Hello Family and Friends:
Well to start with I better wish my Mom a happy birthday. Her birthday was yesterday and we called her on skype and wished her a happy birthday. This was the first time we had used skype since we arrived. It didn’t work all that well. The connection in the house is not that good. If we try it again we will go to my office and see if it works better there.
Margaret has arrived and has started work. Maybe she will write an update to keep you all informed about her adventure of “Teaching in Africa”. So far I think she is enjoying it but she has only taught one day.
Work has been a challenge. There have been problems the last two weeks and both plants have been struggling to make soda ash. So maybe I sent out the letter with the atta-boy too soon. I may be coming home in a few weeks.
So there is some more exciting news. Last Saturday night I got a text that said “Am President Suchi, will u be at Langata I need to see you”. To which I sent a text back saying “Yes. I will be there”. Should have gone inactive last week!!!! President Suchi is the Stake President. I have been called as the new Branch President of the Langata Branch. Don’t know if I’m ready for this or not. They are going to split the branch very quickly. The process began by calling me, next they will call the President of the Rangai Branch, find facilities and separate the two groups. So next week I will be sustained and start organizing the branch. It will be an interesting experience to say the least. I’ll keep you all posted as the work progresses. I’m sure I’ll need a lot of inspiration, so remember me in your prayers.
This is already late, so I’ll send it out now without adding much more. Hug all my grandkids and tell them grandpa (Mike) loves them.
Shena, how was my baby in STG. Did she like the attention last weekend?
Love you all,
Paul/dad
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sun 1/23/2011 10:18 AM
Hello Family and Friends:
Weeks go by pretty fast, and for those of you keeping track, it’s been one year since I left. When I arrived and began looking forward to two years, I didn’t know if I would make it. The transition was pretty tough; being alone and without anything to do but work. There were times I was ready to throw in the sponge and head home. So I guess I’m at least half way done unless I sign up for another year (which I haven’t done yet).
So to start with, they branch was not reorganized today, was delayed until next week. Something about not being sure about the new branch president or something. Ok, that wasn’t the reason, not sure what it was other than the Stake President wasn’t able to come to Langata and take care of the business. So next week will be the big day. Both branches will continue to meet together until the Rangai Branch finds a meeting place. About 70% of the members live in Rangai so attendance will be pretty slim in Langata for a while. We are closer to Rongai also but they asked us to continue attending Langata. I guess my job will be to have someone trained to take over as Branch President once I leave. I compare what is going on at church to what is going on at work. There have been many people from the Green River plant come to Kenya and many from Kenya visit Green River with the purpose of exchanging best practices. Same thing is going on in Langata, hopefully I can add to what they already do well and those who served missions in the US and other countries left those things done well here in Kenya. Just re read this- hope you understand it. All are made better by sharing best practices.
Work is back on the mend I hope, there were a few good days and less bad days this week. So I hope the trend continues with more and more good days and fewer and fewer bad days.
It has been interesting with Margaret here. It is a challenge with three adults and one car. Debi has become the designated driver. We need to get a bumper sticker that says “Mom’s Taxi” for her car. I ride my bike to work so I’m not too dependent, but Debi drives Margaret to school. It’s not too far to school but it is too hot for those with Idaho roots. It is summer here so it is above 100 degrees every day. The heat doesn’t bother the locals but for us foreigners it’s tough. The locals put on winter coats as soon as the temperature goes below 80. Just don’t know how they stand the heat plus a coat. Anyway, Margaret stands out in the school yard; she may have a book bag and be in school, but she doesn’t look anything like the others there. I think she is enjoying the experience but I’ll leave the story telling up to her.
We did some driving around Magadi yesterday. We went to a remote area north of the lake/plant. When we were driving there I couldn’t figure out why anyone would travel in such a remote area. About that time we came upon a village. It was hot and dry. Couldn’t believe anyone would live there. It was about as poor a village as I have seen. Living in the mud huts with temperatures over 100 degrees must be a challenge. As we were leaving the village, I drove by the hut and gave the man the two water bottles we had brought with us. I figured if I was there, water would be about the best gift someone could give. Speaking of water, I have no idea how far they would have to go to get water.
