A “Quiet” Thursday

Our schedule was open for Thursday. We had been busy most all the week and we looked at Thursday and thought… Oh, Good. Let’s not schedule anything that day. We can prepare lessons and catch up on some things.

But at 8:30 a member came to check and fix a leaky toilet in the church.

At 9-9:30 we got to visit with Elder and Sister G. who had gone to Mbita to look at the water project. They are such great people, it’s always a treat to see them! And we hate to see them go!

At 9:45 we got a call from Robai and Francis who had brought their family to get passports. And Sister Imendi came along with them with her two children. So E. Fox picked up eight people and brought them to the house to work on the documentation for their passports. They had faithfully gotten birth certificates and passport photos, ID cards, and marriage certificates. Now they needed recommender letters. Here is the trick: The recommender must be a Kenyan and someone in authority—church leader, doctor, civil servant— and the person can’t be related to you. You need a letter from them. They need to sign the back of one of the photos certifying that it’s you. They need to fill out the back page of the passport application and sign it. And you need a copy of their ID. So they filled out forms.

So Bro. Francis could be recommender for Sister Imendi and family, but we needed someone to recommend him and his family. Fortunately we have a great doctor who is also in the Branch Presidency. So I typed up the letters of recommendation from Francis and Geoffrey to the parents and children. I wrote letters from parents asking for passports for their children. We helped fill out forms and trimmed photos to passport size. Then E. Fox took everyone over to his clinic and he signed the forms, the letter, the photos, and authorized copies of his ID.

Then they went to get copies of all the originals and copies of the ID’s of the recommenders… and some bread for lunch. By now the passport office was closed for lunch. They came back here and we made sandwiches. Then they collated all the documents for each person and headed off to the passport office about 2:30. By 4:30 they had completed the work and were on their way back home and E. Fox returned triumphant.

It is special to be part of history. These are the first saints from Busia going to the temple. They were so grateful for all the help we gave them with typing up letters, taking them to get them signed and copied and helping them through the labyrinth of documentation.

I didn’t get to my list of things to catch up on, but it was a blessing the day was open to help these good saints.

The Children

Tom's Story: This past Saturday we attended the funeral for the brother of one of the local church members. Knowing that these events can last up to six hours, we chose to be fashionably late and arrived about 1230 (it started at 1000). We were ushered to the front and invited to share a brief testimony. Then Violet joined us as we sang 'Come, Come Ye Saints". Shortly thereafter, we were invited to the dining area and were served a delicious meal of vegetables, chicken, beef, ugali, chapati, rice, fish, and more. And no, I didn't sample all of the menu items, just some of them. It is a tradition to feed all those that attend funerals; there must have been over 250 people at this funeral. It was close to 4 before the casket was placed in the hand dug grave and covered with dirt. Again, the tradition is to permit relatives an opportunity to speak, local church leaders get a chance to share their beliefs, friends express thoughts and if any politicians are in attendance, they are permitted to share something too. Since most of these spoke in something other than English, I really don't know what they said.

To help pass the time, I started people watching and was intrigued by the number of children in attendance. I began to take pictures of some of them; they would then crowd around me to look at the image; they would point and laugh. It seemed to be fun for them. So, as we paid our last respects to Fred, I would also like to pay respect to some of the rising generation as depicted in the photos below.

One Drop at a Time.

The minutes of this week have been like drops of water-- crystal clear and vivid as they come. Then when they splash into the pool of the past, they are gone. They become indistinct, vague, and merged into the stream of mingled memories. To pull them back is like trying to find that one drop again. A week ago seems so distant.

We had the joy of having Elder and Sister B from Kitali come and visit us on Monday. They are new in their area and wanted to see what we are doing here. It's interesting that each area is different even in the mission. We took them to visit a less active sister. We went to a strong member's "hotel" for early dinner and then to their house. And we came home in the rain.

Tuesday we went to Dunga Bay and took the requiste number of lovely photos- plus some. The Charcoal boats come in from Uganda. Here's this barefoot guy carrying a 200# bag of charcoal.We then introduced them to the Jubilee market. Sister B loved the fabrics there! Not sure about the smell. Elder B. and Elder Fox had a good visit with the Branch President and then we taught institute.

