Code for the Kingdom

This week I had some fun times! One day I got to go back into my old area, Indiranagar, and see my old friends! It was great getting to see them all again. One cool person to see again was Sister Shashi. If you remember, she had a low paying job, but got an even lower paying job so that she could take Sundays off and come to church (although she was no baptized due to her husband). Well, here's something pretty spiffy! Her original job made 8000 Rupees per month, her new job made 5500 a month, but now she is working for 9000 a month! I consider that a true blessing from God for her faith and diligence. I'm so happy for her.

This week we also had Mission Leadership Council! It was pretty intense... our mission has dropped down significantly over the past year, so now these discussions on "what do we need to do to improve the mission?" are getting a little more intense... I think our mission may have some new rules rolling out pretty soon. Many of us are just too casual with this, the work of the Lord. 

Also, this week I got to attend an event called Code For The Kingdom. It was awesome! You can look it up online, but pretty much it's an event where programmers and designers come together for a two day coding marathon. During these two days their goal is to think of and design something that will benefit God and His kingdom, and/or help people in general. It was amazing to see so many people working together to use their skills for good. Here we had 100+ rich and educated people, and instead of relaxing and enjoying their weekend, they came together to do something great for the world. I enjoyed some nice food, and got to talk to quite a few interesting people. I didn't even realize how much I missed being a part of the tech world until I was thrown back into it! Although, one part of the tech world, video games, I now see through a new light. What a waste of time!

You might be wondering why I went to such an event (as you rightly should). Me and some other elders were invited to go there as a finding opportunity. All of these people are rich and educated (meaning they speak ENGLISH! woo woo!), and for the most part they are also Christian (much easier to convert a Christian than a Hindu). I had some interesting conversations with people, including one guy that was anti-joseph smith... as soon as he came up to me he started a confrontational religious discussion with me, and immediately the thought flashed in my mind, "you're stupid. this isn't going to go anywhere." Haha maybe that's not the best way to think... but in my belief, as soon as someone gets angry in an argument, they have lost the argument. Anger just shows that you are an undisciplined person, and why should I listen to someone that can't even master themselves? 

FORTUNATELY, I found a really prepared person as well. So, as I hear other missionaries about having these "I had a spiritual prompting to talk to someone, and it turns out they were totally prepared! stories, I've realized I haven't had one of those really happen to me. so I've been more specifically praying to be led to a person, and to know I was led to that person. I had my prayer answered! After I was done talked with one group of people, I was feeling really tired, and went to go sit down for a minute. As I was walking to sit down, I saw a guy and had the thought "I need to go talk to him.", but my laziness overcame me and I went and sat down... I decided if he was still there after I got back up, I would go talk to him. Well, after I got back up I saw that guy again, and again had the thought "I need to go talk to him." So this time I decided I better keep my promise to God and go talk to him. I didn't know what to say, so I just went up and asked him what his name was. But within minutes I found that this guy is WAY ready to learn! Usually I have to bring up the gospel with people, but this guy was anxious and ready for me to tell him more about what we are doing, and how we can help him come closer to God. Unfortunately, he lived in a part of Bangalore that isn't my area, but I'm sure the elders there will enjoy teaching a prepared referral. :-)

My District Buddies