[MUSIC] I normally tell people the year 2012 has been a blessing for this country. We have reached about 200 baptisms in this mission per month; that means every month we create a new branch. I see people embracing the gospel, and I'm amazed by the retention rate. People are being retained. We have been waiting for this for years.

I think the Spirit of the Lord is brooding over Africa. You could almost make one of these scriptural "the last shall be first" analogies or references because the gospel has come to them relatively recently. But His hand is on the work, and His Spirit is stirring the people.

I was in college in 1991 when the war broke out; that was in Kailahun District, in the eastern part of Sierra Leone. In 1992 we had a coup d'etat. The government of Freetown was overthrown. So the war intensified in 1995, 1996. In 1997, just after the election, the junta had by then surrendered power to a civilian government. And then a year later, another coup. When they joined the government and the rebels came to Freetown, it was really, really difficult for us as Sierra Leoneans because for a very long time they had been in the bush. When they came to the city, they wanted everything. So it was a very difficult time for us because at that time, if you sleep today and you wake up tomorrow, you have to say thanks to God, you know. It was really, really a difficult moment for us. In 1999, on January 6, another crisis. Rebels entered the city. All of us laid on the ground flat, waiting to see, abandoning ourselves to death. West African forces, they just came in. That day we thought they had been killed. There was no rebel in the city--not knowing that they were in the hills converging again. On that Friday, they descended. Their numbers--great numbers, thousands--in a straight line returning to the bush, capturing, abducting everybody they met. And if you wanted to run, they would point the gun and kill you. It was a serious moment. Ten, almost eleven years of a bloody war. People lost their lives. No objective, no direction. There has been quite a bit of war and conflict and violence. So to have that very, very unsavory and rather tragic backdrop to now the gospel just emerging beautifully, for a mission to be based there and now a stake, and to have such fine leaders, is a miracle. It's a modern miracle. Ten years back, I never thought this would happen so soon. The Church is growing rapidly. Things are happening. Because of the enthusiasm of Church members, because of the willingness of the Church members to learn the doctrines, because of their testimonies, because of the desire a lot of people have, the Church is growing--not as the Church is growing in other places, because things were not stable before. You know, it's impeded the growth of the Church. But those few who held onto their faith, who anchored to their faith, did a lot in helping the Church to grow. They are the leaders who serve as counselors, who serve as auxiliary leaders, who serve as quorum leaders, who serve as members in presidencies. I know it is the making of God because He puts great things together so that His children who are called by His name will not go and suffer without realizing the salvation. I am so impressed with their faith and their spirituality and their happiness. And for me, those are inseparable. That's the feeling that I get. That's the thing I carry home. I just feel their faith. The image that I carry home is always their faces. They just are beautiful people, especially the children, especially these little children--absolute beauty in their countenance. They just look like the people of God that they are; they just simply are.