A Bump in the Road

Elder and Sister Stubbs
Farewell from the Area Presidency

Wednesday, October 14, brought a heart stopping episode into the lives of Elder and Sister Bevan, which caused an abrupt change in focus. After consultation with the doctor and Area President, it was decided that we should go back to the U.S. for medical evaluation.

So here we are. I am recovering nicely from the placement of a “pacemaker” to keep my healthy heart beating at a proper rate.

We appreciate staying at Ryan and Sarah’s home the first week we were here while they were vacationing in Boston with her family. Now we are sleeping at Curtis and Alisyn’s home during the recuperation period. We are hopeful that the medical people will release us to return to the mission field after Thanksgiving.

The pain is pretty well subsided so the most difficult thing for me is to be content with limited activity and exercise for the month. My body is confused by the difference in temperature between Africa and Utah. We did enjoy a nice ride. I can drive with one hand around the Salt Lake Valley and enjoy the beautiful fall colors.

My recuperation has been good and without undue incident, for which we are most grateful. I’ve gradually regained more strength. I seem to still need a nap each day, and we were told it would take several weeks for complete recovery. I went to the doctor two weeks following the surgery, and Dr. Osborn told him there was no reason I couldn’t return to Ghana. We asked if he would e-mail that information to Ed Seegmiller, which he did that afternoon. During John’s nap, Elder Seegmiller called Pat and told her that he had received the “clearance letter”. He said, “When do you want to go back?” We had talked about it and decided we could return after Thanksgiving so she said, “How about December 1?” He said, “I’ll check with Church Travel and let you know”. It was at this time that Elder Seegmiller said, “Sister Bevan, the angels are all around you.” We truly believe that. We have felt blessed, protected, guided during the entire six weeks at home. Within ten minutes of that conversation, the travel arrangements came up on the e-mail with tickets for December 2 and a note – “Sorry we couldn’t get December 1”. Wow! It all happened so fast that it was mind boggling.

One of the kids said we had an “intermission” in our mission. The timing of the six weeks at home couldn’t have been better. We were able to welcome home Abby, Spencer, and Paul home from their missions. We were pleased to be able to hear Paul’s “homecoming” talk and share that experience with family and friends.
We loved being at the cabin for a week where we witnessed the first significant snowfall and marveled all over again at the beauty of God’s creations.
It was a privilege for us to participate in Curtis’ Russian neighbor Albina’s missionary lessons and baptism. We can always witness the hand of God in a convert baptism.

We enjoyed being in Arizona for Thanksgiving and meeting our 8th great grandchild – Ashley Riannon Jones – the day after her birth. It’s a miracle every time it happens – special to have a new baby in the family at Christmas time. It was good to be with John’s family and see Durrell and his family on Thanksgiving.
So – on December 2 we headed back to Ghana. We are going to miss our family, but we know the Lord wants us to be in Ghana. We have unfinished work to do, and we can never be in debt to the Lord. He has blessed us so much!

Life gives us unexpected problems to deal with. Fortunately, I haven’t had a lot to deal with – what with good health, good children, a perfect wife, a wonderful profession and a Church I love. But this incident gave me cause to reflect, to pray, ponder and to receive the wonderful, comforting assurances of the Holy Ghost. I had some insights – maybe too precious to talk about.

I know that God loves us, that Jesus Christ is his Son and our living brother and Savior. The plan of salvation was brought into clearer perspective for me. I know that life is good, especially if I can continue to serve and be productive in the kingdom.

Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, visits, and expressions of love.

The Saga of our African Cars – John Bevan – August 15, 2009

When we arrived on this mission, we were given a nice, new Toyota Corolla with automatic transmission which is rare for here.

The first week we were rear ended at a stop light, which badly damaged the rear bumper. Even the police woman at the police station was sorry about our new car. Kofi Bolley, the Area fleet manager assured us he would take care of everything. He provided us with a replacement vehicle for a few days until ours could be fixed.

The dealer had to send to Japan for a replacement bumper since it was a new car and they didn’t have one in stock. It came, but it was the wrong one (wouldn’t you think they could have a part number on the order?) so they had to order another one from Japan – coming by boat of course since air would be very expensive. Remember, this is Africa.

