By the Records Ye Shall Be Judged...

Only honest to goodness, died in the wool Ward Clerks will recognize this form. But for the rest of us who never passed the test of 'book learnin' sufficient to get into the side office and serve in those callings where you have to be able to read in order to get called, the above form, I've been instructed is a copy of our membership record, one of which is 'inside' the churches computer for each and every member - all 12,000,000 of us - amazing for those of us who grew up on Royal Typewriters and then graduated to White Out and when a 'correctokey' came along we thought we had died and gone to heaven...

Ok, now you are up to speed on Records. We get one of these forms (above) for each of our missionaries to verify their records. The above copy is the exact record for Elder Timothee Dimbu Pikazio of the DRCongo. We discovered by reading his record that he has already DECEASED because it says "Deceased Member Records" and that means he has been reported and recorded on the records of the church (by which we will be judged) that he is Kaput, Finished.

Now, that is serious to us because we were expecting him at the MTC this week and we even thought we had seen him. But, that can't be possible because his records says he is 'deceased'. So we went back and checked our camera and sure enough we found his picture to be blank (see below)...

(Above) An Actual "Real Life" photograph of Elder Timothee Dimbu Pikazio from The Congo as he entered the MTC.

Elder Timothee Dimbu Pikazio - following the Miracle of the MTC.

You will be happy to know that this fine French speaking Elder has, Like Unto Lazarus been brought back from the 'DECEASED FILE' and is walking the halls of the MTC as if he had never been dead. This place is amazing. If Brigham Young would have come here first - before he went to Salt Lake - he would have stood at the door and said "THIS IS THE PLACE"... (Can someone please reverse the notation about this dead Elder - it doesn't look good on his - or our - record.) Editor Note: If he was going on a temple mission then it wouldn't be so bad if he were dead cus that's what they do all day is work with the dead, but here at the MTC our work is with the living and people that do this work must be very much alive - so please change his record to say "Very Much Alive" - Besides he is not even a High Priest yet and they are the ones the Ward Clerks often mistake for dead.

Like Unto Moroni or Like Unto Pele?

DECISION TIME! Elder Uriah Mensah Asante of Accra Ghana going to serve in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission had to make a more difficult decision than most. A star player for a Ghanaian national football club, he had a very bright future as a rising star and future football hero - a dream of nearly every young man from the time he kicks his first ball. He, with his mothers help, finally makes his decision and arrived at the MTC this week along with twenty seven other future church and community leaders. He put his mission ahead of his football ambitions.
With his valiant mum and a brother he arrives at the MTC. In his own words we share part of his story. "My family joined the church in 1985. My dad became the branch President and all of us were being raised in the church with a wonderful family, but then when I was eleven something happened. My dad was released as Branch President and he changed all of a sudden. He stopped going to church. We did all we could for him but things kept getting worse for him. He eventually left home, divorced my mum and I have never seen him since that day. You can imagine how we all felt. Things became very difficult for us. My mum did not earn much from her job and things got hard. My mum has been so very supportive, loving and caring in all things. In fact, she has made my dreams come true by helping me get to the MTC, she is so wonderful and I love her so much.

My mission was a very difficult decision, even though I had decided to go as a little boy. The missionary who baptized me made me to undestand the importance of missionary work. But when I was growing up and discovered a talent for football my thoughts also started changing. I then started thinking that school, football and money to help my mum were more important. I stopped planning for mission because I was gaining fame and money in Ghana Football. But, my mum sat me down and said to me that in everything we do we need to put God first and other things will follow. I was touched by what my mum said to me and here I am anxious to serve the Lord. 'When you do the Lord's work you will receive the Lord's pay'."

Nigerian watches are loaded up with sin...

