God bless us, everyone!

" “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” We took to heart the repentant Ebeneezer Scrooge's words to honor Christmas this year in the midst of our mission where we are trying to have Christ's Spirit with us all the year through.  Christmas Eve fell on Sunday, thus we spent it at church with the Whitefield Bengaluru ward family. In the 3 months we've been here, we've made friends with people who have reached out to us in kindness, inviting us into their homes and lives.

 Sisters Jessy and Reji are 2 such friends, here bedecked in their royal purple saris. (Note the little Nativity scene on the side. The ward members made a little diorama and planted grass along the edges that grew all month long.)

Jessy invited her husband's cousins to church. She's so good to share the message of Christ's birth with her Hindu relatives.

We adopted the 3 Whitefield elders as another makeshift family for soup and bread on Christmas Eve and a rousing game of Play Nine. Having never had the opportunity to have sons of my own, it is a delight to have these young men in our home and in our life. 

The Malwitz Family is 1 of 4 American families and members of our ward too.  They add much strength and leadership to our ward family. They invited us and the Elders to their home for Christmas morning crepes. We contributed our traditional Christmas Morning Souffle, thanks to the Robinaughs who left some imported sausage in our freezer! Being with their 4 daughters brought back vivid memories of Christmases past with my own 4 daughters. We really enjoyed our time with them.

        Our adopted family for Christmas morn

       They bought us each Bengaluru T-shirts

                             That fit us to a T!

After breakfast, the elders had lunch and dinner appointments too, and were completely stuffed to the gills by the end of the day. They used our apartment as a place to stop, drop, and sleep in between meals. We didn't have to worry about feeding them, just letting them crash and moan about too much of a good thing.

                            It hoits, it hoits!

Thanks to the wonders of technology,  we face-timed our American families all weekend as well and had some sweet time with our posterity, especially Silas and Luke! Oh, we love those little guys!

                 Rachel, Cassy, Maddy, Silas

                  New books for Christmas! 

                             The Lake Family

                             Matching caps!

    Benj, Luke, (the little Chris-moose!) and Tom

Uncle Steve and Aunt Penny doing proxy grandparenting for us 

                         The Kunzler Family

On the first day after Christmas, Sister Jessy was eager to have us meet her husband who hasn't been coming to church. We ventured to her in-law's home that night and had a simple Family Home Evening with them, read scriptures, sang a hymn, and had the world's spiciest meal on record, beyond anything we've eaten before. Even Elder Kaithwas said it was hot for his taste buds! That's saying something!. My nose just ran and ran. Of course the one time I don't bring my purse with tissues.

    Missionaries, husbands, nephews, and such

                    We Three Cousins

Elder Dunlap had put in some seriously long hours every day prior to Christmas so we were both glad for the holiday break and for any reason we didn't have to report to our office jobs. But the downside of the time off is the backlog of work, and many problems, headaches, and crises that were there to meet us once we returned. All of the paid employees took the entire week off which which made things even harder for us. I am struggling to love this part of our mission. I make so many mistakes, any longer at it and I'll run the entire mission into the ground. They will be better off without me. But Elder Dunlap compensates for my ineptness and keeps it afloat with his hard work. Although we don't know what or where our next assignment will be, we are greatly relieved to learn we will not be supporting the mission remotely in Bangkok like the couple before us has been doing. Knowing that is a huge relief and burden lifted off of us. 

                            Back to the awfis

And now, we find ourselves on the upswing of another holiday weekend. Who should come to our emotional rescue but Mani & KT, our good friends! They are up from Coimbatore spending the New Year with us. We are so grateful for their friendship and welcome distraction from our day jobs. 

                                The BFFs! 

                    Mani, our breakfast chef

                        A fellow puzzler 

                           Lego my puzzle!

        Making caramel popcorn with jaggery

We've had an absolute blast with them. They said they needed a break too from their jobs so it's been a blessing for all of us. In addition to the fun, we've had some great talks, scripture study, family prayer, and church attendance with them. We really are compatible in our personalities and outlooks of life. Mani and Rob have some identical traits as do KT and I. Who knew we'd have to come to the other side of the world to find our best friends? It's been the best ending of an overall wonderful year. We have felt so very blessed to be serving a mission, first at Church Headquarters for 3 months and for the last 9 months in India. We will cherish these days for the rest of our lives, yea, even our office jobs in hindsight, if the mission survives us.

