Mt. Adaklu

I am sorry for the delay in putting up a post. Last Friday evening our Internet went down and it came back up today at about 5:00 p.m. it was literally out for one week. We were all going through withdraw, I finally broke down and took the family into an Internet cafe and gave each of the girls 30 minutes of Internet. It wasn't long enough but that was all I was willing to pay for. Thank goodness it came back up, I hope they have it fixed for a while now.



So Taylor and I take a walk sometimes in the evenings, one night last week just before a big rainstorm hit us we went for a walk and was given this gift of a beautiful sunset from God.

While on another walk we came across this duck who was guarding the entrance to this persons home. I am not sure if the ducks around here are related to turkeys of if they just have really bad acne but this guy is ugly.
Well, I don't really like this picture but I did say that I would post it. I needed a tripod and did not have room for one in my carry on luggage so it got left at home. So in order to get a half way decent shot I had to crank up the ISO on the camera and that never looks good. For those of you who are photogs I was shooting at ISO 6400 can anyone hear the noise! Oh yeah this is the image of Ho Mountain that I mentioned earlier, I said it looked like a volcano had erupted.
This is Saturday a week ago, we lost Internet the night before and just got it back today. We are on our way to the top of Mt. Adaklu. I was instructed to go to Google Earth and see what the elevation is to the top but since we didn't have Internet until today I haven't had a chance to look. So I can't tell you exactly how high we climbed but it took us a few hours to get there. The image below is the trail to the foot of the mountain.
This is Morgan at our first real resting place we had taken a few breaks before getting to this point but by the time we reached this place we were all very much ready for a good break. I am sitting in a cave looking out at Morgan as she stands looking at the valley below.
Here are some of the girls that climbed with us as we are getting to some of the steeper areas.
Kelly and Lyndsey didn't try the climb so here are the rest of us at the top of Mt. Adaklu. We had such a nice breeze that we were ready to lay down and take a nap. Once again if you look at the background of this image the haze that you see is from the Harmattan. We are planning another trip to the top in June or July once the Harmattan is past to see what it looks like on a clear day. If you look closely at my shirt, near the waistline you will notice it is a different shade than the upper part. The darker shade is wet from sweat, did I mention that it is very hot here?
Taylor sitting on the edge taking video with her point and shoot camera, I will try to post a video at the end of this blog post.
The girls are falling off the mountain help!! Well I got the worst of this shot, I had to lay right in the dirt to get this angle. After sweating as much as we were I was a muddy mess, the girls didn't care though.
Back at the bottom and my legs are ready to fall off. We all made it and no one got hurt. Now that I have rested a week, I can't wait to go again! If you look at the image below you can see where a large chunk of rock has fallen from the face of the mountain. We were standing on top of that part of the mountain.
I have been putting images of the children in many of my posts, tonight I wanted to show you this elderly woman. I came across her while I was walking back from the mountain and couldn't resist her charm. I had to get a picture of her, so I could introduce her to you.
I tried to put the video in but it keeps messing up so I am giving up for now. It is almost 2:00 a.m. here so I am going to bed. I will post some more photos tomorrow if the Internet is still up.
Gary Phillips

Life in Africa

Well part of life in Africa is getting used to the unexpected. We have not had internet now for the past 5 days, but we have had thunderstorms every evening now for the past 5 days. It is somewhat unusual for the rains to be here already, we are just about through the Harmattan season which brings us all the sand from the Sahara Dessert. After the Harmattan we are expecting the hot season, it has started out more like the rainy season which follows the hot season. At least it is supposed to, when I ask if this is normal I get all kind of responses so I am not sure if it is normal or not. It was very hot yesterday, one of the hottest days so far and if we are going into the hot season as we should I am told that the days will just get hotter. Which means we will sweat even more.

The internet is up and down as I write this message, it comes on for about 5 minutes and then goes of for about 15. I thought I would try to get this message typed up so that all would know we are doing o.k.

Please keep my parents in your prayers as I found out late Sunday that my father was in the hospital. Pray for both my mom and dad while I am away.

