The MTC

Our first task here in Ghana has us focused on the missionary training center  (MTC). We are in charge of missionary health, immunizations, and health education. We can already tell that this will be one of the most rewarding parts of our mission. In these first two weeks we’ve traveled to the MTC several times, and will do so several times for each cycle of missionaries. The MTC is located in Tema (about 30 km from our flat). From what I can see, Tema as a whole is very poor. There are areas that look like refugee camps (only permanent).

Looking at Tema from the Tema highway, just down from the MTC

The MTC building itself sits next to a chapel and the complex is very nice. This is a mile or two from the above photo.

The MTC (the compound is beautiful)

Each group of missionaries comes for about three weeks, then there is a day of rest for the MTC president and his wife (President and Sister Froerer), and then a new batch missionaries start to arrive. We see them on their second day to get their immunizations started, then two other days in the first week, then on their last day. Every other batch has French and English combined. Presently there are 43 missionaries, split evenly. There are 6 sisters, and 40 elders. We have one elder here from California, one from Australia, one from New Zealand, one from Samoa, and all the rest from Africa. Most of the French speaking elders and sisters are from Cote D’Ivoire and Benin or the Congo. They will serve in Cote D’Ivoire and Benin. The rest are from Ghana, Sierra Leone, or Nigeria.

What can I say about the MTC? It’s a spiritual place. These kids love the Lord. There are a few differences we are finding between the Ghana MTC and the Provo MTC. First is the age of the missionaries. The average age I think is about 23 for the elders and and may be higher for the sisters (I've been told there are no age limits for sisters so you may see them into their 30's). These kids are a bit more mature. They really have sacrificed. For most, they have worked years just to save the money for their passports and yellow fever immunizations. Before the mission call, most have never before had immunizations.  When we teach, we teach basics…I really mean basics. We teach them how to use the bathroom. (Som elders, for example have to be given explicit directions on how to use the toilets and the toilet paper.) Hand washing! We had our lecture today and  then had a run on soap from the dispensary. Let me tell you, these elders are SO grateful for everything we teach and do. They hate shots and they love shots. We’ve had to develop a little “lesson” on how to get shots, and after we did this, things seemed a whole lot better. We now have a contest with them to see who can make the best face and who can make the worst face while they are getting the shot, then take their picture. It’s a terrific distraction; plus it’s fun for us to review the pictures at night.

Our favorite missionary from our first batch hamming it up for the camera!

One of our tips is not to look at the needle.

Glad to have the last round of shots over with!

You can tell the French speaking elders by their headphones

Since our French is too rusty, we are using a translator

Last night, while we were going over pictures we kept seeing one elders big broad happy smile in a few too many pictures. We figured out afterwards that he had went through the line twice—I guess we won’t worry so much about him and hepatitis B (he’s now double immune).

These elders are SOO happy to be here. A while ago, one elder arrived a day late with a huge smile on his face. He was caked in mud and his bag was in shambles. The ‘bus’ that he was in was hijacked, stripped clean, and all the people were thrown out into the mud. The bags were all emptied into the mud. So when he finally made it he was a mess but he didn’t miss a beat, he was as happy and grateful to be there as any.

As usual, Sister Fife in the middle of things

Many arrive with one not enough clothes. Getting clothes here is a bit of a problem—you can’t  ship anything here—no packages as they just won’t make it. So projects from the states (collecting clothes and such), haven’t really been successful unless someone brings them over in the bags on the plane.

Showing off their "war wounds"

Now for malaria. This is one of my problems. We’ve treated far too many missionaries for malaria these last few weeks, especially in the Accra and Cape Coast missions (both here in Ghanna). The problem as I see it, is that it’s far too common of an experience. The mission presidents really do have other weightier matters to deal with, so the push for the elders to take their prophylactic doxycycline is not a priority. Mosquito nets here are a must! But we are far too lax. Its more common than the cold, and the medications (Coartem) works really well if you treat fast. So rather than emphasize netting and doxy, it becomes easier to just say, well we will just treat it when it comes. So this is becoming my battle. It was just a few months ago they treated a case of cerebral malaria (brain infected) and we could seriously loose an missionary if we become too lax. Almost all of our African missionaries have lived around malaria their whole lives, and have had it several times—so you can see it is extremely difficult to get these guys to use their nets and take their doxy.

Typical Missionary Apartment in Accra Mission

Water. What can I say. There is NO clean tap water in any country that we are in here in west Africa. So this is a major problem. Each missionary carries a filter bottle that the church provides—these are extremely effective and since started, our disease rates have dropped in half. Funny story. They had an elder this last month here in the Accra Mission, but serving in one of the villages up north. Anyway, he was really thirsty and didn’t have his water filter—so he just found a mud puddle and decided to have a little drink. He of course became sick and had to be treated. He said that since he was a missionary on the Lords errand, God would protect him. I know the Lord does protect his missionaries, but as his mission president put it, he doesn’t protect you when you do stupid things—so use some common sense!

Food. No food is clean. We teach missionaries the mantra—cook it, peel it, boil it or forget it. I deal with missionaries daily for “runny tummies”. This is a problem. One elder, I treated for Typhoid fever last week after a group of elders all got sick after eating at an investigators home. This is very common.  It’s sad. My advice is not to eat at homes or huts, but this is like asking an elder not to shake hands—it’s so ingrained in what they do. An elder will eat anywhere and anything and shake hands with anything that moves!

Sanitizing the fruit (bleach water in the sink)

Every missionary has malaria medication on their person. Each mission home is stocked with cipro for infectious diarrhea.

Upon entrance to the MTC, all the African elders gets “dewormed” with medications, and they are extremely grateful—because they feel so good without their intestinal worms. I’ll say no more on this subject for now, except to say that they we all will be dewormed when we leave because most of us will need it!

We also have the opportunity to serve in the temple about twice a week. We hope to attend with a group of missionaries through the temple on Thursday. This is a difference—in the states, most elders have been endowed in the temple before they came. Here they take them through after a quick temple prep class at the MTC. This is for many the only time in their lives they will be able to attend the temple, there  being only two temples in west Africa. We love this opportunity.

I took this photo from inside the stake center

Looking forward to the challenges of a new week. We have two more visits scheduled at the MTC. We are preparing for the new mission presidents and hope to travel to the Cape Coast Mission sometime next week.

...Elder and Sister Fife