Esther's Baptism

After moving to Ghana, one of the first places I visited with the other Ex-pat wives was Esther's shop.  Never judge a book by it's cover, because once you step inside, you enter a world of beautiful batik and stamped fabrics (made by her) and some ready-made African clothes. I believe every one of us wear clothes made by Esther.  What an entrepreneur she is!  


Someone knew that her son was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And so we began talking to her about the church.  Initially she told us that she had a Book of Mormon.  She also said, "This church is good for my son, but not for me."


We visited one day when she was not feeling well; she thought it was malaria.  On another day she thought it was menopause.  Little by little she became more open to the church.  She wanted to invite more blessings into her life.  

Gregg and I visit a different church building every Sunday.  The guy in charge of buildings (Gregg) really goes out and checks on those buildings!  On July 24th, we visited the Adenta building.  After Sacrament meeting Esther came up and told us that this was her second time at church.  She also said that she wanted to be baptized.  We connected her with the missionaries right then and they taught her that very afternoon.  She had a hard time matching up with the missionaries after that because her home is in Adenta and her shop is in Accra.  That's a 1 hour drive for me.


This is a picture of us standing in her workshop.  Behind us are the foam stamps she uses on the fabric.

Last Saturday, September 17th, we attended Esther's 7 a.m. baptism.  Does anyone else have 7 a.m. baptisms or is that just in Ghana?  She looked radiant and told me she was ready to make this commitment.  I will never forget the image of her dressed in white standing in the baptismal font.  The next day at church she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and given the Holy Ghost.


It's a new page and the beginning of her new life.