This is the Khamisi Charo Family. They are in the Bamburi Branch. They have decorated their home for Christmas, what a fun family!!! We have been helping them obtain Birth Certificates for 2 reasons: 1. All the children now need them for school & 2. They will need them to go to the temple. It has taken us the entire month of January to finish them. We have 1 more day left in January, I hope we can help them finish it tomorrow.
This is Elder Scott & Salome Charo. She is 3 yrs old. She likes Elder Scott because he gives her lollypops & rides in the truck from her house to the well. Of course she sits on the console between the seats which she thinks is just for her!!!
Daniel & Herbert from Changamwe Branch concentrating on the keyboard. Sister Scott is giving them lessons each week & plan on at least one concert pianist before we leave!!!
This is a Scout Troop in Bombolulu. It is at an Orphanage. The leader is Jackson. The Elders are teaching him the gospel, but he already is very Christ-like taking care of all these boys & teaching them good life skills. They just need a little work on the salute!!
Downtown Mombasa was getting a new paint job on the "Zebra Crossing" as they call it. I say" good on ya " for staying in the lines free handed.
We pass this fruit stand many days. I think he's rather creative in the display of his produce.
These are the "Honey Ladies" They are actually located in the Kerio Valley. We always stop there & get Honey for either members or ourselves. They put it in whiskey bottles or anything they can find. I tell them I'll only buy it in Ribena Bottles, then I bring it home, boil it, & strain it, then it is ready for human consumption. One time the entire bee was inside the bottle. Elder Scott is trying to get them to smile. I think he suceeded!!
During our walk one day, we spotted some new blooms. We don't know what they are called, but they are gorgeous right now. The flowers here are spectacular. That's one thing that Africa does in royal style & that's the flowers. So many different species & so beautiful!!
The highlight of the month was a visit from our Mission President & his wife ( the Broadbents) & Elder & Sister Cook from Johannesburg. What a delight to have them with us in Mombasa for Mission Tour. Elder Cook is actually from Plain City & grew up on 4700 West. They are now assigned to Johannesburg until they get re-assigned. They have 5 children, 4 married, 13 grandchildren under 6 yrs old. What I personally learned from him was he has a scripture reference for everything. He was just like having Gospel Link without the Internet Hookup. I told him that his talk in General Conference was so good that if I was Sherrie Dew, I'd have fridge magnets with "Look Up, Cheer Up & Stand Up" on them selling them in Deseret Book all over the country. He chuckled at that!!
We took them to Akamba Carvers here in Mombasa. We have some members of the church who do the carving, so it was extra special for them to meet Elder Cook at their work. Here we are in the Giraffe section. We so enjoyed the time we spent with both the Broadbents & the Cooks. A journal entry day!!
Welcome February!! We had our windshield replaced in our vehicle. They couldn't scratch off the inspection sticker, so o o o they cut it out of our old windshield & taped it on our new one!!! Makes sense to me, which is scary!! This worked until the sun melted the tape, now it is resting quietly on our dashboard. Hope the police can see it as we pass them until May when it is renewed.
Mirrors are very few, so these children had a fun time seeing their reflections in our shiny truck bumper. You can always find children looking at themselves in the hubcaps or bumpers. (They usually have "pieces" of mirrors, but not the whole mirror)
The children are Pres Makazi's plus a neighbor or two, they have been busy creating a toy. Very creative. When these parents say "Go out & Play" the children find anything available & make their own toys!!
The popular game in Mombasa. We see men playing checkers everywhere. They use bottle caps. Some of the competition is intense. There is usually a crowd that gathers watching the strategy.
Just had to "throw in" another picture at the Port of Mombasa. This is a car hauler. They are the biggest ships we see. The boat behind is the Pilot Boat. Just Mombasa Port Captains can manuever in & out of the port because there is a reef on either side. When it has passed a certain point, then the ship's own Captain can continue sailing, so the Pilot Boat is kept busy with ships coming & going in the harbor.
On the road in the Bamburi Branch. Another herd of skinny cows. It seems the road is for everything but vehicles here!!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! We celebrated at DDM ( District Development Meeting) Elder Mloyi ( from Zimbabwe) wanted a picture of a Heart Cake. We have really enjoyed him in our Zone. He will probably be transferred in March & we will miss him. He wanted to finish school before mission, so he is 25 yrs old, but when he returns to Zim, he will already have a job teaching school. Such a good man, we are delighted to have met him.
Relief Society Training at our flat. We planned the year of activities. Introduced having an activity in March to celebrate R.S. Birthday (It was new to them) From Left to Right, seated is Tina, Victoria, & Phoebe, Standing Lto R is Eva, Jael, Patience, Me, Florence & Irene. ( I'll talk more about each in the journal) We had a fun time. We served them Spaghetti & Coleslaw. Jael didn't like the spaghetti, said it was " bitta", but liked Strawberry Shortcake with Ice Cream!!
Looking down on the docks below our flat, we see this man brushing his teeth every morning. He has a new toothbrush today, one that will last him a while because it's a tall as me. He frays out the end of the stick & works good for him, I suppose. However, I haven't seen his dental bills!!