After we went to the village, we drove south of the plant and saw a heard of giraffes. There were at least 24 (or maybe two dozen). It is unusual to see a herd of giraffes that size. They are usually in small groups. There were about 10 babies in the group. So it was exciting to see them all together.
Well so much for this week. Hope you all have a good week and remember that those of us in Africa love you all.
Paul/dad
By the way President Kelsey, the cat is out of the bag regarding Rusty Bayles so now you can discuss it freely. For those of you not in the loop, another guy from Green River is going to come work in Kenya. He is also a member of the church.
Weeks go by pretty fast, and for those of you keeping track, it’s been one year since I left. When I arrived and began looking forward to two years, I didn’t know if I would make it. The transition was pretty tough; being alone and without anything to do but work. There were times I was ready to throw in the sponge and head home. So I guess I’m at least half way done unless I sign up for another year (which I haven’t done yet).
So to start with, they branch was not reorganized today, was delayed until next week. Something about not being sure about the new branch president or something. Ok, that wasn’t the reason, not sure what it was other than the Stake President wasn’t able to come to Langata and take care of the business. So next week will be the big day. Both branches will continue to meet together until the Rangai Branch finds a meeting place. About 70% of the members live in Rangai so attendance will be pretty slim in Langata for a while. We are closer to Rongai also but they asked us to continue attending Langata. I guess my job will be to have someone trained to take over as Branch President once I leave. I compare what is going on at church to what is going on at work. There have been many people from the Green River plant come to Kenya and many from Kenya visit Green River with the purpose of exchanging best practices. Same thing is going on in Langata, hopefully I can add to what they already do well and those who served missions in the US and other countries left those things done well here in Kenya. Just re read this- hope you understand it. All are made better by sharing best practices.
Work is back on the mend I hope, there were a few good days and less bad days this week. So I hope the trend continues with more and more good days and fewer and fewer bad days.
It has been interesting with Margaret here. It is a challenge with three adults and one car. Debi has become the designated driver. We need to get a bumper sticker that says “Mom’s Taxi” for her car. I ride my bike to work so I’m not too dependent, but Debi drives Margaret to school. It’s not too far to school but it is too hot for those with Idaho roots. It is summer here so it is above 100 degrees every day. The heat doesn’t bother the locals but for us foreigners it’s tough. The locals put on winter coats as soon as the temperature goes below 80. Just don’t know how they stand the heat plus a coat. Anyway, Margaret stands out in the school yard; she may have a book bag and be in school, but she doesn’t look anything like the others there. I think she is enjoying the experience but I’ll leave the story telling up to her.
We did some driving around Magadi yesterday. We went to a remote area north of the lake/plant. When we were driving there I couldn’t figure out why anyone would travel in such a remote area. About that time we came upon a village. It was hot and dry. Couldn’t believe anyone would live there. It was about as poor a village as I have seen. Living in the mud huts with temperatures over 100 degrees must be a challenge. As we were leaving the village, I drove by the hut and gave the man the two water bottles we had brought with us. I figured if I was there, water would be about the best gift someone could give. Speaking of water, I have no idea how far they would have to go to get water.
After we went to the village, we drove south of the plant and saw a heard of giraffes. There were at least 24 (or maybe two dozen). It is unusual to see a herd of giraffes that size. They are usually in small groups. There were about 10 babies in the group. So it was exciting to see them all together.
Well so much for this week. Hope you all have a good week and remember that those of us in Africa love you all.