Wednesday they left before district meeting. I gave a training on faith there while Elder Fox did... er, ah... heres where the murkiness increases... something important. Maybe it was to help the Branch President from Busia get his passport. Or maybe it was a meeting with the Young Men's presidency. You see how the weeks just blur together? OH YES! I remember! The passport was some other day. Wednesday Bro. N from Nairobi came to train on tithing settlement and to work on the computer. They trained from 10-2. Then they had lunch provided by the excellent branch Elders Quorum activity.

They did a fun activity with a plate, 6 strings and a glass of water:
The strings represented scripture reading, keeping the commandments, prayer, sacrament attendance, service, and I can't remember the last one. The glass represents each person and the water inside is the spirit. When we have all these things balanced well, we keep the spirit. When one fails, the plate tips and we "lose the spirit" and need to call for it to be refilled. They made it trickier by starting outside the building and then having the 6 people walk the water up the steps (all 40 of them).After, they had a good meal.

After lunch Bro. N, the BP, clerk and Tom trooped into our house to fix the computer. They poked at it, proded it, changed things, reinstalled things-- and left about 7 pm. And still we can't connect the computer to our modem or have sound.

Thursday was spent getting stuff for the computer and changing out the lock in the Clerks office so it could go in there. And alas, the next morning when we started it up, we couldn't get past the Administrator login. I spent hours downloading a program so I could download and burn a CD so we could discover the password. Didn't work. I actually got into the guts of the computer system (by the grace of God, I'm sure) and discovered there WAS no set password and set a password-- no luck. Changed the password (using the one I just made so in that place the computer recognized it-- but it would not recognize it at the log in site. So now we have no working computer for the branch. Sigh.

Thursday was fun in that when we went to the bank to pay our rent, a lady asked about the church and we invited her to church. Then we went to visit someone we'd missed at church and learned she had a testimony, but also had an abusive husband that prevented her from coming to church. However, she's shared the gospel with her co-workers and Elder Fox gave them each a Book of Mormon. (And one came to church on Sunday.) And we went and visited a great sister. We took boda bodas and we...er...forgot exactly where she was. So we got some exercise before we found her.

Friday Jackie cleaned the house. She usually comes on Wednesday, but it was a national holiday. We left her there and went to help a member pick up fish from the fishery to take to her fish pond. They are guppy size but will grow larger than your hand in about 6 months if fed properly. We hope it will be a good money making business for her and her widow friends.

Saturday was the funeral of Sister V's brother. He was quite young and died of TB of the pelvis. Did you know TB can lodge in places other than the lungs? The funeral was very well attended. Elder Fox and I spoke for about 2 minutes each. Then Sister V joined us to sing "Come, Come, Ye Saints." Who knew we'd be public singers? Elder Fox loved taking pictures of the children. Perhaps because he came to know them a bit he was deeply saddened rather than angry that they gave him memories in the form of scratches on the truck as well as digitally. Check a future blog for the posting of the children. It rained a bit... and since I didn't understand 90% of the speakers, we visited.

Elder Fox decided to give you a glimpse of the Voice of Salvation and Healing Church preaching. The man in the suit is the preacher. The one in the white shirt is translating from Luo (mother tongue) to Swahili. At one point, when I asked for a translation he was talking about keeping the youth close to home and not letting them go out partying and to bars. Another preacher of this denomination spoke in English and said good doctrine.

Today the primary performed the sacrament service. They were wonderful! It may not have followed the format of the Sharing Time program, but there were excellent talks on honesty, families, and faith. We had about 15 Americans from the Reach the Children foundation who enjoyed seeing the children participate. And we enjoyed their excellent piano playing and full harmony singing.

And there you have the river of our week.

Faithfulness

There are many good members here. Last week an old mama (well, about my age) came to church from a good distance. She pointed to the mud on her cuffs and dress. It was so rainy the matatu got stuck and all the passengers had to get out and push. She called about 6pm that night to let us know she'd just arrived home. The matatu had broken down along the road. They would not refund the fare, so the passengers had to sit and wait-- no food, no water, a bush for a latrine-- until it was finally fixed. Then they continued on their way.

