Today was a first for us and a first for the entire Ghana Kumasi Mission. Today we dedicated the new Duayaw Nkwanta Meetinghouse, something I have never done before. It was a first for the Mission because this is our first non-District Center that the Church built and owns. We usually just lease a building and convert it into a meetinghouse, but there is a greater desire to begin to have footprints in the community with real Church buildings. This is the first in the Mission and we know there will be many, many more to come. Preparing the dedicatory prayer was a revelatory experience for me. The words flowed as I typed and I knew what needed to be said and the spirit gave me the words. Just one more reason I love this call to serve as a Mission Leader. The heavens opened and gave words to my heart’s desires. Here is the prayer that was offered.

25 June, 2023

Duayaw Nkwanta Branch, Sunyani District

Building Dedication

Our beloved Father in heaven, we bow before Thee in reverence on this day of dedication. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this place of meeting and instruction. We rejoice that this building has been erected in this place of Duayaw Nkwanta to be a beacon of light and truth to the inhabitants of this great city.

Now, acting in behalf of all those who are present, and in the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, which is the priesthood after the order of thy divine Son and under the direction of the Africa West Area Presidency, we consecrate and dedicate to Thee and to Thy Beloved Son this the Duayaw Nkwanta meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We dedicate the grounds, the structure from the footings to the spire that reaches heavenward as a symbol of our heaven bound prayers and desires.  We dedicate each of the rooms and facilities, including the baptismal font where thy sons and daughters will make a covenant with thee to willingly take upon them the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. We dedicate this chapel that it will be a place of refuge, worship, and joy for those who come to partake of the Lord’s sacrament each Sabbath day.

We dedicate the electrical lines and equipment that provide light and the electronic equipment that provides sound to this building as well as all other components of this building necessary for the safe and efficient operations required to continue to move forward the work of gathering Israel.

We ask thee Heavenly Father that this building may be preserved against the ravages of nature and any defiling hand. We ask thee that the Holy Spirit will abide constantly within these walls and that all who enter will feel the spirit of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as reflected in the lives of the members of this Church. Bless the members who come that this building will be a place of continued repentance and sincere renewal of their sacred covenants.  That through the sacrament and inspired instruction, consecrated disciples will come to know the Master on more holy levels.  Bless the visitors who come that they will feel the spirit of love and truth that permeate the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Bless the rising generation, the children, the youth and young single adults who enter here that they will find rest and joy in the sanctity of this building, that it will be a place of learning and inspiration for them as they grown into adulthood.

Bless the widows, the widowers, the orphans, the lonely, the despised, the troubled, and the confused, that here they will find fellow citizens of the household of God who will love, lift and encourage them.

Bless the husbands and wives that come to worship here that they will be inspired to love and serve each other more earnestly.  May they be blessed to love and serve the Lord with greater desire and reach out to other members of this congregation in need of their nurture both now and in the future.

Bless the leaders who are called to serve here that they will be inspired to give their hearts, might, minds, and strength to the living God, placing their wills upon the altar that all they minister to will be uplifted, edified, and strengthened by their example and love.

Bless the work of gathering Israel here in this beautiful town of Duayaw Nkwanta, that this building will draw the serious truth seeker to come and see, and come and stay.

We so pray on this day of dedication for these and all other blessings of which we may stand in need.  We rededicate ourselves and that with which Thou hast blessed us in the name of our Redeemer, the Savior of the world, Thine own Beloved Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

We used every bit of space available in the building. We had 20 people attend who are being taught or will be taught by the missionaries. Members of the District Choir came and sang “We Love Thy House O Lord”. It was beautiful. Here is a portion of their number. Thanks to Elder Loveland who recorded it.

The program for the service was simple. President Damtse, the Branch President spoke first. He was followed by President Asare-Boan, the District President. We then heard the choir and LaDawn spoke followed by a few comments from me and the dedicatory prayer. At the end of the meeting the hymn to be sung was “There is Sunshine in My Soul Today”. But as Sister Goodrich began to play, the spirit told me to “change the hymn”. I felt like we needed to sing “Thy Spirit Lord Has Stirred Our Souls”, but it is not well known here, so I then felt we should sing, “The Spirit of God” (Hymn #2). I captured Sister Goodrich’s notice and she stopped playing, but the chorister who was in front of us, could not see what was happening and the congregation began to sing “There is Sunshine in My Soul”. I stood up, walked over and tapped her lightly and the told her we were going to sing hymn #2. It was not a comfortable thing to do, but I am committed to following the still small voice of the spirit and so I acted as I felt the Lord would have me act. The hymn choice turned out to be the right one as the spirit again filled the chapel as we sang. Such a glorious meeting!

