Francis Sombato is a member of the Church in Ghana, Africa. He gives a glimpse of what it is like to be a member of the Church there. They usually walk and hour and a half to church on Sundays unless they have enough money to get a cab that week.
There is so much growth in Ghana and you can see why with individuals like Francis.
want you to get to know Francis sbat
from GH Africa he's a great guy
wonderful young family he is uh
providing for them trying to provide for
them providing for his siblings his
parents passed away and he does a
wonderful work in the church and in the
community there in Ghana secondarily I
want you to learn about him because I
have a fundraiser to help him build a
fish farm so so he can provide for his
family provide for his siblings and help
the community I know several people that
have known him for many years and are
close family friends of his he's a great
member of the church aund a hard worker
where he gives 100% to everything he
does he does all he can to create a
better life for his family and those
around him he's trying to break the
cycle of poverty in his family so I'm
going to provide a link for the GoFundMe
project Francis sabato's fish farm here
in the description box as well as on a
card that's going to pop up here and if
you can do anything like $5 $10 or more
you'll be helping out a great member of
the church and and someone who's trying
to lead his family I really hope that
some of you can help him out here here
we go
[Music]
all right welcome to Quick show my name
is Greg Matson and I am your host in
this episode we've brought on Francis
somato from Ghana Africa Francis welcome
to the show uh thank you so much Greg um
I really appreciate this opportunity um
given to me at this time I'm so grateful
to be in this big platform and I'm so
excited for this opportunity great so
you're a member of the church Francis I
want to talk a little bit about your
background and kind of what what's going
on with the church here today but let's
start with your background um were your
are your parents members of the
church
um actually my mom was the first person
who joined the church and uh she joined
the church in
200 I think 206 that's when she joined
the church and so as soon as she joined
the church and then she also invited me
um to also to join the church and so my
mom my mom she was a member but she has
passed away when I was on the on my
mission field that is where my mom
passed away my dad my dad wanted to
become a member and but he was not able
to make it and he was he passed away I
think seven months time when my mom
passed away but I have been able to do
all the U the necessary
that he need for him okay and so how
many how many brothers and sisters do
you
have uh actually we
um nine yeah we are Nine and Nine total
brothers and sisters total uh yeah we
have we have two sisters I have two
sisters two sisters and six
brothers yes okay all right and and
where do you fall in there are you for
the oldest or the youngest
or um somewhere middle somewhere in the
middle okay all right so you you ended
up how old were you when you were
baptized I I was um at the age of I
think 15 or 16 yeah okay and you ended
up going on a mission is that right yes
okay and you went to Nigeria correct
yeah Nigeria
for T Mission okay so tell us a little
bit about the mission and what that
meant to
you uh actually um the mission is like
for me actually the mission is
everything to me because um you know
even when I joined the church as a young
age when I joined the church um there's
something
that um I I noticed that I like those
things but that being in the mission
field there is this special treasure in
the mission field and one thing that I I
discovered on the mission field was I
discovered that if I allow myself for
the mission to pass through me I will
come out as a great person but if I
don't allow myself for the mission to
pass through me I will I will come back
home and it it will be hard for me and I
will not understand the principles and
the doctrines that the church teach and
so mission is something that is very a
treasure thing for me actually it has
really changed my life and and it is it
is something that I really appreciate
making that boldly decision to to serve
the Lord for 24 months so I am so
grateful that I had that opportunity to
to serve
Mission so in in Ghana well you speak
English did you learn English as a
kid so um yeah it's a english- speaking
country but
most most of the people let me said most
ghanians speak we they have different
languages but the most popular language
is twe which is t w i twe that is how
the Americans pronounce it twe but we
pronounce it as twe okay so that is the
most popular language everybody can
speak the twe but apart from that I'm
from the northern side of Ghana my dad
my mom they are from the northern side
of Ghana they speak a different language
and but the twe is the like a language
that everybody can speak that's the most
popular language that everybody can
speak okay so you come your
mission and and you're married
and you have
kids right so you take on the
responsibility of being a husband and a
father at this point uh how many kids do
