Watch Out for Splinters

March 2

Okay, I got a GREAT story from this week! So on Thursday morning as I was finishing breakfast Elder P called out for me, so I went to see what the problem was and he told that he had a stick stuck in his foot. I quickly saw it was an itsy-pitsy splinter. I told him to just take it out, and he told me had been trying but couldn't do it. "Elder, I think I need to go to the doctor for this!" "Wait wait wait... you don't need to go to the doctor. Let me get some tweezers for you." So I went and got him some tweezers, and through much moaning and groaning he tried to pull it out. Apparently he was unsuccessful, because 10 minutes later he called me back to say that he had pushed the splinter deeper into his foot, and now he couldn't even see it anymore! But his foot was still hurting a ton, so he wanted to go to the doctor and see if they could extract it out of him. So I called Sister Berrett and she gave permission for us to go to the doctor. He told me "Elder we need to leave right now for the doctor! My foot is hurting so much!" "Okay we will leave now, but just get a shirt and tie on first because we need to look like missionaries when we go outside." He replied "Elder! There's no time for that! We need to go now!" So he went to the front door, and I quickly popped on a tie and we headed out with him still in his PJ's. We went to St. Philomena's hospital, where after waiting in line for a while we finally got him registered at the hospital (for 200 Rupees). Then we waited for a while for the doctor, and after the nurse finally called us in she took a look at his foot, and said she couldn't see the splinter, so we needed to do an X-ray. So went to another part of the hospital, and for another 230 Rupees they took an X-ray of his foot. We then went back to the nurse, she let us in to see the doctor, and the doctor told us "There is nothing in your foot. You must have already gotten the splinter out. Just put some ice on your foot, and come back in a week if it still hurts." Well, the doctor was right. After another hour his foot felt fine. So we spent 2 hours of our day at the hospital, got an x-ray, and Elder P spent 430 Rupees, all just for the doctor to say "You're fine." Moral of the story: look out for splinters! They can be trouble. 

This week I also taught Elder P how to make Dosa, a south Indian breakfast item. I thought it was somewhat funny that an American was teaching an Indian how to make Indian food. haha. 

Today I went and bought a couple more souvenirs, and even though India is a country of bargaining, I've cut back big time on how much I will bargain. I've come to see over the course of mission the kind of homes that sales people live in. They aren't that nice. Take the worst home you have ever seen in the US, shrink it by 50% or so, and that's what these people typically live in. So why should I cause a big argument to try and save myself 50 cents, or maybe even a buck or two? To me, a dollar means almost nothing. To them, they can eat for a day with that money. I still won't let them totally cheat me and rip me off, but I'm okay spending a few extra cents to make their day a little brighter. 

We went to visit a recent convert named V yesterday. A couple great things about that visit.

1) He gave us Krispie Kreme doughnuts!! He delivers Krispie Kreme doughnuts to their various branches in Bangalore, and he brought home some of the extras. Definitely the best snack a member has ever given us!

2) He invited his brother-in-law to join the lesson with us. His brother-in-law was a total separate part of the house, but Vishnu wanted him to learn the Gospel. Constantly I am amazed by how recent converts share the Gospel 10,000 times better than long time active members. 

3) Vi told us about a decision he recently made with work. Obviously, people want doughnuts every single day, so he doesn't get a holiday, including Sunday. He has to work 7 days a week, every week. Because of this, he is only able to attend Sacrament meeting, because he has to hurry and leave after that to deliver more doughnuts. Well, he told us that he doesn't like doing that. He wants to stay for all of church, and he wants to keep the Sabbath day holy. So he got another driver to take his deliveries on Sunday, and he agreed to pay that worker all the money he would earn from his Sunday deliveries. Let me tell you, Vishnu is not a rich guy. Not at all. But he was willing to take 1/7 cut in his pay so that he can come to church and follow God's commandments. He told us he has total faith God will bless him for doing this, and everything with his financial stresses will work out fine. It's always touching to see the amazing faith of others. 

Motorcycle Sitting

February 23

This week I had a lot of fun experiences!

On Saturday morning we went and visited an Australian member in our branch named DM. His company put him up in some ritzy hotel, so it was cool getting to visit his in his temporary home. For me though, it is always really weird teaching people that speak English, because I don't know what to say! Most of the time I spend the entire lesson desperately trying to help someone understand the most basic of basic doctrines, but with someone that speaks English already.... it's too easy! I teach for 5 minutes, he understands everything, and then.... I don't know what else to say! It's the opposite of what I was 2 years ago; all I would search for was "Deep Doctrine". But now I don't know how to learn or teach any doctrines above what a primary student should know! Oh the changes you have on your mission. 

Another fun thing is that whenever I see Elder B (he is serving here in Bangalore) I always see him wearing the shoes I left behind In Hyderabad. I was just going to throw them away, but he took them and now uses them every day. I always think it's cute to see my missionary son LITERALLY walking in his dad's shoes... haha.

