First Part of February

Started off the month with a quick trip to Nairobi. We needed to get some things for the open house we are planning later in the month and also wanted to attend the farewell dinner and evening for Elder and Sister Nevin. The countryside on the way there is really turning brown and looking dead again. 

It is so interesting how it changes through the wet and dry seasons. 

This really is the same spot now vs. back in Nov.

The “Big Rains” as they call them here will start in March and April so we are close to the end of the dry season.

We had a great time at the farewell for the Nevins. 

They have been the office couple for the mission for almost 2 years. They were so much help to us when we first came to the mission. They are the couple that brought us down to Arusha when we first came.

The trip home was great. At the border we met the man that considers himself a friend of Pres. Taylor (Bill Taylor from Osgood). We got his name and email. We want to put him in touch with Pres. Taylor if we can. Pres. & Sister Taylor were the Mission President and wife before Pres. Broadbent. We arrived back in Arusha about 5:00.

Wow, Our 47th Wedding Anniversary --  in Arusha, Tanzania, Africa.

What a dream come true. We love being missionaries and love being together.

We had heard that Elders were sometimes real crazy. And we have had some crazy ones here in Arusha. But skydiving while on a mission. 

Really I think that is going too far. 

They weren’t really skydiving onto our roof. But it sure looks like it here. Even standing on the wall 6 stories up is pretty scary.

We have the missionaries over every Monday night for a meal and FHE and have really enjoyed them. They all bring something to the area here. They really have to be strong to serve here in Arusha. They do not receive any language training at the MTC so it is up to them to pick it up on their own. They really do a good job. We have one Elder here that has only been out 6 months and he can carry on a conversation like he was a native. They walk everywhere they go (or catch a Dola Dola, the little minivan buses that run all over town) so meeting their deadlines and appointments takes a lot of planning.

We visited some members that were having some problems this week. We don’t like to go by ourselves as we do not speak well enough to understand what the problem really is. We took the 1st Counselor in the B.P. with us. He’s the one that is a Masaai. We really saw how strong he is in the gospel. We have seen him get an assignment to teach only 5 minutes before class when a teacher does not show up and he really does a great job. They still have a hard time with the idea that there needs to be a regular teacher called and set apart. So quite often the teaching assignment is given at the beginning of the day. But to see him work with a member one on one to resolve a problem was absolutely great. He really has a strong testimony and can work with the spirit so well.

We had one of our Elders go home on the 8th (the one on the right).

So now they are functioning as a 3 some.

On the 10th we flew to Mwanza for our support visit there.

As usual we had a great time. On Sat. Elder R. spent time with the Branch Pres. & Clerk on some financial stuff and Siser R. did some activities with the YSA there in Mwanza. They really have an active group.

The Branch Pres. has 3 children getting ready to serve missions. Because they were unable to be baptized until the church opened a branch there last March, they couldn’t go until they had been members for 1 year. So now all 3 have their paperwork going and will soon be out.

We stayed at the same hotel where we went the first time and it was great. 

We had a room on the 3rd floor so we really had a beautiful view.

Then on Sunday we attended church there and the meeting was just as great as the last time we attended. They really are a strong branch.

Couldn’t resist taking a photo of this little member.

Then on Monday we flew home.

Spent the rest of the week getting ready for our Missionary Open House. We’ll tell you about that in the next blog.

It’s hard to believe but we are at the mid point in our mission. The 16th will mark 9 months out. We can hardly believe it. At first it seemed like we didn’t have a lot to do and now we are in panic mode thinking we won’t be able to get everything done that we want to do. We are really trying to get a temple trip planned so that we can go with the members before we leave the mission. The process for that here in Africa is very lengthy. Usually takes 7 to 8 months. A lot of the problem is record keeping here. Very few have certificates or any other documentation. So they have to apply at the local government offices and that process takes a long time (not to mention the cost). So we hope we can get a few ready at least. This will probably be a once in a lifetime for them.