"And now my brethren, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of "Utah" that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? Yea, I know that I am nothing as to my strength I am weak, therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." 

Alma 26: 1, 12

A Season like no other

We may never have such a unique Christmas season again as this one spent in India. Among the 2% of Christians in this predominately Hindu (79%) and Muslim (11%) nation, we hardly make a blip in the macro scheme. We become even more microscopic when you figure the percentage of Christians that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. It can make one feel like it's hardly noticeable to celebrate the birth of the Savior here, except only to ourselves. But perhaps because of its obscurity, we feel it's more important than ever to take this opportunity to stand out with our faith to those relatively few people we have contact with. Yes, in the community at large we see some Santa sightings and hear the singing of Jingle Bells and Rudolph. People walk in our office and ask us if they can take their picture by our Christmas tree. At one community event at our mission president's apartment complex that we were asked to sing at, we were the only group that sang a carol about Jesus' birth. To India, it's merely a secular holiday. And to many Americans as well. So it's caused us to ponder again and again this year. If we were back home, would we simply join in with our culture's secular traditions? Seeing the shallowness of it here, the answer glares obviously to us. BUT, we suppose when those secular elements are combined with family togetherness and friendship, they can indeed bring the Spirit of Christ into those moments of celebration. 

So we had three invitations to do "Christmasy" things this week. Sister Jessy of our ward invited us to her parents home to feed us Indian food and to watch them decorate their Christmas tree.

Nothing says Christmas more than biryani and curd.

They started with the ornaments first, then the beads and then proceeded to drape the lights around the branches in haphazard crisscross fashion trying not to knock everything off in the process. It was tempting to want to step in and tell them there's a better order, but we have to curb that urge in so many areas already, why not sit back and just resist the urge to micromanage?

            Oh what a tangled web they weave!

                But the end result was just fine

In so many areas and ways, we have to accept India where it is. We could be bossy Know-it-alls, pointing them to better procedures and ways. Elder Dunlap battles this all week as he does the finances in the Indian way. But we've found it isn't always helpful to suggest changes and sometimes it just makes things worse to impose our ways on them. So to deal with the chaos that swirls around us daily, they have their coping mechanisms to survive and we've found a few of our own or we would all be in a state of perpetual despair. 

        Lord, the burdens they carry are heavy

This week I walked to the engravers 3 times to pick up missionary badges. They kept promising me they'd be done the next day but they weren't. This was mildly bothersome. And this is a "Trip of trip hazards" of every possible kind, and with every step I take, there's a constant maze of uneven paving stones, piles and piles of leftover construction rubble, gaping sewer holes to fall into, mounds of gunk where they've cleaned out clogged sewer pipes, overhanging wires ending in a tangled mess, doggie doodoo, dust, dirt, mud, and debris and trash in every nook and cranny. I kid you not. Will it ever get cleaned up, you ask? We gave up helping when we were asked not to. And if some government employees were to pick up a pile or two, wouldn't there just be more piles to replace them the next day? Though I make conscious efforts to stay positive, I can feel despair if I let it get to me mentally and this week of all weeks, it did. This is one time I can't say "chin up, Alley" because I gotta keep my head down and watch every step! As a way to keep my sanity, I pray with vigilant eyes open as I walk and cross the congested streets. I thank the Lord continuously that he sends angels to help me not fall in that pit or to stumble on that uneven pavement or hit my head on that overhanging metal bar or trip on that wire or bump into that motorcycle or, the motorcycle bump into me or, or, or. Well you get the idea.  When I get thinking about India's future I honestly think it's going to take an angelic legion clean-up crew to ever beautify these large cities, even just the few blocks surrounding the future temple. It's a God-size problem. It overwhelms me to think about how massive an undertaking it is. I see the obstacles to a grassroots approach: too many are more concerned about getting by day to day to have any extra time or energy to worry about changing their environment. The other obstacle is the pervasive mentality, perhaps caste related, that someone else is going to pick up after them. They don't see it as a group effort where if everyone did their small part, it would start to get better. But they've ignored it for so long, it's not even on their radar anymore. That's how they cope. I've witnessed firsthand their blindness to it. So the problem is perpetuated continually with no hope in sight for change. Sorry, I do not know why I took this tangent. I should probably just delete this, lest I offend my dear Indian friends. I love the Indian people, especially the Saints and missionaries. I hope that's obvious. I see in them the hope for the future, except they're such a tiny crew!  They are earnestly trying to better themselves, serve others, and make ready their lives for the Lord's coming. As the world takes on the Culture of Christ, we will begin to see those improvements. Rather than change their streets, Christ will first remove the slums out of people's hearts.  Well...these are my thoughts at this time of year and my Christmas wishes are only this- please Lord, please bless this country! And bless our homeland too with its many troubles too big for us to fix. We don't need more presents or cookies or mistletoe. We need you!! 

