Three down and 29 more to go!

We just shipped out 18 more missionaries to Cape Town, Uganda, and Kenya. They were another incredible bunch. Due to the 12 Americans, there was a lot of "LIFE" in this group. They became very close and had so much fun. Pulled a lot of pranks on the teachers and on each other and cried when they had to split up and go their separate ways.

One of the African Elders was a Catholic before he was introduced to the Church a year and a half ago. He was getting everything in place to study to be a Priest. He said when he first heard the lesson on the Restoration, he was so enlightened to know that the Godhead was three separate beings. He said that made so much sense to him and he wanted to know more. He said he has a lot of love for his fellow brothers and sisters who are blinded by the craftiness of men and he is grateful for this opportunity to teach them the truth.

Another of the African Elders was living in the ghetto when the missionaries found him. He had no job and not much to eat. He found the Church and turned his life around. Within a month he got a job and started saving for a mission.

Most of the African missionaries come without having recieved their endowments or patriarchial blessings. We do a temple prep fireside for them and take them to the temple to receive their endowments. We also have a family history couple who comes and helps them with their genealogy. The temple does the baptisms and initiatories for them and then the next time we take them they are able to do the endowments for their ancestors which is often parents and always grandparents. They are also able to participate in the sealings as well. It's such a wonderful experience. We have a patriarch who is assigned exclusively to the MTC who does the blessings. The missionaries love this experience and are always so very grateful.