Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Weekly Update 5-26-09

Well the sprint to the finish line is picking up speed as we try to finish off a few last items before our departure in 4 weeks time. We are ready to finish up all the paperwork for our Temple Group today and just hope that Victor is able to gather all the visas at the South Africa Embassy this week. In an effort to stem the flow of immigrants from each country here, the more established South Africa imposes some rather stringent restrictions on other Africans visiting there. The Church is required to ensure via a monetary deposit that the people will only be there for the specified time but the money is credited back once the terms of the visa is satisfied. This is even the case with the young people who fulfill missions there or attend the MTC enroute to another country. We are still waiting on approval from the Physical Facilities folks to begin occupation of the proposed building in Mitini. Also this week we received word from the Dr. who reviews mission applications for the Area that he wants to wait a month on Stellamaris' application. In and of themselves these little ankle biters aren't much but as this race nears its' finish they do raise my anxiety just a little. I realize that a portion of this anxiety is the result of rather low tolerance for any who would disagree or fail to have the same view of the situation that I do (I'll try to work on being a little more tolerant but please don't hold me to that commitment). Just to add to the stress level it appears that the last baptisms we are trying to accomplish is swelling to a number of around 60 people and the few available dates combined with a deficiency of the number of white clothes is more than just a little worrying. In our visits up-country more of the members are trying to get us to visit their home before our departure and as much as we would love to do that just to show our feelings and respect time just doesn't allow us to accommodate all the requests and we are struggling to keep from offending anyone.

Our Tuesday visit to Kilili was held in conjunction with a RS Enrichment event as they wanted to teach my companion how to weave bags and blankets before she left. Whenever our visits coincide with enrichment we can count on a disproportionate number of attendees at our English Class so we just worked on singing some hymns. It is amazing how well that medium seems to bridge the language barrier somewhat and they seemed to enjoy themselves but I hope in our last few visits there the number of attendees becomes a little more manageable.

Our Thursday and Friday visits to the Kilungu Hills were pretty much the same although our English classes there have pretty well dried up with the baptism of Mamas who were struggling with the language. However there are at least 10 solid investigators that we are trying to prepare for their English based baptismal interviews so we are still staying rather busy there and our time on site is not decreasing as we thought it might. We did visit President Simon's mother in Ilima for a few minutes on Friday as she lives very near the chapel there. We scored some cups of warm milk (no refrigeration in the hills) a bag of grapefruit sized avocados and a stalk of bananas. More than we can possibly eat by ourselves so we share with the other couples here but it is touching to see their willingness to share from their meager resources and the last thing we want to do is offend by refusing their offer even though they certainly have a greater need than this fat mazungu.

Saturday I drove back to Mitini with Victor and a couple of medical folks to administer the required yellow fever shots to the temple attendees. It was their first ever immunizations and not at all appreciated by the younger ones. I was afraid my young friends would never come near me again. However I was able to illicit shy smiles from them at church yesterday so think maybe they have forgiven me already. Sure looking forward to the trip to Johannesburg and the creation of 2 more "forever families" next week. A note on the Saturday trip was when I returned the medical folks to their pick up point they asked if my immunizations were current and upon being assured that they were he offered to secure me a matatu drivers license which I think was a good natured statement on my aggressive driving habits. I will certainly have to work to ensure that those habits stay here as they would get me in a lot of trouble state-side.

Well once again the sun is up on a Monday morning in Kenya and I must cease my ramblings as we want to get the plethora of travel documents to the service center the first thing today so we can be sure all is ready for next Monday. We were then going to check the mail box at the embassy but realized that it is Memorial Day on your side of the world which means the local embassy employees are on holiday also. That does remind me that with the time required for mail to get from there to here I would encourage all to not post any letters to us after June 1st as I doubt that we would receive it. We will visit the APO one last time and leave a forwarding address on the 22nd as we finish up here but it would probably be months before any mail caught up with us as we do have a few plans elsewhere upon our return.

