August 20-21, 2011

Saturday August 20th

Wonderful, fun and helpful, that is what our day was today. We picked up the Kymbeke Elders at 10:00 and drove over to Watchua Market where we got involved with the Branch project for “Helping Hand in Africa”. All wards and branches were to pick a community service project and include all the community to get involved. The kyambeke Branch chose to help with the building of the medical clinic in that area.

The government said they would furnish the cement but all the bricks had to be made, transferred, baked and transferred again to the building site. The sand stone bricks were made down by the river and left for two weeks to dry. On Saturday we helped get the bricks to the upper hill. We made a long, long line and handed them upward toward the pile that was being made to burn a fire kept for two weeks.

The spirit was wonderful. We needed to leave a little early and go the the second project by the Ilima Branch. We arrived late so they were all but finished. They had a great turn out and had chosen to clean walls and floors of the medical building there. The medical administrator/ doctor took me on a tour of the building. She was concerned and asked me to take off my shoes because it was so clean. The clinic was very primitive but she was very proud. She said most of the beds (3) and supplies had been donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She paid a great tribute to the church and was very thankful.

You can see that the sisters dressed me up for cleaning with a head wrap and lasso for my waist. They made their brooms with bush and tree limbs tied to a stick with coarse rope.

The day was just wonderful. We arrived home for a shower (oh how I miss a hot bath) and went to another wonderful hotel to have dinner. The food was quite American and very fancy (the waiter placed your napkin on your lap and the place setting included 11 pieces of silverware). You could never eat like this in Utah for $35 including tip. Oh they had a live band too.

August 21, Sunday

Today we went to Ilima for sacrament meeting. So darn cold I wish I would have had gloves and a parka. These little children without coats or shoes were just smiling. Two little girls came and sat by me. One just kept looking at me and patted my hands. Then she would copy everything that I did. She was really intrigued with my finger nails and kept rubbing them. They are so adorable. There was a little boy who was quite cross-eyed and mentally challenged. His name is Bob and he just loved my small Primary Children’s Song Book. Partaking of the Sacrament is always wonderful but in Kenya it is just so humbling to me. What a blessing.