Celebrate good times, c'mon!

 This was an incredibly happy week with so many festivities. Are missionaries allowed to have this much fun? Well, senior missionaries sure are! It all started a week ago with a branch outing to a water park. (?) We had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be a blessing that we overpacked, as this wasn't exactly what we thought of when we heard "water park." The entire gamut of ages came out for this event, from Primary tot to aging grandma and everyone in between...

There were far more people who showed up than those who said they were coming for the bus count. (Every planner's nightmare.) Still, we left no one behind and managed to pack everyone into the 3 buses like sardines. We were assigned the young adult bus where those who didn't have a seat spent the entire two hours dancing in the aisles. It was great fun to hear the blaring music of youth and see their exuberance. Imagine us thinking to bring a pillow for napping! Hah!

The water park turned out to be a pleasant flowing river with super slippery moss-covered rocks and a tributary stream that fed into it. After the two hour ride and with no sign of bathroom facilities anywhere, everyone felt the same strange yearning to hop in the river, even the ladies in their saris and kurtas tumbled in (except the obedient elders with their bladders of iron).  The temperature was perfect, even for me who hates the jolt of cold water. I imagined we looked a little akin to the children of Israel crossing the River Jordan into the Promised Land, minus livestock.

                          Indian swimsuits

    Why pay entrance fees, this is way more fun!!

Rob was especially in his element frolicking with the youth of all ages, splashing, throwing balls, diving, etc. I sat like a mermaid on a rock, enjoying the water flowing over my alabaster legs while watching others cavort. 

I could tell the elders weren't having the funnest time of their life just watching from the shore. Luckily, I had packed a sheet for sitting on, and Uno cards and Play Nine. So I gladly got out and invited them to come sit in a clearing and play some games. The games eventually gathered a few more

of those who had drip-dried in the sun and were done with water too. Though we were told to bring a change of dry clothes, where could one change? It turns out our damp clothes kept us cool for the rest of the day and a fun time was had by all who had the right attitude.

              Some of the Relief Society ladies

Next party stop--Semmedu. Our goal lately has been to learn the bus systems so we can get to some of the outlying branches without having to pay a driver. So Elders Guntu and Koonesetti took us under their wing out to their area. Both going and coming, I was fortunate to find young women students who spoke good English to pass the time with, which made it very  enjoyable, even while standing up the whole ride back. Curve surfing was a riot! 

Unbeknownst to us, we had picked the day of the biggest event of the year in the village to visit. The video was unfortunately too long to upload but there were drummers and musicians, relatives from outlying villages who came in for the big event, folks carrying platters of fruit parading the street, and all for..........

a 7 year old girl getting her ears pierced! What a hullabaloo! Tradition says she will sit in her uncle's lap while the entire town watches her in her misery while the drums and horns blare (perhaps to drown out her wailing?) and the town cosmetologist, (a man with a sharp needle) does the job. If she looks at all distressed, by all means stick a banana in her mouth! I didn't see this poor little girl crack a smile the entire time, not even when they put on her new dress and surely not when the first earrings were inserted either. Ouch!!

 A rite of passage for young Southern Indian girls in Tamil Nadu

It brought back the mostly uneventful memories of me taking my own daughters to Claire's in the mall to get the deed done. The deal was they had to want it badly enough on their own and be old enough to take care of their own ears as I wasn't about to deal with ANY of it. Do not come bawling to mom about infected ear lobes! What a heartless mother I was. I think I was 14 years old and in highschool when I finally caved into peer pressure and have never been a lover of costly jewelry to this day. (I believe my negative feelings about metal against my skin began when my grandma zipped my chin into my parka!) Ironically, they gave us front row seats to witness it all and treated us like honored guests.  So even though we didn't quite understand the significance of it all and I personally wouldn't have wished it on her, we were still very grateful to be included in the village festivities and the feast of biryani afterwards. I loved the musicians most of all!

The legitimate reason we went to Semmedu was to give three prospective sister missionaries their Temple Prep lessons. They were absolutely adorable! May I voice my opinion that meeting live with people is 1000% better than any Zoom meeting ever could be? Definitely worth the long bus ride. And this branch is quite historical too, it was the very first organized branch in India by then Elder Gordon B Hinckley.  Brother Raja Joseph, a true Indian pioneer and one of the firsts to be baptized in all of India was present to translate our class into Tamil. Almost everyone in the branch is related to these early roots. Xanadu (our nickname) is a truly picturesque place and far remote from the hubbub sounds of the city. There's just an amazing spirit there on the grounds too. 

Our last celebration of the week- a birthday party for Sister Rosemary in Ghandipuram Branch. We again didn't know what to expect but Elders Adhikari and Mehta were invited too, imagining we would be ancillary background guests. Again, we were treated as the special people. We never imagined that the real guest of honor does all the cooking and clean-up for her own birthday party! 

         Joseph and Rosemary and son Abraham

She wouldn't dream of letting me help her clean up! 