In the meantime the “temporary car” (an older Toyota stick shift) stopped running – bad battery. They tried to charge it, but it died on us again. We had a two day trip to Cape Coast coming up so they gave us a Honda. On the way home the brakes went out, but we managed to get back to Accra safely and carefully.

The next day they took the Honda to the dealer to be serviced and to have the brakes fixed. After a couple of days, Kofi came to our office and very sadly explained that the car would not be ready for our weekend trip. It seems when he went to the Honda dealer to get the car, the place had been locked up by the police because they had not been paying their taxes.

So we were given a very nice new Toyota similar to the one we had started with – only it was a very nice blue color. We enjoyed it but only drove it for a few days, and they brought the Honda back for us, which makes, technically, the 5th car we’ve driven. We liked the Honda – it was automatic and easy to drive – so we really didn’t mind. By this time we were used to Kofi saying – “two more weeks” and your car should be ready.

We had to make a trip to the Assin Foso District with new computer equipment so we had to borrow a pickup truck – green Nissan – for that expedition. That was car #6!

Two weeks ago, Kofi came to our office and told us that the bumper was in, and that the car would go to the dealer that day. Finally, last Thursday, Kofi came with a grin on his face and the keys to our original car. Yipee! Four months from the original accident! We were so excited – see photos – we took a ride early the next morning and went to the bakery that has such great cinnamon rolls – they weren’t even open yet, but Blanche (the owner) “dashed” us four day old cinnamon rolls – and we didn’t even have to pay. What a day of celebration!

President Obama comes to Ghana

(This was put together by the physician who is serving here as medical advisor for the area. We happened to be out of the country when Obama was here so we don't have a first hand account, but we thought you might be interested in Dr.Stubb's observations.)


Obama came to Ghana yesterday!

Now we are quite accustomed to Big Men coming to Ghana with their fancy black limousines, but no one can do it up quite like the President of the United States.

His own personal jumbo jet. They fly in all his cars, helicopters and hundreds of security staff.

Every street that he would see was festooned with bright flags and a fresh coat of white sidewalk paint. Which by the way, after last night's rain is already gone.

The American flag company must make a bundle everywhere a president goes because Ghana must have bought up all the left overs.

The people were excited to see him. You see, this is the first visit to Africa by a black American president and he chose only Ghana to come to.


His father is from Kenya and his wife's ancestors were brought over during the slave trading days. More on that later.


Immediately of course, other African countries were jealous and hurt.


He didn't go to Kenya the home of his father.


He didn't go to Nigeria where the US buys megabarrels of oil every day.


He didn't go to South Africa or Angola or Zimbabwe either.


It is said he came to Ghana because it is the one country in Africa where there are peaceful democratic elections. Are we ever glad for that.


This was the message he was supposedly sending to the rest of Africa. "Be peaceful, lawful, and we will come let you buy our flags and t-shirts."

The President of the United States has about the most bucks on the planet to spend on putting on quite a show.
His own jets, limousine fleets, security, helicopters, and several boat loads of flags. I bet they even brought over their own McDonalds.


When he flies into your neighborhood, he really makes quite a show. And everyone knows he is here. You can't do anything that will interfere with the BBM (Big, Big Man).


This must mean that he holds a lot of power and influence, at least for the next 3 1/2 years.


I wonder about the visit of a previous Big Man many years ago and how his entrance differed some from this one.

When he made his formal entrance to Jerusalem, he had a little more humble transportation.

The roadways were not blocked and there was no security, at least not for Him.

More pictures from African village visit

The price of beauty

Osei Bonsu and his brother Peterson

The old school

Drying cocoa beans

African Village Trip

Beautiful African children
Typical home in the village
African Elders
Daily Water