Sorry but not sorry, for the outburst of stream of consciousness writing, now back to the blog.

 This week at church, we met Michael, an international businessman who splits his time between India, the UK, and the US. He invited us and the young Elders to his high-rise home that is directly across the street from the temple. He asked us what cuisine we would enjoy eating at his home. Since we get a lot of Indian food and we cook American food at home, we voted for an Italian meal. What thoughtfulness on his part to accommodate our request! 

   Hey, we've never seen the front view before!

                     Still a work in progress 

We, Elders Macdonald and Kaithwas, and Michael and Maina enjoyed our time together. Michael is already financially successful at his young age but it's his generous spirit, not his portfolio that was inspiring to us. He said he began his real estate business with $200 in his pocket. He supports many local missionaries and gives his tithing to his ward in India to strengthen the church here. We suspect he will do much good with the wealth the Lord has blessed him with. He sure put smiles on our faces. Let's hear it for pizza and spaghetti! 

Our last holiday gathering this week was with our fellow office employees held at President Bushi's home. We have 4 employees who work in finance that are Hindus so it was fun to build bridges of friendship with them. We honor their vegetarian diets because we too observe dietary restrictions. We get it. 

We never knew Pinky is great with child! 

All the male church employees in S. India 

are a jolly bunch! 

 In this spring weather, we have to keep a steady stream of Christmas carols in the background just to remind us 'tis the season. We watched the Church Christmas devotionals, Tabernacle Choir concerts, the musical Scrooge on Youtube (if you haven't seen this version, Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley is worth your time!). We always shed tears of joy to watch Scrooge's repentance and transformation. Inspired by his generosity, we found an opportunity to bless the lives of a couple of people we've come to love that needed some help right now. You all know how good that feels.  Service blesses both parties. But there's a nagging feeling that we could do so much more and it would never be enough. Well, let's all be content to simply do what we can do.  

And that's pretty much it for us this Christmas. Well not quite. It's only the 23rd. We look forward to some FaceTime with our families and one more gathering that we'll report on next week. 

From Bengaluru India, We wish you all a Merry Birth of Christ Day and hope you are pondering on what it's higher purpose is in your life.

 We encourage you to scale back on the secular and step up to give of yourself and lift where you stand. We can all do something to make the world a better place. And we can look to Jesus Christ in faith and hope for better days ahead. Fear not little flock. He's coming. 

"Lift up your head and be of good cheer behold the time is at hand...I come into the world to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets"

3 Nephi 1:13

Revived!

 What a monumental week for the IBM! When your starting numbers are 28 and suddenly you add 7 more, well, you check me on the math. That's 25% more man power! Our influx of 7 new missionaries-3 Indians and 4 Americans, has infused us all with renewed strength, testimony, and revitalization!

I'd been looking at their photos and preparing for their arrival for weeks and finally they're here! Welcome Elders Karmegam, Andrew, and Patta!

The American elders are not more casual. In Bengaluru they take their ties and tags off when out in public to not arouse undue attention. I snapped this before they had put them back on. 

This was our first time conducting an orientation for new missionaries and I think we both did fine. The next task was to orient them to their new cuisine and the experience of eating with their hands at the Bushis. They all dug in with initial gusto but one poor Elder tossed his biryani right after lunch.

Elders del Plain and Willis

               Elders Cook, Weight, and Andrew

The Indians fared much better here in their familiar territory but complained of the bland and soupy food they ate in Bangkok. No way. Who doesn't love Thai food? Apparently Indians.

