May 26, 2008

First, I am very emotional today, call it a mixture of reasons why I am emotional. Let me just say that I love you more than words can say ( only a mother knows ) Thank- you for beinging my family all of you, including my grandchildren. Please know that I have seen poverty and sad things for four months now, and I want you to know if possible, how really blessed you are and try not to forget it. My sweet teenagers, you are at a place in your lives where you must make many decisions right and wrong, please be careful and don't have to end up falling before you can rise. The world is a crazy place, think before you act. This is an old granny begging you to love and appreciate all your parents do for you and work with them in trying to guide you. Okay, enough heavy. We are so blessed here to be having different experiences. Being an older missionary couple has definely got it's advantages over the young Elders and Sisters.

This past week we spent three fun, fun days with the other area couples, 5 couples and Sis. Brockbank (Mission Prs. wife) and her daughter, Brenna at Cape Coast. We went to Accra Monday and did some errands and then met up with Mattinson's who were the couple we came out with, and went to lunch with them and then we spent the next two hours looking for the DHL place to mail Brenen's package, we got lost because of the crazy streets that are only one way and no street signs etc. We finally found it and went in to mail the package only to find that it would cost $l80.00 to mail a small box. Well needless to say we didn't mail it. We brought it back herre to HO, and mailed it for $40. Brenen I mailed it May 27. It will take 2 weeks they said. So see if it makes it some time around June 6. Let me know if you get it. We then went to dinner later with the other couples.

We left for Cape Coast 7:00 next morning.

l2 people and all our luggage in the mission home van. Sis . Brockbank is really a good driver and fast. We got there in three hours. The first place we went was A Forest place that gives tours. We all put on our walking shoes and started out on an hour tour.

We walked for a time up stone steps down the side of a hill. And this is in the jungle remember.

After a period of time we came to a wood , small building with a couple of benches and we sat and the guide told us that this is really the jungle, there are Elephants, boars some other kinds of animals in this area but we will not see them. We will be going on a catwalk above the forest. Don't be frightened it is very sturdy and will not fall. It will swing and sway and creek , but you will be okay. It will start out low and get higher and higher as you go. One couple starated out on it and then dad and I. I decided to get it over with. You know me, I'm afraid of heigthts. Anyway, we were glad to be first so it would not sway as bad when the others were on it. It was long, it went up over the trees and I said to Charles, Tarzan has nothing over on us. Yes it was scary, it was made of boards and rope, It went for a long distance and then there was a little wood platform that you stood on and then off again to another. There were seven of them. Finally it came to the end on a platform and you walked down by a different way. It was great. We then went to our place we were staying. It was really a nice place for Africa. There were little bungalows with two or three rooms. We all stayed in a different place on the property. We checked in and got settled and then down to the Little Resturant there, it was 3:00 and we were just having lunch-dinner. It took a long time to fix. ha ha.

We walked on the beach, it was so beautiful there and the surroundings were so pretty. It was definitley a grand experience.

Walking in the sand and picking up shells and just talking with the other couples. When it got dark we went back over to the resturant and sat out under the stars and had deseret and a program of young boys and girls dancing and the drums accompanyinng them.

Good old African entertainment. There were some really talented people . Somersaults and spinning pans on sticks and twisting bobies. It was a hour and half or more of entertaining.