Missionary Rules

Always great to be with the young missionaries!  These 18-26 year olds put their normal lives on hold for two years, leaving family, friends, and everything familiar.  They email home once a week and phone home twice a year on Christmas Day and Mother's Day.  On their mission, each commits to live by very strict rules.  No dating.  No phone calls to girls.  No reading except for the scriptures and a few other approved religious writings.  No watching movies.  They commit to focus completely on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Missionaries are up at 6:30 a.m. to exercise, study the scriptures and prepare for the day.  They proselyte for about 10 hours per day, which means that they contact people and invite them to learn more about Jesus Christ.  They teach lessons.  They give service.  They work hard for 6 days a week.  On Pday (Preparation Day), they wash their clothes in a big tub of water and hang them to dry.  They grocery shop and clean house.  They iron clothes.  Then by the late afternoon, Pday is over and they are back to proselying then bed at 10 p.m.

The missionary work of the church is a miracle in that it works and the gospel is being spread throughout the world.  As of the end of 2016, there were 70,046 full time missionaries with 33,695 part-time missionaries.  (So exciting to know that LeRon and I are part of that over 70,000 missionaries!)  There are 421 missions worldwide and nearly 16 million members.  It is truly a "marvelous work and a wonder."

Elder McIntyre is finally back in Kenya after having served in Tanzania ever since he came on mission.  Good to see him again!  And then there's Elder Kyomya and Elder Jameson.  They were all in the mission office for a while today.  Nice to visit with these good missionaries.

Elder McIntyre and Elder Jameson.  Sometimes I get them mixed up and I'm not sure why.

Elder Mwashi (on right) is the newly assigned Assistant to the President, along with Elder Ellis (on left).  Elder Ellis has served in this capacity since March.

Elder Ang'ila was released from his mission last week.  We were at his ward on Sunday and there he was with his lovely mother.  So good to see him again!

Coming and Going -- Releases and Arrivals

All missionaries are glad to be back at work after more than 10 days in their flats due to Kenya national elections.  Thankfully it has been fairly peaceful.  Still very sad for those who lost their lives. Even one death is too many.  Hopefully right will prevail and corruption will be left in the dust.  If Christians would act like Christians and others act also in accordance with their beliefs, there could indeed be peace on earth.

It's been a very crazy couple of days with missionaries being released, new missionaries coming, and missionaries being transferred to other areas.  We now have 92 missionaries and by September will have 98 covering two countries.  That's a lot of missionaries to take care of and President and Sister Msane are doing a great job.  Elder Torrie and I are glad to be part of it.  We've had several late nights (as in midnight) and then early mornings (as in 6 a.m.) but we're still happy that we were called to this mission.  It has been the best thing for us.

Now on to some pictures.  I may not get all the captions put on tonight since it is late and I still have to get my Primary lesson and the music ready for tomorrow.  So I'll post this and edit it later.  Just checked the video and I can't get it to play.  I'll have LeRon work on it.  He's in bed now so I'll ask him tomorrow. . . . Found that the video was too large to post.  We found a free program that allows us to snip out parts of the video to shorten it.  But it has a watermark across it from time to time.  Sorry about that.  That's what happens when you get something for free.  But it's still fun to hear the missionaries sing their hearts out.

By the way, I don't have a lot of pictures of four of the new missionaries -- Elder Wilde, Elder Latta, Elder Konyana, and Elder Bigirindavyi.  They had a bit of trouble at the airport and so didn't get in to the mission home until well after midnight Thursday night.  The officials didn't want to let Elder Bigirindavyi in.  Luckily (or rather blessedly) I had just received his Work Permit that afternoon and I was able to send it to President Msane's phone and after he showed it to the authorities they reluctantly let him in.  More problems followed but thankfully, Elder Bigirindavyi is in his area now working as missionaries do.

These Elders have served for 2 years and the Sisters for 18 months.  We will miss them!  Elder Ang'ila, Sister Omo, Sister Njoroge (Judy -- there are two Sister Njoroge's), Sister Maina, and Elder Apuoyo.  "Well done, thou good and faithful servants!"

Trying to figure out which mission T-shirt fits the best.  Hard to decide.

Mission accomplished.  They've each found a T-shirt and here they are with their mission plaques which have been carved and painted by hand by a former missionary, Elder Musasia.  That made it an even nicer farewell gift as all these missionaries served with Elder Musasia.

Sister Msane is a lovely, caring, and warm person.  She has a great sense of humor.  Likes to laugh and so do I so we have a great time together.  The missionaries love her a lot and so do we.

Now here are President and Sister Msane with the missionaries who will go home tomorrow.  They are all from Kenya so don't have far to go.  All but Elder Apuoyo (in white shirt) will live in Nairobi but they have served in other areas of Kenya.  Elder Apuoyo is going home to Kisumu.

