Beacons in Our Lives

The crane (not the bird type) continues to stand as a beacon of sorts as we look out our bedroom window.  A beacon is designed to draw attention to a particular location and is often used to give information. Beacons help us navigate toward our destination. Whenever we see it, we know for sure we are at our Bangalore home. It's orientation has changed, but it continues to stand prominently against the sunlit skyline. We wonder if it will still be there by the time we go back to Canada.

This is the clothes drying rack we use. We have a clothes dryer in the apartment, but we have never used it. It is not hooked up to blow its air outside, so we think we would have to move it to a window and fasten the hose to the outside through the window to use it. That sounds like way too much work, so we continue to hang our clothes on this drying rack. How can this be a beacon in our lives? Well, it certainly stands out. And, it gives us information. When it is full, it means we have to fold some laundry and iron some clothes (although the person that we have hired to do some of the household work does a lot of the ironing). So, it stands as a beacon, or a reminder, that we need to work hard to be presentable, especially and most importantly, we must be diligent to prepare ourselves for when we present ourselves before the Lord.

 We bought some oranges and bananas early this week. Wait a minute, those look more like greens, not oranges. Yes, the skins are very green; We think that they must pick them when they are still green. But they, indeed are orange on the inside, and they taste good. These oranges remind us or stand as a beacon telling us that as we travel through this life, we may not look ripe (or perfect), but must be true on the inside; our hearts and desires must be turned toward the Savior. As we turn our will over to the Lord's will, we will become as He would have us become.

We seem to always be celebrating birthdays at the office. Monday was Elder Ramaraj's birthday. He turned 20. He is a great missionary! He is hard working, kind, and considerate. A birthday celebration can be a beacon to us as we are reminded that we have been born into this beautiful world that Heavenly Father created for us and that we can return to Him one day if we keep His commandments. A birthday can be a time to reaffirm the direction as we walk along the straight and narrow path or to make a course correction if we have lost our way.

We had banana cake for the birthday celebration. Elder Tiefenbach made the cake, and Sister Tiefenbach made the icing. It was delicious.  

The assistants to the president, Elder Ramaraj (left) and Elder Mills always stand as a beacon to all who enter the office and to all the missionaries with whom they serve. They are a great example to all the missionaries and are always available to help and guide them.

President Berrett is always a beacon of strength. He is the guide in our mission. We are sure that he and Sunil (right) were discussing some weighty matter pertaining to the functioning of the mission. Or, could it be that they were discussing the great cake that Elder Tiefenbach made? It was a good cake. He impressed everyone. He is so talented.

President Berrett took us all out to lunch to celebrate Elder Ramaraj's birthday. Our first choice was to go to a place called Sue's, but it was closed. Our next choice was Kund (or something like that), but it, too, was closed. So, our last choice was Pizza Hut; we were successful with that one. That is a lesson to be taught: always know your destination. We need to follow the right beacon that gives the right information. Both Elder Mills (left) and Elder Ramaraj ordered the all you can eat pizza. The rest of us "more mature" people did not. We were far too sensible for that!

Tuesday night we had a farewell for three missionaries as they finished their missions: Elder Sambaria (2nd from the left, back row), Elder Jurial (next to him), and Elder Simson (next to Elder Jurial). As usual, the meal was great! We love to attend the farewell dinners and devotionals with the home bound missionaries. The gospel has been a beacon in the lives of these missionaries as they have given two years of their lives to the Lord. The blessings they have received from their selfless service shall be poured out upon them and their posterity for generations.

Here is a close up picture of our three returning missionaries with President and Sister Berrett. President and Sister Berrett are wonderful to work with. We are thoroughly enjoying our service with them. We have been blessed to have had the privilege of working with two great mission presidents and their inspiring wives. We couldn't have asked for greater people with whom we could associate. They have touched our lives in so many ways.



Elder Jurial wanted a picture with us. He served with us in Coimbatore for several months. He is so much fun to be around. He made sure he posted a picture of himself by Sister Tiefenbach's workstation.

We spent some time in Coimbatore this past week. Our driver is our beacon in Coimbatore because he can always safely get us to our destinations. He knows how to get anywhere we need to go. We are so thankful that he knows the city well, and we have complete confidence in his driving. We needed to go to the mall, and of course we were still there during lunch, so we took him to Subway. He loves to order a salad; he keeps saying that he is so happy to have a meal of all vegetables (plus the roasted turkey luncheon meat).



This is the member custodial cupboard in our chapel in Coimbatore. It has been cleaned up and arranged so that all the cleaning supplies can easily be found for the members as they clean the building. It looks so much better than it did a few months ago.








Brother Augustine has been building a house (he calls it a room because it is a one room house) for the past several months. He is so happy that the Lord has blessed him to be able to have his own place. It should be done in a month or so. This is inside his house. We are very happy for the progress he is making in his life. He readily acknowledges the Lord's hand in this great blessing. We can tell that the gospel is a beacon in his life. We are grateful that we have been a part of his life.

 This is the outside view of his house (back view). He has re-used the windows from his parents' old house that is nearby. His parents' house is not habitable, so he is pleased to be able to preserve a part of his family's home. He said that he will now always have his mother and father with him. He is the youngest of 13 children. One of his brothers lives behind his house (toward the front of this picture).





On Saturday night, the Smith's organized a youth activity for the Ramamurthy Branch. Because their apartment is quite small, they asked us if they could have the activity at our apartment. We readily agreed to have the activity at our apartment, and we readily agreed to help them with the activity. The activity was a "Dinner with a Difference." The youth were able to choose several items from a menu, but the trick was that they had no clue what they were ordering. For example, they might order a manure spreader, some clotted cream, and a splinter. In reality, they received a fork, a pat of butter, and a toothpick. There were 5 courses, so the chance of them order something good was pretty good. At the end, they were able to ask for anything that they saw others get that they missed out on. Ice cream was a VERY popular request. From this game, we can learn that we need not be tricked by fancy promises made by worldly beacons if we know the true beacon that will navigate us through our earthly journey.

We also played a few games following the dinner. This game was exciting. A chocolate bar is in the center of the circle. Each person rolls a die. If the person rolls a one or a six, s/he cuts one square of chocolate using a knife and fork and eats the chocolate. The person continues to cut and eat squares of chocolate until someone else rolls a one or a six. Many times, the person doesn't get to eat any chocolate because the next person rolls the required numbers. The game gets quite intense. We hope that the youth will always remember this activity and will remember the good associations they had during the evening, and that this will help follow the righteous beacons in their lives that will keep them on the path that leads to eternal life.

The crane that we see out our bedroom window has lights lined along its great beam that shine brightly in the night sky, warning pilots of its presence to help them navigate safely to their destinations. It sends out a warning signal, showing the danger areas and showing the right path that must be taken to go to ensure a safe arrival. We, too, have many beacons in our lives that the Lord gives us to help us navigate safely to our Heavenly Father's presence. We have living prophets and apostles and other church leaders that send out a warning voice and show us the path we should take. We know as Amos of old knew that "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). The temple stands as a magnificent beacon to the world inviting all to come unto Christ and reminding us of the covenants we have made with Him. When the people of King Benjamin came to hear his words, "they pitched their tents round about the temple, each man having his tent with the door thereof toward the temple" (Mosiah 2: 6). We bear witness that as we turn our hearts and our thoughts toward the temple, keeping the temple foremost in our minds, we will be endowed with power from on high and the "angels [will] have charge over [us]" (D&C 109:22).