Last week I flew up  to Nairobi, Kenya. There were a number of legal projects I needed to work on in that city for the Church. I took this picture because it reminded me of lots of cotton balls spread out over the African landscape.

For a good part of the flight we flew right up the middle of Lake Malawi (aka Lake Nyasa). The lake is around 360 miles long. It was the sight of England's first navel victory in World War I. A British gun boat disabled a German gunboat at the start of WWI and that was the beginning of the end of German East Africa. Dr. David Livingston, upon discovering the lake in 1859, asked the natives, who were not from the area, what was the name of the lake.  They misunderstood what he was asking and replied, "Nyasa," which means "lake".  So Livingston named it Lake Nyasa or "Lake Lake". The country of Malawi controls most of the lake and thus it's Lake Malawi now.

This is part of Tanzania and is the eastern flank of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Landing at Nairobi International Airport. The city can just barely be seen in the distance. This is the dry season and there was lots of dust in the air. Nairobi was established in 1899 as the head of the East African Railway which started in Mombasa. When the railroad was started it was called the Lunatic Line because the British had no idea where it would end. They just started building it into the interior of Africa. Nairobi was established because the ground here was flat before heading up into the mountains and the African Rift area. 

The Upper Hill Chapel in Nairobi. It also houses the Nairobi, Kenya Mission Office, a Distribution Center and a Service Center for the Church in Kenya.

This is the ward library. I don't think you'd be worried about losing library materials during the week. It's a real vault.

On the outskirts of Nairobi there are many produce stands.

This is the LDS Church at Athi River. A 40-minute drive south of Nairobi, Athi River was one of the poorest places I've ever seen.

Inside the courtyard of Athi River Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's the baptismal font in blue and two young missionaries.

                                                Let's have a Tupperware party in Nairobi.

Hauling water in Kenya.  Clean water is a huge problem in Africa. This is the dry season in Kenya and the only good drinkable water comes from boreholes. Most people, even if they're connected to the Nairobi Water and Sewage Company, don't get drinkable water. In fact, they're lucky to get any water as most of the time the water does not work at all.

Unemployment is very high in Kenya. There are lots of little shops along every road.

These are some of the tenements outside of Nairobi, Kenya. Not too many paved streets here.

Another LDS Chapel. This one is in a warehouse. Finding property for the Church is difficult. You have to be very imaginative when thinking about establishing a chapel in Kenya.

Even though the outside of the building is a warehouse, inside the chapel is very nice.

What to my surprise, I found another Harry in Nairobi. Harry did you know there is a fast food restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya named after you?

This is another piece of Church property outside of Nairobi. The hope is to build a chapel here. A constant problem in Africa is squatters. The Church will buy a piece of property, build a wall around it and even post a 24/7 guard; but before you know it, someone will move onto the property. Here a lady has set up a bottle recycling plant. I told her nicely, she'll have to be moving on.  

Many women run little stands like this. Not much to sell, but they're trying to make a living.

This gives you an idea of how many shops you can find driving down the roads outside of Nairobi.

This is the Stake Center for the LDS Church at Buru Buru, Kenya. 

The building is pretty typical of chapels built overseas by the Church. The Chapel is on the right. On the left are classrooms.

For security reasons, many businesses have moved out of downtown Nairobi to an area called Upper Hill. This was once the old and very nice residential area of Nairobi.  I took this picture from an attorney's office in Upper Hill. The single-story homes that you see are pretty much vacant now and new high-rise office buildings are being built.  This construction activity has played havoc on the roads. The roads have basically been destroyed in this area and it will take years to get them fixed.

This is Jadmaire Ndivo. He is the Nairobi Stake President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think he and I were separated at birth. He's one very wonderful man.

Typical street fixing in Upper Hill, Nairobi.

You can see why it will take a long time to get roads fixed in Kenya. Manual labor is cheap and equipment is expensive.