Today was the second day of the monthly classes. I do not usually attend the classes; it is rather strange to be the only woman there but today I wanted to go to see what the guys were going to say about witches. I was hopeful that I would get a few more tid bits for my collection of cultural information. I was not disappointed. I picked up a couple proverbs. “A word to the wise is now in the “North” and not in the “South”. There is always a dispute among the Ghanaians as to which area of the country is the best. We are in the northern part of Ghana so naturally the proverb leads with the north. I am sure that the proverb is reversed if it is given in the southern part of Ghana. The other one was a little sad. Moses, the guy that gave the proverb, said that this proverb is used to try and consol the mother’s when they lose a baby. “If you give birth, you must give one back to God!” Steve was quick to let them know that they did not need to lay that at God’s doorstep.
The men enjoyed the lessons immensely! They would have discussed the topic all afternoon if time had permitted. Rita, Timothy’s wife, fixed lunch for us today. She is the one that cooks for all the classes. Today she had Banku (sour fermented corn dough balls) with a tomato based soup with little pieces of beef. It was very tasty. All the men ate their fill but no one told her thank you except me and Steve. It is not customary for the men to thank the women when they fix food for them; it is just part of their job. But if the food is late being prepared or if it does not taste just right they are quick to criticize the cook. Not only did we thank Rita out loud in front of all the men but we also put a little money in our bowl after we finished eating.
Before we left this morning we got 3 loads of clothes hung on the line. This afternoon we printed up 500 baptismal certificates. I finally figured out how to get the printer to print the card stock without making streaks. The other day when I was trying to make duplex copies I noticed that there was a choice for paper types. One of the options was heavy and very heavy paper. Bingo-Bango it worked. In the past we have only been able to make 10 clear copies at a time. We were happy today!
It is almost time for Friday evening Bible study so I will close for now. Take care and have a great day!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
