Finally - a Blog Post!

GREEN

• There are many types of bananas here. The small, green ones are the sweetest. Their peels never turn yellow.

• The large green ball is a grapefruit. They have a lot of seeds and are pink inside.

• The middle-sized green ball is an orange. The missionaries like to eat it by cutting the top off and squeezing the juice into their mouths. It is orange inside.

• The smallest round ball is a lime.

• Cucumbers are short and stubby. We eat a lot of them.

• They have tangerines here too. Guess what color they are? Yep - green!

We attended a Mission Leader Seminar held in Benin, Africa. After our meetings were over, we spent a few hours visiting the floating village of Ganvie. There are about 40,000 people who live in this village of stilt buildings which include houses, churches, schools, restaurants, hotels, and outdoor markets. The children learn to swim and row boats when they are very young. The main source of income for this village comes from fishing. It was fascinating to watch the fishermen toss their large nets into the air, forming a circle before falling into the water.

The Kenema Zone played some fun outdoor games on P-day, like tug-of-war and jump rope. While cheering them on, I glanced across the courtyard and saw this audience of onlookers also enjoying the “show.”

SAFE!

Only the most valuable items are kept in the Office Elder’s safe!

I never stop being surprised by what I see on our travels.

The Blackstone Pizza Oven our friend Roger Dahle sent over with us is very popular with the missionaries. I love watching their faces as they pull the first pizza out of the oven!

On the night of October 31, there was a loud knock at our door. The Arnell’s were upstairs in their apartment, so we wondered who it could be. As we opened the door we were greeted with a loud “Trick or Treat!” We had a good laugh and invited them in where we had a very fun visit. And they received a bottle of juice for their efforts.

Tiger Feet?

This is a sure sign that rainy season is over, and the sun is out. Crocks and Keens make interesting tan lines.

The people love getting together for Stake Conference. The chapels are always filled to capacity. They line up chairs outside and open the windows so they can hear.

After attending a branch conference in Moyamba one Sunday, Sister Arnell and I entertained a group of children by folding paper into airplanes and showing them how to toss them back and forth to each other.

These Primary children sang “Jesus Once Was a Little Child” for the branch conference. They were adorable!

Kindia Town Maternal & Child Health Center

Scott and I attended a ribbon cutting for the Kindia Town Maternal & Child Health Center. It was built with funds donated by Engage Now Africa, Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a beautiful place that is going to have a huge impact on the lives of women and children in Sierra Leone. This country has the highest infant mortality rate in the world so you can imagine the blessing it will be to have qualified medical staff, a well-stocked pharmacy, a nutrition program, and an education center all in one place at zero cost. Having this clinic open now is a benefit to the mission too because it has generated a lot of good will among the people. While at the event, we had several women grab our hands and say, "Thank you, thank you!" I believe hearts will be even more open to hearing the gospel taught by the missionaries. My favorite part of the day was meeting a handful of women and their babies who've already received life-saving care from the facility.

We said a tearful goodbye to Paul and Jane Taggart on November 13. Those of you who’ve read their emails have an inkling of what their year in Moriba Town was like. They trained and supported leadership from 5 branches and 3 home groups, started a Gathering Center for young single adults, taught missionary preparation classes – sending out more than 20 missionaries from the area, and even found time to feed the missionaries for every zone conference. They have left a mark on the hearts of the people here who will always remember them and love them.

That same night (November 13), or rather the next morning at 1:00 AM, we said hello to John and Leica Merriam. The Merriam’s are from Cache Valley and we have known them for over 30 years. They moved into one of the apartments above the mission home and are already making themselves indispensable. We are so grateful for their willingness to serve in Sierra Leone with us!

Once a year, a member of the Area Presidency comes for a “Mission Tour”. This year we hosted Elder Ojediran and his wife. We held a mission-wide zone conference in Bo and brought in every missionary except those who live too far away (Moriba Town and Kono zones.) The missionaries enjoyed meeting the Ojediran’s and hearing their messages.

Sister Ojediran and I had the opportunity to teach with two of our STLs (Sister Training Leaders) for a few hours.

In the United States, the fourth Thursday of November is a holiday called Thanksgiving. It commemorates the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Indians. It’s an opportunity for families and friends to get together, share a good meal, and think of all the things we are grateful for. This year, we spent Thanksgiving Day orienting five new missionaries – two from Congo, one from South Africa, one from the USA, and one from Tanzania. We were impressed with every one of them! They are here for the right reasons and are ready and willing to serve. I am thankful to mingle with such amazing young missionaries. It was a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving!

One of our missionaries told me about a man he was teaching. This man had been a Muslim all his life and was very skeptical about the things he was being taught. The missionary gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, read Moroni 10:3-5, and promised him if he read the Book of Mormon every night and prayed with sincerity, he would come to know it was the word of God. When they met with him four days later, he had an excited look in his eyes. “I did what you suggested,” he said “I read the Book of Mormon every night and prayed about it. It happened just as you said it would! I know it’s true! I feel it in my heart. I want to be baptized!” The missionaries were pleased but not surprised by his change of heart.

The people of Sierra Leone are blessed with extra sensitivity towards spiritual things which lead many to act with faith and believe quickly. It’s one of the many things I love and admire about them.