Member Voices
Rainstorm Brings Church to Sierra Leoneans in Japan
When Sister Gurney and Sister Chambers started their day, they never could have imagined the series of tender mercies Heavenly Father had in store. As missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these young women have dedicated their time and talents to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Japan for a year and a half.
On that day in March 2023, they were caught in a pouring rainstorm, without phone service, transportation, or umbrellas. Soaking wet, they hurried to a home, where they had hoped to find a Japanese member of the Fuchu Ward. Although the resident there was not the Church member they were looking for, they were directed to try a nearby apartment, where some “foreigners” were living.
Hurrying through the storm, they knocked on the apartment door of Theresa Akuye Amui, from Sierra Leone. She was neither a member of the Church nor Japanese, but the missionaries were dripping wet, and so she invited them in. Theresa was in Japan to work on her master’s degree in conflict studies, specializing in migration. She planned to work for the United Nations. Her husband, Peter, was still in Sierra Leone.
Entering the apartment, the two missionaries met Theresa’s friend, Andrea Treasure Sam, who is also from Sierra Leone.
Just moments before the missionaries knocked on the door, Andrea, who was waiting out the storm in Theresa’s home, was sharing a concern about finding a family-friendly Christian church to attend with her children when they arrived from Sierra Leone. She knew that even if she found a church, it would be a Japanese speaking congregation, and they had just started trying to learn the language. She didn’t know what to do.
After getting to know Theresa and Andrea a little, Sister Gurney told them she felt that there was a reason they were there, and asked if she could share a message from The Book of Mormon. Although they had been told bad stories about the book in their country, and were warned to avoid it, Theresa and Andrea agreed. Sister Gurney shared one of her favorite scriptures, Ether 12:27, along with others. The friends were surprised; it wasn’t what they had been told about at all, and it testified of Jesus Christ!
The missionaries gave their English copy of the book to Theresa and offered to get one for Andrea. She explained that her husband had previously received lessons from missionaries while he was studying in Japan.
Just two months after that rainy day in March, on May 14 Theresa entered the waters of baptism. When asked how her life has changed since joining the Church, she explained, “My view of life has changed. I have found peace. I used to have so many questions. Having the Book of Mormon has opened my perspective; it has helped me to understand the Bible more fully.”
One day, when Sister Gurney and Sister Sasaki came to teach a lesson to Andrea, they told her that Theresa was going to be baptized and asked her if she would also want to get baptized. Andrea told the sisters that she would pray about it. She had experienced the influence of the Holy Spirit in the past and said that if she had that same feeling when she prayed about joining the Church, then she would be baptized. If not, then the answer was “No.”
She later shared her experience, “When I prayed about baptism, I had this eagerness; I became so anxious to do it. I discussed it with my husband because he was waiting for me to be ready, so we could get baptized together. I said, ‘Let’s continue to pray.’ So, we did, and I kept having the eagerness.”
Andrea’s husband, Wusu, was going to be leaving in two months, so when they attended Theresa’s baptism, they told the missionaries that they wanted to be baptized right away. The whole family spent the next three weeks learning about the gospel, and on June 4, Wusu, Andrea, and Patricia, their oldest daughter, were all baptized, and then confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Andrea said, “Ever since I joined the Church, I found another family. When I came to Japan, I didn’t have anyone.” She shared a recent story about when she was sick. The sisters in the ward brought homemade soup for their family and a surprise package that cheered her up. The Church has already blessed their lives in many ways in a short time.
Theresa also has had a special experience. Soon after she was baptized, Theresa began preparing to go to the Tokyo Temple to perform vicarious baptisms for her deceased ancestors, who did not have the opportunity to receive the fulness of Christ’s gospel in this life. Through the efforts of those around the world doing indexing of public records, and with help from ward members and the missionaries, Theresa was able to find long lost information about her father, who died when she was young. This was such a blessing, as many family records were destroyed by bombings during wars in Sierra Leone. The database was updated just before her baptism. She was then able to prepare his name, her grandmother’s, and others to receive baptism and other temple ordinances.
For the full article, please see newsroom: https://news-gu.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/article/heavy-rainstorm-opens-the-door-for-sharing-the-gospel