We visited the Kilili Branch in the Kilungu Hills area.  These are someo of the young women in the Kilili Branch -- and a few of the children of the leaders.  The president taught the lesson in English for my benefit.  The young women ar feisty and have funny comebacks -- just like their sisters in America.  All of the young people have their heads shaved.  The adult women grow their hair just a little longer and style it or cover it with beautiful scarves.                                                   

This a banana tree that grows out in the courtyard  behind the Kiili church.  After the bananas are ripe and harvested, the branches are cut down and fed to the cows, goats and sheep and then they grow right back up.  Farming the most common way to make a living in the hills.  Their gardens are called shambas.  Here in Kilili it is pretty flat.  You can see how dry it is right now.                                                                                                                                                                     

Here is a view of the front of the church house.  This is the most primitive area we have visited so far.  There is some contention in this little village between some families who have farmed this area for many years.  Unfortunately, it carries over into the branch.  On this Suday, Sister Hall had to stop the Relief Society meeting because it became a name calling session.  They were speaking in their native language but she knew what was going on so she just stood up and said, "This meeting is over.  The spirit has left," and that was that.  I had no idea what was happening because I was out with the young women.  The doors and windows are kept open so you can hear the children singing -- also, the breeze blows through, which is nice because it was like an oven in there.                                                                                                           

These children were attending another church close by.  We walked over to the Elders' house to drop off some water and I heard music coming from their chaple so I went over and asked if I could listen to their choir practice.  It was Great!  The music was lively and they were doing hand gestures in sinc and little dance steps.  They had a keyboard and a small drum so the beat was enough to make you want to dance, also.  The children who were waiting for their parents  seemed shocked to see a muzungu.  They would stare at me and run away like they were afraid.  (You can imagine what is going through their minds.  Their mothers would say, "Muzungu, muzungu!"  The children would laugh and come as close as they dared and then run away again.  These children gathered outside when we were leaving so I  took their picture and showed it to them.  They were so amazed to see the picture.                                                                                                         

 It is so dry in Kilili and other parts of the Kilungu Hills that the people go to the riverbeds and dig down
in the sand until they reach water.  Then they scoop the water up into plastic containers and carry them back to their homes.  You can imagine how heavy these containersare.  If you are lucky, you have access to a donkey or a bicycle but most people walk carrying these heavy loads.  The Elders say this is a two-hour process. Water is such a precious           thing.  Be grateful you have  access to clean water.  We won't even talk about a hot shower or washing machines              as these humble people have never had access to such blessings.  Hygiene is on the bottom of the list of concerns.