Cyril Taki: He Was Searching for the True Church

Meet Cyril Taki, one of our senior instructors at the MTC.    He was born 28 years ago in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and was raised there as one of 10 children.  In April 2007, he had a friend who was also looking for a Church to join.  This friend was a friend of a member.  When these two young men met the missionaries, they knew the Church was true and both were baptized on June 16, 2007.

Here is the Abinadi District with their instructor, Brother Cyril Taki.  Left to right:  Elder Jorgensen, Elder Walls, Brother Taki, Elder Bailey and Elder Jackson. (He has taught them French for the past 6 weeks.)

Cyril's parents are not members, but both are now very interested.  Cyril's father had always wanted his son to be religious because he thought it would be good for him.  He was therefore, quite pleased when his son joined the Church.  However, he was not happy about his son being called to serve a mission in Nigeria.  He had heard alot of dangerous things about Nigeria in the news.  So Cyril implored of his church leaders to speak with his father and permission to serve was granted.

The story of his mother was a different case.  She had heard rumors about the Church and was given Anti-Mormon information.  However, when the Sister Missionaries spoke with her, she changed her mind.  Now today, both of Cyril's parents are supportive of his activity in the Church and say that one day, they too will be members.

It is interesting to note that after the 9th child was born, Cyrils' father was about to take another wife.  She was the mother of his 10th children.  After learning about the Church, he decided not to marry a second wife.

Michael Sapaku, MTC Teacher Extraordinaire

Just like the story, of Patrick Appianti-Sarpong, Michael Sapaku, one of our illustrious MTC teachers, joined the Church after high school.  In his case it was a few years later.  He lived with cousins who were members and every Sunday the family would go their own way.  Michael noticed in them a certain peace - a joy in life that he was not experiencing.  He concluded that it must be their Church, so he asked if he could go with them.  This was in February of 2006.  In March of that year, he was baptized.

Three months after he was baptized, he was called to be the ward clerk and invited to attend a missionary preparation class taught by Brother Solomon Aliche.  The bishop had put him on a list of prospective missionaries and he had decided that he was not going just because someone else wanted him to.  However in this class of Brother Aliche, every single member of the class ended up serving a mission.  In Michael's case it was to South Africa from 2010 to 2012.   As with the experience of so many, Michael traces every good thing that has happened to him back to his mission.

After his mission, he met a young lady named Grace Tetteh at a Stake Single Adult Fireside.  She was on a date with the young man who had baptized him, but he had a feeling that he would marry her.  And he did.  They were married on December 26, 2013. (She is from Accra and joined the Church the same year he did.  He is from Tamale, a village up North).

Interesting that Brother Eguko was fascinated by this young man and his passion for missionary work.  He asked Brother Aliche to give him a reference about Michael Sapaku, and of course the recommendation was glowing.  (Brother Sapaku has now taught at the MTC for the past 16 months).

Patrick Asked the Golden Question to the Missionaries

The way the missionary program works is that missionaries approach people not of our faith and ask them the golden questions.  What do you know about the Church?  Would you like to know more?  In  Patrick Appianti-Sarpong's case, he asked them?

 Mathias Eguko and Patrick Appianti-Sarpong (Patrick is Mathias's assistant at the MTC and supervises the teachers and arranges for all the missionaries' needs - an essential job)

Here is his conversion story:

Patrick is from Kumasi.  At the end of three years of boarding school he went home to Kumasi and saw a new church building being constructed near his home. He approached the builders and asked them what they were building.  He thought that was nice and that he would like to attend that church.  He was with two friends, so they all concluded that it would be great to have a church nearby where there is alot of singing and dancing (as they do in other churches)  Well when they finished the Church and when he passed by, it was quiet inside even though cars were parked outside.  Patrick had researched a little about the Church and knew to wear a white shirt.  So he visited the Church and because of his white shirt the members did not know he was an investigator.  He approached the missionaries because he thought they were resource people with name tags.  (Elders Lawson and Thomson).  Because he did not stay all the time in Kumasi (his Dad lived in Tema), he lost contact with each pair of missionaries that taught him and in two years went through 4 or 5 sets of elders.  He did read up to Alma 5 after his first meeting with the first two missionaries because they gave him a Book of Mormon.  In Tema while driving down Hospital Road, he spotted the Church in Tema and was pleased to have found the Church in Tema as well.

Patrick was baptized in 2005 after having been proactive and having introduced himself to missionaries each time he got back to Church.  He was finally taught by Elder Wama and Elder Terangi (who performed the baptism).