One brother comes from Maseno area-- about 23 km away. When he greeted me he said, "I have been very blessed! It rained a lot in my home and it's very muddy." He pointed to his shoes and cuffs that were brown with dirt. "But some places are not getting the rain they need, so we are very blessed!"

Alex, a 30 year old man who also lives about 25km away called Saturday night to say he was coming to church. He said he didn't have the fare, so he was getting up at 4:30 to walk. Apparently he did get a lift part of the way. I wonder if it was in one of the open bed trucks we sometimes see filled with people. But what dedication! How can someone say, I can't get out of bed on time to get to church?

And we have a young 16 year old named Pascal who lives about 12km away.

He has been coming on his own to church for months and finally was baptized. When he has fare, he rides. When he doesn't, he walks. You have to love the testimony that this is really the Lord's Church that makes the sacrifice worth the effort.

Members struggle with typhoid, Malaria, TB, and AID's but when you ask them how they are doing they say, "I'm just okay" which is the equivalent of "fine." Sometimes they say, "I'm alive, so I am blessed."

Tonight I called a sister who is disabled and we visited. At the end of the call she said how blessed she was for the call and for friends and for the church family and called down blessings on me. With the purity and sincerity of her faith, I tell you I felt blessed!

One wonders why people with little can find reasons to rejoice, and people with plenty often think they don't have enough.

Tostitos!!!

[Tom's Blog] Recently I found myself in a small store stocked with American foods unseen and unsampled by me in 11 months; Wow, it was like being in paradise – with one exception: I didn’t have sufficient money at that time to purchase all the goodies my taste buds desired and the store was closing in a few minutes! What to do? What items would be most desirable and fulfilling and stay within the limited money available? One well thought out item that I purchased, at the sacrifice of Jiff Peanut Butter and chocolate chips, was a bag of ‘Tostitos’ tortilla chips.

They ‘called’ to me: “buy me, you will love my delicious flavor and crunchy goodness”. So I did. I brought them home, eager to munch on them, and placed them on the shelf.

The bag sat there for two weeks before it was opened.

How many times in life do we have a compelling urge to really want something that requires a large personal sacrifice, or comes at a high cost, only to set it aside on the shelf where it gets an occasional glance and little recognition? Then, by the time we get around to doing something with it, that item has lost its ‘flavor’ and we wonder: what did I see in that thing in the first place? We want something so badly, and when we finally get it, we realize it has no value. We chase after something and find it unfulfilling.

This is reminiscent of Matthew 6:19-21: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through not steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Hind sight for me would indicate my time would have been better spent making a price list of each desirable item and returning at a later date with sufficient money to make rational purchases. But the chips kept calling out to me… And the bugs aren’t going to devour them: When I finally got around to them, I ate them in less than three days!

Kitchen Janga

Our kitchen sports one lonely dish-drying rack and Elder Fox is the chief dishwasher. He does it because he has tough hands. Why the need for tough hands? Because we begin with boiling water. Just boiling water in one basin with soap and in the next basin with Jix (bleach). It's a little too hot for me!

However Elder Fox is an artist. He has perfected the skill of stacking every dish, plate, spatula, fork, cutting board, knife, pan, serving bowl and mixing container into this one, solitary rack. Well, glasses have permission to rest along the edge.

I usually wait a bit before drying them... or not drying them just putting them away. The heat from the water usually dries them well. However, the game is to be able to dismantle the construction without causing a "collapse". This avoids the possibility of unhappy consequences to the glasses (note the variety of partial sets). It also provides the evening's entertainment. If you can pull items off without a "Ca-clunk!" You win. Try it! It may be your entertainment, too! (You may be wondering about the plastic bags. They are scarce here and our part in not adding to the plastic bags dotting the landscape.)

On a slightly different artistic note, I decided to get adventurous and try some strip quilting. It lends itself to the kind of scraps I have. I thought to do a pillow cover, but the squares turned out a bit too large, so I did another quilt. Sometimes our days are so upside-down that we really don't know when we are doing what. It's easier to wait for people and things when I have something to do. I think Elder Fox was doing some Branch Presidency training while I was working on this.

