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.