Sowa Sowa. Elder & Sister Bishop

Monday, May 18, 2009

Weekly Update 5-18-09

It's 5:30 Monday morning here and not wanting to get behind again like last week I will get this out before the sun is up. Have a lot of things we need to get done here in Nairobi before the day is over. Somehow South Africa hasn't gotten the information recognizing the new Mitini Branch so they are not being very prompt in issuing the contract for the building rental there. I guess bureaucracy is a human frailty that we manage to inject where ever we human beings set our hand. It is not exclusive to the military or government as I have thought for so many years. We got 7 more passports last Friday evening so need to finalize with patron assistance for our June 1-5 Temple trip. Our group to Johannesburg will be 17 plus ourselves which is 2 families. There was one 19 year old boy that was still missing some ID info so his family is going without him but he finishes up his schooling at years end so can take out his own endowments enroute to the mission field. Being sealed to his family will just be on the back burner for now and maybe by the time he returns from his mission there will be a closer temple. I'm sure a loving Heavenly Father will understand if his time schedule overrides that event. One positive highlight though is that Dominic enters the MTC on the 4th so he will go with us and get sealed to his family and then just report to the MTC on Thursday.

We continue to get small rain showers on a regular basis here in Nairobi and a few drops up-country. If that sustains itself through May it should ensure a good maize harvest and the bean harvest is probably good to go already. We have people assisting with the Kikumba based discussions in all the branches so we did not travel up-country this Saturday which was a welcome break but it appears that the balance of our weekends here will all require both Saturday and Sunday trips. The lone exception could be our last Saturday on 20 June and my companion is indicating that we will be involved in cleaning up the flat one last time. It is a different experience from my last mission when I worked in some fairly unkempt conditions but for the most part my companion for this mission has been a lot more enjoyable.

Charles and Justus left for the MTC on Thursday so we took them to lunch and bid them farewell after their trips into town on Wednesday. I mentioned the Kikamba discussions for the young people and it is fluctuating at around 40 so that should make for some very busy Saturday baptismal services after we return from the Temple. We also have another 10 English speaking adults that will be ready for baptism if we can schedule interviews with the Assistants okay. Could be a bit of a challenge getting the baptismal clothes ready between services. We do have a washer and dryer in the flat here but they are quite a bit smaller than what we have back home and there is no hot water available in the laundry area.

We were able to stop and see Mwendwe at Sister's of Charity after our service at St. Mary's last Wednesday and she sure looked good. The Sister in charge there even thinks she will start to talk one day. I hope all the things we have been involved in have the same positive potential after our departure. With that thought I will close for this week as it is getting lighter outside and we must be about what we think is our Father's business.

Elder & Sister Bishop

Pictures 5-16-09

Macarius' baptism. Note that the water was below my knees so that my underclothes did not even get wet but the water was such that you could not see the bottom of the font.


Monica and her grandaughter Faith at her kiosk in Kilili. We generally get some vegetables and bananas from her each Tuesday when we visit there. She is the wife to the 2nd councilor in the Branch Presidency and one of our most regular English students. They are raising their grandaughter as her mom is single and lives in Nairobi.


We stopped to see Mwendwe one last time after working at St. Mary's this week. The Sisters there say she is doing great and would not be surprised if she didn't start talking one day. She sure looks a lot happier and healthier. We dropped her grandfather off at the hospital in Kioko as we came home Friday. His health seems to be failing.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Pictures 5-13-09

The new members from Mitini.



The new members from Kyambeke.



The new members from Ilima.



These 2 were also from Ilima but because of the distance they had to walk did not get
there while we were taking pictures. The 16 year old dressed in green was a delight to
teach. She is not at all timid and could answer all the questions. After this picture
she turned to me and said God bless you.



The new members from Kilili.



The Mission Prep Class from Ilima after our graduation ceremony. I made no bake
chocolate cookies and then they helped us fill out baptismal records. Stella submitted
her papers yesterday and the Chuvi brothers are still waiting on their IDs so we
can initiate passport submission.



They started drilling for water on the Kilili Project on Monday.








Weekly Update 5-13-09

Yeah you're right this late in the mission is not a good time to start a habit of missing updates. We have stayed busy since last Monday and were even terribly busy this Monday but nothing particularly noteworthy. I thought we might be able to cut our visits up-country a little shorter but everyday was just a little longer than normal last week.