you
have right now I have three girls we
have three girls and the oldest is H the
oldest is Jesse and the second one is
called Aran we'll name her after Aran
CET and um the last one is called rosan
and we are expecting another
one you're expecting number four yes
well
congratulations thank
you so tell me what life is like for you
in Ghana and and kind of what is your
daily routine what do you
do uh to be productive you know uh to be
a husband and a father what what is life
like for you and Ghana
okay so life over here is let me say is
pretty hard um because um that is no
much
opportunities
and like this channel I know it's not
for um politics but um life here
is you know to be able to put food in
the table it takes a lot and a lot of
people doesn't end much and as a father
uh that is why he said um I'm grateful
that I serve Mission and there are
certain things I learn on Mission such
as
budgeting I learn those things on the
mission field and I learn how to manage
um everything on on the mission field so
um it is not easy to to be able to even
to find a job uh even when you completed
uh University there a lot of people who
have completed University but they are
home they can't find a job and it's all
because of one thing corruption
corruption is something that it is high
when you come to Africa as a hold and
most most especially in West Africa um
it is hard it is it is really hard um to
to leave here and to be able to wake up
in the morning and to be able to find
food um it is something that you should
thank Heavenly Father for for him
providing for your family and that is
one of the things that um a lot of Gans
whenever I speak I don't speak for
myself only but I speak because um there
are a lot of people out there um that
they go through a lot of things the
things that I go through there are
people out there that they go through
and then it is not easy it is not easy
when I say it is not easy it is not and
I remember when Aran Aran C when she
came to Ghana in
2019 um even our
hospitals um it is it is terrible it is
terrible um it is not even even if you
have even if you
have it is it is something that is
really hard because
everything goes for the politicians
everything go for people who have um so
over
here even though we live in our own
country but sometimes we feel like we
are slaves in our own country because
everything go for the politician and the
rich people yeah okay they keep control
things did you did you was it similar in
Nigeria when you were
there similar it's it's it is not easy
yeah uh when we talk about
poverty it is real
um I I had an opportunity to start um a
nonprofit organization and that is one
of the things that brought uh Aran C to
Ghana
and Greek um it is
hard it is really hard okay so you have
now got something where I I believe
you're you're trying to you've started a
fish farm yeah right what do you want to
do with
that okay so what I want to do with the
fish farm because um I there's one thing
I I
notied uh because in8 years from 8 years
with this new government there is
something I noticed that um this new
government um every year they close the
sea and when they close the sea which
mean the fisherman where I live is close
to the uh the ocean so in this town they
do a lot of fishing in this town so one
thing I I noticed is every year the
government Clos the Sea and the fish the
fisherman doesn't go to the Sea for
three good months and so and sitting
down and thinking about this um because
when they cross the sea fish become a
high demand for people to to P to
purchase like the prices go up and so
for I when I sat down I for me to be
able to solve some of this um problem is
for me to be able to come out with this
idea and to be able to um I start with a
fish farm so I can be able to sell some
of this fish and some is also going to
be used in the home and some is also
going to give we are going to give some
to the community the homes that they
they don't have money to even to buy
fish so that is the whole
idea okay and
and you've got it started already how
much larger are you trying to make
it um I'm trying because right now I
have um the first badge I had 200 pieces
and because the pawn is the pawn was the
little so some of the fish they struggle
inside the pwn so I lost um some of the
fish some die and so right now uh the
old one that the I started those one I
have
117 fish but recently I brought um four
I think 400 um new fingerlings but I'm
looking forward to be able to have
whereby I can have
5,000 10,000 fish
good um so let's go back to your family
here so you've got your three daughters
you've got another child coming uh how
old's your oldest
daughter uh she's five years she's five
so does she go to school yet yes okay
she goes to school and do most kids go
to
school there okay so most most
people um most children doesn't go to
school when when you come here in Africa
even though the government has made it
in a way that is it's free
education but the problem is most of the
parent cannot afford certain Something
Like H
textbook or exercise book pencil School
unform most of the parent cannot afford
and most of this parent also doesn't
have even when their kids is going to
