The Three Wise Men

We’ve had three visitors – one in October, one in November, and one in December – that have greatly changed my perspective and boosted my happiness. I call them the three wise men. 😉

Visitor 1: In October, David Wade, special assistant to the Africa West Area Presidency, and Director of Crisis Management for the Church Mission Department visited us. Because he has been a mission president, and because he is so integrated in the global Mission Department, he understands a lot about our role. David rode with us for a few days to learn and absorb what our mission is like so he can provide counsel to the Area Presidency. For us it was fun and enjoyable to have him in our SUV. Sometimes he even rode in the trunk to make room for others – truly a good sport and thoughtful man!

After traveling many miles through city and the bush, and after meeting with many missionaries and members, he commented, “You’ve really won the lottery being called to Liberia!” Being assigned to one of the poorest countries in the world, I secretly felt more like we had drawn the short straw. I know in reality these callings are made by revelation, so I accepted it gladly, but I was pretty sure we didn’t win the prize for best place to live for three years. There are at least 400+ missions nicer than this place. Liberia often feels like a landfill due to the garbage everywhere and sometimes it feels like we’re back in the middle ages due to the lack of education, language and primitive literacy levels in many regions. We had a truly great time with David for the few days he was here. After he left, I kept thinking, “Did we really win the lottery?” Liberia is definitely not a place to go on vacation, but when it comes to serving others and helping people, I knew there is no place better to be to share the light of Christ. So in that sense I agreed – we did win something.

Visitor 2: In November, Elder Alfred Kyungu of the Seventy and second counselor in the Area Presidency came to preside at a stake conference. We had met Elder Kyungu before as he assisted Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve when we were set us apart for our mission last June. After the stake conference meetings, we invited Elder Kyungu for dinner. Because he grew up in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), he understands many of our DRC missionaries and the culture of African countries. I asked him for advice on how to do our job better: “What do we need to know?” In his gentle style, he told us, “Be firm, and teach the missionaries to be obedient to mission rules…but LOVE them. Many of these young missionaries from West Africa have not had guidance from parents, and most of them are new to the Church.” We have been coming to understand this more as we’ve heard their incredible stories. This has shifted my thinking and increased my patience for our missionaries. It was a sweet experience to have Elder Kyungu with us and to hear of his insights. (His picture here shows Elder Kyunga teaching at a leadership session. You can’t see the members due to flowers…only the two missionaries that he asked to stand.)

Visitor 3: In December, a third visitor, Solomon Aliché, originally from Nigeria but now living in Ghana, paid a visit to Liberia. Elder Aliché, an area seventy, was assigned to preside at the district conference in Kakata just before Christmas. Seasoned in the Church for over 35 years, he was an excellent and dynamic teacher for the Saturday and Sunday sessions of conference. We had a lot of drive-time with him to Kakata and back for both days, so we learned a lot about him. Having raised five sons and one daughter (like us), we felt a connection with him and invited him to dinner Sunday evening. As we visited after our meal, I had a question for him: “You served as a mission president in Nigeria. Do you have any advice for me?” Earlier that week, I had one of those really tough days. The workload was exhausting, the daily challenges endless, and a few missionaries were having difficulties. I was frustrated with the Liberian culture and education level, tired of the crater size potholes, and I was missing family and the comforts of my past life. I voiced my frustration to Nancy: “I don’t want to do this! I am finding NO JOY in this work!” Of course, I deeply believe the Gospel and in the Restoration of Christ’s church – it is what keeps me going – but I honestly was exhausted and discouraged at how hard this is. I had been praying for guidance and was grasping for anything that would help me.

I will never forget Elder Aliché’s simple and clear answer to my question: “President Thomas, love the missionaries. There is JOY in it – not just for them, but for YOU.” I don’t know why he said that, but the words “joy” and “for you” hit me like a freight train. His timely and inspired words were what I needed to hear.

Since these three visitors, I have changed my view of this place and I have really concentrated on loving our missionaries, as well as the locals here, accepting them for wherever they are on life’s path. I haven’t lowered my expectations of our missionaries, but I’ve tried to see their potential and where they might be down the road in many years. For the past couple of months, this mindset and behavior have changed my feelings in a remarkable way. I indeed believe we have “won the lottery” and I have found great joy as I work with these amazing young missionaries. With all honesty of heart, I am thankful for this assignment to help the Liberian people as they come closer to Christ and improve their lives. I am especially grateful to serve with these devoted missionaries that come from all over the world. What a rare experience I have been given! I’m thankful to these three good men who were sent in answer to my prayers.

