Feelings of Belonging

We have had some wonderful experiences this week. Maybe, to some of our readers, they may seem typical of many other weeks we have discussed, but as we interact with the missionaries and with the members of the branches here, we feel part of their lives, and we feel and recognize the tender mercies of the Lord. We went to Deepak's, the former Elder Sharma's, house for lunch on Monday. His mother went to a lot of work for us. She reduced the amount of chili and other hot spices so the food would be okay for us. We appreciate the accommodations they make for us.

Deepak's mother made two different types of chicken and some delicious ghee rice. We have had ghee rice before, but it wasn't as good as this. She also did not insist on us eating more food when we said we were full. We appreciated her loving kindness toward us. The members of the church here in India absolutely love having us in their homes. They are always honoured to have us visit in their homes, but it is we who are the more honoured. We wish we could personally introduce many of our friends from India to our friends  and family in Canada. The people here will always be treasured in our hearts, as they have made us part of them.

On our way back to the office after lunch with Deepak and his mother, we noticed the train going by. It was definitely travelling faster than we were. Traffic in Bangalore is so congested! The picture is small, but if you notice the train car on the left, you will see a man standing in the doorway. The trains are often crowed, so many people stand in the doorways. Other times, people simply stand in the doorways to see the view. We know that we would never see people hanging out the doors of trains in Canada.

The watermelons have been out in full force this past week or so. We can buy watermelon all year around, but the striped ones are only available during this time of year. During watermelon season, one can see many stands like this throughout the city. We haven't bought one of these yet, but hopefully, we can get one before we leave.






We had a few missionaries drop by the office on Monday. We have mentioned many times that we love to see the missionaries. We feel we are all part of a large family. We all belong to each other. From left to right we have Elder Gottipati (green straps of a backpack showing), Elder Karri (back), Elder Pydimala, Elder Justesen, and Elder Veera.







Added to this picture are Elder Pilli (sitting) and Elder Anderson in the back.












Elder Anderson finally was successful in registering with the FRRO in Bangalore. Here is his registration certificate as proof. The elders get SO excited when they finally get finished with the FRRO. The always come back to the office with a big smile on their faces and give a big sigh of relief. Congratulations Elder Anderson!






We had Zone Conference on Tuesday. Although the conference is geared to the young missionaries, we are always invited because we also belong to the missionary force. The missionaries make us feel part of the mission and seem to want us around. Go figure that! We enjoy listening to the presentations and instructions given at these conferences, and we always feel good at the end of the day. When the time comes for introducing ourselves and for bearing of testimonies, we are also included. We take our turn just like all the young missionaries. Here are Elders Bean and Coombs. The lunch for our conference was catered by Brother George, who is from either Ramamurthy or Lingarajapuram Branch. We can't remember which branch he is attends.

 Here we have more elders feeling satisfied from the lunch. From left to right, we have Elder O'Dell, Elder Peck, and Elder Newbill.










We are not sure what Elder Pydimala (left) is eating here. Elder Vaddi is finished and sitting back taking some time to relax. Elder Anderson still looks like he eats very carefully when he uses his hands.









Here we are taking some time with Sister Berrett to enjoy the fellowshipping after lunch. Maybe, we are showing a bit too much fellowshipping! At least Sister Tiefenbach is NOT sitting on Elder Tiefenbach's knee.









We met in the Relief Society room for the instruction sessions. We sat beside Elder and Sister Smith at the back of the room. That way, we could give the elders a cuff if they didn't pay attention! We would never do that, but we warned them of the possibility.








This is the group of us preparing for the official zone picture. President Berrett came to sit in the open space beside Sister Berrett. He was adjusting his camera, so Elder Tiefenbach had Elder Coombs take this picture. This is inside the chapel at the Whitefield Branch. The building is a Stake Center sized building. Now, we just have to wait for Bangalore to become a stake. We are hoping that this will happen in the next year. We will be anxiously waiting to hear the news of when it becomes a stake.



We went to Brother and Sister Augustine's house for dinner on Wednesday evening. They thought we didn't eat very much, but we had more than enough. Again, we were treated royally, and they told us that they felt honoured that we came to their house. No matter how many times we hear members say that to us, we feel inadequate to receive such graciousness. The Augustines are so welcoming to us. They are the parents of a missionary, Elder Augustine, who served with us in Coimbatore. He is a great missionary who has a great ability to listen to people and understand their thoughts and feelings. He has a great capacity to connect with other people.

We made sweet and sour meatballs for dinner on Saturday night. The meatballs were great; the sauce was great; the rice was rice; and the vegetables were fantastic. It was a delicious meal.










Today, we attended an open house to celebrate the new home and the blessing of a baby for Brother Alfred and his wife. We can't remember her name. They will be attending our branch once they officially move into their new house, so we don't know them. But, we know some of their relatives, and we wanted to show support to them and welcome them into the branch.






Many people came to congratulate the couple, and we were able to see many friends from other branches, as well as some former missionaries. Here is Brother Raja. He served as one of the assistants for the last few months of his mission.










We were thrilled to see Sister Judy and Brother Samson with their two daughters. These are the girls that Sister Tiefenbach taught piano lessons to. Their parents told us today that the two girls played some of the prelude music for Sacrament meeting this week. They only play the melody line, but before Sister Tiefenbach taught them anything, they would not have been able to do that much. We were so excited to hear that. The branches here do not have people who can play the piano, so if these girls can continue to learn, they will be a great asset where ever they live.




This is the house, minus the top floor. The couple will live on the second floor (1st floor according to the people of India). Brother Alfred's brother will live on the main floor and his sister on the third floor. There are two flats on the 3rd level. The sister will live in one, and they will rent the other one out. The room on the fourth level will also be rented out. We were happy to attend this open house. All the people were happy to see us. We did not have to stand in line for the food; someone went and got the food for us and brought it to us. We are always treated with such great respect. We can truly feel the love and appreciation they have for us.

Our time in India is fast drawing to a close. We can't believe our service here is almost over. We have mixed feelings about this. We are over joyed that some of our family is coming in a few weeks to "pick us up" from our mission, and we are greatly looking forward to see the rest of our family upon our return, but we are keenly aware that we will miss the people here. As we have served here, we have loved the people, and they have loved us. We have felt a great sense of belonging to this land and its people. We consider these feelings to be one of the tender mercies of the Lord given to all those who serve others. We have served the people, and the people have served us. We have truly felt and understood Kind Benjamin's address when he said, "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).