Fun

Recently we asked a missionary what was the most fun thing about serving as Assistant to the President. "Fun?" He said puzzled. "I don't know about fun. The best thing was the spirit I always felt at the office."

It got me to thinking about fun and my definition of fun. Fun to me is teaching a good Institute lesson or having a good class. It's meeting new people interested in the church. It's visiting members and learning about them. It's having prayers answered or reading scriptures and gleaning new nuggets of insight.

For example, in Alma 43:8 I realized the leader stirred up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephities that he might get "great power" over BOTH the Lamanites and the Nephites. How does getting people angry give power to the leader? What does this say about the liberals and conservatives and talk show hosts that create anger or fear that leads to anger? How many liberties have people given up due to fear? How many have they taken away due to anger? This scripture has increased my wariness of leaders that incite anger or fear. Okay, anger and fear are not fun.... back to fun.

Fun is learning new things, seeing new places and new animals. It's admiring God's great beauty. It's solving a thorny problem. It's helping someone who cannot help themselves. It's building friendships and caring about people. It's seeing a familiar face on the streets and greeting them. It's sharing the Gospel and seeing the joy and peace enter their lives.

This mission is a lot of FUN!

Rites of passage

August is a time of transition for boys about 10-12 years old. Apparently every two years, boys in this age group engage very publicly in something we would hold private. As we've driven this month, we've seen parades along the side of the road. The young men are painted white. Actually they are covered in a white clay that is supposed to be antibiotic and deaden pain as the surgery is performed without anesthetic. Family and friends are with them holding branches or fronds of some kind. In some situations, only the men are with the boys and the women and children follow behind.

This is a time for them to separate themselves from childish things, move away from mother, and move toward adulthood. As they heal, they wear skirts for comfort, but are taught about manly things.

Going to Sabatia, we passed this group of parading young men-- garbed in woven masks and clothes. There must have been 50 of them. Then, as we came back from Erica's we passed the same group, now out of costume and in regular clothes. I use the word "passed" loosely. They covered the road. We simply stopped and waited for them to flow around us. When they had passed, we could move forward.

The Ecstasy and the Agony... and the odd

My photos remind me of what we've done. Alas, the brain forgets far too fast. Here is The Ecstasy:

Cottage Meeting:

Wednesday afternoon we had a cottage meeting at Michael's and Josephine's house. Again we had about 10 people, a few investigators, and many good members. We talked about the importance of families. Michael and Josephine are on the far left. The Birthday Party:

Erica had invited us up to her place to celebrate the 70th birthday of her friend Beatrice. Actually, Beatrice invited us herself. She is a delightful, outgoing (sapphire personality) widow-- and I think half the town of Sabatia was there to celebrate. While we made some new friends, it's always interesting to be sitting there with conversation swirling about in a foreign language. It gives time for contemplation, for debates on ways to start a conversation, and for considering the myriad of ways to tie a head scarf. The tradition to show love is to drape the person with flowers. Erica is the one hugging her. (Note the three varieties of head scarfs.)
Here is Beatrice and her two daughters.While presents weren't expected, we picked up a few small boxes of biscuits (cookies) and candies. While at the store we also bought dates and a spatula. Why a spatula you ask? We'd taken our frying pan and spatula to Eldoret so we could make French Toast for the missionaries for breakfast. The pan came home, but, alas, the spatula did not. Did you know you could use a rubber scraping spatula to flip an egg? So, we bought a lovely spatula to replace the misplaced one. When we arrived at the gathering, Tom asked, "Did you take things out of the bag?" Yes, I made sure I'd removed the dates. That night, Tom asked about the spatula. Ah... er... you mean, THAT spatula? The one that was now a gift to Beatrice? We laughed!! I don't think they use spatulas. We imagined her turning it over and over wondering what on earth it was, and why we decided that would be a good present for her. Maybe she'll use it for transplanting seedlings. In the mean time, it's back to a rubber scraper for egg turning.

The Baptism:

Saturday morning began with a baptism. Caroline and Margaret are fantastic people. We'd met Caroline at the East Africa Courier Service when we were collecting a package months ago. She asked about the church and later invited us to her home. She is a dynamic woman who is pretty much single handedly supporting her whole family... and some friends. We were so pleased when she found peace through the gospel. She shared it with her sister Margaret, and a cousin by the same name. We had to walk to the Milimani resort. Caroline is on the right, Margaret on the left, and then Elizabeth and baby, and Gloria, an investigator.

