*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