BLESSING, BIRTHDAYS and MORE......

Sunday was the special day for Kaylnalu Alena Hanamaikai.  He received a beautiful blessing by his daddy and smiled throughout the blessing.  No one can lighten your heart quite so much as this little guy with his BIG innocent eyes and charming smile.

The photographers were almost as amusing as their subject!

Brittany planned a yummy and fun Brunch with family and friends.  It was fun to see Quinn's family again and enjoy a delicious breakfast together.

 

  

Sorry Quinn, got you blinking.

 

We are thankful to be able to once again be a part of these special family occasions.

Also this weekend we helped two munchkins celebrate their birthdays; Ryan turned 6 and Ella is now 2. (yikes, look out) We enjoyed a good birthday lunch with the family and LeAnne's parents.  There is never a dull moment when you get 10 under 10 together for a party.

  
 

  

  

  

  

And last but certainly not least was our special "date night" with Ame.  We enjoyed Tooth Fairy together and then had dinner at her place of choice IHOP (we tried to lead to other places but honored her wish).   Then we had a fun sleepover with Valentine and cake making.  Some sweet memories made that night.

 
 

  

So we are glad to admit that this grandparenting is just as fun as ever!

FOUR GENERATIONS AND INDIAN FRIENDS

I feel like a blog-slacker!!  I feared that this would happen when I returned to civilian life.  This has been a busy month but we have so much fun with our family.    Last week we went to Logan and met a good friend Sunitha from India who is attending Utah State.  We also got to see 2 of our favorite returned Elders who served in our Branch in Bangalore.  It was so fun to reminisce about people, places and experiences there. 

 

Allan "hit the slopes" with Jason, Chris and the grandsons.  He actually did very well and did not really "hit the slopes" but nevertheless felt the effects for some days .    We had great fun just hanging out with the grandkids and Karli , Brittany and Jason's families.

  

  

  

Mom has been staying with us for 3 weeks.  I am so happy to spend some time with her and she is doing amazingly well although I do see some changes (and rightly so) from before our mission .    The great-grandkids have all been so kind to her and she has loved being with them.  So we took advantage of the opportunity to do some 

four generation photos.

 

 

Mom and I have spent several days visiting my Dad's brothers and sisters who live quite near.  It has been interesting  telling them about our Mission experiences and seeing their reactions.    Jerilyn came up one night and we had a fun time catching up.  So now we are busy making plans for a couple of fun vacation get-aways in the next two months to warmer climates.

CALIFORNIA FUN

We began to get our heads on straight after the Christmas festivities and soon took to the road.  We stayed with Aaron and Debbie and boys who now reside in Templeton, Ca.   It is really a beautiful place with "warm" weather--almost felt like Bangalore.  It was so nice to see everyone again and catch up on all the humor and fun with Evan, Kyle and Luke.  Try as they might, they did not completely exhaust ol' grandma and gramps!

We were the oldest volunteers in Evan's art class,  ran the remote car, rode dirt bikes, hiked in the forest and played endless an fun games with the munhkins.

 

Now , could this boy charm the socks off anyone or what??

Is this a cute little family or what?  Anyone's guess as to what color hair #4 baby boy might have.   We had such a fun time with these little boys and thanks Aaron and Deb for being such fun and great hosts.

Yesterday we went to Temple Square to find our #1 missionary from Bangalore, India --dear Sister Sundaram.  We rather surprised her and she about leaped into our laps.  After long hugs and many tears we learned about all her challenges adapting to the customs, culture and embracing the work at the MTC.  Bless her courageous heart and her unwavering testimony and commitment, she still had her same broad and beautiful smile.  It was so wonderful to feel of her spirit and feel the great love we have for each other.  We are so thankful for her friendship and all she has taught US.

New Year in a New Place

It is a bit hard to believe that we have only been home 2 weeks as so much has happened and our lives have changed so quickly. We enjoyed a fun and somewhat exhausting Christmas with most of our family and we are traveling to California this week to see Aaron and Deb and boys. This year we gathered at Jason's for an early "eve" dinner so each family could have their own Christmas eve later. It is pretty amazing how much the grandkids have grown and changed and become even cuter. (how is that possible?)

Christmas morning we went to Brittany's for the fun and excitement there. It was so great to share in their happiness on that crisp Christmas morning.

Later that morning we got to do more partying with Karli and her familly and then everyone came over in the afternoon . It was such a fun family Christmas.

End of a Magnificent Journey

Our last week in the mission was certainly BITTERSWEET. We were so excited to see our family again, but what sorrow we felt in having to say "farewell" to so many dear friends. Our last day we enjoyed the Christmas Devotion at the Service Center with Pres. and Sister Nichols, so many good missionaries and all the terrific employees/friends at the Service Center who have been so helpful and kind to us.




















We began our long journey at 3:00 a.m. from Bangalore and....




















...and about 38 hours later reached our "native" place (where all the little natives were eagerly waiting.


















If you cannot see the "grand reunion" it would be because the guests of honor were on a plane diverted by fog to Boise and by the time we got to S.L.C. at 2:00 a.m. the natives were of course all home sound asleep. So our return was NOT quite as we had all envisioned it would be, but we were overflowing with excitement the following day as we reunited with our dear family and met some new family members for the first time.

We are so grateful for the blessings and gifts that have come into our lives as we have served in this amazing Bangalore Mission. We consider these precious experiences life-changing and Allan and I and all of our family members have been blessed beyond measure. We are thankful for the"scenes by the wayside" that we experienced daily that gave us a new perspective on life. What a privilege we feel it was to serve with the Seminary and Institute teachers and the wonderful youth of India.
Our hearts are torn by the cherished friendships we had to leave behind. We will always hold dear our times of learning, laughing, playing and worshiping together. We know our lives were immensley enriched by our service in Incredible India.

A Week of "Lasts"

This is a busy, crazy, exciting and sad week as we experience many "lasts" in Bangalore. We had a great multi Zone Conference and got to see many familiar and new faces. It was the last time to see the remaining couples who serve in the other cities in the mission.































We had District Conference this week so it was a great opportunity to see so many dear friends. It was a great conference and you will see the

"MANY REASONS WE WILL MISS INDIA"

A corner of our hearts will always be full of these wonderful friends in India.

Fulfillment of a Dream

Last night Sister Sundaram's "dream" became a reality as she boarded the plane bound for the Provo MTC and her missionary service at Temple Square. It was such an exciting, emotional and happy day for everyone who knows the challenges she has overcome to reach this goal.

Vallar grew up in a poor Hindu home and was introduced by a friend to the church 6 years ago . She recognized the truth quickly but had to wait 3 long years to "take baptism" because of her family opposition. Soon after she joined she started teaching with the sister missionaries and knew that is what she wanted in her life. Three years of working and saving, improving her English skills, studying the scriptures and acting in FAITH have brought her the desired blessing of a call to serve. Our lives have been so enriched as we have supported, taught and helped Vallar on this journey. She is truly one of the choice blessings of our missionary service in India.

Her family have come to accept her desire to be a missionary and because of her great committment and example her sister and her husband are taking the discussions and have a baptism date set this month.

Sister Sundaram's family all came for her setting apart even tho some of them don't speak a word of English. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to see the Priesthood in action blessing her life.













When we went to her home near midnight to take her to the airport , the family was all there waiting. Vallar's home is very humble--up a small lane without access for a car. Allan went to get her and she came out walking boldly with her head held high ready to fly to the other side of the world to serve the Lord. That image will forever be imbedded in our souls.

A Turkey-less day of THANKS giving

Well LATE does NOT mean less grateful--it just means we were busy and gone. So...... we too had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in India. No one knows or talks about Thanksgiving here but we missionaries so we had to "Live it up". And the best way to do that is to feed the Elders till they POP. What a fun day we had with the 3 office Elders--Hullinger, Sathyia, Bartlett and the A.P.s - Elders Mehan and Carver. We needed to also share some customs with our dear friends Steven and Komala Mudumala and their darling son Shiblon Bitner. So Allan (a most able and appreciated assistant) and I whipped up some good vittals with homemade rolls, pies, yams, roasted chicken and dressing and potatoes/gravy. It became an all day affair with our tiny stove but we were so happy and thankful to be able to share this day together.

The following day the four missionary couples and Pres. and Sister Nichols met at our very favorite restaurant "Sunnys" for a most delicious and authentic 5 course Thanksgiving meal. It was the last time we will all be together as the Lintons went home yesterday and 2 more of us drop off soon enough. We enjoyed the afternoon with these fun, devoted and faithful friends.

And believe it or not, Friday night we met with more friends==expat members who are here with their families working==to enjoy more fun and FOOD. Overload I might say by this point but still very tasty.
We will never forget the memorable times here, but particularly the dear friends we have made for which we are so very thankful. It was not "just like home" without our dear family but we feel of their love every day and that makes our hearts full of gratitude.

November narrative.....

Today our little Branch Primary presented their Sacrament Meeting program. It was really quite good with the children giving beautiful talks and singing with gusto (and quite off key I might add). Now we know where some of the "interesting" singing habits began in our Branch!! They were all so proud of themselves and so were we.















Saturday was our last Institute class which was rather bittersweet. We love these young members who are trying to be commited and are so fun and friendly ; actually teens without attitudes!! They are very smart and know the scriptures amazingly well but have difficulty (as do we all) applying many gospel principles. I would guess the average membership time among these youth is 3-5 years so you can see they are young pioneers here taking big leaps of faith. It has been such a blessing for us to study the Book of Mormon and New Testament together these past 2 years.


















