The Hirschi Family

Today I’ll give a glimpse of some of the many sides of Accra Ghana we have seen. Not much grass here except for in front of the temple. Many roadside stands though and goats and chickens.  This lady wasn’t too excited to have a cow visit her stand.  Many live in little huts of cinderblock walls and tin roofs.  So much is carried on their heads.  Away from the city is called the bush.  I find it quite beautiful.  This particular road was on our way to an orphanage I went with some amazing sisters (Area Presidency wives and Lorinda and I) to visit some orphanages and serve/assess needs.  So many in a small space who had to take turns sitting on the limited chairs.  We hope to visit and help regularly.   Waiting in front of our current apartment to carpool to school with a friend.   Traffic.  Boy I thought Utah’s rush hour was bad! Not enough road space to meet their traffic needs just plan accordingly.  At least you’ll never get hungry or thirsty or be missin

Today was the kids first day of school at their international school Lincoln Community School. And we even slept most of the night leading up to it instead of having our 1 am I can’t sleep anymore party. Everyone we met- kids and staff alike were so welcoming. I think the kids will love it here.  They start the day with a morning meeting outside. I stuck around to make sure all was well and found them having fun They are in the process now of choosing their after school activities.  Each season has new choices. Some they’re choosing between are basketball, lacrosse, chess, swimming, chess, baking, and origami.  They even had a lego robot option which made us feel at home.   I think they will be happy here.   And since I forgot to take first day of school pictures I’ll post my first day of church here photo.  

Yesterday’s adventure started with our last meal in the US (Panda Express)  Then we said our good byes, returned the rental car,  and checked in all dozens of luggage at the airport.  Waited do in the airport, flew 4 hrs to JFK for a quick layover then another 9.5 hrs flight to Accra, Ghana Some may wonder how the flight went.  Actually not too bad!  We watched a lot of movies, ate snacks, and even slept a little. The good news is Lucy slept almost that whole long stretch. The bad news is some bumpy turbulence the last hour of the flight has a couple boys scrambling for their barf bags.   We felt the anticipation build as we touched ground and entered this alternate reality where we are living in Africa!  Immigration and customs went smoothly and we had smiling friends to greet us. We settled in and felt hot at first but then an afternoon breeze came in and it felt great. We tried out the neighborhood KFC which we found to be our best ever!  Got a big

It's been a busy yet rewarding week. Forms to sign, assessments to take, licenses to get, things to finalize, stuff to box up and clean up, etc.  We made time to enjoy the best things like Sunday dinner with supportive family, dinners with friends, last pound and basketball and tumbling events, and lots of kids playing with their friends. Best part though was taking my newly ordained deacon and teacher to the Temple and draw from the peace there.   Now onto the busy final week here. Last day of Elementary Wednesday.  Moving stuff to storage Thursday, and flying out Friday. 

Over Christmas we visited the donation machine on temple square and bought a goat.  How neat to be able to show the kids the excitement from giving.  Now every time we see a goat in Ghana we can wonder if that's the one we gave.  

I have the best friends a girl could ask for!  A bunch of them came to Costa Vida last night to throw me a going away party/girls night.  I feel so lucky to have them in my life and they are the reason we will rent and not sell so I can return to them in 18 months.  Love ya!