On our Tuesday visit to Kilili we changed our activities for English a little and are trying to teach a few hymns, simple prayers and testimonies, and translate the Sacrament Prayers to Kikamba so that our new converts under the amnesty program will have a few more building blocks to assist in their assimilation. The majority of them have logged several years of attendance without understanding the English portion of the service and we just want to help them possibly get a little more for their efforts.

On Thursday their was a young man from Mitini who we didn't have the final clearance for baptism when we held our service on the 2nd but had since been approved and he wanted to wait no longer. I kind of had a feeling he was going to be pushing for it so had thrown in a few white clothes on our way to Kyambeke. He had celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday and just didn't want to get any older as a non-member. It had rained again there on Wednesday so the water supply was a little clogged with mud and very red but we managed to get a little water in the font and went ahead with the service. I had him sit down and hold his hands tight against his chest and was able to get him totally immersed. The water was several inches below my knees so my underclothes were still dry after getting him under.

We finished teaching Martha at Ilima on Friday but since they haven't gotten a new font since the remodel we have convinced her to wait for the service we have scheduled at Kyambeke the first saturday of June. That is when we are doing the first group of young people that the President has authorized to be interviewed in their mother tongue. We wanted to work with them to ensure that they understand everything so have a group going in each branch on the week-end so as not to conflict with school. Preliminary figures look like it will be somewhere around 30 in that group. It's a little tough to get our arms around the exact number as there are quite a few of the children who were never blessed so they weren't picked up as children of record so don't show on the membership lists. It becomes a matter of pushing the leadership and members and dates really don't mean that much to them. Not sure if I mentioned when we were working with the Kilili Mamas we just baptized but when we were filling out the records she indicated she had 12 children but when we got done there were only 11 names she had given me. When I quizzed her on the shortfall and then mentioned the name of one of her sons I had met who wasn't listed we got reviewing them and it ended up she really had 14 children. I think that is a testament to just how hard these people have to work just to subsist. I can't imagine an American Mother who works so long and hard that she would forget the effort required for 2 additional pregnancies and deliveries.

Saturday we started out in Kilili helping Judith with the young people we are teaching there and then hustled back to Kyambeke for a funeral there. Dorcas Kitumbu was a lady in her mid 40s and had been a big help in getting us started with several programs in the branch there. She had previously lost her husband and one daughter to Aids and was HIV positive herself. We had helped her get going on an anti-viral program at the Kikoko hospital and things seemed to be going great, but she got pregnant and died during the delivery. Besides the healthy new born son, she leaves Janet, a 14 year old daughter, and 2 older sons whom we had never met previous to the funeral. The local chief decreed that Fredrick and Agnes Kaseve were to take the new born orphan into their home. Agnes was a sister to Dorcas and is the new RS President of the Mitini Branch and Fredrick is the Branch President at Mitini. They are one of the families we hope to take to the Temple in June and already have 7 children of their own still living at home ranging in age from 19 to 3 besides 2 married daughters.

Sunday was our day to visit in Ilima and we met 2 more ladies who want to start missionary discussions this next Friday so it is looking more and more like we will be teaching and hopefully baptizing right up until we get on the plane to come home. Want to get as much done as we can as the President is still thinking that he is not going to assign any more missionaries to replace us. Not sure just how to interpret that. Is he trying to lay a guilt trip on us so we will stay or return soon, was this just something he assigned us because he didn't know what else to do with us, or does he think that these folks are ready to care for themselves? There probably will one day be a district and then a stake in the Kilungu Hills as I am convinced that the growth potential there has not really been tapped yet even with all the folks we have seen come into the church. Self sufficiency is probably the biggest hurdle in developing a future in all of Africa and certainly in the branches up-country. One of the real bright spots in these branches future is the missionaries that they are sending out now and will begin returning in 18 months. We picked up the luggage for Charles and Justus on Sunday and then they traveled in today by matatu and will leave for the MTC in Johannesburg tomorrow. Three more have calls and will be leaving by mid July. Stella's missionary papers went to the Area Office on Friday and there are 3 others waiting on Kenya documents so they can submit their applications. Thirteen is certainly a goodly number for these 4 branches and will really add strength to the future of the Church here.

