Hello again, everyone! Around 1.5 hours ago, the Church Growth Blog shared a report on the details released earlier today specifically about the Africa Central Area. Apparently, this morning, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, who is on assignment in Johannesburg South Africa, held a meeting for Church employees and volunteers.
According to those details, the headquarters for the Africa Central Area will be based out of Nairobi Kenya, and the following nations will be within the boundaries for the area: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Seychelles, and Sao Tome and Principe.
So, as a result of this announcement, any nations currently assigned to the Africa Southeast Area which are not listed as part of the Africa Central Area will thus belong to the renamed Africa South Area, which will include: Angola, Ascension, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Saint Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Tristan da Cunha, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
In the meantime, many people seem to be surprised that the headquarters for the Africa Central Area will be based out of Kenya instead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But I myself feel that this is another example of how the Lord's ways and thoughts are higher than the ways and thoughts of man. For that reason, I trust that our prophets, seers, and revelators, and those appointed to assist them in issues such as this, know more about the reasoning behind such decisions than the rest of us do. As a result, I trust the process of deliberation and decision that resulted in this outcome.
I also remain convinced that the most reasonable way to administer the new area would be to have at least one member of the current Africa Southeast Area Presidency become the first president of the new Africa Central Area, since any of those 3 men would be familiar with the nations in the two soon-to-be split areas. That said, as always, I continue to monitor all Church news and temple developments and will pass those along through new posts or comments on exisiting posts.
That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Monday, August 19, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: Details Released About Africa Central Area
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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Hello again, everyone! A new update was reported today for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. The latest information indicates that the temple's tower framework is rising, that the work of applying the roofing underlayment continues, that a majority of the exterior walls have been attached, that concrete and curbing are being poured, that lamp-posts are being installed, and that brick continues to be laid for the adjacent meetinghouse.
ReplyDeleteWhile this update is surely encouraging, we may be around 6-8 months away from knowing how soon an open house and dedication might be scheduled to occur for this temple. I would currently place the likely dedication time-frame as at least a year away, but could see that being delayed a month or two, depending on what does or does not happen in relation to that temple going forward. I continue to monitor all such developments and will bring word of those to you here ASAP after I learn of them. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
I find it interesting that Elder Sitati, the current 1st counselor in the Africa Southeast area presidency was born in Kenya. Elder Dube, the current first counselor in the Africa West area presidency was born in Zimbabwe.
ReplyDeletePatzicia
Those are great observations, Patzicia. With that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if Elder Sitati and/or Elder Dube were called to be the first member(s) of the Africa Central Area Presidency. I am sure I was aware of their personal links to these areas, but I guess it slipped my mind. Thanks for that great reminder. I always appreciate hearing from you.
DeleteSudan is likely in Africa North
ReplyDeleteSteven, per Eric's comment below and my response thereunto, I realized I was in error and operating on incopmplete information without proerly ascertaining the facts. That means that I owe you a giant-sized apology. I am usually pretty good about checking my facts before I share information, and that did not occur this time. You were indeed correct in your assessment above, about Sudan being reassigned to the Middle East/Africa North Area, and I should not have been as dismissive as I may have been in my initial reply to you below. Please know I profoundly regret this oversight and mistake on my part, and I will hereby commit to being doubly-certain of information in the future before I pass it along. In the meantime, thanks again for taking time to comment.
DeleteHello, Steven. Thanks for stopping by to comment. According to both the 2013 Church Almanac and the Area page on Wikipedia, Sudan is currently assigned to the Africa Southeast Area. That nation, from which South Sudan split around 5-7 years ago, may actually go to the Africa Central Area, rather than Africa South like I thought. Geographically, Sudan is located in the North Central region of the world.
ReplyDeleteBut the Church sets its' area boundaries irrespective of world geography boundaries. That's why the nation of Cabo Verde, though closer geographically to Western Africa, is assigned to the Church's Europe Area.
So both Sudan and South Sudan are currently within the Africa Southeast Area of the Church, and both will apparently be reassigned to the Africa Central Area, which is an update from what I posted above. Hope that information helps, and thanks for taking time to comment.
The proposed area maps (picture 4 on the Newsroom article) shows Sudan to be part of the Middle East/Africa North Area and South Sudan to be part of the Africa Central Area.
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/nairobi--kenya--to-be-church-africa-central-area-office
Eric, thank you for stopping by to comment. I thought I had already looked over the gallery provided with the Newsroom story when it had originally been published (through the South African Newsroom) a few days ago. But apparently, I missed looking at the map, which does indeed show Sudan and South Sudan belongoing to the Middle East/Africa North Area, with South Sudan belongoing to the Africa Central Area, as you noted. So that also means that I owe Steven Cuff a giant-sized apology. That map and the accompanying lists will help me piece together the area compositions far more effectively than I did previously. Thank you, Eric, for pointing that out. I will be more careful going forward to check my facts before I venture such opinions in the future.
DeleteI don't recall seeing that map initially, either. I think it was added just within the last couple days or so when the article was published on the HQ Newsroom.
DeleteIt could have been. I didn't register it when the announcement originally appeared on the South African Newsroom the day before yesterday (which is when the Newsroom shared it). That doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't in the original release, just that I didn't notice it at the time. In some ways, that's the story of my life. Either way, I am glad we now have that map and the list to clarify what is actually going on in that respect. Again, thank you, Eric, for pointing it out.
DeleteHello again, everyone! While any of you are free to reply to earlier comments on this thread, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Church news and temple updates which have recently crossed my radar. The Church News stories are self-explanatory:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-08-21/cancer-mission-bolivia-peru-book-of-morrmon-157807
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-08-19/rocky-mountain-atv-national-motocross-tennessee-157616
https://www.thechurchnews.com/family-history/2019-08-19/familysearch-blog-international-family-history-157354
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2019-08-18/from-settling-salt-lake-city-to-polygamy-volume-2-of-saints-is-more-epic-than-the-first-157175
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-08-21/tampa-bay-buccaneers-kicker-on-record-field-goal-and-relying-on-god-through-his-mission-and-the-nfl-157603
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-08-14/peru-paulo-gallardo-soccer-mission-157321
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-ministry/2019-08-20/elder-stevenson-hosts-a-time-travel-sojourn-across-the-restoration-education-week-157657
Also, from the Church's official News and Events page come the following articles:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/auditions-announced-for-2019-savior-of-the-world-in-salt-lake-city?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/quick-tip-how-to-get-tickets-to-attend-general-conference-live?lang=eng
I will post the temple updates in a separate comment in just a few minutes.
A little later than anticipated, I am back with the temple updates I mentioned. With the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple open house having wrapped up on Saturday, that temple is now being prepared for its' dedication. And open house tours are fully underway now on the Lisbon Portugal Temple. Meanwhile, at the Yigo Guam Temple, as site grading continues, the official construction barrier for the temple project has been put up in place of the construction barrier put up when ground was broken for it. And at the Quito Ecuador Temple, while site grading and leveling is underway, work has also commenced on some excavation for the temple utilities. Aside from these updates, there are no others to report. But I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will pasws word of all future updates along ASAP as I learn of them. In the meantime, my thanks again to you all.
ReplyDelete