Esther is one of the special ones we have developed a close relationship with in our classes, on the Dist. YSA committee and in the Branch. Is she a classic Indian beauty of what?





















We didn't want to do "Deli-Overload" on our last post, so now more............
One of our favorite sights was the Gandi Museum. This was the place where Gandi lived the last few years of his life and where he was martyred. It was very interesting to read about his life and beliefs. This shows his last footsteps on the way to pray where he was shot.
















A few words of explanation: first-one of the oldest mosques in India,
next-this girls is NOT carrying home hamburgers (tho I do believe it came from a cow!)


















Yes, an "official Indian Snake Charmer",
next - hand weaving of silk rugs
















This is said to be the tallest Minerette in India--quite amazing.

And finally four tired, happy and amazed senior missionaries.






















I will have to say as our time in this amazing land draws nigh, I feel like I cannot soak up enough of the diversity, uniqueness and beauty of this part of the world and the people who struggle and find happiness here.

Another India

Last week we travelled to Delhi, about 1500 miles north, which is in the New Delhi mission. We were asked to come and train the Priesthood leaders and Elder and Sister Weeks on PEF. The Weeks are from Reno and have been in India about a year. Eichelbergers , ERS missionaries, went with us to help with the training and do a Career Workshop.





The Weeks were a bit overwhelmed but were good sports and listened to our babbling for the duration. I think they are a bit nervous about taking on this added assignment. We attended Delhi 1st Branch with them and enjoyed meeting the good members there. The New Delhi mission has 6 Branches in Delhi with about 25 missionaries and 3 couples.




This is a refugee family from Afganistan.











The Weeks took us on an "Adventure" into Old Delhi which proved to be most interesting and entertaining. Ped-auto rickshaws are the mode of travel through these narrow and BUSY alleys in the old part of the city. There are teaming masses of people and merchants all going about their business as usual.








We took the early morning express train about two hours to Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. Well the Taj is truly one of the "7 Wonders of the World". It was built as a mausoleum by the Shah Jahan, a mughal emperior, for his favorite wife. The marble used in the building is so dense that it never gets dirty, thus the sparkling white structure.









So it was quite the amazing experience to visit this wonder. This location is scorching hot in the summer so we were fortunate to be there during the cool winter season.

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF IN BANGALORE

Last week was a busy one for the members in the 4 Bangalore Branches as they assembled relief packages for the flood victims in southern India. The church had donated $150,000 and Elder and Sister Fairbands, humanitarian missionaries, organized this wonderful project for our District. Two long days were spent with the members organizing and filling the bags with food, hygiene supplies, blankets and mats and towels.










It was so fun (and hard work for us old folks) to work side-by-side with the members, and other missionaries in this great relief effort. Our Branch building was the center for assemblying and the "chapel" was filled with bags. About 950 bags were assembled.











The Indian people are such HARD workers. These pictures are with mostly the YSA's but another day the women and men worked just as long and hard. They love to have a cause to serve and were so excited for this opportunity to help.





Another group came to load the trucks, which must have been a back breaking job as the bags were very heavy. Then about 60 Priesthood brethren got on buses for a 20 hour ride each way to deliver the supplies in a flood stricken village. Their report was one of incredible fulfillment as they were able to deliver the bags , paint some buildings and help with clean up.
It was so gratifying for us to feel the enthusiasm of these members as they wore their "Mormon Helping Hands" aprons and were the Lord's hands in this land to those in need. Service in the Lord's church goes on throughout the world with the same love and devotion.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE?

Yes , you did read the sign correctly--we have

"Hollywood" in Bangalore!!

Juliette, a woman who comes to visit us at our office and has shown some interest in the church took us for a visit to the community she lives in; ie. HOLLYWOOD. And for India , it truly is a step out of time. It is a quiet, clean and beautifully layed out community with HOA amenities like any you might see in the world.

Juliette was so proud (and rightly so) to show us her home and the beautiful clubhouse, etc that they enjoy. She is a very humble woman who's family has worked very hard to acquire this status. I am standing by a washing stone. The Indian women beat their wet clothes on this stone to clean and then dry them. How long would they last-one or two washings???

I love this banana tree? Where are the monkeys? Oh here is one by the pool trying to decide how to manage a swim, while forgetting his swimsuit once again!

The home of one of the 3 brothers (Indian) who own this community. Most of the people who have homes here however are expats who have businesses in India.

Well after we removed our "glass slippers" and started back home we were soon in our regular habitat. Do you wonder at the disparity in this amazing country.

HISTORICAL CONFERENCE IN INDIA

Last Sunday before we watched the Sunday morning session of General Conference , we had a historic meeting for the Church in Southern India. President Nichols announced the creation of 3 new Districts (Stakes) in this mission and one in Sri Lanka. Previously there were 2 Districts in the mission and now they have created 5. It is a wonderful step forward for the members here and they were so excited. New Priesthood leaders have been called and are stepping forward with faith and commitment. The meeting was broadcast in 12 locations throughout the mission with nearly 2000 members attending. Great things are happening here as the Lord blesses these humble members for their pioneer efforts in building His kingdom.

Conference in the mission field always has such added meaning. It seems that the Brethren are inspired with such a diversity of messages and one after the other appear to be specifically for me. President Monson in his kind and loving manner gave such encouragement to do more in the service of others. I loved his counsel to "not immerse ourselves in the THICK of THIN things". We have so much still to do here in India, and so little time to do it.

Our hearts are becoming so entwined with these beautiful friends here.

HELEN -O-LICIOUS !!

Well the long awaited reunion finally happened--Helen came to visit us! I don't know who was more excited, but we all hugged and cried and laughed for the first 10 minutes. Helen was one of my students when we taught in Beijing and we developed a wonderful friendship which we have continued via Skype and email for the past 3 years. She is the same funny, cute, smart and lovable girl that we knew in Beijing. She stayed with us for 5 days and we had a terrific visit. We spent one day at a lovely botonical garden enjoying the gorgeous weather, flowers, trees and interesting people (and lots of gabbing).

Another day we took a trip out of the city to a Indian Dance Village where girls audition for admission and live for 3 years with daily dance instruction. We got to watch them practice and then were entertained by one of Indian's most famous dancers who happened to be there visiting. It was so amazing (but no pictures of the dancers allowed-boo). The village and adjacent Taj hotel are way off the beaten track and are of Stonehedge design. We had such a fun and relaxing day with our special friend there.

The VERY BEST part of our time together was the opportunity to teach Helen about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we lived in Beijing we wanted so badly to tell her about her Savior and his teachings but we were forbidden to discuss religion. She had such a desire to know and therefore within hours of her arrival here she began aking questions. We were able to teach her about the Atonement, the restoration, about a living prophet, the Plan of Salvation and much about the Book of Mormon. We gave her a copy both in English and Mandarin with student study guides and DVD's and everything we could find to help her in her study. She learned to pray and offered such beautiful and humble prayers with us. By the time she left she was talking about how to be baptized. We checked with the leaders in Hong Kong and told her the procedure she needed to follow. It was a joyous time for us all and our long awaited chance to share our testimonies of our Savior's great love for her was so sweet.





And so dear Helen, we know we will meet again--maybe at your baptism.

Beautiful People.........

Every week we are reminded what beautiful people we serve here. This weekend we had a grand "Branch social" or the Branch President's baby Caren's first birthday. There is a solid tradition here for a HUGE party for the first birthday. (maybe with only 1 or 2 children it works) So everyone showed up for fun, friendship and lots of Indian food. President Anthony and his wife Usha with little Caren Jane--are they beautiful of what?

More of the grand folks from the Branch and District.

We'll have to say, the Indians know how to party!!

This is our auto rickshaw driver named Satish and his daughter Rackshaw.

This family has such a sad story. Shortly after we got here we met his wife and daughter and she was about 6 months pregnant. They were such a happy and humble little family. She developed breathing problems one night and before he could get her to the hospital she and the baby died. Of course he was devastated. A year or so later his mother "arranged" another marriage to some total stranger from her "village". Well this is not a good relationship and his daughter consequently has to live with a relative 6 hours away. He misses her so much but can't afford to leave his job to go and take care of her . There are such complicated struggles that go on here.

Well another busy week is upon us. We have been asked to go to the other mission, the New Delhi Mission, to train leaders and missionaries on how to impliment the Perpectual Education Fund . We are excited for the opportunity but have alot to do to prepare and 100000000 other things on our plates in October but, the Lord always provides a way for his work to go forth and we are grateful for the chance to be a "small" part of the great things happening here in the great land of India.

Humanitarian work in India

A couple of weeks ago we went with Elder and Sister Fairbanks to visit one of the water projects they are working on as a humanitarian project of the church. It was in a couple of villages about two hours south of Bangalore. Most of the people living in these rural areas haul water in pots on their heads. So the church digs wells to bring water closer to the villages.
















Of course everyone quickly gathered to see the "white folk" and were probably as much in "awe" with us as we were with them. They were all so friendly and of course everyone wanted their pictures taken. I will never talk of the woman-at-the-well again without envisoning this woman. (you must click on these pics and see the worn and wondering faces)








The piercing eyes of this beautiful little child were so humbling.







Is it totally out of our realm of thinking to imagine that there are millions of people in the world that live this simply. The church is blessing so many lives with the basics like water and schools and medical supplies.


We stopped and visited a school along the way, which TOTALLY made our day. It was lunch break and they were eager to show us around their school and pose for a 1000 pictures. Do you love their happy and friendly faces?








