By Fr Joseph Panabang SVD
Pedestrian
It was a newly painted pedestrian crossing at Sunyani junction. Children are supposed to pick up a red placard waving it to the drivers wile walking to the other side. Just when we were about to cross a child ran across without a placard and simultaneously. Sr. Brenda Guieb, SSpS an I shouted in panic, “Eh, eh, eh...while screeching to a halt. Luckily we missed the boy by just half inch. After a moment, I sighed. “What perfect collaboration between an SVD and an SSpS sister.”
Dimalas
Mr. Martin Doklah, a high school teacher in Chiranda, was our Church president. He cut one of his fingers while weeding around his house on Sunday afternoon. “I am not going to work anymore on a Sunday; not at all,” he told me while listening to him without saying anything. He knew I was going to tell him the same thing.
Menopause
Karafe, Bitters’ is the name of a local concoction well advertised in Ghana. It can cure many kinds of diseases the advertisement says. A parishioner bought one for me because of my stomach trouble. True enough, the label read: “ Karafe Bitters : Kooko Fighter No. 1. A herbal preparation of potent curing ability for many diseases. INDICATIONS: Internal piles, hemorrhoids, debility, male weakness, barrenness, irregular and painful menstruation, stroke, stomach ulcer, diabetes, gout and as an appetizer. After reading “painful menstruation”, I became suspicious and decided not to use it.
Stood Up
Miss Elizabeth Alhasan and her companions from Kintampo Rural Health Training School made an appointment with me but failed to honor it. The following day they came and apologized, “Sorry, Father, we deceived you yesterday.” “Don’t worry this is not the first time people deceived me,” I said approvingly.
Where are the Ashes?
Mr. Andrews Numa, our catechist in Busuama confided to me why every Easter Sunday morning they see no traces of the ashes of bonfire they made on Holy Saturday evening. They discovered that the pagans, already in the early morning hours would go and scoop all the ashes to scatter them over their farm believing that the ashes are endowed with some power. “They have more faith than you, “I said. “No wonder they have bigger tubers of yams (Ghana’s staple food) and harvest more than you,” I added with a twinkle in my eyes.
Spring Cleaning
“What did you do during Holy Thursday?” I asked David Krah, our catechist in Asantekwa. Beaming with delight he said, “We washed our feet, Father.” Then he went on to tell me with pride that they did not wash the only the twelve people chosen to represent the apostles but of the whole congregation!
Beware!
With me were a group of Catholics from Kintampo. We stopped at Techiman Hospital run by the Medical Missionary Sisters to visit one of our members. I noticed one member of our group did not join us in the hospital. Out of curiosity I asked her why. “Father, my black clothes.” To visit sick person here, one must not wear red, black or any color associated with funeral attire. Otherwise the sick person may think you are wishing him good-bye forever.