Last Sunday Was the Tema Stake Conference - a great day for missionaries and members alike

The faithful Saints of Temple arrive early by bus

The Stake Center quickly fills to capacity

African Eyes: What Do You See?

Post Card Perfect - Fruit Market in Accra

The trees are in full bloom

This butterfly and his friends "hangout" on the Accra Temple Grounds

Black and White - new definition

Batik & Beautiful Little Girls

Post Card Perfect Accra Temple

Missionaries to Return to Liberia and Sierra Leone this Summer

With Ebola disappearing from Liberia and a sharp drop of cases in Sierra Leone, the LDS Church is preparing to send missionaries back to those countries. (Mormon Newsroom )

SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church is making plans to send missionaries back to Liberia this summer as the World Health Organization prepares to declare the nation free from Ebola.

“New mission presidents have been called and will begin on or about July 1 to supervise the process to reestablish full-time missionary work in Sierra Leone and Liberia,” said Eric Hawkins, a spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The deadliest outbreak of Ebola in recorded history prompted the church to remove all 274 of its missionaries from Liberia and Sierra Leone last August.

There have been more than 22,600 suspected, probable and confirmed cases of Ebola in the two countries andmore than 8,500 deaths, according to the WHO.

Liberia hasn't had a confirmed case of Ebola in the pastfive weeks. If no new cases are reported by May 9 — 42 days after the burial of the victim in the last confirmed case — the WHO will declare the nation Ebola-free.

Confirmed cases in Sierra Leone have dropped sharply, from 81 new cases reported at the end of a week in late February/early March to 11 new cases in the last weekly report.

The new head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response said last week that it is important to eliminate ebola before the start of the rainy season in June and July.

The missionaries transferred by the LDS Church late last summer were moved as a precaution to a variety of other missions. The majority of the missionaries were natives of African nations, though more than 100 were from the United States and Canada.

"Ensuring the health and safety of our missionaries is our top priority," a church statement said at the time of the transfers.

The church has provided food and other aid to the region during the Ebola crisis.

Liberia has more than 8,000 LDS Church members in 22 congregations.

Sierra Leone is home to more than 13,000 Latter-day Saints in 30 congregations. (Deseret News - May 4, 2015)

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.

Ghana Has Wonderful Self-Reliance Program in Full-Swing

Elder Evans Now In Africa West Area Presidency

The Church News edition of May 3, 2015, featured a chart showing area leadership assignments for the Church.  The First Presidency announced changes in the Church's area assignments effective Aug. 1. 

All members of area presidencies are members of the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy.  Members of the Presidency of the Seventy have responsibilities for the areas in North America. The church now has 15 areas outside North America and 10 areas inside North America for a total of 25. 

Elder David F. Evans was called to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2005.   He was born in Salt Lake City Utah on August 11, 1951. He attended the University of Utah where he met his future wife and then served a mission at the age of 19 in Japan.  Sister Evans waited for him and a few months after his mission they were married.

In 1976 Elder Evans earned a degree in health education from the University of Utah and n 1979, he received his law degree from Brigham Young University. His professional career involved being a partner/attorney for several law firms in Utah. He also served as an executive for an investment banking firm.

He is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Missionary Department. Elder Evans has served in a number of Church callings, including bishop scoutmaster, stake Young Men president,  stake mission president, stake president, president of the Japan Nagoya Mission (1998-2001), counselor and president of the Asia North Area, and Assistant Executive Director in the Missionary and Priesthood Departments.

He married Mary Dee Shepherd in 1973. They are the parents of eight children.

Here is how their eight children would describe their dad in one word?

·      Devoted

·      Lover of popcorn and a movie with his grandchildren

·      Generous

·      Unconditional love towards his family

·      The Superman of Spontaneous drop-ins (from a sister who lives out of state)

·      Trusting

·      Example of how to place the Lord above all else

·      Fun

One of their sons said that as a mission president, his dad really captured the hearts of the Japanese members.  Everywhere he went, the members loved him because he was so influential in helping the missionaries be their best.

Sister Mary Dee Shepherd Evans,  as I said, is the mother of eight children and 23 grandchildren.  When she met her future husband was a student at the University of Utah where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She too, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sister Evans has served as a Young Women president, Primary president's counselor, Primary music leader, Relief Society president's counselor and Relief Society instructor.

They were married before Elder Evans went to law school and during law school would stay up late helping him prepare his cases for school.  She was so good at this that she applied to law school and was accepted.  Her eight children are so grateful that she decided not to go to law school put rather be a full time mother.  Here is how they each describe her in one word:

·      Courageous

·      Abiding

·      Compassionate

·      Always thinking of others

·      Always sharing the gospel

·      Patient

·      Loving towards all people 

·      Always has chores for us to do

·      Also, great example of how to place the Lord above everything else.

What Do The Mission Presidents and Their Wives Look Like in the Africa West Area?

See if you can figure out who's who?