The teacher's "lounge" where they are having their lunch break.














As you can see, it was a pretty amazing day. We talk about these kinds of experiences and hope they will help us get and somehow maintain a better perspective on life. We feel humbled and blessed to be serving in India.

MORE CHERISHED MOMENTS

We are blessed to make such wonderful friendships here with these beautiful Indian saints. Today Allan had the opportunity of baptizing a beautiful new bride named Kalpana. She married a member named Mano about 3 months back ; an arranged marriage but it is obvious that it has developed into a "love marriage".



This is Kalpana and Mano her husband and the two really terrific Elders serving in our Branch (well THREE terrific Elders)!

Joined by family and friends before her baptism.





Kalpana and Mano following baptism.

The members do not have cameras so when they see ours come out everyone lines up for a picture (which we love). This family also had a baptism today--their son Joel .

And this is Bro. Donapal who is the SENIOR member in the area--25 years. He is the sole member in his family and has remained so faithful. Everyone loves and respects this 85 year old.

We attended another beautiful Indian wedding this week. As tradition, they are married in the chapel with a sprinkling of Indian culture and a nice LDS ceremony. And the bride is always in a beautiful white dress and veil which covers her face until the vows are made. They always drape the wedding "garlands" around their necks as part of the ceremony.










Then its off to a wedding hall for the INDIAN RECEPTION. Here the bride changes into the full blown Indian wedding sari and jewels. They are amazingly beautiful. Each of these sweet couples have such amazing stories of conversion, challenges to be able to marry in the church and great hopes for temple sealing blessings.

Try to appreciate this display at the wedding. Each section of this is done with flower petals of different colors. Amazing!!

So another wonderful week with blessed and memorable events here in Bangalore, India.

Visit to Goa

Last week we went to a beautiful coastal city in southern India named Goa. It is a "Portuguese Maui. " Now you may wonder.......it was first settled by the Portuguese and therefore many decendents still reside, the Catholic church is very predominate and the architecture reflects their influence. It is lush green tropics like Maui or better. So following some "official business" of attending Seminary and Institute classes and conducting teacher inservice we enjoyed the wonders of this city.

The Catholic influence is long and strong here. We visited several old churches. At one they were celebrating the "first harvest" with the city dignitaries and the harvest-on-the-head preparing to proceed into the church.

We stayed at a hotel on the beach and have now walked in the waters of the Arabian Sea. The beach was "different" in many ways as these pictures will attest. But it was a wonderful break and brought back some great memories of other days at the beach!

For all you former family lifeguards---look what you are missing!

We went by ferry out to a small island which was so beautiful. We stopped at an old cemetary which was so interesting. We asked what the boxes in the walls (you can see behind Allan)and were told they contain bones. After 6 years they dig up the bodies and put the bones in the box to make room in the cemetary . Wouldn't you love that job?


















And yes, this little adventure was LEGAL. In fact the mission President encourages the couples to get out and see the country within the mission boundaries (which would be thousands of miles in the Bangalore Mission). We are so grateful for the interesting and enriching experience we are able to have here. We never cease to be amazed at the beauty and diversity of this land.

"BE YE PREPARED" and more.....

This week the District Relief Society held an all day activity on "Preparedness". Workshops were held on stress management, financial planning, food storage and 72 hour emergency kits. Now you might say that sounds quite common, but to apply these teachings in this culture and economic setting was most interesting. Our Branch was responsible for the 72 hour kit workshop. Of course the young sisters in our Presidency had no idea what that would entail so it took a bit of original thinking to put this together. The sisters cannot afford to purchase dry packaged fruit, nuts, peanut butter , tuna, etc. So we had to come up with food items they could afford that required no cooking. But what a grand workshop they ended up with. After teaching what should be included in a kit, we helped them fill their bags (delightfully colorful pillowcases) with first aid supplies, etc and lists of things to complete at home.























They all seemed very interested and eager to learn so hopefully they are motivated to complete their preparedness at home.

The food storage workshop was very interesting to attend and learn what they have here to store and how they can preserve their grains, etc.

And then there was lunch--always a BIG part of any event. Check out the huge plates of food; and I might add SPICY!!!

H

Had to include this picture. Nothing to do with this event but rather left over from Pioneer Day celebration. Can you believe this wagon---all out of styrofoam painted brown.

And just when you think you've "SEEN IT ALL"......... sights along the way to church.





INDIA--there can't be anywhere in the world with such diversity.

Seminary and Institute Visits......

Last weekend we went to one of our favorite Branches located in Coimbatore. They have one of the most beautiful church buildings in India, but it is the members there who are the greatest. We had teacher in-service Saturday morning, followed by a good Indian lunch consisting of butter chicken ( a type of curry), stir fry rice and dahl (a onion, veg, and yogurt type salad) and chippatis (like a tortilla). Should have taken a picture. Of course all of the above is eaten with your fingers ONLY. Aren't these teachers a grand bunch of folks!
















We had a couple of free hours so we scurried back to the hotel for "our" lunch at this fun Chinese restaurant.



















Then we returned to attend the Seminary and Institute classes. You would be amazed at what great lessons these teachers give. We feel like we are "singing to the choir" when we do our teacher inservice. And the students in the class are so smart and eager to learn together. It is such a rewarding experience to be able to work with Seminary and Institute here.







Sunday we went to church and had some meetings following. Then we had a few hours to relax and enjoy before flying back to Bangalore. Nice hotel we stayed in there.









We got THE MOST WONDERFUL news today. The Indian Ambassador has agreed to once again start issuing visas to the missionaries from the U.S. We have not had any new missionaries since May so this is definately an answer to many prayers. We all had faith that the Lord would take care of his children here.

Relief Society Enrichment Day in Bangalore

We had our first Enrichment Day with our new R.S. Presidency on Saturday. It was so fun with about 30 attending including 5 of our young women. Our new Presidency is Komala-Pres., Roselin-1st Couns., Yours-truly-2nd and Usha -Sec. These beautiful Sisters are long time members-all about 8 years. They each have one toddler and are under 30 years of age. So they are eager to learn and have a great knowledge of the gospel but are still learning how to conduct, deligate and plan and carry-out. I love serving with them!

We began with lunch (which is always catered here very cheaply) that was the traditional food everyone loves (except me). Check out the huge plates of food and the proficient manner of eating--gives a new meaning to "finger food".

I gave a short talk about the Family Proclamation and how it can help us strengthen our families and then these incredibly creative women designed very simple frames for their proclamation, sitting together on mats on the floor. They made ribbon roses and decorated with cut paper, glitter, original art designs. I was so impressed with their finished products using such "simple" materials. A lesson to be learned here!!

The blessings of sisterhood in the gospel are enjoyed in every land of the world where the gospel abounds. My heart was so full of joy as I felt of their love and concern for one another and the enjoyment they were having together. These are such loving and determined pioneer women of the church. They are the daughters, mothers and grandmothers who are building the church here in this part of Zion. There are so many things about life and the gospel that I will never view the same as a result of our experience here.

CALLED TO SERVE ......

One of the greatest blessings of our mission thus far has been our opportunity to help Vallar Madhi Sundarum prepare to serve a mission. Vallar joined the church 3 years ago after being taught by the Sister missionaries in Bangalore. She then began a long and challenging journey in her pursuit of one day serving a mission.

This week her dream became a reality as she received her call to serve in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. When the mission office called to inform us that her call had come in we promptly went to fetch it and called Vallar to come to our apartment after work. When she arrived and we handed her the envelope she was literally overcome with excitement and joy.

Let me explain why we have become so endeared to this young woman. Vallar is the only member of the church from a poor Hindu family. She was forced to quit school at the end of 10th grade to work and support her mom and dad. She works 10 hours , six days a week. Her father died this year and she had to give the missionary savings she had faithfully put away for his funeral. This however did not dampen her burning desire to serve the Lord. For 3 years she has been 100% faithful in attending church, Institute and has worked with various missionary couples to improve her English and knowledge of the gospel. We have witnessed her tremendous growth in self confidence and testimony and seen the light in her eyes as she came to new understandings about our Savior.


Today when Vallar stood before the Branch to announce her call and share her testimony, all there wept with joy. She has, is, and will be an example to all of us of great faith and courage. We also know that one of our purposes in serving in India was to find her, teach her and be blessed by her humility and determination to serve the Lord. And now the additional bonus of being able to see her at home serving so near our home at Temple Square. If you go there after November 1, find Sister Sundarum and feel of her spirit.

WHERE DID JUNE GO ?

This month seemed to have disappeared with a myriad of experiences slipping past. One of the highlights of the month was our visit from two Presidents of the Seventy. We had to say farewell to Pres. and Sister Hallstrom, our Area President who has left for his responsibilities in S.L.C. He is so love and respected here and we too will miss his wisdom and inspiration for this part of the world. Elder Clayton and his wife also left all with such encouragement and promises for the future.

Front L to R - Elder and Sis. Hallstrom, Elder and Sis. Clayton, Pres. and Sister Nichols. Back L to R the Lintons (office couple) ,the Eichelbergers (ERS) ,yours truly, the Fairbanks (LDSC).

All our 17 Seminary and 11 Institute classes began this month. It was a bit rocky getting everyone up and running but hopefully things are in place. We have some outstanding teachers and the students everywhere seem very excited about studying the Book of Mormon together. Our Institute class is so wonderful and growing weekly. We love preparing these lessons and are learning so much from our study and sharing in class. We have new converts, lots of YSA's, several returned missionaries and several young marrieds. So the diversity of the students and their experience and background makes for great discussions.

