Groundbreaking for Mission Home and Freetown Stake Center

On 12 January 2013 two groundbreaking ceremonies were held in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission and the Freetown Sierra Leone Stake.  Before the actual ceremony a news conference was held, sponsored and organized by Sister Mariatu Browne who is the country director for Public Affairs for the church.  She invited Elder and Sister Burns to come and tell about many of the humanitarian projects they are involved in, which include wells in many places, supplies and furnishings for a polio orphanage, and some springboxes to capture and dispense spring water.  They are also helping with a wheelchair fitting and distribution as well as a neonatal training program.  The media was so attentive and asked some very good questions.  President Patrick Swarray, Jr. fielded questions as well as President Richard Roggia. 

President Roggia wields a shovel in the groundbreaking for the new mission home.  It will be located right next door to the mission office in a nice large compound which also includes a church building which houses four wards.  It should be completed by September, a few months after the new mission president arrives in July.  The mission home will also have two apartments for senior couples located below it.

This is the large lot on which will be built the new Freetown Sierra Leone Stake Center.  It will also house the Congo Cross ward, with the hope that more wards will follow in the future.

President Roggia and President Swarray shared the honor of digging some of the first shovels of dirt for the new stake center for the Church's 3000th stake, the Freetown Sierra Leone Stake. They have been partners in the progress of the church here for the past 2 1/2 years.  President Swarray was called as District President in August of 2011.

 

 

After the groundbreaking for the new chapel, many of the media representatives were invited to tour the new Hill Station Chapel which is under construction.  The rock you see in the foreground is a tiny representation of the rock which completely covered and filled the lot where this new chapel is built.  Some of the boulders were taller than a man.  The workers build fires on top of them so they can be broken into pieces and hauled away.  The groundbreaking for this building was held over a year ago.  It has been a painstaking process to clear the ground enough to build the building.

 

This is a good view of the construction and you can see our two trusty mission vans in the background.  The gray one is old and will soon be retired.  The white one was purchased for Elder Holland's visit in February 2012 and has hauled many missionaries on transfers.