Trick or Treat - Mostly Treats!

Last Sunday, we had a great treat as we celebrated Elder Prakash's birthday. This was his last birthday to be celebrated on his mission, and we were happy that we could make a cake as a good memory for him.










Elder Prakash carefully cut a small piece of cake for each person and fed them to each of us. This is a tradition in India.











Elder Smith "helped" with this trick! They both always want to help each other with the cake. She ended up with cake and icing on her clothes and her face. We definitely will never let either one of them feed us cake! We don't like this kind of trick.









After we finished the traditional feeding cake to the guests, we all had a larger piece of cake with strawberry ice cream. The cake was delicious. We had a bit left over, so we froze a few pieces for a future time. That future time ended up being Saturday night. We had chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for our treat as we watched a movie from the 30's.






Monday was preparation day for the missionaries. You will notice that Elder Surya and Elder Kullai are in casual wear. They had been playing basketball with the other missionaries from the zone. They had a wonderful treat, but poor Elder Hodgson, who is NOT in casual wear, had to spend his p-day at the FRRO getting registered. He was on the receiving end of the trick.







The Smith's and we treated Bernard and Shawn at The Only Place. Shawn ordered the "All American Hamburger" for his treat, and Bernard order a steak.The other auditor, Nathan, was not able to join us because he was not feeling well. Being sick is an unpleasant trick!










The restaurant is set back from the street with a wall around it, so the only way one could tell that one has arrived is the sign outside on the street. Inside the walls on the street is a delightful treat. The restaurant has a roof but no walls, so it is an "open air" restaurant. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is peaceful and wonderful, and the food is great.

This picture shows the open walls of the restaurant and the beautiful plants just outside the restaurant proper. We told Shawn (middle right) and Bernard (right) that they need to be careful when they get up from the table because the floor is raised slightly from the surrounding ground. We wanted the evening to be a treat, not a trick! The restaurant looks empty in this picture, but by the time we left, it was full. Most people eat late here. We arrived shortly after 7:00.

Tuesday night was a second night in a row that we did not have to cook dinner. What a treat that is!! We had a farewell dinner and devotional for (left to right) Sister Jebamani, Elder Ram, Elder Prakash, and Elder Kashyap. Sister Jebamani was one of the four sisters to come when our mission was opened up once again to sister missionaries. She had been assigned to the Philippines, but when our mission was opened up to sisters, she was transferred to our mission. At first, she was very sad to be leaving the Philippines, but she decided that where she served did not matter. She wanted to serve the Lord, and she did not put importance on the place she served. We have a special relationship with her because she was with us in Coimbatore. We will definitely miss Elder Ram! He has been with us for a lot of our mission. Sister Tiefenbach was able to mostly control her emotions. She shed only a few tears at one point in the evening as she thought about Elder Ram leaving; however, when she said the final good-bye to him, she was a trooper! We hope our paths will cross one day. We have also been able to work with Elder Prakash for most of the time that we have been in Bangalore. It will seem strange not to see him every week at our branch or see him dropping into the office. We did not have the opportunity to work personally with Elder Kashyap, but during the devotional, we were touched by his testimony as he shared some personal experiences. We pray that each one of these faithful missionaries will continue to hold fast to the rod and will contribute in great way to the Lord's kingdom where they live.

Elder Ram brought "the sign." This was a great treat because we were able to use it one last time. Thank you Elder Ram!











Elder Ramaraj was transferred this past week, so this farewell was also the last meal we would have with him. This picture was taken at the Farewell Dinner and Devotional, but we also had Elder Ramaraj and Elder Mills to our house last Sunday for a lasagna supper. Elder Ramaraj loves lasagna, so we wanted to treat him before he left. Both of them ate heartily. Elder Ravi (center), from California, is the new assistant to the President. We are excited to work with him and Elder Mills.




Although farewell dinners and devotionals can be a sad time, we have happy times to counter the sadness. We had the treat of welcoming three new missionaries into the mission this week. This is Sister Arora. She is from Delhi. She had been attending BYU Idaho for 2 1/2 years prior to her mission here.