We are also teaching Missionary Prep, Temple Prep and Marriage and Family Relations. Sometimes we can't remember which lesson we are preparing for what class! We have such great members in our little Branch and it will be so hard to leave some of these dear friends.

Side note: as I am writing this blog, I hear the "calls" of yet another street vendor strolling down our tree lined street. Every morning and often throughout the day we hear their calls and run to the window to see what is for sale: flowers, fruit, hand made brooms, spices, rugs, newspapers, plants, and much more that we can't identify. Each vendor shouts his wares in a tongue that of course we don't understand and has his own "unique" pitch! I badly want their pictures but not much luck from our 3rd story window.

Well another Indian wedding this month--this one was the ultimate. She is a convert of 1 year from a Hindu family and he is a returned missionary. By law here they must marry civilly before going to Hong Kong to the temple. They are a darling couple and it was an extravagent wedding--ceremony in the chapel by the District President and then to a reception hall for a reception. Check out the brides "wardrobe". Always a white dress for the church and a red saree for the reception and dripping with jewels! (enlarge and check out the jewels and her painted hands in the dancing picture).

This couple asked us to teach them to Waltz a few days prior so they could do a wedding dance and then to lead some dances at the reception--which turned out to be the bunny hop, the YMCA and others. Can you believe it?? That one goes down in the missionary journal as another "unique" act of service.




Other beautiful friends at the wedding.......

So life goes on here in this land of intrigue, beauty and dear friendships with the lovely members of the church continue to bless our lives.

Silk, A Spiritual Feast and More...........

Some of us "Senior companions" spent an afternoon at the local Silk and Saree shop. It is the most interesting place to just watch the Indian women get wrapped in sarees and look at fabric. The huge white beds you see are just that, where the sarees are rolled out (all 9 yards) and examined. Check out the stock on the shelves. Truly I have never seen 2 sarees that are the same!!

They also have a huge selection of silk on bolts that you can purchase which is why we were there. We are going to have suits made with this gorgeous fabric. It was a fun cultural experience--not quite like stopping in at the local BEVERLY'S!!

One of the best parts of this mission experience is getting to know the terrific Elders that come and go through Bangalore. The Elders who serve in our Branch are the Office Elders so we see them almost daily and try to have them to dinner weekly. This week there were 3, as transfers were the following day. So I cooked up a big pot of spaghetti, salad, homemade Fr. bread and Rice Krispie Treats. This may sound pretty "ho-hum" but to the American Elders who haven't seen western food for sooooo long, it is pretty exciting!! And of course Elder Kumar, the Indian, couldn't figure out what we were even eating. Well, as we sat down I said, "Elder Kumar we have a custom in America that whenever we eat spaghetti we always drink wine with it." (As I sat a big pitcher of grapejuice on the table). The 2 Amer. Elders readily agreed and said it was fermented but that it was O.K. I wish I had a picture of poor Elder Kumar's face!! Oh we love these fine young men and firmly believe that only the best are serving in this challenging mission.

This weekend we were blessed to have TWO PRESIDENTS OF THE SEVENTY at our District Conference; Elder Clayton and Elder Hallstrom. Elder Clayton and his wife were on an Asia assignment and we were their last stop. Elder and Sister Hallstrom were here for their LAST visit as Asia Area President before leaving for Utah. Saturday afternoon Sisters Clayton and Hallstrom and Sister Nichols conducted leadership training for Primary, Y.W. and R.S. It was a very informative, uplifting and fun meeting. The Indian sisters are so smart and receptive to their training and anxious to apply their new knowledge.

The conference was electronically broadcast to 6 other cities in the District and during the Sat. eve session members could "text message" questions for the brethern to answer during part of the meeting. Pretty incredible! Besides giving very uplifting counsel, Elder Clayton and Hallstrom praised and encouraged the members for being such valiant pioneers . They were encouraged to cling to cultural practices that are complimentary with the gospel culture and to have the courage to set aside those that are not. Great promises and prophet blessings were left with these dear saints that buoyed their spirits and gave them determination to move the gospel forward knowing that "every nation, kindred, tongue and people" will hear the word of the Lord. We feel so grateful to be able to witness the miracle of the gospel changing lives, culture and someday an entire nation here in India. It also gives us motivation to work harder, serve better and love more. Can you see and feel the excitement for the gospel in their lovely faces??

Establishing the gospel within individuals,

within families,

and throughout a nation.

More Interesting Events........

We had a really fun Kick-Off activity at our Branch on Saturday evening with 35 in attendance. We had team competitions about Book of Mormon events, prophets and facts as well as scripture mastery activities. It is so fun to watch how competitive these young people are. Everyone seemed to enjoy the games and prizes. Following we watch Elder Bednar's CES address given in May. It was outstanding of course. Then we all went outside for KFC and cake. Sorry to say our camera had dead batteries. We hope the goal of inspiring and motivating these fine young saints to study the Book of Mormon this year in S & I was accomplished. Time will soon tell as we begin this week!!

Today we spent a LONG and FUN day with the Elders in the Bangalore zone as their chaperones for a trip to Mysore. This is a city about 3 hours south of Bangalore where there is a big , beautiful palace and lots of history.

It was great to spend the day with 12 Super-Fine young Elders and E & S Eichelberger. It was the first time there for all the Elders and they were like a bunch of excited school boys. Of course they wanted to stop at the Silkworm Market on the way that we have visited before which is always an amazing sight.

This is actually a government market where the farmers bring their silkworm cocoons and bargain at the various tables in this HUGE warehouse for a price depending on the color and quality of the cocoons. And they are so friendly and interested in us "white folk" as we walk through.

Of course after our tour through the Palace at Mysore the Elders and us Oldies had to take a ride on the old and mangy camels or elephants. We have to entertain the grandkids with these kinds of pictures.

As we were driving for 3 hours home from this fun adventure, I was taking in all the beauty and culture and people along the way and thinking............when we get home how boring are the countyside drives going to be through Utah, Nevada, California after experiencing all of this.

Looking into the eyes and weather beaten faces of these humble people who must work from dawn to dusk to provide a very simple life truly brings our lives of ease into perspective. As we wave and smile to one another along the way, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father knows and has EQUAL love for ALL his children.

A HUGE sigh of relief...........

It seems we have lived through 2 busy, busy months and now will enjoy some return to normalicy (I don't think that word exists in the vocabulary here)! We have completed all the graduations and Pre-inservice meetings for all the Branches. This week was Bangalore District Youth Conference. Seven Branches travelled by train here to Bangalore and were joined by the local Branches for the 2 day event. More than 150 youth attended. It was held at a "resort" that was quite amazing. This "white house" was the girls dorm which had an indoor pool. The gardens and facilities were very lovely.

We taught 4 sessions about Seminary and the Book of Mormon course of study for this year. The classes were really fun with B. of M. Jeopardy, scripture mastery games and other contests with a myriad of prizes (which the youth get SO into here). They were so cute, cooperative and smart. We really enjoyed the day and hope that we generated some enthusiasm for Seminary attendance.

These are newly weds who teach one of our Seminary class. Are they cute or what???

We then assisted with a service project--assembling hygiene and school kits. I think they did 500 kits. One of the other missionary couples organized, purchased all the supplies and carried it out. BIG JOB.

The day ended with a "beach" theme--hence our District President appeared as one of the "Beach Boys". Toooooooo hilarious!





I don't think I'll ever attend another youth conference without memories of this experience in INDIA!

DEFINATE BRAGGING RIGHTS !

I am very proud to present Taylor Jayne our newest granddaughter.









She made her entrance on May 19 in the evening , which happened to be the early morning for us. Is she the cutiest little red head you've seen lately? This child has been a MIRACLE from the very beginning and when she entered this world it was a MIRACLE for us to be there in the hospital room via Skype. We are so very thankful that we were able to spend the 6 hours - on and off- talking with everyone and lending our love and support and greeting little Miss Taylor as soon as she was presentable. What a marvelous experience for all . Do you think Karli and Chris could possibly be happier????

The Lord TRULY DOES answer prayers

in a myriad of ways.

MOTHER'S DAY IN INDIA

Well today was a beautiful day with moments to reflect on the special mothers in my life and memories made with the mothers influencing my life here in Bangalore. First, and most importantly, I felt such great love and gratitude for my family; my loving and supportive husband who continues to make me the happiest mother in the world, for my 89 year old mother who never gives up and has always been the perfect example of faith and devotion to the Lord and our family, for the 4 beautiful young mothers of our grandchildren who I love, admire and respect in their busy lives. What else could make this day more perfect??????????

Well take a look at these beautiful Indian mothers who have adopted me as their grandma, friend and sister in the gospel.

These 2 lovely ladies are the R.S. Pres and 1st counselor that I get to serve with.
It was a fun, happy and uplifting Sunday. The Relief Society choir sang "There's Sunshine in My Soul Today" in Sacrament meeting. I guess the adjective "funny" is also appropriate describing any choir in India--finding or staying on key is seldom part of most songs. But what gusto!!
We all received a rose from the Branch and after our R.S. meeting we all shared a Mother's Day cake. So you can begin to understand what a lovely, happy day I spent with these warm sweet sisters.

On the road again......

This week we travelled to Chennai, a city on the coast where we have 2 strong Branches. We were privileged to meet our Area S&I director from Hong Kong and the S&I Administrator from S.L.C. over India. They spent the weekend with us, attending the Teacher Inservice training on Saturday and Seminary and Institute Grad on Sunday.





