Ralph was Right.

Jeff and I have often looked back at the first six weeks of our mission and wondered how we ever survived. Besides the shock of being in a third world country, without traffic laws, unable to understand the people, and not knowing any of the 180 missionaries, we also encountered unique challenges. On day three, a Liberian sister missionary went missing for over a week before we found her. She decided to go AWOL and packed up her stuff and left. Thankfully she was safe. On day five we got a call at midnight from an elder who said he had been locked out of his apartment for a couple hours. He and his companion had a fight, and when he took the phone outside, his companion locked him out of their apartment. With the help of our Assistants to find their place, Jeff went out in the middle of the night to help resolve the conflict. Later that week, Jeff was broadsided in his truck by a car at about 10pm as he was coming home from the office. A couple weeks later, one of our missionaries from the DRC broke his femur playing soccer on prep-day. Since there are no ambulances available, Jeff and I drove two and half hours to get him and take him to a big hospital. We then spent the next 8 days in and out of the hospital with him. The “haunted” hospital alone was enough to give a person PTSD. While I was running from the hospital out to the pharmacy to get this elder’s medical supplies, I was hit by a Keke (3 wheeled taxi) when walking across the street. Towards the end of the transfer, the volunteer youth counselors serving at FSY (a church-run camp for 1,200 young men and young women) revolted because they heard that some counselors at BYU were paid for similar work (even though it wasn’t similar). When they felt like they were getting no support from their leaders, they turned on us, expecting us to fix the problem. It was crazy. At this same time, we realized that the mission president is perceived as “The Wizard of Oz” – and people were coming daily for Jeff to solve their problems. They line up at the office or call daily asking for a job, money, or help. And of course the congregations called regularly to report theft of supplies, generators, fuel, chairs, computers, etc. It was quite an initiation to this role, and of course there were the duties of the normal missionary work with conferences, interviews and transfers.

Over time, we have gotten used to the pace of the mission and the chaos of the country. We truly love the people, and we barely notice the things that at one time brought so much anxiety. Jeff made the comment the other day that the first transfer was the most eventful of our whole mission. I then shared the events of the past two weeks just to point out that those same things are going on now. We are just getting better at dealing with them.

For example, we had an elder break his hand, two were being treated for malaria, and one was in quarantine for Covid. We had two elders that were diagnosed with drug resistant typhoid (one needed to return home to get treatment). A keke driver, transporting two missionaries plus another passenger, fell asleep and his keke rolled a couple of times with our elders inside. Miraculously it only resulted in road rash and emotional trauma. Coming home from a baptism, three different missionaries were thrown out of the back of a moving truck onto the pavement. Again, another miracle not to have any broken bones. (And no! Missionaries are not allowed to ride in the back of pickup trucks!) At the same time, we had to send a few missionaries home for other reasons. Two other elders’ departing flights were changed without us knowing it (their flight was not the next day but that day), so we scrambled to get them to the airport. Just a typical week.

After all this, Jeff and I were so looking forward to a rare Saturday morning at home to organize our thoughts and prepare for upcoming meetings. It was the first chance in a very long time. However, that morning we found brown water coming from all our faucets and steaming hot dirt coming up in the toilets. The heat melted the parts in the toilet tank and the seals. An hour later, the air conditioner flooded the living room. That same day, our cell phones were shutoff by the cell company so we couldn’t make or receive calls. (The finance department in Ghana forgot to pay a phone bill for some other Church employees that were linked to our account, so the cell phone company shut off all of our phones for a few days.) The internet and power went out for half the day as normal. We had 10 people over for dinner that night too — try cooking without running water. At the end of the day, Jeff casually commented, “Well, that was just another day in Liberia.” As I said, Ralph Waldo Emerson was right.

Yes, our days are like this, but what we have come to recognize is how the Lord is in the details of this work. He is changing the way we think, cope, and react, and more importantly, we are learning to trust that He protects us and the missionaries. The missionaries in the keke that rolled over could have been seriously injured. A keke is a tin can on three wheels, but other than a few scrapes, they were fine. One of the elders thrown from the back of the pickup truck saw the truck tire roll past his head. He could have been crushed, but all three were protected and are now fine. Our sick elder with typhoid that returned home was able to get with an infectious disease specialist at the University of Utah, enabling him to get necessary treatment quickly. Honestly, there is a miracle behind every one of our trials.

The scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 88:84 has new meaning for me: “I will go before your face, I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

We feel there are angels round about bearing us up in this work. I don’t know how we could do it without the Lord’s help. It’s very hard work, but it is so worth it. We get to work with some of best young adults in the world and it is wonderful to see their own conversion and growth as well as that of those they teach. We feel it is a privilege to be part of this work.

Jeff and I attended the semiannual West Africa Mission Leader Training in Ghana a few weeks ago. We are still amazed at how civilized and nice Ghana is after living in Liberia. The first day was spent in Accra. We had lunch by a beautiful pool, and then I went shopping with the wives of the mission presidents. I forgot how therapeutic it is to shop.😄 The next day, we all loaded onto a bus and went to a resort about two hours away. As we drove north, we saw about 20 baboons on the side of the road — our first truly African animals! The place where we stayed was beautiful, located next to a river, with thatched roof buildings, a swimming pool, and a tennis court, and we were served delicious fresh vegetables and food. The highlight of the trip was being taught and trained by our Africa West Area leaders, as well as Elder Jose A. Teixeira and his wife. Their teaching was uplifting and relevant to our needs.

We also love associating with the other mission leaders. Only they can relate to our experiences, and they provide much needed empathy, support, and encouragement. We have grown to love them all. It is an understatement to say it was a refreshing break. Two of the days we were given a few hours in the afternoon to relax…and we took advantage of every second to get some much needed playtime. The first day we went on hike to the top of a mountain. The view was stunning! It was the first time we’ve really walked in nature since we arrived in Africa because we’re almost always in the car or buildings. The next day, we played tennis for nearly two hours in the 95° heat and humidity. We then we went kayaking in the river for 30 minutes. We tried to get in as much fun as we could before dinner. Prior to coming home, we were able to attend the Ghana temple with the other mission leaders and enjoy a birthday dinner for President Ake at a local restaurant.

Sister’s Conference: It was held the Monday before Easter, so our theme focused around the Savior as the bread of life. Sister Erickson taught the girls how to make bread dough. The sisters loved making the dough into fried scones, rolls, braided bread, cinnamon buns etc. After we ate our creations we enjoyed five minute devotionals from the STL’s (Sister Trainer Leaders) and our senior women on topics relating to bread and the Savior. There is a good feeling around the sisters. They are becoming wonderful women and missionaries.

We have Zone Conference every six weeks. Nine Zones…Nine Conferences. Three conferences are on the road, one is on Zoom, and the other five are in or around Monrovia. The main theme for this conference was “Possess Honesty and Integrity.” To teach the missionaries about honesty, Jeff used the example of sending them to buy bananas for him. We taught them about being exactly honest in a number of different situations involving bananas. We gave them each a banana keychain charm, to remind them to be completely honest, never steal, cheat or deceive in any way, and then of course we gave them bananas to eat. (The bananas in Liberia are soooo goooood.).

Here are some pictures of some of our wonderful missionaries in handful of the nine zones, including some missionaries coming and others going home. We’re excited for the new missionaries and miss those going home!