A Week of Thanks

We had an exciting lead up to Thanksgiving. The Saturday before (Nov20th) we introduced the Worldwide Broadcast of the New Church Handbooks to the leadership of the Kisumu branch. E. Fox and I previewed the DVD the day before… the day it arrived… and we showed it the next day. It’s a wonderful presentation. One person said, “If you want to keep a secret, put it in the handbook.” But the goal is to have everyone know what’s in it—the guiding principles which, added to inspiration, will help the church run smoothly. We also spent the afternoon washing clothes, collecting things and pre-packaging flour, sugar and other things needed for pumpkin pie and chocolate pie.

Sunday we went to Busia to visit, collect open house material, and collect passports, letters from parents, copies of birth and marriage certificates and signed visa applications to take with us to Nairobi and on to the temple in Johannesburg in January. When we came home we packed and tried to get to bed at a decent hour.

Monday we were on the road by 6:30am for Nairobi. Along the way, we stopped at Lake Elmentieta to check out the lake and the accommodations. It's a lovely lake.

It’s supposed to be an excellent place to view birds. We drove down the imagination of a road and came to Flamingo Camp—a fun place RIGHT on the lake. Then we found Elmenteita Safari Camp an upscale version of a resort at pretty good prices also close to the lake. And finally Elmenteita Lodge… which is where we thought we were going when we got to the camp. This is built around a 1915 farm house and distinguished, but pretty far from the lake. Each place they were happy to show us every available room and all their amenities.

We stopped at Westgate Nakumat on the way in and scored with some triskets and wheat thins! Tom was in heaven! We also got the remaining ingredients for the pies. We stayed with Elder and Sister G who are the temporary LDS Charities couple and all-around great people.

Tuesday we went to the Mission office with a page long “things to do” list and hacked away at a number of them. We fought traffic to the US Embassy and mailed a package, bought good stuff at the PX and learned that is really isn’t a PX any more, it’s an employee’s food store and in the future we can’t shop there. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. We had some time and so went to the Maasai Market at Westgate and wandered in the hot sun past rows of wares: carvings, scarves, paintings, masks, jewelry, wood, soapstone dishes, pots. We were just window shopping, mind you, but we managed to come away with three scarves. (I had been admiring them on the women here and asking where to get them, so that was okay.) We also got a soapstone plate, a cow-horn pencil holder, and a painting of elephants and giraffes in the African sunset. I saw a very nice soapstone carved nativity set, but we could not agree on the price.

Wednesday we hit the Mission Office to accomplish visa things and then went exploring with E/S B from Kitali. They had not seen things in Nairobi so we went to the Giraffe Center.

I like the up close and personal with the giraffes. Elder Fox hung out with the old men.
The bronze art gallery was magnificent and expensive. Did I take photos of the fine sunbird on a grass stem? No just of Elder Fox in front of the sign.
We went to the boma park (didn’t stay, dancing wasn’t until the afternoon) and the Mamba park which had mountains of crocodiles from baby to elderly, a lake the shape of Africa and half the children in Nairobi. Worth it for the 100 shilling price for residents.

This is a "crown of Thorns" plant which our guide said was the plant used for the crown of thorns of Jesus.
And they had a mural of the history of East Africa. This is of the railroad and the Man-eater Lions of Tsavo.
We got back to the Mission Office in time to meet Josephine, maker of fantastic bead necklaces, and collected our year’s supply of those. Josephine has an amazing life story and shared a bit of it with us. She is also kind enough to volunteer to teach someone in Kisumu how to do these necklaces so they, too can prosper.
Elder Fox was kind enough to "hold" some of the necklaces for me.

I made the pies in the evening. We have “Barbie” stoves—small apartment sized with only one rack, so we farmed out the other pie to the missionary couple next store to cook for us. We shared the aroma!

Thursday was a perfect day! We actually slept in a bit, then went to Pres Broadbent’s about 11. We visited, chatted, talked, and shared with all the senior couples. We had 12 couples there—just missing E/S B who were at the Johannesburg Temple with 21 people from their area. Did I mention we visited? We also ate a fantastic banquet cooked by various couples.

