Life Goes On

I'm running out of catchy titles.  Mission life goes on . . .   Our lives are marching on too.  We celebrated both our birthdays and our wedding anniversary in the past two weeks.  We celebrated 42 years of "laughter and tears" and LeRon turned 64 today and I turned 65 last week.  Yes, I'm a year older than him!  Sometimes I really feel it!  To celebrate our special days we . . . ta da! . . . worked in the mission office!  Had Japanese food one day (delicious) and Chinese food one day (not so good) and we probably will have dinner tonight at the mission home with the missionaries who are here for the monthly MLC (Mission Leader Council).

 

Always interesting to see the road construction here.  So much is done by hand.  They place these large rocks where they don't want you to drive and they're all placed by hand.  This is fresh tar and if you can believe it, I've seen people walking on it and it's wet and yucky.  They put the rocks here because if they only had "do not drive" signs, the matatu (small bus) drivers would certainly drive there.

Sister Msane and I love our cleaning girl, Cecilia.  She is the best cleaner ever.  She washes everything in sight . . . even the chair that I sit on (and then when I sit, I'm wet for a while!)  She washes pictures, walls, floorboards, windows . . . everything.  We have the cleanest office in town.  And we never have to tell her anything; she just automatically does it.  She's great.  She wants me to take her back to Canada with me. Her life here is not so easy.

Last Sunday we drove to Naivasha so LeRon could audit the branch books and do some financial training with the branch president and branch clerk.  I love the drive to Naivasha.  So rural.  I love these flat acacia trees.  They say "Africa" to me.

We picked up the Naivasha elders at their flat -- Elder Call and Elder Odhiambo.

This is another African tree that I love -- a cactus tree.  It's growing right next to the Naivasha chapel.  So I had to get a picture of Elder Call and Elder Odhiambo beside the cactus tree.

I'm finally in the picture too with a young branch member and Elder Odhiambo and Elder Call.

And this is the front of the chapel.  The matatu has a flat tire so is stopped right in front of our chapel.

Then home again and over to our neighbor's for a visit.  They have a brand-new baby.  L-R: Dr. Shrikant, Pooja (the mom), Pooja's mother (holding the new baby boy, Vivan) and Pooja's father.  In front is their son Hash.

This is the cutest little baby.  Pooja's parents are here from India for three months.  I would drive my kids crazy if I moved in with them for three months!

Pooja's mom was married at 17 (an arranged marriage) and she had Pooja at age 18.  She looks so young because she IS young!  And look at that darling little boy.  My babies had lots of hair but not this much.

Now LeRon and I are both in the picture with Pooja and her parents and her children.  Both Pooja and Shrikant and also Pooja's parents had arranged marriages.  But they don't have to marry unless they want to.  They said arranged marriages are still the thing in India.  It looks like it was two very happy arranged marriages.  And there are not as many divorces there as there are in the west.

Got a phone call from the Assistants that a bus had backed into their truck -- which was actually our truck because we had switched trucks for the day with the Assistants.

Two unhappy missionaries.  Elder Hales says that is the third time a matatu or bus has hit him.  He and Elder Ellis were not happy campers.

I bought some Kazuri beads for my birthday.  They're such pretty things.  And I'm not much of a jewelry person.

I can't get over the floppy necks of the cows here.

Interesting street scene.

What would happen if there were a herd of cattle at a round-about in the middle of Calgary?  There are many herds of cattle here eating whatever grass or other vegetation they can find.  More herds than normal.  It's getting very dry outside of Nairobi and people are starting to get alarmed.  The short rains last fall came late and too little.  The long rains haven't started yet and are forecast to be later and shorter than usual.  I hope there won't be too much suffering upcountry.

Elder Dancan, Elder Pavik, Elder Ngabonziza, Elder Musonda just chilling at the mission office.

Today at the Mission Home, Elder Torrie played "Happy Birthday" as we sang to him and to Elder Rasmussen (who is just to LeRon's left).  Elder Pavik in front.

Then Sister Msane sang "Happy Birthday" in Zulu to Elder Rasmussen and Elder Torrie.