They Shall be Lifted Up

This week has been a busy week with getting de-registration and registration packets ready for transfers, trying to get some registration problems solved for some of the American missionaries who are either going home or going to the Philippines to get a new visa this coming week, preparing for the departure of a big batch of missionaries and two mission couples, getting the missionary bi-monthly allotments dispensed, and making sure the rents paid last month were processed properly. Throw in a zone conference, an orientation for missionaries returning from the Manila MTC, and a farewell dinner and devotional for two couples and you will get a good idea of the way we are uplifted in the work we do here in India.


Our zone conference was Wednesday, July 31. We managed to get away from the office to attend, and we were able to get caught up (as much as we can ever be caught up) the next day. We seemed more tired than normal this week. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that caused this. This is our zone picture. Elder Worton (the American missionary in about the middle of the picture with a grey suit) conducted the meeting. This was the last zone conference for him, as he will be going home this coming week. He did a great job. He compared being on a mission (or life in the church for that matter) to a sports team. He said that rules are part of any sport, and if you don't obey the rules, you can't beat the enemy. We also need to keep the rules (e.g., mission rules and commandments) in order to defeat the enemy. He made a great connection that inspired and uplifted us.

This is our district, although we are not in the picture. They are (back row, left to right) Elder Bown, Elder Ravi, Elder Prakash, Elder Kumar, (front left to right) Elder Eames, Elder Pace, Elder Mecham, and Elder Saroha. This is a fine group of missionaries.






 
Of course, we had lunch during the conference, and as usual, the couples provided the vegetables and the fruits. We did the bananas and watermelon (of course we provided chocolate chip cookies for the morning break, too), and the Smiths did the vegetables. The zone leaders made arrangements for two curries and paratha. Paratha is one of the Indian breads. It is made with a lot of oil between layers of dough, so of course, it is loaded with fat calories, but it is so good. The non-veg curry was too spicy, so Sister Tiefenbach did not eat the curry, but Elder Tiefenbach is a witness to its hotness  Elder Worton and Elder Hodgson (zone leaders) also provided Krispy Kreme donuts.  Sister Berrett added to the sweets by handing out two chocolate cookies at the end of the conference. Can the food at a zone conference be uplifting? Maybe the word uplifting is a little exaggerated, but the sweets definitely gave us a boost!


On Thursday, the new missionaries arrived from the Manila MTC. The new missionaries are shown here with their trainers. Elder McDonald (left) will be training Elder Stephen in Vizak, and Elder Erupula (right) will be training Elder Nakkapalli in Chennai. Seeing the enthusiasm of these young missionaries is always uplifting.








We had four new sister missionaries with this batch of new arrivals. Sister Dhikao (back left) will train Sister Peddinti in Coimbatore. Beside Sister Peddinti is Sister Ravi who will be trained by Sister Lama. They will be serving in Vizak. Next is Sister Madabathula, and she will be training Sister Peter (from Bangalore) in Chennai. Sister Jebamani (front right) has been assigned to train Sister Fernandes in Hyderabad. Previous to these assignments, we had sisters in only Coimbatore and Chennai. Now, we will have sisters in Vishakhapatnam and Hyderabad, as well. We are always excited to see the sister missionaries. The presence of sister missionaries changes the feel of the mission and changes some of the mechanics of the mission. They bring a sweet, uplifting spirit. It is great!

We were happy to welcome Sister Gupta back to our mission. She went home several months ago for some serious health problems, but she is fine now, and is excited to finish her mission. The orientations are always held at the mission home,  and then, normally, the new missionaries come to the mission office to for some orientation and other business from us. But, for this batch, the decision was made for us to go the mission home at the end of the rest of the orientation because having us go was cheaper than transporting all of them to the office.


The Allison's (left) and all the other couples came in this week. The Loewer's and the ZoBell's had to come to Bangalore to meet their registration requirements, and the Allison's and the Hatch's came because they had finished their missions and were going home. We decided that we would also have the Loewer's and the ZoBell's change their registration from Bangalore to the respective cities. To accommodate this, we had them come a few days early to carry out the de-registration process. Elder Hatch also arranged a humanitarian training session for all the couples (except us) so the humanitarian work could continue after they leave for home. We also brought in Elder and Sister Pulla, who will be serving in the Delhi mission beginning this coming week, and Elder and Sister Black, who are serving as public relations missionaries in Delhi. We went out for dinner at The Only Place Thursday evening. Unfortunately, the Hatch's could not join us because he had too much to do to get ready for the training being held the next day, and the Pulla's did not join us because we could not get a hold of them to let them know the details. The Allison's are always excited to eat out in Bangalore because they don't get the choices in Rajahmundry that we have in Bangalore.

Elder and Sister Black come to Bangalore about once every two months and have never been able to arrange to eat at The Only Place so they were thrilled we were going there. The Black's are originally from Utah but were living in Texas prior to this mission. This is their second mission. Their first mission was in the Caribbean.






Elder and Smith found a few seconds to have a romantic moment. The Smith's definitely had an uplifting moment. In truth, getting together with all the couples is always uplifting to our testimonies and our enthusiasm to our work.









 We had the farewell for the Allison's (right) and the Hatch's on Friday evening. We had a wonderful dinner of roast beef, potatoes, gravy, green beans (blanched and then stir fried with oil and garlic - yummy), tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese cake for dessert. Sister Tiefenbach and Sister Smith made the cheesecake. Sister Smith also made a special dessert for Sister Allison, as she can't have milk products. The whole meal was great! Following the meal, we had an uplifting devotional.

We can't believe the Hatch's (left) and the Allison's are leaving. We came about six weeks after them, so it doesn't seem possible that it is time for them to leave because we still have seven months left. Had we opted for an eighteen month mission, we would be looking at going home in about six weeks (not that we want to go home; it is just an acknowledgement). The past seventeen months seem to have gone by fast. The Allison's and the Hatch's will be greatly missed in this mission. We received word that another couple has been called as humanitarian missionaries. They will replace the Hatch's, but they don't arrive until November (if all goes well with their visas). We still need a replacement for the Allison's in Rajahmundry. The people in Rajahmundry need another couple. The people in Coimbatore need a couple. We need more missionary couples! The presence of couples seems to give the members a boost and create an excitement. The couples, too, are uplifted and have increased and strengthened testimonies.
 

You can see that we have had another busy but enjoyable week. We are tired but happy in the service, and we get comfort from the words of Nephi when he says, "And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, . . . and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up . . . how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be (1Nephi 13:37)."