THIS IS A NIGERIAN WATCH - WATCH OUT FOR IT FOR IT HAS BEEN PROVEN SINFUL... Now let me introduce you to a Ghanian watch...
This is a Ghanian Watch, we are reluctant to consider it also sinful, but apparently it is...let me share what happened today that provides the proof of the wretched state of these two messengers of timeless misery...
These two lovely sisters were involved in a terrible plot of sinister activity this morning but apparently 'the devil really did make them do it' or at least his watch did. During our lesson on Taking Control of our Life by Taking Control of our Time (the lesson material for this lesson I 'borrowed' from one of my past lives and with this powerful material I train the missionaries and only charge them a small percentage of what we used to charge our Franklin customers - a real bargain for them and some pocket change for me and the wife) but, anyway that's not the point of this entertaining learning experience. To spice up the teaching I asked by show of hands those who had not gone to bed on time last night. Three of twenty eight raised their hands (11% for you non-math majors - way better than church average, but not perfection which we shoot for in the MTC). Now we had some people to use as bad examples and point at and mock and all the stuff that humans do to belittle those that have sinned worse than we have. Our only three sisters were enjoying the tongue in cheek lesson being taught as much as anyone - including some snickering about 'those' three sinners - 'sinners', who by the way, were taking this self control - time management training - in good spirits as it was intended - (but none were missing the messages that were becoming very obvious such as when three 'decide to break even a LITTLE commandment' it takes the opportunity for the unity that could have made us into another Army of Helaman to go away.) But,anyway, right in the middle of a good snickering 'mock' by the sisters I asked if anyone had come to breakfast late (knowing they had arrived twenty minutes late and they knew I knew, but had forgotten I knew, or did not see it as the same 'little sin' as going to bed twenty minutes late). The three sisters put their guilty hands up and looked at each other realising the 'mocking' was now going to be coming in their direction. They immediately began back peddling and finally the Nigerian Sister (the three Sisters are from Nigeria, Ghana and the Congo) finally got a smile on her face and in her defense she said, "We don't have a clock in our room!" I quickly looked down at her and then at her other two companions, each of which had a semi-fancy watch on their pretty wrists and I quickly responded with, "What are these?" holding up the Nigerian Sisters watch for all to see (everyone was besides themselves by now) and then she said - just as quickly to me and her mockers - "This is a Nigerian Watch!"

It's now up to you to decide: Are the Sisters Guilty of a 'crime' or did the devil and his watches make them do it???

Sister Ritchie - The MTC Mom who wears many hats...

Mission Mom and Mission President's Companion - this is what she assumed was her role, little did she know how many hats she was eventually going to wear before her tour of duty was over.
Wife and Domestic Relations Chief - each item has to 'jigged' before she feeds it to her 'family' - (me) Thank goodness we usually eat with the missionaries and only have to fix breakfast and the few days inbetween missionaries.
Grandma and Friend to the MTC Staff
Office Manager - There is an incredible amount of office work that needs to be done and nearly all of it is hidden in the computer. She did not come to Africa with a whole suitcase full of computer skills but has 'dug in' and has become quite the computer 'expert'. She's always been creative but now she does it with a machine and in color.
Mail Room Administrator - these letters all need to be sent to those coming the MTC to tell them how many pairs of underwear to bring (ok, it also tells a lot of other more special things but that just came to my mind).
Teacher Extraordinare - Here Thomas and Sister Marsh are being used as an object lesson on following Counsel - Lesson: "Read and Follow the White Handbook and all other mission Rules and you won't end up like the Marsh's"
"This is Africa's Day" - Her concluding lesson to the Missionaries shares how the Stone has been rolling forth and now it is Africa's Day and 'you' have been foreordained to be here at this special time to 'push the stone'...
Medical Director - Under Dr. Merrill's direction she nurses them, de-worms them, medicates them, counsels them, teaches them, warns them, exhorts them and even occasionally scolds them (she's not very good at that one, but once in a while they need it - and it's her 'job'...)
Polio will not be a problem with any of our 'graduates'...
She's the Temple Coordinator - each cycle she gets every missionary measured, and prepared for their two trips to the temple including making sure the Temple knows who's coming, when and how many...it's like a well greased machine and the Temple and Distribution Center people love her. Here she is showing off her favorite West African Temple to her favorite youngest son and his favorite bride, Jonathan and Eliza.
MTC Musical Director - here she is at the Piano, where she has spent a lot of time since Sister Steven's left last November. Sister Stewart out of Arizona is leading the hymn.

New Survey - Tema MTC voted #6

WE have been 'voted' (purely independent survey) as the Number 6 most Internationally represented location on earth - we were beat out by 1) The United Nations 2) BYU 3) Provo MTC 4) Panguitch 5) Disneyland - and then us...(from our numbers it looked like Disneyland barely beat us out...) Ok, so the survey has holes all through it but we are pretty proud of our International flavor...take for example this group, we are only 28 in number but we come from nine countries, pretty good, we think, for a little port city stuck off in subsaharan Africa - after all who ever heard of Tema until the MTC came along? Now, be honest... (wonder if Gallop is interested in our numbers?)

Nine missionaries, nine passports from nine International Countries. DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Madagascar and the United States. (The cute blonde is already spoken for.) We have also had missionaries here from Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Congo, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Reunion, Mauritius, France, Switzerland, Sweden, England, and Greece. We think that is nearly all the countries in the world except Iraq and Afganistan and George won't let them come or we bet they would choose to come here too.