As soon as the internet is up and running normal, I will try to get some photos posted.

Gary

February 17th

It was a muggy night, probably the muggiest of all so far. Didn't sleep as good but still slept some. Most of the nights have been pretty cool but not last night. Have been getting bites on my feet at night from some kind of bug, not sure what. I was told that it wasn't a bite but some kind of small bug that burrows into your skin and then leaves finds a new place and burrows again. Not sure why they burrow in and out but not sure I really want to know. I put the Blood Stone on one of the bites to see what it would do, it stayed on for about an hour and I accidentally knocked it off. The bite quit itching and the bump went away. The rest of the bites still have bumps and still itch. If only I had about 20 Blood Stones, then I could put them on all the bites.

Today was set aside as a day to go to Accra and get our barrels. It is a day long process as we will spend much of the day traveling. We had planned since Friday to pick up the barrels on Wednesday (today). We decided to call yesterday afternoon to make sure the barrels were ready, when we called we were told that they are not ready. They said that the container has not gone through customs yet and should be ready tomorrow. Point being we couldn't go and get them as planned. So today I am a teacher not an electrician or construction worker. I have been helping Kelly with the girls schooling. I helped Lyndsey with her Math, Spelling and a bit of Health. I have learned that there is no need to be in a hurry here as it will only prove to frustrate you. Nothing seems to be on any kind of schedule here, so you learn to be patient. It is hard to come from a routine based lifestyle to the Ghanaian lifestyle.

I think I am going to have to start driving or sitting behind Chad in the backseat as he drives, my right arm is really tanned and my left is not as dark. I think I need a little balance in my life, lol!

O.K. enough talk, lets see some pictures, I know that is what you are thinking. Before I show you pictures I need to apologize for my grammar and spelling errors. I am terrible at grammar so please forgive me if I do not write well, I will try to do better in the future.

I think I already mentioned that we went to see the Kente Cloth Weavers. It was quite interesting to see them work. While we were there one of the weavers let Taylor have a go at weaving the cloth. So here she is doing her best. After she tried of course the rest of the kids wanted to try. The man was more than happy to let them each have a go at it. The people here are truly very friendly and happy to meet you. Everywhere we go we are welcomed by all who see us. You can tell from their voice that they are being genuine.

On the way back from Petue Village (pronounced petway where they make the Kente Cloth) I spotted this guy on the side of the road. It is quite unusual looking, I think it is some kind of Turkey but I am not sure. If anyone has a better idea than I do please let me know!

There is always something cool happening here, I was just about to send this blog to the web when Lyndsey came running in the house telling me that I needed to come outside as something really cool was happening. She said it looked like a volcano was erupting. I grabbed my shoes and my camera and ran outside. Ho Mountain the mountain that I was just on the other day is burning. Someone has set the side of the mountain on fire and from this distance it looks like a volcano is erupting. It really is quite cool to see in person, the photos do not do it justice but I will try and post them tomorrow anyway.

I also just found out that we cannot get our barrels and are put on a waiting time. I guess there is some papers that they need from a bank in Ohio for some part of the shipment. They will not unload the container until all the papers are in order. The problem is that the bank in Ohio is closed due to the snow. It is ironic that we are here in the 100+ degree weather and the snow in Ohio is causing us problems.

Pray that the bank will be open tomorrow and that they will be able to get the papers that they need. I am a teacher again tomorrow.

If it does not rain here before Saturday we are going to climb Mt. Adaklu, we are bringing a video camera and will make some videos for you to see. Hopefully we will be able to upload them.

Kelly just reminded me that we are about to run out of water, the city water is off for some reason and has been for over 24 hours now. We have a tank that will hold us for a couple of days but if we don't get the water soon we will be out of water. Pray that it comes on soon.

Gary Phillips and family.

Thank You!

