Last week was the 5-year anniversary of the first Ebola case confirmed in Sierra Leone as the initial infection was reported in Kailahun on May 25th, 2014.  Seven days later there were 7 more confirmed cases and in less than two months there were 442 cases and 206 deaths.  At the time, new cases were being reported … Continue reading Ebola!

10 new members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Kenema District Last week the title of our post was Daniel’s Stone.  Today we carry on with that same theme as Daniel’s Stone continues to Roll Forth here in the Kenema District in a big way.  On Saturday in Kenema we had a joint … Continue reading …Rolls Forth!

On Saturday, May 18, 2019, seven more amazing people were baptized in Tongo.  Lansana Massaquoi, Mary Brima, Peter Komanda, Hannah Brima, Kadie James, Sahr Lahai and his 15 year-old son Daniel Lahai.  What an amazing day!  On Sunday, May 19th, all seven were confirmed in sacrament meeting. There were 56 people in attendance at the meeting including Elder Roche … Continue reading Daniel’s Stone

To say that healthcare in Sierra Leone is not the greatest would be an understatement.  It is not unheard of for lab results to be confused or misinterpreted, x-rays to be misread and then mislabeled, unnecessary medications to be prescribed, simple surgeries (e.g., hernia) to be botched and premature babies to have a high mortality rates.  Having … Continue reading Healthcare

Paederus sabaeus Erichson or more commonly known as the Champion fly in Sierra Leone is a Staphylinid beetle (beetles attracted to animal and bird dung in order to feed upon maggots) found in both East and West Africa where it thrives in warm tropical climates. The beetle is actually a “good guy” as it is a … Continue reading Paederus sabaeus Erichson

Last week was the most unusual week we have experienced since setting foot on Sierra Leone soil. Last week, you see, we were in Paradise! Each year the mission plans a retreat to give the couples in the mission a short break from the day to day challenges of living in Sierra Leone.  We were grateful … Continue reading Paradise

It is interesting the things we find ourselves involved in here in Sierra Leone while serving a full-time Member Leader Support Mission. This week we have learned all kinds of new things about videography that we didn't really think we would ever need to know. Since it has been a significant part of our week, … Continue reading Conversions

Prophetic?  Apocalyptic?  The title of a 1957 Swedish film? A fulfillment of Revelations 8:1? All of these?  None of these?  Well the answer for the purposes of this week’s blog is that it is none of these.  The seventh seal is simply the number of times we have now replaced the right rear seal on our mission truck.  It will not surprise … Continue reading The Seventh Seal

Over the last 3 weeks or so I have been fighting some sort of respiratory bug.  It seems to have started a few days after we returned from Freetown on March 13th.  It may have been caused by the vehicle pollution at street level experienced the morning when we went for a walk.  I was surprised just how … Continue reading Recovery

This week we want to talk about our guard Charles David and the life changing impact the Gospel Literacy program has had on him and his family. Charles David Charles joined the church on September 17, 2016, his sons John (15) and Joseph (12) were baptized a month later.  His wife joined the church the following … Continue reading Change