Timothy, the evangelist, came to the compound this morning at 8:30. We were going to Kpamang for a Naming Ceremony. A Naming Ceremony is equivalent to our baby shower except there is preaching; actually it is a short lesson to encourage the parents to bring the child up in the church and to teach the child to be good, honest and respectful. The whole village is invited to come; after the lesson a bowl is passed around and gifts of money, soap and baby clothes are given to the parents for the child. We went to one Naming Ceremony and someone promised to buy health insurance for the child. There is no electricity in the village so they rented a generator and a sound system. We could hear the music as we entered the village. I was proud when they turned that noise off. We were only there for the actual naming. The family will celebrate all day and visitors will come and go as they have opportunity. At some point the family will provide a light meal for the visitors.
Mr. Iddrisu started painting the metal steps today. It is going to take 2 coats of oil paint to fully cover them. We told him not to put the second coat on until Dawda, the mason finishes dressing the opening and making my steps. He will need to use the steps to get the cement to the roof.
This afternoon Steve cut down a tree that was at the side gate in the back yard. It took longer to clear away the brush than it did to fell the tree. There is a bougainvillea plant / tree growing beside the tree that Steve cut down; the bougainvillea had grown to the top of the tree. Bougainvilleas are actually a vine type plant and they have thorns on them that can be 1 ½ inches long. The tree had been planted too close to the buttress that supports the pillar the gate is hanging on. The roots of the tree grew under the buttress and over time it has pushed the pillar so far out of alignment that it is difficult for the gate to open. We used the electric chain saw our brother Charlie gave us to cut the tree down. It is amazing how much you can do with an electric chain saw! We still have the trunk to contend with but Steve left the stump tall enough that hopefully once the roots are cut we will be able to use the pickup and pull it out. That’s the plan anyway.
Zorash stopped by at noon to ask if we could help buy the seizure medication for a widow that lives in her area. The medicine is for her son, he is about 16 or 17 years old. He did not have seizures until he was in Junior High school. His family did not want to take him to the hospital for treatment when he first started having seizures. They took him to the Juju, (fetish) for traditional healing. Finally the family ran out of money for the sacrifices that the healer was charging and they took him to the hospital and got the anti-seizure medication. They waited too long and now the boy is not mentally normal. So sad and such a waste! We were happy to be able to help with the medicine.
Take care and have a great day!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
