One of my first surprises when I arrived in Ghana happened on our first Sunday when we attended Relief Society lesson in a poor section of Accra, known as New Town. The meeting was held on the second floor of an old unairconditioned building where the street noise made it difficult to follow a conversation. In addition to the outside clatter, the sisters spoke English with thick African accents, if they spoke English at all. Twi was the language of choice. But, despite the outward signs of poverty their minds were bright, and their testimonies strong and vibrant. This caused me to realize I had entered this mission with some prejudices towards the people I was called to serve. Since that first Sunday, I’ve experienced that same scenario many times. There is no lack of gospel knowledge among these faithful Saints. **
**Elder Soares made a statement in October 2021 general conference that mirrored my thought. He said we shouldn’t judge our neighbors according to appearance, but we should look through Jesus’ eyes. I suppose I was judging my neighbor by outward appearances.
A recent convert in the mountain village of the Ho, who attends the Ho 3rd Branch, said that she had been looking for a new church for some time, but she was always disappointed because of the way preachers asked for money then paid themselves. When she investigated our church, she learned the principle of tithing. This intrigued her, “At first, I didn’t join because of paying money, until I learned that the money went to help people. My tithes are my way to say Thank You to God.”
A senior missionary here in Accra was late to a Zoom meeting with Elder Ihesiene, a Nigerian senior YSA missionary. The missionary apologized for keeping Elder and Sister Ihesiene waiting, only to hear the following. “I only need to make myself available. The Lord blesses us when do.”
In the Dawhenya Ward a brother was giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting where he described some families as being similar to Genesis 1:1-2, “void of form.” He knows of families were the wife sits and watches television when she hasn’t washed, then the children follow. He admonished us “not to be lazy, not to let our children sit on the fence of inactivity, where they can fall to the other side. “
In Relief Society of the Dawhenya Ward, the humbleness of the people and their living situation was apparent when a sister said, “Even if we don’t have food in our house it doesn’t matter, if we have peace of mind.”
The Sunday School teacher in Kpong said, “in Covid many of us have become very friendly with the scriptures.”
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