May 9, 2008
Friday

What a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky afternoon… I will call today RC Willey Day, as we had an outing specifically to select an upholstered couch and 2 chairs for the apartment. Although that is quite an antiseptic experience when living in Granite Bay, it is altogether different when living in Kampala! Fred met us at the mission office, along with Elder and Sister Nye to embark on our 3-truck/van caravan to acquire furniture. We drove east on Jinja Road, past the mission office, and pulled over beside the road where stuffed couches and chairs were displayed. Not only were they displayed there, they were constructed on-the-spot. I watched square pieces of foam being cut with a knife, and spotted the black treadle sewing machine in the back corner of the plank-constructed, open-air building. The Nyes and we played Princess and the Pea by sitting in each of the 25 or so couches and chairs perched on the concrete floor. We found the style we thought would be best, and requested that they be made out of a fabric that was a little more subdued than the bright yellow shiny fabric currently wrapped around the one on the floor. Fred learned that we could have said couch and 2 chairs, along with 2 pillows for 2 million shillings – ready for pick up next Tuesday!

We followed that errand by picking up 2 “wickers” (3-shelf unit made of wicker – very British/Indian, indeed) that were beings stored in the mission home, and then one more stop on the side of Gaba Road where all manner of wooden furniture was constructed and lined up in the red dirt for purchase! We chose 3 small shelves for 110 thousand shillings, and then we were off.

After unloading the new stuff, we were able to spend a little time eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (we won’t starve here), while visiting with Fred and Sam, who are now 30 and 32, respectively. They grew up in the same area in Jinja, and both investigated the church at the same time. They joined the church around the age of 14, along with 6 other young men. They talked of the great branch president who oversaw those young men, all of whom went on to serve missions at the age of 19. They observed that the influence of one fine young men’s leader (in their case, it was their branch president), can be so powerful that it can lead to 8 converts fulfilling missions at the same time. It is no different in the United States – it is a universal principle!

During lunch, Fred dazzled us with stories of cobras, mambas, flying pythons, and pythons so large that they could swallow a human being. After seeing the look on my face, Fred then reassured me that even people as old and ancient as his mother have never seen them in their lifetime (subsequently, I learned that his mom is 51…my age!!!!). I would have felt more reassured that people as old and really ancient as his great grandmother have never seen them in their lifetime. His stories also included man-eating stories of lions, tigers, stampeding elephants...again, reassuring me that they never enter Kampala city limits! When we related stories of mountain climbing in California, such as Mount Whitney, they were surprised that we hiked without guards or guns…weren’t we afraid of bears or rebels?!

Sam was very interested to know that we know President Boucher, as he served under him when he was a missionary in Kenya.

Now they are unloaded, filled with “stuff”, and we are preparing for our evening.