During the second hour, I interviewed Clinton Yeboah Bediako to be called as a missionary. He currently serves as the branch clerk and is going to be a powerful messenger of truth wherever he is called to serve. With each missionary that serves from the member districts in the Ghana Kumasi Mission, I spend about 45 minutes going over every one of our 17 Points of Consecrated Obedience and commit each prospective missionary to live the points, one by one. I want the expectation to be clear of each missionary called from our districts.

On Monday we were able to play some basketball again after missing a week because of Elder Gong’s visit. Something we would do every week to have that experience repeated! We definitely played too long as it was over 2 hours! But we are willing to pay a price to play the greatest game ever invented. I am grateful for James Naismith who invented the game that brings so much joy to so many (and especially to me).

On Monday night we held our weekly virtual MLC meeting focused on the achievement of our goals around the six key indicators. Here is a summary of our discussions. It was again an excellent meeting. Elder Amoah ran the meeting and did a great job.

On Tuesday the 20th of June, we held our last zone conference of the transfer. They were a bit more spread out this time because of Elder Gong’s visit. We met with Suame and Dichemso at the Dichemso stake center. We started at 9:00 am and ended just before 4:00 pm. We followed the same program as the 4 prior zone conferences, except this time Elder and Sister Loveland had taken a missionary to a doctor’s appointment, so they did not join us until just before noon. The zone leaders instructions were excellent, covering the two topics of “The Word is Commitment” by Elder Negone and Elder Ross and “Achieving our Goals Through Faith in Christ” by Elder Kluse and Elder Udoh.

Here are some pictures from the conference. The individual pictures are during the virtual apartment walkthroughs as part of LaDawn’s instruction. Also included are the whiteboard results of several of the instructions as explained in the posts from the last two weeks. Pictures of missionaries doing role plays on questions of the soul are also included.

After zone conference I did 9 interviews with the missionaries in Offinso, Mampong, Agona, and Asamang.

On Wednesday we welcomed Elder and Sister Pack, our new office couple. We are grateful to be able to work with them again after serving together in Sierra Leone. They arrived in Kumasi on the 3 pm flight. They will be a great addition to the mission and will allow Elder Panton and Elder Skyles to go back to full-time missionary work. We are grateful for these two Elders who have done such an amazing job in the office during this period between the Garrison’s and the Pack’s.

On Thursday morning we were at the airport at 7 am to receive Elder Mwanza from the MTC. He is from Zimbabwe and just spent 9 weeks in the MTC learning English. We came back to the Mission Office and spent 2.5+ hours orienting him to the mission. We are grateful for Alex who then delivered him to Afrancho where he will be trained by Elder Utley. That meant bringing Elder Ndala to the Asouyeboa building where he will be in a threesome for a couple of weeks.

After the orientation, we also traveled to Asouyeboa and interviewed the 10 remaining missionaries in the Bantama zone. We finished in time to get back to the Mission Home by 3 pm and watch the opening address by Elder Cook and a video from President Nelson introducing the second edition of Preach My Gospel.

Friday was our trip down to Obuasi for interviews. We left at 7 am and traveled first to Dunkwa, then to Obuasi, then to Asonkore, and finished up in Adansi Asowka. Of the 18 missionaries interviewed, 3 of them will be leaving this transfer. This was a good day of interviews, just like every other day that we get to spend 1:1 time with these amazing young disciples of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately we missed taking pictures of Elder Akpan and Elder Mukuna, Sister Abornyuie and Sister Ganjiri, and Elder Shaw and Elder Nsama. We made it back to Kumasi a few minutes before 6 pm.

Saturday was a day of letter writing and reviewing the new Preach My Gospel, Second Edition. With the publication of the new manual, we immediately set in place a plan to have temporary copies made for all of the missionaries. Alex Cobbina, our mission driver and all around helper, spent from 11 am – 8 pm on Saturday at the printing place to make sure the shop did not get distracted. They were able to copy and bind 75 copies for us. A good start on the 200 that we ordered. We decided that our letter for the week needed to focus on the new manual and what our expectations were about how we will study and use it. More to come, but we have a good plan to get paper copies into the hands of the missionaries and begin a study of each chapter for the next 13 weeks starting July 1st. We are grateful to be a part of rolling out this new resource and we know it will be a significant blessing to the mission.

We knew that June would be a blur as we looked at the calendar at the beginning of the month. A meeting with an Apostle, 5 zone conferences, the creation of a new branch, the dedication of a new meetinghouse, 164 interviews, 2 new young missionaries arriving off transfer and our new office couple joining us and you have a month filled with activity, travel, joy, and blessings. We will be forever grateful for this opportunity to serve at Mission Leaders in the Ghana Kumasi Mission as we work together with so many to gather Israel one last time, Together in Ghana!