It was a very full day because the next order of business was our Zone Christmas Devotional back at the church, put on by the Bushis and the APs. It was a spirit-filled meeting as we focused on the gift of Forgiveness, both given to us by our beloved Savior and the forgiveness we offer to others. It was a fitting Christmas exercise to think about this magnificent gift we receive from him and how we can offer it to our companions, our family and friends, and even all mankind. Additionally, we studied The Living Christ with Sister Bushi and broke into small groups to ponder and share our insights on this Proclamation. This simple devotional is what we will associate with Christmas this year and hope to do similar devotionals for years to come. They gave us stockings filled with candy, ties for the elders, and scarves for the sisters. Missionary Christmases are simple and simply the best! 

                  

I wish the day could've ended right then and there, but after personal interviews, there was one more meal to be shared together before the long day was over. I was feeling sympathy for our one elder, who wasn't feeling so hot to begin with, to go to the overindulgent Barbeque Nation for all you can eat spicy Indian style barbeque and many other rice dishes and desserts. My stomach churned all night afterwards and is still gurgling as I write this. I'm hoping and praying the new elders aren't in the same fix as me. They've got flights to catch!

The celebration doubled for a birthday party for Elder Johnson and a farewell for Sister Kalyani leaving Monday. 

 My Night of Woe might have been brought on a little by nerves because today is the Day of Reckoning for me. Getting 14 missionaries transferred to their new areas all by flight and cabs is stressful for sure. It wouldn't be so bad except the cab drivers, as you might recall from last time, send their details to me last minute after the time the missionaries have departed for the airport sans phones, so there's no way to communicate with them directly anymore. Further snags were produced by the flooded web check-in system that kept me from making seat assignments and getting boarding passes early to them. So last minute, I'm sending them their codes to do their own check-in at the airport. As I write this, I'm still in an anxious state to hear if anyone missed a flight or a cab driver didn't show up to pick them up. If I can survive this transfer, I believe we'll only have one small one to go before our time is up. This is cause to shout Hallelujah! But mixed in is some regret too. This morning I received notice in my inbox of 4 more American Elders originally slated to come to India who've been permanently reassigned to stateside missions. Perhaps they have been out longer than a year now and would not have enough time left in their missions to spend a year in India. We can only guess at the reason but my gut says we may not see more Americans coming our way and there is surely not a senior couple on the way to replace us either. We are praying mightily we aren't asked to try to do these secretarial jobs remotely, it's hard enough for us as it is. But somehow the Lord always finds a way to move his work forward despite opposition. When the Chesnuts who were over the Indian MTC had to leave a week ago when their visas expired, plans were made to then send our 3 incoming Indian missionaries to the new Bangkok MTC where they were able to receive, not only their mission preparation classes, but also their temple endowments prior to coming back to India. What a perfect solution! 

Speaking of how the Lord works, His wonders to perform, I have a story that substantiates and confirms the adage "people meet for a reason." A year ago we met Sister Amy Paul in the Church Headquarters mission. She is from Delhi. But she had to hastily return home to India and honestly, I hadn't thought much of her, because of her quick turnaround, we hadn't figured out a way to stay in touch. Who should walk into the mission office this week but this dear old friend!

With the backdrop of packaged garments, no less

She is now on a service mission with the task of writing the history of the Church in India. No small feat! The revelation suddenly hit me that one of my purposes here and our time there in Church Headquarters, was to meet her a year later and put her into contact with key people we've met along the way. I was able to put her in touch with Samuel May, the first Bengaluru convert we met in passing at the airport, Sister Berryman, the first convert baptism in Chennai, Brother Raju Joseph, a pioneer member in Semmedu and Brother Matthew, also a pioneer in Chavadi, who lives near the first built chapel in India. My mission has a purpose! I'm simply in the right place at the right time and that's one important purpose the Lord has for me. I am a bridge! We just never know when we meet someone how the Lord will use us for future essential connections. Realizing this revitalizes me too and gives purpose to my days here. It motivates me to meet as many saints and make as many friends that we can. Because you just never know...

And speaking of being revived, that's the segue way into my last inspirational story. It involves our church dog. A few weeks ago, this unnamed dog must've been hit by a car because he had a huge gash that skinned the fur off his thigh and exposed an ugly gaping wound of muscle and bone. It looked so raw and painful. No one takes ownership of any street or building dog here so they are basically on their own to survive. We saw him day after day surviving in pain, licking his wounds as his only remedy of solace. Now would'ja look at him.