"President, I'm Reporting for Duty"

Elder Fenuku reporting for duty - 6:06 am - September 26, 2005

Elder Fenuku from the Accra Ghana Lartebiokorshie stake takes the world record for being 'prompt' on his arrival at the MTC. We struggle each cycle to get the missionaries coming from Ghana to come early and do everything except bribe them to be at the MTC before 10:00 am. They are getting better and recently a few have actually been here before this desired time. But, Elder Fenuku takes the record for making sure he is not late. Early Monday morning, the planned day of arrival, Carolyn was getting ready and I was working the emails when the MTC door bell rang. It's only six o'clock in the morning and that early ring usually is the signal that a cook has arrived and he has forgotten his key so I went to the window preparing to drop the keys out the window to him, but low and behold standing at the door - at 6:06 am was Elder Fenuku, harboring a huge smile and making it obvious he was here to go to work. Just to contrast this early bird story with another one on the opposite end of the Proactivity scale, at nearly 3:00pm the last missionary from Ghana arrived - a sister who lives only 20 minutes away and arrived five hours late and nine hours after Elder Fenuku. We love them both but I know who is going to be asked to deliver the 'Message for Garcia', when someone is needed who is totally reliable.

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION

The Gunnell's and The Ghana Temple

The Temple has provided us and our missionaries some of our greatest moments and memories. Dedicated January 11, 2004, just days before we arrived in Ghana. We were privileged to escort the first missionaries from the MTC to the Temple.
Some of the 600 plus missionaries we have accompanied to the temple during thir stay at the MTC. We attend the temple on two different days during each cycle and it is always an historic moment. Following the temple, when evereyone at the MTC has been endowed the spiritual strength is felt within the MTC walls - they are no longer Young Adults going on a mission but they become the Lord's Ambassadors endowed with His Power and Authority. They truly are transformed into Helaman's Mighty Army.
President and Sister Gunnell, Grant and Alice, the Temple President and Matron opened the temple in January 2004 and assisted President Hinckley in the dedication. President Gunnell is approaching his 80th year and Sister Gunnell is MUCH younger. They are here on their 2nd three year tour of duty having served a mission in Nigeria before having it extended into a call to serve as Mission President in Accra during the 90's. They accepted their present assignment, coming out of retirement from a life of golf and other leisures, while they were living in Mesa, the land of their origin, but they had just come home from many business and church service years in the Greater Sacramento Area where he also served as Stake President.
Jonathan and Eliza Ritchie had the privilege of having a photo moment with the famous President and Matron during their five day 'drop in' visit to Ghana. This was part of their honeymoon package which - in one year - included trips to Hawaii, Wolf Creek, Caribbean Cruise, New York (two times), Disneyland and finally an African Adventure - they often have felt like deprived children with the lack of cultrue and travel in their life, but they are planning to be successful enough in life so they can retire to a life of 'real' travel - instead of these one and two week 'mini-vacations. (ha)
Some Sunday guests at the MTC were the Gunnells, Elder and Sister Derl Walker from North Carolina and Elder and Sister Jim Stevens, a counselor here in the MTC. The Walkers represent everything that is good about being converts to the church and then dedicating their life to the Lord. The Steven's were serving their fouth mission together, having served as Mission President in Switzerland, Public Affairs in Euorpe and a tour of duty to the Jerusalem Center in Israel. He had earlier broken in his missionary skills in Brazil as a youngster. A man of many languages and she a much accomplished organist.
Dinner with the Gunnells and Elder and Sister Conrad and Carolyn Shultz of the Area Presidency during the Mission President's Conference in downtown Accra. Dinner at the famous two star hotel - the Novotel - complete with pictures of animals on the walls - the next best thing to a real African Safari. I jest in fun having made such a big point about the fact that the Africa Southeast Area has had their last two Mission President's seminars at Victoria Falls in Zambia and Cape Town, South Africa - both world famous holiday resorts - especially when compared to 'downtown Accra'... again, all done in good fun...sob sob...

We have had many wonderful wedding memories at the Accra Temple. Pictured above are two of our favorite people, Issac and Hannah Morrison following their sealing ceremony. He was one of our best teachers and she has been part of the famous Kitchen crew since our arrival. Both are return missionaries. They will make us grandparents in January about the time we leave for home. Many other friends, instructors and staff have also taken advantage of the temple to seal their marriage vows and create eternal families. We will always have some special memories of those moments.

