January 9-17, 2012

We have been to the immigration office with Deacons 2 times and we still do not have our work permit and Visa renewed. We are concerned and had hoped it would be taken care of by now. We keep praying the paper work will surface and also praying that we won’t be pulled over and asked to show our Visa. The legal work here is extremely slow as they use no computers and their filing system is packed in large boxes and on top of their office desks.

We have been traveling 8 days in a row and it has been draining but also rewarding. All of the branch primaries have had their second Auxiliary Training. Next month I will do Relief Society Training. Bruce has Melchizedek Training at the same time. We are finishing up our teacher improvement class in most branches and starting over in some. I’d like all the primary teachers to come to that class. Along with keyboard and teacher improvement, we are starting another class “Family Class”. It will include a wide variety of topics but we are really opening it up to include non-member; “Strong Families create Strong Communities and make a Stronger Kenya”.

Saturday we had another baptism in Ilima, a sweet young mother who had lost her baby just 1-month prior. Her husband baptized her. Her name is Faith and she was shy but very happy.

Monday we went again to the far side of the Mitini Branch, an area called Matua. Two years ago there were many people baptized there. Papa John is one of the family heads and invited us up to come to a gathering. He had invited neighbors, friends and family to come and meet together and hear more about the Gospel and have some beans and chipatis. We went early and they taught me how to make chipatis (fried flat bread) and it was so fun. The younger mothers know how to speak English and that helped. It was just a beautiful day and a great spirit. We sang songs and had a spiritual thought by the missionaries. Bruce hit his head climbing up the hills but he is fine. Tuesday we went to Kilili and worked with the Kellems, (the missionary couple over employment) as they showed the members and non-members ways to preserve food. They also discussed ways to be self-reliant. It was Bruce’s Birthday today and he said it was just a great day until we hit that big traffic jam up by the mission home. I was so tired of being in the truck that I asked him if I could just start to walk and he could pick me us. Twenty-two minutes later I was all the way to the apartment, locked out. I just sat outside and waited for him. The walk was really refreshing but I was sorry that he had to wait out the traffic mess.

Making chapatis is a lot of work but they sure love them.

Primary Training

Our Teacher Improvement/Training Class in Kyambeke

Dad loves these little ones

Sister Bernice from the Kyambeke branch at her shop with the donkeys