Friends, Fellowship, and Fun

The week started with some frustrations about "hurry up and wait" and "here are important things that aren't getting done" and a stressed friend threatening suicide. But we went on to have such a good time visiting with other missionary couples!

One of the fun things of this week was getting to know the other couples in Western Kenya. We had a zone conference on Friday and we went to Eldoret on Thursday as did the B's from Kitali. We all stayed with the L's in their spacious house in Eldoret-- along with 4 missionaries from Kitali. It worked out amazingly well. It had to be one of the tender mercies of the Lord that 8 of us used one bathroom, and as far as I know, no one had a wait.

We went to dinner at Mama Mias with President and Sister Broadbent and had a great time visiting. We made breakfast for all of us on Friday-- even Felix, the guard, joined us for fruit and oatmeal! Then we were off to a fantastic Zone Conference. I don't know how each one is so great. Well, I do too. There is a marvelous spirit about them. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Revelation still comes today and each of us can learn truths for ourselves if we have the desire and are willing to seek it. When one reads revelations in the Bible or the Book of Mormon, one is more open to receiving revelations about our specific needs. Here are some of the things that stuck with me from zone conference.

The chapel we met in is newly dedicated. In the dedicatory prayer, the authority said that the building had been prayed for by the pioneer saints and were heard by the All Mighty. And that missionaries from this area will go to the ends of the earth to bless and bear testimony.

John 17:3 "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." So no one can be saved in ignorance. Missionaries bring this knowledge of God and Jesus Christ to people.

Sister Magaqa:

*When things get hardest, keep going. You're about to get good things. Christ drank the bitter cup, we need to take at least a sip.

*Always get up when you fall down. Don't pay so much attention to where you landed, but look where you tripped so you can avoid that the next time.

*The spirit should guide the prayer of faith. We don't know what to pray for. We need to listen to the spirit to know this.

Elder Holland: "No wicked man COULD write the Book of Mormon, and no good man WOULD write it unless commanded by God." Of course this is true. The book is filled with spiritual things. It brings people closer to God and helps them live righteously. No one who is wicked would want to or be able to do that. And someone who would teach so vigorously about obedience to God would only write such things if commanded by Him. The Book of Mormon is essential for those who want to know the truth. It is the book that reveals God's truths to you!

Commitments: Choosing Christ is choosing to change. We invite, they commit, we follow up.

We are in the process of learning a new way to use Preach My Gospel that focuses on helping people feel and understand the spirit, make and keep commitments, receive personal revelation for themselves, and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will be great.

After Zone Conference we got trained on how to be Seminary and Institute coordinators. I hope we can do it. We did get 2 seminary and one institute teacher called this Sunday and I oriented them. I'm excited to see how they help change the lives of the youth and young adults.

We returned home to Kisumu on Friday night ... to this great sunset....

and got busy making egg salad, potato salad, and prepping for dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday for 7. Saturday was a district leadership training held here in Kisumu. This was the first such training to be held in Kisumu; we had approximately 80 leaders from 10 different branches and it was great for our new branch to rub shoulders with experienced members. I taught the primary portion of it. The Mission President (MP) and his wife, Pres Kogo, and the L's came down to Kisumu on Saturday morning. MP and Wife stayed with us and the L's in a hotel, but we all spent most of the day together and had a great time visiting after the district training.We had a catered meal for lunch for all the attendees. It was prepared in the church's back yard.And was enjoyed in every bit of shade.

In the afternoon we had a few weddings: Dennis and Bethseda from Sondu....

And George and Everlyn from Nyalenda.

It's hard to believe we are getting to be old-timers. We've been here longer than any of three couples we visited with this past weekend. We had Hawaiian Short ribs for dinner. I didn't have a big enough pot, so I bought a soferia-- a big pan used for cooking over a jiko, and it worked just fine (I covered it with aluminum foil.) MMmmm good.

Today was Branch Conference. It was fun to see so many sustained. We do have a good branch! We had a few advanced in the priesthood, and some good callings.

