Here is an update of our missionary life in Nairobi, Kenya. When we arrived, we were put in a temporary housing unit called Dorothy Park. We knew it was temporary, so we approached it that way. It was older and the hot water in the shower was either cold or very hot. A few weeks ago, they moved us into a newer housing complex called Trident Estates. We are now settled in and find it quite nice. Compared to the apartment we lived in the Philippines, this is much larger and nicer. In the Philippines we had no running water in the kitchen, no clothes dryer, and very small rooms. Here we have a large spacious rooms and a decent view from our balcony. The water in the shower is now a comfortable temperature. It took a few days of cold showers here before the maintenance workers figured out the problem. They use solar energy to help heat the water. The solar panels and the water storage units are on the roof. When they installed the units, they mixed up our unit with another unit. When we turned on the water control for our unit, it was heating another apartment. Fortunately, they got that corrected. The electricity tends to go out frequently here, so the Area Office has installed emergency back-up units for each senior missionary apartment. We are now getting stocked up on the basic supplies of food, hygiene supplies, and cleaning supplies.

We are currently doing most of our meetings with missionaries from our home. We have an office set up in one of the spare rooms.  We travel into the Area Office a few times a week for devotionals or other meetings, but otherwise we are at home. We are covering 15 missions in 8 different countries that cover three time zones and two languages. Sometimes we have to meet with missionaries late into the evening. It is nice to be at home when we need to do that. We do have several other senior missionary couples in our apartment complex. They do have scheduled social activities so we do have contact with others. Senior missionaries are great at scheduling time to get together and eat.

 The Africa Central Area was created in 2020 and is still fairly new. The Area Office is in a rented building, and they are in the process of building a new building next to the current location that will house all offices and activities. It should be done in 6 months or so. Within walking distance of the Area office is the Galleria Mall which has most things that we need. They do have some American staples such as a Pizza Hut, Subway, and KFC which seems to be a favorite of many senior couples and the President Mutumbo who is the Area President. We have found a good variety of restaurants with very good food for a reasonable price. Senior Missionaries seems to find the best places to eat. Many restaurants have very good milk shakes, which is a pleasant treat. Near our apartment complex are also small local stores where we are able to get vegetables, fruit, eggs and cashew nuts, chocolate bars. and ice cream bars.

Driving here is a challenge. The British were the original colonizers of Kenya so the country adopted the British style of driving on the left side of the road. The steering wheel is on the left and everything is opposite of what we are used to. When I look out of the rear-view mirror, which is on my left, my brain seems to rebel and say -  This is not correct. When I reach for the turn signal it is on the opposite side which is where the wiper level is. So, when we turn, I instinctly reach for the turn signal on the left which then turns on the wipers. The traffic laws are ignored by most drivers and most of the roads in town are very narrow and unmaintained. There is always a sense of panic because we have motorcycles heading straight for us in our lane and cars, trucks, and busses moving in and out at will with no predictability. It is an adventure and has been terrifying at times.

The people are very polite and courteous. Despite not having much in the way of material goods, they are generally a happy people. The church is growing fast. We talked with another senior missionary couple who are meeting in a ward. They do not have a meetinghouse, so they meet under a large circus tent. In the DRC they are creating a new Stake about every six months. In the DRC, the church would like to have the missionaries serve outside of the country, but the visa process is so bogged down with government red tape that getting approval to have the DRC missionaries leave the country is difficult. Some missions in the DRC have close to 250 missionaries which is about 90 to 100 more missionaries than the average. It is a huge challenge for mission leaders.  

We arrived here in the wintertime. Kenya is at an elevation of 5800 feet. Although we are very close to the equator, it has been very pleasant and even cold at times. The high temperatures have been in the low to mid 70’s with the lows in the mid to upper 50’s. It should be warming up in the next few weeks, but we still will have high temperatures in the mid 80’s. The apartments have no built in heat or air conditioning. The Area Office has given us a space heater and fans. So far, we have been very comfortable. The church branch we attend is at an elevation of 6500 feet so it is colder that in Nairobi. The doors are left open and there is no heating unit so it can be quite cold for church meetings.  

We appreciate all the support and love from our friends and family. We miss you and think of you often. We feel confident we were sent her because of our past experience in the Philippines. We are needed here. We hope and pray we can meet the needs of the missionaries and mission leader we serve with .