Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Do you remember the catchy Sesame Street song by the same name? "The people that you meet when you're walking down the street, they're the people that you meet each day." This week I thought I'd give you a little tour of our daily walk on our way to the "chuch" and introduce some of our favorite community people to you who've become quite dear to us due to our daily friendly interactions with them. 

Our first encounter every morning used to be with Mohammed, our building security officer. With his unmistakable nasally voice, he'd greet us and want to know where we were going and he would always repeat it back to us twice;  walking-walking, shopping-shopping, chuch-chuch. Elder Dunlap would bring him back a soda from the store or one time an ice cream which by his expression was too cold (but once the initial shock wore off, he really enjoyed it!) Suddenly, one day we never saw him again and we don't know why. Did he retire? Get diabetes from the treats? Die? Heaven forbid. We keep hoping he's just been on an extended leave and we'll see him once again. The moral? Never take anyone for granted, instead, take a picture, make a connection, shake hands, let them know you appreciate them while you can because you never know when it's your last chance.

 

Heading down our PNR layout is our noble Dapper Dan garbage man who blows his loud blue whistle for the apartment managers to bring the "bucket buckets" to the street.

You might note the intricate tangle of internet wires behind him in the tree.

Further down the busy road past the bus depot, we walk by the Guppy man, who sells goldfish in plastic bags. He charges so little for them and we've never seen anyone buy one and wonder how he makes it? But he always happily smiles and waves at us. If only we were allowed pets. 

Waiting patiently for the catch

We walk by so many beautiful women in their colorful saris and the young women in their kurtas and school uniforms.

If you happen to be thirsty, there's several options along the way: 1) coconut water (this is seasonal and sadly we missed our opportunity to catch our tiny little lady vendor with her large machete for a photo, now she has closed up shop) 2 & 3 are freshly squeezed limeade or squeezed sugarcane, take your pick.

Squeezing the nectar out of life

Everywhere you look there are street dogs. Elder Dunlap can't help but scratch them behind the ears and mug on them as we walk by. He has become The Pied Piper of Coimbatore and dogs will follow him just to get some of his good lovin'.

                         Them dogs wuz tard

Once we cross our insane intersection with lane mergings from every possible direction, we have our personal poultry man. Elder Dunlap likes to watch the whole process, from the beheading, the skinning, to the cutting of the individual pieces. I prefer to avert my eyes or stay home on chicken day.

Pocketknife sharpening, no charge. 

Once we become friends with the shop keepers on Trichy Rd, we wouldn't think of taking our business elsewhere. Such is the case with the shoe salesman when Rob's flipflops broke. We saw this man every day and appreciated his friendly wave. We were finally glad when we could buy his wares.

A fair Indian man with a good sole.

We go to 3 different grocery stores to get the essentials we need-Nilgiris, Pazham, and Smart Bazaar. We have our little helpers at each place but my very favorite is this woman. I don't know her name because she is deaf but we instinctively know we both have a language barrier and we play charades to communicate. She's helped me find mascara, deodorant but sorry, no mousse to be found in India. Plenty of hair oil for sleekness but nothing for curl or body.

                       Friends w/o words

Just tonight we ran into Taggar the Toothless. He stands for us everytime we walk by and hails us with a hearty wave. Ironically I believe he's the security man near a dentist's office.

  Taggar on the right and eager photo bomber

Sometimes when we're out late to English class or Institute, rather than go home and cook, we'll splurge (calories not money) at Bangalore Juicy right on our very corner for a shake and sandwich.

Since we've watched from the very beginning the ripping out of the preexisting business, to the construction, to their opening day and now to a thriving eatery, we've become quite chummy with brothers Vishnu and Akshay. They are there every single day from 11:00 am to past midnight. They don't know the meaning of the word delegation and may soon learn the American phrase "burnout." 

  Workaholics Anonymous Meeting in progress

Talk about the BEST reward system for us! Nothing quite soothes us from a long day like a samoona (sandwich) or a chocolate shake with ice cream. (Apparently, this is not redundant) It dawned on us that a faloota is Indian for a float. 

     Chocolate shakes- the thorn in my flesh

                  At 85₹ (1.00) this is a steal!

   Or if we're really famished, a fine dine experience at China V'lley upstairs.

 Not sure why the A is deemed unnecessary. 

A mere walk down our lane, (Elder Dunlap of course, scratching every stray dog's ears along the way), a right turn and that brings us right back home to the Amalagam Apartments.