Last weekend we went to Kumasi with Elder and Sister Shipley (he has been the Area Executive Secretary, and they go home in a couple of weeks) and Osei Agyemang Bonsu (the Family History Area Manager – Church employee – and our boss). He has wanted to show us his “village” where he grew up and went to school. It’s about four hours drive from Kumasi deep into the forest on dirt, rutted roads – what an adventure! He wanted us to see the place where his family came from and what that small village had produced. There are six children in his family. He is a veterinarian. One brother is an ophthalmologist. One is a PhD agronomist helping farmers in Ghana. Another brother is a taxi driver in Kumasi, and one sister is a banker in Accra. One sister still lives in the village. Osei has built a school for his village which they have just started to use. Because it was Saturday when we went, school was not in session. We met some of the teachers and presented them with “exercise” books, pencils, and erasers. We also passed out candy to the children who flocked around when the word got out. Osei is letting the teachers live in his family compound, but we saw the building where he grew up – cement rooms all leading to an open area. The “kitchen” cooking area was outdoors as were the bathroom facilities. Many of the homes are mud blocks with thatched roofs. The next project he hopes to complete is a “borehole” (well with a pump) so they will have clean water. He took us down to the river where they get all their water. It is filthy! There is no electricity, yet the people seem to be happy. Most of them had gone to “farm” so we didn’t even get to meet his sister. They grow their own food – corn, soybeans, plantains, cassava and seem to be okay. We also visited his “cousin’s” village a short distance away. They belong to a church which meets on Saturday, and they had just completed their services so all the people were there. They welcomed us warmly and sang and danced for us. We sang “I Am a Child of God” for them, and they truly are children of God. What a wonderful adventure!

Travels to Kpong and Ho in Ghana

Dr. Dubatey and his Mother

We just returned from another wonderful, hectic, amazing weekend of travel in Ghana. We left early Saturday morning for Ho, but we had hoped to visit the Kpong Family History Center on the way. We had tried to call and/or e-mail the leaders in Kpong but had no response. We prayed for direction and guidance in our morning prayer and started on our way.

As we approached Kpong, we noticed a sign advertizing the Cedi Bead Industry Annex so we pulled over and stopped. We thought, “Since we haven’t made contact in Kpong, we might take advantage of this opportunity to visit the Bead Factory near Kpong we’ve heard so much about.” The cute little man at the Annex gave us some printed directions to the Bead Factory and encouraged us to go. We stopped at the Kpong chapel on the way and found it all locked up so we headed for the Bead Factory.

When we arrived at the Cedi Bead Industry, we met Kudjo who took us to the shop where they sold their products. When he saw our name tags, he said, “I am a member of your Church.” We told him we had been trying to call his Branch President and Family History Center Director but hadn’t been able to get through. He said, “Would you like me to call my President now?” He had his number in his cell phone and when he got the President on the phone, he was told to bring us to his home so he could meet us. Do you think that was a coincidence? Kudjo got into our car and directed us to President Dubatey’s home. On the way he told us that it is his brother who owns the factory, and his father is manning the Annex. He said there are no missionaries in Kpong, but he is trying to be one. He has been talking to a new employee at the Bead Factory and has invited him to go to Church with him tomorrow.

We had a good visit with Dr. Dubatey in his lovely home near Kpong. He spent twenty years in St. Louis, working in Public Health. His English is excellent. His wife and son are still living in Texas. He is 68 years old and practices medicine some from his home. He called his counselor Francis Kanyi who is a brother to the Family History Center Director Darlington Kanyi (who is in Kumasi for some training), and he met us at the Kpong chapel. His other brother Richard came along – he is a computer specialist. On the way to the chapel, we stopped at the President’s humble complex where he had grown up and met his 96 year old mother.

Lunch at the Volta Hotel was a special treat. This hotel is on a hill overlooking the Akosombo Dam, and we had a great view as we ate lunch and watch the Williams sisters play in the finals at Wimbleton.

Ho is a very strong Branch. We visited them several years ago when they were still meeting in Ralf Avornyo’s home. Now they are bursting at the seams in a rented building; 160 were there today. There are probably 250 on the records. Elder and Sister Sidwell have spent their entire mission there and have made a great contribution. They are presently looking for land on which to build a chapel. We were so impressed with the great spirit in the Fast and Testimony meeting – as members lined up for an opportunity to bear testimony of Jesus Christ and the restored gospel. John taught a beginners’ Family History class during Sunday School while I registered and trained Priesthood leaders and consultants on the laptop computer with a wireless internet connection on the porch of the building. The purpose of our trip was to evaluate the building and the members to consider putting a new Family History Center in their Branch. We are impressed with the atmosphere in the town of Ho – up and coming, clean, vigorous, youthful. The Branch President is 27 – a convert of three years – very sharp. His wife served a mission on Temple Square in Salt Lake City – beautiful young woman. There are about 50 singles in the Branch because of several higher education schools in the area.

