October 29, 2008

Investigator Updates

  • I can't believe I have been on my mission for 3 months already. It is going by so fast. It is so crazy. Thanks for all the love and support. You are the best family ever. I think I may have taken you all for granted a little. Sorry!!!!
  • . . . . . . about my investigators. Which are the best investigators in the world. My families are doing so well. I'm very excited. We also have planned to set 3 more people this week. I'm super excited. They have all been coming to church for two weeks I think, so they are doing good. They have to come for three weeks straight before we can baptize them. They are awesome. They keep all our commitments. They call us to see when we can meet. They are so good. I know that this gospel has already changed their lives, and will change their lives even more. I'm so happy for them.
  • My area is about a ten minute bus ride from the church. Distance isn't a problem here, it is just their desire. You can go from anywhere in Coimbatore to the church for less than 5 rupees. Some families do have a problem with having enough money. . . . . The families that speak English, mostly have more money. The better English you speak, the better job you can get.
  • We see our progressing investigators like 3 or 4 times a week. We try to see them as much as possible. Most people in India go to work at 9 in the morning and don't come home until 8 or 9, so some people are hard to meet. They are all great kind people. I'm amazed at how nice people are.
  • Oh! I saw a bunch of camels in the street yesterday going to a festival. So many crazy things you see here. Monday was Diwali, the second largest festival of the year. They light off so many fireworks. And no fireworks are illegal! We had to stop proselyting at 6 o'clock because it is too dangerous at night. So we went up on the roof and every direction you looked you could see 30 fireworks going off. It was the coolest thing ever. Then people were lighting them in the street right in front of our apartment so they would explode right above our heads. They also have huge long strings of firecrackers. I recorded one that lasted more than 1 minute and thirty seconds. It was crazy but so cool at the same time.

October 22, 2008


India
countryside


Gekos are all over the apartment. Devon considers them a better option than giant spiders!

The Work is Going Forth

  • Today we had Zone conference. We are in Bangalore. Every other zone conference is in Bangalore. The focus was on using Preach My Gospel. I really need to do that more. I have been focused on finishing the Book of Mormon. One thing President said is that we need to use our study time for those we teach and not for ourselves. That made me think; I need to focus on those I teach when I study, not on what I want. I will work on it.
  • We set my first family for baptism on Sunday. I'm really excited for them. I don't know if it will go through or not but I am praying. It is a family of four, but only three can get baptized because the other son is only 6. The other three are set though. Elder Hansen and I found him like my first week here. He is a super guy. I'm excited. He is set for November 2nd, because in the mission we have one rule that they have to attend church for three consecutive weeks; then they can be baptized. So that will work.
  • I dont know if Ii told you this, but I saw an elephant roaming through the street for a festival. It was cool. He just walks around and people give him food and he blesses them by putting his trunk on their head. It was cool. It was a hindu elephant (that probably sounds funny) so we didnt try to feed it. They probably wouldn' t have liked us very much. HAHA I'm going to try and ride one when I go to Erode. I will send you pictures if that happens this week. In Erode there is a super poor guy that owns an elephant and people pay to get a ride. It is funny. I dont know how such a poor guy has an elephant, but I've seen wierder things in India.

October 13, 2008

The Auto Rickshaw



Here it is, the motorozed rickshaw. Little did we know that our boys had been using one for their own transportation some years ago! We still have it and it is for sale! Anyone interested?

Goings on in Coimbatore


A photo of the Coimbatore chapel.

The Elder's kitchen, not bad!


Hyderabad, India

















These photos are from Hyderabad. Elder Jenks spent three days there while he got registered with the Goverment and while they were on lock-down. It is monsoon season, hence the flooding.

New Companion, Spreading the Gospel Message & Naming a Baby?


  • My companion is Elder Banavath. He is from Hyberarbad. He is 26. Most Indian Elders are way older, which is wierd because I feel so much older then them. Maybe because I am bigger or act older, I dont know. He is a good missionary, a hard worker, I miss Elder Hansen though.

