Sierra Leone temple trip

Jonathan and Necci
Sierra Leone group

Regina

Eighteen people came from Sierra Leone to the temple this week – 6 days on a bus on bad roads. They did not all know each other that well since they are from different branches. With one exception, they came without any Family History records. The one Branch President with them had just been called and had not yet been endowed himself. They apparently had little, if any, preparation. There were four couples to be endowed and sealed. One couple had been married in a civil ceremony in Sierra Leone and came to be sealed in the temple.

We were glad we were here to give them some guidance and help preparing names of their ancestors. The new temple presidency is not accustomed to his kind of group coming. A few stories might be of interest.

Regina is a little old lady who came on the trip without any money. She was sure the Lord would provide if she had enough faith. She is the only one from her Branch here so she didn’t know anyone, but she wanted to come to the temple. Today she was baptized for her daughter who had died, and she loved it! She really enjoyed doing the baptisms and wants to do more. She has two children living with her at home – one in college and one in secondary school. She has three grandchildren who also live with her. The roof blew off her house in a wind storm during the rainy season in July. The missionaries came and helped put the roof back on – “even the white Elder”. The Elders are very good to her. Her husband died many years ago, and she told God she would never marry another man. The ordinances were done today for her husband, and she will be sealed to him and her daughter later in the week. One of the sisters on the trip has been sharing her food with Regina. We gave her some food – banana, cooked fried rice, plantain chips, and a papaya. She had no money to pay for garments, but she was told it would be taken care of – somehow the people in the Distribution Center took care of it. Regina is actually in her 50’s, but she looks 70 – she is very thin and frail and has been ill – almost couldn’t come because of it. She was a nurse before the war, but her papers were destroyed, and she hasn’t worked as a nurse since. She grows cassava in a small garden behind her house, and they sell them in the market – that’s how they have money for food.

We were present yesterday for the sealing of Jonathan and Necci. Elder Wall was the sealer, and he did a beautiful job. We were impressed. Isaac (who knew Jonathan in the MTC) and one of Jonathan’s missionary companions (from Kumasi) were also there for the sealing. Jonathan and Necci are both returned missionaries so they had been previously endowed. Necci is from Nigeria. Her parents joined the Church in 1979. They have 14 children – 7 boys and 7 girls – 7 have been on missions. She is the second to the youngest. Jonathan served a mission in her area and met her then. She later served in the Lagos East Mission and met Jonathan’s sister who was serving a mission in the Port Harcourt mission – they communicated and reestablished contact with Jonathan. She is a beautiful girl, and we can see why he would think she was worth waiting for. They are working for the Church Humanitarian Services in Bo, Sierra Leone. They are bright, eager, dedicated young people and will be a great asset to the Church wherever they are. Jonathan told us that four of the children in his family have served missions, including him.

We met with the group the night before they were to leave. We had taken a group picture on the temple steps and made copies for each one. The Branch President said it was probably the first time some of them had ever seen a photo of themselves. We also printed out their pedigree charts and family group records for them to have a copy. The ordinance dates were already in place – it happens instantly now when names are recorded in the temple. I made a batch of Claire’s soft gingersnaps for them to enjoy on their way home. The Branch President made a little speech thanking us for our help. We had a prayer together, and they were ready to leave the next morning.

Our week was made special because of this experience. Some of these people didn’t appear to have too much capacity to understand the temple experience, but they had made the sacrifice to come to the temple because it was the right thing to do. Regina was so thrilled to do the work for her daughter who had died as a teenager. Jonathan and Necci loved the wedding photo we took of them in front of the temple. They will be such a strength to their Branch in Sierra Leone. We plan to go to Sierra Leone in February and will look forward to seeing our new friends again.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

The man in charge of S and I (Seminaries and Institutes in case you haven't heard the new name for CES) from Nigeria was in Accra for a meeting. He came with his wife and three cute little boys. The S and I office is just down the hall from our office, and this man was tending his sons while his wife was in the temple. His three year-old boy wandered down the hall and stood in our open doorway. I was sitting at my computer, and Dad was not in the office.

He said, "Hello."

I responded, "Hello; Who do you belong to?"


Without a moment's hesitation, he responded proudly, "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!"

Eventually we sorted out his name and told his Dad about his response. I thought it was precious!

A Bump in the Road

Elder and Sister Stubbs
Farewell from the Area Presidency

Wednesday, October 14, brought a heart stopping episode into the lives of Elder and Sister Bevan, which caused an abrupt change in focus. After consultation with the doctor and Area President, it was decided that we should go back to the U.S. for medical evaluation.