We love the beautiful drive to Ho – the Volta Region is one of our favorites – along the Volta River – with beautiful green foliage – agricultural areas. We recognize how blessed we are to have the freedom we do to plan our travels and have such great experiences on a regular basis.

Ethiopian Members come to the Accra templ

Last week 14 members from Ethiopia came by air to the Accra Ghana Temple, thanks to the blessings of the Temple Patrons Assistance Fund. They had a 4 1/2 hour flight. There were four families sealed together -- seven individuals were endowed -- they spent from Tuesday until they left on Saturday in the temple. There were two 18 year-old girls who watched the young children after their families were sealed. One outstanding young man had served as a missionary to Ghana. He brought his beauitul bride of two weeks, and they were sealed in the temple. He is in the Branch Presidency in his home town. One older lady was sealed to her deceased husband and a baby who had died. They are beautiful people -- look more Indian than African. We were able to help them prepare names of their ancestors -- usually parents or grandparents -- some deceased spouses and children.

Elder and Sister Wilkes from Sacramento, California accompanied them. Elder Wilkes is a counselor to the Mission President and the "First Elder" in Ethiopia. The mission includes Zimbawe and Uganda as well. We invited the Wilkes to dinner one evening and had a good visit with them. What an amazing small world it is in the Church! We discovered that Elder Brad Wilkes was one of President Harbertson's missionaries in the Fresno, California mission! They still have a great love for President Harbertson and have visited him for a blessing for each of their three sons before their missions. Their youngest son is now serving in the Washington D.C. mission, Spanish speaking. They left on their mission when he had been out three months and will get home three months before his return. They are in their mid fifties and are young and vigorous.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hope you had a wonderful and unique birthday in Ghana! We love you and miss you!

Patricia squared

We met the Duah family in Kumasi when we were here the first time. Their youngest child was named Patricia so we became friends right away. She was only nine then, and we had a picture taken of us together. I’ve written to her off and on ever since. It was good to see Sister Duah again. She is one of my role models in Ghana. Her husband died when Patricia was only three months old, and Sister Duah has raised a wonderful family of six children – three returned missionaries. She runs a nursery of about 40 young children to earn a living for herself and her family. Once a month she comes to Accra to serve in the temple for three days. Patricia came with her Mother to see me and to look after the two little granddaughters that Sister Duah is tending while their mother is in the U.S.
Now Patricia is a tall young woman! She towers over me. Her mother is also tall. She is 17 and quite a lovely young woman. She is attending a boarding school about an hour and a half away from Kumasi, and she is very lonely. It’s run by a Pentecostal Church, and she’s not able to attend Church or seminary at all. She says one of the teachers is a member of the Church, but he isn’t well grounded in the gospel. She is a good student and hopes to attend the university and major in marketing. She likes her economics class. She can’t get e-mail at school so I told her I would write to her.

Tonight I invited Patricia to come and watch part of the General Young Women’s Conference on our laptop. She seemed to soak it all in. We watched the opening, including Liz’s prayer again, and Sister Dibb and Sister Cook and then the video. Patricia was impressed that it was our granddaughter giving the prayer. She said, “I would be shaking!” I think maybe Liz was also shaking. It was fairly late then so we turned it off. I had made brownies and gave Patricia some with a scoop of ice cream. She said, “This is very sweet!” I said, “I know that African people don’t like sweets.” She said, “Oh, I like it!” I sent her off with two “New Eras” that we had brought with us and told her I would send her a subscription.

(click on collage to enlarge)

Saturday, May 16 we went with the Shipleys and Binghams to Aburi. It’s a small mountain village about an hour away from Accra. It has two major attractions – the Botannical Gardens started by the British in 1890 and the woodcarvers shops all along the main road. We stopped first at the wood carvers and enjoyed watching some of them at work. See the photo of the lovely carving we bought representing unity in marriage. We don’t have anything decorative in our apartment and thought we could enjoy it here, and it’s not too large to fit in a suitcase when we go home. Then we headed to the Botannical Gardens where we hired a guide to show us around. The Royal Palms along the entrance were planted in 1890! They are magnificent! Because it was Saturday there were a number of school children enjoying the beautiful day and the lovely plants and trees. We had a good time sharing our picnic lunch and arrived home by early afternoon where we promptly took a good nap.

