Weekly Update 8-4-08

Seems like I just did last weeks update but looking at the calendar it has been a week. Because of Jane's funeral on Saturday we made an extra trip up-country so have to get a little shopping and other errands done today. The funeral was fairly similar to the other two we have been to with the exception that it was a Catholic version. Edward is the only one in the church so far. The whole family and even the community get pretty heavily involved in that final earthly event here. We were just planning on being there to let the family know that we cared but a couple of mazungus are hard to hide and they felt a need to have us say something. I was the last to talk, right after a couple of local officials had made a political speech, and the only one to naught use the native Kikamba tongue. I kept it very short and I guess the MC did a little translation of what I said but one of the members told me his translation didn't follow real well. Because they were a little late getting started we had to leave once they took the body to the grave and it is terribly hard to be at all inconspicuous with a 4 wheel drive when everyone else is on foot. We did get back to town before it got too dark though which was our concern. Not sure I will ever get totally comfortable at not being back in our secured compound when the sun goes down. Their are murders and car jacking just about everyday in the paper and I just don't what to make it too hard for the "Big Guy" to keep us safe while here. The latest wrinkle of unrest is the burning of schools by disgruntled students. It is country wide and damage is in the millions of shillings but only one death so far. The media is making much of the lack of parental control or involvement and the banning of caning of misbehaving academians. My theory though is that since there has really not been any major prosecution of those guilty of murder and other atrocities during the post-election violence that it is just another sector testing their limits no matter how frivolous the stated reason which in this case is supposedly the national testing system they endure as they finish up their current level of schooling.

We had another investigator show up at Kyambeke last Thursday so have 3 good brethren we are working with there. Justus and Joseph were both at church yesterday and promised to be there this coming Thursday. Bernard is still a solid investigator but because he drives a Citti Hoppa bus here in Nairobi we will only be able to work with him when he is home to see his wife. If that drags out too long we will try and get him linked up with some missionaries here in town. We are making good progress on the request for a new branch and should have that in soon with the major hang up now being a map that we think the committee in Salt Lake might be comfortable with.

The schools should start taking their August break by the end of this week and we hope to have a joint Youth Camp of sorts for the combined branches shortly there after. We are trying to get the branches to run with it so that if we are not replaced as a couple next year they will still feel they can carry on with these type of activities. We are also trying to get the potential Temple patrons from Kilili in for passport applications while President Makiti is out on break from his teaching duties this month. We still have not been given an alternate date at the temple for the other two branches but hope to have that by week's end.

Distributed a bunch more of the white shirts that were sent with the folks this last week and they promised they would be available for a group picture when we attend church with them in 3 weeks. Thanks so much for those who helped with this as it really makes a difference to them besides really adding to the sacredness of the sacrament.

Well must run as it has been over a month since I sat in a barber's chair and these non-military curls around the ears still make me very uncomfortable. Also need to get some visa applications in for our soon to be missionaries as two of them need to go to the South African Embassy for interviews. We love and miss you all and anxiously look forward to any bits of info we can glean from blog sites, letters or e-mails. God Bless, Elder & Sister Bishop