Since Jesse's mision call we've been educating ourselves a little on the country of Ghana - its' people, climate, culture, and the Church's presence there.Ghana is about the size of Oregon. Whereas Oregon's population is under 4 million, Ghana has a population of over 20 million. The climate is easily described; it's hot. Jesse will serve in the southwest portion of the country which has high humidity. Being near the equator gives the area consistant temperatures year round, averaging in the 80's. They do have two light "rainy seasons" which the missionaries look forward to.
The Church in Ghana has an amazing history. Joseph William "Billy" Johnson is a great LDS pioneer. He read the Book of Mormon in 1964 and became converted to its' truth. With no LDS congregations to join in Ghana, he began spreading the Gospel message himself. He organized many unoffical LDS groups in Accra and Cape Coast and also in other areas in Africa. Brother Johnson wrote repeatly to S
alt Lake City requesting missionaries. By the time the Church finally formed official congregations in Ghana, over a thousand people were prepared for baptism. Brother Johnson currently serves as a Stake Patriarch and is a local celebrity with the members and missionaries of Ghana.Today, there are over 38,000 members of the church in Ghana with 99 wards or branches. In 2004 the second temple in Africa was dedicated in Accra, Ghana. There are currently two missions in Ghana with an MTC located in Tema. The two mission boundaries basically divide the country in half vertically. The majority of LDS missionaries serving in Ghana are natives of the country. Although English
is the official language of Ghana, Jesse will likely learn much of the Twi and Fante languages while on his mission. The Book of Mormon is printed in both these languages.The missionaries are kept very busy in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. Rather than spending all their time knocking doors, it is not uncommon for them to teach 15 discussions a day. In some cases baptisms are discouraged because the people live great distances from a church meetinghouse. They don't own cars and it is simply too far to be able to walk on foot. The Ghanaian people are well prepared to hear the Gospel message and are kind and appreciative to the missionaries who leave their home and family to bring them the Gospel.
