Weekly Update 11-17-07

Well we are kind of sitting here in a frustrated state of turmoil in our flat today. We tried to take advantage of our reduced workload last week and make our apartment a little more comfortable for us. We were missing several pieces of wood in the parquet flooring and there were numerous deep marks in the floor from the years of missionaries living here. The apartment manager had a guy come in and replace the obvious tile discrepancies then we hired a member to come in and sand and varnish it. When he sanded it revealed a lot of damaged tile and a rather healthy termite population. The apartment management brought their guy back but because they are refusing to pay him any additional money he is less than enthusiastic to really solve the problem. Apparently the parquet they sell now days is of smaller dimensions so he has to try and scrounge used stuff that is big enough to replace our damaged tiles. The individual entrepreneurs such as are being used here have no vehicles so are at the mercy of the matatus and buses to transport themselves and equipment. The result is that scheduled appointments are only an estimate that can vary as much as by a whole day. I guess you have to admire their desire to sustain themselves but one has to really struggle to curb your impatience and frustration and as some of you might have observed over the years those are not my areas of strength. In the mean time we sit here with furniture stacked in our bedrooms, kitchen, and entry way hoping to accomplish a reasonable resolution without compromising our real reason for being here. It kind of brings back memories of working the way out of the fun we had trying to put the place in Meridian back together after the water line burst while we were away to Alabama seeing Bruce's family.The dust is still settling here in Kenya from last weeks run offs in preparation for the general election on 27 Dec. There was some disturbances, some suspected related deaths, and they still don't have solid tickets for some of the parties. Some of the losing candidates immediately transferred to different parties and are trying to get on their tickets. We have identified some 6 different political parties that all seem to have some relevance. We drove through some rallies coming out of Kalunga Hills the day previous to the elections that seemed aggressive enough that I was a little uncomfortable.We are trying to get back on schedule this week. We attended church services in Kilili then brought Julius back to Nairobi with us for a pre-mission doctor's physical we had scheduled with the mission approved doctor. I am sure he was a bundle of nerves, probably had not ridden in many vehicles in his life, we gave him something to eat and read and the roads are a mess so we traveled our new route which is full of curves. The end result is that we had one sick little feller in the back seat and left several plastic containers full of the used lunch I had made him along side the road between here and there. I am going to try and find some dramamine at the local chemist before we take him back tomorrow. Because our place is buried in displaced furniture we left Julius with the Assistants for his 2 night stay. The Mission President's wife has scheduled Thanksgiving at the Mission Home for Thursday so we moved our Kyambeke visit ahead to Wednesday for this week and will go out to Saint Mary's Hospital to assist there in the Pharmacy on Thursday. Because Thanksgiving is an American event it has no significance to the locals but they do show some interest when we tell them of all the food that is available.Well we must get moving with the hope that we can develop a reasonable solution to our self imposed turmoil in our living quarters here today. We miss not being there to share Thanksgiving with friends and family but do take solace in the people and events we are involved in here. We are thankful for all of you and your love and support. We especially appreciate the pictures all the grandkids dressed for Halloween that we received. God Bless, Elder and Sister Bishop