So, there is a YSA girl in our branch named S. She's a pretty fun gal, and her family are all members. Well, one day as we were walking home we saw S on the back of a motorcycle with an unknown YSA guy. She was laughing and smiling until she saw us, and then she immediately got quite and put her head down... we didn't say hello to her, because it was very apparent she didn't want us to be there... haha I love awkward situations like that! Almost guaranteed her parents don't know she has a boyfriend (that TOTALLY goes against traditional Indian culture, and her family is very traditional), so I'm debating whether or not to bring up this situation next time we visited their family... we'll see!  

Also, I had another instance with a motorcycle this week. One day we were waiting a really long time for a bus, and this bus stop had no bench or anything so I decided to just sit down on a close by motorcycle that someone had parked. Well, I sat there for a good 15-20 minutes before a man and his wife came out of a near by building, and by the way they awkwardly looked at me sitting on the bike it was clear he must have been the owner of it. So I quickly got up and apologized to the guy for sitting on his bike, and as I started to walk away the man smiled at me and said, "Would you like me to drop you somewhere?" Wow. Pretty different from a typical American who most likely would have said something along the lines of "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING SITTING ON MY MOTORCYCLE!" Sometimes I forget just how kind and awesome Indians are, but then they go ahead and do awesome things for me and I remember they are amazing amazing people. 

Do you remember KS? I shared a couple of stories about him from last time I served in C. Road, and now I have another about him. As you might recall, K has a lot of faith, but also a lot of doctrinal confusions. Now, because of those confusions, he is going less active... Here is the problem. He believes the bible is true. He believes the Book of Mormon is true. AND he believes Joseph Smith is a prophet. But he doesn't accept the rest of the modern prophets as prophets... including Ezra Taft Benson. Because of this, he is offended that we spend an hour of church studying Ezra Taft Benson. He claims we should be studying the Bible or Book of Mormon, not just some random "good person". So every week he comes to Sacrament meeting (because he knows how important the Sacrament is), but then he leaves right after that... how can we help someone like that?? Yes yes, I know the answer to his confusion SEEMS obvious, but to him it's not obvious... maybe time will help? I only hope God enlightens him, because he doesn't want to hear what we have to say about it. :-( 

One last experience: So we had a couple good appointments set up for the evening, but as a missionary I have become quite accustomed to plans falling through. So as we left our apartment I prayed that all the people we had scheduled to visit would actually be there (a true miracle to ask for!) Everything went smoothly until our last family. When we knocked on the Lawrence family's door, the daughters and mom told us they were the only people home. Their older brother had gone outside with friends, and the dad was who-knows-where. Sigh... so, we said goodbye and were just about to head off because we can't teach without a brother being there, but to our delight the older brother George came walking down the street! Hooray! And then 2 minutes after we sat down, the dad also walked in! Amazing! God brought us 2 brothers, and one complete family to teach. I was very happy to see them all there. 

Should I?

We are currently teaching a 14 year old girl named Anju. No one in her family are members, but the house right next to her is filled with members, so they are helping to support her. It's been interesting teaching someone so young, because she will easily accept to things, but then struggle to keep the commitments... She is a really kind girl though, and I hope with her neighbors support she will progress. 

Also, a fun side note about Anju, one evening her family gave us some bananas to snack on as we were about to go, and when we were finished I was looking for a place to throw away my banana peel but couldn't find any place to stick it. Well, Anju quickly said she would throw it away for me, and she went and chucked it in a little plastic bucket outside their home. When the banana peel hit the bucket a rat went scurrying away from it, but Anju came back as though nothing had happened. I asked her, "Was that a rat...?" She replied "Ya Elder, there are lots of rats." Haha I would have freaked out if that had happened to me, but I was impressed that a cute little 14 year old girl is completely unfazed by rats.

Also, a note about people giving us stuff, I've come to see more and more on my mission one simple truth: poor people will give us food, but rich people rarely will. I used to think that was just because poor people are more humble and Christ-like, but now I think I have a new theory on the matter. The problem with rich people isn't that they are always prideful (although they often are), but the fact that they feel embarrassed if all they give us is, for example, a banana. They feel that if they are to give something to the elders, it better be something big and good, and that intimidates them and discourages them from giving anything at all. In contrast, poor people consistently show their love in small and simple ways. A banana one time you visit, some crackers the next time, and maybe a glass of milk the time after that. I think the poor people have mastered showing love much better than rich people have. 

As I train Elder Peter, and when I have been a leader in the mission, I will consistently get asked "Can I ______?" kind of questions. Generally, my response is the same. Of course you can! God gave us agency. You can do whatever you want. You don't even HAVE to be on a mission if you don't want to; you can go home any time you want. The question you ought to ask is "SHOULD I ______?" And the answer to that is usually no. No you shouldn't. But thanks for asking. :-)

One day we cycled 12 miles out to a media referrals house, and 12 miles back. 24 miles of cycling in one day, and with no idea how to get where we were going so we had to ask for directions every half mile or so. Oh wow, I hadn't had so much fun in a long time! I love doing crazy things like that. Cycling miles and miles into the middle of no where, just to give someone a Restoration pamphlet. Well, I shouldn't say JUST a Restoration pamphlet, because inside that little book contains one of the most important messages the world could ever hear. Well worth the effort!

