When Sister Habiba Yakouba Ouattara entered the Ghana Missionary Training Center in Accra, Ghana, on June 6, she made history as the first sister missionary from Mali for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
At the end of June she began serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa West Mission, where she is speaking French, her native language.
Sister Ouattara is only the second missionary ever called out of Mali, in West Africa. In a population of almost 22 million, 90% of Mali is Muslim and just 5% is Christian, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
After Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the country in May 2017, the Bamako Branch was formed in July of that year. The Church was officially recognized in Mali in January 2019, and now there are 132 Church members in the country.
From the Ghana MTC, Sister Ouattara spoke to Africa Newsroom about the difficulty of attending Church with so few members and the meetinghouse so far away.
“Sometimes it takes members three or four taxi rides and many hours to get to the church building,” she said, but she added that “many people are still faithful in attending.”
Baptism in Mali
Sister Ouattara’s story from baptism to full-time missionary begins with her mother. In early 2017, her mother — who had been raised Catholic but not attending services — decided that she needed to take her children to church and provide her family with religious and moral teaching.
“Things were very difficult for us, we had no money, no food, and my mother hoped that if we went to church, things would be better,” Sister Ouattara said.
An acquaintance introduced the family to missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sister Ouattara and her mother and younger sister were baptized, traveling over 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from Bamako to Accra to do so — a 40-hour bus ride each way.
They were the first family baptized in the country of Mali.
But attending Church regularly was a struggle.
“We were very far away from the church and did not have the money for taxis,” Sister Ouattara told Africa Newsroom. “We also had to work in our shop every day to have enough money for food.”
The family prayed often about their situation. Then, they were able to open a shop and move closer to the Church’s building in Bamako.
“This was a great blessing for us and allowed me to attend Church every Sunday,” Sister Ouattara said.
Ready to serve a mission in DR Congo
Sister Ouattara said she always wanted to serve a mission. Her mother and other branch members have supported her financially — and so have her friends.
“I shook the hand of one of my friends who was not a member and found a significant amount of money in my hand,” she told Africa Newsroom.
While at the Ghana MTC, Sister Ouattara met Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Gong, during their ministry in Africa in June.
She was grateful for her experience at the missionary training center, where she said she had helpful teachers, a wonderful companion and a great district. And she was anxious get out into the mission field.
“Teaching the gospel in my own language is a real blessing, I hope to make a big difference in DR Congo,” she said.