And there you have it. A Day in the Life

Matthew 22:39

...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself

D &C 82:19

"Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye-single to the glory of God"

*180

Like the sun parting through the clouds, we are starting to see the vision of where we can make a difference here. Interestingly, *180 is the Celsius equivalent of 350* Fahrenheit, the temperature setting of our convection oven so the number has great significance for us.  We were headed towards despair last week and suddenly things have done a flip-flop and are looking so much better. I can't even begin to scratch the surface of all the good things that happened this week. Most of them are small but if you were to accumulate them, they would fill the immensity of space in my heart! Sorry to just be chronological, but it's the only way to remember it all. 

Sundays are so great for us as we get to mingle with all of the saints in both branches. Because of District Conference the following week, (tomorrow) a Coimbatore choir was formed to sing a special musical number and I was asked to be a part of their warm-ups. It consisted of all ages; Primary girls, "Ang" Men and Women and some "Ang" Adults too. (This is their pronunciation of young.)

                 No angst in the Ang Women

                   Hanging with the Ang Men

They sang "Restored", a song with many solo parts and all voices singing the chorus in unison. Roheet with the phone is truly pop star quality. Swoon!

The accompanist is Daffy and sometimes Daft! 

I've become very good friends with Daphne, a bright intelligent musically talented young woman, who speaks fabulous English to boot. She takes private piano lessons and does well on many classical pieces. We love to talk music! She's especially fond of ragtime. Now how many young people anywhere in the world could say that? She delights me in so many ways! 

Here she is playing Guess that Scripture Name, I stumped her on the hardest name I could think of, everyone else was too easy for her.

Tuesday, I think we found another purpose to our being here. Or at least one of them. Rithi, a delightful RM who's also the recently called YW President, asked us if we could help her do some mock English interviews she has to go through for her application to BYUH. We were more than happy to go to her home, (we didn't  even get lost) and help her practice her English speaking skills. Elder Dunlap offered to give her a blessing so she could do her very best and that she could be calm and collected. We just had the best visit with her, her 21 yr old brother Pugal and her Mom. Along with her dad, they live in a one bedroom home. Now that's a tight knit family! We were able to invite her mom to come out to church again. We hope so much Rithi gets accepted to the college of her dreams but India is already short on girls, especially in the church we've noticed. She is so vital to the branch here. We'll see how this plays out.

          Lovely Rithi meter maid (the h is silent)

Later that night, we had Young Adult FHE and much to our delight, our two friends from English class showed up- Balu and Vivek. They are Hindu as are most of the Indians we meet. The lesson was I Am A Child Of God, given by Akash. There was no flinching on the part of the teacher nor of our Hindu friends on the subject.

Vivek and Balu next to us

I guess they were not scared off because they came the very next night to English Conversation. We had 4 outside contacts and 6 members in attendance, our biggest crowd yet! Our theme was House and Home, we had them write every item they could think of inside their house in English and then in Scattergory style, cross them off if anyone else thought of the same word. We discussed the difference between a house and a home and showed a video narrated by Elder Uchtdorf all about migration of animals and the instinctual yearning for home. The Elders finished off the night with a brief sketch of the Plan of Salvation. One of our contacts is a wonderful young father currently separated from his wife and son and another one, a man working in Coimbatore while his family lives in Mumbai. Both of them seemed visibly moved by the discussion of family and home. Balu and Vivek work for the forestry department and seemed to love the animals and scenery so it's was a fitting theme for all of them. We are finding this to be a joyful part of our time here and hope our momentum keeps growing in getting more people out. We try to balance the experience with good fun, helpful practice, all while touching on things that matter most. 

Attendance grows when I make treats too. The word is out. 

Thursday, in conjunction with Elder Dunlap's Exec Sec duties, we got to spend an evening with the Gandhipuram Branch presidency for some training at the home of the President. His delightful wife Jennifer cooked us a delicious meal while his 3 daughters kept us entertained. She is incredible! She is a wife and mother, the YW President, a calling she greatly magnifies, and to top it off goes to school. Together, she and I are starting a keyboard program with 6 of her young women. The Harmon Grant Program (the same family that started KFC in Utah)  provides keyboards to church units all over the world to teach them to play piano so they can become future pianists and conductors in their wards and branches. Besides being one of the teachers, I am going to start practicing piano again and be a student too. I've always regretted I didn't stay with the piano and failed to practice when I had the chance so I know what I'm doing for the next 9 months. Getting a second chance!

The amazing Paul Family!

                    Sister Jennifer does it all

Now here it is today my birthday! I've been showered with birthday wishes from home and from my Indian family. I feel so loved! Thank you all so much! I found my Gemini twin here, separated at birth, it was Brother Nagaraj's birthday today too.