The elders in my apartment are impressed by how well I know Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook (I can pretty much quote any part of the handbook...) I guess it shows I've been on a mission for a while! 

As we searched for an inactive's house one evening, we asked a Muslim woman on her way home from work if she could help point us in the right direction. She then spent the next 15-20 minutes helping us to find the address! Just one example of my firm belief that Muslims are among the best people on the planet.

Zone Training

CTR - choose the right

February 9, 2015

Today (and probably on a few more P-Days) me and my companion are going to Apostate Road to go shopping. Well, that's what elders have nicknamed the place, it's actually called Brigade Road, but there is quite a bit of apostasy there as well... We just want to check out what cool stuff there is to buy! Any souvenirs you guys want from India? I'll try to find some cool Indian stuff to bring all of you. 

My new area is SWEET! The reason for that is because there are sooooo many Muslims in our area! I absolutely love love love Muslims! Definitely the classiest people on the planet. And all that garbage they feed us in the American media that says Muslims are terrorists is about as true as the websites that say I'm supposed to have multiple moms because I'm Mormon... A bunch of rubbish. 

I was thinking last night though, that to an average American my area would actually be super sketchy... I walk down narrow, not so well maintained streets, with oodles of Muslims staring at me from every side, with Muslims flags hanging across all the houses... But as the scriptures say, "Perfect love casteth out all fear"! 

I don't know if I told you this already, but due to the political shenanigans that are happening in India, we are not allowed to do any street contacting or door knocking. Which in some ways takes a HUGE burden off of my shoulders (the commandment to open you mouth and share the Gospel with everyone would get pretty overwhelming at times...) But still at times I have to catch myself from inviting someone to learn about the gospel, because it has become so natural for me to do so. 

This week we went searching for an inactive, and after an hour or so of searching around for a seemingly un-existent address, some lady helped to show us where it was (down a secret alley way...) When we got to the house we met a super old grandma that spoke zero English...Is this the right house?? We were a little confused if she was the person we were looking for until she flashed us a CTR ring she was wearing. Whoa. Totally unexpected to see her wearing that! It's like a secret symbol that shows you are a part of the club...

This week we also had a great success with getting a less active family to come to church! The Lawrence family is super awesome, but never comes to church... Well, we visited them this last week, and instead of telling them "We know you are less active, just come to church already!" we simply acted as if they were a totally active family, and gave them a commitment to bring a different inactive to church that they are friends with. Well, to our great delight, it worked! The Lawrence family came to church this week, AND the friend we asked them to bring! Nothing like a responsibility to get people active again.

Faith of a new missionary

February 2, 2015

As for being out of the office... I couldn't be happier! Really and truly, not being AP anymore has made me more happy then anything else for a quite some time. I ceremonially transferred the phone of power to the new Assistant, Elder Willis, and it was like a huge dark cloud was taken off of me. And due to Elder Cloward being made the district leader, and not myself, I have NO more follow up calls for the rest of my mission! Yaaaaaay! Freedom! People will still sometimes ask me for permission for things, but then I tell them "I'm just a trainer, not an Assistant, go call Elder Willis." A very nice change indeed.

Now I am training a brand new Elder from Delhi. His name is Elder Peter. He is very westernized, so he fits in pretty well with our apartment (which has me and two other american elders in it, Elder Cloward and Elder Thompson). Being a trainer is definitely the most rewarding position in the mission. Without a doubt. 

My new companion - Elder Peter

It was nice meeting with all of the new missionaries because they have such a bright hope and faith for their mission. They expect so many good things to happen. I don't think they realize how difficult it will be, but I'm grateful to see their enthusiasm because it re-pumps me up. 

Also, I am back in Convent Road, but this time on the North side, not the south side. So it been kinda fun, and difficult, to find different people to teach and visit than I did last year. It's also cool seeing how the branch has changed in a year. Some people have gone off to America, other people were newly baptized, some Less Actives are now active, but also some actives have become less active... It's also cool seeing how physically much people have grown in one year! The primary kids have gotten so much bigger! 

Really really sad news for the week though... Sister X just completed her mission. She has become one of my good friends on the mission, and I love her family a lot as well (they live in the south side of Convent Road branch, so I used to visit them quite a bit). Well, 2 days after she got back from her mission, her dad died.... I tried to imagine how hard that must be, but I can't really understand it. Unbelievable... I was also shocked by how some people talked to her at the funeral. I don't claim to know how to be sensitive people that just experienced a death, but I was appalled by what some people told her. As Sister X was telling me about how her dad died she started crying, and then while she is mid-tears one the branch members practically starts to scold her! "Why are you feeling so sad? Come on, you just back from your mission! You know the plan of salvation! You know you're gonna be with him again some day, so you shouldn't be so sad about it." I understand that knowing the plan of salvation must help, but that doesn't mean the rest of your mortal life is going to be easy without a father! I feel really bad for their family. I think we are going to visit them tonight. 

I don't think I'm getting trunky. Having a trainee really helps, because it forces me to show him exactly the way missionary work is supposed to be done. In fact, I'd say I am being more obedient than I have for months! I hope to do a lot of good here in Convent Road before I fly off to America.