Fiapre Sacrament Meeting

On Sundays, we usually attend one of the four branches and alternate between them during the month. The Branch President of Fiapre, President Mills, and his family had traveled to Accra, so we decided to go there. The meeting is supposed to start at 9am, and at 9am there were only four people there, the missionaries--Elder Larsen and Elder Otagba--and us. Samuel, the first counselor and the one conducting arrived at 9:10 and Sister Affiah, the Relief Society President who was speaking, came at 9:19. We began the meeting at 9:20am with six people. Ghanaian people are never on time for anything and they are not at all intimidated by speaking in public--in fact, they can all rant and rave and even the children are not afraid to give talks Samuel conducted and one of the missionaries led the singing (which is always off-key and draggy), but they sing their little hearts out. During the song, Gate-David and two other men arrived, followed by five little kids. Two of them were twins and when they came in they were carrying a loaf of bread. The two of them proceeded to sit on the front row and divided the bread between them, dropping crunbs all over the floor. Fiapre has a good number of children who attend every week without their parents. They love Primary and are learning the Gospel.

Elder Larsen and President Thayne blessed the Sacrament and Elder Otagba passed. When Sacrament was over, Samuel thanked "Father" (what they call Gary) for helping to bless the bread.

Sister Affiah gave the first talk. She speaks all in Twi, so we don't understand a word, but you could feel the spirit and the strength of her testimony. In the middle of her talk, her phone, which was in her purse in the congregation, rang. One of the little kids, reached over, picked it up and took it up to her. Without even hestitating, she took it, said something, hung up, and then carried on with her message. President Thayne was the concluding speaker.

When we finished Sacrament Meeting there were seventeen of us. I taught Primary (as Sister Mills was gone). The entire block was simple, pure and humble. I'm certain the Lord looked down and smiled as his heart was touched by the sweet spirit that filled the little Fiapre chapel that Sunday morning.