The India Mission reunion held the night before General Conference has given us just the tiniest foretaste of what's in our future and I tell ya, it was delicious to our soul! Friends old and friends new were there. By any standards, the women are beautiful, and the men handsome, but more substantially, the Indian Saints are a humble, friendly, and deeply spiritual people. They have so many spiritual qualities we hope to emulate. Without any orchestrating on our part, our Pre-India mission began before we ever even traveled to the other side of the world. It started with Brother Patha moving into our St George ward months before our mission call and culminated this week at General Conference. What a testimony of the Lord's artistry in weaving a beautiful tapestry of people and encounters to prepare us for what lies ahead...
Area President Gutty
Ambika's son Job Cyril
This would be easier if only he had hips!
the Brother of Gideion and Gideion
The wife of the Brother of Gideion
Gideion and Sowmya- the Best of India
Indian princesses Vidhya, Daisy, Sowmya
Oh look! More beauty!
Brother Braganza (a Portuguese Indian), Brother Eb Solomon, the JR Temple recorder, and his lovely wife
Sam and his old American companion
We were completely astounded that the very next day Saturday, swarming amongst the thronging crowds at General Conference, we run right into our very first Salt Lake Indian friend Raj along with President Gutty and the newly appointed Area Seventy, Elder Sunderraj. What an uncanny meeting! There must have been 20,000 people and yet we bumped right into them! I mean c'mon, what are the odds? I ask you, what is this magnetic pull that has frequently put us on this Indian patha?
The
strong magnetism of our top Indian Priesthood leaders Our first dearest SLC friend Raj
And the Sunday before we leave, we run into him one last time! Bye Raj!
We have had the sense from the very beginning that there has been a divine design that has plotted our paths these last months so that we might meet key people we need to know for our upcoming Indian mission. Maybe we'll understand the purposes more fully in the future but for now, we feel a deep sense of gratitude that the Lord would put us at the right place at just the right time to fulfill His purposes in the stewardship He called us to.
And so alas, Saturday afternoon we turned in our locker keys and door fobs, took off our friendly green badges and said goodbye to the FamilySearch Library. It's been incredibly fun and rewarding to be Alley and Rob for this season. Oh we shall indeed miss our fellow missionaries but now we turn over a new leaf and start the next phase of our mission with joyful anticipation!
Goodbye old friend
The badges of honor
We were not allowed to ever openly proselyte in the library, we could only let the light and truth of Jesus Christ radiate in our countenances as we helped people build their family trees and find connections to their ancestors. Now we gladly get to put back on our iconic black badges that bear the name of our Savior as we go forth to be a witness and boldly proclaim His gospel to the people of southern India, even Coimbatore.
But still, there are more cautions as we go forth. We've been briefed to not wear our badges at the New Delhi or Bengaluru airport. We are to declare at airport checkpoints that we are "unpaid volunteers" for the Indian Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So yes, we know there will be challenges and opposition that lie ahead in a predominantly un-Christian nation. But from the foreknowledge of our amazing experiences with our Indian friends here and the goodness and miracles of the Lord that we've come to gratefully expect, we already know we are going to love it!
"Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children..."
1 Nephi 11:16-17
The strong magnetism of our top Indian Priesthood leaders
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So excited for you and for the Indian people to have you! Safe travels, Elder and Sister Dunlap!
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