Accra Ghana Temple

Temple #105

Accra, Ghana

March 9, 2019

    Ghana! This country quickly became one of our favorites but not because of the scenery, the buildings, food or any of what makes many countries great, but because of the people. The people there are what made this one of our favorite countries we have been to.

    We signed up a year earlier to volunteer at an orphanage in Ghana called Ghana Make A Difference. It’s a wonderful program that helps orphans and struggling children by giving them love and shelter. It’s somewhat of a rehabilitation center as well since many of the children have been through extremely tough situations.

    We were only going to go to Ghana for two weeks at first but while buying flights we felt inspired to go a week earlier and be there for three weeks. We were so glad we did this because the temple was closed for the two last weeks we were there. And that first Saturday we were there, the only day we could do the temple, was the Branch Temple trip! We were so excited to go!

    We first woke up at 5:30 to leave to the temple at 6:00. Any child 12 and older was allowed to go even if they weren’t members. They were all ready on time it was impressive, but the director and his wife forgot we were going so slept in. We didn’t leave until 7:00. We all climbed into the bus they have there, which has 26 seats, and we had 43 people. Saying we squished is an understatement. It was fun though as we were all crammed heading to the temple. Isaac, the bus driver, played Church music the entire time there and back it was great. The other branch members took other vehicles and squished in them as well.

    We stopped a few times to first get four loaves of bread, and then we got some yogurt packages for breakfast, it was good. The traffic wasn’t too bad on the way there until we got to Accra. Accra is a crazy city with so many people just crammed together. The bus ride then felt roomy compared to Accra. The traffic was bad but Isaac did great.

    We were driving through tight neighborhoods and wild streets and suddenly we were at the temple! We could see Angel Moroni standing high and proud on the steeple from a few blocks away. Everyone was so excited to get there even the smaller kids (there were some younger ones there who were children of the adults who went). They were excited because the building next to the temple where people waited, or ate or played, had a playground, a tv and air conditioning.

    The entire temple compound is about 5 acres and has a few buildings on it. There’s the distribution center, some offices, the temple, temple housing and a really nice two story church building. The grounds were covered in pretty flowers and different types of palm trees. The temple is somewhat of a small temple, yet a little larger than the standard small temple, being similar to the Monterrey Temple in Mexico.

   The rest of the day seemed a little wild. Today was the last day for the temple to be opened for about three weeks and so it was crowded. There were so many people there and we brought a ton as well, along with the rest of our branch, with the total of our branch easily being over 70 people. We were scheduled to be there no later than 8:30, and we got there at 9:30. Because of this we had to wait for all the other youth groups to go in and do baptisms, and the temple closed around 2:30, with the last session being at 12:30.

    Unfortunately for us the sessions were pretty much all booked. So we went in to do initiatories instead. We got in there and I was about to do an initiatory and a man came and grabbed me and said my wife wanted to speak to me. Ivy wanted to talk to me, and luckily I’m easy to spot within the temple (because I’m so white compared to everyone else). I went and talked to Ivy and the women’s initiatories was too busy for them and so we planned to just help with baptisms later around 11.

    We went outside and with some of the boys from GMAD we were there with, we took pictures in front of the temple. It was a blast and we really enjoyed it, but it was hot and humid causing us to sweat immensely.

    We then went into the building next door and upstairs where there was a dining room and two kitchens so people could cook and prepare their own meals. We sat down and ate some sweet bread and they gave me a type of drink called cocoa. It didn’t taste like hot cocoa. It was sweet but with ginger and some other different spices, and not one ounce of cocoa. It was warm, but it was pretty good, yet it was thick like pudding and you’re supposed to drink it Ivy didn’t like the texture but I didn’t mind it.

    After waiting a while we then went to do baptisms. Ivy and I wanted to go into the Celestial room first just to go see it, and so we went to change and go in. I went to go in and an old man said I can’t unless I'm dressed in the robes. So I went and changed and went in and waited. It was beautiful as any Celestial room is. It was really tall and all the wood was mahogany. The stained glass was colored brighter colors like purple, green and yellow and had designs in it which reminded me a lot of African styles. The designs used throughout the entire temple reminded me of African designs and styles which was neat to see. The room was also full of patrons who were all praying or meditating, some even getting great sleep.

