Super Sunday(s)

Big Game?!  Whatever…saw the headlines and really didn’t care.  Had our own Super Sunday here and then another Super Sunday today.  The Sunday Ticket is in the churches in Ghana!  We look forward every week to going to a new venue/ward/branch to feel the spirit and see the growth.  The big celebration is when you see a person get baptized that you have been able to meet when they are first taught or their first time visiting church.  While the Chiefs were caving to the Eagles, we had two people on that Sunday get baptized.  One of them was a guy that Sandy had taught with Karen when she visited, the other was a guy that I sat next to on his first day he visited the church and I gave him my Book of Mormon.  Today we visited the Bortianor Ward again to see 6 people get baptized. 

“Welcome to the Church of Joy”

-Elder Kiernan 2024

“Just save souls and baptize baby!”

-not said by Al Davis

“Just love them…”

-Said often by GAWM Sisters

Medie Baptism:  A few weeks ago, there was a shortage of Book of Mormons.  The missionaries did not have them so they could teach from it, but they could not give them away.  I did not know that at the time.   We came to church in Medie and I sat next to a guy who had accepted the invitation to come to church.  He had had one lesson with the sisters and I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon.  He did not have it, so I gave him mine. The ward was so welcoming of him and answered his questions and when we left, he was talking to a new guy that looked like he had found a friend.  The next day he called me and we spoke briefly.  I had not heard from him since…. The sisters there sent me the picture of his baptism!  That is a happy day.  Challenge to my friends…don’t let a person sit alone.  Go sit next to them and introduce yourself or invite them to join your family on the bench…people did that to me in San Clemente and it helped.

English Baptism:  Sister Bertha and Sister Karen taught this guy with the sisters and then the next thing you know he also is being baptized on that Big Game Sunday.  He did not get a good reception from his family when he chose to join.  In fact, it was a brutal tackle and shunning by his family, and he STILL chose to follow Jesus Christ into the waters of baptism.  Hard to see me making the same choice under similar circumstances.  It is things like this that make me appreciate where we are, but it also reveals that I need to have the faith of a Ghanaian Muslim changing his whole life to follow Jesus Christ, WOW.  Such faith.  I want to be better and be more like the guy named English.  I am not changing teams because I am on the right team, but I appreciate those who sacrifice so much more…

Bortianor Baptisms:  Six points of light joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today in Bortianor.  The extra point was missed with Mama Freida who was supposed to be there but did not show up.  She is old and we hope she is OK-later we found out she had a heart attack.  So much joy with these new members.  Love from the ward welcomed them in and the kids received CTR (Choose The Right) rings from Sister Bertha.  I was called out of class early to help the sisters do a bucket brigade to fill the font.  Then I took a picture of the sisters moving the concrete cover….that’s where I should have helped… Doh!!  Such a great day to attend church with some great sisters.

Nkanatan:  I gave a Book of Mormon to our teenage friend Bismark.  When the missionaries came to interview him for baptism, the District Leader missionary said there was a picture of Elder Bertha and Sister Bertha in the front of his book.  That means he got the limited edition Al & Sandy Book of Mormon.  That means his name is Bizmark.  Happy baptism Sunday.  I love that he showed the missionary.  I love making friends here and I will miss these people greatly when I leave.  Enjoy the season while it lasts and when it’s done start working out to stay strong and available for the next season…

Seasons Change:  For some little guys, like Owen and Alvin, it is football season every season, but they are young and will learn that there are other sports (maybe not to Papa J).  We are on God’s team and a member of the winning team all the time (Yes I believe God will win every time in the seasons of eternity).  The team is the same, but the seasons change and you move from mountain bikes to skiing and then to pickleball and maybe a surf session for cross-training.  When God calls via one of his servants, we do what we are asked to do.  One day we are the driver,  and the next the bike master, then we are called to do a campout (I try out for that position), then we are called to clean the church or lead a choir (I have never been asked but Sister B has that talent).  The point is, that we do what we can when asked, with a good disposition and a smile, and give it our very best effort (VBE).  Prepare to play whatever is in season…for the seniors, which may include a senior mission to Ghana, France, Tennessee, or Oregon.  Whatever…just have a sense of humor, enjoy the ride, and help God.

