The key ingredient in soap making is lye, which is also known as caustic soda or sodium hydroxide. All soap requires the use of this ingredient, in fact not even commercial soap can be made without it. Soap is made by virtue of a chemical reaction between the lye, water and oil(s). When the caustic … Continue reading It’s No Lye!

Once a year, a member of the Area Presidency comes to Sierra Leone and does a mission tour with the mission president where he meets all of the missionaries and provides counsel, encouragement and support.  Last year, it was our privilege to meet Elder Marcus B. Nash, Africa West Area President in Bo.  You can … Continue reading Filling Our Cups

Something is different this week in Tongo.  It has been just over a year since we made our first visit there and this week, something significant happened as 6 more amazing people made a covenant to follow Jesus Christ.  That which is different is that 5 of the 6 baptized have family members who are … Continue reading Tongo’s Firm Foundation

One of the most wonderful things about Sierra Leone are the Pikins (pronounced "peek-ings").  Who are they?  They are the children.  Pikin is the Krio word for children – and they are everywhere.   Current population estimates indicate that 28% of the population consists of children 9 years of age and younger.  If we include those up to age 14, … Continue reading The Pikins

Since arriving in Sierra Leone we have always had an expectation about the 2019 fall District Conference for Kenema. In our minds, this would be the conference when the district would become a stake. We had imagined all the fanfare, general authority visits, new callings, new directions and excitement surrounding the creation of the seventh … Continue reading Gathering Strength

Saturday evening I stayed up late following the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. The session ended at 10:00 pm and by then the Saturday morning session was available for download. The District President wanted to show one of the Saturday sessions on Sunday morning in lieu of sacrament meeting. The preferred session was the … Continue reading It Is Time

When you throw a rock into a lake, there is a ripple effect. Wikipedia defines the ripple effect as a situation in which, like ripples expanding across the water when an object is dropped into it, an effect from an initial state that can be followed outwards incrementally. Merriam-Webster elaborates further, calling the ripple effect … Continue reading The Ripple Effect