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
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