The Worship Pool

Last night we were guessing how long worship would be today, creating a worship pool so to speak. The guesses ranged from 3.25 to 5 hours. Turns out Ghana won. The service was 5.5 hours long! We didn't bet money, instead put it all in the offering. So the house truly won today.

We also monitored the temperature during worship. At 9 AM it was 83 degrees. By the end of the service at 2:28 PM the temperature was 94 degrees. Luckily there were numerous fans to keep us from turning into puddles that would fill a worship pool.

The photo is of the new moderator of the EP Church, Rev. Francis Amenu. Alice Price and Diane Windler are seated behind him, but you can't see them in this particular shot.

Now we're packing to leave early tomorrow for a night in Accra before heading to Cape Coast.

Kente Cloth Factory

Today we visited the Kente factory where the beautiful African cloth is woven. The word Kente comes from the sound the shuttles make as they fly back and forth across the loom.

Due to technical difficulties we have been unable thus far to post our group rocking out.

Tonight we attended the farewell party for the outgoing moderator and general clerk of the EP Church. There was dancing, feasting, drinking, speeches. Bridget was part of the program.

Sunday we will attend the installation service of the new moderator and general clerk. We're sure it will be between 4-6 hours in length. You all can think of us as you leave your own Sunday services after an hour. We're six hours ahead so may still be worshiping as you leave church.

Dzemeni Market

Here we are at a very crowded market right on Lake Volta. Seth was showing some funny posters as the market swirled around us. The poster seems to be the Ghanaian version of a tabloid.

We were served a picnic lunch under the trees at the Dzemeni Clinic which was built by the Nebraska Conference UCC.

The evening brought cultural dancing. The photo of our group "rocking out" will be in the next post.

Grasscutter

In case you were wondering from the last post what grasscutter is, here's a photo.

Street Children in Ho

After lunch we visited a center for street children in Ho. The EP Church has recently taken this on as a mission project. We met with the director of the program who opens her home to the children. We met with a few of the children who, through the center, receive training and basic necessities and a chance toward education.

We are posting a photo of the presentation of the shoes we brought for them.

Dr. Klu at Kekeli

The bottom photo is of Dr. Klu who is finishing the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Ewe and will soon begin the New Testament. He is a true scholar of the church and and a font of wisdom about traditional African spirituality. This morning he gave a presentation to us and the gathering of the pastors in preparation for the induction of the new moderator.

The top photo is of our lunch which included fufu and grasscutter, a large rodent which lives in the forest. The people hunt this creature for food. The Bremen Village training farm is teaching rural farmer how to raise them for food and income. Zimmerman and Bourdain be warned, we too are up to adventuresome food.

Wli Waterfall

The tallest waterfall in western Africa located outside of Hohoe in the Volta Region. Enjoy our photos.