Sister Flagbo Gets a Brace

One of the greatest missionaries in our mission is Sister Flagbo. She comes from Togo and has been an inspiration to all who know her. When she serves in a ward or with a companion, they're so grateful to have her and so sad when a transfer comes.  She's just wonderful.  It's hard to imagine that she almost didn't get to serve. Only through sheer faith, determination and inspiration is she here.  She was born healthy, but at the age of  7 she and two other children were mistakenly given triple doses of a vaccine.  One of those children died, the other is in a vegetative state and Sister Flagbo was left with problems that caused one leg not to grow correctly.  In order to walk she had to put her hand on her knee to steady her leg with each step.  Her family was able to send her to a good school and despite here physical challenges she did well. When she was 17 her father, who was a successful CEO of a bank, died of a heart attack. As is sadly sometimes the custom in Africa, her aunts and uncles came and took everything they owned, leaving her and her mother penniless. Life was indeed hard for them, but they persevered.  When Sister Flagbo found the church she wanted to serve a mission. Her priesthood leaders discouraged her because of  her physical limitations. She listened to their counsel but her desire didn't go away.  One day she met a general authority who had only one arm. He told her that she should pursue the goal of serving a mission and that's all she needed to continue her quest. She filled out papers and was met with more opposition. This time she was told that she would have to begin an exercise and diet regime and become more physically fit if she wanted to serve. This she did, eating mostly cucumbers and tomatoes.

 Finally she was allowed to submit her papers, received her call and went to the MTC in Ghana. There the MTC president was concerned about her physical ability to serve.  He suggested that she might be called to work in a temple or complete a church service mission. Many options were discussed. In the end, Brent felt the inspiration to let her at least try to serve in Kinshasa. She came and she has never complained a single time about her circumstances, her health or her limitations. She's a bright, shining star in the mission and has influenced everybody she meets to be better and happier.

We love Sister Flagbo and are so grateful for the inspiration the Lord gave Brent to allow her to be given the chance to be a missionary.

We wanted to find a way to make her physical situation better. We got permission to have tests done and sent to South Africa to see is she could be helped.  There the doctors said that they could do nothing for her.  We asked Thierry if he would investigate at local hospitals and clinics to see if we could find somebody who could make an orthotic device to assist her in walking.  To our surprise, a doctor was found and she received her brace this week.

She was so happy that she called to ask if she could come and show it to us.  She came and demonstrated how much easier she could walk.  She still has a significant limp but no longer needs to balance herself with her hand on her knee.  She is ecstatic and most grateful.  This will bless her life from this point forward.  Of all the missionaries in our mission, she is the least likely one to complain of her difficulties.  She is an amazing person and a wonderful example to all of us who know and love her.  It's such a joy to see what a great mission she is having. It's also wonderful to see that she'll go home in August better off  physically as well as spiritually and personally. We're inspired by Sister Flagbo!