Women General Officers Minister to Saints in West Africa

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Africa West Area were blessed recently to have two General Officers of the Church visit and minister to them.  On assignment from the First Presidency, Sister Tracy Y. Browning, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, and Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency spent 10 days, November 15 through November 25, 2024, sharing their wisdom, experience, and spirit with the saints in the fastest growing area of the Church.

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Arriving first in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Sisters, along with their husbands and accompanied by President Alfred Kyungu, president of the Africa West Area, and his wife, visited the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple in anticipation of its upcoming dedication on May 5th. Following that visit, each of the sisters, accompanied by local area leadership, went to the homes of various families on ministering visits. Then, the next day being Sunday, they split up again to attend a couple of different Sacrament meetings where they attended Primary and Sunday School. That afternoon, the Sisters, together again, participated in a focus group and then prepared for an evening devotional.  Their Cote d’Ivoire ministry included two devotionals, one, a Primary devotional for members of the Cocody and Dokui Stakes, and the other, a Missionary Devotional where nearly 300 missionaries were blessed to receive counsel.

Finishing their Cote d’Ivoire ministry, Sisters Browning and Runia then travelled to Ghana for the next phase of their visit, which began with a Devotional for the Church employees serving in the Ghana Area Offices.  Immediately following that devotional, they hurried to the Kathy Knowles Community Library in Accra to minister to under privileged children who visit there for activities and reading time.  They enjoyed playing games and dancing with the children who enthusiastically embraced them. After a brief respite and recharging of their spirits in a session in the Accra Temple, they continued their ministry to the Young Men and Young Women of west Africa in an Area-wide devotional that was broadcast to stake centers across west Africa.

Taking a flight to Abuja, Nigeria, Sisters Runia and Browning, accompanied by Elder Odeyinka Ojediran, First Counselor in the Area Presidency, and his wife, made a brief visit to the headquarters of the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), then prepared for the following day’s full schedule of activities, which included a Missionary Meeting with Nigeria Abuja Mission, followed by more ministering visits to individual families in their homes, similar to what they had done in Abidjan. They concluded that day with trainings for local stake and ward Relief Society, Primary, and Young Women presidencies.

A return trip to Ghana brought these travelling ministers to the Accra Ghana Missionary Training Center where they participated in a devotional for the approximately 320 missionaries who are preparing for their missions there. They then joined with the Accra community of members and non-members alike to celebrate the start of the Christmas season with the Miracle of Christmas concert, which kicks-off the Light the World campaign for west Africa, and which celebrates the birth of the Savior through song and musical performances.

Early next morning the sisters toured the Osu slave castle, a somber reminder of a troubling era in human history, but they followed that with a tour of the National Mosque of Ghana, which is an inspirational testament to the spiritual devotion of the Muslim community in Accra. A visit to a local Gathering Place of the Kaneshi and Laterviokorshie Stakes showed Sisters Browning and Runia a program designed to foster self-reliance in the youth of the Africa West Area, and the day was capped by a Children’s devotional followed by training for the stake and ward Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidencies of the greater Accra area.

Their final day of ministering in Africa started with each sister and her husband attending a Sacrament meeting in different wards in Accra, where they joined with Primary children and Young Women in their meetings.  Their afternoon and evening was filled with an Area Organization Advisor training, after which they spoke at an area-wide devotional broadcast for the general membership of the Church in the Africa West Area.

After 10 days filled with travel and ministery, Sisters Runia and Browning and their husbands finally retuned home. While their whirlwind visit may have been exhausting for them, their sacrifice, their instruction, their love, and their strong and generous spirits blessed the lives of countless faithful saints in the Africa West Area.  Their ministering will long be remembered and cherished by all with whom they came in contact.