Weekly Update 12-3-07

Just a few quick notes this morning as we have a rather large list of things we need to get done here in Nairobi in the next two days before we go back on the road in support of the folks in Kilungu Hills.We are making progress with Julius' Mission Prep. as he spent Tue & Wed evenings in our spare bedroom. I don't think he ever really got in the bed but just rolled up in some quilts on top. It is quite a bit cooler here in Nairobi than in the hills. We got him to the doc & and dentist and have follow up appointments on the 11th. We have everything to submit for his passport which he needs to have before he can submit his paperwork to the church. They are somewhat restrictive on letting their folks even travel to other providences/countries here in Africa so the passport thing is a major hurdle.We were able to get Mwende to her new home on Friday which was no small task as it started raining fairly hard as we were making the final approach to Ilima and we ended up sliding into a washout. Some of the local folks helped us jack up the rig and get some rocks under the wheels so we could back out and a good share of this was done in a fairly healthy down pour. The members brought Mwende down to us and we headed back here to town. She traveled rather well in the back seat with Sister Bishop. She ate most of Sister Bishop's sandwich and entertained herself with a plastic wrapper from a breakfast bar and we even heard her humming along with some of the christmas carols that were playing on the cd. The sisters at Mother Theresa's home were very welcoming and had her bathed and tucked in bed before we left. Good chance she could blossom somewhat in that new environment where she could have interaction with others on a steady basis.We spent Saturday at a funeral for President Makiti's father. It was our first and very informative. Sister Bishop accompanied the local members for several hymns and I was called on to say a few words during the LDS portion of the service. Of the several 100 people there only approximately 30 were members. The deceased had been baptized but then was excommunicated when they found he had 3 wives (polygamy is rather common in some of the tribes here). Although most of his families were raised by the time of his conversion he chose not to abandon any of his wives so hence the church discipline. He continued to pay his tithing and asked his son how the branch was doing on a regular basis. Two of his 17 children are members at Kilili but most live in other areas. Not sure if any other are members. Most of eulogies were either in Swahili or Kumba and I am not good enough to tell the difference but a fair portion of the folks did understand English. The event began 11:00 and we left at 4:30 so it was an all day affair complete with food and tribal dancing. We had some goat stew and rice and I tried some of the fried intestines (tastes like liver and I would have enjoyed it with some ketchup). Sister Bishop just picked out a potato to have with her rice as the goat did look pretty tough. I think I want to have some of those dancers at my funeral as they lent a rather entertaining atmosphere. He was buried there on the family Shamba and the vault they had prepared was too small so some emergency expansion was being done on it by a local mason and was ready by the time the burial took place. I don't think they embalm them here so the casket has a plastic seal to allow the viewing but not let any smells out. It is critical that they have them buried within 9 days of death but I assume that there is a refrigeration process involved in the care of the corpse pending the funeral.Sunday we were back at Kyambeke for Joseph's baptism. Because of the recent heavy rains the water was very muddy but he is going to be a very devout member. With the schools being out for the month we are going to try and get a few of the young people taught and baptized that were not done as 8 year olds. There are 13 of them from 9 to 15 at Kyambeke and not sure how many others might show at the other branches.We did get our flat put back together with a few exceptions and it does look considerably better. We are hosting the weekly Home Evening tonight. The youth from Ilima are coming to Nairobi for a super activity tomorrow and we are not sure of the numbers or their agenda yet but are expecting to help them with their noon meal. There is a local place that offers two for one pizza on Tuesdays and it doesn't taste to bad so that will probably be the menu and it will be a first for most of the kids. Not sure on the adults.This months schedule is packed pretty full up to the 23rd but our calendar is blank for the balance of the month with the exception of a wedding on the 29th. President Simon and his wife are having the civil ceremony required by the church before they can go to the temple. We have been asked to help with the cake and it is proving to be another one of those learning experiences. President Taylor (the Mission President) has asked all the missionaries to lay low the last week of December untill it is determined what kind of fall out there is from the general election on the 27th. I will get a few pictures to Bethany for the blog site in the next few days. We love you all and wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of kids in snow as the weather here is just not very christmasy. Elder & Sister Bishop