Reflection

 It is now December 2023, nine months since we left Accra. On one hand we miss our busy day-to-day duties and adventures in Africa, on the other hand it is hard to believe we were ever there. The two worlds are so vastly different. We have often said that it is not possible to solve problems and situations in West Africa with an American brain. To help and serve these great people it is necessary to take a deep dive into their culture and traditions. In our work we found that Africans and Americans working hand in hand was a key to success. The Africans had the cultural knowledge, the senior couples understood the importance of process and accountability. The equalizer between the Africans and the American senior missionaries was our testimonies of the gospel and the desire to strengthen the Church by strengthening the rising generation—the Young Single Adults.

Above are the faces of the couple missionaries who taught and trained the priesthood leadership in their respective coordinating councils. It is this group, and those who will follow them, that will ensure the sustainability of the Gathering Place. 

Thumbnail of what we did:

We spent our first 6 months learning about Africa from Jon and Tamie Mondragon, becoming acquainted with YSA in AWA and resetting false expectations and unfortunate promises by past missionaries to stake presidents in the area. 

The next six months we worked to build and implement an area wide plan that would meet the objectives set by the Area Presidency: 1. Help the YSA stay on the covenant path, 2. Obtain meaningful employment, and 3. Establish eternal families. We felt that well implemented Gathering Places would entice the YSA into the buildings and therefore be a vehicle to accomplish the presidency’s goals. President Allotey from Kasoa Stake was so helpful. He saw the vision and created a general template that inspired other stakes. 

One of the major concerns for Gathering Places was long term sustainability. We knew the Gathering Place had to become part of the church structure, hence the idea to have African coordinating council senior missionaries called. Bless Elder Katcher, first counselor in the area presidency at the time, who enthusiastically agreed that locals should be called. We were grateful for his encouragement. His approval allowed Dale to begin navigating the rocky road through the Missionary Department to add the calling to their structure. There was also the challenge to encourage the Area 70s across seven countries to identify and extend the calls after the Area Presidency asked for this to happen. It took over three months for the couples to be called, then came the time for us to travel and train each couple and their stake president. To add to the busyness as we were struggling through these steps, third party NGOs continued to nip at our heels. The work was a full-time, 12-hour a day task. But, during this time we gained the insight and understanding that the long-term success of the Gathering Place depended on budget monies to fund food, computers, skills equipment, and transportation. Elder Klebingat was able to captured the interest of the Quorum of the Twelve and Seven Presidents of the 70, which resulted in the approval for the church statistical department to design and manage a six-month pilot. A positive step forward!

Returning missionaries were introduced to their stake Gathering Place through the Transition program. Only 6% of the AWA YSA serve missions and soon after returning about one-third of those fall away. To keep them on the covenant path, we developed a plan where the Missionary Department sent us a monthly list of all missionaries returning to any stake in West Africa within the upcoming six weeks. One of the duties of the coordinating council missionaries was to contact these returning young people while still in the field and counsel with them about their future, including such basics as where they would live and how they would get food to eat. One-on-one ministering happened in many ways, such as welcoming them at the airport, holding special firesides, and introducing them to their stake’s Gathering Place. When we arrived in AWA, factoring out Covid, YSA Sunday church attendance was 28%, when we left YSA church attendance had risen to 41%. Introducing returning missionaries to the Gathering Place was addressing the basic human need to feel loved, accepted, and have an opportunity to succeed.

During our last nine months in AWA our workload lightened when our much-anticipated reinforcements arrived! After months of working issues alone, Barry and Lori Platts arrived! They helped collect, manage, and measure data to determine if all of this was making a difference in the lives of YSA. Plus, they were a lot of fun to work with! Coordinating council missionaries learned their callings and began training local stakes. Enthusiasm for the concept was growing across the Area. Stories of YSA’s lives being blessed were recorded. Five months later the Poulters came with the talent to wrap everything with a bow. 

It was a tender day in February, when First Presidency approval for funding came! It was a feeling of joy and gratitude beyond words for us and for all the coordinating council missionaries. The months of planning, training, data collecting, allowed the vision to take the first steps to reality. The implementation process was to be in three phases. If the first two were successful, the third would be funded. Here is the letter Dale wrote under the signature of the Area Presidency announcing the approval.

The evolution of the Gathering Place concept was a testimony that the Lord calls people to serve where their talents can move His work forward. What a sacred experience it was to see His hand in a concept that evolved and began blessing the lives of Young Single Adults across the Africa West Area. The objectives of the Area Presidency are moving forward.