ACCRA, GHANA
Built next to the Accra Ghana Temple with more than three and a half times the space of the previous Missionary Training Center, the recently finished MTC in Ghana, Africa, can now house 320 missionaries — and has room to grow.
With an increasing number of Church members in Africa, Church leaders decided to build a larger MTC to accommodate missionaries leaving from west and southeast Africa, as well as missionaries from around the world who have been called to serve in Africa. The new buildings make it easier for missionaries to learn in their native language — English or French — and learn the language and culture of the area where they have been assigned to labor. The previous MTC — built in 2002 in Tema, Ghana — housed only 90 missionaries.
While on assignment visiting the area, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, toured the new campus.
“As we walked through the halls and went into the classrooms, we sense already a real profound spirit that comes from those that have planned and built it,” Elder Renlund said in a Newsroom article. “It will be a phenomenal place for missionaries to learn about the Savior and to learn how to share His gospel.”
“I think as missionaries come here, the things that they learn, they will take with them forever,” Sister Renlund added. “Wherever their homes are, they will go and build the Church, always with this great foundation of what they learned here at the MTC.”
The new facility has similar design elements as the newly renovated MTC in Provo, Utah, and includes four buildings: a training building, a multipurpose building, a residence building and a kitchen and dining hall. The design includes a lot of windows and open spaces, and there is enough room to expand in the future to accommodate up to 500 missionaries.
“These principles are intended to really invite natural light into the spaces,” said Kelly Mills, administrative director of MTCs. “In the middle of all that is this beautiful protected courtyard space that’s protected from the sounds of the street, and it’s just a beautiful outdoor space where missionaries can contemplate and study and be in God’s creations.”
Recently, local visitors have been able to tour through the newly completed buildings during an open house that ran from Aug. 7-12.
Elder Terence M. Vinson, General Authority Seventy and Africa West Area president, hopes that visitors to the MTC during the open house could “see the effort that the Church makes to help and prepare these young men and women to serve missions, to provide them with opportunities to study the scriptures and to gain a deeper understanding of the doctrines of the Church.”
Many local leaders toured the new facility during the open house. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the mayor of Accra, said, “The architecture, the landscaping, the organization — everything is done orderly. And once you walk in, you know that you walked into a very disciplined and spiritually-filled place that will guide you throughout your tour.”
Nene Sakite II, the Paramount Chief of Manya Krobo, said, “When you get young men and women coming around here, for the teachings, … by the time they leave here, their experience will be certainly good, because of the environment.”
Plans to dedicate the facility are set for Oct. 24, 2017.
“When you come to west Africa, you can’t help but love the people,” said Elder Vinson. “There’s a beauty and a gentleness and a love that comes from the people that is contagious. And as they come here, they’ll feel that, whether they serve here or serve elsewhere in Africa. And that will greatly assist them in terms of the work they do.”