He's not exactly Mr Zippy but the open wound has closed!

Yes, they say time heals all wounds but how is that possible? I'm reminded of the scripture that all creatures are under the all-seeing eye of God, that He notices even when a sparrow falls. If this dog was able to be healed of his gaping wound without the aid of medicine or surgery, how much more does this same Benevolent Father of all creation look after His children and is completely involved but usually unseen in our healing when we put our complete trust in Him? Dogs instinctively trust their Creator because they know who made their bodies to heal on their own and they don't question it. We may be smarter than dogs but we often trust God less. I know from my life experience that we are beautifully and lovingly created and watched over every day by Him.  I testify God our Father has a plan for each of our lives, that he can utilize us for His work of exalting his children and He will magnify the purpose of our lives when we submit our wills to His perfect will. What healing and revitalization can then be brought to pass! 

This week's scripture-

Alma Chapter 58 from the Book of Mormon, edited for our exact circumstances.

...therefore it became expedient that we should wait that we might receive more strength, and we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months. And why they did not send more strength unto us, we knew not. Therefore we did pour out our hearts in prayer to God that he would strengthen us. Yea, the Lord our God did visit us with assurances and we did take courage with our small force which we had received. And why they do not send more men to our assistance, it mattereth not-

we trust God will deliver us notwithstanding the smallness of our armies. And those sons of whom I have spoken of so highly, they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day and keep his commandments continually and their faith is strong. And now I close my epistle. I am Allison, the companion of Robert. 

Re-Joyce in that which was lost and is found

 A true confession. We've grown a little Grinchy about Christmas. For a few years now, we've purposely avoided the "trappings" of the season and have tried to strictly focus on Jesus Christ during the holiday month. We thinned down our crates and crates of decorations, most of which were cheap accumulations anyway, and gave away the rest to my daughters that might have any sentimental value. We tossed our tree for a much smaller one, then finally opted for a Menorah. Perhaps we just spent too many years without the wonder of the season minus grandchildren that got us to this Humbug status. Maybe our Christmas socks were too tight? So when we learned in October we were responsible for decorating the office for Christmas, we were a bit reticent of this assignment. Oh yes, we were reticent. We, of all people assigned to decorate. So we didn't jump in enthusiastically like most do right after Thanksgiving. The first dilemma was just getting down the trees and bins of decor from the highest rafter you could ever possibly imagine only to find the lights were burned out, mostly dead, and loose in the plugs. (Am I describing us or the strands?) Faced with these realities, Micheal arranged a driver and took us to a specialty store on "Commerce Street" where 2 strands of lights cost ₹9000, roughly $100! Would you say Roy's Wonderland has a little monopoly on the Indian market? The prices were insane and the meaning of it all seemed entirely lost. And in despair, I bowed my head. Through the thick and deafening traffic jams on the drive home, we said, "there is no Peace on Earth".

                     'Zat you, Santhu Claus? 

December 5th, we could delay no longer, we offered our daily prayer for help from above and resigned ourselves to the task at hand. I took my iPod full of Christmas music to the office to see if I could dredge up some holiday cheer in my soul. My Global Christmas playlist of carols from around the world was made for this moment, right? True enough, the music created a much needed festive atmosphere for the daunting task. What I wasn't expecting at all was the supply of two helper elves. Talk about unexpected blessings!  Without my even asking, Aftahb and Bhanu had fetched the ladder and began assembling the tree and assisting me in every possible way. This wasn't going to be so bad after all. In fact, with their help it was starting to actually be fun!  With no shared language, we simply used universal signs for "up a little higher," "a little to the left." I wondered what this experience might mean to a couple of Hindus? The Christmas tree and especially stars are "THE" symbol for Christianity in India. Would I be willing to set up a memorial to the Hindu gods, even if a friend asked for help? Probably not. So their selflessness moved me. The fact that these two men were completely willing to help me see this project to the end melted my sticky soul like a peppermint stick in a mug of hot chocolate. There was newfound joy in the air and in my soul! I loved decorating for Christmas this year!