We held a 5 hour teacher training in preparation for the next years course of study, The Book of Mormon, which will begin here June 6th. We were a bit nervous with the "author" of the training materials sitting in our midst, but all went well and we hope the teachers gained as much as we did. Then we all went to lunch together. We had 13 in attendance.






We had a wonderful graduation exercise on Sunday following the block for the 2 Branches in Chennai and the Pathway orphanage. Over 100 people were in attendance with 34 Seminary completions and 22 Institute. There are some amazing people in these Branches. This family we especially love--one of the married daughters and her husband have been living in our Bangalore Branch and are so much fun.






One of the highlights of our graduation exercise was listening to the Pathway Choir. They truly sounded like angels! As I listened to them sing "I Wonder When He Comes Again" the spirit testified so strongly that the Lord personally knows each one of these sweet souls and of their struggles. This choir were the 12-16 yr. olds with another 120 younger children also living at the orphanage. Elder and Sister Dosdall are the "angel" missionary couple who live there and teach them in school, Seminary, primary, YM, YW.













So another opportunity to see the Lord's hand at work here among his Indian saints. We feel so blessed to know, love and serve these beautiful friends.

Busy, blessed and bountious week.......

This week has been interesting. It began with a wonderful celebration of our 38 years together. It's hard to remember what life was like without "my man". I didn't know that I could grow in my love, respect and admiration for Allan, but that has definately happened over the past 15 months of our service together here in India. Our struggles as well as our joys have brought us closer and more devoted to each other. I rely on Allan's wisdom and strength and am so thankful for the close and loving relationship we share. And our yummy anniversary dinner at our favorite spot was fun and memorable.








We went to another fun Indian Wedding. We helped this young man with a PEF loan and have really enjoyed getting to know him over the past year. He married a cute girl (returned missionary) from another District. They had their wedding here and will go to the Hong Kong temple next week. We love going to the weddings here - they are so colorful and interesting.





Some interesting shots of the wedding guests. Girls here like to paint their hands for special occasions. I'm going to have it done one of these days . These girls are in our Branch--one in pink salwar is my R.S. Pres.

This beautiful lady is Kannaghi, our cleaning lady who comes twice a week for $5 a day. (Eat your hearts out!! ) We love her and her family. They try so hard to be faithful members amidst some challenging circumstances.

Today we had our S&I Graduation Exercises in Bangalore. We were very happy with how things turned out and so proud of all these beautiful young people. We had 26 Seminary and 35 Institute completions, with 3 Sem. grads and 8 Inst. grads. It was a wonderful program and we had almost 100% of the students in attendance to receive their certificates. We all enjoyed yummy cake and fellowship after the program. A fun group of Institute students and a cute bunch of Seminary boys.

This is one of our most successful Seminary classes, all because of the concern and dedication of their great teacher (the beautiful girl standing next to me). And could you find a more beautiful group of Institute girls ANYWHERE in the world?!?

Days like today, seeing the excitement and pride of accomplishment on the faces of these beautiful Indian youth, makes our mission here so fulfilling. We truly are ALL brothers and sisters in the Lord's kingdom.

Easter in India

We had a wonderful Easter as it was our time here to listen to General Conference. How fitting that was. We had been watching the recorded DVDs at home and went to the Branch for the Easter Sunday viewing. Couldn't resist taking some pictures of the beautiful Branch members. Let me introduce you to a "true pioneer" of the church here. The older man in the middle, Bro. Donapal, has been a member for 24 years , only member in his family, and been a leader all these years in the Branch. Such a great man. The two young men are brothers, George and David. They are as fine a couple of young Priesthood holders as you could find anywhere in the world. George is planning to leave on a mission in Sept. and David will follow. We love these two.












These 2 cute little families are very faithful converts. Prashanth and Sangeetha are about 6 month members and Suresh and Anitha and their children have been members about 2 1/2 years and . Anitha and Suresh both have PEF loans and are trying to improve their lives with better education.













And of course our dear Vallar (her missionary photo) who we work with twice weekly preparing for her mission. She has become an important part of our lives forever.
Can you begin to see why we love these wonderful people and how blessed our lives are to be amongst them. We have learned countless lessons of faith, determination and sacrifice from them.

Another interesting Easter event here--our dear Hindu friends downstairs, Hema and Sherdia came to our apt. last night with an Easter gift. The older lady crochets day and night and made us these swans. They are such wonderful and the kind women and are always giving us interesting fruits and food common to their culture.
















On this Easter day in India, as in ANY PLACE on earth, we rejoice in the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we were taught by Elder Holland today my gratitude for his Atonement was felt so deeply. I testify that he is ever near to succor us by his tender mercies. I feel him so near as we serve here and commit to be more diligent in his service and never loose sight of my indebtedness to Him.

Indian Safari.............

Life here is always somewhat a "safari" , but YES we did just return from a 3 day Cicada Kabini Safari. I know you are thinking......are Asplunds still on a mission or what? Well , yes we are on a mission and SO WHAT !! I might add in our defense (if we need one) that Pres. & Sis. Nichols were on the same adventure the week before so it is 100% approved. We drove with 2 other couples about 5 hours out of Bangalore to the southern tip of India to the Kabini River and forest where there is a National Preserve. We stayed at a resort on the river that could have easily been dropped into Hawaii and fit right in.













Don't you agree that it could be Maui? We each had our own comfy Bungalo along the river with a hammock off our back deck. Many hours were spent there relaxing, reading and watching the palms sway in the cool breeze. We SERIOUSLY had to pinch ourselves and remember where we were! There was a nice restaurant with all meals provided, a beautiful pool that some of the group used (I have no swimsuit here) and we got a "hot rock" massage--wow heavenly!
We began with a 3 hour afternoon Jeep Safari and saw lots of spotted deer, many elephants, some wild boar, several types of monkeys, peacocks and other exotic birds.
The jeep ride was really fun and we had a great guide for the 3 days who could hear and identify about any noise or animal in the forest.









Day two we left at 6:30 on a 3 hour morning Jeep Safari which was very cool (literally) and it was really misty the first hour in the forest which created quite the atmosphere. Lots of animals come down to the river for water and some allow you to get quite close. Then we relaxed with naps, swimming, walks, etc till 3:30 when we left for the boat Safari. The shoreline of the river was very active with deer, elephants, some great crocodiles and even a TIGER. We were realllllllllly lucky to spot a tiger as they only see them maybe once or twice a month. This tiger allowed the boat to get quite close to the shoreline before got out of the water but he walked a few feet to the treeline and laid down and just watch us. So we were all pretty excited and the cameras were flashing.














It was quite the adventure and we often looked at each other and said "just where are we....Africa, India, Hawaii??" What incredible memories we have made this week and what fun we had with our good fellow missionaries the Fairbanks and Eichelbergers. God's glorious creations are worldwide. Truly a beautiful sunset on lifelong memories.

Meet Sister Vallar

We are working with a wonderful young sister in our Branch who is preparing to serve a mission. She is the dearest young woman with extrodinary faith and determination.

Vallar joined the church 3 years ago after being taught by the sister missionaries. At that time she knew she wanted/needed to serve. She comes from the most humble circumstances and went to work directly after high school. She has been saving money and supporting her family (common occurance here). Last year she began serious preparation and worked with the previous missionary couple to improve her English skills. We continued when we arrived and meet with her twice weekly to study Preach My Gospel and missionary prep. lessons. We are now helping with the application and she has set August to depart. A recent decision was made that sisters from India will now be sent abroad to serve so that came as a big surprise and adjustment for her.

The missionaries here are expected to buy their clothes and missionary supplies and contribute a set amount to the local mission fund. Then their mission is paid for by the church which is the only way missionaries from India could ever afford to go. Vallar works 10 hrs., 6 days a week to save a little bit of money. She is so happy to meet each week to study the scriptures and practice teaching. She literally "sparkles" when she learns new things and is able to explain and teach. We love Vallar and have learned so much from her about humility, sacrifice and devotion to the Lord. How are lives are blessed by our association with this sweet young sister.

MISSIONARY COUPLES CONFERENCE IN SRI LANKA

We just returned from wonderful conference held in Sri Lanka for the 13 couples serving in the Bangalore India Mission. We all stayed in Colombo at the Hilton on the beach. (yes our kids still wonder if we are REALLY on a mission). We had 3 days, at our own expense, before the conference began that we spent touring the city, walking the beach and enjoying the company of all the great couples serving here. It was so nice to really get to know alot about each other and share experiences we are having on our missions.


Sri Lanka is an island off the southeast coast of India and is part of our mission. One couple serves there with 3 Branches of the church. The Elders have temporarly been taken out of Sri Lanka because of visa problems but there is hope of soon having the situation resolved. The country is about 85% Buddist, very green and tropical; reminded us alot of northshore Hawaii--with alot more people!! Some pictures around the city.

Can you spot Elder A. in the Banyan tree?
Their "White House"

We traveled a couple of hours out of the city to an Elepant Orphanage where we were "up close and personal" with the elephants. We saw the babies and followed the herd of about 55 to the river for their morning bath. Truly amazing!!

Now of course we couldn't leave without RIDING THE ELEPHANTS!! It gave new meaning to "hang on for dear life"!!