                  Hard to tell us apart, I know

Another birthday surprise, I had made an acquaintance with a woman named Melissa on a Zoom training meeting. She's an LDS American living in Kerala with her husband. They came to Coimbatore today to be set apart for their callings. Because President Bushi was detained, we had way more time together than we anticipated as we waited for him to arrive at the church. By that time, we were best buds so we went out to eat together for a late lunch. She is a majorly published fantasy novel author and can write anywhere so why not India? Her husband's company has a campus here. We enjoyed talking to them so much and we could all relate to being foreigners in India. It's fun to make new friends, especially on your birthday! 

Have any of you read a Melissa McShane novel?

She has several series. This is really her but shhh, that's just her pen name. 

We came back to the church for the evening meeting of District Conference and waiting for me was this:

We cut it forty ways and all the early comers got a sliver of it. They like to cut it halfways too. It was great to have a major gathering because everyone I know and love these days was there and they were so very friendly and made a special point to wish me a happy day. 

                  These dearies are dear to me.

Most of all, what made this day special was my husband Rob who is just the sweetest, most considerate man on the planet. I am blessed to be in a covenant marriage with him, it is my joy of all joys! Living life with him on a mission is like spending a dream vacation where all you really want is time together talking, laughing, singing, praying, studying, meeting people with no work-related distractions, no shallow worldliness, no demanding pressures, just surrounded by lots of caring friends and doing meaningful work for a cause that's vitally and eternally important. Sounds a little bit like heaven doesn't it? I think we've found our groove.

                             I love this man

The Unpublicized Downer Blog

 We should be ecstatic. I got my toilet back and my entire bathroom functional after only a 4 day wait. 

                                    Before

                                  After

That's got to be a record! We also got broken window slats repaired and mosquito netting installed, (just in time for them to go away on their own!). It's markedly cooler in the mornings and evenings now even though the official monsoon season hasn't hit here yet but still, by comparison it's pretty pleasant. So...why are we battling the blues and negativity so much right now? Believe me, we are trying our best to stay positive, laugh at the absurdities, and count our blessings because there are many, but still, we have hit some sort of wall. Maybe this is just the normal arc of the missionary experience. We've been here long enough for the routine to set in. The novelty of the craziness is gone, now it's just plain crazy. This is our grim reality for the rest of our mission! The things we've been trying to do to feel like we're making a difference and where we felt so much enthusiasm in the beginning have suddenly fallen so flat. Attendance at English group has tapered off to zero for some time slots. Contacts seem uninterested in our real purpose. People we've given a Book of Mormon to to read with the promise of finding truth have been apathetic about opening it. Our discouragement is real. At least our low moments haven't hit simultaneously and we've been able to pull each other out of our personal pits of despair. That's the beauty of serving with a companion. We know the work we are doing is of eternal significance. Our testimonies of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel are stronger than they've ever been. So why are there not more truth seekers in the world? C'mon, people the time bomb is ticking! Why do people expect systemic change from governments when what would really change the world is to repent and change ourselves? Why does tradition seem to dictate all we do, even if they are false traditions that have been handed down? Doesn't anyone ever question them and wonder if there's a better way? Satan is sure having his heyday here in preventing the work from progressing like it could if he and those who work for him would just go away. Can't say any more about that. Well, all I can say is we will slog through this phase, its mostly our mental states and we're sure we'll have better attitudes once again someday soon. What I should've done is just take a week off from publishing a blog. I didn't post this entry this week to Facebook because it's not the usual positive tone so if you're reading this, I know you cared enough to search us out on your own.  We aren't getting a ton of communication from home and that's a bummer too. But this blog is more of a photo journal for our sake than for anyone else's and therefore, we will want to remember it all, the good and the bad when it's all said and done. So please forgive us for publicly airing our bad days/phases if you happen to be reading this. We don't mean to depress you too. And send us an email or a WhatsApp text sometime! We'd love to hear what you're up to. It might just cheer us up and something you say may be just what we need to hear.

To start our week, we got up early at 5:00 am on Sunday in the cool of the early morning to travel to Erode by bus to witness the baptisms of 4 people; first a husband and wife:

Elders Nepali and Bora- missionaries extraordinaire!

The remarkable part of this family's story is that their 12 year old son (in the white shirt) was baptized on his own earlier in the year with one of his friends and it was he who helped bring his parents to the gospel through his good example. Secondly, a brother and a sister:

who coincidentally are named Racheal and Franklin (my daughter and son-in-law's names!)

