Sierra Leon Mission President Shares Two Favorite Stories

 Faith & The Sabbath Day

"We were teaching the N's about the Sabbath day and taught how we were not supposed to work or buy food on Sunday. This man and woman looked at each other and I knew why. The family has nothing. The man, John goes and does anything he can to make money everyday. He ends up bringing home 2 or 3 thousand (50-75 cents) a day. If he doesn’t work they don’t eat along with their two children. He looks at me and explains to me that if he makes enough on Saturday to buy for Sunday he will do it. But if he doesn’t after Church they will warm water and drink it and sleep till the next day so they will keep the Sabbath day holy. Then he bore me his testimony how he knew he wouldn’t have to do that because God would provide a way for him."

The Power of the Book of Mormon

"I would like to share one experience with you about a woman named Salimatu. She is the neighbor of a family that we are teaching and her and her daughter usually join us in the lessons. However she is unable to read, so we never gave her a Book of Mormon. She wanted to know if the book was true though so what she would do is go and borrow the book from the family and then pray about it and then put it under her pillow fully believing that she would receive an answer to her prayer as we had told her. She received a vision in which she was walking on a path that was leading her to go and see Jesus Christ. She walked and walked and then started to feel very tired so she decided to sit down, but many different people came to her and told her to continue she continued to walk even though tired found the strength to walk. She said she knows the book is true, but even me it strengthened my own testimony of the Book of Mormon even though she can’t read she understands one very important part. Number one the Book of Mormon will lead us to Christ and it will give us the strength to carry on. I was very inspired about this whole experience and have had a new determination to read the Book of Mormon more and more."

MTC Main Floor Ceiled Framed In

The new MTC is making steady progress.  Here is what it looks like today, March 10th - about six months after the project began.

Life Stories Continue - Meet Elders Moses, Lakougnon & Mgbeoji

"All of us who are under the baptismal covenant have promised to offer the gospel to others.    Sometimes, fear of rejection or of giving offense looms before us like an impassable obstacle. Yet some members clear that barrier with ease. I have observed them carefully in my travels. 

I can picture some of them now.  Saturday is a market day across the world. In the countryside of Ghana, in Ecuador, and in the Philippine Islands, countless people bring the produce of their farms and their handicrafts to a town to sell. They talk with those they meet on the road. And they visit with those near them as they wait for someone to buy. Much of the talk is about the struggles of existence, of breaking out of poverty, and sometimes about danger.

Among those on the roads and in the markets are Latter-day Saints. Much of their talk with those they meet would be the same as you would hear anywhere in the world."  - From a talk called A Child and A Disciple by President Eyring in 2003.

Latter-day Saints across Africa have touched the lives of those young men and women who enter the Ghana MTC to serve as disciples of Christ for 18 months or 2 years.  Here are some of their stories:

Left to Right:  Elder Moses, Elder Lakougnon, Elder Mgbeoji

He Learned He Did Not Have A Normal Upbringing - Elder Emmanuel Abraham Moses

Elder Moses is from Nigeria. As a young boy he felt like his childhood was normal but he was stressed that his parents divorced. He went to live with his dad who moved in with the grandfather who was a member of the Church. His other siblings went to live with his mom. When he was 15 his father died. From the time he and his father moved in with his grandfather, he began to go with his grandfather to Church and was soon baptized at the age of eight. He quickly realized that he had not had a normal life before joining the Church, but now had found happiness.

Orphaned at 10 - Loved by his Uncles - Elder Lidao Louis-Rodrigue Lakougnon

Elder Lakougnon was born in 1993 in Togo. When he was 6 his mother became ill and died and when he was 10 the same demise came to his father. Fortunately his uncle took him in, but his younger brother needed to stay with a different uncle. Young Lidao recalls being too agitated and unstable. He tried too hard to have fun but did well in school. He always had a huge desire to understand the mystery of life. On of his uncles was a member, but before his parents died they would not give him permission to become part of the Church. He did not have contact from the age of 8 to 17 with the Church because he lived in a city where the Church was not found. However, when he moved at the age of 17 his uncle put him in touch with the Church and so he was then baptized on March 5, 2011.

I Wished I Had Motherly Love - Elder Peace Udoka Mgbeoji

Elder Mgbeoji is from Nigeria. He was born into a home where the parents were not members. At an early age he lost his mother, so he did not experience “the motherly love and care that I would have loved to experience but I know that the Lord knows why it was so.” His mother died while giving birth to a younger sibling when Elder Mgbeoji was 5.  His father needed help to raise young children because there were many. His brothers were older and came to get Peace when their mother died. (His father died in March of last year.) Young Peace grew up under the care of his older brothers and appreciates so much their efforts to provide for him. It was through his brothers that he learned about the Church and always attended with them. He started understanding the importance of the restored gospel in his life as he grew older and is happy today because he has a testimony of the restored gospel.

Elder Guidia Overcame Difficult Moments of Despair

Elder Nesmoh Serge Privat Guidia from Ivory Coast lost both of his parents by the time he was 14 years old.  His parents were no longer living together and his mother had found another home and was with a man and his mistress.  The other woman poisoned his mother and she died.  Then three years later his father, with whom he had been living became ill and died.