They couldn’t find a whole turkey, so they cooked parts… and it tasted great to me! I had cooked radish for the first time. Tasty. After the main course, we had an activity where each couple shared something that defined or illustrated them. Most couples also shared a talent—a skit, a song, etc. We learned how to dance “Cotton- Eyed Joe” and did a credible job of it. We learned how to teach a primary song and got an apron full of song illustrations.

We teared up at “I’ll be Home for Christmas” sung by Elder P who had sung with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. One of my favorites was a couple singing “There’s a hole in the bucket” with the elder singing the part of “With what shall I fetch, fix, mend … it” lying prone with a hat over his face and with convincing disinterest in the fetching/fixing process. When the song came around to the beginning again instead of fixing, fetching, mending…. He suggested they just go on a mission! Tom and I did a reader’s theater that we’d seen our Atlanta Georgia Mission President and wife do on our last mission. My singing and dancing are iffy, but I can read.

After deserts and more visiting, we sang through all the Christmas carols in the Hymn book and finally departed for the couples flats at nearly dark.

Friday we went to the Mission Office early again to finalize seminary and institute manuals for next year and stuff at the distribution center. In spite of our list, we forgot a few things. But we did meet with a sweetheart of a sister in our branch. He seems like a nice young man.

This is the Upper Hill Chapel and part of the Mission Office. It's a lovely building.

At 10AM we began our Couple Conference. It is so good to share and learn from one another. One brother has really been working hard at assembling steps to take to go to the temple. Sometimes it seems like there’s a conspiracy to not release information until after you really needed it. Usually it’s done with a surprised air…Oh? You wanted THAT information? Even though you thought you’d asked for it specifically 5 times. (Such as when the Public Health officer arrived 3 hours late to give the Yellow Fever shots and said, “Oh, don’t you know that all women of child bearing age need to be pregnancy tested first?” Hello. Wouldn’t that have been nice to know ahead of time?)

We learned more about the lessons on receiving revelation through prayer, reading the scriptures and attending sacrament meetings that the missionaries are giving as part of the refined Preach My Gospel lessons. And we had a spiritual feast reading 2 Nephi 31 verse by verse and discussing it. It was billed as a 10-12 meeting that lasted until 2:15, but no one cared that it went over it was so great. (Except the LDS Charities couple that had a 3pm meeting across town. But they made it.) We discussed problems and concerns and got directions which way to go. We left the meeting feeling so uplifted, like we could conquer the world… or at least whatever concerns we faced. We ate pizza, packed the truck with all the manuals and such, and then went to shop at the Hilton arcade.

Sister B. had written all kinds of pricing and notes in her notebook so when she found something, she was sure it was a bargain (or not). Other missionaries indicated the best stores to shop at, and we got some Maasai blankets cheaper than any place else. We also bought a phone. You see, our phone conversations began to consist of “Hello Hello? Can you hear me?” “Hello. Hello? Are you there?” Er. No. They couldn’t hear us. Fortunately James told us exactly what model to buy, so we just had to find it. Well, that and learn to use it.

Friday night the couples gathered together again over salsa and scones, again just to visit. You see we have couples from Mombasa and Dar Es Salam in Tazania as well as the three distant couples in western Kenya—Kitali, Eldoret, and Kisumu who don’t get to visit with other couples much. We learn we have the same… and different problems. We share joys and successes. No one really understands what you’re experiencing as well as another missionary couple does. We’d learned to fill out the visa forms, but they’d been safely locked away for two days. So we stayed up far too late Friday night filling them out. They had to be black ink, block letters, and letter perfect. As it got later, I had more problems with the “letter perfect” part.

Saturday morning we visited with the B’s just back from the temple, and then headed home. We dawdled a bit and stopped to admire the tea fields.

We came home to find that we actually had water! Hurray!!! Great joy! Delight! It didn’t start coming in until Friday, so it’s a good thing we were gone for the week. And now we have a page long list of things that need to be accomplished here! And we are eager to get to work!

Word Pictures

As we left for the drive to Nairobi, the scenery was exquisite. The sun was in our eyes making photos difficult, so I decided to write a word picture.

A parade of people along each side of the road emerged from the shimmering dust tossed up by matatus. They cast long streaks of shadows as they grew distinct from the brown flecks. The sun skimmed across the cow-mowed grass and the tips of the sugarcane leaves. In the flicker of back-lighting the leaves of the eucalyptus trees turned gold and black. Even the bulky sugar cane tractor loads reflected a soft glow in the early sun.

