Typical Day in Kenya

Dear Eric,

One of our typical activities is driving the young Elders to see their investigators
and to visit branch members. We have the only transportation(a Nissan pickup) and
the people we have to see are so widely scattered that it is the only feasible way.
We may drive 5 to 10 miles on a tarmac road, turn off on a dirt road for a mile, turn
off onto a track with bushes scraping the sides of the pickup, barely making it through mud puddles, finally getting out and walking a hundred yards and there is a mud hut where the Relief Society President lives!

She welcomes us, obviously very pleased with our visit, and invites us inside her home. Inside it is very dark and often quite hot, especially if the hut has a metal roof. She has a low table covered with a cloth she has embroidered, surrounded by a wooden couch and a couple of wooden chairs. She prepares a cup of hot cocoa for us as we watch the chickens come and go through the open door. All the children in the neighborhood gather around to see the visiting "wazungus"(white people) and want to shake our hands. A cow wanders past the door.

We discuss the gospel with her, perhaps giving a lesson to her daughter-in-law who is
visiting and is not a member of the church. She asks one of us to leave a blessing on her home, which we are glad to do. We part with many hand shakes and smiles and with tears in our eyes, stunned by her humble circumstances and her strong testimony and absolute dedication to the gospel. She walks two hours to get to church every week. That is two hours to church and another two hours back home! As we drive away we feel shame at the knowledge that if our circumstances were reversed we would probably not even be active members. Who is actually teaching the gospel here, she or us?

Thought you might appreciate this perspective.

Love, Dad and Mom

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What You Don't Know (about me) Can't Hurt You

I got tagged by Naiah, and am pleased to tell you five things that you may not know about me.

1. This is recent. I have just completed the Carnegie Course which is an intense 12 week training course in Human Relations and Effective Communication. At the final class, there was a vote at the end for which student was the best example of the Carnegie Principles. There was about 40 people in the class, and I won the award. I have come to believe that there are similarities between Carnegie principles and Christ-like character. This is the most meaningful award that I have ever received. When the results of the voting were announced I openly wept. I had not entertained any thought that I would win.

2. When I was in the fourth grade I may have been the best athlete my age in town. When I was in ninth grade, I couldn’t make my school sports teams. I had early dreams of being a professional athlete, and had those dreams crushed at a young age, and in an instant. This continues to be a downer on my self esteem.

3. I was voted the most outstanding music student in my high school. I received a small scholarship as the best music/academic student at Madison High School. I turned down a music scholarship to Utah State and went on my mission first. I later decided music was not going to be my career choice. I was a heck of a high school saxophone player.

4. I raised pigeons when I was young. I got the pigeons by sneaking out of the house at 2 in the morning and going to nearby barns and commercial buildings. I did this because at night you can shine a flashlight on a pigeon and it will just sit there. You can then pick it up and put it in a sack. My parents never knew until I told them several years later. It’s 2 a.m., do you know where your kids are?

5. I met my wife at Ricks College, and we got married in Colorado. On our way to the wedding, our car broke down in the middle of Wyoming. We had to hitch-hike to get to our wedding. We then had to return all our wedding gifts to pay for the repairs.

I would now like to tag Bradley, Bookslinger, and Tyler.

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Baseball Grandma

We once visited my grandparents in Blackfoot Idaho on a beautiful sunny day. I was about 9 years old. I got a little bored and decided to snoop around. In their shed I found a baseball bat and a ball, so I decided to play with them in the back yard. I would toss the ball up a few feet in the air and try to hit it. After a while I decided that what I really wanted to do was practice hitting a pitched ball. All I needed was a pitcher.

I asked my father, and he told me that he was busy visiting, and the answer was no. My mother gave a similar answer, as did my grandfather. I made these requests quite frequently, and often had positive results - just not this time. I then decided to ask grandma.


At this time my grandmother was probably around 70 years old. I really didn't know much, or understand much, about arthritis and osteoporosis. I just wanted someone to pitch to me. I asked grandma and she said okay.

We went outside and played. She pitched and I hit. She would then chase down the ball - sort of, and we would do it all again. After a while, if I remember this right, my parents came out and put an end to our arrangement. I received a mild scolding about begging grandma to play with me, which I may well have done.

It was not long after this that my grandmother's health got worse. This was inevitable. For the last several years of her life she couldn't get around very much. She spent her final years in what I imagine were constant discomfort and pain. I think of he sometimes, and I am much more likely to remember times like when grandmother and I played baseball together, than about the crumpled up woman in a wheelchair who could hardly move.

How do you want to be remembered? I think it may be good advice to treat others in the way you want them to remember you by. If you do this you will have a positive influence on all those around you that will bless your life and theirs.

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Kenya: Getting Started

My parents have arrived safe and sound in Kenya and sent the following email:

Dear Family,
Sorry for the delay in replying. We have not yet gotten our computer
connected to the phone line. The line had been disconnected and we are
having a problem getting it connected again. We are using a friend's
computer now. We will get back to you again as soon as we are connected.
All is going well and we are meeting some very interesting people and
seeing much that is strange.
Talk to you later.
Love, Mom and Dad

Sounds like a typical mission so far.

I also got this picture from the mission president (who happens to be quite familiar with LDS blogs). In the picture we have:

From left to right, President Gabriel Kandawala (Sikhendu Branch), Elder Nielson, Edward Ndung'u (son of Kitale Branch president), and President Martin Ndung'u. President Ndung'u had just presented your father with the hat he's wearing, to protect him from the sun.

My dad seems quite happy, which makes sense. He likes hats.

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