Now we've eaten a bucket of biryani since we've been here in India but Sister Rosemary's seriously beat all! The chicken was so tender, it was the right level of spicy, oh and we ate dessert ladoos first off. Nice! She just kept loading food on our plates til you literally had to cover your plate with your arms so she wouldn't keep putting more on! I hope we ate enough to honor her!  It was her birthday after all. The family didn't eat a bite, they just watched us eat. I felt so guilty the entire time but this is just a cultural norm we've got to get used to. All we could think to give her for a little gift was a print of the Bengaluru Temple. When we saw her walls, she had two other unframed temple pictures so I imagine she liked it as well but they aren't verbal with their gratitude so you never quite know. Both she and her husband's only request of the night was to receive a blessing on their heads for health and well being. It's times like these I'm so very grateful Rob carries the power of the Lord's Priesthood and the eloquence to say just the right things as prompted by the Spirit. It was all she truly wanted from us for her birthday.

Oops, I almost forgot to mention one last happy thing- two walk-ins off the street to our English group. First time that has happened. A father and son duo, along with a friend of a frequent attender and a member made this a great group of attendees. 

Sometimes we walk home from the church. Tonight we floated. Another reason to celebrate with ice cream falootas at Bangalore Juicy!

"If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and Thanksgiving".

D&C 136:28

Show me a Sign

 I failed to report in our blog last week a very important thing that happened. During our Zone Conference, Rob was called and set apart to be the Executive Secretary for the Bengaluru Mission by President Bushi. The Mission Presidency is far flung, with counselors from Sri Lanka to Coimbatore to Bangaluru. Most of his duties will be done virtually and by email but President Bushi said there may be some traveling involved in the future when the restrictions are lifted and if so, I would get to tag along as his companion. So we were both happy to take on this responsibility. His job is mostly reminding branch leaders about reports and meetings, etc. and so I am most confident Rob can do this although he's been stretched in his technological know-how just to get in the missionary apartment inspection reports with photos attached. This sounds so basic to others but we have too many different email addresses and accounts and 3 phones with pictures on them and too many passwords and storage places and media platforms that we are very muddled by it all and sometimes wish we could just go back to the days of copying things in triplicate and snail mailing them! We are both learning slowly but one thing I know, Rob will not give up til he figures it out so I think they called at the very least a dependable man for the job and Sister Flintstone will support him however she can. So go Fred! 

I don't have many photos to share of events this week except of a visit with a wonderful family in our Ghandipuram Branch. They invited us to their home for lunch and while there, the husband asked for a Priesthood blessing for himself and his wife which Elder Dunlap and our driver Brother Augustine were happy and humbled to give.

    Brother Kumar, Sister Karen, and their kids

                                Ladies in Red

We loved most of all hearing this brother's touching conversion story and also how he met and fell in love with his wife. I wish I could share all the details with you, you would be just as moved by their miracles as we were, to know a loving Heavenly Father was watching over them and guiding them, he from starting his life of being an orphan at a young age, to experiencing miracles in answer to heartfelt prayers for help and guidance, to becoming a missionary for the restored gospel, to receiving the personal revelation that Karen would be his wife the first time he saw her. We came away from this visit feeling so edified and glorifying God that He is so good and so true to his promises to those who love Him. He is so willing to reveal truth to those who ask in faith and are willing to believe in Him first instead of seeking a sign before they will believe. Faith always precedes the miracles people, remember this.

Now speaking of signs, it's time to share some of the favorite ones we've seen in our short time here. They are an endless source of delight to us and never fail to give us a chuckle just when we need it! 🤭 We've always loved puns, word play, malaprops, etc. In the past we've gotten such a kick out of Chinglish (Chinese English) so we've decided to call the ones we find here Tanglish (Tamil English) 

It was very licious. 

           The biryani here does reign supreme

This is no typo, just perfectly named after a city 

                                      ???

                        Finally, we found one

             Some dentists are better than others

                              Hey wait! It's both!

         Wasn't as cute when it stopped working

 Which spokesguy speaks to your soup needs? 

                    At least they are honest 

                  Careful which one you pick 

Let's call them happy skin pants in America too

  Is this a store or a political statement for Dad? 

     Too much math required to enjoy this ride

                 This one is actually well said

And thanks to perfect precision, a fair warning.

That's it for this week! Signing off because I'm

               Me impersonating the mannequins

    

"Yes, there are many who do say; if thou wilt show unto me a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? I say unto you nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it"

Alma 32:17

  Who'd have guessed we'd be so blessed here?!

Bea-Ooty-ful!

