LDS Missionaries Make Daring Rescue, Save Family
Elder Bowring, a missionary in Ghana, wrote home to his family describing an experience he had while his area was experiencing flooding. Mark Albright posted the letter to LDSmag.com. Below is an excerpt.
Editor’s Note: Ghana has just finished its three days of mourning for the 152 people that were killed either in the gas station fire where so many were huddled under the gas station canopy to get out of the rain or in the floods that ensued down many streets and in humble houses. Many Ghanians have not had the opportunity to learn to swim.
The following is a letter from Elder Bowring of the Ghana Accra West Mission that he sent home to his family this week about his experiences. He was originally a Liberian Missionary that came to Accra after the outbreak of Ebola. He will be released to return home to the US next month.
Dear Family,
What I am about to share with you is the most life-changing event that I have ever experienced. It started on a regular Wednesday evening around 6pm. We were out proselyting in Accra, Ghana when it suddenly began to rain. We helped as many people as we could until the storm forced us inside at about 7:30pm. Around 9pm I checked on the gutter right outside of our apartment only to discover that it was a raging rapid completely overtaking the curb and street. I couldn’t believe it! Huge chunks of debris were quickly flowing by our door as they made their way down the street. A few minutes later we received a call from our Bishop asking us to please go and check on his family since he couldn’t get to them.
My companion, Elder Vandehei (from Tennessee), and I quickly left the safety of our apartment and headed into the storm. By the time we got to the end of our road we were treading water up to our waists. When we got to the main road, there was a heavy current that almost swept us away. I remember looking back at Elder Vandehei and thinking, “are we really going to do this?”, but I had a strong feeling that we needed to keep going.
Read Elder Bowring’s full letter at LDSmag.com.