Paul/dad
By the way President Kelsey, the cat is out of the bag regarding Rusty Bayles so now you can discuss it freely. For those of you not in the loop, another guy from Green River is going to come work in Kenya. He is also a member of the church.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Hello Friends and family:
It’s difficult to even begin a weekly letter after three weeks of being away. It was good seeing most of our family. We visited all of our children and Debi’s dad, but didn’t have a chance to visit any other family. Mom, I’ll do better in May when we come to bless Krista’s baby and attend Cody’s graduation.
It was a tough holiday for Debi. As soon as she got off the plane in SLC a rash broke out. Turned out to be shingles, it took two weeks to get the correct diagnosis so she was in a lot of pain most of the holidays. In addition to shingles, she also had strep throat. But in spite of not feeling too good she was able to play with Cherry and Cody’s kids and spoil them. Shena and Cherry were spoiled before they arrived in STG.
We then went to LA to visit Krista, Greg and Zac. While in LA I was given a new name; I’m Mike. Greg’s dad’s name is Mike, Greg’s best friends name is Mike, and Greg’s sister’s boy friend is named Mike. So he thinks all men are named Mike. We worked the entire time we were there to get him to call me grandpa or Paul. But when I left, I was still Mike. New goal in life; get Zac to call me grandpa.
After LA we went to Seattle to visit Mya, Kermit, and the boys. It was good to see them. Seattle is beautiful. Didn’t see a lot of the city but were able to go up in the space needle with Kermit and the boys. The boys also got in some quality swim time at the hotel pool.
In Seattle, we met up with Margaret, Ethan and Christine. We all flew back to Nairobi together. As soon as we arrived, Debi, Margaret, Ethan, and Christine left for Serengeti for a safari. They also visited other places along the way but I’ll let them give the details. I can’t spell most of the places they were going and because I would have to work learning them it would just make me feel worse (not; it was good to get back to work so I could relax and get some rest). The safari was six days so they all return to Magadi tomorrow night. Margaret will stay until the end of February and return with Debi but Christine and Ethan return on Thursday. They go via Paris for more vacations time.
This was the fourth trip I’ve made to Kenya and I’m batting 500. This trip was all messed up from the start by snow in Amsterdam. My flight was 7 hours late leaving Nairobi so I missed all my connecting flights. My luggage didn’t leave with me and by the time they found it, I told the airline to keep it in Nairobi and I’d get it when I returned. While in Seattle, the airline called to tell me there was no one home at our STG address; duh. I told them if they could get it to Seattle before we left to send it if not send it back to Nairobi. Well it arrived and I quickly unpacked all contents and sent them to the family. I was very happy to send the grandkids noise makers to drive their parents crazy; a little revenge on my part. That is why some packages arrived with no notes and no warning. I had about two hours to get to the post office and get them out prior to our flight leaving. The other trip was messed up when the volcano in Iceland was spewing ash and I had to fly through Dubai and not Amsterdam. Traveling is great! But Debi and I are racking up some sweet frequent flyer miles to use when this gig is over.
Speaking of when this gig is over. At the board meeting in December, the president of the company (the guy that asked me to come here) asked if I would be interested in working a little longer following my assignment here. There is a plant possibly being built in Utah that he wants me to work at. May be janitor or flunky, he didn’t get too specific. But it looks like there will be a job if I want to leave after this year. The day after I was asked that question, the HR director asked me if I would be interested in staying a third year here. So make that two options following my second year here. Don’t know which offer I will take; still have a few months to figure it out.
The plant’s performance has been improving over the past few months. In December we shipped more product that ever in the plants history. I have attached a letter distributed by the Managing Director (equivalent title to CEO in US companies). After all the grief I’ve had to deal with this past year, it was good to get some good press. There were times I wondered if I would make it through the next week. We are not out of the woods when it comes to plant operations but things are improving.
It was good to visit with all the kids and grandkids over Christmas. I love all of you. And to those we weren’t able to visit, I love you too. We’ll do better next May when we come home.
Love you all
Dad/Paul
PS: Happy birthday Mom on Friday. Don’t party too hard!!!!
