Tribute to Lucky

We began the week with sad, sad news. Carma and Rob's dog, Lucky, had become so sick with her cancer that she had to be put to sleep. Getting ready for the office was difficult. Tears and fresh mascara do not do well together.  She has been with the family for many years. She got her name because she was lucky. Here is the story. Carma and Rob had come across her on a country road. She was lying on the side of the road and left for dead. Carma and Rob picked her up, took her to a vet, and took her home when she was well. She was lucky to have been picked up by Carma and Rob and lucky to live with a new family who cared for and loved her. Hence, she was named Lucky. We will miss Lucky. This blog is for Lucky. We will review the LUCKY things that happened to us this week.

We were LUCKY to find A&W Rootbeer in Bangalore! Interestingly, (as our daughter Carma pointed out to us after she had some A&W Rootbeer in the States) A&W Rootbeer is bottled by Coke in Canada but by Pepsi in the States. The rootbeer we had was bottled in the States. Apparently, the recipes are slightly different in the two countries, but the rootbear tastes great in both.





What a LUCKY week! We were able to see Elder Mills (left) and Elder McDonald. Elder Mills was our District Leader in Coimbatore, and we first met Elder McDonald at the airport when he arrived in Coimbatore on his way to work in Erode. We enjoyed seeing him each month during our Coimbatore Zone Training meetings. Elder Mills and Elder McDonald stopped in Bangalore to catch a flight to the Philippines. They have been out on their missions for one year, and their visas are expiring. So, they need to leave the country to apply for another visa. Three missionaires flew out of Hyderabad to go to the Philippines, as well. They, along with two elders from the New Delhi Mission, were to all meet up in Kuala Lumpur for their connecting flight to Manila. Well, that was a good plan. One of the missionaries flying out of Hyderabad forgot his registration papers. Without them, he was not allowed to leave the country. We woke up in the morning to an email letting us know that the elder could not get on his flight. Needless to say, we knew what the first job Sister Tiefenbach had to do that day - book another flight. He had one more chance to leave the country before his visa expired. He was LUCKY that we had originally booked flights for two days before the visas expired. He had one more chance. LUCKY!!

We continued to be LUCKY as the week progressed. We had the wonderful opportunity to welcome Elder Smith (beside Elder Tiefenbach)and Elder S. Kumar to Bangalore in preparation for their return home after completing successful missions. Sister Tiefenbach had their departure packets ready for them. The best part of going through the departure packets is giving instructions on taking the de-worming medication. How fun!

Because President and Sister Funk were still in Utah, we and the Smith's were so LUCKY to host the farewell dinner for these two elders. Sister Smith and Sister Tiefenbach made a wonderful meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, mixed vegetables, and of course Sister Tiefenbach's famous rainbow salad. Elder Smith (the younger) commented that he does not really like vegetables, but he loved the salad. All the food was gone by the end of the dinner. Dessert was banana cake, made by Sister Tiefenbach, rootbeer or orange floats, and watermelon.



We all enjoyed the floats. The missionaries were really LUCKY that the store had rootbeer at the time of their farewell dinner.











After the dinner, we had the spiritual part of the farewell. Elder Tiefenbach was LUCKY to be able to preside at the farewell. That was a wonderful experience for him. We could tell that it brought back many memories of his own mission. He did a wonderful job. Elder Ram conducted the formal part of the meeting. As usual, he did a great job. We find it interesting that when he conducts a meeting, he is very serious and formal. But, when we are in the office, he jokes around a lot. He knows when it is time to be serious and when it is time to joke around. We are LUCKY to work with him so closely. Elder Smith and Elder S. Kumar both spoke for about 10 minutes each. They both learned a lot on their missions. We are always touched by the humility missionaries show when they are ready to go home. They certainly learn to give of themselves and put others first while they are on their missions.

Here is Elder Tiefenbach with Elder Smith and Elder S. Kumar. We should explain why we say S. Kumar and not just Elder Kumar. We have three Elder Kumar's in the mission; hence, we put an initial in the front so we all know who we are talking about. Elder Tiefenbach was LUCKY to be with these two elders. This will certainly be a memorable experience for him.

We can tell (left to right) Elder Ram, Elder S. Kumar, Elder Smith, and Elder Raja love to be together. They are LUCKY to have known each other, and they will always have fond memories of this day that they spent with each other. One thing that we enjoyed on this evening was that after the formal part of the evening was over, the missionaries stayed for a while and visited. They seemed so comfortable and at ease. We were definitely LUCKY to be part of their special evening.

Here is the entire group. We had a great evening. We are LUCKY to be in Bangalore to have these wonderful experiences.

We are LUCKY to be in Bangalore, and we are LUCKY to have been in Coimbatore where we made so many good friends. We went to Coimbatore on Thursday evening. Our trip had a two fold purpose. One purpose was to look for another apartment for the missionaries. The second purpose is to maintain our residency in Coimbatore because we are registered here. Once we receive our new visas, we can begin the process of shifting our registration to Bangalore. But, one LUCKY advantage of maintaining residency in Coimbatore is that we get to see our friends like the Raja family.

We were LUCKY to be at the general conference broadcast this week-end in Coimbatore. We were able to see so many people: (left to right) Sister Sumathi Appasamy, Sister Tiefenbach, Sister Saraswathy, Brother James Vincent, Sister Isaac (daughter of Sister Appasamy), Sister Anitha (wife of James Vincent) and their two children.

We were LUCKY to have been able to visit many people in their homes while we were in Coimbatore. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of everyone. Although we didn't get a picture of the Amalraj family in their home, we were LUCKY to get a picture of Sister Tiefenbach with her good friend Sister Punita Amalraj after the conference sessions today. We are anxiously awaiting her son's (Akash's) mission call. We absolutely love this family.

What a way to end our Sunday. LUCKY us - we were able to go to the Sekar family's home for dinner tonight. Sister Shanthi made sevai (no idea how to spell that) and dosa with coconut chutney. It was good. She knew we particularly liked those two dishes that she makes, so she made them especially for this evening. After dinner, we had a gospel discussion, sang songs, and took pictures. We are so impressed with this family, and we consider ourselves LUCKY to know them.

We have used the word "LUCKY" throughout this blog, not to suggest that the things that happen to us are the result of random occurrences but so we can think about the good things that happen in our lives. LUCKY's life started out in a bad way; she was left for dead at the side of the road when she was a puppy. But, she was found by a loving family and had a good life.  In our lives, we will experience bad things, but we also have countless blessings. We are LUCKY, not because fate has handed us good times, but because our Heavenly Father loves us. He is the source of goodness and love. He desires to bless us as we strive to keep His commandments. We have seen so many examples of lives changed as the people accept the gospel and dedicate themselves to serving the Savior. As they do this, they feel peace and an assurance that the Lord accepts their offering.