In recounting his life story, Elder Guida said that he must stress that he did not have a stable upbringing.  In fact, he remembers some very lonely and difficult moments.  One in particular was when he was 14 and realized that he was an orphan and did not have anyone to support him.  So he went to live with his mother's sister (his aunt) and found a trade as a jockey at parties and celebrations.  Although it was not a peaceful  work environment, he never had the desire to drink, inspite of being surrounded by opportunities to do so.  After two years of this line of work, he decided to pursue studies in computer education.

It was about this time that a female cousin came to visit his aunt and being a member of the Church, this cousin invited him to attend Sacrament Meeting.  For the next year, he had off and on exposure to the Church, but during the last week of August 2011, he became serious about finding out if it was true.  Three weeks later, on September 17th, Elder Guidia was baptized a member of the Church.  On Tuesday, he will be endowed and the baptisms and other temple work will be done for his parents.

What is the story behind this painting on wall of the MTC?

Excerpted by Marnae Wilson from “Faithful Portraits,” Michelle A. Lizon, BYU Magazine, Spring 2008

"I'll Accept You As My Son"

source:  http://africawest.lds.org/i-accept-you-as-my-son 

 
When young people want to join the church, they frequently encounter opposition from friends, relatives, and parents. It takes a great deal of faith to leave your family and join with Christ in His restored Church. So it was with Bishop Kofi Sosu of Kumasi, Ghana.

Sosu was baptized as a young adult, despite his parents’ severe opposition. Shortly after he became a member, the government initiated a “freeze” on the Church, forbidding members from worshipping. The Ghanaian mission was closed, and all the missionaries were sent to other missions or were sent home. Sosu tried to show devotion inside his home, but he was hindered in his efforts to study the gospel and nurture his faith by his parents’ threats to inform the police.

After the freeze ended, Sosu began to meet with the Saints again. Soon he became determined to serve a mission. However, his parents threatened him again, promising to disown him if he chose to wear the suit and nametag for two years. Sosu chose his faith and was renounced by his family.

While serving in Nigeria, Sosu sent a letter to his family once a week, but not one was answered. After two years he arrived home with no one to contact but his branch president, who found him a place to stay temporarily. Unsure of where to go next, Sosu prayed and fasted. Despite his apprehension, he felt he should return to his father’s house. As Sosu approached the gate, his father saw him and asked who he was.

“I am your son,” Sosu replied.

“My son?” his father said.

“Yes—your son, Kofi.”
Tears came suddenly to his father’s eyes. No longer able to subdue his emotions, Sosu’s father embraced him.

“Oh, my son, my son. I am so sorry,” he said, pulling away for a moment to look at Sosu’s face. “I have not had a moment’s peace since I disowned you. I know you did the right thing, and I accept you as my son.”
As they mature and grow in the gospel, many young people are able to heal broken family relationships. Their parents see the growth these young people have experienced and can appreciate the great blessings that come to those who live the gospel. Similarly, Bishop Kofi Sosu was able to renew his relationship with his father and feel the joy of being accepted by his father.
But for some of those people who choose to leave their families and follow Christ, there is no joyful reconciliation in this life. For those faithful Saints, though, their loving Heavenly Father embraces them and comforts them as they follow the Savior in faith.

Freetown - The Movie Will Be Shown in Ghana This Month

 

 

1. Three principle cast members are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Three of the six missionaries in the cast are LDS and one member was placed in each of the three companionships. Two are returned missionaries and the other is preparing to serve a mission. The casting was done in West Africa and over 125 actors came to the audition.

2. The underlying theme of Freetown” is to follow faith over fear

The director of “Freetown,” Garrett Batty, says that his purpose in making films like “Saratov Approach” and “Freetown” is to shed light on faith.
“Faith is tough, it’s exhausting, and yet it’s what we endure to keep moving forward and place our trust in God,” Batty said. “[God] is always watching over us. If I can make a film about [faith] that people want to go to the theater to see, I think it’s a worthy effort.”

3. Movie addresses Blacks and the Priesthood

There is one scene in the movie that addresses blacks receiving the Priesthood. One of the missionaries shares with a member how he became one of the first Priesthood holders in West Africa and how he overcame the initial “cognitive dissonance.”

4. The missionaries ended up staying in Freetown for over 7 years

After the missionaries completed their full-time missions, they remained in Freetown until the war in Liberia was over, almost 7 years later. Most of the missionaries lived in refugee camps during that time.

5. “Freetown” was chosen as an official selection for the 2015 Pan African Film Festival

The Pan African Film Festival is the largest and most prestigious international black film festival. The festival’s goal is to feature a broad spectrum of creative works featuring black filmmakers and casts which reinforce positive messages that lead to better understanding of diverse cultures, races, religions and lifestyles.

6. The film was shot on location in Africa

Batty’s previous film, “Saratov Approach,” was shot in Draper, Utah and Ukraine. Afterwards, Batty committed to not filming a movie on two continents. All of “Freetown” was shot in Africa, mostly in Ghana.

Africa Before It Was Colonised

Before Africa was colonised, the continent was characterised by a large degree of pluralism and flexibility. The continent consisted not of closed reproducing entities, equipped with unique unchanging cultures, but of more fluid units that would readily incorporate outsiders (even whites) into the community as long as they accepted its customs, and where the sense of obligation and solidarity went beyond that of the nuclear family.