Enough ramblings for now.
Love Elder & Sister Bishop

Monday, May 4, 2009

Weekly Update 5-4-09

Busy week and it didn't slow down any today. Just got back from FHE at the Elam's. It was a game night with Mormon Pictionary and I was reminded again of what a terrible artist I am.

Tuesday of this week we worked baptismal interviews while at Kilili. President Makiti and I spent 5 hours doing 13 candidates. This was the Kamba speaking group and so I understood very little of the responses that the Pres. was getting. Filling out the record was another challenge as the older Mamas have no idea on the majority of the dates in their lives so we did a lot of estimating. The long hours their put us back to Nairobi a little late with us missing most of the training session for senior couples at Pres. and Sis. Taylor's. We did clean out a few of the dishes left from the pot-luck supper that was held in conjunction with the training.

The rest of the couples left for a Safari in the Mara the next morning and we dropped of one couple and a bunch of luggage at the Wilson Airport on our way to the weekly service at St. Mary's. We left there a little early as I developed a terrible pain in my chest, started sweating and shaking a lot more than normal, and had a BP of 200 over 100. We have been encouraged to use the Agha Kahn Hospital should the need arise and since all the other couples were gone we decided to get across town while I still felt like driving. We spent a big chunk of the rest of the day there doing EKG, ECG, blood test and treadmill but the pain suddenly left and they assured me that whatever it was it was not heart related. My companion muttered something about substantiating my being heartless and we left.

Thursday was spent with preparing baptismal records along with our usual stuff while at Kyambeke. Then the Assistants went with us Friday and conducted interviews at Kyambeke and Ilima. We returned to Kyambeke for the baptisms on Saturday with the final count being 8 from Mitini, 7 from Kyambeke, and 11 from Ilima. Sunday was church at Kilili and then we held the baptism after in place of Priesthood and Relief Society. We had 12 convert baptisms there and one readmission baptism. Got to see some very excited happy people over those two days as many of these new members had figured they would just need to wait for the next life for this event to happen. We still have 5 good people we are working with but they all understand English pretty well. We hope to get the amnesty program for children of record initiated in all branches with culminating baptisms scheduled for the first 2 Saturdays in June.

We drove back to Kyambeke from Ilima using the river bottom route as we needed to get 4 young men from there into Nairobi to work on documents for Visas and a passport. We had several good rain showers through the week so the river bottom route was a real treat as I didn't see tire tracks that would indicate anyone else had been as foolhardy as us. A couple of the mud holes were of sufficient size to probably be hiding a vehicle or two. My companion did not enjoy the "mud bogging" nearly as much as I. Despite the lateness of the season there have been some real good rains this week so the hope is starting to rise of at least a reasonable harvest this season.

Due to the number of baptisms and our limited supply of clothes and towels my companion spent some time Saturday afternoon and evening laundering clothes to get us through the Sunday event. Then she stayed involved in the same activity all day today while I did business at the service center, paid bills at the hospital, and then assisted Stella in completing her mission paper submission. She is staying with us this evening and we will drop her at the Matatu Stand in Salama on our way to Kilili tomorrow.

Our trips up-country will not last as long this week but I will probably being doing the extra Saturday trip for the balance of the month to support the children of record who are in school once again during our weekday visits. Hope to get them up to speed so they can pass their interviews in their mother tongue before the June baptisms.

We had to cancel our 18 May Temple Trip but were able to stand up a 1 June one in its' place so are still hoping to get these two great families to Johannesburg before they send us packing. We still have 3 outstanding passports but the Area folks have agreed to consider our request for patron support with out the passport numbers but will not procure tickets without them which gives us a few weeks breathing room. Sure hard to believe that just 7 weeks from this very moment we will be winging our way to London on the first leg of our return to Idaho.

On that note I had best close for another week as I think Stella is wanting her bedroom back and I hear my bed calling me.

May the Good Lord bless and keep you. Elder & Sister Bishop