Busia Trip

There are some days that are just amazing. We left Kusumu yesterday during heavy rains. We thought the trip to Busia would be difficult, but the rain trailed off and the roads were not bad. Tom met with the Branch President to help train him. He said, “The church has got to be true. Where else could you start a church with lay leadership hundreds of km away from the center of strength, without needed materials—and still, it flourishes?” This branch leadership is so humble and teachable.

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The primary president said, “I’ve never been in primary (for 3-11 year olds). I never taught in primary, and now I am in charge of it.” We talked about the sharing time program and how she can use it in Busia. Here the children don’t all know English, so part of her job is to help them learn it as they learn gospel principles. And they are all new in church, so Primary also gets to help them learn proper church behavior. And her one counselors has been a member 3 months. And you know what? They will do fine!

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While we waited for leadership meeting to start, the Relief Society president took me into Busia to do some shopping. We rode on the backs of bolabola's -- bicycles with a padded seat behind the bike seat-- into town. it was about 3 km, but seemed pretty long. I saw into Uganda. We shopped at an open air market. Then as it started raining, we walked a bit, and then took the bikes back to the church. It was 20 shillings each way or about 30 cents. These guys worked hard for their money—pedaling, avoiding the traffic, knowing when to use the road and when to use the shoulder and avoiding bumps and such. I straddled the back seat. Most women ride “side-saddle” as it’s too “manish” to ride astride. However, I was afraid I’d lose my balance side saddle and opted for less dignity, more safety. And after all, I’m a muzungu and they are weird anyway.

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After the afternoon training where we talked of temples, faithfulness, budgets and calendaring, we went to the Farmview Hotel for the night. It’s like a cross between the Ritz and Motel 6. We got wonderful personalized service from Mr. Salim. He greeted us, ushered us to our room, showed us around and personally served us dinner. He’d been trained in tourism in Nairobi and was very cordial and precise. Our dinner was leisurely and served in courses. It might have been a bit more leisurely because the power went off part way through. But we were outside in a private cabana and they quickly brought lanterns. So we watched the geckos hunt moths as we waited. The room is modest and the bath small, but all is clean. For one of the first times we watched TV and discovered that, like the United States, we really aren’t missing much. We had asked about these huge bumpy fruits hanging on a tree. Mr. Salim gave us one that would be "ripe in a few days." It weighs like 12 pounds! When I went to take the picture, the guard wanted to be in it.

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Tomorrow Tom will audit the branch records and we will go to church. I don’t know, we may be speaking. But we will head home tomorrow night. It is nice to be appreciated and the branch members here are so grateful for the information and support we give.

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Sunday eve: We didn't get asked to speak, but I mentally prepared a lesson anyway. Good service. I interviewed Robai before church and Barbara from Uganda after church to learn their conversion stories. Just amazing. Opposition, falsehoods about the church-- but the spirit said, "learn more" and they did. Barbara had been out of work for 3 years, and was terrified of getting up in front of people. After she started listening to the missionaries and got a blessing, she got a job. After she joined the church she was called to be a teacher and through prayer, overcame her fear of being in front of people to the extent she went back to the university, got a teaching degree, and immediately got a job teaching (a rarity here.) It's always powerful to hear how people's lives change for the better when they come unto Christ and live His commandments.