Africa- November 2008

My daughter Sara and I went to Ghana, Africa, November 2008 ,on a medical humanitarian trip. We went with my sister-in-law, Alison and her son Ethan and 20 others. It was so amazing. We were gone for 9 days. We stayed at the temple grounds in Accra, Ghana. It was so nice because we had air-conditioning in our room. It was like staying in a dorm. There were 3 bunkbeds in each room and a bathroom. The temple is beautiful. We traveled to a different village each day, traveling 1 to 4 hours away. We were driven around by some wonderful Ghanians in 2 14 passenger vans. We would then set up clinic helping people, from babies to the elderly, with their various medical needs. We treated aches and pains, malaria, wounds, rashes, bug bites, eye troubles and other infections. My daughter and nephew were part of the triage team. They took vital signs and asked what complaints the person had. We saw around 2400 people. We fell in love with the people of Ghana. They are so gracious and kind. Many of the village people speak the native language Twi, in which case we would have interpreters. But English is the offiicial language. I have never been so hot in my life. I could not wipe the sweat off fast enough and of course my water bottle was always warm, so not to refreshing. But perhaps that made the experience all the better. It was very humbling. I hope to go back again. My goal is to take each one of my children.