“Like It Was Talking to Me”

In September 1924, Lawrence and Maud Ratcliff and their three children joined the Church in South Africa. Soon after, the Ratcliffs relocated to Karibib, South West Africa (present-day Namibia), where Lawrence worked for a phosphate mining company. In July 1927 a small branch was organized in Karibib, with Lawrence as presiding elder. Although another Latter-day Saint family continued to live in South West Africa, the branch did not continue long after the Ratcliffs immigrated to the United States in 1930.

The Church had no lasting presence in Namibia until December 1983, when a branch was established in Windhoek. In 1990 the new constitution of independent Namibia allowed freedom of worship, and the Church was soon registered, allowing for foreign missionaries to come into the country.

Demus K. Makuwa was introduced to missionaries by a friend in 1991. Demus had abandoned the Christianity of his youth in favor of a Marxist-Leninist philosophy he learned as a student in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). During his meetings with the missionaries, Demus insisted the missionaries provide logical proofs of the gospel. They encouraged him to pray to receive confirmation of the truth by the Spirit. Although Demus initially rejected the idea, one day he decided to act on their invitation. He locked himself in a room and prayed earnestly for the first time. He felt nothing after this first prayer but wanted to continue meeting with the missionaries anyway. He found their visits engaging and noticed a peace they brought to his home.

One day, Demus decided to read in the Book of Mormon. Opening to different parts of the book at random, he came across the teachings of Lehi on the plan of redemption and “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11). “That message was like it was talking to me,” he recalled. “Everything in that chapter made a lot of sense.” He was soon convinced of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. On November 16, 1991, Demus, his wife, Rosa, and their daughter Womba were baptized. “It was the greatest event that has ever happened in my life,” Demus said.

For Demus, remaining faithful in the Church was not without its challenges. Not long after his baptism, the friend who introduced Demus to the missionaries left the Church and gave Demus literature that cast doubt on the Church’s teachings. “The literature did not make sense,” Demus later said. “My testimony that the Book of Mormon was true and that Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet of God was unshakeable.” After the death of his older brother in 1997, Demus suffered severe depression and struggled to understand why God had not answered the many prayers Demus had offered on his brother’s behalf. Through prayer, Demus eventually received a revelation that God had a purpose for his life and that he would be able to live with his deceased family members again. His faith grew. When the Windhoek Namibia District was organized on March 8, 2015, Demus was called as president. In the years that followed, he and Rosa continued to accept numerous callings in the Church.

Demus and Rosa Makuwa

Demus and Rosa Makuwa, 2019.