Though she doesn't look it, Racheal is 18 and is moving to Coimbatore to live with her grandparents to start college. So we took a special interest in her and her situation to hopefully not let her fall through the cracks during that transition. We hope to get her involved with the young adults here and give her a church family away from home. (Her grandparents are not members of our church.) It was also Fast Sunday and there were beautiful heartfelt testimonies shared from so many of the saints. 

 So all in all, it was a very happy Sabbath day but it was also a very long one and things started to erode on the bus ride home from Erode! The lines to get on the buses were huge and people were pushing their way towards them which was so dangerous, we just kept waiting for a bus that didn't require being trampled on to board. Once on, the heat, the honking, the crowded conditions, the lumpy seats, the mosquitos biting my legs, and the fatigue factor all converged into one hellish ride home which tested our native cheery temperament to the max. And to make matters worse, we couldn't find the right bus to transfer to once we got to Ghandipuram so we were nearly at our wits end being lost so late at night. We were never so ready to pay the extra rupees to take an auto home the rest of the way. It was money well spent. 

We had promised the Bosco family we'd prepare an FHE for them the next night on Monday but when reality hit, we felt we needed our full P-day to recuperate from the night before. I had many mosquito bites that were making me quite miserable plus we were not quite ready to board another bus out to their home so soon after our recent fiasco.

 But Tuesday night, we girded up our loins and ventured out again on our own to wander the streets of India. Thanks to Google maps, we found their place and had a fun night of song, prayer, lesson, activity, treat, with hopes they would see how beneficial spending a night together as a family learning the gospel could be. Mission accomplished.

We had a great video of Francis their son doing a fantastic magic trick with a COVID mask too but darn, it was too long for this format to download. It was so great to see him have his moment in the spotlight too. The time we've spent with this precious family that we've grown to love so much through Jennifer's baptism was well worth the effort but I'll be darned if we didn't get lost again, initially trying to find the bus stop for home and also the next bus to transfer to, so this time we just ended up walking the whole way home from Ghandipuram getting us home quite late again. At least it was cool and we didn't get lost! But crossing the traffic and the constant dissonant symphony of horn honking and the treachery of the uneven street pavements would be enough to test anyone's patience. I take that back. We've observed that Indians don't ever seem to get riled or ruffled by these circumstances, it's only us spoiled Americans. They have an infinite amount of patience to accept life as it is and that's what humbles us. That we can't be more like them in these times! We have much to learn from India. Blessed are those who humble themselves (them) without being compelled to be humble. (us)

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back,...the Lord comforted us and said,...bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give you success".

Alma 27:26

We hope next week we can get a better mindset and have more patience in suffering. 

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

Sunny with occasional sprinkles

 I've been searching for the perfect theme or metaphor for this week's happenings. How about "when it rains it pours"? This saying is true in describing both blessings or trials. (also very true with monsoon season gearing up.)  So I'll start with the scattered showers and then hopefully end with a deluge of delights.

 Quite honestly, we've been driven a little stir crazy just trying to get some minor repairs on our apartment done. We work through a contractor since the repairmen they send don't speak much English. Not making a judgment on all situations here but getting anyone to say when they will come and then to actually show up at that time has not been our personal experience. We have had to stay in our apartment endlessly on many occasions to wait for them. (Well that part sounds like America!) But then when they do show up, they only stay for maybe 15-20 minutes, indicate they need a part, saying they'll be back but then we don't see them again for 3 weeks. So yesterday we FINALLY got the same guy in to do some electrical work he had started 3 weeks ago. Rob mentioned we also had a slightly leaky toilet. He proceeded to immediately pull it out from the wall, left parts strewn on the floor of my bathroom and then left soon after saying he'd be right back. 5 hours later he was not back. 

     Um..the toilet's in the shower. Can't close the door. Can't use the sink or the john. Now what?

I wasn't feeling charitable enough to live my life with this much upheaval and no promise of it being rectified anytime soon. So I was cranky enough to complain to the contractor. Because I voiced some righteous indignation, the repairman was somehow coerced to return  today. SHOCK! He did move the toilet out of my shower, I'll give him that. He put the bottom half of it back in place but true to form, in sign language/Tanglish he indicated he'd be back with a missing part to reassemble the tank. And away he goes. What??? Did we just experience de ja vu? We didn't have the presence of mind to bar the door. How can you confront someone, even diplomatically, without speaking their language? We were simply dumbfounded he had disappeared AGAIN and then completely resigned. I have no energy to even complain a second time! All I'm hoping for now is a working toilet for my birthday on the 17th. It's all I really want. Rob is coping with this insane way of doing business that goes against all his principles by drinking lots of Thumbs Up Soda. Missionaries are not meant to spend this much time in their apartments with no satisfactory resolution. Calgon, take us away!

