MTC Sunday

Sunday, February 1, 2015 – MTC Sunday

Wow is all I can say!  Today we went to church at the MTC here in Ghana.  There are only about 40 missionaries there right now (because the temple is closed) when normally they have closer to 100.  Mark & Kim’s son, Parker who served in the West Indies…his old mission president is now the president of the MTC here, so they invited us over to church at the MTC.  What a huge spirit there!  It was unbelievable and a unique experience.  Among all these dark faces is one white elder and one white sister, both of whom were from Utah so we took some photos after the meeting and sent text messages home to their families.  They have both only been out less than two weeks.  Both are learning French…one going to Madagascar and one going to Togo.

Oscar's Family

First off, we were just going to go with our group (7 of us), but last night at dinner Vicky invited the Nigerians to come and then Joseph showed up and Oscar showed up with four of his children, so we needed 4 taxis plus the missionary couple’s car to get us all there.  Getting a taxi here is an adventure and if you are white and need a taxi, they want to charge you twice as much as if you are a local, so since we were all out on the street, it became a problem.  It took us 20 minutes to get 4 taxis who would agree on the price to take us there.  Then, none of the first three taxis really knew where we were going and since none of us riders knew either, it took a while to find.  I was praying that we could get there before the meeting started.  I think they waited for us and started at 9:05am since we were late.

The opening song was “Let Us All Press On” .  It was sung loudly in two languages (French & English) and with many dialects and accents all at the same time.  The spirit spoke loudly and strongly in that room and I could feel the gigantic love Heavenly Father has for each of his children and especially for these young people who have been set apart as full time missionaries for the Lord.

The presiding brother started off the fast and testimony meeting saying that whatever the Lord has done for you whether good or bad we should be grateful.  He said that every misfortune is a blessing and since we may not recognize which are blessings, we should be grateful for everything the Lord sends our way.

Our sweet Joy, from Nigeria bore her testimony and said, “Where there is the spirit, there is liberty.”  How true is that?

As the elders and sisters bore their testimonies, some would say, “I know with all my heart that this church is true.”  And you could feel their giant hearts bearing testimony in a way I’ve never experienced before.  They would all start out saying, “good morning sisters and elders” and the audience would respond, “Good-morning!”

At one point in the meeting Sister Robinson stood up and said she didn’t like to take their time but she had been witnessing a miracle as they were asked to bear their testimonies in the language they had come to learn, which for most of them was English and after only a week of working on it, they were doing remarkably well.  The gift of tongues is real!

One Elder from the Ivory Coast said, “I say that Jesus Christ is our Savior…I say that President Monson is called of God…I testify in the name of Jesus Christ.”  For each thing he testified of, he would start with “I say…” and it was so simple and yet so powerful.

I could see as each stood at the pulpit that they were thinking very carefully of how to say the words.  They would speak slowly and specifically and simply, and yet the spirit was carried to every member of the congregation.

Other words spoken:

“I know that the Book of Mormon changed my life.”

Sister, “I testify that the church is here.”

Oscar's Youngest Child

“I want to tell you what I know.  I know with all my heart this is the right place.  I know with all my heart the missionary work is true.”

“I believe in the gift of tongues.  It is not easy to speak English.  But I know that this work is the work of God.  We walk the power of God, but it is not the walk that makes the difference but the gift of Holy Spirit.”

“I am very happy to be called a missionary of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I know with all my heart…if we have a desire to serve God, that is where we are going.  As we have desire, Heavenly Father will strengthen us.”

I was writing as fast as possible to capture their exact words and only wish I could capture their giant hearts and spirits as well.  The missionaries were from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Como, Cordova, and many other places I could not understand all united as one to be ready to go into their assigned missions to serve.

Other testimonies, “God knows every one of us.  He knows what we need to serve Him.  I know he bless us and give us gift of tongues to serve everywhere and preach his mission.”

A Cayman sister who is a recent convert said, “The Lord told me I cannot send you to do something and not provide a way for you to do it.”  This comment hit me like a ton of bricks as I applied it to this gigantic wall project we have been doing here in Ghana the past two weeks.  We were called to serve and train and through miracles and lots of prayer, we were sent the right people at the right time to accomplish His purposes.  I know this is true.  The Lord will always provide a way if we will let Him show us the way.  I have seen his grace and tender mercies and know that as one elder said, “I will serve not by my might or my strength but by His.”

One Elder from Nigeria said that he wasn’t there when God appeared to Joseph Smith or helped him translate the Book of Mormon, but he said, “I’ve come to know for myself that these things are true.  As we put this great work on our shoulders…he will bless us…He will reward us abundantly…”  He then challenged us to experiment upon the words of Moroni and see for ourselves if the Lord will not also bless us.  “He gives me commandments not to punish me but to help me grow.”

“Every challenge is for my benefit.  Showing patience tells Heavenly Father that He knows what is best for us.”

One Elder said, “I will not leave it (his testimony) or I won’t have it with me, but instead I share it with you.”  I liked the words share instead of “I leave this testimony with you…” that we so often hear.  He is right, if I “leave it” then it will be gone from me.  Excellent analysis!

One sister said, “Whoever has been called He finds worthy and He has qualified…He will not allow us to go through any struggles that we can’t overcome…remove any doubt from your heart.  I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I have studied it!”  I believe that is the key.  Remove the doubt and study the gospel and then when we have put forth the effort, the Lord will manifest the truth of all things.

Sisters' from the MTC

One brother said he was sad in the beginning that he wasn’t born into the church, but then said, “I am happy now that I was not born in the church but I searched and joined the true church.  Indeed I was lost and now I have found the truth…the truth is nowhere else but here in this church.”  I don’t believe it could have been said any better.  He has been a member only 4 years.

They finished the meeting singing all the verses of “How Great Thou Art” even though the testimony meeting had gone until 10:30am.  No one seemed anxious for the meeting to end.  No one wanted the spirit that permeated that room to change.  The closing song was another testimony for the day.  I did very little singing and more wiping of tears from my eyes.

Alicyn and MTC Sisters

After the meeting and talking with the American sister and elder and sending their pictures home to their families, we went with Sister Robinson to their apartment upstairs and she told us more about the people here in Ghana.  She said that they are very industrious.  They all work with their hands and are not idle like some they saw in the West Indies.  The beads they make are done from recycled glass, crushed into powder, with dye added and then hand painted before being baked in the handmade kilns.  She also told us where to buy fabrics here.  WE hope to have time on Thursday to go to the Makala Market.  The Batik prints here are gorgeous and we hope to buy enough varieties to make quilts for each one of us as a remembrance of our time here in Ghana.

When we returned from church, we met the floral missionaries.  These are two sisters who are called to travel all over the world doing the floral arrangements for the temples.  It is an unpaid job and they travel one to two weeks per month.  I’m thinking our travel schedule right now is not so bad.

We are hoping to finish all the walls we’re working on in two more days.  They temple president would love us to be out of his way by Wednesday so they will have three days to clean (I guess the cleaning people don’t work on Saturdays here).  I think we can make it and then just need to organize and finish up for a day or two, help with some cleaning and then have one more day to shop before heading home.  These past two weeks have flown by.  It will be strange to go home to winter since we’ve just spent all of our time hot and sweaty here.

Alicyn