  • It is hard to live with a native. They are used to their mom doing everything for them. I do all the dishes and cleaning. It is frustrating. I will get over it though so no worries. He also thinks his way is the only way things should be done, so he tells me all the time that I am doing things wrong. I don't know whatever. I just deal with it.
    Devon doing all of the dishes and cleaning? I will have to ponder on that one . . . . MM
  • We viewed a movie (City of Joy) about a group of widows in India. We questioned Elder Jenks as to how they are treated now.
  • The widows in India don't get shoved away. They just live with their sons or daughters. They are still loved. As for men and their wives. The culture is that men just boss their wives around. I really don't like it, but I can't do anything about it. Men have all power. They mostly just tell their wives what to do and aren't very nice about it. In the church it is still there, but definately less. They are a lot nicer to their wives, but still boss them around. That is one thing I have had to deal with. Women aren't treated very nice here and that bugs me.

  • I went on exchanges with the Assistants on Saturday. That was fun. I can see why they are Assistants. We met a new family and taught them about the Restoration. Sateesh was super excited and said he would read and pray. We went back yesterday and taught him the second lesson. He told us that before we came he was thinking about a lot of things, and worrying about them. Also that he wasn't very happy. Then he told us that after we came and he read and prayed his mind felt so free and clear and he just felt happy. It is so exciting to help someone feel the Spirit like that. We told him that that was the Spirit telling him that what we teach is true. He is so excited to come and hear Conference. I am excited for him too. So that was a good experience from this week.

  • Here is a funny story. We were out finding and a man walked up to us and told us that he had met our friends. He invited us to his house so we went and taught him. His family is pretty poor. He makes about 3000 rupees a month. About 75 dollars only. Anyway, they were so excited to see an American. The good part is we taught them, they dont know very much English, so I dont know how far it will go. We taught them and at the end before we were going to leave THEY ASKED ME TO NAME THEIR BABY!!!!!!! Any suggestions. I know it's crazy. I don't know what to tell them. I guess I will just think of some names and tell them next time we meet them. HAHAHA It is a girl by the way so any help would be good. Well that is the best story yet from my mission. I'm sure there are more to come. :)

  • Anyway the work is going great. We are working hard and teaching everyone we can. I love you all and hope all is going well. Have a good week and I can't wait to hear from you next week. Keep being good.

October 2, 2008

Fun in India

  • Oh before I forget. Yesterday I got to play soccer with kids in the street. It was so much fun. We were waiting for one family that we were going to teach. The kids were just playing so I played with them. It was fun.
  • I also got a Lungi. It is pretty much a lava lava, but Indian Style. I will send pictures for you to see.
  • Girls all were things on their foreheads. Every single one of them. They just stick to their foreheads. Like little stickers. If they are Hindu. They will have a powder dot thing, I don’t know how to explain it, but it just looks like a colored powder dot on their forehead. Kinda funny looking.
  • Food is getting easier to eat. I just eat it as fast as I can and try not to taste it. It is hard sometimes. I don’t have any really nasty stories from this week. Just normal stuff.

I have been waiting for the soccer in the street. That bit warms my heart. You all know how much I loved to watch Devon play soccer. I will see about a picture of that Lungi thing. We are still waiting for the solution to the photo situation. As soon as we get something, you will be able to see! MM

Transfers - New Companions - The Work

  • This week is going good. We finally got the apartment all figured out for the new sisters. They are all set to go. They will be here tomorrow. This week is transfers. Elder Hansen is being transferred to Chennai. I will be getting a new companion tomorrow. His name is Elder Banavath. He is from Hyderabad. I will tell you more about him next week. It kinda stinks that Elder Hansen is leaving. He is an awesome guy and I am going to miss being his companion. I am also going to have to be the one who knows everyone and where to go. That should be fun. I'm trying to figure out all the bus stops and such. I am going to be the only American in Coimbatore. I will be with 4 Indian missionaries and 1 Nepali missionary. Crazy huh?
  • Transfers are every 6 weeks same as normal, we just don’t get transferred a lot. Elder Hansen has been in Coimbatore for 7 months. So I expect to stay here for quite some time. But that’s OK, I like it here.
  • India is still great. The work is going. We don’t have many investigators yet. We are still working hard and trying our best. We have only found bachelors recently. Which is kinda bad, because they usually move away. We will see how that goes.
  • As far as Conference goes, I actually get to watch it. They just show it the week after the live sessions. I hear Conference weekend is so much fun. We will see. . . I'm excited for general conference in two weeks. I'm excited to see everyone speak. I think I will get more out of it then I ever have.