Ok, sorry for that venting session. It's somewhat therapeutic to be heard. Now let's move onto the earlier marvelous parts of our week. Like a baptism!

 Sweet little Jennifer is 9 years old and comes from a member family but because there was a year delay for reasons undisclosed to us, was treated as a convert baptism. The elders invited us to sit in on one of her lessons and we just thrilled being in her home and seeing the love her father and family had for her. 

Daddy's lap, the best seat in the house

Surrounded by her loving family 

The Savior saying, "this is my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased!  

The night before, the family asked if we might give some help in the way of refreshments after the baptism. I said of course, but then I went into panic mode. I happened to have one brownie mix on hand but that would surely not serve a crowd, so I thought I might make some cookies if I could find a) chocolate chips b) cookie sheets that would fit into our small convection oven so we went searching for both. We found chips in a cake mix, which turned out to be mini ones but would work in a pinch. Substitute butter for shortening. And we found some round pans too. Hurrah! Thank you Lord for small miracles!

 They were a hit, thank you Tollhouse recipe.

You've never let me down my whole life.

The baptism was lovely. District President Charles was there and doubled as pianist. The missionaries had planned everything well; the talks, the prayers, the Primary President and many other branch members were there to welcome her into the body of Christ. There was a concern no one would show up to support the family. I was concerned too many would show up! But somehow there was a morsel of refreshment for everyone. Another small miracle of feeding the 50.

Later in the week we asked Elder Adhikari and Elder Mehta if we could tag along to Chavadi, one of their areas and another very small branch/twig in the countryside. No sooner had we gotten on our but the sweetest little gal came down the aisle gabbing in her broken English and so excited to see me. She was wearing glasses and a scarf in her hair, not in the traditional fashion. This behavior was not typical of Indian women either so the bus attendant was trying to shoo her away to not bother me. Everyone aboard seemed a little embarrassed by her but I took her hand and pulled her down to sit by me and put my arm around her and we hit it right off. Minachi was on fire for Jesus!! She showed me her pamphlet from her purse that might have been a Jehovah's Witness tract, it was all in Tamil, I couldn't tell exactly.

I gave her the 13 Articles of Faith in Tamil with a picture of Jesus and the children and she kissed it and loved it! She even sang a little song for me that I got on video.

Isn't that adorable? She gave me her phone number but hasn't responded to any texts so I may never see Minachi again but she surely brightened my day! 

Chavadi, much like Semmedu, is historic in India. It was the very first church building built in India. It's no longer in use but is still standing in the middle of the village.

The baptismal font behind Elder Mehta with decades old water still in it

We met Brother Matthew, the elders Quorum President and backbone of the twig, his wife, his mother, and his sister. Can't you just see the sweet image of Christ in their countenances?

His wife 

                                   His sister

I spent some time trying to help him get a familysearch account set up so he'll be ready with names when the temple is completed in 2 more years. He, in turn, being a returned missionary years ago, accompanied us to a part- member family in the village and helped with translation of an impromptu lesson. (Even our native elders, one from Nepal and one from Delhi don't speak Tamil either.) After a lovely lesson on searching for Living Water, they challenged the non-member wife and inactive husband to attend church next week. 

                    The baby's name is Nelson!

As we walked around the village, we met many neighbors, just trying to be friendly and make a connection. They were very friendly towards us.

Well, Aaron Paul was a little shy 

Lakshmi in the white shawl and I have been texting for two days now. She is not Christian but says Christians are "so love and so mercy"

Our last visit of the night-A faithful family with the oldest son currently serving a mission in New Delhi

We came away from our day in Chavadi supercharged about being missionaries, about being in India and about doing the Lord's work. We had an hour's bus ride home to reflect on all the good moments.

 

We had to say goodbye to our dear Zone Leader, Elder Magesh this week who finished his mission with honor. For our last night together, we took our Elders out to the lake for some Trash Talk (picking up trash as a conversation starter to talk to people.) Our Elders were so convivial, so friendly to all people from all walks of life. What good sports. We didn't meet any golden contacts but they said it felt refreshing to get out and just talk to people. We were so proud of them! 

                        Oh m'gosh Magesh! 

As a reward and farewell, we treated them to Bangalore Juicy for shakes and sandwiches and sent Elder Magesh home and Elder Benson to Bengaluru for a transfer. We love these boys soooo much!! They are the Stripling Warriors who serve the Lord so diligently. 

                          Our little band

"Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken, they are young and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually."

Alma 57:27