Today we made the 2-hour 15-minute drive to Mulipido, where Brother Daniel Batoln lives and works. This village is located north from Yendi. The road is in very rough shape with a couple of mammoth potholes that are 3-4 feet deep. There are two bridges that have holes in them that will cause a great deal of damage to the vehicle should you not pay attention if you drop into them.
Upon our arrival we were met by several brothers sitting under a lone tree in front of Daniel’s house. We were glad to see them under the tree because we knew the sun was going to be hot today. For your information, the temperature at 3pm today at Yendi was 107 degrees F with a heat index of 114 degrees F. You can see why we like being under a tree. It wasn’t long before the services started. I asked Timothy beforehand if he would preach his lesson about the Do’s and Don’ts for church members attending funerals.
Timothy’s family will be having a celebration the weekend of April 19th for his mother and father who passed away 5 years ago. Timothy bought 2 pigs from Tamale yesterday to be used during his celebration. These pigs ranged from 2,000 Ghana Cedis ($175) to 3,500 Ghana Cedis ($300).
After services, before the question-and-answer period, we were informed that a couple from the Church wanted me to name their 1-month-old son. You know I always like this opportunity to hold little ones. Traditionally, the baby is held when named and when prayer is offered for the infant and parents. I chose the New Testament name of “Titus” because that name is not used very much in our area. The parents liked the name.
We were glad the chief of the village was present for the service. Before he left for his house Timothy and I presented the kola to him and expressed our thanks for him attending.
After talking with the chief, Timothy and I, along with several of the men from the Church, walked over to look at the church building. This is a mudball, single room building. The building needed repairs. There was a roofing sheet blown off. Upon inspection one side of the wooden anchor plate where the rafters set was eaten up by termites. The exterior wall on one end also needed some cement repair at the base of the wall. We provided money for the two pieces of lumber, 2 bags of cement, 1 roofing sheet, and some money for transporting the items to the village. The men agreed to pay the carpenter/mason for their labor.
As I was walking back to the tree where Kandie was sitting, I noticed a young boy fetching water out of a 3 feet deep hole in the ground. I had forgotten that this area around Mulipido has underground cisterns that hold water. Some of these cisterns are 6-8 feet deep. There are no covers on these holes; how would you like to be walking through a place and fall into one of these cisterns? About 50 yards away the men showed me another large pit that was supposed to be a toilet but they hit water about 3-4 feet down. These holes do not have straight sides; you can see dark cave like openings that go under the existing rock. I took some video with my phone to be able to show others what I saw.
Brother Daniel’s wife prepared Fufu with groundnut soup and chicken for our lunch. I suspected we were having chicken for lunch because I saw a young boy coming out of Daniel’s compound carrying a live chicken and a big knife. The food was very good; it did have a lot of hot pepper in it. I’m sure we will be reminded of our meal tomorrow.
Thanks so much for your support! It is deeply appreciated! Hope you have a good, safe, holiday weekend and may God bless!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
& Skeeter
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