Elder Hales (on right) has served as Assistant to the President for 11 months.  He now has a new assignment in Kilungu where he will be until his release in September.  Elder Ellis (on left) will have a new companion and he and his companion will serve as Assistants to the President.  Elder Torrie and I are lucky that we get to work closely with the Assistants also.  They come into the office regularly so we have gotten to know them well.  We will totally miss Elder Hales and his cute laugh!

There were lots of missionaries at the mission home on Thursday.  Here's Elder Carter, Elder Carlson, and Elder Wilson.

Elder Wood is here for transfers.  He has served in Kilungu for many months and now he'll be off to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.  Good thing he's learned so much Swahili because Tanzania is much less English speaking.  Elder Limu is here with Elder Wood (blue tie).

Elder Mbaya (on left) is a new missionary from Democratic Republic of Congo.  He is French speaking.  He also speaks his mother tongue plus French plus Swahili (Congolese version anyway) and now he is learning English.  Elder Limu is on right.

Elder Wood and Elder Limu

New missionaries Elder Mbaya and Elder Mukengela both from DR Congo.  They are both learning English.  Pretty hard when you're in a noisy room with everyone speaking English so fast.  Reminded me of my brother going to France on his mission many years ago.  He probably experienced the same thing these missionaries are experiencing.

Elder Mukengela from DR Congo.  The church is building a temple in DR Congo and it will be such a blessing for the members there.

Elder Hales has been such a great help at these gatherings, not only because he is one of the Assistants, but because he likes to help.  He's always doing dishes and cleaning up.

Elder Bandi (on left) was a new missionary last transfer.  Elder Merritt (on right) is being transferred to Mwanza in Tanzania.  He will no longer be coming into Nairobi on a regular basis for MLC and we will really miss him.

Elder Musonda and Elder Odhiambo.  Elder Torrie and I took Elder Musonda (and his companion Elder Egbert) on a couple of excursions (Giraffe Center, Elephant Orphanage) and we took Elder Odhiambo to Nakuru National Park with his companion Elder Noel.  Nice to have gotten to know these great Elders.  Elder Odhiambo's name is pronounced "oh-thee-awe-mboe."  In Swahili a "d" is pronounced like a "th".  Elder Musonda is from Zambia and Elder Odhiambo is from Kenya.

Elder Merritt and Elder Thompson.  We were all singing together and it was great!  Elder Thompson loves to sing.  He also likes to give himself a very short hair cut!

Here are Elder Merritt and Elder Thompson singing away.

Elder Hales has always been an instigator for our evening sing-alongs.  He loves to sing with all the missionaries and Elder Torrie is more than happy to provide accompaniment.  The spirit is strong when the missionaries sing the hymns of Zion.

Elder Soita, Elder Wilson, Elder Ellis, Elder Carlson, Elder Carter

Elder Torrie concentrating on his playing (which is unusual because he never has to concentrate.  He plays everything by ear and it just flows).  Actually I just snapped the picture at an awkward moment.  Elder Wood and Elder Limu on Elder Torrie's right.

Elder Wood and Elder Limu

Elder Bandi, Elder Musonda, Elder Odhiambo with Elder Merritt in back.

Sister Mathole with new Sister Mbaki (from DR Congo), Elder Gimeyi, new Elder Mbaya (from DR Congo).

Sister Mathole will be training new Sister Mbaki.

These sisters will be serving in Tanzania.  They will be great!

Elder Gimeyi

Elder Merritt (on left) with Elder Thompson on right.  Elder Bandi jumped into the middle and they all squished together so they could see the words in the Primary Children's Songbook.

Elder Soita (on left) will be going home next transfer.  Will miss him!  Next is our fellow Canadian, Elder Wilson, then Elder Ellis with Elder Carlson behind.

Elder Carlson, Elder Carter, Elder Wood, Elder Limu

Elder Gimeyi, Elder Odhiambo, Elder Mbaya.  Many (but not all) African missionaries are converts to the church and never had the chance to go through the Primary program (for ages 3-11) so the Primary songs are new to them.

Don't tell Sister Msane that Elder Wilson and Elder Carlson are using her iron to iron their shirts.  (Somebody used her iron once and ruined it!)  I told these Elders to be VERY careful!

You missionary moms should be proud of your sons -- they know how to iron!  Elder Wilson and Elder Carlson did great jobs!

It's Elder Carlson's turn now to use the iron.  Good job!

Fun to see Elder Noel on his knees in the kitchen.  The cupboard door had fallen off and like the good man he is, he's fixing it!  Nice to have a handyman around!

Elder Noel agrees with Elder Torrie that building standards here in Kenya are just not up to snuff.

Good job, Elder Noel!!!  The door works now.  Don't anyone use it!!

