Chao till Sunday

off to wedding tonight, been resting all day for what I feel will be a marathon trip , but worth every moment

got in a dither....NO HALMARK CARD STORE

looking all week, everywhere I went, for a card to take to the wedding, well...... lots of xmas, baby, birthday and valentine cards but no card for a wedding, on the street or in the post office that I could find so ....  what to do?
go online, get a card, print it along with an envelope and ta ta - a card for the wedding.
now, I am not particularly good at doing this so it took me an hour or so before it was finished, taped shut and ready to go.
It is amazing how much creativity one can develop when one is under the gun of necessity. My bail out plan was to write a note on plain paper and put it in an envelope. I guess on my list next fall is to bring back an assortment of cards, preferably with no writing or verse so they can be use when ever. Live and learn!

Finally...

 
 
 

finally got a curtain for the bathroom, there are frosted slats for no see through but don't you now think it looks prettier ? 
re the adventure for the wedding on Saturday:
we are hiring a bus, leaving the cathedral at 11pm ish   on Friday, travel all night and get to Accra about 5-6am, have breakfast, attend the wedding, attend reception, get back on the bus and travel back to Sunyani early Sunday morning .. ..I have already declared the odds of me being in church later on Sunday morning are really low and maybe even non-existent AND
we do the same next weekend for the funeral of Sr.Mavis's father. It seems to me to live here you must be hardy, have stamina and  like travelling back and forth.

the Tuesday after New Year's Day

Betsy (old car) had a bath today, since I let God wash my car at home and do the same here, Matthias (driver) stepped up and offered to take it to the car wash, looks like a shiny jewel now

as the bishop's son Paul is getting married this Saturday in Accra,

I was asking Lois

how it actually unfolds. She says there is the Traditional Wedding on the Friday between the two families. Schnapps and money and goods are brought by the groom for the bride's family. She says in North Ghana the gifts are cows and cloth and money, with the bride's family being specific about what they will accept, it is not so rigid in the south of the country. Then on Saturday there will be the traditional church wedding(white dress and all) with a reception. I am planning to go with the group from the cathedral so stay tuned. As I am here longer I continue to have a never ending list of  questions about what and how the culture works here, thank goodness folks are wiling to answer them.

Saturday night at the cathedral!

AYPA organized an evening of song and praise and entertainment, invited a number of youth groups in the city from various churches. Eventually got started with singing and praying and more singing.  Groups from the various church came up to present their singing with lead singers and back up support. It struck me as a cross between a Rock Concert (very loud music with many speakers and amps) and an Impromptu Jazz concert (with it unfolding as it does whether the music is spot on or not). There was a dance group from the cathedral both young men and women. They interpreted the song and were very good.  )
There is a song VIA DOLOROSA ( words are powerful, its on U tube, I prefer Patti ??? last name) which puts to words and music the events of Good Friday, I was wondering how they would/could interpret it in dance, will wonder out loud to the dean to test the waters and if ok, will wonder to the choreographer. maybe  this could be part of Good Friday this coming year??????? 
As support for the youth, all the clergy of the cathedral made an appearance including the Bishop.

the Dean and I

a realization I had today

as I hung wet clothes on the line, it dawned on me that I  do not have to worry about the clothes freezing on the line, like back home at this time of year. small things for a small mind  lol

Weird or what

I got my first New Years Day present, it is a weird one folks, the Lectionary (a book with all the Bible Readings for all services for the year for 2014) from the Precentor, he laughed when I said it was the best New Years present as it is the only. .....  I know, it is a bit of a stretch getting amusement from such but its the best I can do, given the year is still so young.
Continuing the Xmas Spirit the Cathedral gifted food stuff to the prison yesterday: rice, maize, and household stuff.  and there was a photo op, see below, this prison had both a men and women section (same place where the barrel of clothes went to) see pics it was divided between the two sections. 
                                                                                                     Women section staff    

Men's section staff