New Stake in Tonga
A new stake was created last Sunday in Tonga on the main island of Nuku'alofa. The Nuku'alofa Tonga Matahau Stake was created from two stakes on the western side of the island. There are now 18 stakes and two districts in Tonga. The last new stake created in Tonga was in 2008.
New Stake in Texas
A new stake was created last Sunday in Texas. The Heath Texas Stake was created from the Richardson Texas Stake and perhaps another nearby stake in the Dallas area. I will provide more details on the new stake once they become available. There are now 57 stakes and three districts in Texas
Number of Branches in Benin Doubles
The number of independent mission branches in the African country of Benin increased from three to six last month. The three new branches were previously meeting as groups and include the Fidjrosse, Finagnon, and Gbegame Branches. The Church has yet to organize these six branches into their own district and they continue to report directly to the Benin Cotonou Mission. A shortage of priesthood leaders remains a serious challenge.
Group Organized in Previously Unreached City in Kenya
Missionaries serving in the Kenya Nairobi Mission report that a new group was recently organized in the previously unreached city of Naivasha, Kenya. Senior missionaries indicate that there are upwards of 80 investigators attending church services and that group leadership is staffed by an isolated Latter-day Saint family. Prospects appear good for the group to become its own branch in the near future.
City Opens for Missionary Work in Angola
Missionaries serving in the Mozambique Maputo Mission report that the Area Presidency recently approved the assignment of full-time missionaries to the Angolan city of Huambo. The Church assigned proselytizing missionaries to Angola for the first time in 2008 but missionaries were only assigned to the capital city Luanda until just the past year or two when a second city (Lubango) opened. Additional cities have small numbers of isolated members and investigators meeting and await the establishment of official LDS missionary activity.
Cities Opening in Brazil
Missionaries serving in the Brazil Belem Mission report that they have recently visited several large, previously unreached cities in Para State that have small groups of members meeting under the Brazil Belem Mission Branch. Two cities in particular - Parauapebas and Paragominas - have been visited and missionaries helped increase church attendance to as high as 60 in one of the groups. The Church has literally hundreds of additional cities to open with over 20,000 inhabitants and favorable conditions for church planting but has made little progress within the past ten years. I have recently written a case study on expanding LDS outreach in Brazil for cumorah.com which will be posted in the coming month.
New Branches Created in Europe
Mission presidents report two new branches recently organized in Europe. In Spain, the first LDS branch in Ibiza was created last Sunday and pertains to the Baleares Spain District. The new branch has about 60 attending church services and has been a major success for the Spain Barcelona Mission. Many of the branch members relocated to the island from Ecuador. In the Belgium Brussels/Netherlands Mission, a new Portuguese-speaking branch was created in Rotterdam. Two Brazilian missionaries have been assigned to the branch and the branch has become the first Portuguese-speaking branch in the mission.
Any other LDS growth developments you know of? Please comment.
The Heath Texas Stake was created with five wards from the Richardson Texas Stake, and one ward from each of the Allen Texas and Dallas Texas East Stakes, for a total of seven wards.
ReplyDeleteThanks Larry for the information.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! At least four new singles stakes are will be created in the next couple of weeks in the Mesa, Arizona area.
ReplyDeleteI know for sure a couple will be named "Mesa AZ East YSA Stake" and "Mesa AZ West YSA Stake," split at 24th St (just East of Gilbert Rd). My guess is that there will be a Chandler AZ one and and a Gilbert AZ one--at least in name, though they will cross city lines for sure.
None of these will replace the current Tempe AZ University Student Stake (though its boundaries make be altered slightly and it might become a standard YSA stake covering Tempe YSAs, regardless of whether they are Arizona State Univ. students).
I've heard also that a Queen Creek AZ YSA stake is on the verge of being created, if not already. It's possible that that region will be included in a YSA stake with Gilbert in its name, rather than having its own.
These stakes are expected to be comprised of currently existing YSA wards created by family stakes, though it's possible YSA wards will be created or contracted at the time of the singles stakes' creation or soon thereafter.