school they don't even have like food to
give them even though the government has
make it in a way that um they sometimes
provide food for the children but I tell
you that if you see some of these food
that they give it to their children I
don't think they will give those food to
their own children is because this
parent doesn't most of the parent
doesn't have so a lot of children
doesn't go to school so when you come to
Ghana when you are in the street you see
a lot of children in the street and most
of these children are whether they are
in in their streets begging or some of
these children has been used as child
labor and most of these children is
being um uh sold for child labor that
happens a lot in the voter lake that is
the biggest um Lake in in I think in in
West Africa yeah I think one of the
biggest lake and so most most children
have been sold into the this Lake and
the fisherman over there they buy these
children and then they use this children
for fishing and so that is some of the
things that it's it's going over here
and most children in fact most
children doesn't go to school most
school okay do you how how how where do
you go to church do you how far is the
building to go to church or do you go in
a home or where do you meet for
church okay so from my home to where the
church is is about an hour and 40
minutes an hour and 40 minutes and how
do you get
there so at times we
walk at times when we have money we we
we Charter a car it's called a taxi and
so we call the driver and then when a
driver come they charge a certain amount
which is about um $1 or $2 and then they
take us and then bring us back okay and
how many you know roughly about how many
people are in that meeting when you when
you
go in our sacrament meeting sometime we
have like
130 140 but the membership is over over
and do you see a lot of growth in your
area there a lot of a lot of people
being
baptized yes a lot of a lot of people a
lot of people have been baptized a lot a
lot yeah well well Africa is obviously
one of the biggest growth areas for the
church which is wonderful and Ghana is
one of specifically one of those
countries that is really growing a lot
in the church um can you see as you go
to church and you see what's Tau and you
have the gospel there and self-reliance
that's taught and all these things do
you think that there can be a change
in the living conditions that you have
there because of the spread of the
Gospel
there yeah
so I think the gospel is indeed truly
the gospel is really
happen because you know over here
like people we really really really love
God that is the
truth and so even if somebody is
dying they have put their trust in God
they believe that it's only God that is
going to save them like it is like me
when I was growing up there are times
that my my my I saw my
mother because there was no food and it
was a small food and my mother have to
live for us and
yeah the only thing that she say
is he knows she knows that God will
provide and so over here people really
love God and people can do anything for
God yeah so there the the the humility
of the circumstances I think
automatically help people grow closer to
God yes whereas in the west where I'm at
right where we have a lot more um luxury
and abundance and all these things it's
it's a lot easier over here to forget
God and and that happens quite a bit
yeah so when over
decide I wish I wish one
day you will come here and see certain
things for yourself you can see see
where somebody leave
and maybe when you contact Aran C if you
have a time you contact her she can tell
you she can tell you most of the things
when she came here she
saw but all these people they they they
have hope in the Lord and they have hope
in God and they trust in God no matter
the
condition but matter the condition they
still trust in God
and that is one thing that
move the people over here that is one
thing that always keep them moving no
matter how hard it will be they
always trust in God they they know that
one day God will you know put some smile
in their face and some people doesn't
even leave to see that such like my
mom
she growing up like I saw my mom moving
and my dad moving from one place to
another because we never have our own
house and today I have my own house and
I I wish she live to see that his son
maybe they never believe that maybe any
of their son or one day even build build
a home but I wish leave to be able to
see that it is possible and everything
that she was hoping for and I know it is
little by
little and at
times it is it is not easy
but I know wherever she is now she can
see that what she was hoping
for the Lord is truly she's doing it
little by
little yeah okay um so
you have a YouTube channel yeah
obviously you had a great experience on
your mission and this is probably why
you you you name this the YouTube
channel is called time with the
missionaries yeah so so what is that
about and why do you put that channel
together okay so time with missionaries
always it started from when I joined the
church when my mom introduced me to the
missionaries because as a young boy
there are things that I love so much I
love playing football I love dancing and