Yesterday was our all Ghana Family History Seminar. We had planned on about 35 attending, and there were 49! . Every area in Ghana was represented. We were thrilled!
The youngest in attendance was a young woman named Joyce, who just a week ago was sustained as a Branch Consultant in Koforidua. She bore a sweet testimony, telling how humble she felt and how overwhelmed by the responsibility. She had felt a special spirit in the meeting, and it was confirming to her as to the truth of the doctrine of Family History.

The most experienced was Brother Afrifa who started working in Family History in 1996! We took a picture of them together.

One of the most popular activities was a quiz where we had them work together with their Stake or District – about four – to come up with the right answers. It was a good teaching tool, and some important things were brought out.

We had a refreshment break and a very good lunch which all enjoyed. We noticed that the men were very quiet when they were eating. The women seemed more willing to visit. Brother Afrifa was our official photographer, and he took many pictures.

We closed with testimonies, and many special ones were shared. We felt that there was a good feeling, and many expressed appreciation. Now Brother Bonsu thinks we should do the same thing in Lagos, Nigeria and in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Ghana Temple

Ghana Temple

We went on our first endowment session in the temple this week. We were the only white folks on the session and were chosen to be the witness couple. We had a wonderful experience with so many memories of our last mission here. This temple is so uniquely beautiful, and we love it. We have been to Friday evening sealing sessions with other missionary couples. We did a whole hour’s worth of Bevan family sealings. That was very special. So many of the people we helped to train are still serving as ordinance workers and doing such a great job!

A lesson in humility

A Lesson in Humility – April 24, 2009

I guess we were feeling pretty cocky! We felt good about living in our old apartment. We had very little jet lag. We seemed to have adjusted so well to everything African again. Then we got a brand new car! Wow! It is a silver Toyota Corolla. That was more than we ever expected. It even has automatic transmission, which is wonderful in the heavy Accra traffic. We visited the Adenta Stake Family History Center and had a meeting with their consultant, high councilor, director and assistant – a great get acquainted meeting. On the way home, we decided to take an old familiar shortcut through the university and past the golf course to the motorway. Well, we must have turned the wrong way on the motorway, and we got lost. By the time we started to find our way back, it was dark, and we were in the Tesano area which we knew well from our first mission here. We stopped at a busy intersection for a red light. The car behind us stopped also. The car behind them didn’t stop and plowed into the car behind us which pushed him into our rear end. Our brand new, week old car got creamed! Boo hoo! We were not hurt. The drivers of the other two cars were honorable, and we all drove to the Tesano police station, and we knew right where it was. The police don’t come to you here – you have to go to them. The police woman who took the accident report was so sympathetic – “Oh, it is a new car – so sorry!” After we filled out the accident report, she let us go.
Kofi Bolley is the employee at the Area Office who handles all vehicles. This was Saturday night, and we hated to have to call him. He told us to just drive home and wait till Monday and he would take care of things. Everyone has been so kind and understanding. We have been given a loaner car to drive until ours is fixed which could take a long time. The process may take a while – we have to get two estimates and then take them and another accident report back to the police station. Kofi is on top of the situation, and we’re not worried. Brother Bonsu was so worried about us and was surprised that we were calm and not too upset about it. It could have been so much worse. We are fine. We feel that we have been so blessed and protected.

Dad's Birthday...beach getaway!

Mom and Dad with Bernard
Senior couples at dinner

Fishing Village

Beach Sunset

Brother Afrifra helping a new member with family history

(An adjacent resort, why would anyone name a resort Alaska in Africa??)

We had a great weekend for Dad’s birthday. We were invited to go to the Busua Beach Resort with two other couples for the Easter weekend. Friday and Monday were both holidays here. Busua Beach is about 45 minutes further than Takoradi so it’s about a five hour drive from Accra, with favorable traffic conditions. We had been to the resort a couple of times when we were here before. It was from here that we went to the village on stilts.