The water looks lovely, but they claim it was cold. Margaret was afraid of the water and had a hard time relaxing and going all the way under. Must have taken over 5 tries. But she had courage and persisted. I was impressed with her.

The ones in back are the missionaries and the dad who baptized his son. Those being baptized are in front. It was so fun to see their delight in being baptized!

Girls Camp:

Saturday was also Kisumu's first Girls Camp. It was a fun day for the girls. The goals were to have a spiritual experience, teach a craft, learn a skill, and serve others. That's a lot to pack into one day, but they managed. The girls learned some cooking skills. It began with chickens... live ones.

They learned to kill it, de-feather it, clean out the innards, cut it up, and cook it. They also chopped vegetables for a stew, learned to make the dough, then roll out, oil, and cook chapates, and they made ugali. They asked me to make salad. The girls had cut up cabbage, onions, and tomatoes and shredded cabbage, so my part was easy. I called Marcelus to check with him about dressings on typical African salads. I had assumed correctly: oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar. So we had one salad of carrots, onions, and cabbage and one of tomatoes and onions. I was surprised when I asked the girls what they liked best about the day, some mentioned the salad!

While the lunch was cooking, the girls made necklaces of gold beads to hang their Young Women pendant on. They turned out very lovely! It began as an economic thing-- the gold chains were quite expensive. But the beads turned out much prettier and more distinctive than the chains. Here are some of the Young Women and their leaders modeling their necklaces.

When lunch was ready they served those who cleaned the church, the small children and anyone else who was hanging around. One of the girls said that was the most fun part of the day. Serving others.

They played a little volleyball and football (soccer) and then they listened to the most recent Young Women's Broadcast. They left for home about 6 pm. By then, I was pretty bushed myself.

The Agony:
I think that some stresses are like stones. You can ignore one or two, but gradually the weight becomes stressful.
1. Our water pressure has been so low it took most of the week to fill our tank. We had to have the baptism at the Milimani Resort as we didn't have enough water to fill the font. Still, we do have water.
2. And we do have electricity--- varying, off and on-- but usually enough to power the lights. The fluctuating voltage keeps kicking off the surge protectors for the refrigerator and for the computer/Internet/printer. They will cycle on and off maybe 20 times in an hour... maybe only 4. Sometimes the florescent lights flicker and won't come on... or blink off. The fan changes speeds all night long as the power increases or decreases. Right now the microwave isn't working. I hope once the power stabilizes it will work.
3. The fluctuating power means that when you go to print something out, the printer might turn off. Or you go to check something online, and you have no on-line. It connects and you say, YES! Then a minute... or 30 seconds later... ah, no. It does make it nice having a treadle sewing machine. It doesn't matter if the electricity is on or off. So, one sorts of grins and bears these things.
4. The things that raise my stress level are the spiritual things or the lack there of. I know this mission is to help me bridle my passions. In Alma 38:12 it says "Bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love." I know if I can overcome frustration, I will be able to love better. Two examples:

Last Leadership, Tom was going to really reward people for getting there on time. He baked banana bread and was going to hand it out to those who came on time. We even moved the time back to 10:30 to give people extra time to get here. There was a baptism and the missionaries scheduled it for 9am. 9am came and went. 9:30 and some of the baptismal candidates were still "just coming." One if the people was the daughter of two parents in leadership positions. 10am came and went. I think the baptism started about 10:30. On the plus side, there was better attendance at the baptism since those coming to the leadership meeting joined the baptism. On the minus side, leadership actually started about 11:30.

Yesterday, the Girls Camp was to begin at 9am. At 9am, not a single person was here. By 9:30 some of the baptismal candidates had arrived and the missionaries. Still, no girls. No Young Women leaders. One of the candidates was late and it was after 10am before the baptism began. About this time, the young women and leaders began trickling in.

