Mission Tour: Bushrod Island Zone Conference

Bushrod Island Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Curtis.  This is our last Mission Tour while on mission with the Africa West Area Presidency.  Two tours each year for the last three years. (The sky is white/gray/pink because of  the Harmattan time of year.  Lots of sand in the air)

Elder Humphreys carrying chair with enthusiasm

Fun picture of Sister Kirkham, about 5'1" chatting with Elder Hill about 6'4"!

Elder Finau, the last to meet with the Curtis's.  We had a wonderful zone conference.

All the missionaries went back to their areas after conference.  The next post will be the Monrovia Zone Conference to complete the Mission Tour in Liberia with more to come for Sierra Leone.  

Firsts and Lasts!

This is a historic day! President Swarray, Freetown Stake President, set apart his first missionaries as Stake President: Br. Komora and Br. Dumbuya, both to Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission. President Roggia set apart Sister Moi, Br. Bindi (both to Nigeria Port Harcourt) and Br. Conteh to Ghana Accra Mission. AND, they all received Patriarchal Blessings from Patriarch Kamara! It was Patriarch Kamara's first time giving patriarchal blessings. What a day of firsts!!!

Elder Etuk, Elder Itomo, Elder Udofot and Elder Evans came to the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission in December!  Welcome Elders!

President Swarray, Freetown Stake President, addressing the newspapers and TV in Freetown regarding the building of a new Mission Home and the first Stake Center in Sierra Leone.

Firsts: Groundbreaking for the Mission Home on Belliar Park.

Lasts:  The old Freetown Missionary Apartment on Belliar Park is demolished so that the new Mission Home can be constructed.  

Taking down the old missionary apartment on the Mission Office compound.  Lots of good memories for all the missionaries who lived there.

Took this picture of the architectural drawing of the Mission Home.

Groundbreaking for the first Stake Center in Sierra Leone.  It is being built on the property in Congo Cross.

Nearby children watching the groundbreaking in Congo Cross and yes, each of you are welcome to the chapel, dear children!

Drawing of Stake Center

Elder and Sister Burns, Humanitarian Missionary Couple.  They serve with the LDS Charities who has constructed approximately 200 clean water wells throughout Sierra Leone in the past five years.  We are looking to do 40 new wells in Kenema this year and numerous spring boxes; as well as the creation of a new water project here in the Freetown Area 2013.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has trained the community in neonatal resuscitation, provided immunizations, wheelchairs, latrines, a food initiative, mattresses, rugs and day beds to a polio orphanage and on and on...

  First, missionaries take the water out by buckets and put in the font, baptize some wonderful brothers and sisters...then last, take it out by bucketfuls and put back in the tank.  As you can see by the dry leaves, this is the dry season and water is precious as gold.

For All the New Missionaries Coming Soon...

We have received notice of the February, March and April new missionaries coming to the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission.  There are many, many arriving!  Please scroll through the blog from the beginning to now.  It will give all of you some idea of what it is like here!  This is the Best Mission in the World!  We welcome all and look forward to meeting each of you!

Incredible balance!  Love it!

On the road from Bo

Well built huts

Pineapple for sale (in Ghana)

Fish for Sale in Monrovia, Liberia

Large bats about 10 a.m. in Accra, Ghana.  We have lots of bats in the Freetown Freedom Cotton Tree in the center of downtown Freetown.

Some youth having fun in the water at Aberdeen in Freetown.

This is how clothes are sold here.

Coconuts in Bo

A material shop in Liberia...not very clear but gives you an idea.

Lots of chickens

 We have a family of monkeys at the Mission Office in Freetown.  This guy is about 3 ft tall.

Fishing boats in Freetown.

Ships off the Monrovia coast.... and so much more.  The people in both countries are wonderful and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing and growing.  What a great blessing to be here serving the Lord.  It is the people of both countries that make Sierra Leone and Liberia so beautiful!