These kinds of experiences continued to build my testimony about the potential of the Church in Africa. The single most inspiring event of this trip occurred when I was privileged to participate in interviews with some missionaries at Cape Coast. When the government decreed that the Church could no longer function in Ghana, more than seventy Ghanaian elders and sisters were serving as full-time missionaries. Without any notice, their missions were over. A few of them were thrown into jail for several days. All of them eventually returned home to take up their lives of school, work, and dating.

Eighteen months later, again without notice, the Church was back. These missionaries were all contacted to see if they wanted to finish their missions. I was privileged to sit in on several interviews of those missionaries to determine whether they were worthy and desirous of finishing their missions. As we pulled up to the chapel at Cape Coast, excitement was in the air. Those young men and women were involved in a cross between a missionary reunion and a spiritual revival. To give you a flavor of it, I am going to share a few interviews with you.

The first elder had eighteen months left of his mission at the time of the freeze, and he said, “I want to continue to serve.” After the freeze he had gone to live with his family in Liberia and was there when civil unrest broke out and massive killings began. The family escaped without being hurt and had returned to Ghana. They were active in the Church in Liberia. When we asked if he was living a chaste life, and then asked to explain what chastity means, he said, “You don’t do certain things with women that are reserved for marriage.” I thought that was an innocent and very appropriate answer to the question. He was worthy and anxious to resume his mission, even though his life had just settled down.

The next elder also had eighteen months left of his mission. His brother, who is not a member of the Church, had offered to send him money so he could travel to London, where he could find a job and go to school. He was the only member of the Church in his family and lived with his sister. He was asked to express his testimony and he said, “When I used to read the Bible, I read it more like a story book. After I joined the Church, I have begun to ponder every word. When I heard about the Church, I felt like I had come home. I felt joy that I had never really felt before. I don’t want to do anything wrong to spoil the joy I feel. I always knew that the Church would come back because I felt it in my heart. I have written to my brother and asked if he will consider keeping the offer open for eighteen months.”

The next young man was twelve years old when he joined the Church and was therefore one of the early members of the Church in Ghana. During the freeze, he often wore his missionary badge so that people would ask him questions and he could defend the Church for what it really is. He was also one of the elders who had been thrown into jail at the beginning of the freeze.

Another elder had acquired a taxi. The members of his family and some of the members of the branch were counseling him not to go back on his mission because he would lose the car. He said simply, “Heavenly Father helped me get this taxi. If I finish my commitment to him, he is very capable of getting me another car when I get back, if that is what he wants me to do.”

Next we interviewed a sister who had twelve months of her mission left to serve. When the Church activities were frozen, she was persecuted harshly by her family, as well as the members of her village. She had some concern about returning to the mission field for fear that after her mission she would receive the same treatment. When we asked if she had been living the standards of the Church, she said she had, except for one thing. “I was sick. The doctor recommended for my low blood pressure that I have a little bit of alcohol each day. I did that for a few days and then decided that I would rather have low blood pressure than break the Word of Wisdom, so I stopped taking it. Am I still worthy to serve?”

Of the seventy-seven missionaries serving at the time of the freeze, the mission president had interviewed forty by the time I left, and only three decided not to return. Two of those three had nearly completed their missions and had opportunities for education that likely wouldn’t come along again. The third one was the only one who was unworthy to finish his mission. I wondered, If we were interviewing missionaries from the United States, what percentage of them would be worthy and desirous of finishing their missions under similar circumstances? After being home for eighteen months, would they have a desire or be worthy to resume their missions? It was a very humbling and faith-promoting experience to see the faith and faithfulness of the young missionaries in Ghana.