A Great Day for Sunyani!

On May 6, 2012, the town of Sunyani deep in the rainforest of Ghana officially was designated a district by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Sunyani is the capital of the Brong-Ahafo Region and has about 150,000 (or more?) residents.  The Church opened up Sunyani to missionaries about a year and a half ago and it now has three branches and one unit which will become a branch in the very near future.  The members are very humble and dedicated and have been praying for this recognition.

The Area Conference where the announcement was made was held at the Nkwabeng Chapel.  Members had been working diligently to have everything cleaned and perfect for the celebration.  Four huge tents were ordered to be set up in the courtyard and parking area for shade and chairs and extra hymnbooks were hauled in from other chapels. 

The day before and set up progressed as "typical Africa".  The tents were supposed to arrive and be erected by 4 p.m. on Saturday.  At 7 p.m. there were still no sign of the tents and no one could be reached by telephone.  Then the call came that they couldn't be set up until the next morning.  That was entirely not suitable as the conference started at 10 a.m. and tents and chairs would not be up in time.  The Elders hopped in our truck and off we went to find out what the problem was or to possibly get another tent source.  As we were on our way, they called and said they were coming after all so we turned back to Nkwabeng to wait for them.  They finally arrived and the four huge tents were erected.  It took until after 10:30 p.m. so it was good that we hadn't tried to get it done in the morning.  We double-checked the sound system and made certain all was working perfectly.  We set the chairs for the congregation under the tent canopies and had the speakers and the podium under the porch overhang.  The weather was looking a little ominous but President Owusu said he thought it would be alright so we finally all locked up and went home.

Events in Africa happen so strangely.  During the middle of the night, President Owusu was prompted to get up and go to the Chapel which is about a block from his home. He thought he was worried about the rain and didn't know why, but he moved the speakers, sound board and all the electronic equipment from the porch into the main chapel, secured the doors, and went home and back to bed.  The next morning when we arrived early, we found that the barbed wire perimeter around the compound had been cut and burglers had invaded the grounds.  They tried to break into the President's office, the Chapel, as well as the clerks' office and got nothing.  Had President Owusu not heeded his prompting, the sound system would have been stolen and the conference could not have gone on.

The day was incredible!  The weather was just perfect--a little cooler than usual.  Each of the Branch Presidents spoke and then Gary was put in and sustained as the first District President of the Sunyani Ghana District.  There were over 200 people in attendance and when our ten Elders and President Shulz (Mission President) and President Thayne stood and sang "Ye Elders of Israel" there was not a dry eye.  President Shulz and Sister Shulz and Gary and I all spoke and it was truly a beautiful morning.  These people are so loving and humble and dedicated.  Only a couple have cars so they all had to pay for taxis to transport them to the conference which is a huge deal as many don't even have enough money for dinner that night.  They are truly amazing!   With this new designation we can move forward with training and lessons and helping them learn the Gospel as they continue to grow.
We are now beginning to understand why we have been sent to Sunyani.