So here we are. I am recovering nicely from the placement of a “pacemaker” to keep my healthy heart beating at a proper rate.

We appreciate staying at Ryan and Sarah’s home the first week we were here while they were vacationing in Boston with her family. Now we are sleeping at Curtis and Alisyn’s home during the recuperation period. We are hopeful that the medical people will release us to return to the mission field after Thanksgiving.

The pain is pretty well subsided so the most difficult thing for me is to be content with limited activity and exercise for the month. My body is confused by the difference in temperature between Africa and Utah. We did enjoy a nice ride. I can drive with one hand around the Salt Lake Valley and enjoy the beautiful fall colors.

My recuperation has been good and without undue incident, for which we are most grateful. I’ve gradually regained more strength. I seem to still need a nap each day, and we were told it would take several weeks for complete recovery. I went to the doctor two weeks following the surgery, and Dr. Osborn told him there was no reason I couldn’t return to Ghana. We asked if he would e-mail that information to Ed Seegmiller, which he did that afternoon. During John’s nap, Elder Seegmiller called Pat and told her that he had received the “clearance letter”. He said, “When do you want to go back?” We had talked about it and decided we could return after Thanksgiving so she said, “How about December 1?” He said, “I’ll check with Church Travel and let you know”. It was at this time that Elder Seegmiller said, “Sister Bevan, the angels are all around you.” We truly believe that. We have felt blessed, protected, guided during the entire six weeks at home. Within ten minutes of that conversation, the travel arrangements came up on the e-mail with tickets for December 2 and a note – “Sorry we couldn’t get December 1”. Wow! It all happened so fast that it was mind boggling.

One of the kids said we had an “intermission” in our mission. The timing of the six weeks at home couldn’t have been better. We were able to welcome home Abby, Spencer, and Paul home from their missions. We were pleased to be able to hear Paul’s “homecoming” talk and share that experience with family and friends.
We loved being at the cabin for a week where we witnessed the first significant snowfall and marveled all over again at the beauty of God’s creations.
It was a privilege for us to participate in Curtis’ Russian neighbor Albina’s missionary lessons and baptism. We can always witness the hand of God in a convert baptism.

We enjoyed being in Arizona for Thanksgiving and meeting our 8th great grandchild – Ashley Riannon Jones – the day after her birth. It’s a miracle every time it happens – special to have a new baby in the family at Christmas time. It was good to be with John’s family and see Durrell and his family on Thanksgiving.
So – on December 2 we headed back to Ghana. We are going to miss our family, but we know the Lord wants us to be in Ghana. We have unfinished work to do, and we can never be in debt to the Lord. He has blessed us so much!

Life gives us unexpected problems to deal with. Fortunately, I haven’t had a lot to deal with – what with good health, good children, a perfect wife, a wonderful profession and a Church I love. But this incident gave me cause to reflect, to pray, ponder and to receive the wonderful, comforting assurances of the Holy Ghost. I had some insights – maybe too precious to talk about.

I know that God loves us, that Jesus Christ is his Son and our living brother and Savior. The plan of salvation was brought into clearer perspective for me. I know that life is good, especially if I can continue to serve and be productive in the kingdom.

Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, visits, and expressions of love.

The Saga of our African Cars – John Bevan – August 15, 2009

When we arrived on this mission, we were given a nice, new Toyota Corolla with automatic transmission which is rare for here.

The first week we were rear ended at a stop light, which badly damaged the rear bumper. Even the police woman at the police station was sorry about our new car. Kofi Bolley, the Area fleet manager assured us he would take care of everything. He provided us with a replacement vehicle for a few days until ours could be fixed.

The dealer had to send to Japan for a replacement bumper since it was a new car and they didn’t have one in stock. It came, but it was the wrong one (wouldn’t you think they could have a part number on the order?) so they had to order another one from Japan – coming by boat of course since air would be very expensive. Remember, this is Africa.

In the meantime the “temporary car” (an older Toyota stick shift) stopped running – bad battery. They tried to charge it, but it died on us again. We had a two day trip to Cape Coast coming up so they gave us a Honda. On the way home the brakes went out, but we managed to get back to Accra safely and carefully.

The next day they took the Honda to the dealer to be serviced and to have the brakes fixed. After a couple of days, Kofi came to our office and very sadly explained that the car would not be ready for our weekend trip. It seems when he went to the Honda dealer to get the car, the place had been locked up by the police because they had not been paying their taxes.

So we were given a very nice new Toyota similar to the one we had started with – only it was a very nice blue color. We enjoyed it but only drove it for a few days, and they brought the Honda back for us, which makes, technically, the 5th car we’ve driven. We liked the Honda – it was automatic and easy to drive – so we really didn’t mind. By this time we were used to Kofi saying – “two more weeks” and your car should be ready.

