Weekly Update 10-28-07

Well the rainy season is starting here in our little branches. That means they are busy planting and we are busy avoiding all the new ruts in the roads. Our shortcut works real well for Kilili but it has some grades with switch backs for the other two. Our route decision each day is made based on the time available, weather and Sister Bishops desire to visit the last station with a porcelain commode on the Mombasa highway. We generally try to get on the road by 6:45 on the days we head up country but can still get hung up in outbound traffic on some days that really throws a wrench in our schedule. On Thursday we saw a higher than usual number of big rigs that had rolled over in the night and ended up waiting in a couple of long lines while they came up with a work-around. Then Sunday they appeared to be having some kind of marathon or walkathon and just shut down the big highway heading out of town. We probed it in several different accesses but were turned back each time and spent over an hour just wandering back roads before we were able to get out of the city. We still made it to Ilima in time for their Primary program and they did a super job. We have gotten a little involved in helping some of the folks procure seed and it is very interesting to see some of their farming practices. We were watching a film on the restoration that showed Joseph Smith using a stick to plant corn seeds. President whispered that we farmed just like they do but then I reminded him that the film was depicting a time 180 years ago and that it was a little different now days. Because the majority of the Shambas are on terraced hillsides and the austere means available, just about everything is done manually either with a pinga (big hoe) or panga (machete). I apologize to anyone reading this that speaks Kikumba if I have mixed up the terms or spelled it wrong.
The week ahead looks interesting as it appears that our paperwork is finally ready for the issuing of our resident cards. This paves the way for our receiving a resident drivers license and also receiving a break on some of the tolls and taxes we run into. Unfortunately we will also be getting some new CES missionaries in which means a decision will have to be made on our vehicle. I have purposely avoided following up on the status of the little green Nissan since the accident so I am not sure what we will be driving by next weekend but it will most likely not be the CES truck we are currently using. That is a decision that is made a pay grade or two above my level so all I can do is snivel like some little private. Well must run as we have to be down at immigration shortly.