Yesterday, the Church organized its first official branch in the West African country of Guinea. The Conakry Branch was created and the new branch was assigned to the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission. The entire country of Guinea has also appeared to have been assigned to the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission - the first time that Guinea has ever been assigned to an official mission. Prior to this time, church activities were overseen by the Africa West Area Presidency through the Africa West Area Branch. The organization of the Conakry Branch has occurred less than a month after the first LDS apostle to visit Guinea, Elder David A. Bednar, met with church leaders in Guinea.
Guinea is inhabited by more than 12 million people. The population is 87% Muslim, 9% Christian, and 4% followers of other faiths. The percentage of Christians in Guinea is comparable to the percentage of Christians in Sierra Leone (e.g. 10%). Other nontraditional Christian faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists report slow growth in Guinea. French is the official language although most speak their official ethnic languages such as Fulani, Malinke, and Susu. For more information about prospects for future LDS growth in Guinea, click here to access a case study I wrote three yeas ago about prospective LDS outreach in Guinea.
Great news with Guinea.
ReplyDeleteI also just noticed that another district just got upgraded to a stake in Olongapo, Philippines. That puts them at 98 stakes, glad to see the fruits of stake growth occur this year as the attendance has been going up greatly since it didn't show through stake creation last year. In the past 6 years they've created 15 stakes while losing 9 districts (most from being upgraded.) I've always believed the Philippines was the key to opening China, as they would likely be a key supplier of missionaries into the country. They became one of the only non-American/African countries to be completely self-sufficient with missionaries, and now it looks like the local levels are getting their ish together as well. Expect the districts to start dropping like flies as more worthy priesthood enter the ranks and they get upgraded to stakes.
They had their area broadcast on the 11th of June, looking forward to them posting it online. Hope they'll drop some stats like they have uniquely done in broadcasts past, though didn't do in 2016.
Three Filipino youth just moved into our Orlando ward and are living with extended family who are non-members, doing what we can to help them with rides and adjust.
Any time a new country opens up to the Restored Church of Jesus Christ it's a big deal. Mali, Senegal, Cuba, and this nation. A lot of repressive or religiously dominated governments now will get a taste of better freedoms and blessings.
ReplyDeleteGreat year for new lands. Are we at four?
Years ago when I started reading this blog, I remember becoming aware for the first time where the Church was and was not established. I became more aware of other peoples as I read the country entries on Cumorah.com. Occasionally I prayed that the Gospel could be established in specific countries where it was not established yet, including Guinea. For these reasons, it was truly exciting all these years later to see a branch organized in Guinea this past summer. For these reasons I'm grateful for this blog which has helped me to recognize the significance of an event that might otherwise go unnoticed in a world full of news and events.
ReplyDeleteJe suis très heureuse qu'il y ait maintenant une branche en Guinée Conakry après 14 ans d'attentes. Quand mes parents et moi sommes venus dans ce pays je n'avais que 5 ans et maintenant futur missionnaire. Je remercie Dieu pour les membres qui viendront après et je suis reconnaissante pour la bénédiction que Dieu déverse sur ceux qui l'aime et garde ses commandements
ReplyDeleteMerci Rachel la déesse pour ta réponse. Pourriez-vous fournir plus d'informations sur l'église de Conakry? Combien y a-t-il de membres dans les dossiers? Combien de personnes assistent à la réunion de Sainte-Cène? Combien y a-t-il d'enquêteurs? Y a-t-il des missionnaires à temps plein assignés à la succursale? Des groupes de membres dans d'autres villes en Guinée?
ReplyDeleteDans les dossiers il ya 30 membres. 23 assistent à la réunion de Sainte scène sans compter les enfants. Il ya 7 enquêteurs. Il n'y a pas de missionnaires à plein temps parce que le pays n'a pas d'abord été béni. Il n'y a pas d'autres groupes de membres dans les autres villes nous sommes le seul groupe
DeleteMerci beaucoup pour cette information. Nous avions incorrectement reçu des rapports indiquant que des missionnaires avaient été affectés lors de la création de la branche plus tôt cette année. Y a-t-il des barrières qui empêchent l'assignation des missionnaires? Des baptêmes convertis se produisent-ils encore à Conakry? Pensez-vous que l'Eglise en Guinée va grandir comme elle l'a fait en Sierra Leone, ou l'influence de l'Islam sur la société en Guinée est-elle un obstacle plus important qu'en Sierra Leone?
ReplyDelete