PSS: Can't get the letter attached, so I'll forward it as an email
It’s difficult to even begin a weekly letter after three weeks of being away. It was good seeing most of our family. We visited all of our children and Debi’s dad, but didn’t have a chance to visit any other family. Mom, I’ll do better in May when we come to bless Krista’s baby and attend Cody’s graduation.
It was a tough holiday for Debi. As soon as she got off the plane in SLC a rash broke out. Turned out to be shingles, it took two weeks to get the correct diagnosis so she was in a lot of pain most of the holidays. In addition to shingles, she also had strep throat. But in spite of not feeling too good she was able to play with Cherry and Cody’s kids and spoil them. Shena and Cherry were spoiled before they arrived in STG.
We then went to LA to visit Krista, Greg and Zac. While in LA I was given a new name; I’m Mike. Greg’s dad’s name is Mike, Greg’s best friends name is Mike, and Greg’s sister’s boy friend is named Mike. So he thinks all men are named Mike. We worked the entire time we were there to get him to call me grandpa or Paul. But when I left, I was still Mike. New goal in life; get Zac to call me grandpa.
After LA we went to Seattle to visit Mya, Kermit, and the boys. It was good to see them. Seattle is beautiful. Didn’t see a lot of the city but were able to go up in the space needle with Kermit and the boys. The boys also got in some quality swim time at the hotel pool.
In Seattle, we met up with Margaret, Ethan and Christine. We all flew back to Nairobi together. As soon as we arrived, Debi, Margaret, Ethan, and Christine left for Serengeti for a safari. They also visited other places along the way but I’ll let them give the details. I can’t spell most of the places they were going and because I would have to work learning them it would just make me feel worse (not; it was good to get back to work so I could relax and get some rest). The safari was six days so they all return to Magadi tomorrow night. Margaret will stay until the end of February and return with Debi but Christine and Ethan return on Thursday. They go via Paris for more vacations time.
This was the fourth trip I’ve made to Kenya and I’m batting 500. This trip was all messed up from the start by snow in Amsterdam. My flight was 7 hours late leaving Nairobi so I missed all my connecting flights. My luggage didn’t leave with me and by the time they found it, I told the airline to keep it in Nairobi and I’d get it when I returned. While in Seattle, the airline called to tell me there was no one home at our STG address; duh. I told them if they could get it to Seattle before we left to send it if not send it back to Nairobi. Well it arrived and I quickly unpacked all contents and sent them to the family. I was very happy to send the grandkids noise makers to drive their parents crazy; a little revenge on my part. That is why some packages arrived with no notes and no warning. I had about two hours to get to the post office and get them out prior to our flight leaving. The other trip was messed up when the volcano in Iceland was spewing ash and I had to fly through Dubai and not Amsterdam. Traveling is great! But Debi and I are racking up some sweet frequent flyer miles to use when this gig is over.
Speaking of when this gig is over. At the board meeting in December, the president of the company (the guy that asked me to come here) asked if I would be interested in working a little longer following my assignment here. There is a plant possibly being built in Utah that he wants me to work at. May be janitor or flunky, he didn’t get too specific. But it looks like there will be a job if I want to leave after this year. The day after I was asked that question, the HR director asked me if I would be interested in staying a third year here. So make that two options following my second year here. Don’t know which offer I will take; still have a few months to figure it out.
The plant’s performance has been improving over the past few months. In December we shipped more product that ever in the plants history. I have attached a letter distributed by the Managing Director (equivalent title to CEO in US companies). After all the grief I’ve had to deal with this past year, it was good to get some good press. There were times I wondered if I would make it through the next week. We are not out of the woods when it comes to plant operations but things are improving.
It was good to visit with all the kids and grandkids over Christmas. I love all of you. And to those we weren’t able to visit, I love you too. We’ll do better next May when we come home.
Love you all
Dad/Paul
PS: Happy birthday Mom on Friday. Don’t party too hard!!!!
PSS: Can't get the letter attached, so I'll forward it as an email
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