Group photo of another senior missionary leaving us at the completion of their mission. 

Things in the Central Africa Area continue to be busy and exciting. Our senior missionary group changes as our missionary friends complete their mission and go home and others come to join us. We found out that we will have a missionary couple join us in January. They are from Arco, Idaho and Sister Holloway knew her as a child when she lived in Mackay, Idaho. They will be serving as Family History missionaries. We find the senior missionaries bring a wealth of experience and skills that are very valuable. There are areas here that lack  skills to do what needs to be done. That is why the senior missionaries are so valuable.

We attended our Area Office Christmas devotional on Friday. The African employees all dressed in traditional African clothing. It was colorful and fun to see the variety of colors and dress. Many wore traditional clothing from their villages. They had an area office choir that they put together. Sister Holloway played her flute to accompany the choir. We are learning that there is some musical talent here, but it is still a developing area. Sister Holloway has been helping to teach piano lessons with the goal of getting piano players for the local congregations. We just heard that the narrator for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Derrick Porter, will be in Nairobi the end of January to lay the foundation for a Kenyan choir to record a number to be broadcast on the Spoken Word. We are excited to be a part of that.

Our days are busy talking with missionaries. Some have had some traumatic experiences. We talked with two missionaries who were attacked and assaulted. One had his nose broken. We also talked with other missionaries who came upon a man who had been beheaded. Some of the countries let local citizens handle the punishment for law breakers. Some of the stories we hear sound like the wild wild west of early America. We find we are safe in Nairobi as long as we stay in the safe areas. We have a walking path we do every day and wave to several of the Africans who are kind and friendly. Most are happy even though they live a very humble lifestyle with very few luxuries.

We are grateful to be here and serve. We miss our friends and family, but we feel we are needed and are part of a great work in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.