Did I tell you that there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Tamale? Well there is; we are coming up in the world! We tried it out and it was excellent; they even had French fries that made Steve very happy. They also serve fried rice with peas and carrots. Rather strange but Ghanaians love rice so they are catering to their taste. The sign is the same with a picture of Colonal Sanders; the sign has a big red and white bucket of chicken on it. It actually made me a little homesick.
Today is my brother Buz’s birthday; he is the one that is struggling with ALS. My sister Cathy and her husband Charlie went out to Texas to spend his birthday with him. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.
Mr. Iddrisu could not come to work today because today is the day that they are going to bring his sister’s funeral back to his house. They take the funeral to the parent’s village, then to the spouse’s village and then back home. I asked Zorash how they take a funeral to another village when there is no body to weep over or dance for. She said that they put the white cloth that the body was wrapped in before the burial in a large calabash (gourd) bowl. They then carry the calabash to the various villages and perform the funeral there. Zorash said that before they bury the person they remove the cloth. She said that the cloth is a family cloth and others that die in the family can use the same cloth. When a person grows old they make sure to have a burial cloth and calabash on hand.
We went to Tamale today and had success on all fronts. It is seldom that we go and are able to get everything done. It took us a long time at the bank because the tellers were new and did not know us or how to process the 2 signature check we presented them. They thought that Steve was trying to cash the check by himself without the second signature. Hello, I was sitting right there! After much to-doo about nothing they made Steve sign the check a 4th time and then they gave us the money. Today the bank did not have any 50 cedi notes nor did they have any 2 cedi notes or 1 cedi notes. They only had a few 5 Cedi notes and they had no coins. Can you imagine if you went to your bank and asked for 1 dollar bills or quarters they would tell you that they had none?
We went to see the lawyer and he said that the Child Center should not have to file income tax because it makes no income; it is funded by charitable donations and operates like a church. He is going to double check and make sure that things have not changed and then he will write a letter for us to turn into the IRS.
We got back to the mission house shortly after 5:00. Steve is vacuuming out the truck. It was hot again today with a high of 112 degrees.
Keep praying for us!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
P.S. We just finished talking with Red via cell phone and he has been struggling to get to Tamale all day because Paul’s pickup is using water and overheating. He said he may have to spend the night on the road and try to get to Tamale tomorrow.