      The painstaking task of untangling beads.            Blessed are the truly patient! 

Thank you Bhanu for being my Christmas miracle!

                      Good Will Toward Men!

Micheal adding some final decorative touches to the topiary.

Another defrosting of my frozen heart came with an unusual request from one of our newfound friends. Joyce is a neighbor of ours we met from one floor down. She was immediately enamored with my foreign status and began fashioning me as both Queen of Scotland and her best friend inside her vivid and creative imagination. She'd been to church with us once and we took her to the youth dance, both of which I wouldn't call successful experiences. She, like many teens, found the starting time of church too early anyway and opted out of weekly attendance. So when she made this odd request, I was filled with a bit of dread. She explained since moving to the Brigade, she hadn't made many friends and would I be willing to host a birthday party for her, complete with cake and party guests? Me? A party planner? Well...um..sure, I suppose so.  With a lull in duties, I couldn't truthfully say I was too busy. So I contacted the expat families in our ward and asked them if they could spare an hour or two for a unique service project with a few of their oldest daughters. Bless their hearts. These are truly busy ladies with 9 school age children between them, juggling  all of their crazy schedules in a place that doesn't lend itself to serenity. I was so thankful for their show of support to proceed. I also invited Juli to come, our other young married American friend. Many times I had to burst Joyce's bubble with the fantasy celebration she had concocted. We were not the Make A Wish Foundation after all, and I couldn't ask the guests to all wear red dresses for a Masquerade theme. The cake she wanted was beyond impossible, especially for India. My question was, where was her artist mother in all this? Couldn't she pull this party off for her far better than I? Why was she not involved? It's a question I can't answer. And what about little Joyce herself? Would her fragile personality result in another meltdown as we would surely fail to fulfill her fantasy expectations? So again, with a little trepidation but a prayer for help from above, we put on a simple party for Joyce. 

    Not her fairytale castle cake but there were           fireworks ever so briefly!

The guests brought presents!

Moms supplied streamers and banners

We played a get to know you game and laughed and giggled alot.

Joyce was elated and very appreciative of our small and simple efforts to make it a special day for her. I wore my red dress at her request. I couldn't have done it alone so let's hear it for group effort. I felt the joy in my heart that Heavenly Father promises us we'll experience when we are in the service of others.  

So here's the last Christmas miracle in my soul. More confessions. I can be a bit of a music snob. But the last 9 months in India has taught me to just let it all go. Just when you think you can teach the concepts of downbeats and time signatures and fermatas to a developing nation, is the time you realize you are making such a small dent of difference. I mostly just have to put my head down during congregational singing and not watch the choristers. Which is good, because now I can concentrate on the lyrics which is where my attention should've been all along. I've found an empathetic sweetness to the struggling piano players as I too have been practicing my skills on the keyboard and realize I'm no prodigy. My singing voice is absolutely shot and so there is nothing left musically in me to have any false pride in. What has brought me a greater happiness on this mission is in shining the spotlight on others and giving sincere praise for their talents and accomplishments, rather than needing expression of my own. The talent of putting others first is the main talent my Heavenly Father needs me to develop in my life now. I have loved experiencing my own ego needs decrease. He must increase, I must decrease.

For example-- Our missionary district was asked to prepare some musical numbers for the Stake Music Festival. We are an assorted lot of varying talents. Elder Macdonald plays piano and Elder Johnson plays guitar. Elder Rajendra has a dreamy soft pop voice. Sister Pollupalli and Elder Injeti love Pentatonix and want to sing just like them even if they are a little tone deaf. Close enough! Sister Kalyani is an experienced Indian Classical dancer.  I proposed the idea she take the song "Pi's Lullaby" and do an interpretive dance as if she were Mary rejoicing in her role as Mother of the Savior of the world and portray through dance her love for her newborn baby. She took on the challenge beautifully! It was the highlight of the night for me. The Stake Music Festival was excruciatingly long. We cut our #s from 4 to 2 as the night droned on but most groups performed all four songs and every soloist sang a medley, at least.  So even though it was long and hard at times tonight to be an audience member, every one of the performers needed that opportunity to let their light so shine. And shine they did! 

"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. "  Matt 5:16

But also....

"...whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it."    Matt.16:25

And also....

"...Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." Luke 15:9