Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends! The year 2012 has been an eventful year in our lives, with serving the Lord in Coimbatore as a big change in our lives. The time has gone by quickly; we can't believe that we have been gone for just over 9 months. The longer we are here, the faster the time goes. At times, we feel that we are running out of time and we won't have enough time to make a real contribution here in this area. Another big change we have had is the birth of our 18th grandchild. We definitely missed holding and cuddling this precious new child so new from our Heavenly Father, but we are grateful for technology that allows us to see and hear her. We also had a grandson baptized this year. Again, thanks to technology, we were able to see and hear part of that event. Because of the sacredness of the baptismal ordinances, we were not able to see the actual baptism, but we were able to be included with the other people before and after the baptism.

We began our celebration for the new year at the church. The program consisted of a "talent show." This seems to be a popular theme for activities here. Many members shared their singing and dancing abilities. The people here enjoy dancing. Most of the dances that are performed here are taken from Indian movies. A committee was assigned to organize and approve of all the entertainment. They did a good job of putting this event together. It started a bit later than it was supposed to, so we ended up staying later than we expected.


One of the displays of talent was a fashion show; both of us participated in it. Elder Tiefenbach wore a casual jacket over his fashionable missionary attire. Sister Tiefenbach wore a fancy scarf over her high class missionary clothes. We were enthusiastically welcomed when we stepped out to show our outfits. We don't have a picture of Elder Tiefenbach, as he was taking the pictures.

While the new year began with a fun time with the members, we also felt some sadness because we knew we would be losing some missionaries because of transfers. We grow quite attached to the missionaries, and when they leave, we feel an emptiness in our hearts. We say good-bye to a long-time friend (long-time here is much shorter on our mission than at home), Elder Ram (right). He has been here for about six months, and we will miss his enthusiasm and his fun times. Elder Vaiphei will continue as a Zone Leader. His new companion will be Elder Mills.

We also say good-bye to Elder Solomon. We feel that a big part of us is leaving with his departure. We feel that he has brought part of home to us here in Coimbatore. Maybe it is because he is from Canada that we feel this way. Or, maybe it is because his parents and we have mutual friends, the Oviatts, for whom we have a great love. Whatever the reason, we always feel closer to home with him around. We shall miss that.



Elder Augustine (left) also leaves us, but we will see him once a month because he will remain in our zone, as he will be serving in Erode. We have enjoyed him as a District Leader and have enjoyed his quiet, dedicated manner. He has a wonderful command of the English language and always has a genuine concern for all those with whom he associates.  Sister Tiefenbach thinks he would make a great psychologist. Elder Justesen has had a short transfer. He will be serving in Coimbatore 1st Branch instead of his current assignment of Coimbatore 2nd Branch.



Elder Challa (center) also leaves us. We shall miss his sense of homour. Although he likes to joke around alot, he also displays a sincere, humble testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

As a farewell to Elder Solomon and Elder Challa, we had them over for a pasta supper before they left. We were happy that they could spend some time with us before they left. Elder Ram and Elder Augustine left before we could have them over for dinner.









We also began the new year by celebrating the eighth birthday of Brother Raja and Sister Sumathi's twins. They will be baptized this coming Sunday.













Sister Tiefenbach made carrot cake for the celebration.

 

Elder Solomon seemed to enjoy the cake. We are fortunate that they were also invited over for the celebration. That way, we were able to see him the night before he left. He had several dinner appointments that night. We hope he did not get sick from all the food.

We have two new sisters serving in Coimbatore. Sister Goupta and Sister Dhicau (not sure of the spelling of that). We picked them up from the airport. On the way back from the airport, we got a flat tire.










This gave us an opportunity to take pictures of the sisters in a building that is under construction. Sister Goupta (on the right) and Sister Dhicau (left) are both from Delhi. This is Sister Dhicau's first area.

Sister Goupta will be serving with Sister Jebamani. They will be taking over the apartment and area that Elder Augustine and Elder Justesen had. Sister Dhicau will be serving with Sister Madabuthala.









We wish you all a Happy New Year.  We hope that we can all grow from all the experiences that we will meet in the coming year. We pray that Heavenly Father will bless you with peace and joy in the next year. As we make new goals for the coming year, let us not forget to set goals to draw us closer to the Saviour so we make feel his love and understand the His atonement in our lives.