Missionary Moment: The Ziggy Ansah Conversion Story
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Comments | Return to Story
KenMay 20, 2013
Thanks for all of the comments so far guys! Appreciate them and hope you enjoyed the article. Eric, the girl you see in the pictures with Ziggy is Amanda Opare, now Amanda Enyi-Ineh. She is a close friend of Ziggy's and a daughter of the Opare family who owned the school where Ziggy worked and were I met Ziggy. She sometimes participated in our missionary lessons and was a huge help to Ziggy as he transitioned into the LDS church. Her family also helped Ziggy out tremendously with his application papers to BYU and his passport, etc. to help him get here to the US. She is also a good friend of mine and ended up marrying one of my former mission companions, Chukwudi Enyi-Ineh from Nigeria.
KenMay 19, 2013
Thanks for all of the comments so far guys! Appreciate them and hope you enjoyed the article. Eric, the girl you see in the pictures with Ziggy is Amanda Opare, now Amanda Enyi-Ineh. She is a close friend of Ziggy's and a daughter of the Opare family who owned the school where Ziggy worked and were I met Ziggy. She sometimes participated in our missionary lessons and was a huge help to Ziggy as he transitioned into the LDS church. Her family also helped Ziggy out tremendously with his application papers to BYU and his passport, etc. to help him get here to the US. She is also a good friend of mine and ended up marrying one of my former mission companions, Chukwudi Enyi-Ineh from Nigeria.
Troy SchoonoverMay 19, 2013
Ken's best friend, Paul, also served in Ghana and was one of those earlier missionaries who befriended Ziggy and played a lot of basketball with him. He is now a Marine in flight training here in Pensacola, FL. He says that Ziggy was not much of a shooter, but that he could just come out of nowhere for monster dunks! Paul told us in Elder's Quorum about his experience with Ziggy, and that he had also roomed at BYU with his best friend, Ken, and Ziggy. It was amazing to hear and really special to see how seeds are planted and blossom in wonderful ways.
EricMay 18, 2013
Ziggy's story is exactly perfect for a great Hollywood production that will be the next biggest sports movie since "The Blind Side". I hope an aspiring director from BYU will pick this up like a fumbled ball lying at their feet on the football field and run for the end zone. I believe Ziggy is going to do great things in the NFL. I see him as a great pass defender that like the legendary Ed "too tall" Jones. But I hope Ziggy grabs the ball out of the air and scores with it. What I have been wondering about so many times as I have seen the photos from Africa is who is the beautiful girl with the beautiful smile that is next to Ziggy in a few of the photos. I have read every article and there is no mention of her. Is this his girlfriend or a relative or? Also, I hope those friends Ziggy had that were trying to influence him away from the church can now see how wrong they were. Look at how Heavenly Father has blessed him through his conversion and the people led by the Holy Spirit to guide him into the place where he is now
Francisca J. PetersenMay 17, 2013
WOW!!! What a story. I'm very impressed, and for the story I read I can tell that Ziggy will do great things inside and outside of the Church. What a blessing to be the missionary that baptized him.
Arnold MillerMay 17, 2013
Thank you for sharing this inspiring story of how the Gospel can take a young man's inate goodness and make him into an instrument for good.
thebigsamoanMay 17, 2013
Amazing story and thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading much more about this young man's successes both in his NFL career and as a future leader in his faith. He has certainly brought much exposure both to BYU sports and the LDS Church for sure.
Lawrence May 17, 2013
Awesome story!!! We pray and know the Lord will bless Brother Ziggy and good people in Detroit to help and support him to continue to blossom,grow in the gospel, and be a wonderful influence to those he will associate with.
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