.500 teams: There are going to be half of the teams that rise up and win more than half their games and then there are teams that will lose more than half their games.   We love the parable of the ten virgins—5 had oil and 5 had none….think about it though…the 5 that had oil did things to fill their personal lamps: kind acts, prayer, reading, attending church, adding a little oil at a time.  Did they all have full lamps? Who knows; they had enough to light the way to the wedding…maybe you don’t need a full lamp, just enough.  Some teams make it into the playoffs with losing records…that means there are worse teams than them around them.   They still played their games, did not qui,t and did the best they could.  If you win 6 games in college you can go to a bowl game, but it might be the Mayo Bowl (Yuck).  The point is that we don’t know where the line is so do your best and let Christ do the rest.  If we are looking to Jesus Christ, we have the best chance to make it and He will give us all we need to get there.  The best play of the game of life: HIS GRACE.

Coaching and Leadership:  President Jacobsen is our president and the head coach for 3 years here in Accra.  He is a good leader and we follow his lead.  We practice and do what we need to do to keep all the players fit and healthy and in the same playbooks (Scriptures). Our ownership is God and Jesus Christ.  They literally own us.  We are the players, God has the game plan for us to return to him:  The plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness. (Off Tackle Right or Off Tackle Left—it’s a simple plan).  Jesus Christ has earned the right to be the coordinator…both offense and defense. 

OC: As the Offensive Coordinator, he gives us the playbook to advance in life and step toward him, and eventually if we play well and endure (Live a good life-VBE).  Even if you are not the center of attention, you run your route because you don’t know when the ball will come your way.  Be prepared to serve…sometimes life is a broken play and it does not go the way you think, but if you are strong and run the route and keep moving, something good can happen…have faith in God and the Game Plan and know that if you don’t make it on this play, you get up and do it again.  DO NOT give up and walk off the field (Antonio Brown AKA Judas?) Your team is your family and they want to see you do your part, run, block, throw, catch…you will get to do all kinds of things in life.  Jesus was the first cross-trainer!

DC: As the Defensive Coordinator, Jesus set a perfect example of refusing to let Satan tempt him.  But what Jesus did was really hard, like what the English did getting baptized.  Some of us need other coaches to help us along the way.  My Bishop, my Stake President, and the Apostles and Prophets will help me with workouts and encouragement to make sure I am ready on the field.  Satan’s team has pretty girls and big strong-looking players that wilt when challenged by a faithful man or woman who stands firm on holy ground.  They may come in hot and fast but the evil will bounce off a good holy man who spent the morning exercising faith and lifting his scripture a few sets and following the program given by Jesus.  Stay close to the program and Defense is easy…they can’t get near you.  But you have to stand in holy places.  Know your position (do your duty and callings) and know what to look for (pay attention to the Mikey Jacobsens of the world…our coaches that work with the Coordinators)

A Good Team:  Super Sunday is always a win when you bet on whatever team that Jesus and the Apostles are leading.  YOU may be called to be on the field for a few years in Ghana like the Jacobsen’s or Liberia like the Thomas’s or Sierra Leon like the Jarvis’s.  Offense is teaching the Gospel and bringing people the game plan of salvation.  Defense is trying to prevent the great cheater of eternity from stopping the progress of people to have their best outing on the field of life.  Whatever position we are called to do, do our best and try to be prepared for the call-in.

Gridiron thought: Scriptures are a Warn-er of what to look for and what is to come.  The Book of Mormon was written for our day.  It proves and supports the Bible, but it also gives us specific direction for the world we live in, the games that are being played, and the way the rules are being changed even at the law level.  Fortunately, God does not change his laws or rules.  The commandments are still the commandments and we get flagged when we don’t obey…

“Our tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made”

-Dallin Oaks 2011 BYU Speeches

“We cannot legislate morality”

-Dallin Oaks (from memory)

Meanwhile, on the sidelines in Ghana….we are not on the bench, we are fully engaged in the game of saving souls and growing young men and women on the mission

….Sister J had a big birthday and now has a number 55 jersey.

She has always been on God’s team and is an amazing coach to the Accra West Black Stars (Ghana National Football/soccer team). Sandy was the wrapper and also did a scavenger hunt for Sister J in her own house. I think she liked it.  The Mission Presidents from Liberia and Sierra Leon are on the same time track as the Jacobsen’s and joined us for a birthday dinner at Shogun.  They were so happy to have good food for a change.  They made us really, really glad we were in Ghana and not where they are.  We realize that living near the temple and having a city like Accra around us, we are in one of the best places to be in West Africa.

Final Thought:  We all want to be numbered on God’s team and we want to look for direction and coaching from Jesus Christ.  While we have a number on our jersey, the name on our shoulders is “JESUS CHRIST” so we play together as a team trying to get all of the players back to the Team Baquet with God and Jesus.  It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.  Play it well and be a good teammate to our brothers and sisters in the world.

A great couple of Super Sundays in Ghana.

Elder and Sister Bertha. February 2025