September 6

This has been a busy month since the last post.  We have been to Nyabondo and Busia working with the people there.  Two more of our Elders were transferred out and we have gotten two Sister missionaries in.  Maybe that will help us get more women converts.

We had a woman in our branch pass away.  It was over three weeks before they got things arranged for her burial.  Her daughter is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and went for a more traditional African funeral.  They wait until all of the kin from out of town can be there.  From the time of death until the burial they have a mourning service every evening where friends and family can come comfort the family.  Of course the family is expected to feed them.  On the day of the burial they have long elaborate services followed by a big dinner which the family is expected to provide.  It creates a really big hardship for the family and they expect the Church that they belong to to help pick up the cost.  The daughter didn't want her mother to be buried in her temple robes and insisted on a white sparkly dress with what appears to be a bridal veil complete with white flowers.  We had a short service for her on Friday night here at the church house.  On Saturday they took her up country for burial.  The daughter had her parson speak and he went on for over an hour talking about her being dead now and it being too late for her to be saved.  I don't think he comforted her family much.

Sister Jorgensen and I participated in the All Africa Helping Hands Day where our church sponsors a community service day for all of the members in the African continent.  We had a good turnout and cleaned up the park.

We were invited to a senior couples conference to be held at the Lake Nakuru Lodge in the game park.
We paid for our rooms and meals in advance so we could guarantee the reservations.  We were looking forward to being with other senior couples to "compare notes" and talk about common problems we all face here in Kenya and Tanzania and to be inspired by the messages of our leaders and each other.  We would also have time to be tourists for a few hours each day.  We were supposed to leave early Saturday morning for the four hour drive so we could meet at the gate at ten a.m.  At three in the morning on Saturday I heard Sister Jorgensen crying in the bathroom.  She had gotten up to go to the bathroom and was in such pain that she could not walk.  I helped her get back to bed.  I called Elder Nevin at seven and told him we had a real problem and might not make the conference.  I told him that she might have broken one of the pins loose in her back.  We went to the emergency room in a local hospital with her saying that she didn't want to be operated on here in Kenya.  Several thousand shillings and a couple of XRAYS Later we had determined that the pins were still in place and the problem was a serious muscle spasm.  Extra strength Tylenol helped relieve her pain and she insisted on going to the conference.  We drove to the conference over some pretty rough roads and she made it without too much discomfort.  One of the senior missionaries is a doctor and he read over her report and gave her some muscle relaxing medication.

The road between here and Nakuru is under construction in several places.  They are widening it which it really needs.  It appears that they have brought in a contractor from out of country and they have a bunch of fairly new equipment.  They have put diversions in place in several places with some of them right alongside of the new roadbed that they are working on.  The big trucks have rutted it to the point that the bottom of our truck hit the ridge in the center.  I hope it has shields under the oil pan.  I should look.  We also had a twenty five kilometer diversion on another really rough road.  It looks like the road bed has been graveled with rock about the size of a tennis ball.  There are the requisite speed bumps every once in awhile too.  I don't know why since it is almost impossible to go very fast.  Twenty to thirty kilometers per hour is about it or you will shake the vehicle to pieces.  We passed three trucks that were broken down when we were going and two matatus that were broken on the way back.  You get to see some really beautiful country while driving on the diversion if you dare take your mind off from the road.  On the paved part coming down a hill on this side of Kerichio I didn't see the series of speed bumps quickly enough and hit them going about 80 kilometers per hour.  They were the smaller ones but there were four in a row.  That will sure get your attention.  The truck came off the last one rocking back and forth.

We had a really nice time at the conference and came away inspired to work harder.  The lodge was really nice except for the bed which was quite hard.  It was nice to have decent food without any Ugali in sight.  I even tried the roasted leg of lamb.  It was a buffet so we could eat all we wanted.  The only thing missing was mashed potatoes and roast beef.  Some of the dishes smacked of Indian influence and had curry and other spices in them.  I suppose that is to cater to the large number of Indian guests that they had.  Breakfast was more traditional British with sausages, fried potatoes, beans, eggs and fruits.

We rode along with another couple to see the sights and the animals.  Most of the animals were too far away for our camera to get good pictures of them.  The lions were an exception.  They obviously are used to being a tourist attraction and just hung out there within a few feet of the trucks.  I could have almost hit a couple with a broomstick.  I certainly wasn't going to open the door.  The day before several couples were watching them when the lions decided it was dinner time and attacked a cape buffalo.  They were able to video tape the stalk and the chase and the female lions bringing down and killing the buffalo.  The two males had gotten up and walked out to where the buffalo were watching them while the females worked around and came up from behind and then chased the buffalo down.  We tried to get close to some giraffes but the road didn't go close enough.  There is a strict rule  "stay on the road".  It started to rain and we decided to get back while we still could get through the mud bog at the end of the road where it merged with the main road.  In a Kenyan downpour the roads turn into a muddy trail in a hurry.   Monday morning early Elder and Sister Nevin took another couple and drove to the water falls which were running full from all of the rain.  On the way they got stuck in the mud and Elder Nevin got out and pushed.  They passed a safari truck that was really stuck.  It was down to the axles on one side.  It was going to take some work to get that one out.  They left that up to the company that runs those safari trucks and kept going.  If they had tried to pull it out they would have been stuck just as deep.