Uniformed children ebbed and flowed on either side of the road like a herd of gazelles, waiting for a safe chance to cross. As the towns thinned, occasional drab humps of squatting people rose rock-like from the dirt shoulder.

Umbrella acacia trees reflected back the light and offered generous shade. They spread like dinner plates for giraffes. And the sun teased a soft reflection from thatch and mud houses and brought warmth to rusty tin roofs.

In the markets weathered women unfolded bags and bundles and bales sprouting with cabbages, sukumi wiki (greens) and a rainbow of matumbu (used clothing.) Donkeys hoisted yellow gerry cans for sale or water carrying. The bones of stick market stands jutted out, their dingy black and gray plastic roofing swaying in the breeze. Some of the stands were already fleshed out in vibrant red onions and tomatoes, golden maize, white rice, heaps of beans, and tangles of rope. Hardware merchants spread locks and bolts and bits of dazzling silver metal.

Toward Karicheo, orderly manicured tea fields glinted lemon-green until they disappeared over the horizon. Boxes of white painted houses with red roofs offered a nestled contrast to the un-ending new-green leaves. Sometimes trees shot up through the tea fields looking like errant bits of hair in a bad hair-cut.

It’s a beautiful world. One of the departing couples said, “In a few days this will all be a dream and a memory.” All too soon that will be true for us, too.

Mangoes

Mangoes are truly a gift from God. Without any effort on any person's part, the trees grow, flower, fruit and then drop the fruit. Well, sometimes you need a stick to knock them down. Other times we hear a ThunK as they land on the tin roof. I'd hate for one to drop on my head.

The trees are kind enough to not have all the fruit mature all at once. I think we've had mangoes for about 3 weeks now and the trees are still producing.

When hungry people come to the gate, we invite them to help themselves. When the primary children get hungry after church, we open the gate and let them forage for mangoes. Our guard collects some each night and the gardener gathers in the day. Sometimes Dr. Geoffrey sends Benard over to collect and haul bags full back to his home and clinic.

I have mangoes for breakfast. And still the trees are loaded with mangoes. I think Kenya must be part of the Garden of Edan.

Visiting

I see I have been remiss in my blogging. I plead busyness… and TIA (This is Africa)… and even when you try hard to get things done…. You do get things done, but not necessarily what you wanted to get done, or what you planned to get done, or even much of what you NEEDED to get done.

Last week we dealt with water shortages and electrical outages. It’s amazing how life slows down. The brain is stressed and has to figure out new ways to do things. Even if you didn’t really need electricity for what you planned to do (wash your face, for example) you wander into the kitchen, then remember you can’t heat hot water in the electric tea pot and think, how will I wash my face… okay, I can do it in cold water. And really, I could have heated water on the stove. Then: what will I eat for breakfast? Well, wait, I don’t want to open the frig… Nope can’t toast. Opps, the eggs are in the frig… as is the milk. I finally toasted bread over the gas burner and had avocado on toast. Anyhow, maybe our brains are turning to sludge, but things just seem more laborious when conditions change.

We worked at visiting members last week. Some we couldn’t find. Some we missed the right time to be there, but we added others to our list and managed to visit six people in a day…. And have time for some Branch President training. There is a quote about a wonderful Danish teacher that says something like: “We could warm our hands by the fire of his testimony.” We love visiting the members. We do warm our souls by the fire of their spirits. We had lunch at the “hotel” of Willikistar and visited with her grown daughter there as well.

Two LDS Charities couples came to Kisumu on Monday. Prior to their coming, we visited with our favorite caterer to see if he could give them a quote for providing meals for the Neonatal training which would take place in March. He went above and beyond the call of duty. He scouted out guest houses and venues in both training areas. He bargained (pronounced bar-GAN-ed) the prices down. He looked for cleanliness and security. And wanted to quote a price so low he would absorb some of the costs. And he kept thanking me for the privilege of serving the Church. What a good man!

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We picked up some Strawberries on Thursday, and you know, they really won't keep. We discovered Fruit Pizza Pie really doesn't keep either. For some reason, it disappeared in like two days! Yum!

