This little fellow wasn't part of the factory tour. He startled me when he came zooming out of my neighbors driveway, but I just happened to have my camera ready. He's about a 12" gecko with a red head, blue body, and a yellow and red tail. We have lots of geckos around, but this is definitely one of the more colorful African ones.  

We were on our way out but one of the artisans wanted her picture taken too. She asked if we would be coming back so that she could have a "snap". That's what they call a photo. I promised her I would make her a copy. 

Back in the "drying room" these fellows are rolling out some fabric that has just come from the dyer. If you look closely you can see that the field is covered in small rocks which facilitate the drying process when they get hot from the sun. Also you will see the small rocks that they use to hold down the fabric in case a wind comes up.  

Here is Madam who owns the factory. She is cutting our fabric and giving us her "best price". Isn't the fabric beautiful? 

Here is cloth that has been died and is scrunched on the table to let the cloth also have a tie-dyed appearance in addition to the batik design. 

This man is dyeing some of the cloth that has already been stamped. 

One of the pots of wax that has been taken off the fire. The fabric is stamped with the wax and then dyed.  

This is "inside" the factory where the large vats of wax and dyes are being used. The wax is heated in order to be useable and it is a very hot place to be working. 

These are the blocks that they use to stamp the batik designs on the fabric. With this many designs and combinations of designs and color possibilities an artist has unlimited opportunities to express his unique talents. 

This is the artisan painting dye on the fabric that has already been waxed. 

This is the fabric factory in Accra, Ghana where Mom bought her batik and tye-die fabric. Thelittle wooden shack in the rear is the "factory" and what you see in the front is the "drying room". They dye this beautiful African fabric by hand using stamps, wax and dyes. No two pieces are ever exactly the same. Each one is unique. 

We just got back from our 10 day tour of Nigeria where we did a mission tour in the Port Harcourt Mission and conducted leadership training in 5 stakes over the course of our trip in that mission and the Nigeria Uyo Mission. This was a shot of three of the Port Harcourt Mission zones after our mission conference in Port Harcourt. (PS - the two white faces are ours). 

Dad took this shot of three zones in the Port Harcourt Nigeria Mission after a mission conference Friday. President and Sister Stone are the other white faces in the center. 

This fellow was sitting in the airport in Port Harcourt and Mom loved his blue pajamas and tall hat as he worked on his laptop. Many of the African men wear these comfortable pajama-looking clothes every day. Dad thinks this would be a good trend to start in the US. 

A typical street scene in Aba Nigeria. 

This is the road we traveled 8-10 miles on to get to the river where the first baptisms were performed in West Africa on November 21, 1978. It was a beautiful setting, and the actual baptismal site was just to the left of the bridge ahead. We weren't sure we were going to make it on this read in President Stone's Honda Accord. It was quite a journey on a sand and dirt track through villages and past markets. This is really in the bush. No good roads, electricity or running water for miles, but thousands of people living in villages in the jungle. 

This is the spot where those first baptisms in West Africa were performed in November of 1978. 

This is the site of the first baptisms in West Africa. Elder and Sister Mabey and Elder and Sister Cannon baptized 19 people in this river here on November 21, 1978. Two of those 19 people were with us and are shown in this photo - Raymond and Francis Obinna. It is like the waters of Mormon or the sacred grove - a reverent and sacred place. 

This is a shot of Elder Hanson (the tall elder from Nigeria) and Elder Baloyi (the short one from South Africa) who are President Stone's assistants in the Port Harcourt Mission. Their great friendship is typical of how the African missionaries treat each other. 

These are twins ("Queen" and "Queenette") born in to the Obinna family. We visited this family in their compound in the bush. Sister Stone (on the right) is Dana Lyman's mother, the wife of the mission president. 

This is one of the young mothers in the Obinna family compound. The older generation of this family were the first people to be baptized in West Africa. This is how they carry all their babies - everywhere - always! 

This is the baptismal font inside the first chapel built in West Africa. It is really in the heart of the jungle. 

While their friend was climbing the palm tree to gather firewood, these boys were playing in the trees in the jungle below. There are five of them. Can you spot them? 

We spotted this little guy climbing a palm tree right behind the chapel in the jungle. He just scampered up this tree and was breaking and dropping dried palm fronds to take home for fire wood. 

This chapel is really in the jungle of the Nigerian delta. It was the first chapel built in West Africa and is reached down a winding dirt road, miles off the paved highway. It is right outside the Obinna compound, the family that were the first converts in the West Africa