Sorry no pictures tonight as it is late and the Internet has been on and off all day today. I wanted to give a quick thanks to all those who have been commenting on the blog. It is an encouragement to me to know that you are reading it. I will try to get some new pictures up tomorrow. We finally found out that our barrels are in and we are able to get them this Wednesday, I will be able to get started on the Bible School on Thursday. Again thanks for the comments please keep em coming.

Gary

Lot of Stuff to Share Tonight!

I have a lot of pictures in today's post so enjoy, I thought I would start with this photo of a girl from the village of Kodzobi. On Wednesday we went to the village to play games with the kids. I was taking photos of them and they would get excited and laugh when I showed them on my camera. I was soon mugged with kids wanting to see there picture on the camera. I had Martin who we took along to translate help me control them long enough to get a single portrait of each child. I really liked this one.


In this next image you can see Morgan chasing a little girl in a game similar to duck duck goose.

This photo was taken on Thursday, we went to Dzakpo again to visit and Taylor took a picture of these kids and is showing them themselves on her camera.

There is a lady in Dzakpo who has a pet monkey, Morgan can now mark Holding a real monkey of her Bucket List.

She was very excited that she got to hold a live monkey!

On the way home we stopped off at Anthony's farm and Anthony showed us around his farm again, some of us had not been here yet. Morgan found a baby chick and is holding it before we release it to it's mother.

On Friday I went to Helekpe to help with the electrical wiring of a 2 bedroom addition to the Mathews home (another missionary family). Jerry is the one squatting he will be working with me on the electrical projects here. He is an electrician here and will help me to understand some of the differences in the electric here. I will also be able to teach him some things as well.

This is the view from the Mathews home in Helekpe, there home is at the foot of Mt. Adaklu. As soon as the girls are all adjusted to the climate here we are going to climb this mountain. I am told the views are amazing. Taylor and I are ready to go but Kelly and the little ones are still trying to adjust. The 100+ degree days are hard to get used to, at least for them it is. I was adjusted the first day and Taylor only needed 1 day to adjust. It is hot and we are getting tanned, well some of are tanning (Morgan and I) the rest are burning.

Man it is hot here, we sweat 24 hours a day and we get dirty from the dust. I think the hardest thing to get used to is the dirty feeling, everyone says that in about a month we will be used to it.
Here is a picture of Sarah Mathews and Edem Zimmerman she is carrying him the way the Ghanaian women carry their young. They do have help from a piece of cloth so that their hands are free.

Another view of Mt. Adaklu from the Mathews yard. I can't wait to get to the top!

This next image is a good example of Harmattan. Harmattan happens this time of year every year. It is dust from the Sahara Desert that blows across Ghana and Togo for several months in a row. Some days are heavier than others. This view from the top of Ho Mountain shows Harmattan very good. The buildings you see in the image are predominately Ho but if you know where to look you can see some of the villages also. I don't know where to tell you the villages are, sorry. Our house is in here somewhere also. I almost forgot the mountain in the background is Mt. Adaklu!

This is one of the vegetable sellers in the Market, we visit her every time we go to Market and buy something. In case you didn't notice she is not in the photo, I needed to clarify this for Marnie!

This is the place we buy our frozen chicken, if you look close at the piece she is cutting you can see pieces of chicken flying.

Here is a view of the road to the frozen food place.

The Butler's received three packages of gifts from their church today, it was full of Christmas gifts. They had a lot of fun opening them.

Today we had a Valentines Day party for all of the Missionary kids. Marnie's mom sent a bunch of craft things so the kids had crafts and cookies and other goodies. They all had a really good time. Even Chad had fun making valentines!

Another shot of the party, Taylor is showing Kelly something, not sure what.

Another Party shot.

One more party shot, trying to show the kids a lot for grandparents.

Hope you have enjoyed the show, please leave some comments for me to read, I enjoy them.

Gary Phillips

This is the road to Dzakpo Village, there are some blacktop roads around but they do not go to many of the villages that we work in.
These trees are Teak trees they are about 10 years old, when they are 17 to 20 years old they will be sold for 100 Cedis (Ghanaian Money) each. I am not sure but it looks like there are about 100 of them on this particular farm.

