Meet the Sisters Who Have Just Been Called as Area Organisation Advisers

“This new position in the Church allows sisters to counsel with priesthood leaders and train sister-led organisations in stakes, districts, wards, and branches.”

Seven women in the Africa Central Area were recently called as international area organisation advisers. If you think you’ve never heard of this calling before, it’s because you haven’t!

It is a new position that has been added to the organisational structure of the Church. It calls upon these women to participate in leadership councils and mentor, train and support sister-led organisations throughout the areas.

Read on to learn more about the seven sisters that have been called to fill this brand-new role in the Area.

Sister Njampou Claudelia Nankap was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. She joined the Church at the age of ten and served a mission in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Now at 33 years old, Sister Nankap was serving as the Relief Society president in her branch before this call.

Sister Nankap says that her personal goal in her new calling is to “serve the Lord through my actions towards others; to be their friend and faithful counselor,” she says. “I consider it an opportunity to improve myself and become a truer disciple of Christ as I embark on this great work. I feel more humbled than ever!”

As she serves, Sister Nankap is inspired by the example of her predecessors, especially her father. “He was a true example of humility, dedication and perseverance: principles that I know will help me in my calling,” she says.

In her new role, “I look forward to meeting the other children of our Heavenly Father who may be going through the same difficulties as I am,” she says. “I look forward to seeing the blessings in my life and the lives of others: because it is so wonderful to see what the gospel can bring to a person’s life. And I also look forward to working with Church General Authorities. It is a great honor that makes me feel very small!”

Sister Kabongo Angelique Tarr was born in Mwene-Ditu, Kasai-Oriental, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is 58 years old and was baptized over thirty years ago at the age of 25. She and her husband are the parents of five children and the grandparents of one. Before this call, she was serving as the Relief Society adviser to the young single adult sisters in her ward.

“My goal in my new calling is—through my example—to help the auxiliaries of the Relief Society, the Young Women and the Primary to develop love for the people we lead and serve in order to bring them to Christ,” she says.

The teachings of the General Authorities, and the ordinances of the temple, where she and her family have been sealed, inspire her to keep becoming a better person.

As she serves, Sister Tarr says she looks forward not only to bringing love to the people she serves, but also to helping the sisters in the Area grow as daughters of our Heavenly Father in their spiritual and temporal self-reliance.

Sister Dephine Marie Beatrice Mawang-Luko Muzama was born in Kikwit, Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

She is 60 years old, and she and her husband are the parents of four children. She was baptized 22 years ago. Before this call, she was serving as a seminary teacher.

Her goal in her new calling is to invite everyone to come unto Christ by supporting the Area Presidency in the realization of their goals, by orienting, supervising the organizations of women of the stakes and the districts, and by serving as a resource for sister-led organizations in the mission.

She says that her personal testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus inspires her to serve and to do good, along with daily reading from the Book of Mormon, and messages from Apostles and Church leaders.

Sister Muzama says she is looking forward to getting in touch with the sisters in the presidencies of the stakes and the districts in her area. “The field is white already to harvest,” she says (D&C 33:3). “We must thrust in our sickles with all our might.”

Sister Yeweinshet Bezu Biru was born in Aromia Zone Arsi, Ethiopia. She is 55 years old, and she and her husband are the parents of two children. She was baptized 11 years ago. Before this call, Sister Biru was serving as the district Relief Society president in the Addis Ababa Ethiopia District.

Sister Biru is blind and runs a nonprofit organisation that helps blind people learn how to read.

As an area organization adviser “my purpose is to build the kingdom of God on the earth by being more faithful and obedient,” she says.

As she does this, she continues to be inspired by the same things that inspired her as a new convert to the Church. “When I joined, the members and missionaries inspired me to read scriptures, to pray, and to listen to the messages of prophets and apostles, which make me become better each and every day.”

Sister Biru looks forward to helping sisters in the Church increase their understanding of the restored gospel and helping to strengthen their testimonies. “Moreover, I want to see more temples in the area which I am serving,” she says.

Sister Vulfrida Chanya Simiyu was born in Taita Taveta, Kenya. She is 54 years old, and she and her husband are the parents of three children. She was baptized into the Church eight years ago. Before receiving this call, she was the stake Young Women president in the Nairobi Kenya West Stake.

Sister Simiyu says that her personal mission as an area organizational advisor is to mentor and orient leaders “to strengthen their faith and testimony and magnify their callings through ministering and service. She further hopes to “help them feel the Savior’s love and share the same with others.”

Sister Simiyu says that she is inspired by the testimony of President Russell M. Nelson. “His love for the Savior and the restored gospel” help motivate her to keep serving those around her.

Sister Simiyu says that she is looking forward to mentoring sisters to “minister powerfully and strongly in their calling, drawing many to Christ and the restored gospel.” She looks forward to serving under the direction of the area presidency “as they direct me on the needs of the stake organization leaders” and “giving proper feedback as directed by the Spirit.”

Sister Epiphanie Christel Mabiala was born in Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo. She is 50 years old, and she and her husband are the parents of three children. She was baptized at the age of 23 and she served a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Before this call, she was serving as the stake Relief Society president of the Makelekele Stake in the Republic of the Congo.

Her personal goal in her new role is “to identify the obstacles that prevent stake and district leaders from fulfilling their callings.” She desires to “bring daughters of God to Christ and train them to be leaders that will help members stay on the covenant path.”

Sister Mabiala says she is inspired by a desire to “keep covenants made with the Lord and teach sister leaders in the Savior’s way.”

She is looking forward to helping to support and sustain the area presidency. She hopes to effectively carry out her calling by examining and observing trends in society and the underlying causes of those trends, and then finding relevant training topics that recognize these social patterns.

Sister Stella Marys Ajilong was born in Soroti, Uganda. Now 57 years old, she joined the Church almost three decades ago at the age of 31. Before this call, Sister Ajilong was serving as the stake Primary president of the Kampala Uganda North Stake. Before that, she served as stake Relief Society president for nearly 20 years. She is also a single mother of two children. Sister Ajilong retired from working for an insurance company after 34 years of service. She currently leads a nonprofit organization that provides homes where foster mothers and fathers raise orphan children as their own in a farm and family-based setting; and offers education and other skills that they may become self-reliant adults.

“In my view, my purpose as an area organization adviser is to help the organization leaders learn their responsibilities so that, through their example, teachings and service, the sisters, Young Women and Primary children can have a desire to draw closer to Heavenly Father,” says Sister Ajilong.

As she goes about serving as a mother, in her calling and in her charity work, she feels a “yearning for the blessings of the Atonement in this life and in the life to come,” she says. “That is what inspires me to do better.”

As Sister Ajilong serves in her new role, she’s looking forward to “guidance from Heavenly Father through revelations and inspirations, helping others that through our service we may see growth in the Church by numbers and testimony, and hopefully becoming a better person myself.”