This is Elder Sharma. He is from Utah. He had a VERY long flight to India, and he was extremely tired when he arrived. Because of some re-routing of his flight, he missed his connection in London. He ended up flying into Delhi and then to Bangalore. His flight was not a treat for him. It was a very bad and unwanted trick! As a result, he missed the orientation for new missionaries, but he has an excellent trainer, Elder Willis, who just finished his training with Elder Ram. So, we know that he will be taken care of very well.


Thirteen days ago, we said good-bye to Elder Anthony as we sent him to the MTC in Manila. On Wednesday, we welcomed him back. His smile was bigger and brighter than the day he left our office thirteen days ago. He is being trained by Elder Randall.

The government decided to play a trick on us. We had to go to the post office this week. Our daughter, Brenda, sent us a package (exciting treat), which she has done in the past, but this time, the Indian government wanted us to pay some duty on the package (trick). So, we had to go to this post office to give them a receipt for the things she sent to us. We will end up paying about $60.00 duty for our precious package. Not only did they require us to pay, but they played a double trick on us: we will not get the package until this coming week. We thought we would be able to pick up the package when we went to the post office but this was not to be. That was a cruel trick!

On our way back from the post office, we saw this all too familiar sight. When the traffic gets too congested on the street, the drivers of motorcycles often take to the sidewalk to get past the stalled traffic. Pedestrians who use the sidewalks not only have to watch out for uneven surfaces as they walk, they also need to keep an eye out for motorcycles. This is something new to us since we have come to India. The first time we saw this, we were very surprised - shocked, but now it is just part of everyday life. We suggest that you don't attempt this trick if you live outside India!

 As we travel or walk, we are always on the look out for interesting signs. We loved this sign. We hope that the sign is not a trick and a reflection of the quality of these opticians.










Next to this shop, is a shoe shop. Of course, we see many "modern" shoe stores, but the streets are also full of these small shops. This is a typical street in India. Seeing all these small stores is still a treat for us. We continue to be amazed that so many stores can stay in business.

Saturday was another busy day for baking. We (okay . . . Sister Tiefenbach) made bread again - yum! We (this time it is "we") made muffins as well. We made banana raisin muffins and honey blueberry muffins. We have had a jar of honey in the cupboard, and Elder Tiefenbach doesn't particularly like liquid honey, so he found a muffin recipe that uses honey. We also received a free sample of liquid honey (shown in the picture) when we went grocery shopping on Saturday. All the muffins turned out pretty good. The recipe that we used for the banana muffins was from Sister Smith. This was definitely a GREAT TREAT!









For supper (dinner) on Saturday, we had tuna 'n cheese sauce over rice (my family knows it as tuna casserole not mixed together) with mixed vegetables and beets. This was the first time we bought beets in India, and it was a real treat to taste fresh beets. We are reminded of when we used to make pickled beets at this time of the year. We call them beets, but local people call it beet root.






Serving the Lord in India is a wonderful treat for both of us. We have been richly blessed by having met so many wonderful people, by having great experiences, and by receiving support from family and friends. We have certainly had difficult times, as well, but we have been sustained during those times. We trust in the promise that Paul gives "that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). The Lord also revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith: "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another" (D&C 90: 24). This promise is the greatest treat of all.

The Fountain of all Righteousness

As a prelude to this week's blog, we thought we would show you that we actually work while we are here in India. Elder Tiefenbach spends most of his daytime hours in his office working on the computers.

The Assistants always have a lot of work to do on the computers as well. This is the last week in the office for Elder Ramaraj. He will be going home at the end of November, so as is the usual practice, he is going "back out in the field" to finish his mission. We will miss him. We have truly enjoyed working with him.








Fortunately, we will continue to see Elder Mills everyday for a while yet. He has helped Sister Tiefenbach a lot with preparing missionaries for their registration appointments.