We were able to see quite a variety of antelope, some up quite close.  I would have liked to get a lot closer to the rhino to get better pictures but I would have had to get out of the truck and walk towards them and I wasn't about to do that.  We had a baboon climb into the bed of our truck but it didn't find anything there and climbed back out before we tried to drive off.  I didn't want to bring one home with me anyway.  Lake Nakuru is famous four flamingos.  We couldn't get close to them but did get close to pelicans.  I have seen a lot of pelicans and didn't particularly want to see any more.

September update, a few pictures

 children playing on a downed tree.  They love to pose for pictures and always want to see.  Typical mud huts in background.

 All Africa helping hands day in Kisumu.  Wearing the yellow shirts.  Joseph, and I don't know the names of the others.

 Shot of the group getting ready to go to work.  A lot more than this showed up.  About 72

 Joseph, Sister and Elder Jorgensen.  Don't we look stylish?

 Working hard

 Girls like to work too.  Wonder where the boys are right now!

 Even the more "senior" sister in the work force.

Yes, I can push a wheelbarrow.   President Okila's son

Stacking rock for the construction project for a new building in our circle.  All of these rocks were hauled in ten wheel trucks and tossed off the trucks by hand.  They used a tape measure and carefully stacked the rock in piles.  Later they brought in several more loads of grey rock and tossed this pile over onto the other one and piled grey rock here instead which they also stacked very carefully with a tape measure.  Now they are out there with hammers and chisels  making sure the rocks are square.  They mixed and poured concrete with a motor powered cement mixer and hauled it in buckets and wheelbarrows to pour it in the trenches that they had dug with picks and shovels.  Labor is cheap

 The globe that marks the Equator on the road to Busia.  We finally stopped and took a picture on the equator.

 Elder Olsen on his transfer day.  We will miss him.

 Elder Jackson on his transfer day.  Another of our "Boys" going away. 
The upper picture is of a group of children from Nyabondo.  We tried to teach them the song "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam"  They just didn't seem to get it.  Later we learned that they don't speak English, just Lou, President Obama's family language.

Sister Jorgensen and a Maasai posing for pictures.  Note the sign.  This patio is just off the outside dining area where we ate lunch on Sunday.

 Lake Nakuru game park.  There are baboons and monkeys everywhere.  We were warned to keep the windows up or they will jump in the vehicle looking for food.  We were going to a Senior Couples Conference here.

 Those aren't Angus cows we are looking at!  A herd of cape buffalo

 Just come on over here, I dare you.  This old boy was giving us the once over.  No, I didn't try to get closer

Some of his friends grazing away.

 Baboons in trees.  These weren't very friendly and climbed up when I stopped to take their picture.  Another troop didn't want to get out of the road and we had to drive around them.

 Singers welcoming us to supper at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.

 View from our Patio on Sunday morning.

 Baboon going down our walk.

 Lake Nakuru Lodge from the backside.

 Is that a water buffalo or something?  He was taking it easy just over the fence from the dining room of the lodge.

 Monkey eating berries.  He just wouldn't turn and look at us.

 Rhinos and zebras.  We couldn't get closer to them.  A lot of the animals were just too far away to get pictures with our camera.

 Just go fast and you can make it through!  We did too.  Mud flying.  Monday morning another couple got stuck a little farther down the road.  Everyone get out and push!

 Can't shoot me.  Nanner nanner.

 A lady posing for the camera.  Just don't open the door.  I could almost reach her with a broomstick.

 OK just get out of the car and come a little closer!  I won't bite you very hard, I promise.

 A big rhino.  He got tired of us and trotted away.  His horn is really long.

Right next to the road.  Wasn't scared of us or anything.  Went right back to grazing after I snapped this picture.

Another antelope of some kind.  There were a bunch of them grazing alongside the road

 Turn your head this way monkey.  It never did but just walked off

 Part of our group at supper on Saturday night.  Elder and Sister Hall.  Yes, he is tall.

 President Broadbent next to Sister Jorgensen with more of our group.

A picture of the acres of tea plantations on the hills going to Kerichio.  There are thousands of acres of tea on the hills around here.  We passed a group of white cabins with red tiled roofs that are used to house the tea plantation workers.  They brought mechanical pickers in over by Eldoret and about had riots when they put people out of a job picking tea leaves.  They went back to hand picking.