“Miracle of the Rain” Continues in Cape Verde Following Temple Dedicatory Prayer

When Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Praia Cape Verde Temple on June 19, 2022, his prayer included a plea for rain on the drought-stricken, 10-island nation off the coast of West Africa — a drought dating back to 2017 that had magnified food insecurities in Cabo Verde.

In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Andersen said: “We thank Thee, Father, for the many blessings that have come to Cabo Verde since Elder Dallin H. Oaks first blessed this land nearly 30 years ago. We bless this land, as President Oaks did previously, that the land may bring forth abundantly for its people, that the clouds may produce rain, that the ocean may yield its fruit, and we bless the people of this land that they may have vision, energy and freedom, light and knowledge, ambition and hope, all strengthened by obedience to Thy commandments.”

Rain began to fall as the third and final dedicatory session concluded — and it continued through the week and beyond. As Elder Andersen and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, returned to Utah, Sister Andersen spoke of “the miracle of the rain” in Praia.

Elder Andersen later received emails from local Church leaders reporting that the rains had continued to fall calmly and serenely since the dedication, with island residents full of hope for the upcoming harvest. President David J. Wunderli and Sister Diane Wunderli of the Cape Verde Praia Mission wrote: “We continue to marvel at the immediate blessing of your wonderful dedicatory prayer. It has continued to rain consistently. Farmers on each of the 10 islands have been working nonstop, planting and cultivating their fields in anticipation of very productive crop yields. In our time here, we have yet to see the likes of this. The islands are green, and there is a noticeable spirit of optimism felt in every town.”

President Wunderli also reported a second, different kind of harvest after the temple dedication: “The field for missionary work and reactivation is also yielding much fruit. We see miracles each week of the gathering and returning taking place.”

Inter-island “temple caravans” began arriving — the first came in August from the island of Sal, with 28 Latter-day Saints who had waited four hours at their home port and then sailed 12 hours on rough seas, arriving in Praia at 3 a.m. “As I drove into the port to pick them up in the middle of the night, I was amazed to see them laughing, smiling, joking and singing ‘Families Can Be Together Forever,’” President Wunderli reported. “We drove past the lighted temple on the way to their hotel, and as we rounded the corner, they then began singing ‘Beautiful Zion.’ I was overcome with emotion. Their appreciation for and understanding of the blessing of this temple is deep and tender.”

Among that caravan were Odairo Fernandes Silva and his wife, Vania Monteiro Rodrigues Lopes Silva, who had waited for the temple to be dedicated and operating in order to be sealed. The day after they were married, Cape Verde closed the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the Silvas often say, “Had we waited just one more day, we would not have been allowed to marry.”

On the temple’s first day of operation, 19 missionaries of the Cape Verde Praia Mission — who had been unable to receive their endowments because of COVID-19 but had been serving faithfully — went through for their own endowments. One elder was on the last day of his mission; following his temple session that morning, he went into the adjacent meetinghouse and was released as a missionary by his stake president.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

We continue to marvel at the immediate blessing of your wonderful dedicatory prayer. It has continued to rain consistently. Farmers on each of the 10 islands have been working nonstop, planting and cultivating their fields in anticipation of very productive crop yields. In our time here, we have yet to see the likes of this. The islands are green, and there is a noticeable spirit of optimism felt in every town. The field for missionary work and reactivation is also yielding much fruit. We see miracles each week of the gathering and returning taking place.