Well we did really settle down to two great days of conference with Pres. and Sister Nichols. We spent one day discussing the mission goals, our various responsibiliies and got some good counsel and encouragement. The second day each couple shared meaningful experiences. So it was very uplifting and motivating. And last but NOT least our conference LITERALLY "ended with a bang!!" There is a civil war going on in Sri Lanka and about 9:30 the last night we had an air attack within 500 meters of the hotel. Right outside our 11th floor window tracer bullets, machine guns, and anti aircraft guns were firing amidst all the searchlights. We were forced to shut off all lights and everyone went underground to the ballroom for an hour until they shot down the plane. It was a bit scary but made for a "dymamite" story to tell. So once again, NEVER A DULL MOMENT ON THIS MISSION.

Zone Conference, Super Saturday and Valentine's Day.....

This has been a roller coaster week here in the Bangalore Mission. We had some big challenges and frustrations the first part of the week with our PEF work. But the Lord always takes good care of us and provided an amazing Zone Conference on Friday that uplifted our spirits and soothed our souls. Elder Watson , counselor in the Asia Area Presidency came and brought such a great spirit of peace and direction to the meeting. He has been a mission Pres. twice in Asia, a District Pres. in Beijing -- living and service a total of 17 years in Asia. Pretty amazing!! He taught us many principles related to faith and commitment. He also directed us as missionaries to the 31st Section of the D & C and told us to substitute our names there and realize the promised blessings.

He and his cute little wife brought much needed inspiration to our lives.







It is always so revitalizing to be with 50 enthusiastic Elders and Sisters and we love getting together with some of the couples. We had them as overnight visitors and had such a good time. Great group of comrads!!











This Saturday was our YSA Super Sat. activity. Being Valentine's Day THEY planned a program around selecting an eternal companion. We had an excellent speaker named Prince, whom we reallllllly admire and is one of our best friends here. Then followed a panel discussion with 2 young married couples and the event concluded with "Cha-Cha" instruction by yours truly. It was all great fun. These young people are so great.









Well a busy and fun Valentine's Day had the perfect conclusion with a scrumptious dinner with MY VALENTINE at the "French Quarter" (yes, we are still in India). Complete with roses and choc. dipped strawberries. I am so glad to share this mission, and my eternal life with the true love of my life. How grateful I am for MY MAN Allan; devoted husband, wise father and grandfather and ALWAYS stalwart in his love and service to the Lord. Once again......life is good.

FUN & PRODUCTIVE WEEK......

The first week of the month is always a busy one for us. We collect and tally all the attendance from the 9 Institutes and 12 Seminaries. Thank goodness for our good little secretary, Malini, who does most of the leg work on that task. We were also busy helping 3 PEF candidates get their applications completed for the India Committee meeting. So lets meet some of these good folks: Malini who has been our secretary for 6 months now. She is a sweetheart and makes our life so much less stressful.















Next are some of the dedicated missionaries working with PEF; Allan and the Eichelbergers helping a young woman who is applying for the loan to complete her B.A. degree in accounting.













Anitha Suresh is a really strong convert of 2 years and mother of two who presently is a teacher's aide and wants to study Fashion Design. She plans to begin studies next month. Her husband also got the loan a few months ago. We really admire these two for wanting to upgrade their schooling and careers.











A few sights on the way to the office; typical line of motorcycles seen on every street, a construction sight with a man cutting and bending rebar manually, and street vendors selling roasted peanuts and grapes (yummy). And the darling school children--they call us "Auntie and Uncle" and love to be photographed.




















Nothing quite lifts our spirits like the smiling faces of the members each week. Priscilla (first picture) is the Relief Society President in our Branch, a returned missionary and such a smart and devoted girl. I love working with her. Do you think President and Sis. Anthony are proud of their little girl? They all loved the adorable headbands Brittany. The family in the picture had a reason to celebrate. The woman on the left is the grandmother and is a member. The two women are her daughters (1 a member) and the older boy was baptized today. He will be in Allan's YM's group.












CAN YOU SEE WHY WE GET ENERGIZED FOR THE WEEK????

SUCH BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE....

One of the grandest aspects of this mission is learning about all the interesting customs this culture has. For example the "ONE YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY". O.K., I thought some of our grandkids 1st birthdays were a bit over the edge, but not anymore. The Indians send out beautiful printed invitations, rent a hall or large outdoor location, hire a professional photographer, cater a full meal and everyone in the family buys new clothes. They are quite insulted if you don't attend so we have been to 2 birthday bashes in the past month. Now we try not to play favorites but this guy---Shiblon Bitner Mudumalla--is the cutest kid in India!! His eyes are saucers (like Ash) and his smile melts your heart.

We love this family. I am Komala's visiting teacher and Allan works closely with Steven , who is the head accountant at the Service Center. They are in our Branch --he is a counselor in the Mission Presidency and she is one of our teachers in R.S. They are such leaders here in the church. Other cute guests at the party--2 little sisters in our Branch, ages 3 and 5, and Elder and Sister Linton who are the office couple in the mission.

One of our absolute favorite friends is Vallar. She is preparing to serve a mission, only member from a Hindu family, is working hard to learn better English and to become more "bold". (CTR ring Britt). We are teaching her the missionary prep lessons and she was our "Christmas family". We are praying that she can be ready for her mission in the coming months.

We travelled to Coimbatore last weekend to do S & I teacher In-service with 3 Branches in that area. They are such enthused, dedicated and fun teachers. It makes our assignment so enjoyable. They we attended their Institute class and went to their meetings on Sunday. Aren't they beautiful people, young and old???

Relief Society Presidency, 3 generations, Sister missionaries ( + Elder A.)

Whenever we get in the doldrums, a quick review on our blog of these marvelous people and our associations with them gets things quickly in proper perspective!

January 2009---Off and Running.....

Well it hard to believe we are into the new year. As we reflect on the experiences of the past year, it is near overwhelming!! Our lifestyle, outlook, perspective and testimony (to name a few) have all drastically changed. It is a bit scary to think of what lies ahead in 2009.

The new year was brought in with a fun party with Pres. and Sister Nichols and the other couples assigned to Bangalore. We played some crazy games and had yummy hors d'oeuvres. We are so thankful to live in a city with other couples to hang with.





We were off then to a city of about 9 million called Hyderabad where the church is very strong. There are 4 large Branches and 2 new buildings. We were there 4 days doing training for Perpectual Educaiton Loans. We met Friday eve and all day Saturday with the District President and the 3 missionary couples and our good buddy Suresh to teach recruitment and loan application processing. We have set a goal in the mission to triple the number of loans in 2 cities this year. Aren't they a lively looking bunch of old missionary folks???




On Sunday we did a powerpoint presentation in 3 Branches to combined R.S./Pr.groups promoting the PEF opportunities for India. Hopefully we will be flooded with loan requests. We have done the same presentations to the Branches in Bangalore.

Monday morning before we flew home we visited RAMOJI, the largest "FILM CITY" in the world. It was quite the amazing place; acres of extrordinary gardens, sets to visit like Universal Studios (well not quite) and amuzement park.



















As with most place we visit in India, mingling with the "locals" was the highlight of the day. The gardens were also very amazing.








Sorry for the L-O-N-G post but how do you eliminate such amazing pictures. We continue to find adventures and blessings around every corner.

CHRISTMAS 2008 - ONE TO REMEMBER

We had such a wonderful, peaceful, and memorable Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went to "see the lights" at Leela Palace and were not disappointed. Two 3 story trees were decorated so beautifully and the gardens were ablaze with lights.

















That day (Dec. 24th) was a joyous one for us and our children as the long awaited packages arrived -- all three at once, and with contents still intact. I think I can speak for everyone in saying prayers were answered!

Now only our family will appreciate the exitement we must have been feeling cause Dad even suggested that we do the unpardonable - OPEN OUR PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

We were blessed with the 12 days of Christmas in "1". The only down side to this was the "buckets" of tears that we had to wipe away in one sitting as we read personal letters of love; personalized cards; looked at darling pictures on calendars, decorations, magnets and placemats; watched the family DVD; hugged our missionary teddy bear; munched on our favorite Christmas candy, drank Stephens hot cocoa and much, much more.

The joys of our Christmas in India were different in many ways but we felt the happiness and peace that only the Savior can provide, and how grateful we are for that ! The celebration of His birth was just as miraculous in Bangalore as in Pleasant View, or Templeton, or Canada or Mexico or any spot on this earth. How we all rejoice !

CHRISTMAS PARTIES -- INDIA STYLE

Well the friends here in India LOVE TO PARTY. So our Christmas season was filled with one event after another--and the best part was seeing the joy and excitement in the eyes of our new and dear friends here. The YSA Committee met at our house for "Sloppy Joes" and the fun that followed. Team competition for the best "Santa Beard" was the show stopper.

Can you begin to understand how much fun we have working along side these beautiful young adults and how our lives are so richly blessed?






Next stop--Christmas breakfast at the mission home with Pres. and Sister Nichols, the other couples and 8 Elders(1 day new) and 8 veteran Elders. The enthusiasm we draw from this group is so invigorating.

And last but NOT LEAST, our Christmas dinner with dear friends and Elders. The true spirit of love for the Savior and this season of honoring his birth and life was in abundance.

It's Going To Be a Christmas to Remember...

Well the Christmas festivities have begun here in Bangalore. Friday we were invited to a Devotional at the Service Center (center which manages ALL the financial, building maintanence, and mostly all other temporal affairs of the church in India). Approximately 20 men are employees of the church that manage and run the Service Center. We sang carols, Pres. Nichols spoke and we had a traditional spicy biryani lunch. It was a fun afternoon and a good way to begin the season here. Check out the method of eating by all the Elders --do you see any forks?? FINGERS ONLY HERE ( for them that is).
The man with us is the V.P. of finance and a realllllllly sharp man. We work quite closely with him in PEF financing. He is a counselor in the Mission Presidency and is in our Branch and I visit teach his wife. They are such a great strength to the church .