This is the little store where we have often bought milk. It is situated just outside the park where we walk every morning. Lately, it has not been open when we leave the park, so we have been without that convenience for a while. It was open for a couple of days last week, but it did not have the kind of milk that we needed.







On the way to work one day this week, we were surprised by a huge load of sand on the sidewalk by an office building. We obviously couldn't walk on this sidewalk, as we usually do. The sand was in preparation for finishing the floor on the ground floor. The sand will be smoothed over the existing cement, and then another layer of cement will be poured over the sand. This floor will have a smooth finish, upon which flooring may be placed.

We had some visitors from Kong Hong and Salt Lake City this week. They are all auditors. We thought of our son, Brian when we met them. Bernard (second from the left) has been here a few times, but this was the first time we met our Salt Lake City friends. Brother Nathan Anderson (right) and brother Sean (or Shawn) Bawden will be here for two weeks. We and the Smith's made arrangements with them to go to "The Only Place" with them on Wednesday. Well, Wednesday was a holiday here, and the restaurant was CLOSED! We were so disappointed. We really didn't know where else to go, so our visitors suggested going back to the Chinese restaurant that they had gone to on Monday. The restaurant was in the Vivanta Taj Hotel. The food was SO good. Bernard (from Hong Kong) had met the chef so we were treated royally! We had a great time. We plan to go to "The Only Place" on Monday evening. Sister Tiefenbach phoned to make sure it would be open every day next week.

This brings us to Friday. The Smith's and we took Friday as our P-day, and we went on an outing. We hired Gowda (cab driver) to take us to the Shivasamudram Falls. For the first part of our journey, we travelled on the same road we took to Mysore, so we were able to stop at McDonalds for a breakfast break. The Egg McMuffins were great!





 We were bright and energetic as we started our journey as we anticipated the beautiful waterfalls that were awaiting us.












We eventually turned off the Mysore highway to take the road to the waterfalls. This road had MANY cow-drawn carts laden with a variety of goods. We had never seen so many carts on the highway as this. Many of the carts, as these two, were piled high with sugar cane.









The area that we drove through is known for its sugar cane and rice crops. In the background, you can see the sugar cane. We are such a lovely couple!











We were surprised to see this huge load of sugar cane coming toward us. We were all amazed at how they could pile it so high, with it getting wider and wider the higher up the pile went. This load was pulled by a tractor. We wondered about the stability of the load, but nothing fell as we passed by. None of the other travelers seemed concerned, either.

 Here we can see both sugar cane and rice growing in the fields.












At last we arrived at the Shivasmudram Falls, also known as Bluff Falls. It is the home of the first power plant in India. The original power plant was built in 1902, which means that India had electricity quite early in time.









The falls were fantastic! This is an overview of the area. The whole area surrounding the falls was quite green and beautiful. The monsoons were good this year, so the falls were full of water. Apparently, had we gone a month earlier, the falls would have been heavier, but this was still an amazing sight.







This is a close up view of the falls on the right of the above picture. We loved watching the torrents of water crashing down on the rocks, creating huge sprays of mist as it made its way to the bottom. Surprisingly, the falls did not make a lot of noise.









If you look closely (you might need a magnifying glass - so just trust us) at the top of the falls, you can see a lot of people on the rocks. To get to that side of the falls, you have to travel for about 15 to 20 minutes by road. Of course, we eventually did that.
















We kept running into this good-looking couple, so we took their picture! We think that these falls are part of the Cauvery River.












We had decided to go to the falls on Friday instead of Saturday because we thought it would be too busy on Saturday. As it turned out, Friday was a holiday, so many people were at the falls. But, with Friday as a holiday, Saturday would have been extra busy. We were glad we went on Friday and that we left early in the morning. This is a better view of the people on the other side of the falls.





We always love to see the "wildlife" everywhere we go! We still can't get over the idea that monkeys are so much a part of every day life in many areas in India. They continue to be a novelty for us.









