Twin sisters, Hannah and Seenah Moriba, have always done everything together. From attending school to sharing friends, these sisters from Sierra Leone have been inseparable. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Kissy Ward, they even worshipped together. So, it was no surprise that when the time came for them to serve a mission for the Church, they decided to do it together as well.
On July 25, 2023, Hannah and Seenah arrived at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Accra, Ghana. Both sisters were called to serve in Nigeria, with Hannah assigned to the newly established Nigeria Aba Mission, and Seenah assigned to the Nigeria Owerri Mission. Although they felt a mix of excitement and apprehension, they knew deep down that this was what they were meant to do. “From a young age, we knew that being missionaries was part of Heavenly Father’s plan for us,” Seenah shared.
The journey of these sisters to the MTC started when they left their home country of Liberia as young girls to live with their aunt in Sierra Leone. “We left our parents because there were better educational opportunities in Sierra Leone,” explained Hannah. While their parents were not members of the Church, their aunt had recently been baptized. Soon after, the girls began meeting with missionaries, and at the age of ten, they were both baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The rigorous training at the MTC and the change in climate in Accra posed challenges for the sisters, but they remained steadfast. “There is so much to learn, and we need to study all the time,” Seenah remarked. “But it doesn’t feel difficult because we knew that sacrifice would be part of His plan.” After three weeks at the MTC, both sisters will depart for their respective missions, marking the first time they will be separated. Hannah acknowledged that it would be tough, but they were both eagerly looking forward to serving in their assigned missions.
Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, shares borders with Guinea and Liberia, with the Atlantic Ocean to the Southwest. The Church began sending missionaries to Sierra Leone in 1988, and despite regional conflicts and epidemics, the Church has experienced rapid growth. Currently, there are 29,119 members of the Church attending 93 congregations in Sierra Leone.
