Merry Christmas With the Elder and Sister Curtis

Elder and Sister Curtis spoke to the Ghana MTC missionaries on Christmas morning for the Area Devotional.  Elder Curtis is the Area President of the Africa West Area.

Today is Christmas. We began the day with an Area Devotional presented by Elder and Sister Curtis. (Elder Curtis is the Area President of the Africa West Area.) He said that in searching for Christmas card possibilities to send this year, he could not find any online that made references to the Savior. He centered his remarks around "why Christmas is worth celebrating with Jesus Christ being the center of our celebrations." One of the best references that answers this question is found in Alma 7:10-13. "It is a glorious thing that we can overcome the challenges of this life - death, sin and our challenges - because of the Savior. I sing with great enthusiasm 'Joy to the World.'" What a great way to begin our Christmas celebration.

Elder and Sister Vinson speak at Area Devotional

E;der and Sister Malmrose, Elder and Sister Vinson, President and Sister Robison, and Patrick Appianti along with the 101 missionaries of the 47th group of missionaries we have trained.

The November 26th Group of missionaries, 101 in number, gathered to hear Elder and Sister Vinson today.  Sister Vinson masterfully demonstrated the use of every day items to be employed as object lessons in teaching from time to time.  She started with pure water versus muddy water, then used a glove, a torch (flash light), an apple, tooth paste, a toothbrush, and a cell phone as examples that missionaries could use and asked them what lesson could they teach using these items.  It was fascinating to learn the insights that missionaries thought of.

Then Elder Vinson taught by building upon these object lessons and opened up key scriptures to the understanding of the missionaries.  He first asked about three lessons the brethren have stressed in teaching about the Sabbath:

1.  Exodus 33:16,17 - The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant, a sign unto the Lord of our devotion

2.  Isaiah 58:13 - The Sabbath is a delight.  It is not about "us," it is about him.

3.  Section 59 :9,10 - A day to pay our devotions to God, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world

He then taught a great lesson that should be applied to our missions, found in Galatians 5:17 - "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." You will be asked this question every day of your missions...who will win - the Flesh or the Spirit.  (See also Mosiah 3:19)

Elder Stanfill Spoke At Area Devotional Today

And so did Sister Stanfill.  Elder Stanfill is the new counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency and grew up in Montana.  He and Sister Stanfill raised their family in Montana as well.  Sister Stanfill was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Newport, California.  She joined the Church at the age of 19.  They both speak French and Elder Stanfill closed his remarks with his testimony in French.  He has not forgotten it, at all since serving as a young missionary in Toulouse, France.

Africa West Area President Speaks At MTC Devotional

Elder and Sister Legrande Curtis Jr. spoke at our Area Devotional today. This was our 45th Area Devotional since coming to Africa. Elder Curtis is the Africa West Area President. His focus today was on the lessons learned from the Book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. He and the missionaries were outstanding and the presentation concluded with the great counsel from Section 112:10 of the Doctrine and Covenants: 'be thou humble and the Lord thy God will lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.'

Elder Vinson Spoke At the Area Devotional Today

Seated by his wife, Sister Kaye Vinson, both addressed the 44th group of missionaries we have trained since coming to Africa.  They "recruited" some dear friends from Australia, Elder and Sister Webster, to come to Ghana and serve as the Africa West Area Presidency Executive Secretary and Companion.  They are seated to the right of Sister Robison.

Sister Vinson spoke about being a great companion and Elder Vinson taught the missionaries about becoming a living "epistle of Christ...written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God (embedded) in flesh tables of the heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

Elder Ben Davis Spoke at Area Devotional Today

This is the group that arrived in the MTC on October 1, 2015

Area Seventy, Elder John Koranteng Spoke At Area Devotional

This is our 42nd group since we arrived in Ghana.  Missionaries in this group are bound for Kumasi, Benin, Brazzaville, Madagascar, and two missions in Nigeria.  Elder Koranteng speaks 7 languages and directs the Self Reliance Program for the Africa West Area.  He has been an Area Seventy for 3 years.

Elder Curtis Was the Area Devotional Speaker Today

Elder Vinson Was the Area Devotional Speaker for the August 21st Group

Today Elder and Sister Vinson addressed the missionaries about the importance of the Sabbath Day during the Area Devotional.  "Far too often, missionaries in the field are more focused on waiting for the late arrival of their investigators for Sacrament Meeting, than they are about the real purpose of the meeting.  This is also very distracting to the members, " said both Elder and Sister Vinson.

Elder Ben Davis Was Area Devotional Speaker Today

This is the official group photo of the August 7th group, our 39th group since coming to the MTC.  In this group we have 34 missionaries.  Seated with the missionaries are Brother Appianti (Manager of Training), the Malmroses, Elder Davis, and the Robisons.

