On Monday morning, April 22nd, Elder Pack and I played a round of golf. After playing so much better two weeks previous, Monday was a struggle. But it was wonderful to be out on the golf course with Elder Pack. It is a break from the routine that we both cherish and enjoy doing a couple of times a month.

Monday afternoon we held our monthly Mission Health Council and then that evening we held our Virtual MLC meeting. We continue to talk about barriers to achieving our baptismal goals and the things we can do to overcome those barriers. I love these meetings and the way they are helping us to progress as a mission.

Tuesday morning, April 23rd we caught a flight to Accra at 9:50 am arriving by 10:45 am. Eric Borteye Abuyah was there to pick us up and take us to the temple.

We checked to see if we could get into an early temple session, and while it was possible to be in the 12:30 pm session instead of our 2:30 pm scheduled session, we couldn’t do both. We had agreed to meet President and Sister Morgan from the Ghana Cape Coast mission for the 2:30 session so we decided to see if we could get something to eat before attending the temple.

While we were sitting in the lobby of the Area Office, Kip and Rebecca Manwaring who are serving a mission in the Area Office came by. Kip is a lawyer and is working as part of the Area legal team. They were kind enough to take us with them to lunch. Kip and LaDawn graduated together in 1976 from high school and growing up they lived only a block away from each other. It was a sweet lunch spending time with them. I am not sure how we managed to get away without taking a picture together. I did take a picture of their chocolate / strawberry “surprise milkshake”. We were at Mama Roccos. LaDawn and I shared a “smash burger” hamburger and some fries. It was really good. Nothing like this in Kumasi!

After our temple session (which was like spending time in an oasis after being in the desert) we went with the Morgan’s to Pomona Restaurant. This is the same place we went last time. LaDawn and I both ordered a filet mignon steak. Just excellent. We also shared the same dessert we had last time, except this time I managed to get a picture. Cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream with hot milk chocolate sauce poured over the top. Amazing.

On Wednesday, we flew to Abidjan on an Emirates flight that left around 12:30 pm. It is only a one hour flight so it was a quick “up and down”. Our Mission Leader Seminar was held in the Noom Hotel right on the waterfront in Abidjan. We were on the 17th floor in a suite and the view from our balcony was exceptional. I failed to snap a picture of the “living room”, but did get one of the kitchen and bedroom below. Cote d’Ivoire built three football stadiums as they hosted the Africa Cup. Although they were not expected to win, they came away with the championship trophy in a game against Nigeria. Now these stadiums will forever be a memorial to their 2024 Africa Cup win.

The seminar started Wednesday night with a dinner on the 21st floor. Again the scenery was beautiful as we had big picture windows to enjoy the water below. Here is a picture of that dining room taken later in the week with President and Sister Robinson who preside over the Abidjan North Mission.

Thursday and Friday were filled with sessions presented by the Area Presidency along with David Wade (Area Mission Specialist). Here is a summary of our takeaways.

• Elder Nielsen: D&C 101:22-23 (gathering and second coming); Isaiah 29:14 (a marvelous work and a wonder). Isaiah 29 is President Nelson’s favorite chapter because it covers the apostasy, the restoration, and the gathering of Israel.
• Elder & Sister Kyungu: Fulfill your missionary purpose. We have to be careful that the means of fulfilling our purpose does not become the end. He showed the “high skill”, “high spiritual strength” chart from Elder Nash’s 2023 Mission Leader Seminary talk at the Provo MTC.

