Update from the African Bush

Dear Family:

We are back at home after a long day with a water expert that we requested through Church headquarters in Salt Lake. Elder Garth Green and his wife Wendy are from Cedar City, Utah. They are called short term specialists. They live at home and only become active when someone requests them. He owns several plumbing supply companies in Utah. We have quite a few water projects in several districts, so he is here for 10 days to give us advice on bore holes, shallow wells, spring wells, and deep wells. See I even know the lingo. We have had them out in the various villages and districts looking at some of the possible clean water projects that we want to do here.

We were in a village in the Kumuli district a few days ago. It was a beautiful drive to get there. It had rained all that morning and the field and tall grass that we were hiking through were very wet. I asked the man from the village who was leading the way to this water source, if there were any snakes in this grass. His answer was “oh yes”. I said, “what kind” and he said, “Cobras”. I said, “I am sorry I asked.” The water source was very dirty and had water lilies and algae, along with bugs growing on the surface. The man from the village told us that 8 or 9 people a month die of water related diseases in their village. We then met with the Chief of the village and some of the village elders and talked with them regarding their water problems. This all still seems unreal to me. There we were , four senior Mormon missionaries, sitting outside in an African village, around a primitive table with a thatched hut in the background, and part of the village looking on and we were discussing the village’s water problems with an African chief. It felt like we were in a movie.
Anyway just a little update on what is going on here.

We are enjoying the Greens and they have brought us many goodies from America. We have chocolate orange sticks, mixed nuts, raisins, Vienna sausage, deviled ham and all kinds of candy. His wife brought little tablet like candies to give to the little kids and they love it. She also brought stickers and some baby clothes. They will be leaving on Sunday to go to Kenya to assist and give advice to the humanitarian couple there. We might request them again after we have gotten underway here. This is the couple who went to Brazil about six years ago to pick up their missionary son and Elder Green and his son were shot by a gang of guys who forced them off the road and used a rapid fire handgun and shot elder Green in both arms and his son in the stomach. Elder Green was driving and just pressed on the accelerator and took off and the gunmen fired many shots into the car. Sister Green was on the floor in the back seat and did not get shot. It got a lot of international press coverage and they were flown home in the Huntsman airplane (President Hinckley'’s jet). It was quite a story. We saw the wounds on elder Green’s arms. His son is now married and doing well, but what a scary missionary story.

I have changed quite a bit with the white hair and such. I tell Ron, it is not white it is platinum blonde. We are both well and are really enjoying this unique mission. October general conference should be interesting. You will have to let us know the news regarding the new member of the twelve. We will be watching last April’s conference at the district meeting house, since we cannot get the current one . We are always one conference behind.

Our new apartment is now ready to move in to. The Moore’s, who lived next door to us, have already moved and we are alone in the compound. We still have the guard, but it does seem lonely here. We are used to looking out for the Moore’s and they would watch out for us. We checked on one another when we thought it was a little late and our cars were not parked where they should be. Since we have had the Greens here, we have not had the time to pack and arrange to have our stuff moved. Since we are on the top floor of the new apartments, it will be a hard move, hauling things up. We are without a washing machine and I have had the hard task of washing things by hand. We do have a washing machine in the new apartment, but it is not connected yet.
Next week, Tuesday to be exact, all the senior missionaries in this mission are going on safari to a place called Murchison Falls. It is a big game park. The mission president and his wife are going and the couple in Ethiopia is flying here to also attend. We will be traveling by caravan in our trucks to Murchison Falls and it is about a full days travel north from Kampala, so it is quite a distance. The Moore’s went last year and said it is spectacular. We are staying at a very nice lodge and the guides take you out twice a day to see the animals. I will tell you more about this trip after we return. We will be gone for four days. In case anyone thinks this comes out of a church fund and they are paying for it, it does not. Each couple will be paying their own way. I am excited about this.

Also honey, you mentioned that we should get our computer cameras set up and arrange for a family conference. We have been so busy planning for visitors, having visitors, planning to move and arranging our schedule for this trip, and doing other projects, that we have not done this. We really want to do it, but will wait until we return from our trip and are moved into our apartment. Your idea about asking for help from the young missionaries is a good one and we will do so.

We were so pleased about Ryan’s mission call. We called to talk with him, but he was not there and Torri told us the exciting news. We looked McAllen, Texas up on the map and it really is a border town. You could put your toe in Mexico from there. We were thrilled that he will go to the MTC’s language training classes and learn Spanish. This should be a very exciting mission. He is a great young man and is setting a good example for his little brother and his cousins to follow.

We miss our families, friends and all the wonderful things about the United States, but Africa is pretty exciting. Love to you all.