Ghanaian Fable

The King and the Bodyguard

A Ghanaian Fable

Once there was a tribal king who loved to hunt. Often he would go into the jungle with his faithful bodyguard to stalk leopards and the occasional lion. On one hunting trip the king had a sore on the tip of his finger. He showed it to the bodyguard whose job, among other things, was to act as a doctor. He applied some herbal medicine and the next day the finger looked a little better.  However, by nightfall it had become infected again. The next day the bodyguard tried every herbal remedy he knew to heal the Kings finger, but in the end the bodyguard had to amputate the finger so that the infection would not spread to other parts of the kings body. Upon returning to their village the angry king had his bodyguard thrown in jail.

A few weeks later the king again went hunting but this time, without a bodyguard. On his expedition in the jungle he was surrounded and captured by a rival tribe and taken back to their village to serve as a human sacrifice to the gods. They tied the king to a tree and began their ritual dancing. As the drumbeat was getting faster there came a cry from the back of the crowd, “STOP”. One of the priests made his way through the crowd to the bound king. The priest lifted up the hand of the king and announced that he was missing a finger and as such would not qualify as a perfect offering to satisfy the gods. The king was released and the priests went in search of another candidate to sacrifice.

Upon returning to his village the king went straight to the prison where he had the bodyguard released. He told of his near brush with death and thanked the bodyguard for removing his finger which had saved his life. In turn the bodyguard said “thank you for putting me in prison or I would have been with you and it would have been me who died in your place.”

Sometimes what we initially see as a painful misfortune or a great trial turns out to be the very thing that allows us to experience growth and great blessings in the end.

Originally shared in MTC presidency meeting by President Michael Acquaye                    January 29, 2017

Five Missionaries in this Group are from Kenya

Kenya also needs the Gospel 

Kenya is a country in East Africa with coastline on the Indian Ocean. It encompasses savannah, lakelands, the dramatic Great Rift Valley and mountain highlands. It's also home to wildlife like lions, elephants and rhinos. Near the capital of Nairobi is the Maasai Mara Reserve, known for its annual wildebeest migrations, and Amboseli National Park, offering views of Tanzania's 5,895m Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Kenya

American USAID employees and families serving in Kenya in the 1970s held Church services in their own homes. The first African converts in Kenya were baptized in 1979. The first two missionaries, Elder Farrell and Sister Blanch McGhie, arrived in 1980, and in 1981 two branches (small congregations) were created in Nairobi and Kiboko. The Church received official recognition in 1991, and that same year missionary headquarters were established in Nairobi.

In 1988 the Church donated funds that were collected by means of special fasts to bring water to 15 Kenyan villages located 100 miles from Nairobi. The water systems were installed by 1989. In 1992 the Church provided food staples to Somalian and Kenyan refugees affected by severe drought conditions.

On 21 October 1992 a six-acre plot of Church land was planted under the direction of Church agronomist Joel K. Ransom, and a self-help project was expanded later to property owned by members. This resulted in the harvesting of vital crops.

By 1994 four districts, with several branches each, had been created and large congregations attended many of the meetings. Two of these districts were later dissolved. The first meetinghouse was completed in July 1994 for the Longata Branch in Nairobi.

A Church humanitarian community water project in 1994 provided personal water taps to hundreds of families. In February 1998 President Gordon B. Hinckley became the first Church president to visit Eastern Africa. He spoke to 900 members who had gathered from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The Nairobi Kenya Stake was organized on 9 September 2001, the first stake in Kenya.

Our wonderful Kenyan Missionariesś

Classwork at the MTC is what the Missionaries do Much of the Time

Seek Learning ...

The Glory of God is Intelligence

 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

.... but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

You must study it out in yout mind

A Piece of African Art for the New MTC

We often refer to the 8th Chapter of 1st Nephi which recounts the story of "Lehi's Dream"

This is a powerful missionary scripture as it refers to a missionary's motivation to serve the Lord. In the story Lehi makes his way along a path and arrives at a beautiful and radiant tree covered with fruit that was sweet and delicious. We soon learn the meaning of the fruit .... it represents feeling of the love of God and of exaltation. As soon as Lehi tastes of the fruit he looks around to see and invite his family to come and partake. Missionaries who have felt the love and joy that the gospel brings soon desire others to come and partake in much the same way.

One day late last year we decided that it might be meaningful to have a carved panel depicting
"Lehi's Dream".

Above the coastal plain surrounding Accra is a small town named Aburi. It was once a retreat for British Colonial Officers and is now the home of a beautiful botanical garden. Auburi is also known for the large part of it's population making a living in the ancient trade of wood carving. 

We went to Aburi in search of a carver who could carve a representation of the scene depicted in "Lehi's Dream" to adorn the walls of the new MTC which is currently under construction. 

While there we took advantage of the Botanical Gardens to get in a good walk

together with Elder and Sister Hill our wonderful new office couple

Looking out from the hollow center of a 'strangler ficus'

Two wonderful Sisters, or as the MTC missionaries call them "Mums"

Looking up through a strangler ficus 

We enjoyed this unique hand carved table with giraffe necks coming through the center

An Eagle Stool - Stools of all sorts have great significance in Ghana

Selling Dried and smoked Fish in the Gardens

Carver Abel's Handiwork

Shaping the rough design is done with an adze 

(the ancient tool used also to hollow out dugout canoes)

This is a first effort at a sample carving

More on this project to follow

  

A Visit from Elder and Sister Vinson

Yesterday we were blessed with a visit from our Area President Elder Terence M. Vinson of the Seventy and his wife Sister Kay Vinson.

Elder Terence M. Vinson was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2013. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Eighth Quorum of the Seventy in the Pacific Area. He is currently serving as President of the Africa West Area.

In 1974, Elder Vinson received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from Sydney University and an education and teaching diploma from Sydney Teachers College. He was also awarded a master’s degree in applied finance in 1996 from Macquarie University. His career has involved teaching math as well as training and lecturing at universities. His main occupation for the final 23 years of his working career was as a financial adviser and funds manager. He retired in 2011 as joint CEO and chairman of a business he had begun called Northhaven Wealth Management. He continued to consult for that firm until he was called as a General Authority.

Since joining the Church in 1974, Elder Vinson has served in numerous callings, including counselor in a bishopric, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, regional representative, counselor in a mission presidency, temple ordinance worker, and Area Seventy.

Terence Michael Vinson was born in Sydney, Australia, on March 12, 1951. He married Kay Anne Carden in May 1974. They are the parents of six children and 14 grandchildren with twins on the way. 

Before Elder and Sister Vinson spoke we heard a powerful rendition of "Master the Tempest is Raging" sung by the Ammon French District.

We heard wonderful and motivating messages from Elder and Sister Vinson

Shaking the hand of a General Authority is always a highlight of a stay in the MTC