We were disappointed to find out when checking in at the Delta desk at Huntsville Airport that our baggage allowance for the flight would not permit us to carry in the two extra pieces of luggage. We were hopeful that since we bought a different ticket we would be allowed more pieces of luggage. The gate agent suggested the next time to make two of our pieces heavier and pay for the overweight bags. That may be an idea to consider. The way Delta is changing their loyalty status from mileage to money spent on tickets it looks like we will have to start paying for six pieces of luggage instead of 2. Ouch! Other than a 2 hour delay taking off from JFK our flight to Accra went smoothly.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel we turned around went back out to the Africa World Airlines; the domestic airline to purchase tickets to fly to Tamale. We were lucky to get a flight out the next day and Red, our part-time driver was available to pick us up.
The news that is sticking in everyone’s mind here is the lack of rainfall. Many of the farmers around Yendi planted too early this year. The early rains came but then they petered out. By the time we arrived the area had not received rain for a whole month which killed off a lot of the corn crop. Now a bowl of corn costs 30 Ghana Cedis instead of 5-10 GH Cedis. The cost of everything is skyrocketing!
A month and half ago Timothy Niligrini told me that Elijah, one of the church leader from the village of Mulpido, was in the hospital in Tamale. He had been diagnosed with Hepatitis B. We gave money to help with the hospital expenses; we knew the family’s money was depleted. When we arrived in Ghana Timothy told us that Elijah had been discharged from Tamale and was sent home. He was home only a few days before he had to go to Saboba Hospital. His condition went from bad to worse; losing blood and unable to breathe normally. On class day we informed the brothers about his serious condition and the men decided to take up a collection for Elijah. I needed to visit Elijah so I volunteered to take the money to him the next day. Timothy went with me. When we arrived at the hospital the next day one of Elijah’s brothers took us to his bed. In between breaths Elijah thanked us for the gift and said he was surprised that he was still alive! Three or four hours later we got word he had died. That was a sad day!
At the monthly class we didn’t get to review the lesson that we had planned to use because the men was eager to hear about our return. They also had some situations that had arisen in a couple of congregations that needed to be addressed. Twenty-nine men were present for the class this month. The men reported that twenty-three people were added to the Lord’s church and four members were restored to the Church.
In His Service,
Stephen & Kandie Taylor
P.S.
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