Now, you see, everything really did turn out fine in both cases. The problem is, I start to think, AKK! People aren't here on time. The program won't run smoothly. Things will be left out. It won't be the spiritual, wonderful experience it would be if it went as scheduled. And I start getting mad that people aren't doing what they SHOULD do. And then I need to sing a song, read scriptures, or pray that I can be gentle, de-stress myself, and remember this is the Lord's church. He is in charge. It will all, eventually, work out. And, surprisingly enough, it seems to do so.

Maybe I'm learning. Today at the end of Sacrament, Tom handed me a note that said: "No primary president here today. No primary counselors. No primary teachers. No secretary." But we DID have primary children. And Tom and I were scheduled to teach the combined RS and Priesthood session. So I talked with the Branch Presidency and gathered a sister to help. Then, Joy! A primary teacher arrived! Double joy! A counselor arrived. And they did an excellent job of covering primary.

The odd:

Today during Sunday School class there was a bat flying around the room. I felt sorry for the poor thing being out in mid-day. It kept trying to perch on the corrigated tin roof, flying around, going out and then coming back in to the open sided room again. The teacher handled it well. Finally after maybe 5-10 minutes, it found a comfortable spot of the wooden supports and went to bed.

Good Times

Saturday we had to get organized. We needed to pack clothes, to pack food for Sunday, to make a cake and figure out how to carry it, and had to prepare a lesson for Sunday. Early Sunday morning, we drove to Busia for church. That is such a good branch! They had a fabulous Helping Hands day with nearly 75 people helping-- more than the branch has members! The Mayor attended their project of cleaning Empath- the wing of the hospital that does HIV/AIDs and drug counseling and treatment. The women cleaned inside, the men "slashed" (human lawn mowers) trimmed, and picked up debris. So Sunday we taught about temples and family history. Elder and Sister Byrd were there to teach the employment workshop and they had been family history workers. They should have taught the class but it was great to have their comments.

After Church we gathered the Busia Missionaries and headed for Eldoret for Mission Tour/Zone Conference. The road had improved!!! It only took 3.5 hours instead of over 4. On they way we stopped to watch a flock of crowned cranes frolic.We had dinner at the Missionary House-- it used to be the Littlefield's house and I guess it will soon be the Lurf's house. Anyhow, it's beautifully landscaped. We got a chance to see it as we waited the hour or so for the missionaries to come home with the keys to get in. I'm not complaining, they were doing missionary work. My bladder, however is disconnected from the mind. It complained.

We remembered food, sheets, towels, washcloths, and three of the 5 rugs we'd taken home to clean. Alas, we also forgot the comforter we'd taken home to wash. Not good. We added a flannel sheet, a towel and some small yarn crocheted things on top of the sheet and snuggled really well and didn't freeze to death (it is cooler in Eldoret than Kisumu). Monday we bought a blanket.

Monday was also Zone Conference and Mission Tour. Elder and Sister Watson (of the Area Presidency in South Africa) were there as were the Mission President and wife, the new senior couple from Kitali, and about 30 missionaries. Many of them had been there on Sunday when the new chapel had been dedicated. I think this is the first chapel built and dedicated west of Nairobi. It is beautiful! I'd forgotten how nice our chapels are. They had about 300 people attend the dedication and open house, many of them opinion leaders.

Some missionaries murmured that we didn't go to Nairobi for the Mission Tour-- so people could reconnect with friends as well as learn. But it was awesome to have such a small group and have a chance to listen to a Seventy in the Church Priesthood and to be able to ask questions and visit one-on-one at the breaks. Here's a photo of the Watsons and us.

Elder Watson said: What's on the Prophet's mind matters. This is what's on his mind: To rescue individuals, strengthen families, increase priesthood activity, to gather Israel. He told how to help new members learn and grow and strengthen their testimonies. He talked of the power of the priesthood. He said, we're doing a good job of spreading priesthood authority, but not the power of the priesthood. The Power comes only from righteous living. He said, "When we are righteous, the blessings and power of the priesthood is manifest and God's will is done in His time and way." I was struck by something I'd read for institute. It said that there are two kinds of faith-- the faith that something will happen and the faith that makes something happen. Wow! How does one gain faith enough to Make Something Happen? To call down the powers of God? We see it in the scriptures. We see it in the lives of faithful saints. I know it starts with righteous living coupled with steadfast faith, prayer, and action. I think many of us choose to live well below the faith we are capable of.