We are also still amazed that animals and people occupy the same space. It is quite normal to see people and cows (or other animals, for that matter) all together having a good time. The animals walk around as if they are supposed to be there - like they are part of the family.








This is a press that is used to make a sugar cane drink. They run the canes through this press and "juice" comes out. It must be VERY sweet. The person running the machine arrived shortly after this picture was taken.

Here is the pile of sugar canes that was waiting to be pressed into sweet juice. Elder Tiefenbach thinks Sister Tiefenbach is just as sweet as the sugar cane.










We saw several stands where a person could buy fruits and vegetables for a snack. Three popular items were cucumbers, pineapple, and watermelon. They would peel the cucumbers and slice them in half, lengthwise and then sprinkle chili on them.








We drove to the other side of the falls and had a different view of the falls. This looks like something one would see in an exotic place that is shown in movies. Wait a minute, we were in an exotic place. This is such a contrast to the busy, crowded, noisy city.

We ventured down the rocky decent toward the water to join the many people enjoying the water. The decent was about 50 feet or so. Unfortunately, as we neared the bottom, three police officers came down to tell everybody to get back up to the top. Apparently, the authorities were going to open the dam, which meant that too much water would be coming down. So, to ensure the safety of everyone, the police moved everyone up to higher ground. We waited for quite some time to see the rush of water, but we got too hot sitting on the hot rocks, so we left for another set of falls.


 We drove another 15 minutes or so to the Bharachukki Falls. Again, we saw an amazing sight.













By this time, we were very hungry. They don't have picnic areas as we are used to in North America, so we stopped on the side of the road. We found a few pieces of cardboard laying around, and Gowda had some newspapers. These became our picnic blanket. We had roasted turkey luncheon meat and cheese sandwiches, pickles, carrot sticks, tomatoes, cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookies. It was a mighty fine lunch.




We had some unexpected guests for lunch. In fact, we had two herds (flocks) of these wooly friends join us. This is the first group. We had the experience to witness a shepherd at work. He walked in front of his flock and spoke to them. One other person was in the rear. The sheep did not move out of the path that the shepherd laid out for them. Mind you, one sheep thought s/he would take a nibble from the lemon that was hanging down from the front of Gowda's car. (His car had been decorated a few days earlier for a festival.)


At one point, we had sheep on both sides of us. Sister Tiefenbach was keeping a close eye on the sheep to make sure they didn't stray from their path and take a nibble from her lunch. This was a cool experience for us. Previous to this, we had to slow down several times as we were driving as sheep or cows were walking on the road. This was "just like in the movies!" Sometimes, we have to pinch ourselves to make sure this is not a dream. Our driver, Gowda, is seen in the back.




After our lunch, we went to the Cauvery River to see the beach. This beach had sand. The beach is in the village of Talakadu.You will notice a round basket on the water. People could take a ride on the river in these "boats."










Of course, we couldn't resist. A "driver" stood and manoeuvred the boat with a long stick. This was as good as the gondolas in Venice. Okay, okay, in truth, Sister Tiefenbach was hesitant to go, but everyone else was doing it, so . . .









It was great fun! The ride lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. The drivers of these have to be very strong. The water wasn't actually very deep. It didn't get much deeper than 6 to 8 feet. Being out on the placid water was relaxing. As you can see, Elder Tiefenbach took advantage of the "time out" for relaxation. We both had a good time.









After our peaceful ride on the river, we drove to a nearby Hindu temple. This is the Sri Maraleshwara Temple.


















Sister Tiefenbach and Sister Smith are discussing and admiring the intricate carvings. We can't imagine the amount of time it would have taken to do all these carvings. This temple is about 1,500 years old.










Of course, when we saw the waterfalls and the sheep , we are reminded about the living waters that Christ offers and that Christ is the Good Shepherd. In Revelation 7:17, John teaches that "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [us], and shall lead [us] unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes." As we watched the power and strength of the water rushing to the bottom of the rocks, we think of the plea Lehi made to his son: "O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness" (1 Nephi 2:9).