so anytime the missionaries come I when
when I give them the time because they
don't come in the right time and I also
give them the wrong time all the time
and so sometimes I'll give them a run
three because when R three the sun there
is no sun the sun there is no sunand
it's not hot and that is the best time
to play
football and so whenever they come in
those days we have this kind of Windows
and those windows some people still have
those windows and it's easy to jump I
can go inside and tell them I'm going to
bring my pamphlet and I will jump from
the window and then I will go and play
football and one day when as soon as I
jumped the window one of the missionary
he heard me and he was like Brother
Francis I know the gospel is not by
force but I know that this gospel is
really going to help you and so he set
me down and he he taught me the Plan of
Salvation and one of the things that I
noticed from this missionary that he he
know how to pray football and so I
wanted to learn the football from the
missionary so every pday they used to
invite me to the apartment because they
have a a huge compound where they play
football every pday so every pday he
will invite me to to follow them and go
and play soccer with them and so by the
time I
knew I was following the missionaries
from 2007 that is when I got baptized
but the time I know I was following the
missionaries post
lighting and I from
2007 and that year in
December
29 when I was
baptized from that
day I continue to post light with
missionaries I continue to help
missionaries I watch missionaries like
right missionar from the West sometime
when they come because over here we use
our hand we don't have washing
machines it is here but it a lot of
people cannot afford so most people use
their hand to wash and when you come it
doesn't it doesn't matter they can bring
a large quantity of clothes and you have
to use your hand to wash so I was doing
those things for the missionaries that
from idah America I was doing that I was
doing that for them so every Monday I'll
go to the apartment and watch for them
postl with them so I keep on postling
with the missionaries
until 2013
when one Mission president uh his name
was
um uh his uh his name was I forgot his
name but he in 2013 he called me as a
stake missionary because he
saw that I wish to post live with the
missionaries a lot so he called me as a
state missionary and he sent me to an
area in in the western region which is
uh somewhere closer to where I live so
he sent me to that place to serve over
there for two months because they were
short of missionaries and when I came
back home I contined to postl with the
missionaries until the day that was in
2014 when I received my mission call and
so when I was starting this YouTube
channel I said let me name it time with
the missionaries for me to remember that
they are the missionary work is indeed
Divine and the time that I spent with
all these
missionaries and one day I want my
childr to also to know when they ask me
like the way you are asking me about
what is this channel is all about it's
all centered with a service that I did
with the work that I did with the
missionaries in all those years and that
is the reason why I named this YouTube
channel time with the
missionaries awesome great story well
Francis thank you so much for your time
on this I know uh it's so hard it's you
have a you have a difficult circumstance
you you grow up in a difficult
area um there is not much there not much
opportunity in in that land but I know
the gospel changes hearts and minds and
and the more more that that gospel is
spread in that area and it is spreading
quickly that there can be
change and
opportunity that that can come to the
people but I really appreciate your
example I appreciate your humility I
appreciate your sacrifice I know you
also take care of a number of things for
your your large family your brothers and
sisters as well and so you've got a lot
on your shoulders and that's that's a
lot to carry yeah but uh if you're
staying close to the Lord I think I
think you can bear those burdens so but
I appreciate your example of actually
taking on that
responsibility right that's that's
that's a big deal thank you for your
time so much and and friend we'll we'll
talk again soon all right thank you so
much hello
[Music]
this is the dream I'm talking about this
is something I'm wishing to be able to
have something like this this is
somebody fish B I visit today and you
can see how amazing everything looks
like this is the bring this is what I
want to
[Music]
become and this is what I'm I'm praying
that I can be able to get the support
this is all fish pwns over here so
beautiful this are standing pipes on you
can see the way the water is
rotating so amazing
so see how amazing it
is this all this are
investment so when I tell you that
invest on fish
farming you may think that we are
joking everyone welcome back to my
channel once again
this is Francis
Z I am so happy and whenever I come here
I feel so blessed I feel so humbl to
work here and to encourage somebody out
there that hey it is not too late do you
think it's too late it is never too late
you can start something