Elder Watson reminded us the the Church did not start in 1830 with Joseph Smith, it started in the beginning of time with Adam and all the prophets. This is the Church Jesus established when He lived on the earth. Joseph Smith restored the truths which came from the foundations of the earth.

He quoted John A. Widsoe who said people must put forth an effort to learn and study the Gospel or they can't test it for truth. We must study constantly for it is eternal. People will spend a lifetime studying science or the arts, but they expect that an occasional glance at the scriptures or a few classes will teach them the Gospel which covers ALL science and arts. The Gospel is eternal. It takes much time to learn it. He said those who pass an opinion on the truth of the Gospel with only a cursory glance-- their opinion is worthless. (That's not the full quote, I couldn't write fast enough, but I thought it was profound.)

After the conference we had a delicious lunch. We visited, we took Pres. Kogo to see the senior missionary house and see the repairs that needed to be made before the new couple moves in. By the time we got him back home and drove to the cheese factory... it was closed. Sigh. We decided to buy a few things at Nakumatt and eat at the house instead of going out to dinner so we could work on our institute lesson. This was a real sacrifice; it meant passing up a great chocolate mouse dessert!

So this morning we returned to the cheese factory (20 km the opposite direction of home) and then headed home with another set of missionaries. This is the first time we've seen monkeys on the way home.We got home about 12:30 and found enough water to do laundry. Yippie! But no water coming in. Boo! We called and now there is a trickle. Hurray! I have hope that my faith will produce water.

Bone Tired

I was thinking of the song, "Dem bones gonna rise again." And I'm thinking, des bones ain't gonna rise for a while. Today was the All Africa Helping Hands Day. We had a good time. We worked hard and des bones, da' be tired.

It's interesting that we don't take pictures of us doing the day-to-day things. We had a great cottage meeting in Nyalenda. The Byrds arrived in the afternoon, and they were great sports! We took boda bodas to the Kilo Stage and then walked into Nyalenda. Elizabeth came to meet us. Good thing. We never would have found her house. After we arrived-- about 4pm, they went to gather and collect some people. Since Margaret lived on the road that one could drive into, Elder Fox and Elder Byrd went to help collect her (they walked). We actually began the meeting a little after 5pm. Had good lessons and there were about 10 people there. We felt confident we'd finish in plenty of time before dark. Then there was a bit of question and answer. We were still okay. Then, as I was about to leave, Elizabeth insisted we sit and take "tea" and mundazi. Of course. We'd be delighted.

I think once again the Lord stayed the darkness. When we walked out of the slums it still seemed plenty bright. But as soon as we got on the boda bodas for the ride home it seemed nearly dark. I kept thinking, these are the bikes Tom has to avoid when we drive at night. But there were few cars and we arrived safe and sound.

Thursday and Friday the Byrds taught the Career workshop. I think we had 10 in the class and they learned a lot. The Byrds did a great job! It's fun to see the brother who speaks softly and says little come out of his shell and begin to be more confident. Some of the students were excellent as they practiced their interviewing skills.

We have essentially been without city water since Sunday. We've called. We've called other numbers. Each time we got a different story. Pump down. You're the only one with a problem. Er, not lots of people have no water, but we don't know why. Finally on Friday we called Julius the service rep... who by now knew us quite well... as did John the man on the ground... and said we need to speak to someone higher up. Clearly you do not have the capability to resolve this problem. We got the engineer. He said he'd check into it, call back in 2 hours. We called. No answer. We went to the water company, visited with Julius and asked to speak to Mr. Juma. We actually got to talk to him. They took us up to his fancy office and we were nice and he explained about the difficulties of water in Kisumu and promised to do his best.

Friday afternoon we took the Byrds to Dunga Bay so they could see Lake Victoria. This is the charcoal arrival area. The boats come from Uganda. Those sacks weight 100 kilos. Charcoal is a major source for cooking - and heating.Our favorite heron.The Byrds said they hadn't seen a sunset since they arrived in Nariobi, so that was fun.

We went to dinner at the Green Garden and had a good meal.

Today John showed up bright and early to check the water. He said the big boss was putting pressure on him. Yes!!! We did get some water trickling in, but there was not enough pressure to pump it into the tank. Sigh. So we left and went to the sports ground about 8:40 for Helping Hands. We finally started about 10am.