President Nichols has been "on his own" this week as Sister Nichols flew home for her mother's funeral. It has been really hard on both of them for her to be away for 10 days. So I think he expecially enjoyed the Christmas spirit with these good members and missionaries. These 3 other handsome men are all smiles waiting for their turn at lunch.













We had our Enrichment Christmas meeting Friday evening. We did a fun musical and reading fo the nativity by unwrapping pieces of the nativity as we read from the scriptures. The sisters really got involved and love to sing so it was such an enjoyable evening. I have NEVER known sweeter and more loving sisters anywhere in the world. I love serving with them in Relief Society.













Saturday was our Branch Christmas party. Let me say it was so "Indian standard". Everyone was practicing their skits and preparing costumes and everything the last 2 hours before it was "suppose" to start. Thus 6:00 beginning moved to 7:00. But fun was had by all. The Indians LOVE drama--acting out parts and doing skits is a real talent of theirs. We had dances and singing from the Primary, a R.S. Skit, the YM and YW did a really great nativity and the Elders Q. did an hilarious depiction from the Book of Mormon. Notice the unique costuming--some look more like Pirates than shepherds but their color certainly adds to the flavor of the event. We loved the evening and the joy and excitement on the faces of these wonderful saints.


















Well this was interesting....they asked the missionaries on the spir of the moment to do something. I have had a cold and basically had NO voice so I pretended and listened to the good voices of the Elders (especially mine).













This Christmas season here gives me an added testimony that the Lord adores these wonderful people in this far off land as they lift their voices in praise and adoration to that Holy Christ Child who is the Savior for us ALL. The world is a small place in the eyes of the Lord and he DOES know each of his children.

Christmas Home Tour

We are having fun getting our little apartment decked out for Christmas. After I recovered from my coughing fit upon pulling the dusty tree out of the box, I spent some 2 hours bending and shaping the branches. And in the end a cute little tree emerged! Hence the before and after.....

These pictures are of the living room with some quite nice furniture and tile floors. Every room has ceiling fans and the bedroom has an air conditioner.







The wine pitcher (minus the wine) is an early Christmas present we found at a antique shop here.

Next is our bedroom with the "Princess and the Pea" bed. It is literally 4 feet tall and requires a little spring to get upon. But it is very comfy and much appreciated here. Allan is busy at the computer in our office/guest bedroom. Again very functional and well used.

Next stop is the dining room and snack bar where we gaze at our family placemats at each meal. And granny is busy in the kitchen which we love for its openness and light.

This is our "Stairway to Heaven" so when we are translated we can just walk on up. Actually we live on the 3rd level of a home and the stairs lead to the rooftop which is used here for a "deck" and has clothes lines, etc. All the houses have them. Needless to say we don't spend our leisure hours up top!!






So there it is for our curious family members. We love our little apartment where we feel a peaceful spirit and find a welcome reprieve from the busy and noisy life of the city . The Christmas spirit abounds here as we plan for our YSA Christmas party, Relief Society Enrichment party, Institute party and Christmas dinner with the Elders and a Branch family. The Christmas cookies are baking and we'd like to think the turkey is roasting, but that is doubtful here. But we know this will be a Christmas we will ALWAYS REMEMBER.

December Doings

Well winter is upon us and to quote our friends here and "we've had a sudden change of weather". We think we missed "it" cause it is just as sunny and beautiful as ever. There was a couple of days last week when I wore a sweater during our early morning rickshaw ride. So we are basking in sunshine and nice breezes with some occasional rainfall.

This is end of the month for collecting S & I attendance and getting our reports done and sent off. That always creates a bit of stress in the office. President Nichols has also asked for a 2009 Plan for PEF . We need to double the number of loans next year so we are formulating a strategy to achieve that.
I dug out the OLD Christmas tree and shook off the dust and most of the lights also. It looked pretty deplorable but with a couple hours of bending and positioning each branch it doesn't look half bad. I went shopping with a friend to look for decorations and to our delight found some quite nice decorations--straight from China just like at home! So our little apt looks quite festive and just in time. Every day we learn of another party planned for OUR HOUSE. We are going to have 3 busy weeks ahead, but lots of fun in store. Of course I am expected to produce the food for these affairs which presents some definate challenges. I think our first Christmas in India will be memorable.
We spent Monday with the photographer from the Church Magazines getting the city highlights so we saw some new sights . We saw the State Parliment buildings and High Court, part of the Botonical gardens , the Bangalore Palace and a very busy Muslim shopping area.

Today I taught a lesson in Relief Society about the blessings we enjoy as a result of the birth, life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful time to reflect on the gratitude and love I have for the Savior and how that softens my heart and stirs my nature to be more generous, kind and thoughtful of the ways I can be of service here in this part of the Lord's universe. I cherish my knowledge and testimony.
Allan was called as a Counselor in the YM program. He is the perfect person to teach these new leaders how to lead and administer the program. He is the best role model for them to follow and will be such a blessing in their lives.

Thanksgiving in Bangalore

Well this was an interesting week. We had Zone Conference with the 15 Elders serving in and near Bangalore. They are such great Elders . It is kind of a small group now with most of the Elders being out of this city but the spirit is still strong here and the work has picked up in other cities in the mission to compensate. Of course the Elders LOVE LUNCH. The usual menu is pizza with fruit and fresh vegs and cake provided by us couples.

Of course the Indian people know little about Thanksgiving so it was insightful to explain to the members about the Pilgrims coming to America and finding the American Indians (Lamanites) and how that led to the first Thanksgiving. They were very interested. We see LOTS of strange and familiar animals roaming the streets here but NO TURKEYS. So no one knows about cooking turkey and there is none to be found. I think you can have one shipped in for well over $100 . So we all went to our favorite American retaurant "The Only Place" for a Thanksgiving buffet. We went expecting some resemblence of traditional dinner and were pleasantly surprised to have pretty authentic dishes; some flavors a little amiss but we were very "thankful" for what we got. Pres. and Sister Nichols are in the front of this picture with the other Bangalore couples. We had a really fun evening together.




Saturday evening the young women in our Branch held a celebration where they preformed dances, sang and displayed their talents. That was followed Sunday by their talks in Sac. meeting. They gave such inspiring talks about the blessings of the Young Womens program in their lives. They are such sweet and beautiful girls; many of whom are only members in their families. They all wore their Saris and don't they just "shine"?






This week we have been hosting an editor from the Church Magazines. He is in India doing a feature of the members here so we arranged for meetings/pictures with Seminary, families in the Branches, Young Single Adult Committee and other requests. We are excited to SOMEDAY see this issue. This is a picture of our District YSA committee. We are advisors to this group and they are such delightful and fun young adults.



So this has been another fun, interesting, busy, diverse week here in Bangalore in the service of these wonderful saints. Does their love of the gospel shine in their faces? How much THEY BLESS OUR LIVES.

More Reasons to Love our Mission....

We have been busy as usual doing a wide variety of assignments. We traveled to Hyderabad last week which is a city of about 15 million located 800 miles southwest of Bangalore. We went with Elder and Sister Eichelberger with the objectives to have fun (oops), do training with our former Coordinator Suresh and learn about S&I in Hyderabad district. We also met with the three missionary couples serving there to discuss efforts to expand the Perpetual Education Fund loans . It was fun to meet for dinner and exchange stories. The Fullmers are from Visalia no less so we have lots of common acquaintances. I think we accomplished our purposes in those areas. It is always so fun to see Suresh and his family. We have made lifelong friends with this dear family.
Is Blessy like the cutest 3 yr. old in India?

Not bad for a bunch of SENIOR missionaries. As you can tell,some of us are MORE senior than others.

One of the VERY special visits we made while in this city was to a family who live in a village about 30 miles out of the city. This humble family run a school for 30 village children who cannot afford to pay for an education. They teach pre-school thru 5th grade. The children sang a variety of rhymes and songs, all in English even tho most of them speak little or no English. They learn Hindi, English and Tamail and all standard subjects. It was truly amazing when we saw their humble home and classrooms.

The man who established this school is a returned missionary who converted his wife from a small village, they SOMEHOW were married in the temple, they have 3 children--one preparing to serve a mission. He teaches school from 9-4:00, then Seminary in the evening and Institute on Saturday. None of the school children can afford to pay him so his wife sells vegetables and coconuts for their survival. They can't afford school supplies and only survive on donations. So........ we are so excited that two couples serving as humanitarian missionaries are going to start a project to get school kits and textbooks for these beautiful children. If any of you reading this are interested in a youth or R.S. project, there is NEVER enough for these children and this school and we could get you connected.

The little couple in the middle of the children are Bro. and Sis. Rao who are the saviors for all these children.

Does this seem a world away? IT IS. Does it seem like a step back in time? IT IS. Does our Heavenly Father know and love these people. YES HE DOES. Will they someday have the same opportunities as you and I? MOST CERTAINLY. Will our lives ever be the same after meeting these precious souls? NO . Are we eternally grateful for this mission and all we are learning? NO QUESTION.

Loving our mission.....

Have I explained lately how much we love our service here. As you can tell from our posts, life here is so very different, challenging, funny, interesting, strange, and changing. But the one thing that remains constant is the people. No where in this vast world have we found people to be kinder, more generous, more accepting , and with a greater desire to Love the Lord. Despite the challenges they face which we would think monumental, the move on with hope and gratitude for what they have and what can be. It continually humbles us and we have to step back and evaluate our own lives, dreams and hopes for eternity.

