Elder and Sister Holloway

Hello and Merry Christmas. We have completed 6 months of our mission and are enjoying the African experience of being around exotic animal. December is our wedding anniversary month, so we celebrated by going to a lodge a few hours away from us. The unique thing about the lodge is that it is also a game reserve. There are over 70 zebras and about 17 giraffes that wander freely on the grounds. The hippos come out of the water at night, but they close a gate to keep them away from the guests. Apparently, Hippos are dangerous and they like to keep the guests away from them. We were able to walk freely among the herds of zebras, giraffes, and other animals. We took a boat ride to an island and were able to walk freely on the island with several other exotic animals. It was an experience that I never dreamed we would be able to experience. We also took a drive through Nairobi National Park which is only a 10-minute drive from our apartment. We saw a large male lion by the side of the road as well as several other animals. We will post several animal photos. We are aware that the pictures do not do justice to the experience of watching a giraffe walk by when you are about 20 feet away.

Sister Holloway finished the keyboard class that she has been teaching with others. It was a long 6-month class but there were several students who completed the class and they had a recital. It was rewarding to watch the students perform. Everyone that completed the class earned a keyboard. The hope is that they can develop their piano skills so they can accompany in church meetings. The next phase is to turn it over to the three stakes in Nairobi so they are responsible for managing it with the support of the senior missionaries.

It was a quiet Christmas for us. We had a Christmas Eve brunch with the senior missionaries and a gift exchange. Christmas day we spent with the senior missionaries from the Nairobi East Mission. We had dinner at a restaurant and visited with some senior missionaries that we don’t see very often. We were able to video call family which made it feel more like Christmas.