And we finished our work about 1pm. Then we gathered again at the sports ground and had jelly sandwiches, biscuits and juice. Ahhh. When I sat down, I was disinclined to get up again.

The weather had been lovely throughout-- a little warm, but not bad. Shortly after we got home and took the laundry down from the line and people arrived to clean the church... and to play volleyball... it began pouring rain. And continued the rest of the day. About 5pm we started getting a little water trickling in. Ah. There is Hope!

What do you Desire?

The Thoughts:
I have been reading in the scriptures and I wanted to share something that had a powerful impact on me. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma (Alma 30:1-7) Has the desire to preach the gospel in a powerful way. He wants to be like an Angel and cry repentance with a voice to shake the earth. That sounds like a great thing. How can wanting to do right be wrong? But then in verse 3, Alma says this is a sin. Why? Because he is not grateful for what the Lord has given him to do. And because it is not what the “Lord has allotted unto” him. So even the good things we desire to do need to be done in the way the Lord wants us to do them.

Suppose Alma did proclaim the gospel with such power that people could not dis-believe. Wouldn’t people be under greater condemnation for ignoring it? Thus, the Lord will not force them to hear and Alma sinned by wanting to.

But then Alma says something more profound. He says the Lord will grant us according to our desires. He gives us what we want. Wow! Sounds good doesn’t it? But we are responsible for our desires. If we desire good, it will be given us, to our blessing. If we desire unrighteous things: selfishness, or pride or success at any cost— even if we couch it in better terms: This car, this house, this promotion--we’ll get it, but it will be to our condemnation.

Hmm. So we need to be careful of our desires. What do we desire most? Is it according to what the Lord wants? Or not? How will we know? By being prayerful and listening to the Holy Spirit. I have come to realize that I need to carefully school my desires that they will be in accordance to what the Lord wants for me.

The Week:

Saturday we had a leadership meeting. We also had two baptisms, and then the Young Men and Young Women worked to prepare the back yard for a volleyball net. They put it up and had fun playing.

Sunday was a good day. The Young Woman’s president had a funeral to attend, so I taught the class on short notice. It went well. The girls are bright and participate. They are planning their first Girl’s Camp for Sat. Aug. 28th and it should be fun.

Monday we did the usual P-day things. I really wanted to do some quilting. I’m working on a scrap quilt for the guest bed. Right now, the blankets and covering are so short, the mattress sides are exposed. Vulnerable, I tell you. And naked. I am making the quilt in sections. Here is a part of one section.

And I wanted to make a pillow as a sample for the Homemaking group.As I was not in Relief Society on Sunday, nor was the Homemaking counselor, the Tuesday meeting was not announced and didn’t happen. But we did have a chance to meet with the Branch President. And a member came by looking for help with his ID card—sort of like a business card. So I had a chance to learn some new things on Microsoft Word. At times I really miss WordPerfect. I knew that program. And inbetween, we studied for our Institute Class.

Today, Wednesday we had District Missionary Meeting. We usually have 6 missionaries and I invited them for lunch today. But with transferrs, there was an extra missionary… and they invited a branch missionary to the meeting as well. But, like the loaves and fishes, we had enough to feed all. I had pondered what to fix and finally fixed a large bowl of potato salad and another of macaroni salad and served bread and peanutbutter and jam. And we had banana bread for desert. A little heavy on the carbs, but hey, missionaries work hard. It was a good thing I had not decided to put something on to cook. The power went on and off all morning.

The Byrds are arriving to do the Career Workshop Thursday and Friday. And we have another cottage meeting this afternoon. Saturday we do the All Africa Helping Hands Day.

Rough Road Connosseurs

Elder Fox and I consider ourselves rough road connoisseurs as we have traveled over some amazing roads. We had heard that the Kitali to Eldoret road was the world’s worst paved road. So we were anxious to check it out. (Not really; we just knew how bad the road was that we took to get there and wanted to try another, possibly ‘improved’ route)

You know, in Alaska, the natives have many names for different varieties of snow. And in the mountains of Pakistan they have many names for the different kinds of rocks. Here, they need many names for the nuances of potholes.