• Elder & Sister Klebingat: Improve your MLC by teaching leadership principles and doctrine. We must emphasize the process of becoming. Exchanges determine the mission culture.
• Elder & Sister Nielsen: Setting goals for each of the key indicators is critical. Every missionary activity should lead to a key indicator result, this is especially true when it comes to teaching lessons. Invited us to do more with the appendix in Chapter 8 which provides examples of how missionaries might apply the goal-setting process to help people they are teaching. (Note: This is something we need to focus on in the Ghana Kumasi Mission).
• Elder & Sister Kyungu: Helping missionaries who are involved in disobedience and other difficulties. Teaching out of the scriptures can be especially powerful for a missionary. Contacting and involving a stake president early when a missionary is struggling will pay significant dividends.
• Elder & Sister Klebingat: Helping missionaries understand temple covenants. Everything that the senior leaders taught the General Authorities in their meeting at this recent general conference had to do with helping people be temple worthy. We need to make temple covenants more “front and center” with the missionaries. We need to prepare our missionaries much better for temple experiences. Nothing will help our members be more prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming than the temple. Invitation: Look at the touch points we have with the missionaries throughout their service. Teach the missionaries about the temple and their covenants. The temple must not become an agenda point on an agenda. The temple should be the “goggles” through which we teach. D&C 109:38 (prepare the hearts of the saints for the all those judgments that God is about to send).
• Elder & Sister Nielsen: The Urgency of your mission. Talked a lot about Elder Holland’s experience and the message given him to “go back and upgrade your urgency”. Scriptures on Urgency – Helaman 13:38 (“your days of probation are past”). Alma 34:31-40 (“this life is the time for man to prepare to meet God”). Mosiah 2:41 (“consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God”). NOTE: this may have been my favorite session. The question for me is what does he mean by “urgency”? Sister Nielsen took some notes on a white board as we discussed this question broadly as mission leaders. For me, I landed on a greater sense of urgency around sanctification and consecration. It was interesting how it had different meanings for many of us.

• David Wade (Area Mission Specialist): We need more focus on those we are finding, those we are teaching, and those we are baptizing. Reference is PMG Chapter 8 pages 148-149. Key indicators are about focus. We need to make sure the missionaries are doing things that only they can do (see page 148 in PMG). Preach My Gospel contains doctrines, attributes, and skills. We need to help missionaries connect the things they learn and the things they do to the key indicators. Attending a sacrament meeting is more about “worship” and less about attendance.
• Elder Kyungu: Safeguards for Using Technology. As we use technology, our children we use it in the same manner. We need to revisit the safeguards for using technology with the missionaries often. We need to help them study, ponder, and apply these principles until it becomes the normal way they think and act.
• Elder & Sister Klebingat: We need to help people understand the doctrinal reasons for attending Sacrament Meeting each week. Our sacrament meetings are an entirely different experience than what the people in Africa are used to from their other church experiences. Blessings of attending sacrament meeting: Cleansing from sin, Messages of truth, Peace in our lives, Receiving the spirit and being uplifted by it. We also need to help the people know what they will NOT experience as well (drums, dancing, loud music, etc). We need to have the missionaries review the talks in General Conference focused on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy so that they know the blessings available to the people they are teaching. Sister Klebingat used three fingers and a pamphlet in a way I have never seen before. It was brilliant. To build a foundation on Christ, we need three pillars: 1) Book of Mormon. 2) Prayer. 3) Church attendance. These are the three key invitations. They also talked about creating a plan for the day people come to church so that everything is as good as it can possibly be, including having our new friends meet members who will then sit with them and show them around the chapel after services.
• Elder & Sister Nielsen: Reflections on General Conference. Sister Nielsen took notes while the Mission Leaders shared their own reflections. After the discussion, Elder Nielsen said something like this, “As we reread and study these talks , revelation will continue to flow. The heavens will be opened unto us in many ways. As we gain inspired thoughts, they will also bless our families and extended families.”

• Friday before lunch, the four Mission Leader Couples completing their missions were given 5 minutes as a couple for a brief testimony. Elder Klebingat took pictures of each of the couples and then sent us this compilation of the eight of us.

On Friday afternoon we had a mission president session while our wives gathered and had their own discussion. Here are the topics we discussed:

• We went over the new mission tour schedule for 2024 – 2025.
• Discussed the weekly letter from the missionaries to the mission presidents and how we might help to teach our missionaries to write each week. It is about accountability and will become a life skill for them.
• Importance of missionaries asking ward and branch leaders for lists of part member families.
• We also discussed phones, security, boundaries of our units, and the issuing of sashes to departing missionaries.

