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!