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.

WORKING IN DAR ES SALAAM

People in Dar es Salaam fine all kinds of ways to make a living.  Some are educated and do well providing for their families.  Others struggle, you will see them providing transportation for others.  Each "Bjuj" or "pikipiki" is individually owned and they charge for transport.  Some peddle products between vehicles waiting at intersections.  They peddle everything from food items, clothing and even auto maintenance supplies.  You can see them carrying the tables they use to display their products on their head until the find an open space to place their merchandise on the roadside for selling.  This fellow has a ice cream business and he rides around the open market areas selling his ice cream.  Many of the people work very hard.

OUR SISTER MISSIONARIES

These are our Sisters, left to right, Sister Mayoli and Sister Isiche, they are both from Kenya but Sister Isiche was first serving in Sierra Leone and now we have the pleasure of working with both of them.  This is their flat and we are picking them up and taking them to the airport, to fly to Nairobi for a Sisters Conference with President and Sister Hicken.  They work very well together and very hard.  Yesterday we attended their Branch and they had two confirmations.  Sister Mayoli also spoke in Sacrament Meeting and did an excellent job.  They have such strong testimonies of the gospel.  We love them.

Post Office and 1st Mail

 Macie, thank for our first letter.

This is the Post Office. 

ATTENDING CHURCH IN TANZANIA

Today we went to the Kinondoni Branch for church. This is a picture of the church building. There are four branches in Dar es Salaam. The Kinondoni Branch, the Ubungo Branch, the Changombe Branch and the Mbezi Beach Branch. We have visited all four branches and will try to rotate every week. The meetings are conducted in Swahili but when we are there, the teachers make an effort to teach some of the lessons in English going back and forth. Sometimes the hymns are sung in Swahili and sometimes in English. It is an interesting experience to sing "Praise to the Man" in Swahili.

The Kinondoni and Ubungo buildings are built and owned by the church. The buildings are quite nice and have air conditioning. The Changombe and Mbezi Beach buildings are rented with some air conditioning at Changombe but none at Mbezi Beach. In each case the spirit of the saints is strong and readily apparent in their dedication to the gospel and testimonies of the Savior and his atonement. 

Today's priesthood lesson was about Joseph Smith. The brethren bore strong testimony of the divine calling of Joseph Smith, the reality of the first vision and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The promise that the name of Joseph Smith would be heard throughout the world for good (and sometimes ill) is quite apparent in Africa. It is amazing that this young boy in up state New York is having the kind of profound impact where ever you go.