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!