We finally located a place that will do yellow fever shots for our group going to the temple. We thought we got everything set up for the Busia group to get shots on Thursday the 18th, but when Elder Fox checked with them on Tuesday…. No… they couldn’t get the 10 dosage vials until the following week. Sigh. We had hoped to carry the passports, visa applications, letters of request, photos and yellow fever cards with us when we went to Nairobi next week. Guess the yellow fever cards will have to be couriered later.

Sunday we were scheduled to watch two sessions of General Conference—the Saturday sessions. We watched the AM one and it was excellent. We took a short break and invited everyone to go into the back to collect and eat mangoes, which they were delighted to do. Sometime in that interval, the decision was made to forgo the second session and have each auxiliary and priesthood do their last classes. I’m thinking, AKKK how can you just throw this on the different classes? But Relief Society did fine and Young Women’s said, “We can always have (create or do) a lesson.”

Monday two LDS Charities couples arrived in Kisumu. E. Fox picked them up at the airport. They are delightful people. Brother and Sister W and B are here to do neonatal resuscitation training in Homa Bay (2.5 hrs south of Kisumu) and Mbale (45min North). They came to meet with doctors and set up the trainings which will take place in March. We lined up a member to help drive them to Homa Bay and what with the car condition and the road condition, apparently it was quite an experience. Once again there were surely angels round about them to perserve them. But they got all organized. We served them lunch and dinner on Monday and they more than generously reciprocated by taking us out to dinner Tues and Wed. It was so fun to visit and learn what they’ve done and what they plan to do. They are such good people.

Tuesday Pres. Kogo came to visit and E/S L drove him and his wife down. While the Pres. conducted his business, the women and E. L went to the market for fabric, fish, and vegetables. We came back for a wedding:

Then we had a late lunch and sent Pres. and Sis Kogo and Elder and Sister L on their way back to Eldoret... just in time to prep for Institute class. We showed The Testaments, because we are in 3Nephi. Then talked a bit about Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. When asked how to tell the false prophets (who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing) from those who brought the truth, he said, “by their fruits ye shall know them.” So we talked about the fact that we are the “fruit” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When people see us and our actions, will they see the Savior? Will they see the goodness of God?

And we talked about how an earthly father knows how to give his children good gifts, so we can know that our Heavenly Father loves us with a perfect love and knows how to give us the gifts that are right for us. It may not seem like a good gift at the time, but as we look back, we will be able to see that it was a blessing. One sister came to realize that the difficulty of caring for a sick child was a gift from God. She learned so much that now as a nurse, she is highly skilled in pediatric care.

Wed. E. Fox drove the LDS couples to Mbale to meet with the doctors. I stayed back with Jackie (the cleaning lady) as my “companion” and went to district meeting and visited with Sister B. about her personal history. I love learning about the growth and progression of the saints. We have some really good people here.

On the way home from Mbale, they stopped at the Equator sign. Sister W. got to talking with these women. E. Fox and Sister W tried carrying the baskets and found them surprisingly heavy!

Busia Open House

The top floor of the building is the new chapel for Busia. They celebrated its completion with an open house. They had about 25 people come to learn more about the church.

They took them around-- into the Primary room.

And into the Elders Quorum class room. In each room they were given a mini-lesson.
They topped it off with biscuits, bananas and soda in celebration of the first anniversary of the Busia Branch (actually August 31.)
During some down time, I visited with my friend Peter.
And on the way home, we got to enjoy some lovely skyscapes.

Impala Sacturary in Kisumu

We've been here in Kisumu for nearly a year now and finally went to the Impala Sanctuary. We'd seen it... even stopped once before we had our resident alien cards. But we could see they'd done some fixing and improving and indeed, it was a nice treat. It had been designated as a 2010 tourist destination site and so they'd done a lot of improvements. We thought it was just impalas, and we did see those. (Do you see them walking behind me?) But we also saw Lions and Cheetahs, oh my! And we saw a desert Patas monkey and Duikers and black backed jackals-- that looked like dogs to me.

and a spotted hyenas. The Hyenas is big and dangerous looking up close. Not quite like the Lion King variety.

