6 Months...Are You Sure?

Often, when talking with Africans, they will respond to a statement with the comment "are you sure."  I thought it was appropriate for my stating that we have officially hit six months on our mission today.  Since we started our mission six months ago, we had the first senior couple come to our mission.  However, we have had seven couples leave our mission since we arrived in Uganda.  President Chatfield stated that senior couples coming on missions is down 25 percent over the past few months.  The youth have stepped up to create the largest missionary force in the history of the Church.  Why haven't the senior couples felt the same desire I wonder.  Pets, grandchildren, your home, aging parents, finances, I am sure there are many reasons but it seems that with the baby boomers coming of senior couple age there would be a corresponding increase in senior couples.  You don't know what you are missing seniors!  Every day is an adventure no matter where you go in this wonderful world.  We were blessed that our mission would go fast and I can tell you that President Peterson got it right.  It is flying by but some days sure do take their sweet time getting finished.  I know we and our family are being blessed while we are in Africa.

Elder Russell M Nelson stated:  "No senior missionary finds it convenient to leave. Neither did Joseph or Brigham or John or Wilford. They had children and grandchildren too. They loved their families not one whit less, but they also loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him. Someday we may meet these stalwarts who helped to establish this dispensation. Then will we rejoice that we did not seek the shadows when a call to missionary service came from the prophet, even in the autumn years of our lives."

Or perhaps Robert D Hales: "My brothers and sisters, if you have felt stirrings to engage in this work, however quiet those feelings may be, do not procrastinate the day of your service. Now is the time to prepare; now is the time to be called, the time to sacrifice. Now is the time to share your gifts and talents, and now is the time to receive God’s blessings for you and your family. “There is a constant need for more couple missionaries,”

This was a training week as we got two new missionaries and then we had 14 missionaries that originated from Uganda come back home to finish their missions.  What a blessing that will be for us to have so many new missionaries. We have opened new areas and finally President Chatfield has a full complement of missionaries that he is allotted.  It is such a blessing to be surrounded by young men and women who are willing to sacrifice either two years or 18 months to teach about the restoration of the Saviors church to the earth.  We love them!

We were going to go to Sipi Falls this weekend but doctor appointments for missionaries and all the training just kind of made it impossible to go.  We feel bad because the Grundy's (another senior couple) will be leaving this coming week and they are in Mbale and we would have stayed with them. Now every senior missionary home that is vacant will be filled with missionaries to manage the influx of new missionaries.  Crazy!

We had a car break down with a flat tire outside our apartment. I had just finished my walk and was able to help him when he had no jack and his spare tire was flat.  It was nice to be able to help and it is wonderful to see that all the walking I do is really paying off. :)

 Cute girl waiting in vehicle while we went and got the tire fixed.  He was a school bus driver.

These next photos are all from the balcony of our branch meetinghouse.  There is commerce everywhere in Africa.  Here you can buy pans and the round red and metal colored objects are the stoves they use to cook most meals here in Africa.  They cook outside their homes using charcoal.

 Clothing

 Mattress

Beds, shelves etc.

 Metal products

 And a wood shop where they build beds and other wood items.

This was the first time I had seen chickens on top of a taxi.  I guess it is just being prepared in case they get a flat tire and get hungry.

Just so you know how nice health care is in the USA, here we have an elder getting a treatment with boxes of files and a broken chair in the corner. Elder Lipengah is our Sickle Cell Elder and his companion is Elder Bergout from Fruit Heights.  Friends with our niece, Krystal Gallacher!

This is the sweet waiting area/dining area Sister Squire is taking advantage of.

OK, the sweet girl in orange is Tessa from Provo, Utah and Katie is standing next to her.  Both have been here all summer and Tessa was assigned to work in the primary with Sister Squire.  Both Tessa and Katie have done a tremendous job and we will really miss them.  Tessa's parents were here today to pick her up and head to Kenya for a safari.  Katie, the other girl is on safari this week in Uganda and will leave next week as well.  She has been teaching in Young Women.  We will miss them both even though we only saw them on Sundays.  Tessa's mom works in the Primary in Provo and had a video of the primary kids singing, "I am a Child of God" and "I Love to see the Temple."  They made a nice poster and showed the primary kids the video of them singing.  In turn, our kids were videoed singing the same two songs and they will get to see these African Primary children singing when Tessa and Family get back to Utah.

Here are the videos if you care to see our kids singing the songs.  The Branch has around 10 kids but we get lots of kids that come with their friends or just off the street.  We had 22 children this last Sunday. 

Finally, here is the random photo this week.  The bodaboda drivers are so cold here in Uganda.  They are all bundled up in coats and ski hats.  It is cool in the low 60's but I love it.  Here is one in a nice fur coat.

Not good enough, well OK, one more.  This is not my picture but it does get me excited for when a couple of our girls come to visit in November and we go to see some of the elephants.  If only we can be so lucky!