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.