· Cliff holes: These potholes exhibit an abrupt drop off into the crevasse… unlike

· Slider holes: a gentle pothole where the edges are sloping and you can jounce in and out with little difficulty.

· Canyons: When approaching these potholes you see the end of the pavement… but no bottom… no bottom. EEEK NO BOTTOM! ABORT! ABORT!· Fishponds: These are canyons with water. (This is a very small one.)· The Moat: For some reason we see horizontal canyons maybe a foot to 18” wide that stretch two-thirds of the way across the road.· Craters: We don’t have land mines here. I repeat, we do not have land mines here. Any huge irregular hole in the pavement covering more than 15 sq feet is merely a quirk of nature. Notice the position of the cars; which side of the road is mine?· Elephant tracks: a series of small round potholes
· Bushwackers: Insidious looking holes that catch you unawares and make off with a tire· Asphalt depressions: where you’ve lost one layer of asphalt and so sink down to the previous layer. This happens only occasionally as few places have more than one layer.
· Dome holes: these were potholes in a previous life but have been overfilled with cement-like clay and now are stand-alone speed bumps.
· Swiss Alp holes (in honor of Susan): canyon holes filled with sharp rocks wedged in clay to make sure the worst points are face up and usually several inches below road level.

The unwary might also be fooled into unnecessary braking by faux potholes.
· Shadow non-holes
· Oil slick non-holes
· Sugarcane shreds. These mashed, tattered canes imitate the dirt of a pothole.

The road from Kisumu to Kakamega and on to Webuye is a 20km per hour road that improves to a 30km/hr road. It is continuous potholes. If there is no oncoming traffic you can slalom around some but you are required to experience others. Occasional off-roading is permitted in some areas. It gets our vote for the longest stretch of misery and therefore the worst of the worst.

The Kitali to Eldoret road, however is on par for its shear variety. It goes from the patch-on-patch bumping to the gyrations of a hopscotch of pavement and potholes with a high percentage of bushwackers. You can be lulled into joy by a kilometer of beautiful road only to be faced with nearly no road at all. But the pis de resistance is the incredible variety of off-road options. (Note, the "paved" road is actually the high ridge to the far right.) At times you can have up to 4 choices—the road, the near off-road, and two other snaking tracks that may at times be over 50 feet from the road. And that’s just if you want to stay on your side of the road! So of course, you actually have 7 choices!

The road from Eldoret to Kisumu has been improved, but there is still Tom’s favorite part where the pavement simply ends and you have several hundred yards of humped dirt, swales, and mudholes. The direction of on oncoming traffic often determines one’s course.

This time, he took the path to the right through the mud... edging the worker off into the dirt hump.Still, the redeeming feature of the whole travel is the stunning, magnificent scenery. It’s just breathtaking. Vistas of greenery, leafy eucalyptus trees, arching umbrella acacia trees, lush tea fields or rich green sugar canes. Plains of fields give way to mountains where maze grows among stacked granite boulders. You climb up to distant views, then snake back into the shelter of tall forests. If you can see the line across the mountains-- that's the road we came down. My favorites are the billowing clouds spread against the green of hills or trees.As in life, you can focus on the potholes, or you can appreciate that there is a road to take you through this mass of beauty. The driver has to focus on the road...or lack thereof. I get to see the view!

Kitali

We have wanted to visit the missionary couple who lives in Kitali for a while. We finally decided we'd better do it as they were leaving the mission in about 10 days! So Monday we drove to Kitali. The scenery was gorgeous! This is the most beautiful country. We moved past the mountains into high plains, fertile and full of green crops. The sky arched overhead with a watercolor of clouds. And the first 3 hours we traversed bone-jarring roads that vied for the award of "worst road in Kenya. (More on that in the following post.)
you always find interesting things along the way. These are carrying sugar cane.
These are carrying bananas
These are carrying... ah, I have no clue what's in the ox cart.

We had a fabulous time with Elder and Sister W. They are such nice people and really made us feel at home. We visited and chatted about children, farming, grandchildren, mission experiences and some of the fantastic, powerful members we have a chance to rub shoulders with. We also mined their experiences about taking a group to the temple, about how to improve our seminary and institute programs, and about Perpetual Education Fund loans.

