Santa Claus, Yellow Watermelon, and Strange Moon Phases

With Christmas less than two weeks away, Elder Tiefenbach was very sad because he had not had a chance to see Santa. One day this week, we went shopping, and we saw him! Elder Tiefenbach was so eager to see Santa Claus. Santa did not make any promises, but he listened carefully to Elder Tiefenbach's wish list. Apparently, Santa was looking for snow. His sled got stuck on the dry pavement, so Elder Tiefenbach told him of a wonderful place where he could find lots of snow. We haven't seen any live Santas here, so this was close enough.


 
We have seen a few decorations in some of the homes here, but the decorations are scaled down a lot compared to home. This store has the most Christmas decorations up than any other store we have seen so far. It was good to see some evidence of Christmas. The weather certainly is not contributing to the festive season. Mind you, we are enjoying not having to put on bulky winter jackets, boots, mitts, hats, and scarves. But, somehow, sweat running down one's back does not invite the Christmas spirit as well as looking outside and seeing the moonlight glistening on the new fallen snow. Now, that is a scene to make one feel cozy.
 

Yellow watermelon????? We had never seen it before. The shop keeper told us it tasted just like the watermelon with the green rind, and what was even better, it cost the same. So, we decided we might as well try it. It, indeed, tasted the same as the other watermelon. Having the yellow rind made eating watermelon seem more exotic. We had bought 3 regular watermelon at the same time to feed the missionaries at the Zone Conference last week. All the watermelons were exceptionally good; it was juicy and sweet - yummmmm.

On Saturday and Sunday night, we noticed a strange moon phase. The crescent was on the bottom. We had never seen that before. At first we thought it might be a lunar eclipse, but when we saw it again on Sunday night, we knew it wasn't an eclipse. Apparently, it is not uncommon here. The internet said it has something to do with the apparent path of the moon across the night sky. This path is associated with the seasons. Sometimes the northern part of the earth points toward the sun; other times the southern part points toward the sun. This changes the path of the moon as we see it on earth. When the crescent moon appears to travel straight down toward the horizon, we get the "U" shaped moon. This happens once or twice a year (usually in the winter). That is the explanation, according to one source on the internet. It happens only at specific latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Even though it apparently occurs once or twice a year, we have never seen it before. Maybe, we have always been at the wrong latitude or at least not at the one that gives this look for the moon.

Well, we have told you about all three parts of the title of the blog, but don't stop reading; we are not finished yet. We have more to share.

We went to a business opening this week. Three brethren from 2nd Branch (left to right: Brother Prabu, Brother Ramamoorthy, and Brother Suresh Jayasingh) have decided to go into business with each other. They have opened a business called "Zion" (a suiting name for members of the Church). This business will do training for businesses (e.g., motivational presentations, etc.), help with job placements, help companies get ISO (International Standard Organization)certification, etc. They have been planning this for quite sometime, and are moving into it slowly. Only one of the men, Brother Prabu, quit his regular job to do this business. The other two will follow as the company grows. We were honoured to be invited to share this moment with them. We wish them good fortune in their new adventure.

Here's a job for those who like a "hands on" job. This man is painting lines on the church parking lot. It is all done by hand. Many others were working on the landscaping, as well. You can see the workers in the background; many of the workers are women. They haul that whole pile of dirt to the new destination using small bowl type buckets. Once that pile of dirt is gone, a truck brings in another load. In Canada, they would hire a bobcat machine and have it all spread and leveled in a short time. They all looked hot. At least the man painting the lines has found some shade. We have seen a lot of labour like this done be hand.

 
On Friday, we walked to the grocery store (about 1 km one way). On the way, we noticed several houses with the outside cement falling off. We thought this would present us with the opportunity to show the way houses are constructed. The walls are constructed from plain bricks. Then, a layer of cement is spread over the bricks. The cement is the same type of stuff that is used in Canada for the parging on the outside of the basement walls that are above the ground.

On Saturday night, we went to Sister Radha and Brother Yesaiya's home. They are the parents of the family to whom we teach English every week. The parents and two adult children have moved to a different house. The new place is closer to where Sister Radha works. Their oldest son and his wife and daughter remain in the old house by themselves. The parents still own the old home and are renting the new place. In the picture are (from left to right): Brother Yesaiya, Sister Radha, Sister Priya (daughter), Sister Tiefenbach, and Elder Tiefenbach. The young girl is the daughter of the Branch President, who lives close by. Sister Radha works for the Branch President's family (cooking, cleaning, etc.).

 

We went to Chavadi Branch today. Elder Tiefenbach spoke, and Sister Tiefenbach listened. As this branch has been designated a Tamil speaking branch, Elder Tiefenbach's talk was the only thing Sister Tiefenbach understood, but we could clearly understand the warm welcome the members extended to us.

 

 The temperature at Chavadi was quite a bit cooler than Coimbatore, as it is much closer to the mountains. Remember "cooler" is relative. It was probably around 25 degrees C (abt. 80 F). The church building was cool. They have fans, and they open all the windows to keep the meeting hall from getting too hot. Today, they had to close the front doors during the meeting so it wouldn't be too cool. Also, they didn't open all the windows. During the hot summer, keeping all the windows and doors open and the fans on is a necessity.

 

Today, 2nd Branch had another baptism. Sister Grace's husband, Brother Rungan Ratinum, and her son, Brother Vivek Raja, were baptized. Sister Grace was baptized about a month ago.

 

The sun greets us each morning outside our balcony preparing us for days filled new opportunities and memories to cherish. We love working with the missionaries and the people here. The Lord has truly blessed us to be associated with such warm, loving people. We shall cherish these relationships always. May the Light of the Lord fill your hearts with happiness and joy.