The Feast of Weeks, or rather, The Week of Feasts

 When I signed off last week, we were still down in Coimbatore, joyfully reuniting with our old friends and fellow branch members at Sunday District Conference, the convergence of all the outlying branches at one large gathering. Elder Sunderaj was the visiting Area Authority. You may recall we met him in Salt Lake City at the Conference Center the very Sunday before we left for India. Sadly, we didn't get the personal photo op with him this time, but did snap a group photo of him with the choir. You can also see Pres. & Sis. Bushi, Pres. Nikhil, Sister Jennifer the choir director, beloved missionaries, and so many of our favorite young adult friends. And little Wren in front.

           So many of our favorites in one place!

Not only did we spiritually feast during the conference on the good word, but between meetings, they threw a huge Indian Biryani banquet for all in attendance since many come long distances by bus.

      Feeding the 5000 or in this case the 350

It was also a joy to see many people we hadn't seen for even longer than our 6 weeks of separation. Last time I saw Sister Reena she was 9 months pregnant ready to burst! Her little daughter is nearly the same age as Silas.

 Mommas draw eyebrows on their babies here

Also it was wonderful to see siblings Racheal and Franklin again and to know they are still walking the covenant path.  

                       Flanked by Akash

We met for the first time Elder Rajendra's brother, also named Elder Rajendra, who had just returned from his mission in New Delhi, and who's currently serving with us up in Bengaluru. (Is that clear who's who?) These two brothers, between their respective missions won't see each other in person for nearly 4 years. What a sweet sacrifice!

          Can you see the family resemblance?

Oh I could go on endlessly with the photos of our reunion but it would be overkill. We said our goodbyes, wondering if this really will be the last time we see many of these friends?

Once back to Bengaluru, our feasting days were not done. Sweet President and Sister Bushi, knowing we had missed our Thanksgiving this year, invited our Zone to their home on Monday for an Indian version of the Great American Meal. They went to great lengths to roast a chicken, mash some potatoes, and fill the punch bowl to overflowing, all for the sake of 5 Pilgrims. Poor Elder Harmon down in Chennai was the only American in the mission to miss out. This sweet gesture truly warmed our hearts (and filled our bellies too as we delighted in fatness!)

                      The Founders of the Feast

                 President on punch bowl detail

Elder Macdonald bravely attempted apple and pumpkin pie. With only one competing oven for chicken, pizza, brownies, it deserved a little more cooking time but we still ate it and loved it. Well done!

Elders Injeti and Guntu were found guilty on counts of battering the chicken.

We were so touched by all their efforts to provide this American feast for us. God bless them, everyone! How do you ever repay people for their goodness to you? 

By comparison, the rest of our week was pretty blasé. Just back to our office jobs. We had one occasion to do an apartment inspection in another part of Bengaluru that required a long Metro ride. We saw a much swankier part of town:

                                   Who knew?

       The lovely Convent Road Ward Building

                                    Um...ok

              Indian doggies doing as they're told

As an aside, Indian dogs are an interesting phenomenon. Literally, every street has a smattering of them. We surmise that the basic Indian may not have the means to have a pet inside their home, but all are willing to have collective pets on their streets. So they all put out their rice leftovers and the dogs scrounge enough nourishment to survive and proliferate. Must they be then, for the most part, vegetarian dogs not carnivores? 

Well, speaking of being carnivorous, for our date night on Friday, we got a recommendation on a place that had good American-style salads. If you order a salad here, you get a plate of sliced cucumbers, carrots, and onions, with no lettuce to bind them properly and no dressing to dip or smother them in either. So we walked probably two miles to find this place in a mall. Our biomes were craving fiber that bad. Most Americans and expats just use Amazon.in to find hard to get items delivered to them but our credit card hasn't been accepted here so we have simply foregone hard to find foods. Imagine our delight when Rob found a cobb salad with chicken and bacon(!) on the menu and I, a beef tenderloin arugula salad with orange vinaigrette dressing!!! I kept asking in disbelief as we ordered, "will it be real beef?"  It was! We ate most of it voraciously before I remembered to document this momentous event.

                     Beef. It's what's for dinner

And we were absolutely over the moon when they brought us a slice of garlic sourdough bread on the side! Think celestial!! And what's better still, we learned we can buy it there by the loaf. 

Our bus ride home only cost us 10 rupees each. Now that we know where it is, I think Lavonne's Boulangerie may become a very doable outing for the payoff of having sourdough bread back in our lives. Like Elder Holland said, "Some blessings come soon and some blessings come late, but they do come". 

                        You can say that again.

In summation, we hope you too have some occasion to sacrifice and go without something you really enjoy for a season, long enough to truly miss it, anyway. And only then, have the supreme joy and payoff of having it come back into your life, whether it be fasting for a day, going without a favorite holiday for a year or two, or enduring bravely without seeing a favorite person you love for 4 years (or more). When that reunion finally comes or that waiting time ends, you too will be feasting with joy for weeks! 

..." he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."

Proverbs 15:15

"Feast upon that which perisheth not...and let your soul delight in fatness"

2 Nephi 9:51