Friday evening we were joined by the Area Seventies for dinner and then a short meeting afterwards. Elder Nielsen shared a presentation on covenants and ordinances. This slide summarizes what was taught. It was a good discussion. Elder Nielsen made a point that this is not a definitive chart, but could be helpful in teaching these saving ordinances to our missionaries. He encouraged us to make our own study of these ordinances and associated covenants and update the chart accordingly. It was a wonderful discussion. One quote that I particularly liked: “Ordinances have the power to unlock the door and covenants keep the door open.”

On Thursday afternoon, we were all able to travel in vans over to the Abidjan Temple. It has been in the planning and construction phase for 7 years. The construction standards have been difficult to achieve and the Church will not put it into service until it meets the high standards of temple construction. It is a beautiful structure. All of the mission leaders were able to join together in a picture in front of the temple.

On Friday evening with the Area Seventy present, Elder and Sister Klebingat and Elder and Sister Nielsen shared their testimonies. Afterwards, they were presented with traditional “chief” clothing. Elder Nielsen will turn 70 this year and become emeritus. Elder Klebingat is going back to Church HQ to serve on 3 different Church committees, including the missionary committee. How we have come to love these selfless and devoted servants!

And with that, our seminar was over. I would say the food at the Noom was average at best. The hotel was very nice, although some places were a bit cramped. Our meeting room was excellent. The content of the seminar was also excellent. LaDawn and I rejoiced in those areas where we are already working and the counsel given was reinforcement that we are on the right path. For counsel we have not done much with, we are making course corrections quickly. Having a few days away from the mission to be with like-minded men and women was wonderful. We are grateful for these opportunities to refresh – and then go back to work.

Here are some additional pictures from the seminar.

I need to add one more picture from our time at the Noom. On Thursday and Friday morning, I went down to the gym and worked out on the elliptical and treadmill. Others from our group also came. On Friday, Elder Klebingat took this picture and showed it to the entire group of mission leaders at the beginning of one of his sessions. He made two statements: 1) These are the people allowed desserts. 2) These will be those who will be a part of the 144,000. I am guessing since it was said by a general authority that I can rely on it? We love Elder Klebingat and his sense of humor and his overall love of life!!

We left the hotel for the airport around 11:30 am on Saturday and our flight left at 2:30 pm. Once in Accra, Eric picked us up and dropped us off at the local terminal (we flew into the international terminal). Our flight left a few minutes late, but we were back in Kumasi by 7:30 pm and home before 8 pm.

On Sunday, we traveled to Asonkore down in the Obuasi District where Elder Mba is serving as a branch president. We thought it might be our only opportunity to see him in action. He is an amazing young man and he, along with his companion Elder De Guzman from the Philippines are doing some great work there. We attended both the Asonkore Branch and Kwabenakwa Branch sacrament meetings. The Asonkore meeting was so well planned there was no time left for me to speak (not that I was looking to do so). In Kwabenakwa, I had about 10 minutes and spoke about covenants and temples. After the meetings, there was a baptism of Emmanuel Shaibo and Emmanuel Boateng. One from each branch. We love seeing these young man choose God over the world.

And thus ended another amazing week in the Ghana Kumasi Mission. The Mission Leader Seminar was extraordinary. It is hard to believe this is already our last one. We will miss these valiant servants that we are able to rub shoulders with every six months. This week we can easily end this post with the words “Together in West Africa”. We love this opportunity to serve the people of West Africa and Ghana in particular. To lift others and be lifted ourselves is a precious opportunity and privilege as we strive to fulfill our purpose as Mission Leaders. The missionary program is inspired. Preach My Gospel is some of the purest revelatory writings on the doctrines of the Church in existence. It is wonderful to work with young single adults, wherever they are in their journey, to encourage and inspire them to truly Come unto Christ and become devoted disciples. We will forever be grateful for this grand privilege of serving as mission leaders, Together in West Africa!