One Hundred Forty-Nine Baptisms in a Single Day (Nigeria, November 1978)

When at last the Lord's own time for black Africa came in June 1978, the floodgates opened for those who had waited patiently for so many years. On November 9, 1978, Elder Rendell N. and Sister Rachel Mabey and Elder Edwin Q. and Sister Janath Cannon arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, as the first full-time missionaries. On November 21, Anthony Obinna, who had waited thirteen years, was the first of many converts baptized and was set apart as the first branch president in West Africa. So ready were the people that in one twenty-four-hour period the missionaries baptized one hundred forty-nine converts. Within one year of the missionaries' arrival in West Africa there were more than 1,700 members in thirty-five branches. This sudden harvest is a faith-promoting witness that the Lord, when at last He opens the door, gathers His waiting people in great abundance.