Recently, Jeff and I attended a mission leadership conference in Benin, a few countries east of Liberia, just west of Nigeria. All the mission leaders serving in West Africa were invited. Benin felt like a more civilized African country than most others we’ve visited — actually they all feel that way. We were in the tourist region in the south, but it still has plenty of “West Africa.” We enjoyed two days of wonderful instruction given by our new area presidency: President Alfred Kyungu, 1st counselor Adeyinka A. Ojediran, and 2nd counselor Isaac K. Morrison.
After two days of meetings, we took a bus to a large lake and then went on a twenty-minute boat ride out to The Ganvie, a village that is built over the water. The village was established 400 years ago as a refuge from the Fon warriors, who were capturing people and selling them to European slave traders. (This is one reason this area was named “The Slave Coast.”) The Fon warriors believed that demons lived below the water’s surface, so the Ganvie people built their homes on stilts far out in the lake to keep themselves safe from their potential captors. The Ganvie lacks the civilization and art of Italy, but it nevertheless is referred to as “the Venice of Africa.” The Ganvie has as many as 30,000 inhabitants and 3,000 homes. The people there are expert fishermen, and they take the fish to the mainland to sell. It was fascinating to see how these people can survive on the water. The name “Ganvie” comes from the Fon language, and it literally means “We’ve survived.”
I have thought a lot about that experience since we returned to Liberia. We too have forces against us. Life has its choices of good and evil, right and wrong. We know of Satan, who is trying to enslave us in his evil ways. He is sending all of his forces to keep us captive. There are no homes on stilts in the middle of the water that we can escape to, however, our prophet, President Nelson, has repeatedly given us great counsel to protect us: “Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your covenants.…A covenant made with God should not be regarded as restrictive but as protective.” I believe if we stay true to the covenants that we made at baptism and to those secondary covenants made in the temple, we will be protected from the adversary. In the end, we too will be able to say, “We’ve survived.”
Sisters’ Conference — D.O.T.S.
We pulled the young and senior sister missionaries together again for our quarterly Sister’s Conference. The purpose was to keep our focus on and trust in the Savior, using the theme of “DOTS” (“Depend On The Savior”). Sister Blanchard taught the young sister missionaries how to make bracelets. We made mini pizzas and ice cream sandwiches and the STLs (sister trainer leaders), Sister Allred, and I gave instruction on making Christ the anchor in our lives. The sisters all love getting together, and these conferences have built a close-knit bond.
Branch and District Conferences
The missionary work continues to go very well. We have focused our missionaries’ training on building a strong foundation of the Church in Liberia. This means when they teach and serve others, they are helping others understand our Heavenly Father’s plan and the role of our Savior. They help these individuals understand what is true through the impressions from the Holy Ghost. They also help them as they come into the Church by ensuring they make friends and have support from other members and leaders. The missionaries continue teaching them for up to a year after their baptism. At first, this focus on a stronger foundation slowed the baptism rate down significantly, but it has now come back. For the past 8-9 months we have seen very strong growth, and new members are more converted to the Lord and understand gospel principles. The foundation seems more robust, but we know it will require constant effort and take a generation to see the long-lasting results.
We recently had a District Conference in Kakata where we have six church branches. Although we had a visiting authority who presided, Jeff and I were still key speakers for the leadership training, the adult session, and the general session on Sunday. There were about 1,050 people in attendance – impressive when you consider there are 1300 members in the district, and many have to walk far to attend. We are hoping this part of Liberia will become a stake in the next year or two. The Church is growing and blessing many lives, but the best part is seeing how the restored gospel affects individuals and how they live. It is amazing.
Stolen Truck
Not everyone is interested in the gospel and not everything is rosy here. We deal with theft and other problems on a regular basis. In November, we came home and found our new Toyota 4WD truck that we had purchased for the next senior missionaries was missing from our compound. At first, we assumed our mission driver had come to get it to install the bed liner and the canopy. There was no way someone could steal it, drive it past the guards and out the gate, without the key! Right?
We soon learned the truck had been stolen in broad daylight while we were out doing training. It was an inside job, like most thefts here in Liberia. Last month, our air-conditioner units fell off the outside wall. (No surprise.) When the AC technician came to repair it, the head maintenance guy at our compound, Bill, came into our home to turn off the circuit breaker. At that time, Bill stole our house key that was in the kitchen and made a copy of the key. He later came back, entered the house, stole the truck key, and arranged for his buddy to put on missionary clothes (white shirt) and drive the truck out while Bill opened the gate. Of course, Bill also arranged for the security cameras to conveniently be off or damaged.
We notified the police that night. Everyone to them was a suspect or person of interest at first, including our housekeeper, the guards, and even the Mission, but then as we zeroed in on the clues, Bill became the top suspect. When he was taken to the police station along with the guards, Bill escaped and has been on the run since. Even his wife hasn’t seen him.
We had to pay the police $2,500 USD to conduct an investigation. (The police here often claim they do not get paid by the government.) Using their informants, they found the truck about a week later. The thieves had damaged the transmission, stolen the spare tire and jack, and scraped the paint off of the hood and tailgate. They tried to sell the truck in Liberia, but the buyers suspected it was “hot,” so they were planning to ship it outside the country next.
In the end, it cost us about five grand to pay the police and get the truck back to its original state, but we were thrilled to have it returned! It literally had taken Jeff a year and half to procure this truck. For a host of reasons, this vehicle required approval that went all the way to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. We somehow knew that if a truck was approved by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, it was a special vehicle, and the Lord would help us get it back. And He did!
Senior Couples Rock!
We recently have had two wonderful senior couples join us here in Liberia. Elder & Sister Haddock from Morgan, UT were assigned here as the Humanitarian Couple. Elder Haddock served in Italy when he was young, and they both most recently served a humanitarian mission in the Adriatic South Mission. They both are very skilled and exceptional in working with the people and with our young missionaries here.
Elder and Sister Cramer, from St. George, UT arrived in November and likewise have been a joy and a blessing. They have hardy and positive attitudes. They are serving in Totota. Elder Cramer recently retired from being a Boeing 747 and 767 airline pilot (which Jeff worked on early in his career). Elder Cramer not only flew people, but items ranging from zoo animals to military weapons to exotic cars for royalty. His traveling the world shows both a spirit of adventure as well as strength in their marriage.
We are thrilled both the Haddocks and Cramers have joined our Mission for the next 18 months.
Thanksgiving 2024
Although Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving the first Thursday of November, we still celebrate it with America the last Thursday. Ten new young missionaries arrived the night before, and we picked them up from the airport. After letting them get a good night’s sleep, we trained them and sent them to their areas. Then we had our senior couples over to our home for the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner. We have so much to be thankful for, but for some reason this year, it was especially sweet. We enjoyed a delicious meal (this year we had real turkey!), and we enjoyed playing games and visiting. We know the Lord sends us great young missionaries, but he sends us the absolute BEST senior missionary couples! Going through an experience like this together makes us friends forever.
I loved that video! What a unique culture. And the theft story is incredible! Stay safe!