Nacho Supremes, Brownies with Ice Cream and Elder and Sister Hales

WE really look forward to our 'food break' every three weeks and one of our favorites has been going to Champs for their Nacho Supreme platter which we split. This time they were out of Glacomole and it just wasn't quite up to snuff, but the company was high quality - Thane and Joan Hales, Area Directors of Public Affairs out of Ogden, Utah

Four September Birthdays

Rob "Allen" Dotson Heywood - September 4th

Rob at one of his 'finer moments' - he really wanted to be born in the South Pacific where he could do the Huka and play Rugby with the All Blacks.Charles Cyrus Clawson II- September 24

Charles was never one to have stage freight, in fact, never to be outdone, he is debating whether he ought to climb the Palm Tree just to 'show his stuff.

Paul William Ritchie September 26 Here he is in Hawaii with his most favorite people. Good thing Angela likes boys - she grew up with all boys and now she's raising her own 'batch'.
Eliza Jane Evensen Ritchie September 28

She took our 'baby', Jonathan, off the street and made him an even happier man...

Group 24 Sept. 5 2005, 'Bonus Moments'

Journal Night - they have two hours near the end of their Garden of Eden to put their MTC Journals together including Indexing, gluing, Posting and Cutting - it makes for an exciting record and history of their days with us. See Sister Ritchie in her 'element'. No body has kept a better written history of her missions than she has. If we are to be judged by our records and written history she will be walking in at the head of her class.
Elder Hale (also an Oral Surgeon) assisted with some medical needs during their weekend with us. Here three 'patients' are pointing to their 'war wounds'...one arm, one buttock and one 'pain in the neck'...
"Oh how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bringeth good tidings" - These are the feet of these powerful missionaries while they were at the temple site...
Travel documents need to be filled out before they can head for the airport...
Some are better at tying Ties than others - maybe that's why the Lord intended for each of us to have a companion...

Good Times, Bad Times, Both Beautiful Memories...

Jackson at Dodger Stadium with his ever loyal Dodger fan father...this was Ryan's favorite outing when he was growing up and he couldn't wait to share it with his own sons...it doesn't get better than this...They surely will have Dodger Dogs in Heaven or how could it be Heaven...???
Jackson and Madison at their very 'best' - enjoying their snack - not quite like Jessica intended but it does save time from having to reach into the sack for each bite...and they taste better when you can pick them up with your toes...

The River Ridge II Beehive Girls

On November 1, 2004, over ten months ago, ten Beehive girls from the South Jordon River Ridge 2nd Ward (South Jordan, Utah) gathered hundred of ties, packaged them into a wonderful box, paid over $40 US postage and mailed them to the Ghana MTC for the use of missionaries who sometimes arrive with only the tie wrapped around their neck. Today, September 15, 2005 – as already noted, over ten month later - they arrived at the Tema Ghana Post office and after signing all the official documents and paying $9 duty we were the proud owners of this box of King Benjamin gifts.

As I joked with a postal customs man (a man I have become friendly with over the past two years) he commented, “They sent it ‘regular’ mail”. I (and he was close to breaking out as well) nearly died laughing about the reason he gave for having taking 320 days to come by ‘regular’ mail. I shared with this good man that the first missionaries who came to Africa in 1852 took 220 days to get here – and they walked and swam – all the way.

This package took exactly 100 extra days, 320 days in 2005 the year that 40,000,000 trillion messages passed each other and traveled around the world since I started writing this message, a day and age when the space station passes by Africa every hour as it completes it full round tripper around the earth, a day when it takes 25 hours to fly from SLC to Accra on economy class airplanes (it takes just a few seconds less to come Business Class). 320 days!!! These ties nearly had an anniversary while they traveled ‘regular’ mail from South Jordon to Ghana. AS I signed the forms they wanted signed and certified to prove they had delivered them, again it was a near hysterical moment to see the paper flow they needed to prove they had taken such good care of the $41 these young sisters had paid to ensure that our missionaries got an extra tie for their mission – since they sent the ties, over 300 missionaries have come and gone, nearly as many days this box spent on the water – ‘regular’ water.

The famous Box - notice how ripped up it is, the customs officer took his knife to it to see how much ‘duty’ he could extract from me ($9), before – he told me it was coming up for a birthday under their watchful eye.

Notice the date of 11-1-04, the date Sister Burgon mailed their ‘care’ package, ‘regular’ mail - guaranteed to be delivered in under one year...unconditional guarantee...no rain, sleet, hail, or hurricanes could stop this delivery...