We wanted to see where they served and so they took us to three of the 4 branches they work with. Two of the three were on the main road from Weybue to Kitali. The third one... ah... the third one made me question the wisdom of our request. I would vote Elder W. the best driver I've driven with not counting Elder Fox. He navigated the mud berm with ruts the size of swimming pools with consummate skill. As clouds billowed in, I did not detect more than a hint of trepidation... although his description of this road in the rainy conditions called for outright panic. They are doing a wonderful job with the people and places and I am again convinced that the Lord has placed each missionary couple in exactly the best spot for them.

This is one of their chapels.

We went to a nice Chinese place for dinner and enjoyed chatting and staying up late playing "Mexican Train Dominoes." As Heidi says, I play to make others look good. I was dead last.

We had enjoyed Elder W's home grown lettuce, so Tuesday we went to town and bought some seeds. We also purchased chicken and beef from their meat lady. And we spent time learning Picasso on the computer so we can do more with our pictures. If we can crop and label better, it will make it easier for us to put photos of branch members up on the board. Sister W. has a neat journal with pictures of those who have visited and missionaries who worked there as well as their comments.

They offered us a feast of a lunch to eat on the way home. We decided to try another route home in the hopes of avoiding such an extended rough road. It was about 40 km longer and took about 5 minutes longer to drive. We arrived with a half hour to spare before Institute class started. It probably would have been more time, but I drove the last hour or so. I faced my fears of driving on the Nairobi road including passing trucks and pulling out to see a truck bearing down on me! And I avoided most... well... many... alright, some of the potholes.

Wednesday we had district meeting where I gave some training. Then we met with the Branch President to do some training. He is such a good man! We swung by the post office and got a letter from Savannah (thank you!) and picked up pictures and went to a cottage meeting in Manyatta at Phelgon's. She is an amazing woman! A widow who has battled odds to overcome and turn around and bless the lives of others. She has a school which teaches many orphans and children infected with or affected by AIDS. I think she has about 140 students. We had about 20 at the cottage meeting and both Elder Fox and I spoke. I love the testimonies shared by the members.

Today we shopped at the market. Tom met a member and went looking for volleyball equipment. He said the member was MOST helpful in getting good value. I bought some more fabric scraps for the Relief Society to do a homemaking activity and ironed and sorted them... but we didn't remind and so only the leader showed up. We'll reschedule.

Elder and Sister N. from Nairobi came to do audits here and at Busia. The one here at Kisumu went well. Our president and clerks are learning and progressing very well. Tomorrow we go to Busia. They brought mail! Thank you Kathy O.. Mmm. chocolate!

Quiet week-- Written Sunday 8 Aug

August slipped in and we moved past our ½ way mark. The good news is that I think my one pair of sandals will last another 9 months. The bad news is that we have a LOT to accomplish and better hurry up and get to work. Alas, the speed can only be as fast as our learners and somehow they can’t learn what it took me 30 years to learn in a few months.

Wednesday, August 4 was Kenya Election Day. There was a bit of concern as the last election had been marred by violence and so we were asked to stay in on Wednesday and Thursday. All was quiet and the election went smoothly, but we were obedient. Tom worked on financial stuff to get ready for the audit. We planned kid’s trips here and looked at maps and time schedules. We wrote up scripture mastery pages as we want to let our seminary students who memorize the Book of Mormon scriptures earn a triple combination so they will have the Doctrine and Covenants for next year’s course of instruction. I started working on a bed sized quilt to cover the bed in our office.

And I read two books, both of which I will recommend to you. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is a masterful book where the reader sees and understands truths the main character never comprehends and you are caught off guard with a powerful ending. It’s a quick read but leaves you thinking. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson is a powerful book! I stayed up way… way… did I mention… WAY late reading it. It’s non-fiction for Pete sakes. How could it be so gripping? Nonetheless, it’s about an amazingly unconventional man who takes incredible risks to fulfill his passion of helping poor in remote villages. It’s co-authored and I was astonished at how the author brought the senses and richness of foreign countries to life. This book changes attitudes. I recommend it for your reading groups. No doubt you’ll have more self control than I and can read it at a leisurely pace. Surely. And if not, you’ll have gobbled down a terrific book! Yum!

