The Reality Missionaries Face in the “Heart of Africa”

Since Broadway’s take on the faith of Latter-day Saints with the satirical musical, “The Book of Mormon,” some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have decided to give the world a more realistic vision of what it is like to serve as a Mormon missionary in Africa.

Margaret Blair Young, a filmmaker and professor at Brigham Young University, is one of the contributors to the upcoming film, Heart of Africa. This fictional story takes place in Congo and follows the experience of Elder Price, a missionary for the Church. This farm boy from Idaho is hit with culture shock after meeting his first mission companion, Elder Kando—a former Congo revolutionary.

Having been trained to hate the white race, Elder Kando must confront his differences with Elder Price. Throughout the movie, they each battle individual hardships as they face the realities of Congo—malaria, poverty, and polio.

To learn more about the film, which is set to come out later this year, visit Heart of Africa‘s Facebook page. Those who wish to contribute funds to the making of the movie, visit heartofafricafilm.com. You can watch the teaser for the film above.

Kylie is a writer at LDS.net and graduate of BYU with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She grew up in a Chicago suburb where she gained a passion for the Chicago Cubs. She enjoys writing and live event video production.