Elder Vinson Visits Ghana MTC

Yesterday, Elder Terrance Vinson and his wife, were the speakers at the Area Devotional.  Elder Vinson is the First Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency and was called to be a General Authority in April 2013.  Each group of missionaries has a General Authority or Area Seventy speak to them on their first Thursday in the MTC.  This group has 76 missionaries.  Sixty-eight of them entered the MTC on April 18th.

Triplets Enter the MTC

Two of the triplets entered the MTC last Friday.  The one in the center enters a week from Friday.  All three have the same last name, the same middle names, and their first names are Dick, Dicken and Dickson.  Yes, they are wonderful.  (Each will be serving in a different mission, but while in the MTC, the two here now are companions).

He Knows Each One Of Us!

Today in Sister Robison's journal, she noted:  Tired and missing home today. I spotted this very active butterfly flitting around and I kind of begged/whined/prayed to see it up close. A few minutes later it landed right at my feet and just stayed there letting me soak in its beauty.  

This is a similar experience to the one we had in the West Indies on April 7, 2008.  "A similar experience happened in French Guiana when a sea turtle came up on the beach late Sunday afternoon. We had been sad that there was no time to go see the sea turtles lay eggs. So when we took a walk between meetings, that day, there it was. It laid eggs and then swam back out to sea."

We are given reminders, kisses from heaven, that let us know He is there and He is listening, if we look and listen.

April 18th Group Relief Society - 20 Strong!

On April 18th we received 68 new missionaries to join our six-week missionaries.  Included were 20 sisters.  Sister Acquaye's daughter is one of them (pictured in the back on the far right).  Also pictured  is Sister Michelle Acquaye, a future missionary, and Sister Watson, who with her husband, helps us do family file work during our regular temple outings.  (She is on the far right.)

Don't you love the African style for dresses?

Sister Marlene Acquaye Enters Ghana MTC

President and Sister Acquaye dropped off their oldest daughter yesterday at the Ghana MTC.  Sister Acquaye will serve in the Nigeria Lagos Mission.  Her older brother just completed his mission to Cote d'Ivoire.

Easter Friday in the MTC

Easter is celebrated across the board in Ghana. It is celebrated by both Christians and non-Christians alike, but each group has its own interpretation and activities to mark the occasion. For Christians, the celebration starts well before Palm Sunday, but Palm Sunday is the largest, most widely known event before Easter. Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion, death and resurrection. It is important to Christians all over the world, and Ghana is no exception. In Ghana, Palm Sunday is celebrated by various church congregations with processions through some principal streets. Paraders wave palm branches and handkerchiefs and sing “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!” Celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem gives Christians the hope to seek God’s kingdom. The next important day of the Easter season for Ghanaian Christians is Good Friday. Nearly everyone tries to attend church on Good Friday because they believe that their sins from the year are crucified on the cross with the Son of God. In most orthodox churches, men and women are dressed in dark-color mourning clothes and are in solemn moods.   But what of the Latter-day Saints?



The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that all things, “which pertain to our religion are only appendages” to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. ¹ Elder Holland in a major address to missionaries throughout the world prior to Easter a number of years ago said "in like manner and for the same reasons, every truth that a missionary or member teaches is only an appendage to the central message of all time—that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Holy Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; that He alone burst the bands of death and triumphed over the captivity of hell; that no one of us could ever have those same blessings without His intervention in our behalf; and that there never shall be any “other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, [except] in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.  (Elder Holland, March 2001 Ensign)

Meet Patrick Appianti-Sarpong

This is a big month for Brother Patrick Appianti-Sarpong.  His wife just had a baby on March 27th and this week he graduated in accounting from Methodist University in Tema.  Patrick supervises all the teachers at the Ghana MTC and is critical to the overall success of the day-to-day operation.  The staff, teachers, and missionaries love working with Patrick.  He also served a most successful mission to Nigeria.