A Missionary Arrives from Tanzania

Elder Lesu is the first missionary that we have received from Tanzania  since Sister Brubaker and I arrived in January.

So where is Tanzania?  Tanzania is a fairly large country in Eastern Africa. It has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean, Kenya and Uganda lie to the north. It borders the DCR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi on it’s West . To the South are Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. 

In 1964 the Nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged and changed the name of their country to Tanzania. There are about 50,000,000 people in the country. Most of the population located on the Island of Zanzibar and along the coast are of Muslim background. Other areas of the country tend to be more Christian. 

Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.

See in the next post about the clicking language spoken in a small area of Tanzania

Click consonants and an African click language demonstrated by Sibs

Missionaries Have a Glimpse Into the Eternities

About 25-30% of our missionaries have lost one or both parents.  They are anxious to learn about Family History at the MTC!  It is wonderful to see them get so excited as they prepare the names of their fathers, and mothers on family search to be ready to do the temple work for them.  

 Elder Stutz helps Sister Monessa.

 We are grateful for all of the help we receive from senior couples that are serving in Accra.  

Merci beaucoup to Elder and Sister Spackman and Elder and Sister Stutz!  

Safe travels back to Accra!

Kente Festival Time in Ghana

Earlier in the blog we had a post about native hand woven cloth in west Africa. The native cloth in Ghana is called Kente Cloth. Rather than dying out it is the cloth around which a large celebration is held. Each year the first full week of September brings a series of cultural events in the Ewe Tribal area on the East side of the Volta River. A group of Senior missionaries accompanied our new Area Presidency member, Elder and Sister Marcus Nash to the Celebration.

Elder Nash (Middle), Sister Nash and Brother K from Switzerland. He became a chief after championing cause of the Ewe People a few years ago.

As I walked past these two in the "Queen" seating section, I worried that I was blocking their visibility. After passing them a uniformed guard informed me that one of the Queens wished to speak with me. I felt a bit like being summoned to the royal court. Hoping to not be in too much trouble for having disturbed their view, I returned and she quickly said "The two of us are Sisters in your Church. We Pray at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are welcome (here)"

Ewe Princess

Kente is woven in strips about 4" wide, after which the strips are sewn together in to a sort of robe for wearing at ceremonial occasions. 

Part of the Celebration was held in a small village across the border into Togo. The small, potholed and muddy road went of for an hour. I was glad that we caravanned there. It would have been easy for the car to have become very stuck.

This is the type of loom that is used to weave the Kente cloth

                                                 The photo of the Chief above is of an Ewe King from 1929.

                                                                  Not much difference 87 years later.

Goodbye to a once in a lifetime (for us) celebration of Ghanaian culture

Missionaries Have Opportunity to go to the Temple in Accra

Within the first full week each MTC group has the opportunity to go to the temple in Accra. Many receive their endowments for the first time. Some even see a temple in 'real life' for the first time when we make our first trip to the temple.

 

While at the temple e visited with a group of future missionaries 

on a temple excursion from Ivory Coast

Elders Mends and Umah serve as MTC Zone Leaders