Elder & Sister Vinson Spoke About Doctrine, Principles & Applications At Our Area Devotional

Pictured above is our 38th Group since arriving in Africa.  They entered the MTC on July 24, 2015 and depart for the mission field next Tuesday.  Tuesday or Wednesday, each went to the Ghana Temple, so now the entire group has been to the temple at least one time in their life.  Seated in front next to the missionaries from right to left are the Malmroses, the Vinsons, and the Robisons.  Notice the African dresses on the Sisters.  They have embraced the culture and blend in well.

Elder Daniel Yirenya-Tawiah Addresses Area Devotional

Our Area Devotional speaker today was Elder Yirenya-Tawiah, Area 70 who is the physical facilities manager for the Africa West Area.  He was born in 1966, so that means he is 49 years old.  He joined the Church in 1988 at the age of 22 and had been invited to hear the discussions by a friend who was being taught by the missionaries.  He studied the Church for a year and duirng that time fell in love with the Book of Mormon.  Throughout the year, many teams of missionaries taught him but it was not until one team challenged him to pray and fast that his conversion went from an intellectual one where he was not preparing for baptism to a spiritual one in which he asked the missionaries to set up his baptism.  It is not enought to have good discussions but rather missionaries must see that the investigator has a spiritual connection. 

When he was about 8 years old his grandparents, who lived in a small village, asked his parents to send him to live with them.  However, they left him alone every day very early and did not return until late at night.  As such he had to fend for himself...cook his meals and work out his schedule for the days.  He was very angry about this for years, in fact until just a few years ago, when he realized that this experience had made him very independent and self confident.

Just a note about this group.  These 84 missionaries represent our 37th group since coming to the MTC 18 months ago.  They are from 17 different countries including Malawi and Namibia, two countries we have not seen often.  Twenty of these missionaries have been with us for six weeks learning French or English.  That in itself is remarkable because they now teach in their new language and do so quite well.  Twenty-nine of our missionaries are sisters, as pictured here and prior to coming to the MTC, 48 or fifty-seven percent of them had never been to the temple.  Now they all have.

Elder John Koranteng Speaks in Area Devotional June 18th

Meet the June 12th Group of Missionaries, pictured with the Malmroses (senior couple), Elder Koranteng, the Robisons (MTC President) and Brother Appianti (manager of training)

Every two weeks a member of the Area Presidency or an Area Seventy addresses the missionaries in an Area Devotional at the MTC.  Elder John Koranteng is the director the self-reliance program in the Africa West Area and speaks 7 languages.  He and his twin brother first learned about the Church while studying in Norway during the Ghana Freeze.  When they returned to Ghana, both were baptized.

Ghana MTC Devotionals Are Held Often

While in the MTC, the missionaries gather 5 times for devotionals - a welcome devotional on the First Saturday, a First Sunday Devotional, a Temple Preparation Devotional, an Area Devotional with a General Authority, and a Second Sunday Devotional.

Today was the Area Devotional with Elder Curtis.  61 of the 100 in attendance were listening to Elder and Sister Curtis using headsets for translation.

Elder and Sister Curtis with the largest group in the MTC todate.

Area Devotional Features Elder and Sister Vinson

Elder and Sister Vinson visited the May 1st Group at the Ghana MTC today and engaged them in a learning activity. 

BYU Group Visits MTC

Each year a group of BYU Marriott School students come to Ghana for 3 weeks to work on school projects.  This year's group included MBA students, MPA students and Masters of Accounting students.  Pictured here are the students with the May 1st Group of Missionaries at the Ghana MTC.

Elder and Sister Evans Spoke to the Six Week Missionaries at An Area Devotional Today

May 1st 2015 Group of Missionaries after two weeks of study

Left to Right:  Vinsons, Evans, Curtis's, Robisons, Malmroses

All of our two week missionaries left yesterday, but today was the only time Elder and Sister Evans would be in Ghana on this trip.  So they spoke to those missionaries here to learn French or English for six weeks.

Elder Davis Speaks to Our 30th Group of Missionaries - the March 20th Group

Today, Thursday March 26, our Area Seventy from Cape Coast, Elder Davis, addressed the current group of missionaries.

Elder Vinson Celebrated His 64th Birthday With The Missionaries at the Ghana MTC

Elder & Sister Vinson Spoke to the MTC for the Area Devotional March 12th

Elder and Sister Vinson Addressed Missionaries in Area Devotional Today

Elder Vinson is from Australia and is the First Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency.  This group of 79 missionaries will all leave for the mission field on March 3rd.