As a young convert preparing to serve a mission, Patrick accompanied the Elders to visit recent converts.  One of them had a less active daughter named Elizabeth.  Not only did he reactivate her, but wrote her on his mission and they were married on January 1, 2011 (sealed on January 4, 2011).  His mission was from November 2007 to November 2009.

Patrick and Elizabeth have a 5 month old son named Yaw (he was born on a Thursday).  Yaw is the name of Patrick's father, so the baby is called Papa Yaw.

Elizabeth, Patrick and Yaw

 

Meet the Current MTC Teachers

Back row:  Left to Right - Brothers Taki, Adams, Afful, Boadi, Owusu, Adu, Opuku, Kotey, Djoussou, Okai, Dadzie.
Front row:  Left to Right - B. Boateng, S. Ampobona, B. Sakpaku, S. Okrah, B. Kyeremateng

Meet the Prince

Meet Prince Owusu, of our our illustrious instructors at the MTC.  Brother Owusu served a mission from 2010 to 2012 in the Ivory Coast.  He brings to the MTC a fascinating background and is a man of many talents.

Prince Owusu was raised in Assin Foso near Cape Coast.  He is the second oldest in a family of 8 children.  When he was 8 years old, tragedy struck in his young life.  He was attending school at the time of this sad experience and had just been appointed by the teacher to look after his class while she left to visit the principal with the instruction that he was to report any wrong doings.  Of course he did not put any names on the list, but a classmate thought he did.  Even showing his classmates that no name was on the list did not convince one boy, who laid in wait for him after school and pushed in a trench that was being dug while standing on his hand.  Of course his arm broke and he needed medical attention.  His parents said they did not have money to handle this, so he was treated by a herbalist. Two days later the infection in his arm was so bad that it needed to be amputated.

The parents of prince decided to transfer him to another school where a teacher named Abraham Kwaku Fokuo took note of his many talents and offered to have him come live with his family.  It was living with the Kwaku Fokuos that Prince was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They were members.  He lived with them from the age of 8 until he served his mission.

Today, Prince is an instructor in French or English at the Ghana MTC.  Abraham Kwaku Fokuo is currently serving as a Stake President.  As Prince reflects on the tragedy that struck his life, he quickly observes that the blessing that came out of this sad experience was being introduced to the Church, which changed his life forever.

Meet Brother Ngondo - MTC Instructor with the Most Tenure

Bro. Ghilson  Clerck Ngondo is from the Brazzerville in the Congo.  He was born on May 5, 1984 and raised by LDS parents who joined the Church  when he was a little boy.  Throughout his youth he remained active and was called to serve a mission from 2010 to 2012 in the DR Congo Kinshasa Mission under President Michael Headley.  During his mission, a new mission was created in Lumbashi and his new mission president was President Gary L. Packer, who said that Elder Ngondo was one of his finest.

After spending only two weeks at home at the completion of his mission, Brother Ngondo came to work at the MTC and lives in the Sun City area, near Brother Eguko.  He has worked here for the past 2 1/2 years.   After his work here is finished, Brother Ngondo will marry his fiance, who is a member from Brazzerville.  She is currently completely her masters degree in oil and gas.  They plan to marry in the temple in South Africa or in Ghana.

Meet Brother Kpole - One of our French Language Teachers at the MTC

"In 1991, when I was 8 years old, my mother died leaving me and little brother behind.  After that, I went to live with my grandparents in Ivory Coast and attended primary school.  My little brother went to live with my aunty in a different village than me.  Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw my brother.  Two years later I received the tragic news that he had died in an accident.

A year later, in 1994, one of my uncles invited me to come stay with him in Abidjan so that I could enter secondary school and continue my studies.  However this temporary happiness did not last.  My uncle became sick three years later and passed away.  In the midst of this state of sadness and confusion, I desperately needed tenderness, love, safety, assurance and guidance.  It was at this critical time of confusion that one of my cousins, a member of the Church, returned from his mission to live with us in the home.  This was the beginning of light in my life.  It was 1998 and happily I accepted his invitation to attend Sacrament meeting with him.  After that day, I realized I had found what I desperately needed.

I was taught the missionary discussions and a month later, January 30th 1999, I was baptized and confirmed the following day as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I had found the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, where there is warmth, love, tenderness, safety, light and assurance.  Then cometh the light and hope in my life with a loving Father in Heaven and a merciful redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Hymn 109; Nephi 33:6).  All of these events in my life teach me that this is done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things.

I am grateful and happy to love, serve and console my beloved brothers and sisters, as a missionary first, and now as an instructor of missionaries."

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.