Now for some news…

The New Year started with a major breakthrough for us. A new airplane company, Eco Airline, opened up flights to the Southeast cities the week I needed to travel there. Because they are not affiliated another religion, like MAF, they had no concerns of letting us travel with them. That is such a blessing – being able to avoid the long journey of punishing muddy roads to Zwedru and Sinoe County. It is a miracle for what we need during the rainy season when the roads are impassable. I flew to Harper early one morning. I visited the Pleebo and Harper branches for their conferences, and helped with financial training and audits. It was also a delight to be with the missionaries (Elder Boyer, Elder Sanko, Elder Hamblin and Elder Kamufumu). They are great teachers and provide tremendous support to the branches, including with Clerk responsibilities. Returning home was an equally good ride, and despite all the times I’ve been on an airplane, this was the first time I’ve taken off from a dirt runway. You can’t really rely on an airplane’s schedule in Africa, but a two-hour flight beats a two-day ride through nausea-inducing roads and mud holes.

In January, we also started to hold smaller zone conferences. This has allowed us to be more focused on regional areas, where we can have more intimate meetings and discussions with the missionaries in their towns, as well as with local priesthood leaders. It’s been a joy to meet with missionaries in a smaller environment, with 20 missionaries instead of 50 to 60. As we consider how to help the Church grow, we have focused heavily on strengthening the foundation of the Church, including finding and teaching families and those who are self-reliant. We are also focusing on visiting and reteaching those who are less active in the Church or who have drifted away. In recent months, we’ve been encouraging the missionaries to not baptize “people” but to baptize “converts” – those who understand the teachings and are committed to staying active. As a result, we’ve seen the baptism rate slow down. This has mostly been in the age range of the 8 to 11 year olds, which in all honesty pleases me. We are not trying to stop young people from being baptized. We are only trying to make sure they understand what they are being taught and that they have the support of family or church members to help them as they come into the Church. The Church has grown so fast it is difficult for new members to know how to help others who join. Training new leaders and helping grow the Church takes time, as new members must change habits and leave old traditions behind.

In January, we were also excited to welcome the McGlochlins, a new senior couple to our mission! They are serving as Member Leader Support missionaries up in the Gbarnga and Ganta area. They’ll be a great blessing to the members and young missionaries there! Yay! The Trapanis also arrived from California and are assigned to work as Humanitarian missionaries throughout the country. This is their second humanitarian mission – last one was Indonesia. We are still missing our dear friends, Elder and Sister Blanchard. We know they’ll be able to return in the Lord’s time.

One other big event to start 2023 – Tanner, our second youngest, came to visit us for almost two weeks! He brought some needed supplies and treats for us, but mostly, he brought himself with his fun energy and a taste of home. 😄 We had a great time, taking him to mission events, to different branches in the bush, to the hospitals with sick missionaries, to the markets, and even to a couple of beaches. We visited a nature preserve called Libassa one night to celebrate Nancy’s Birthday and to play. I put the mission president role on hold and was just a “dad” and “husband” for a bit. We also enjoyed dinner with some new friends from the US Embassy, Steve and Audrey Kissik. They are from Idaho, but he works for the State Department to train and support the Liberian Police. While at their apartment, we went to the rooftop of the building to see the bat colonies launch from the trees at sunset. There were tens of thousands of them that darkened the sky! 🦇 It felt like “Gotham City” as the bats created a giant vortex around Monrovia. They eventually headed for the swamp areas to feed all night and then to return by morning. We see something new here everyday! Missionary work kept going, we celebrated Nancy’s and Elder Kreipl’s B-day (one of our Assistants) and sometimes we had extra visitors at the mission home due to illness or other needs, but we had an awesome time with Tanner! We said goodbye just this past Friday. Our loss is Calvin’s gain.

That is maybe 5% of what has happened this month…but we are happy to be helping here in any way we can. We see the changes in people’s lives as they discover their purpose and follow Christ. It changes them and it changes the country. Thanks to our three wisemen, Nancy and I are both finding JOY in this work.  We believe we really did win the lottery to be in the Liberia Monrovia Mission.