Rick and Janell's News: The Weekend

Last week we got a call from President Ojiambo. (from Busia) He asked if we could come and help answer some questions from the members there about the temple. There is a group of about 20 that are preparing to go to the temple at the end of this year. Jackie, who is a recently returned missionary and the RS President in Busia has been teaching the Temple Prep class.

Last week she mentioned in the class that when she went to the temple she had the opportunity to be proxy for her grandmother. She then mentioned how after that she had a dream where her grandmother appeared to her. Well, that set off a chain reaction with some of the members and they went to the Branch President worried that when they go to the temple then they will see spirits. It kind of freaked a few of them out! (Remember this is the Branch where on our first day visiting them we both had to address the class we were in about witch craft and curses. They are a very superstitious people.) This is the reason that President Ojiambo wanted us to attend the class and help to answer questions and dispel fears.

We decided that this weekend would be a good weekend to travel to Busia. I REALLY did not want to have another weekend of traveling (because we have been on the road each weekend for the last four weeks) but we decided rather than take the time from the Mbale branch our last few weeks of our mission that we would go this weekend. We decided to travel back to Mbale on Saturday and overnight there so we wouldn't have to pay for a hotel and just travel the 1 1/2 hours to Busia Sunday morning.

It felt good to drive the streets of Mbale and into our compound:) We sure miss it!! We met with President Etiang and gave him the chicken soup I had packed. We discovered that morning (after packing a little food for the trip) that the mission was having a special fast that night. Thus, the need to give our soup away. President was happy to receive the it and he was even going to share some with his roommate Allen.

When we got home (mbale home) we did a trial pack of some of our souvenirs that we have collected over the last five months. I have been really worried that everything was going to be too heavy in our suitcases. We are planning to leave most of our stuff here with those who need it more so we will be taking just the necessary things. We discovered that we should be just fine and should be able to get everything home as we want.

Then the power went out. This is a common thing in Mbale. Our battery kicked in and we were fine. After going to bed though, I woke up in the middle of the night with the power still off and our back up battery dead. This meant that our fan in the bedroom wasn't on and it was stifling.

I had a hard time getting back to sleep after that.

When we woke up we were still without power. I desperately needed to wash my hair but decided to pull it back for yet another day. We each took a cold shower and quickly got ready for our drive to Busia.

We had a nice time in church. It is great greeting the members and finding out how they are doing. We have one YSA from Busia, Walter who is leaving for his mission this week. President Collings is scheduled to set him apart on Wednesday. Walter is so excited to get to South Africa where he has been called to serve in the Cape Town Mission. (Hopefully all will go well. I found out today in the office that his visa is still not here:( I hope it gets here in the next few days.

The missionaries are on fire in Busia. They had six baptisms last week and they were all being confirmed on Sunday. The missionaries have a large teaching pool and are doing very well there.

Elder Phelps and I were able to be in the Temple Prep class and had some wonderful teaching opportunities. We mostly addressed the concerns that some of the members had. They didn't mention anything about seeing dead spirits but they had some genuine questions. They included what the baptisms for the dead were like. Are they all done at once or individually? How are they supposed to remember everything they learn? Why can't they talk about what goes on in the temple?

What about their spouse that has passed away? What about being sealed to parents where one is alive and one is not?

Genuine questions. It was a nice question answer period and we felt like we were able to help the members understand a little more about what to expect. After the block on our way back to Kampala we both felt happy to have helped in some small way:)

The drive back to Kampala wasn't as bad as we were anticipating. It was only a 3 1/2 hour drive. instead of the five I was expecting. When we arrived Sister Tower caught us as we were walking up to our apartment and said she had some leftover bbq chicken and rolls. That was a blessing for us to have some already prepared food. She even had some chocolate cake for us!

I sure like my companion!

This sight always amazes me.

A woman with a baby strapped to her back carrying a heavy load on her head.

Me and Mary.
She is preparing to go to the temple and be sealed to her spouse who died several years ago.

Jackie, me and Margaret

Margaret doesn't understand much English but she is so faithful.

She is also planning to attend the temple.

Me with the other Margaret.

She is the former RS President.

She is always made up so pretty.

(Unlike me with my gross hair:(

Good Morning, Kampala!

Tonight we were able to go out to dinner with the Elder and Sister Tower. They are finishing up their assignment (he works with the justice system) and will depart for home on Monday. We went to a place called The Lawns. We tried some Crocodile as an appetizer and Rick had Kudu (wild african game) for his main course. He loved it!