Saturday morning we awoke to no phone line, ergo, no internet. We’ve gotten better about not waiting and calling promptly. However, a line somewhere in Milimani was cut and they need to get parts and probably Tuesday is the earliest we will see our internet restored. Probably Tuesday is the earliest you’ll see this post, too. Saturday afternoon I had my music class. Some of my students are quick learners, but I have one sweet man, sigh; if he learns to direct music that will be an accomplishment. The nuances of quarter notes, and eighth notes-- not to mention dotted notes-- seems to be unfathomable. I think he learns some each time though, and he is very patient. Sort of like a glacier.

Today, Sunday, went well. I was blessed to not totally massacre the music. You know, if 90% of the hymn melody is recognizable, it’s a good day. Hey, that’s a better percentage than Home Teaching, isn’t it? It would really help if I could get the hymns for next Sunday and practice. Well, I expect it would really help if I would just practice.

The Young Women are preparing for their first ever Girl’s Camp—which will actually be a day at the church. Talk about cooking skills. They plan to teach chappti making (like tortillas only fluffier and with more oil) and cooking chicken. Of course, they’re starting with a live chicken. They will also listen to the young women’s broadcast, make necklaces to string their Young Women medallion on, work on personal progress, play volleyball, and maybe even do some service cleaning the church. Oh to be young and vigorous!

The Africanization of the Gospel

We went to Nyabondo today to visit the members and those what want to join the church there. These are wonderful saints who live so far from the church, but want so desperately to be able to have the church closer to them. Here are some of the people who were there.Definitions: Shamba= farm
“a little something” = money or something to feed your family

Elder Fox spoke about Joseph Smith and the lost 116 manuscript pages. He began: “Joseph Smith was very poor and he needed to work on his shamba in order to have a little something at the end of the day.” It is just easier to speak in a way that makes it more understandable for them.

I love how Pres. K uses stories to answer questions. He spoke about the need for patience and sacrifice as people wait for the organized branches of the church to come closer to them. Someone asked, "What about people who want to join the church, but it’s too hard to get to Kisumu?"

Pres K told a story: there was once a sister who moved far from where the church was. There were no other members around her. For years she was alone. She read her scriptures. She read the Liahona and any other church magazines and materials she could get. At last she was an old woman. (Pres K. bent over, one hand on his back the other as if holding a cane—a common sight here.) One day, she saw missionaries passing by. She called to them. “Are you missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” She asked. They were. She invited them in, then went and dug in the corner of a room of her home and came back with a bag. “Here,” she said as she gave the bag to the missionaries. “This is my tithing for these many years.”

Pres. K paused and looked at the people. “Are you getting me?” They nodded. They were understanding—patience. Do the best you can with what you have. Stay faithful.

After visiting with the group, we went to Kenneth's house for a meal. The covered dishes were all brought from the kitchen in another hut. Bethesda was serving. The plate with the large white ball on it is ugali. It is cornmeal mixed to a solid lump that is cut into pieces to serve.

A picture of some of the cute children there.

They have improved the marum or hard-packed dirt road to the Sondu saints home. In this place, they were building a culvert and so diverted traffic around the cement conduit. It was a little slippery coming in. Going out, we found a truck stuck there.

The truck immediately in front of us decided the cement was cured enough, he'd just go over the construction. I think someone must have put some dirt to fill in the holes on either side... but not enough.

You can see the exhaust, but not the spinning of wheels. In the photo above, you can see a marshy track to the right of the culvert. We decided to 4 wheel it through the mud on that side and praised the Lord for a good truck as we emerged unscathed.

We got back in time to go to the market for me to get some eggs and veggies and Pres. K to get some fried fish to take back to his wife. Because we are near Lake Victoria, fish is cheaper here than elsewhere. Then we prepped for the marriages of Monday. We had 5 couples wed and one was marrying each other for the first time. They enjoyed the cake. Elder Fox was again the official photographer.

We ended up eating dinner closer to 8pm, visiting with Pres. K and his son and crashing. Tuesday we took them to the stage to get a matatu back to Eldoret and we went to Violets. We met the missionaries there and packed up her cyber cafe. We took the things to her house to store while she waits for a new place to open.

We had lots of emails and messages to send here and there as well as lesson prep for our Institute class. We also filled the gas tank on the truck and prepared to stay home for the next few days until after the election, the results, and the fallout, if any.