 It was a week of many "firsts" for us. For the first time since our mission began, Elder Dunlap and I found ourselves in different cities for a whole day. Way weird! He was required to fly to Chennai to meet with government representatives along with another brother from the church from Bengaluru who helps with the foreign missionaries. All this for a 10 minute grill. You'll be glad to know it all went smoothly and we are staying put. It felt very odd not to be together. But, I had the rare privilege 

of tagging along with the young missionaries for a special P-day outing to Ooty, a beautiful city up in the mountains with picturesque scenery and cooler weather. With a name like Ooty, it had to be good! Since the sisters serve in a trio, I got to be companions with Sis. Thananki but mostly we were all together the whole day which was non-stop fun on a disco mini-bus. Oh the strobe lights! The main activity of the day was one gigantic day-long photo shoot. Seriously, they never tired of taking photos (I did). We did see some pretty botanical gardens and parks and we took a chocolate factory tour which was a very nice change from busy traffic intersections but my favorite scenery was missionary watching. I just can't get enough of their beautiful souls! (Truth be told, I think the elders are dorbs ) 

                       United Colors of India

  Elders Adhikari, Magesh, Benson in bloom

                     Not quite Kathmandu but...

                  Their brotherly love abounds

                India GQs and future India GAs?

My Dollar Store glasses were in high demand

                         Sing Sister Singh!

          Universal signs of peace and good chill 

Moving on, another first achievement this week was our first English Conversation group! No photos were taken to commemorate the event but we were glad to have even 3 people show up. We meet people every day on our walks who express interest but we never know who will actually show up. We believe from small and simple things, great things can come to pass. We had our 2nd class just a little while ago and only 3 participants again but 2 were brand new so 5 total. 

Another first this week- our first Indian Wedding! This was a marriage of two members of the church who were beloved by all who know them. We weren't personally acquainted with either of them but by virtue of being in the branch, we were invited to attend. We enjoyed seeing both aspects of this hybrid event; the church wedding and the traditional Indian parts.

                            The best men!

The bride festooned with her entourage

Unfortunately, when the buffet line of Indian food became available, I put my camera away and didn't get good documentation for the rest of the night. Oh my, we did eat! What a spread! I don't think the bride or groom even got one bite, they were busy receiving guests and gifts and taking endless photos to remember the day.

            Guests young and old in their finest.

We were blessed with a shower of good wishes

Looking everywhere but at each other. 

The shyness of an arranged marriage.

This photo was taken before they changed into their traditional costumes. So negligent on my part to not get that on film! Hopefully we'll get another chance to see another wedding and I will be more vigilant. One thing I found interesting and different from American tradition was the mothers were the ones to feed the bride and groom their wedding cake. There is no smashing it in their faces either, (I'm not fond of that part anyway.) I thought it was perhaps symbolic of the last time their mothers would hand-feed them, which interestingly moms do here, even as old as teenagers but I was told that's not the reason they do it. (See, what do I know?) It was a beautiful night from beginning to end, the night before we witnessed firsthand a terrific downpour and the power going out in the church so the weather cooperated miraculously. We came home very well fed but soon discovered the mosquitos had enjoyed an evening buffet too. Me. 

Lastly, I may have mentioned this before in previous blogs but we have found a unique method of meeting people on the street. They always say every experience in your life prepares you for your mission. Well, who knew that picking up litter on Indian Hills Road would be mission prep? When we don rubber gloves and go pick up trash along the lakefront, so many people stop to talk to us, thank us, or some even join us! It has proven to be an effective way to break the ice. Perhaps they are just curious about why two Americans would engage in litter control when it won't even matter the next day. Regardless, it must give them a chance to do more than just walk by us and stare. We have had countless positive encounters with both men and women, young and old, teens, seniors, parents, and children. This morning two women were waving their arms frantically at us from across the busy 4 lane highway, gesturing at us from their balcony to come up to their 3rd story apartment. At first I thought we were in trouble because they were yelling so loud. We always pray before we go out that the Lord will put people in our path that will be receptive to us and our message but also protect us from harmful situations. So we knew we couldn't ignore them, we had to find an opening in the fence, cross the busy 4 lanes of traffic and climb 3 flights of stairs with growling dogs at every turn to see what these women wanted. Well, it turned out that Anne and Irene were two sisters who had lived abroad in Ireland and Dubai and we're simply looking for friendship with two Americans. Their brother Benjamin had seen us once before so I guess they had kept an eye out for us to return sometime. They spoke fluent English and were not typical Indians in their dress or cultural norms. They cooked eggs and toast for us for breakfast and introduced us to all their pet cats and dogs. (Two of each) Rob was in Pet Heaven! Mr Fluff was a miniature pom with deformed back legs that he dragged around like a little sea lion. It melted our hearts. But what a face! 

                         Cuteness overload 

                                Insta-friends

With all the pictures of Jesus on the wall we dared asked them if they'd like to come to church with us tomorrow and they said they'd love to!  So everyone, please say a prayer that they will make it out and that the Spirit will touch their hearts. Neither of them have any children and being Mother's Day and all, I am praying it won't be the wrong day to have them come to church. They want us to come have breakfast with them every morning and I told them we would surely disappoint them in that request but that we'd love to visit them as frequently as we could. What a blessed day! And week! We just never know what's in a day when we wake up, do we? After English Group and Institute class with the Young Adults, we ended the night with a 80 ₹ (1.00$) chocolate shake at Bangalore Juicy that just opened on the corner of our apartment street. Mmm...mmm.  Life simply can't get much better than this. 

"...and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God."

4 Nephi 1:16