    I waited for quite a while until Ivy finally showed up from the men’s side of the room, not wearing robes as I was. Apparently they wouldn’t let her into the Celestial room without doing an ordinance in the temple first. Ivy knew that she could go in, as we have done in many places and back home in Utah because of lack of time. So she found a temple worker from Utah (which there are a few within the temple), and asked her if she could go into the Celestial room. She of course said yes and directed her to the Celestial room. Finally she showed up!

    We sat there for a while and enjoyed the beauty of the room and the people there. It’s amazing how when we go to other countries the temples are always so crowded; it’s wonderful! And for these people, where electricity and indoor plumbing are luxuries, I can only imagine how it feels to walk into the air conditioned temple with all of its beauty inside.

    We then went and helped the youth and their leaders with baptisms. We helped with confirmations first. During confirmations one of the workers asked a girl if she was a boy or not. He checked her ears to see if they were pierced to see if she really was a girl. It’s funny but so true because many of the younger girls look like boys and boys like girls because they’re so similar.

    We then went and watched the people do baptisms. It was so neat as it was the first time for many of the kids and even for Anita, the cook at GMAD, and also Abu’s wife. Abu is one of the groundskeepers who I work with a lot. He baptized some of the kids and it was his first time baptizing so that was neat to see as well as he had a large smile the entire time, although he was nervous. It was fun to see how the Church is so young here and all these people are still learning, and yet it makes them all so happy!

    Ivy and I decided to go do initiatories while all the kids were getting baptized. There were a lot of youth and we were just watching so we did initiatories. It was still busy but not as bad as before. I went in and did two names and then they were done for the day. I then went and watched the other people get baptized. I waited forever before Ivy finally came out, and she was laughing! We went outside and she told me why she was laughing.

    She went in to do initiatories and the worker who told her she couldn’t go into the Celestial room saw her and got mad. She pulled Ivy aside and said she shouldn’t do that, even if the other worker said she could. She then slapped Ivy on the hand! She did about three times while talking to her! She put Ivy at the back of the line for Initiatories and made her wait. It’s so funny the culture differences because in Utah the workers are hardly able to tell the patrons what to do or else the patrons get offended or mad. America is a little backwards in a lot of ways, but at least we’ve never been slapped!

    We then went back to the cafeteria and met with the entire branch. They served us kenkey with some spices, sauce and some fried minnows. Kenkey is a sticky dough made from corn that is similar to the outside of a tómale, but uncooked. We had to eat it the Ghanaian way so we used just our hands. First we would grab a small ball of Kenkey, then dip it in the spicy sauce, and then eat it with some of the fried minnow fish. Well, let’s say it tasted better than it looked, but still wasn’t the best, but wasn’t too bad at the same time. The people were all proud we ate it and were entertained as we did.

    After lunch we all hopped into the van and off home we went! Oh and I can’t forget, even Eric, the 22 year old who’s in a wheelchair, came! He just sat outside the temple and stared at the building. He loves the temple even though he couldn’t go inside.

    On the way back the bus began to have some issues. The brakes were overheating and smelled bad and we didn’t know why. Eventually the front right brake began to seize up and the van didn’t drive well. So we pulled over into a filthy dirt street and all got out of the van. The entire street was mechanics, but not like ours back home. Not sure what they all did but only one guy could help us. He didn’t even fix it all the way, just temporarily.

    While waiting, we were all sitting by these small mechanic shops on the streets. One of the kids, Moroni who is maybe 11, began talking to three guys about the church. They became interested so I showed them a picture of the temple. They then wanted to go so one member gave them the missionaries’ phone number. It was neat and I always wonder if things like the broken down van happen just so we were able to talk to the three mechanics. You never know.

    The van finally go fixed and it only cost 60 cedis to get it fixed, so about $11. I had to pay for it because no one had enough money with them. That’s nothing compared to our mechanics I felt like, although it was only a temporary fix to get us home. Luckily enough we were blessed and we made it home! We then ate dinner and got ready for bed.

    Ivy got Mary and Mercy, two adorable girls 3 and 5, ready for bed. After writing down about our eventful day we took our cold showers, which feel good in the heat, and then went to bed. It was a great, spiritual day. The members made it a great experience and we wouldn’t trade experiences like this for anything!