This week we had our monthly S & I Teacher In-service with 100% of teachers attending. They are a varied but great group. We have one of the most experienced and longtime members as an Institute teacher and some of our Seminary teachers are young single girls who are mere 2 yr. converts. But all are working hard to teach their students the principles found in the New Testament. It is so rewarding to visit their classes, give them encouragement and praise and try and offer ways to improve lessons and attendance. We have recently passed our half-way point in this school year.










We also had our monthly YSA Super Sat. They wanted "movie night" so we showed THE GOLDEN COMPASS, had popcorn,chips and drinks . It was something new for them to just hang out watching a movie and having munchies together. Following we held a combined 3 Branch Institute class with about 50 attending and had an ice cream social after. It made for a LONG but rewarding day to see these great YSA's enjoying time together.










Do you notice that except for the married couple, all the boys sat on one side of the hall and all the girls on the other side?? Different culture.....

Aren't these Seminary students beautiful youth? And they are so smart and knowledgeable about the gospel.









Some fun "stuff" this week: Our new secretary Malini took myself and Sister E. to lunch for YUMMY Indian food, a fun date with my loveable "companion" to get some culture and relaxation, and a visit to our newest Mom , our Branch Pres. wife Usha and her beautiful baby girl. Brittany is making some headbands to go in the mop of black curly hair.














This mission is proving to be the HARDEST thing we have done in our lives. Dealing with the unknown, having little control over our lives, and managing continual changes is difficult for us "old folks". But we can honestly say that we have never felt the Lord's hand stronger in our lives, never recognized our strengths/weaknesses so clearly, and never realized so fully the great love our Savior has for all His children. We are truly humbled by this opportunity to offer all that we have to strengthen this small part of God's kingdom.

HAPPY DIWALI...........

Well while you were gearing up for the Halloween festivities we were participating in perhaps the biggest Indian holiday called Diwali. It went on for some 5 days with the loudest "crackers" firecrackers, continueous every night from 6-11:00 p.m. One night we literally wore earplugs INSIDE our apt.
Meet our wonderful landlord family - Hema, Jithendra & Shardia(bro & wife of Hema) Bhavesh and Treshank -the two sons, and Rajendra-the Dr. and landlord. They brought us these beautiful Indian treats that they had been preparing for their friends; similar to us taking the plates of Christmas goodies.




A couple of days into the festivities the landlords invited us to come to their "Pujah" (some kind of religious celebration) that evening. Well that proved to be most interesting. They are Hindu and this is an annual ceremony when a "Priest" is hired to do the honors. Essentially it is somekind of ancient celebration of good over evil. Their Pujah was to the goddess of Wealth (seen in the framed picture). Wealth consists of all good blessings--family, prosperity, nature, food, etc. So there was an hour of chanting, arranging fruits, writing prayers and tossing spices, leaves, etc. and presenting it all to this goddess.








The most interesting part of the evening was the discussion we had following when they explained the whole ceremony and their beliefs and asked us many questions about our beliefs. Our basic beliefs were quite similar. This family is very educated, have read the Bible and know alot about Christianity. They served us "traditional Indian Tea" which was really good and we think "legit" and then set out these oil candles all around the outside of the house.









As the picture attests, Allan was getting quite "into" this activity so I knew it was time to say good-night and drag him upstairs and back to reality.














We feel like our lives are so full here. It is marvelous to make such good and interesting friends, learn so much about this culture and its varied religious beliefs and have grand opportunities to share the gospel in a myrad of ways.

More adventures.............

We had to say good-bye to our dearest Indian friend and co-worker Suresh. He was there to meet us at the airport some 8 months ago and has worked by our side daily in Seminary and Institute as our District Coordinator. He has accepted the Director position in another neighboring District and left this month. We grew to love this young man and his family and will miss his constant laughter and fun at the office and the great knowledge he has of the church here in India.

We had a grand 3 zone conference last week (our Bangalore zone is pretty nil at the present). It is always so energizing to meet with the young Elders and feel of their determination and enthusiasm. We had a great day of training with Pres. and Sister Nichols on PREACH MY GOSPEL. Allan gave one of his superb talks, we said good bye to some wonderful Elders and welcomed new ones. The missionary couple serving in Sri Lanka came and it was so good to visit with them also. So overall it was a really good day. This is 3 couples serving in Bangalore and the Mills from Sri Lanka.

Elder Hunsaker (tall one) was our zone leader and one of our sons for Monday night dinner. Elder Reese was adopted from India as an infant and grew up in Logan. His call to serve here was no surprise to him or his family. It is so great to watch the interaction between the American and Indian companions and the respect they have for each other. Each has much to offer in experience and understanding of the "church culture" as well as the culture here.

We spent the past week in Chennai-a city of 12 million-where we go regularily to supervise YSA activities. The Mission Pres. asked us to stay longer and "host" 2 new couples who arrived there. We had such a fun (and exhausting) week meeting them and locating and arranging for apts., furnishings and helping them acclamate to India. The Dosdalls are from Springville and will be serving at the Pathway Orphanage. The week happened to be one of monsoon rains and a couple of days there were literally rivers running down the streets. Of course we had to be out locating furniture and apts one of those days. We literally crossed a street in a knee deep muddy river of water. The worst part was knowing that we had to return the same way. The second time across we removed our shoes and socks, the men rolled up their pants to the knee and we ventured across not knowing what we would be stepping in under the muddy water. We obviously did not have enough faith to walk on water, but survived with soggy shoes . Oh the trials of missionary life!!

We love the many wonderful experiences and opportunities to serve here. How dull our lives must have been before "this". The night we returned we were called to speak at a YSA activity the next day and then taught Institute an hour later. Then we had a luncheon meeting today at our apt. with our 10 District YSA reps. Good thing for GERITOL.

A Glimpse of the "Other" India

Just so you don't get the wrong impression of this beautiful and DIVERSE country , we will share one of our favorite "hangouts" here in Bangalore. The Leela Palace Hotel is just a quick 10 minute rickshaw ride from our apt. so we are making a regular habit of catching a few hours of relaxation there. The gardens are incredible--one thinks they are at the Maui Westin (minus the ocean that is).

You don't know how close I came to falling into this pool. I would even settle for hanging a couple of old, tired feet in the prestine water!! Allan kept a tight hold of my shirttail.

The hotel is huge with one entire wing on 3 levels with shops full of intriguing Indian treasures just begging foreigners and locals alike to enter. I have my eye on several lovely items to sometime use my bartering skills to acquire. There is incredible decor throughout the hotel, lobbies and restaurants.

We introduced the Eichelbergers to the "other life" and I am happy to report they are also smitten so we may just have to write this into our "planners".

Of course we couldn't leave without a stop at the beautiful outdoor ice cream parlour . Mango and strawberry smoothies, shakes and other decedent desserts await the deprived couple missionaries.








This land is so DIVERSE. It is most evident in the lifestyle, rich/poor, religion, dress, ethnic practices and almost every thing we encounter. Life is never dull here and we continually are in awe with people and their complex lives. As Pres. Eyring taught us in conference we members of the Lord's church now come from many different nations with so much diversity but yet we are unified and cling to a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the ultimate example of patience and mercy to all. This counsel has profound meaning for us here serving among his precious children.

Branch Social - India Style

This past week there was a 2-day holiday here so the Branch planned the reallllllllly big social of the year! They reserved a bus to take everyone to a lake about 2 hours out of Bangalore for a "barbeque". O.K. , our first clue should have been "Indian Barbeque"???? We were smart enough to NOT join the folks on the bus, as we have seen the style of buses most ride here. We talked the Eichelbergers into a nice day out of the city and we hired a car and driver to take us . The day began with beautiful weather, a nice picnic lunch tucked away in the trunk and the company of our good friends. Well it began going "south" from there. We drove for 5 hours--3 of that on the worst roads--no trails--we have ever been on. When we arrived at the "lake" we could find no one from the Branch and after phoning someone learned "oh didn't you know we changed the location?" So we pulled out the picnic and sat on a log, shaking our heads and laughing and enjoyed our lunch. The bad news--we knew the trail back to civilization would be just as dusty and bumpy as it had been the past 5 hours. Luckily we had a great driver who didn't fret about the matter (probably normal routine for him). We even found a new and large McDonald's on the return and nothing was as nice as finally washing our hands and getting some grub. Who would have ever guessed how welcoming those golden arches have become!!

Well the rest of the story...........we talked to the Elders the following day and they DID ride on the bus to the other location--a 4 hour ride cramed in with 70 people only to get the the venue which was at a riverside park which you had to cross through the river, which was waist deep. Of course the Elders didn't and thus had to sit for 6 hours by the river watching the Branch across the river enjoying their "barbeque". Someone swam across the river with their food in a bucket so they didn't starve. If Elders ever SWEAR, I think they were on the verge!!

Well all in all, it was an INTERESTING ADVENTURE and we did get some good pictures of rural life in the countryside.

The "Lake" where water buffalo cool off, women wash and who knows what else.

Many of the small villages we passed through had 1 or 2 wells where everyone like these little girls came with the jars to pump the handle and fill the jars to carry home. Who knows how far that would have been.

We saw many goat herders and women herding a few cows down dusty roads, and others washing clothes, dishes in the stream. But everyone waved, smiled and seemed perfectly happy with life. Some lessons to be learned here.

Life is never dull here. There are surprises around every corner and moments that make us ponder about life through the Lord's eyes.

Is our life more significant than this?