We felt a little guilty about taking a break so soon after our arrival so we decided to make it a working holiday by visiting and evaluating the Family History Centers in the area. We met with the Cape Coast Stake Family History Center Director, High Councilor over Family History, and the Stake President on Friday morning. We had met with their Stake Consultant the night before in our apartment because she was here serving at the temple. On Sunday we went into Takoradi to Church where we had a great reunion with Brother Afrifa and his wife Henrietta as well as Sunney James Quaico and Gifty. We went to Sunday School with Brother Afrifa. When Sunney came, we went to the Family History Center and had a good meeting. They are doing everything right. Then we went to Sacrament meeting with Sunney and Gifty. The new Stake President is in that ward and asked us to speak. It was a good Easter! The former Stake President is the new Area Seventy – Brother Freebody Mensah. The members are so pleased! When we told Brother Afrifa that Brother Sitati from Kenya had been called to the first Quorum of Seventy – the first black man in that quorum. He said “I never would have believed that could happen.”

Breakfasts and dinners were included in our room rate at Busua Beach, and they had wonderful buffets for each meal -- held in an outdoor pavilion. This weekend and Christmas are their busiest times so it was quite crowded, but they handled the crowd very well. One of the photos is of us with Bernard, the manager. He worked in Tema at the aluminum plant with Neil Darlington, who later came on a humanitarian mission when we were here last. Bernard has had the missionary discussions and has a Book of Mormon so he knows quite a bit about the Church. He greeted us warmly, and we had a nice visit. The resort has a very nice swimming pool, and the beach is one of the nicest we’ve seen anywhere – smooth, clean sand on the beach and out for some time. Dad did a little body surfing while I waded up to my knees. They have some jet skis – a nice addition since we were there before. Dad’s birthday gift was a 15 minute ride with an employee riding behind him. It was quite a thrill going over some of the incoming waves.

Dinner Saturday night was barbecued steak, lobster, and chicken with luscious rice, potatoes, veggies, and salad. Dessert was pineapple, mango, and watermelon salad or custard. After dinner they had great entertainment, featuring drummers and dancers. They were very good, and we enjoyed the show.

Monday morning we got up early and accessed our e-mail. Dad had wonderful birthday greetings and messages from every one of his kids. He was very touched by your sweet remembrances. I think he had a good day. People here can’t believe that he is 77! They say, “You are very strong!” And, of course, he is. We have been so blessed with good health

The first three weeks....

The Shipleys
President and Sister Harmon, he is the MTC President. His parents also live in Mom and Dad's home ward in Utah.

Richard Papa Dadzie

We left Salt Lake City three weeks ago today. Wow! What a fast pace we seem to have kept since we arrived. Elder and Sister Shipley met us at the airport early on Sunday morning. He is the Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency and a good one! They have been very kind to us. They brought us to the Ancillary Building and took us to the apartment that had been the Bordens. We brought in our bags and took a much needed nap. We had slept little on the crowded airplane.

We took another nap on Monday, and then I think our jet lag was over. We were really blessed this time. The direct flight from NYC Kennedy to Accra made it so much easier.
Shipleys took us to the bank to get Ghanian money, which has changed so much in the short four years we’ve been gone – new currency – about 1.36 cedis to the U.S. $. It was much more favorable before, and we discovered when we went to the new mall (can you believe it?) that grocery and other costs have at least doubled. There are several more places to shop and get American products; we haven’t even checked all of them out yet.

We learned the first few days that we were here that our former apartment #305 was available and that we could choose. We walked into it, and it felt like home! The cane tables we had made and the decorator pillows were still there. So we opted to move down and across the hall. It took us a few days, but everything seems to be working now except the cable TV. They had to repair the air conditioning and the water pressure in the bathtub. We have our own hot and cold pure water dispenser which is wonderful.

Richard Papa Dadzie (photo with Dad in office) was a young single returned missionary when we were here the first time. He is a computer expert and works for the Church in the ICS department. We urged him to find a wife. He was married when we came for our temple mission, and now he has four children -- including a set of two year old twins and a brand new baby girl who keeps them all awake at night. We have been so warmly welcomed back by many of our good friends. Somehow the word had spread, and most of them said, “I heard you were coming back; welcome home!” And we feel that way.

We are still feeling our way in our office – going through files – and trying to become more familiar with the new family search, but I think we’ve made amazing progress in three weeks. The Lord has truly blessed us. We’ll make it!