Bakers in Ghana

This week turned into one Doug will never forget! He was asked to donate blood here in Africa. Backstory: I’ve mentioned before that there’s a sweet Fijian elder who has needed surgery for a large kidney stone for over a month and a half. Several options were explored—flying him to Australia where his dad lives, or waiting 3-4 more months for surgery here. In the meantime, this poor elder has been in and out of the hospital for pain control. Those of you who have had a kidney stone know how awful that pain can be! Finally, a surgeon was found here in Accra who could do the surgery much sooner. But in order for the surgery to happen, hospital rules require that someone donate blood on the elder’s behalf—even though there was a 0% chance he’d actually need a transfusion. Sister Jennings, the mission nurse, went to donate, but they wouldn’t accept her blood because she was over 60. She called Doug, asked his age, and was relieved to hear he was 58. She asked if he would donate so the Eld...

Though Thanksgiving isn’t really celebrated here in Africa, we had a wonderful week—and so much for which we are thankful! We began with a lovely Family Home Evening led by Sister Shumway. She and Elder Shumway gave each of the senior couples in our group a squash (no pumpkins here!) along with a pen and a cute tag inviting us to write things for which we are grateful each day. It truly set a tone of gratitude for Doug and me. Now that we’ve been on our mission for almost six months, it was fun to reflect on things we’ve taken for granted in the past. Some of the things we wrote included good roads, Amazon, good affordable produce, and parks/green spaces. Though we do miss those things, our family, friends, each other, the gospel, temples, covenants and ordinances, and Jesus Christ still top our list. We are so grateful for the opportunity this Thanksgiving to be in Africa, sharing the things that matter most to us. ❤️ Below is a picture of our Thanksgiving squash and a few photos of m...

We know you’ve all been waiting patiently to hear about the rest of our trip to The Gambia! Sunday, we went to church with the senior couple there. The Gambia has two branches and one group. The church was officially organized in The Gambia in 2022. Before that, two return missionaries originally from Ghana held church meetings in their home for 20 years. Both of them are now serving as branch presidents. The church is steadily growing there, though the country is 95% Muslim, so missionary work is not easy. The missionaries mentioned that the people are very kind but not very interested in learning more about the gospel. The branch we attended was held in an old home. The branch president was wonderful, and his wife, who was Muslim until about a year ago, was baptized. The sacrament meeting was packed, with about 50 people in attendance. It was such a blessing to participate in their meetings. That evening, Elder and Sister Roberts brought two wonderful elders to our hotel. One of the...

Wow, what a week! It definitely didn’t go as we expected, but thankfully, it ended well. I’m not even sure where to begin with all the adventures we’ve had! This week has probably been the most challenging for Doug since our arrival. As I mentioned in an earlier letter, there’s been a change in the General Authority Seventy who oversees missionary health. We’re grateful for the short time we had to serve under Elder Jackson’s direction. We’ve also had the chance to meet and talk with Elder Strong, the new Seventy over Missionary Medical. He was a delight, and we’re excited to work under his leadership. As with any change in leadership, a fresh set of eyes often brings new perspectives, and things can shift according to their talents and how the Lord guides them. This has certainly been the case with Elder Strong. In a meeting a week and a half ago with all the AMAs (Area Medical Advisors) worldwide, Elder Strong and his team strongly emphasized to all AMAs that they should ensure they...

Another adventurous week has come and gone here in Accra. Some of our experiences were planned, and others were unplanned—just to keep us on our toes! Nothing surprises us too much anymore, and we’ve learned to just relax and go with the flow. After all, this is Africa! We’re grateful to be having this incredible experience. Doug had a super busy week.  The mission leaders returned from their conference and things got busy. From Monday to Wednesday afternoon, he was packed with Mission Health Councils. On Thursday, we spent the afternoon and part of the evening helping with New Missionary intake. Friday morning, he had more Mission Health Councils until we began our temple shift. We finished around 7:15 p.m., making for a long but rewarding day. With the changing of the General Authority Seventy who oversees missionary medical care for the Church, there have been some new changes and training. Elder Steed and Doug have been working on implementing them here in Africa. As you may ...