Nairobi, Kenya Trip - MLS Couples Conference

Can I just say this was a great trip!!  We arrived in Nairobi in the late afternoon just about the same time as another MLS Couple from Mwanza, Tanzania.  Upon on arrival we were greeted by Elder Shakespeare and Elder Horner. Elder and Sister Shakespeare are serving as LDS Humanitarian missionaries and Elder and Sister Horner are serving as MLS missionaries but they are serving in Kenya.  They took us to the flat where we would be staying with some of the other MLS couples and three of the couples who serve in the mission office.  When we got there, we were greeted by Elder and Sister Banks who also serve in Tanzania in a city called Arusha.  In total  there are  5 MLS couples in the mission right now.  Three serving in Tanzania and two serving in Kenya.   That evening the couples from the office had a spaghetti dinner for us and we just had a good time getting to know each other.  On Wednesday morning we were up and ready to go to the mission office for our MLS Conference with the Mission President and his wife.  It was a wonderful meeting full of instruction, inspiration, sharing of experiences and the love we all had for those we are serving.  We soon learned that we all were serving where we were supposed to be and that each was having a totally different experience even though we were all assigned as MLS missionaries.
That night we ordered pizza and continued to share.  The next morning we got to see more of Nairobi, it started early in the morning at Nairobi National Park for a game dive.  We started early enough that we were able to see this beautiful sunrise.

We saw many of the animals not the least of which was a big baboon!!!!!!!!

There were Cape buffalo.

                     The giraffe were graceful as always!!!!!!!
                         This looks like a whole family having

                                            breakfast together!

                               

   

            Zebras

  with their families!

                                Then of course, the overly friendly big baboon! 
                                 

But that is a story for another day.

SCHOOL HAS NEED FOR WATER

President John Mwingira, 2nd Counselor in the District Presidency, took us to a village where the Church has a water project. Water for homes and buildings is stored in large tanks. However, this village does not have city water. The Church installed the tank and a system of eaves troughs to gather water.

The eaves trough runs along the side of the roof and into a pipe that drains the water into the storage tank. It is a rather effective system if it rains. To supplement this, the Church will be drilling a well around the back of the school and pump water into the tank. Readily available water is a great blessing to the students and teachers.

The school is a public high school with about 1000 students. It is very crowded. In Tanzania, the students wear uniforms. They go to school quite early in the morning. This is one of the classrooms. We met two students working on problems from an English chemistry book. The surroundings are humble and the materials they have are rudimentary and in short supply.

In one of the classrooms, we saw a English lesson written on the caulk board. All students learn English. In general, the young people speak English better than the adults.

This will be our second  Transfer 

Transfers can be challenging.  When you work so closely with each other you are almost a small family.  They all are of one purpose.  They all love the Lord and are here to serve.  

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA DISTRICT

Elders Nkhoma, Ojjogolo, Eveson, Emannuel, Steed, Lopeyoke

Sisters Mayoli and Isiche

TRAFFIC IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

Traffic is an amazing thing here in Dar es Salaam.  There is no way you can predict how long it will take you to get from one place to another.  Because the traffic is always unpredictable.  If you are stopped at an intersection people will walk between cars to try to sell you things.  Pikipiki drivers drive between rows of cars to get ahead of everyone.  Vehicles will go off the road to get around any number of cars and then cut in, in front of someone who has been waiting even longer.  It is amazing what you might see when sitting in these long lines waiting for an opportunity to move.  

We watched this guy for quite a while.  He had plastic bags he was hanging on the side of the truck from the valves that release the gas.  He would than empty it into a large water container.  If the truck would move he would jump on the back of the truck and ride until it stopped again.  We found out when we mentioned this to a friend, that it was okay.  The trucks are coming back from "up country" where they empty their load.  While heading back to reload these guys just empty out the tank the rest of the way before the truck can refill.

    ROADSIDE BUSINESSES      
ROADSIDE NURSERIES - these just pop up all over the city.   

There are a thousand different businesses all over the city.  They sell everything from food to auto supplies.  Sometimes they have fresh fruit and vegetables and at other times they are cooking food to sell.  They sell all kinds of clothing and you can see people trying things on over their clothes.  There is a Marketplace like this about 2 km from our house it is called Mwenge Market.  They have artists, wood carvers, jewelry makers, fabric stores, hardware stores, etc.    They are great traps for tourists.  Artists with a touch of everything.  You should see what they can make with coconut shells.

This lady is on her way to set up her table to display
her merchandise.  There are thousands of businesses like her's.  Her's located at
UNBUNGO JUNCTION.

YOUR LOCAL FRIENDLY FULL SERVICE CAR CENTER.

ONE OF MANY NEIGHBORHOOD CAR WASH CENTERS.

           KENYA NIAROBI MISSION TOUR - TANZANIA

                                      THIS IS OUR GROUP, 4 SENIOR COUPLES
                                                10 ELDERS AND 2 SISTERS.
                                PRESIDENT AND SISTER HICKEN - middle left
                                    ELDER AND SISTER ELLIS - middle right
We had a wonderful conference.  The spirit was strong and their presentations were outstanding.  They just seem to know everything that we needed to hear.  It was inspiring, uplifting and more.  We love our missionaries, they work hard and they love the Lord. 

RAINS IN AFRICA

 This is the rainy season in Tanzania. When it rains, it is often torrential, pouring heavily and constantly. Recently, it rained continually for three days nearly all day and night. The water began to build behind out compound.

 The water flowed into this area from the nearby streets. The local drainage system is not capable of handling this amount of water particularly with the garbage on the streets that plugs the drains. The water continued to build.

 The landlord had build a new section of wall behind our house. He built the new wall in front of the old wall intending to take it down later. As the water rose, it washed away the old wall.

 We noticed that the water was now running under the foundation of the new wall which had not been dug deep enough. We informed the landlord that we were concerned that the new wall would collapse also. Suddenly in the later afternoon we heard a loud crash. Immediately I said to Sister Wilson, "The new wall has fallen." I went outside and saw half the wall gone.

Here we see all that is remaining of the poorly constructed foundation of the new wall. The rest is in the rushing water. As Toto sings, it does rain in Africa.