Women Leaders Minister to Children of West Africa

Children in Accra, Ghana who are privileged to visit the Kathy Knowles Community Library were doubly blessed when they were treated to a visit by Sister Tracy Y. Browning, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, and by Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 19 November, 2024.

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The library, established in 1992, provides opportunities and resources for local underprivileged children to have positive developmental experiences reading and interacting with each other.  While the library has paid full-time staff funded by a foundation, senior sister missionaries from the Africa West Area Office volunteer twice a week at the library to help the children play games, do arts and crafts, sing songs and, of course to read to them. These senior sister missionaries proposed a visit to the library by the Church leaders during their West Africa tour, and they coordinated efforts at the library to make the visit instructive.

Emulating the Saviour, who always made time for the little children, Sisters Browning and Runia, who were accompanied by the wives of the area presidency, took time from their busy schedule to spend some fun time with these kids, and that sacrifice was appreciated by the library helpers as well as by the children. Having been prepared by the volunteer sister missionaries for the visit of these Church leaders, the children performed a welcome song for their visitors at their arrival.  They then brought the visitors into their circle and engaged them in some local traditional dances, which the sisters participated in whole-heartedly.  Sisters Browning and Runia then joined in with their husbands and with the other sisters to participate with the children in some of the kids favourite activities, such as blowing bubbles, playing "double double this this, double double that that" (like patty cake), colouring pictures, and reading stories.

The visit was filled with laughter and fun, with children and visitors joyfully interacting. At the conclusion of the visit, the children, who are all of different denominations but who had been taught by the volunteer missionaries, all sang “I Am a Child of God,” to say goodbye to their visitors and to wish them well on the rest of their journey.