Wedding of Grow & Hannah occured yesterday. He is one of the young leaders in the church I attend in Ashaiman. They have been planning their wedding for many months. One day I came home to my cabin and there was an invitation to attend. This is my first Ghanaian/African wedding. It was great to celebrate with them.
Monthly Archives: January 2007
Avorwianu Wedding
Worship team from my church here in Ghana as they sang during our brother Grow’s wedding yesterday. One of the songs was, ‘This is my desire…’ It was a great four hours of celebration.
Robert’s Leaving Day
After 70 days on board the m/v Anastasis and in our ward, Robert has been able to go home. Due to the type of burns and the surgeries done, his recovery took a long time. He was picked up by one of his uncles and he was able to leave the ship. He will come back for a few days in February, but he is doing better. I visited him and my friend Jonas and Robert taught Jonas how to play UNO. When a friend came from the US, I asked him to pick up a set of UNO cards and I was able to give that to him today at his departure – you should have seen his face when I gave it to him.
Cabin Inspection
One of the responsibilities of the captain is to ensure that the cabins of the crew are clean and do not have fire or other hazards. Here on the m/v Anastasis the captain offers an award for the Best Cabin during that day’s inspection. I won the award and was surprised as I didn’t do a lot to really clean up the place. They do warn you and let you know what section of the ship he is inspected that week. My award, $1.00 coupon for the snack bar.
Kee Thapa
Statement Regarding Mr Kee Thapa from Mercy Ships
At 16:45 on Tuesday 9th of January, Mr Kee Thapa, a 47 year old security guard on board the m/v Anastasis was found in his bed without pulse or breathing. He was last seen alive, responsive, eating and drinking at 13:45. The emergency medical team was called immediately and full cardiopulmonary resuscitation was carried out for 35 minutes without response. He was pronounced dead at 17:20. Specific cause of death is medically unknown.
All of us at Mercy Ships are deeply saddened by this loss. Please keep Mr. Thapa’s family in your prayers. In His service with you,
Cal Huge, CEO, Mercy Ships
Keith’s note – We have made contact with his family, he leaves behind a wife and a 6 year old daughter back home in Nepal. Just on Monday, I was getting my hair cut and he came by as he wanted a quick trim to look good for his trip home as his 6 months was up and he was leaving on Wednesday for home. We visited while Rosie was finishing my haircut. Please join us in prayer for his family.
Christmas Door 06
Here on the m/v Anastasis we decorate our cabin doors for Christmas, I am using last years Christmas cards along with a couple other items from my small Christmas box. We also follow the dutch tradition and place a shoe outside our cabin door and on the evening of the 24th, we place small gifts in our friend’s shoes – I gave cookies and pineapples this year.
Mom Ghana Dress Christmas 06
Mom wearing her latest in Ghanaian dress – I took pictures of the tailor putting on the head piece so she knew how to put it on. I promised to take a photo and give to George and Judith who own the tailor shop in Community 1 in Tema. I had simplier shirts made for my brothers and nephews.
Visit to the city of Ganvie in Benin
Just north of Cotonou, Benin is Ganvié, a town of 18,500 inhabitants who live in bamboo huts on stilts several kilometres out on Lake Nokoué. In the 18th century, the Tofinu people built the village as protection against the aggression of the Fon and Dahomey kingdoms; religious custom forbade warriors from venturing into water. Now, houses, restaurants, shops and even a hotel are built 2m (6ft) above the water. It was an interesting boat ride to see their town on stilts.
Borders of Togo, Benin & Nigeria
On the 26th, I joined a few friends and we traveled to Togo and to Benin. We went to the border with Nigeria, but we did not cross over. It was my first time in French speaking West Africa and it was frustrating as I could not communicate myself. When the ship leadership decide we are going to a french speaking country, I will need to study and learn to be conversational in French. I was thankful for the hospitality of Daslin and her husband Ernest and for Clementine and her family.
Making Fufu @ Hearts of the Father
Helping with the main meal on Christmas day at the Hearts of the Father Children’s Home. We are making fufu – a mix between plantains (like bananas) and cassava. It took a while before Coko was trusting me not to mash her fingers as she rotate the dough.