Primary is getting ready for the Primary Sacrament Program. I love these little kids. Some are very shy, some bold. Some sit quietly, some don't. Some know what they are doing, some haven't a clue. I sometimes think primary programs are like a dog walking on it's hind legs. It's not that the walking is so excellent, it's just amazing that he can do it at all! Primary programs are never perfect, that's not the point. What's amazing is that you can get little kids to be in front of people. To stand up and look out, and maybe even say their lines. Some of the songs haven't been learned, so they'll sing others. Some of the talks are on topics not listed in the program... but they are talks given by kids! It will be so exciting to see the children give this first primary program even in Kisumu!

A Week In a Blur.. but slog through the telling!

This week seemed to race by… at least the last part of it. We got up early Monday morning to get the missionaries to the bus depot. Two of our excellent elders were leaving. We said a fond farewell in front of the EasyCoach. Monday we tried to do some visits. Monday we visited bro. John and two of the members in Nyalenda. They are wonderful people and so happy to see us. I hope that will translate into coming to church. On Monday I also got my sewing machine back and it seems to be working well.

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Tuesday we ran a bunch of errands, went to the PO, paid Leah for the machine repairs, and went visiting sister L. I love seeing the tender mercies of the Lord at work. Leah was not at her office, so we left to go to the next appointment. But we got lost. Elder Fox suggested I call Leah to let her know we missed her. About that time, we realized we were driving past her house, and she was standing outside. So we were able to pay her and be prompt in doing what we said we would do.

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When we went to visit sister L… we kind of knew where she lived, but not where she had her business. We made arrangements to call as we arrived, but there was no answer. Sigh. What to do? We thought about going to another sister’s but she was in town. So we decided to park the truck, walk through the market, and see what to do from there. We walked through the market and crossed the tracks. There before us was a rabbit warren of housing… and also sister L coming towards us waving! She led us into the bowels of the housing to her house. It was empty of furniture and we learned her sad story.

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She is a hard worker and a determined woman. She had built from 500 shillings (about $7) a savings of 7000 shillings. She’d gotten a small loan and was doing a good business with chips (French fries) and mandazis. She got sick and was in the hospital. The bill was over 7000/- and there went her savings. She had 4000/- saved in her house to pay on her loan. However, when she and her husband got into an argument, she had to go someplace else, and the money disappeared. While she was still ill, her husband’s grandmother died and he sent her home to the funeral. Then he arrived upcountry with her clothes and some of her household things, wanting her to stay there. But there was no way for her to make money there, so she had returned home on Monday. There she found the house cleaned out. Her potatoes and oil gone, so she could not sell. Her money gone, so she could not buy more. Her clothes were up country. Her husband gone. But her debt remained. She had slept hungry, but a neighbor gave her some breakfast. What to do?

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She went back up country to get her things and the relatives would not give them back to her. Part of the problem is that they think she goes to a devil church. I think: and what kind of a church do you go to that allows you to leave a woman destitute and without means? What kind of beliefs allow you to steal? We prayed for her, and called her as she waited for her husband to come back upcountry and tell the relatives to let her have her things. Each day he said he would come, and each day he did not. But the Lord does answer prayers. A friend called and offered her a job. She sold her phone so she could travel to the job. I continue to pray that she will be able to get back on her feet.

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Elder Fox had some things he really wanted to discuss with the BP—some course corrections. And he had an appointment scheduled for Tues afternoon. He ended up with lots of time to study his institute lesson as someone else came and took 3 hours of the BP’s time. I was steamed! I really felt Elder Fox was disrespected. And it’s frustrating to have things that could move the branch forward, and not be able to discuss or implement them.

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Wednesday we visited two other members. I wrote up an article on Girls’ Camp. Elder Fox had his meeting with the BP. When sister J was cleaning our house, she got a call that her daughter was being sent home, and she needed to come back the next day and bring her mother. It had to do with the Book of Mormon and the Young Women’s necklace she had. So Sister J asked if we would go with her to speak to the principal the next day.

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Thursday we left early to go visit the school, which was upcountry. Apparently some of the students felt the daughter was of the devil. They had bad dreams, and so she must have caused them. They had a bad feeling when they held the necklace. So they prayed for the necklace and it disappeared… then magically appeared on her bed. We were asked to wait outside while a parade of students went in to share their stories. We could hear some of the conversation. At first it seemed very negative. It felt like the Salem witch trials. We prayed. And Sister J. and her daughter were strong! And “at the end of the day” the principal felt that the other students were acting superstitiously and without cause. The daughter was allowed to keep her religious books there. And the principal asked to learn more about the Book of Mormon so he could educate his teachers and students about it. So we gave him a copy. Two and ½ hours sitting on a hard bench. Waiting, outside the principal's office.