Here is Taylor, she is holding a large leaf of some kind, I think they come from the Plantain tree which is like a banana tree. Plantains are not as sweet and usually not eaten like a banana but are cooked into a dish. We had plantain and beans the other night. It was quite good, the plantain has the consistency similar to that of a potato. Taylor thinks it is from the Teak tree, she is probably right.

This is a daily scene here, kids in school uniforms walking home from school.

Tuesday was Market Day and on Market day the market is full of vendors selling there wares. It is like going to the flea market only the aisles are very close and there are so many people buying and selling that you can barely walk. Not to mention that the market is a Labyrinth of old wooden shops. I have not had the full market experience yet, we went late in the evening after many had left. It was still quite busy, Market day is once a week and the people from all of the villages come into Ho to either sell there wares or buy what they need for the coming week.

This is a typical row of Cloth sellers, we bought material from one of these booths for a dress for Taylor.

So far I have fixed all of the broken things in the home where we are staying, I have helped put a roof on a home in Kodzobi today. Have looked at the Bible School and will be ordering material this weekend so that we can start the project next week. Tomorrow I am going to Helekpe Village to install electrical conduits in the slab of a 2 bedroom addition of another missionary home. It would be nice if my tools would get here soon, I think they are supposed to be coming tomorrow, it is hard to get a straight answer sometimes. Thanks for you continued prayer support.

Gary Phillips

An Exciting Find!

This is the view we had this morning when we got up extra early to go to Helekpe Village. The sky here is always filled with dust from the Sahara Desert this time of year, they call it Harmattan (not sure about the spelling). I am not sure if it is extra heavy today or if there is fog or even if it is just left over smoke from all of the fires last night. I loved this view so I photographed it, the giant termite mound just adds to the beauty of this image.
We went to Helekpe to see this, a Giant Pangolin or a Long Tailed Pangolin not sure which it is or if they are one in the same but when I looked it up online I found both names for the animal. They are very rare animals and all of the Ghanaian people that we ask about it say they have never ever seen one. Some men from the village of Helekpe were hunting in the bush and found this one. They caught it and brought it back so they could try to sell it. They were supposed to have a buyer and we had to be there before 9:00 a.m. to see it. We got up and left at 6:30 just to see this rare creature, it was quite cool to say the least. This is definitely Africa!



I have never even seen one of these guys in a Zoo!

This is 2 of 2 posts for today.

Gary

First Sunday in Ghana

Today we headed to church in the village of Dzakpo (pronounced Jahkpo), Marnie was driving until we got to this bridge. She didn't want to drive across it, so I got out and looked it over and decided that it might hold the car but that the people should walk across. Then I got to drive it over.
It is constructed of 3 long wood poles running across with some wood 2'X12" boards laying across them. Then as you can see they have 2"X12"x10' planks running length ways of the bridge. On the drivers side of the bridge, the lower 2x12's have broken through and are not really resting on the poles anymore many have broken. This has put all the stress on the top 2x12's and they are breaking as well.


I was a little bit nervous but as you can see we made it across, on the way back I took a vote and everyone decided we should all stay in the car and take our chances. Once again the bridge held us without falling in, all 11 of us.
The above picture is Ransom Baptist Church in Dzakpo Village, where Chad spoke about loving one another as Christ would love others.
Above is Marnie, Kelly, Taylor and the kids with a few kids from the village. Below, Chad and Ema (a village elder) translating for the congregation.
After the service I went back out to see the kids and there were a lot more village kids in the kids class now.
Kelly is greeting a lady in Ewe and everyone is laughing at her being coached by Marnie. The locals love to here the Yahvoo's (white people) try to speak Ewe.
This young man posed so nice I couldn't help but take his picture.
After the service we were invited into the village to visit Ema's family while they prepared for his Uncle's funeral.
I loved the weathered look of the buildings and this blue one stood out amongst the many unpainted huts, the dog was just an added bonus to the picture.

This is 1 of 2 posts for today,


Gary