worse for wear thank goodness

ps
Matthias is back with the car., says its the clutch, will tell bishop when he returns to town.
I think a taxi is a better bet for me in the future and if it breaks down, then jump in another ...no sweat

ST. PETERS SCHOOL PROJECT IN BEREKUM

Went to Berekum (40 km from Sunyani) this morning for their service and a visit to the school site to see the building progress. Enthusiastic congregation, the building progress is slow (been working on this for 11 years now) but still moving forward. In Canada a church would raise some funds and get a mortgage for the remainder, and then build but in Ghana the interest rates for loans range from 80 to 120% meanwhile your saving gains no interest and the bank charges you for keeping your money --it seems there is something wrong with this picture to me some how

last year

today,
 bamboo poles hold up the flat board which serve as the base when the concrete is poured for the second floor, a layer of paper is laid on the boards to prevent the concrete from seeping between the boards, no concrete mixer truck, it is all mixed by hand and taken up via wheel barrow

Mother Ben Smith and moi, . her late husband was the first priest at St. Peter's and the school will be named after him

Parish Church Council for St. Peter'sthe gentleman on my right is the Evangelist and  the woman on my left is a warden (nice robes eh!!) priest's wife is on his left
Fr. Josiah and family are actually a missionary priest and family sent from Nigeria for two terms of three years. 

WEDDING AT THE CATHEDRAL

Fredrick and Gifty were married today. Here is the order of service.

Blessed by the bishop upon arrival

          Ready with Dad

RINGS ARE BLESSED AND GIVEN

Lighting the Unity Candle

Dancing after signing the register

Gifty singing the soprano solo with the choir in the Hallelujia Chorus

MR. AND MRS.

Synod

it is taking over all life at the diocese, I guess I never really thought about the intensity of getting things gathered together for it, like writing all your finals on one day, another wedding tomorrow

HOMEWORK CLUB IN BOMINI

Anglican Church waiting for a roof,wood has been ordered

Mother Felicia wanted a pilot project of a homework club in Bomini to be conducted through the Anglican church. She and I gathered material, toys and school supplies and we delivered them today. This village is 200 km from Sunyani and has limited resources. Mother Felicia is using this as a pilot hopefully to use the model in other Anglican Churches in the diocese.

Mother Felicia showing the catechist an ABC learning toy

kids watching

watching and waiting

kids carrying resources on their head of course

bye bye

WARM, NO FAN AS HYDRO OFF 6AM TO 6PM

the fan I got at the wedding on Saturday works very well
we have a little bet here as to whether the electricity will come back on at Canadian 6pm or Ghanaian  6pm which could mean any time after 6pm, so today Canada won and I circled the court yard reminding folks it was Canadian 6pm YES! the fan working again
- evening spent working thru the synod reports getting them in shape for printing

Sunday

only was at first service and worked on projects to get them underway for the next few hours, start for Canada 3 weeks tomorrow, time is going by fast

WEDDING MAY8TH

wedding scheduled for 10am, program says 11, so after 10 waiting are bishop, his chaplain, dean, precentor, curate, a visiting priest and me, groom and best man arrive 1030ish and bride and her entourage arrived at noon in 3 decorated cars,

PROGRAM AND FAN FOR THE HEAT

BISHOP BLESSING BRIDE AS SHE ARRIVES

GETTING READY TO MARCH





VOWS

 



DANCING AFTER SIGNING THE REGISTER

V

EVERYONE JOINED IN THE DANCING

MARRIED

FIRST PICTURE IS WITH ALL CLERGY PRESENT

TWINS IN THE SUN

electricity off for 12 hours today and 16 hours tomorrow and there is a wedding at the cathedral --generator will be working,      both my and Mother Mary's dresses were from the OHP Skill Centre

HAIRDRESSING SHOP AT THE PRISON

last year in collaboration with prison officials they determined that a hair dressing salon would be a great addition to enable the inmates to learn the skill of hairdressing so they can be employed upon discharge.

Mary on the other end is the coordinator who makes things happen

so the decision to make a salon, need a container (shed) bought use one and had it moved   it landed

 

 

May 6th, 2015 today was the official opening with District Superintendent and all down the line

it looks great and they are very pleased, the prison hooked up the water and the hydro and have hired a teacher

 

 

 

the attending officials

Done through the generosity of Diocese of Sunyani, Bishop and Mother Felicia,

 the Ghana Prison and generous donors in Canada