We had a young man on "attachment" with us. This is like an unpaid internship. He was training with the Kenya Wildlife Club and was quite knowledgeable. So we got to hold hands with a blue monkey... the baboon was not so friendly. And pet the Cheetah....

the lions were definitely not so friendly. Tom was so pleased to see the cheetah slip to the ground and start purring. However we were careful to stay well back from the teeth!

The lionesses looked well fed... and a bit bored.
The lion was kept separate from the females. He is from a different family and they said he would not breed with the lionesses as they only mated within their families.
It was a lovely day with a beautiful view of Lake Victoria behind.

At night hippos come up on the land here to feed. We, however, were safe during the day. The snakes in the forest seemed to mind their own business, too.

Barefoot

We've been doing some training with the branch presidency and Sunday School Presidency and feel like we are making progress. These are good men and they are learning. While we were visiting with one of them, I asked about his conversion story. One of the things that attracted him to the church was that the church came because of a revelation, he said, and that all people are invited to receive their own revelation and ask their creator what he wants for them. He said in this church the leaders care for their flock. In other churches the flock must care for the leader. I guess here in Africa some churches totally expect members to pay a certain amount to support the pastor.

Our Relief Society President has moved, I think, to Rwanda and has left the counselors in charge. They are doing an excellent job of running things in her absence. It's so rewarding to see things run well. And on Sunday we had a great Branch Council meeting with all the auxiliary leaders discussing their concerns about how to help people, and others giving good solutions to the concerns.

The goal of the Gospel is to bring souls to Christ. The scriptures say that first the Lord will speak in a still, small voice, and if we don't listen, then he will speak with thunderings, lightnings, and tempests. With repentance, it's kind of the same way. First counsel is given and encouragement to change offered. If a serious transgression is not in the repentance process, then the church offers greater encouragement in the way of a church court (the thunder and lightning.) Always the goal is to help with the repentance process-- to save the soul-- so the person can return to joy and peace. Wickedness never brings peace and happiness.

We have a nice member with the inconvenience of possibly multiple spouses. So Friday we went to deliver a letter inviting the member to a church court. It takes two priesthood brethren to deliver the letter so we picked up Bro. J and visited/trained him as well. After the delivery, we continued to drive out to Ericah's house as Bro J is suppose to home teach her.

It began raining while we were there. Not so good as her road is exceptionally muddy. But when there was a break, she wanted to show Bro. J her projects. So we started walking toward the tea field, the fish pond, the bees, etc. After a short distance I realized I could sacrifice my feet or my sandals. I only have one pair of each. But I figured my feet were more durable. So I took off the sandals and walked through the mud and grass barefooted. We walked across fields and down Slipppppery slopes. I skidded. I slid. But I stayed upright! Mud squished between the toes. About half way through, I recalled... oh, oh. I bet this is against mission rules. But it was a bit late for that thought!

I was glad to get back to her house and get my feet washed off.

We planned on leaving then, but no, Ericah begged us to stay for a little something- cooked bananas. They are very tasty and taste much like potatoes. It was now about 2:00 and I was hungry. Elder Fox gave her 30 minutes more of waiting. She said, "This is Africa. In Africa time is not important. Ten minutes can mean two hours." I had seen it in evidence, but this was the first time I heard it confessed.

I'm so gullible, I keep believing people! "I'm just coming."-- That one, I've learned means anything from I'm a block from your house to I'm just getting out of bed but I really mean to come sometime. But the variations of that: "I'm on my way." "I'm just leaving." "I'll be there soon."-- Somehow, I expect people to actually show up in the next 15 minutes or so. And I get frustrated when I make plans around that... and it doesn't happen.

We were told when we came to Africa that many people would have amazing stories... and some of them might actually be true. I think I have gotten better at saying No to requests for handouts, but on Wednesday David Oching Oching came to the gate. A young man, an orphan, the oldest in the family. His sister had just died and he needed to get transport home to the burial. He said he'd been to church, but when I asked which missionaries he knew, he looked blank, so I questioned that. But I gave him some shillings and asked him to come back and let me know how the funeral was. Two days later, Elder Fox was outside when he came to the gate. No report on the funeral, but his sister was a diabetic and needed medication. It’s a tribute to his skills in storytelling that Elder Fox ALSO succumbed and gave him some money! Then we compared notes, recalling people usually stay away several days at least for a burial.

