Week of August 4-10, 2025
As we were reflecting on our week, the word that kept coming to mind was “Joy”. I remember when we got set apart as missionaries, President Mecham promised and blessed us that we would have joy on our mission. We are finding that more and more the longer we are here. This week was busy and it went fast! but it was a nice change to get out of the office. We both had things at the office that were not urgent so we decided to get some needed inspections done. It is the rainy season right now and the roads were so muddy! I’m not sure how some of the missionaries get out and about, but they seem to take it all in stride. They all passed with clean apartments dispite all the mud around the aand it may help that they know that Elder and Sister Dimmick are bringing homemade brownies? Visiting with the Elders and Sisters brings us Joy, they all have such different personalities and stories.
We were able to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new medical clinic near Abakrampa that would serve the community and the surrounding villages. Our Humanitarian couple from Accra worked so hard and made some lasting connections with the “King” and people in the village. It was tucked away off the main road and such a lush and green area. It was beautiful, the people were welcoming and friendly as we walked through the village to the location of the clinic. In Ghana, they know how to celebrate! this occasion was no different. They waited to start until the King and his chiefs made a grand entrance with a little band following them. Then they had 3 different prayers given. A local woman who sang her prayer, A Muslim man gave a short but powerful prayer and a local Pastor gave a prayer. All were beautiful and it was wonderful to see that we can all be from different religions and have different beliefs but we are all Gods children. Gods name is everywhere here in Ghana, from the local casket maker to the tire shop. Scriptures on the back of taxis and tro tros. Its so good to see that God is not forgotten here. They had dances preformed by the kids from the local school. It was pretty amazing sitting there and seeing the backdrop of the jungle and traditional dancing going on. We’ve been here 9 months and we still sometimes cant believe we get to have such amazing experiences. At the end of all the speeches, most we didn’t understand. the Senior missionaries were presented with a goat! we are not sure what they ended up doing with it since they had a 4+ hour drive back to Accra. They had their son and 2 grandkids visiting from Idaho and the grandson thought having a pet goat was pretty sweet! As we were leaving we had a group of kids following behind us and this little girl sweetly grabbed my hand and we walked together through the village. I heard Kelly say “be careful” and I knew what he meant, I’m always touched when they show such unconditional love to a stranger, how do you not take a sweet child’s hand when they offer it, but it also means they would come with us if we let them. So when we were nearing the truck I tried to prepare her that we were leaving and she would need to go find her family. I’m not sure she understood because after we took a picture together (the last picture) she still stood by like she wanted to get into the truck with us, Luckily her mother (or aunt?) came from the other direction and had her come with her. These kids always steal a piece of my heart and Kelly knows it, so when he says be careful he knows it is hard for us to disappoint them when they figure out they are not going with us. We know their life is so absolutely different from the kids in the states. No video games or social media, They have to get creative with a stick and wheels, or a stick and tires. They gather with friends and family and everyone looks out for each other, “It takes a village” comes to mind often when we are out visiting or at church. We know that God is aware of each one of these kids and their families. He is aware of YOU, he is aware of us and the challenges we all face. We are so grateful for our Savior and his example. We are grateful for this opportunity and the joyful moments that we get to have. We are so grateful for the support and love we receive from home. We love you all and miss you every day.