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We had an appointment for Elder Fox to go home teaching. It came and went. Fortunately the companion was okay with the delay. On the way home sister J asked if we could please stop at the Ministry of Labor. It had been reported that her daughter was not in school and she needed to let them know she was back in school. They were very welcoming to us. We showed them a For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and they liked the values that we espouse. Then they started talking about how they were so pleased that we were going to partnership with them in helping avoid child labor and helping children go to school…. Er… we are??? This too, was a bit frustrating. What had we been committed to do? Many churches donate money for school fees, etc. We do not. So I guess we’ll have to communicate again that we offer spiritual strengths that when followed lead to blessings from the Lord that manifest themselves in both spiritual and temporal things.

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So we arrived later for the Home Teaching visits. I stayed home, intending to catch up on some things. But as Elder Fox was leaving, two sisters arrived to collect some blankets left by the LDS Charities couple for them…. And also, I think, to see if there were other ways (financially) the church or the senior missionary couple could assist them. I’ve gotten much better at saying No, but it’s still draining. As they left, and I sat down to type the constitution of a group our church members belong to, another brother arrived with a request to type a letter to help his poor school to not have to pay taxes. (We’d been commiserating with him on Monday over this.) So I had him write it out first (an hour’s worth of his time) while I typed other things. Then it took about 10 minutes for me to type up.

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Friday we went to Sondu to visit the 9 members who have joined the church there. We had a more intimate meeting and took them to the scriptures to answer many questions. Our goal was to help them to “liken the scriptures unto themselves.” That is—to find how the Lord’s words to one set of people have relevance to each of us today. We are learning that many people join churches for what the church will do for them—pay for funerals, help children go to school, and other benefits. So often we get—will the church help us do this… or this… or this…? And we got the opportunity to say, “We focus on spiritual things and the Lord blesses in all ways.… This is the Church of Jesus Christ and we do things His way… We need to trust the Lord that he will bless us as he promises. In other words: no… no… no. No. The church does not give people money for things. The church build self- reliance so you can do things for yourself. Elder Fox loves to visit with the children in the compound.

We learned where a young couple in the church lives. Dennis is very dependable, and Bethseda always helps to fix a meal when we come.

They spoke of the need for rain. We prayed for rain. And as we left—it poured. We were blessed. We came home and were able to use donated money to purchase a microscope for Bro. G. who is a doctor. He was SO pleased. It will bless many people. It was dark by the time we ended our day.

Saturday we drove to Busia and trained the leaders. Then we had our Seminary/Institute training. Since it was on teaching, everyone stayed to listen to that as well. We toured the new building and it is nicely improved. We spent the night at the Farmview and only lost power about 3 times. Sunday at Busia was nice. We visited. We taught some more. We listened to good progress and to struggles. At then end of the day, here was a little girl and her brother coming to collect water. He had been carrying a smaller container as well as hanging on to the large one. And the little guy can barely walk!

On the way home we passed this train and then actually had to stop at a railroad crossing for it to cross. This train is on the same track the British build 1900-1905. We arrived home about 5pm and had some delicious hamburgers to break our fast.

Saturday as we left town, we bought a top-up card for the internet. We tried to install it on our trip and kept getting “password error” even though the password was printed on the card. This is a "top up" card.GRR. So we didn’t even try to listen to General Conference Sunday night. Monday we went to Telkom. “Oh they changed the system so you don’t use the first 2 letters, but they didn’t tell the customers.” Oh. Okay then. Sure, why bother to tell the customers? It’s so beneficial to the competitors. Actually we were blessed. Last month when Elder Fox went to top up, they wouldn’t take the credit card so he paid cash, and the customer service lady did it another way—thus saving us about 2 weeks without internet as they had not bothered to tell the local Telkom office either!

We enjoy visiting the members; they are so appreciative that we come to see them. We have so many positive experiences with them that it makes it all worthwhile!