The idea is that if you’re white, you have money to give. But E. Fox came up with a good analogy. When you go to the market, you have tomato sellers and used clothing sellers, and shoe sellers. If you ask the used clothing seller for tomatoes, he’ll say, go see the tomato seller. And if the used clothing seller happened to give you a tomato, you know it came from what he planned for his dinner. There are many different kinds on NGO’s (charitable groups) that come to Africa. Some give stuff. Some do spiritual things. So when David came back the 4^th time in five days (we were away the 3^rd time), I explained this analogy.

“We give people spiritual food. We teach how to be in harmony with God so he can bless you as he promises. And his blessings are both temporal and spiritual. We invite you to come to church and learn more. We are not here to give stuff.”

“But I need help paying for this high blood pressure medicine I need for the sister who has diabetes who is the twin to the one who died....”

“Sorry David, we will never give you more stuff.”

“But the medicine?”

“Never.”

I’m sure he was sorry this sugar daddy dried up so quickly.

One Year Anniversary

Tuesday Nov 2 was the anniversary of our mission. One year. I've decided I must have been in the military too long. I love beginnings, middles, and endings. Or maybe that's the writer in me. When you know you only have a certain time in one place it's more vivid. You have to capture the beauty, the excitement, the drama of the place because you won't have it forever.

All the experiences the sweet and the bitter are more vibrant because of the snapshot of time. Each sunset needs to be admired. Each turn in the road where the hills fall away and the lush vegetation sprouts around the rocks needs to be cherished. Even the difficult times are more tolerable because there is an end in sight.

When we were in the military and times were tough or I didn't like some thing, I'd think, no problem, in 2 years... or 6 months... or whatever, I'll move and it won't be there anymore. When we finally settled down, I had to learn that if I had problems with someone, I had to get over it! I wasn't going to move away from it. But I think in the continuum of time-- with no established beginning or end-- one tends to think there is time enough for everything. No rush. It will be there tomorrow, or next week, or in 10 years.

But on a mission, it won't. Time is of the essence. You only have so much time and then it's over. Done. So every moment matters. Every face, every friend, every responsibility, every event stands as a pristine jewel to be cherished and packed carefully away in memory. I see the slippery slope of the end of the mission and I think: Hurry! Do it all! Make every moment count! It will soon be over.... and have we done all that we could have done? I want to be able to answer, "Yes."

Good Times

Friday we went to Sondu to train for Institute and Seminary and to see some of our favorite people. We saw fantastic clouds on the way out. The Sondu folks are good people trying to do what is right even though they live a long way from the branch. We went later in the afternoon and had a good scripture study after the training. We thought maybe the time change would relieve them of the obligation to feed us, but no... we still had an excellent meal. We try to avoid getting home in the dark, but often the Lord rewards us with these spectacular sunsets.
Saturday we had a jumble of meetings. Gardencia, the daughter of branch faithfuls Elizabeth and Isaac, was baptized. We still are struggling getting enough water for us, the branch and the baptismal font, so the baptism was done at the Milimani Resort. We had some branch presidency training in the afternoon.

Sunday we went to Busia. We love going there. The branch has strong leadership and they are organized. And we watched the Sunday sessions of General Conference and they were a spiritual treat. Maureen's little baby was born about the same time as my grandchildren in the US, so I've always had a soft spot for him. That and the fact that Peter alway smiles for me!

Between conference sessions we had 4 baptisms. It's aways awesome when a husband and wife are baptized. Then you have faith that the whole family will be raised with Godly principles. On the way home we visited with two members from Kisumu.

Monday we again helped with passports for people in Busia and we did some training. We had enough water to do 4 loads of laundry! And some hand washing! And I got it all in before the rains started. I love the smell of line dried clothes and sheets.

Today I remembered again why I love this mission. We went and visited a member. I just love hearing their testimonies. I love it when they are humble and teachable and want to do what is right! There's just nothing better than feeling that the things we say and do will help someone have a better life and draw closer to God. Tonight we taught Institute and had a great class. The members are understanding the scriptures and are doing a better and better job of reading the scripture block before the class. We have some fine members here!