Fun picture of President and Sister Msane with the new missionaries:  Elder Mukengela (from DR Congo), Elder Konyana (from South Africa), Elder Latta (from Alberta Canada -- yeah!!), Elder Mbaya (from DR Congo), Elder Wilde (from US), Elder Bigirindavyi (from South Africa), Sister Mbaki (from DR Congo)

Try pronouncing Elder Bigirindavyi's name.  It works if you say it fast with the emphasis on the second last syllable:  "beeg-ir-een-dav-ee"  Fun to say.  Almost as much fun as Elder Mortezazadeh!  Love that name.  Again, accent is on the second last syllable.

Fun!!  

Now here are President and Sister Msane with all of the new arrivals and their trainers.  President Msane has a great laugh!

Back L-R:  Elder Thompson with new Elder Bigirindavyi; Elder Musonda with new Elder Latta; Elder Mbaya with trainer Elder Carlson, new Elder Wilde with trainer Elder Gimeyi; Elder Wilson with new Elder Mukengela.  On left of the Msanes:  Elder Elliott with new Elder Konyana.  On right of Msanes:  Sister Mathole with new Sister Mbaki.

Hmn. . . Do you think these trainers are serious enough to train the new missionaries?  I'm sure they are.  Good to have fun too.  Missionary work is hard work but it's also fun.  If not fun, then very satisfying.

Elder Wambua, Elder Hales, Elder Soita, Elder Ellis, Elder Mwashi, Elder Noel.

Elder Ellis and Elder Mwashi are now the Assistants to the President.  Elder Wambua, Elder Hales, and Elder Noel will be going on to new assignments tomorrow.  We love these Elders!!

Waiting Calmly in our Flats

All missionaries in Kenya are waiting calmly in our flats for the furor over elections to be over.  We have been "sheltering in place" since last Sunday afternoon.  Elder Torrie and I are lucky that we have such a nice place to shelter in.  Our compound, besides being a tropical paradise, is very secure.  Of course we can't go out the gates and into the street.  So we have taken time these last few days to get caught up on all sorts of projects besides our usual scripture study -- laundry, house cleaning, blog posts, baking bread, emails, reading books, watching movies (yes, seniors can read books and watch movies -- unlike the junior missionaries), exercising, visiting our neighbors, family history. 

Our neighbor, Faye (center), popped over with her sister Bethany who is visiting from England.  Whoops.  Faye's eyes are closed.  LeRon didn't notice when he took the picture -- he's got old age vision like me.

Now Faye's eyes are open.  These two photos show the difference between using the flash and not.  The pictures always look better on the camera without the flash but they are definitely better on the computer screen with the flash.  We enjoyed our visit with Bethany.  She is a lovely girl who is finishing her high school in England.  Both Faye and Bethany were born in England of an English father and a Ugandan mother.

On our ramble in our compound today we saw this 30-foot tall hibiscus tree.  I grew a hibiscus once INSIDE our house.  It grew to be 3 feet tall and then it died.

So many lovely flowers and trees here.

And huge poinsettia trees too!

No, it's not Christmas time but it IS winter here.  At home we grow poinsettias in little pots.

I'm 5 foot 3 inches tall so you can see how tall this poinsettia tree is.

And under the trees is a tomato plant with tiny tomatoes.  Yummy.  That's one thing I love about my garden back home.  Love those tomatoes.  Store bought tomatoes just don't taste the same.

This tall bush has very soft, velvety leaves.

Hibiscus among the poinsettias.

We feel like we live in southern California here in our compound.  Love the palm trees.

James, the handyman here, said we should take some of these seeds home and plant them.  I wonder what they would think of our freezing weather.  But people here think it's freezing here too.  Today LeRon and I have on our long legged underwear and our sweaters and mine is a wool one.  It is very chilly.  The kids here often wear winter coats, complete with furry hoods.

Isn't this gorgeous?  Three different colors of whatever these things are.  They must be three different stages of growth.

Can't get over how gorgeous these fat footed palm trees are.

Prince and I found that you can "make music" by thumping rhythmically on the trunk.  It sounds almost hollow.

Me with our tree-hugging African grandchildren.

The kids love to grab my camera and take pictures.

This evergreen tree is interesting.  (But then again, almost all the trees are evergreen since they don't lose their leaves very often).  This tree looks like a coniferous tree back home and yet not.

Prince and I are examining the soft needles.

They don't feel like our evergreens back home.  So soft.

Joy and Prince like to pick them off the tree and play with them. 

Prince says they are like snakes.

And here's some new growth.

Francis, our landlord, has planted a grouping of bamboo.  The vivid yellow and green is striking.

Here are LeRon and Joy in the grove of bamboo.

Lots of new shoots are growing here too.

Here's Joy next to the tall new shoot.  We're going to check it out next week and see how much it's grown.

This compound is a good place for kids.  Lots of room to ride their bikes.  A trampoline.  A swimming pool.  Plants and trees.  And their parents know they can't get lost because there are walls around it and guards at the gate which is the only entrance/exit point.

The swimming pool was being re-done for the past three months but it is finally finished, along with a new note about needing supervision.  Note the "polite notice."  We see that everywhere.  People here really are very polite.

We live in a tropical paradise!!!