The ten Beehives along with the letter from their leader, Liz Burgon after they did their part to be able to meet King Benjamin with a good record - well they get the service points and the Ghana Postal Service gets another award...but I can assure you the paper work has been properly signed and filed in the fireproof vault in case any one wants to question their efficiency. I love it...and it is healthy to laugh...Thanks girls...we will put the ties around some wonderful necks and send them out to serve.

Now, if someone knows The River Ridge girls, would you give them a call (they didn’t give us an email address) and please tell them thank you. Tell them we have sent a note through the mail to thank them but if the delivery service is ‘normal’ those kids will all be changing diapers on their own children before they even know we got their package.

The Tema Walmart

Find here Tema, Ghana's "Wal-Mart" a.k.a. Success Bookstore. This thriving retail outlet has a secret to success ... customer service a.k.a., the bosses daughter, Christine. There is a slight chance Christine has the job due to nepotism, and if she were not related she would likely not get the job.

We have worked very hard to teach Christine to smile at us and then we explain that the reason she ought to do that is because we are what’s called a ‘customer’ and customers like to go back to places where they are treated special. We’ve even trained her to say to us after we have told her what we want, and then when we have pointed it out to her on the shelf, and then assisted her in counting out the fifty we need, and then helping her hand write an invoice, and then suggested she might want to put them in a box for us and then we smile at her and say to her, “Now is the time you put on that great big smile and say to us, ‘Could you use some white board markers or some laminating paper or some more glue or anything else?’”

At this point, Christine finally smiles and is probably thinking that surely this customer has ‘lost it’ and maybe he will go to some other ‘Success Book Store’ next time and not come here with his big order and interrupt my quiet time.
Some of our shopping experiences are ‘marketing’ marvels - a marvel they ever move any merchandise when the service is so devoid of any emotion or expression of cheerfulness or gratitude – or even any form of salesmanship. But, we have become her friend and she knows who we are and she keeps promising to come to church but she says it in the same ‘positive’ spirit in which she also tells us – not with words, because never more than three word sentences (usually one word is enough) ever pass her lips - but with her eyes she will say, “I don’t have a clue what you are talking about.”

But we love Christine who is the bosses daughter and he probably loves her too and that will probably give her job security and you know what? We will go back again and again because Success Bookstore is the only Wal-Mart in our neighborhood and it is fun to go back and just work hard to get her to smile and maybe some day before we go home she might say, “Anything else?” and if she does we will know all our training has been worth it - maybe she might even drop in at church sometime. Then she could see how powerful it is – and fun – to see a whole church full of big cheesy smiling missionaries who really know how to ‘market’ their product. Christine, the bosses daughter (with her new found smile) and Sam who is still in Customer Service Training. He’s new and we haven’t yet enrolled him in the ‘Attitude Determines your Altitude’ class. With his powerful sales presence we think he is a prime candidate for Wal-Mart Associate of the Month Award.
What do you think? Should we bring him home?

And May the Best Man Win

Issac, our most aggressive and ambitious security man (left) and his mate practice their game on our MTC field early some mornings. They always start their extremely rigorous routine with a word of prayer - they are not members, yet - but often around 5 am I will look out the window in time to catch them in pray (I had them stage this one so I could record the memory) but it is always impressive to me to see their humity. Issac works six night shifts of 12 hours each (six pm to six am) and then will usually have a day job (he was the hardest worker and most frequent on our cement parking lot replacement - all pick and shovel work, he never quit for hours and hours at a time). He plays on Ghana's national soccer team as well. Their exercise routine makes me tired just watching and it lasts for nearly two hours before they begin to actually kick the ball. At one point after running, jumping and doing every imaginable strenuous exercise they go into a squat and rabbit hop from a total squat the entire length of the pitch. I can't even squat let along get up and certainly couldn't get a jump out of the move...Wow...Can't wait for the Resurrection.
They finally start kicking the ball with amazing skills and agility after their two hour workout - hardly broke a sweat...I'd have to have had Olpin/Hoopes pick me up over an hour ago...(Our Morticians for you non Heberites)

Baptism for Grandma and Grandpa

President Gay of the Ghana Accra Mission with a host of new converts on their first trip to the temple to start their 'missionary' work for their deceased relatives. These are all from one mission district. A terrific method of building testimonies and assist in Retention.

Slow Construction in Tema

This apartment building has been under construction - without any obvious progress - for the two years we have been here - they build until the money is gone and then they sit and wait for the next ship to come in. It has been slow in getting here.