We had to make a trip to the Assin Foso District with new computer equipment so we had to borrow a pickup truck – green Nissan – for that expedition. That was car #6!

Two weeks ago, Kofi came to our office and told us that the bumper was in, and that the car would go to the dealer that day. Finally, last Thursday, Kofi came with a grin on his face and the keys to our original car. Yipee! Four months from the original accident! We were so excited – see photos – we took a ride early the next morning and went to the bakery that has such great cinnamon rolls – they weren’t even open yet, but Blanche (the owner) “dashed” us four day old cinnamon rolls – and we didn’t even have to pay. What a day of celebration!

President Obama comes to Ghana

(This was put together by the physician who is serving here as medical advisor for the area. We happened to be out of the country when Obama was here so we don't have a first hand account, but we thought you might be interested in Dr.Stubb's observations.)


Obama came to Ghana yesterday!

Now we are quite accustomed to Big Men coming to Ghana with their fancy black limousines, but no one can do it up quite like the President of the United States.

His own personal jumbo jet. They fly in all his cars, helicopters and hundreds of security staff.

Every street that he would see was festooned with bright flags and a fresh coat of white sidewalk paint. Which by the way, after last night's rain is already gone.

The American flag company must make a bundle everywhere a president goes because Ghana must have bought up all the left overs.

The people were excited to see him. You see, this is the first visit to Africa by a black American president and he chose only Ghana to come to.


His father is from Kenya and his wife's ancestors were brought over during the slave trading days. More on that later.


Immediately of course, other African countries were jealous and hurt.


He didn't go to Kenya the home of his father.


He didn't go to Nigeria where the US buys megabarrels of oil every day.


He didn't go to South Africa or Angola or Zimbabwe either.


It is said he came to Ghana because it is the one country in Africa where there are peaceful democratic elections. Are we ever glad for that.


This was the message he was supposedly sending to the rest of Africa. "Be peaceful, lawful, and we will come let you buy our flags and t-shirts."

The President of the United States has about the most bucks on the planet to spend on putting on quite a show.
His own jets, limousine fleets, security, helicopters, and several boat loads of flags. I bet they even brought over their own McDonalds.


When he flies into your neighborhood, he really makes quite a show. And everyone knows he is here. You can't do anything that will interfere with the BBM (Big, Big Man).


This must mean that he holds a lot of power and influence, at least for the next 3 1/2 years.


I wonder about the visit of a previous Big Man many years ago and how his entrance differed some from this one.

When he made his formal entrance to Jerusalem, he had a little more humble transportation.

The roadways were not blocked and there was no security, at least not for Him.

More pictures from African village visit

The price of beauty

Osei Bonsu and his brother Peterson

The old school

Drying cocoa beans

African Village Trip

Beautiful African children
Typical home in the village
African Elders
Daily Water

Last weekend we went to Kumasi with Elder and Sister Shipley (he has been the Area Executive Secretary, and they go home in a couple of weeks) and Osei Agyemang Bonsu (the Family History Area Manager – Church employee – and our boss). He has wanted to show us his “village” where he grew up and went to school. It’s about four hours drive from Kumasi deep into the forest on dirt, rutted roads – what an adventure! He wanted us to see the place where his family came from and what that small village had produced. There are six children in his family. He is a veterinarian. One brother is an ophthalmologist. One is a PhD agronomist helping farmers in Ghana. Another brother is a taxi driver in Kumasi, and one sister is a banker in Accra. One sister still lives in the village. Osei has built a school for his village which they have just started to use. Because it was Saturday when we went, school was not in session. We met some of the teachers and presented them with “exercise” books, pencils, and erasers. We also passed out candy to the children who flocked around when the word got out. Osei is letting the teachers live in his family compound, but we saw the building where he grew up – cement rooms all leading to an open area. The “kitchen” cooking area was outdoors as were the bathroom facilities. Many of the homes are mud blocks with thatched roofs. The next project he hopes to complete is a “borehole” (well with a pump) so they will have clean water. He took us down to the river where they get all their water. It is filthy! There is no electricity, yet the people seem to be happy. Most of them had gone to “farm” so we didn’t even get to meet his sister. They grow their own food – corn, soybeans, plantains, cassava and seem to be okay. We also visited his “cousin’s” village a short distance away. They belong to a church which meets on Saturday, and they had just completed their services so all the people were there. They welcomed us warmly and sang and danced for us. We sang “I Am a Child of God” for them, and they truly are children of God. What a wonderful adventure!