Hodgepodge of Missionaries and Neighbors

Hodgepodge is "a confused mixture."  Well, I wouldn't say I'm confused.  But this post has lots of different pictures.  Returning senior missionaries.  Infield junior missionaries.  Wonderful neighbors.  A new vehicle.  Art work.  A new security door.  Yes, I guess it is a hodgepodge.  A hodgepodge of photos from a very interesting mission here in the Kenya Nairobi Mission.  We love serving in the office.  We get to see and work with lots of junior and senior missionaries.  And we love where we live.  We have great neighbors.

Elder and Sister Colemere are finished their 18-month mission and are ready to depart for home.  Just one last stop to look at paintings at the Karen Blixen Coffee Shop (Tamambo's) and at Kazuri Beads.  All the women love the Kazuri Beads!  Here are Elder & Sister Colemere with Eric Mathenge, an artist who shows his work at Tamambo's.  We've given him a lot of business in the year that we've been here!  Check out his work at junglewaysoriginals.com and tell him I sent you!

Here's Elder & Sister Colemere with paintings they like.

They couldn't resist!

Rolling up the paintings to carry on the plane.

Elder Torrie looks taller than Elder Colemere but not so.

Sister Colemere and I both have a love of good art.

Torries and Colemeres

Our landlord has painted his car in vibrant colors, wouldn't you say?  He's getting ready for upcoming elections.

Elder Wood in the office for a chat with the President.

Companions Elder Akpu from Nigeria and Elder Wood from the US.

That's brotherly love . . . holding the phone to your companion's ear because his hands are full!

Here are my adopted children . . . Andrej and Anna Karin from Sweden.  We will miss them when they move back to Sweden next week.  But we're excited to move into their flat which actually has a water heater under the kitchen sink!  Yeah!!  Right now I heat up water in a "kettle" and pour it into two tubs of water, one for washing and one for rinsing.

And we were excited to get a new steel security door for our office.  But really, mice could run right in!

And we were also excited to get a new Ford truck complete with roll bars.  Elder Torrie is standing next to the passenger side, ready to open the door so I can climb in.  We're happy with the get-up-and-go this truck has.  And we've NEVER driven a Ford before!  (Grandpa Torrie would roll over in his grave).  And the nice thing too is that it is automatic.  LeRon was getting tired of riding the clutch in Nairobi traffic.

Here we are with our adopted children:  Jaku and Mariska (on left) from South Africa and Andrej and Anna Karin from Sweden.  We have enjoyed getting to know them and they don't seem to mind hanging out with us old people.  Mariska had us over for a stew cooked in a Dutch oven-type pot over coals, cooked the South African way.  It was delicious!  I made brownies for dessert and they were a hit as usual.  Both families will have moved away by the end of June and we will miss them.  They are good, Christian people.