My Kind of P-Day

We had a great P-day yesterday.  We had it on Tuesday rather than Monday because on Monday we had meetings scheduled in Busia.  We met with Brother Makau, from Kenya, who came to teach some members of the Branch about the PEF program and how it is used.  Many have tried to access the PEF funds but have had trouble doing so.  This was a very educational meeting for us as well as all those in attendance.  The Perpetual Education Fund is an inspired program and can really be a help to those living in poverty trying to better their lives.

Anyway....back to P-Day.....

We started out the day with our exercise.  We usually walk (Elder Phelps jogs) a loop around our neighborhood (senior quarters).  Our neighborhood is very nice, and even though we walk mostly on dirt roads we pass by many people on our route.  We see many of the same people each day and always give them a "good morning" and a "how are you?"  I feel very safe in our neighborhood!  This week school has started back up for the children.  They have been on break now for two months so it is fun to see all of the children in their different uniforms (depending on their school) walking to school.  Many even hop on the back of a Boda....but most of them walk:)

After our exercise we had a "plan out the week" discussion and synced our calendars for the week.  We've got a great one planned!

After our planning session we both took some time studying in the scriptures.  President Etiang has challenged the Branch to read the Book of Mormon in three months so after just getting to Abinidi teaching King Noah and the wicked priests I turned back to page one and started over!  

Before showering for the day I knew I wanted to make some banana bread for the week. 

(Four loaves:)  These loaves come in handy when we are out visiting people.  I love to give away something sweet when I can.  While I was baking we had some laundry being done so it was a "get your laundry clean day" as well.

After getting ready for the day we had the dreaded task of grocery shopping.  This is something I don't love.  The grocery stores are so dirty and full of people.  Everything I touch has a fine layer of dust on it.  But we were able to get it done quickly, and then we headed over to the Mbale Central Market to get our fruits and vegetables.  I like to get in and out of there as quickly as possible so we split up, each with our assigned food to buy.  Potatoes, mangos, papaya, cucumbers, carrots, manjaya, apples, onions and tomatoes.  We had already picked up some pineapples from a street vendor:)

After dropping off our goods we drove over to Mt. Elgon Hotel.  While Rick played in the pool I got a massage and then joined him afterwards.  The water was cold but it felt good to be in a swimming suit enjoying the pool!

After some time in the pool I laid on a nice chair a read a couple chapters in "Kisses From Kate".  I received this book from by brother in law Hal just before coming to Uganda.  It is a story of an eighteen year old girl who comes to Uganda for a few weeks on a humanitarian trip and then decides after she graduates to come back and LIVE here to help with the school.  She ends up eventually adopting thirteen children and becoming a young single mother to them.  She felt like it was a calling from God and has made a difference in many lives in the Jinja area.

I don't have much time for casual reading so thus I am only about halfway through the book.  Most of that was on my sick day a few weeks ago:)  Reading is something I miss while being a missionary so I was thankful to get a few pages in yesterday!

Around 5:00 we decided to order some dinner and they set up a nice table in the shade next to the pool.  We had a wonderful dinner watching the sun go down.

Rick had the szechwan chicken and I had chicken and vegetable skewers!

We talked of going home to pop some popcorn and download a movie to watch but as I started to figure out how to do that (we have never downloaded a movie before) a knock came on our door and it was Francis coming to tell us about the good lesson he and Geoffrey had just taught.  It was about 8:00 and I knew Francis hadn't eaten so I heated up some leftover spaghetti for him for dinner and Rick drove him to the railroad tracks so he could be a little closer to home.  Francis lives very far and he had walked much throughout the day.  He still had at least thirty minutes from that point.

As they were getting ready to go we had another knock on our door.  (hardly anyone comes to visit us and we had two knocks in one night!)  This time it was Mirembe and Judith.  They were in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.  Judith tried to send her children to school on Monday but they were sent home because the fees were not paid in full.  She was trying to meet with a doctor that she has done some work for and owes her money.  She was hoping to get paid.  That was why she was in our neighborhood.  It didn't work because he wasn't there.  As we got to talking about her plight I let her know up front that Elder Phelps and I would not be able to help her.  It is just not allowed.  She is a single mother and it is very difficult for her.  Despite her hardship she recognizes that if she pays her tithing and has faith that God will take care of her.  

We had a nice visit and I shared some banana bread with them to take home....(see, it comes in handy)    When Elder Phelps returned we took them back to their residence and by the time we got back it was time for bed!  So, no movie but all in all we got a lot accomplished and had a wonderful P-Day!!