Out of the City Part V: Visiting the Kisumu Elders

Since LeRon was working with the Branch President and Branch Clerk of the Kisumu Branch, I hung out with Peter and Pauline.  Peter was planning to fix problems with missionary flats.

Here's Elder McGrath and Elder Muzwenje trying to stay cool with a fan.  It gets really hot in Kisumu.  It was only about 80 F when we were there that day but gets much hotter.  The missionaries don't get to have air conditioning but they use a lot of fans.  On the right, Peter is ready to go fix the shower.  Showers here have a heating element in the shower head (which actually works really well).  But the trouble with this one was that it was giving electric shocks to the Elders as they took showers.  They could only shower for a couple of minutes before it would shock them.  Not good.  Especially with 240 volts!  Peter fixed it.

Elder McGrath and Elder Muzwenje have been companions for three months.  They got along well, thankfully!!

Here they are showing off their mosquito nets.  But the mosquito nets had so many holes that the mosquitoes bit right through them.  Time for new nets so off we went to Nakumatt's to buy them.

President Okila, the Kisumu Branch President, lives an hour's drive from the church.  He got stuck in the mud on his way here so Elder Muzwenje is giving service by washing the president's car.  Missionaries give regular service as they see the need as part of their missionary work.

President Okila's wheels were so coated in mud that it's amazing they even turned.  Elder Muzwenje is digging out the mud.

Here are the missionaries by the entrance gate to the Kisumu church.  I'm getting used to seeing barbed wires on all gates and walls and fences.

Elder Muzwenje and Elder McGrath are standing with Sister Okila (the branch president's wife) at the entrance to the church.

Elder Muzwenje, Elder McGrath, President Okila, Sister Okila, me in my traveling clothes, and Elder Torrie who is exhausted after three hours of auditing the branch books.

The baptismal font is outside, behind the church building.  It has to be deep enough to baptize by immersion, because that is the way it's done in our church.  Jesus went down into the water and came back up, showing the way.  A ladder going up and then inside the font allows the baptismal candidates to enter and exit the font.

Now we're headed out of Kisumu.  So many colorful markets along the way.

Outdoor markets everywhere.

Pauline says most of the clothing is used.  You can probably get some good buys but I didn't try it.

Now we're headed to Busia.  Sugar cane along the way.  Most sugar cane is processed into sugar but people also cut off the bark and sell the inside as a sweet treat.  I tried it once in South America and it is very sweet.  I don't eat things like that now that I'm diabetic so I'm glad I already got to try it.