Birthday in the Office

Elder Ram had a birthday the week before last week, but he was out of station (that means out of town). So, we weren't able to make a cake for him until this past week. We took a few moments to light the birthday candles, sing to him, and eat cake.







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We think he must have had a big wish! He blew all the candles out with one breath - not surprising given the huge breath he took. We made him a chocolate cake with chocolate icing (frosting if you prefer that word). It was oh so delicious. Sister Tiefenbach does not make fancy cakes with artistic decorations; she makes plain, ordinary cakes, but they taste good. We wish we could share this cake with everyone, but it would probably be quite stale by the time you would get it.



Speaking of sharing cake, one tradition in India is that the birthday person feeds his piece of cake to all the people who attend the cake cutting. Well, Sister Tiefenbach would not allow that because she is a "germaphobic," as Elder Ram says. So, she cut small pieces for him to share with those who were at the cake cutting. He started the custom with Sister Tiefenbach. In truth, Sister Tiefenbach was a bit reluctant because she thought Elder Ram was going to smash the cake in her face. Hmm.... why would Sister Tiefenbach ever think Elder Ram would
do something like that?????? Fortunately, he did not. Elder Smith is anxiously waiting for his turn.

Sister Smith was a willing participant in this tradition. This was her first birthday celebration in India, and she enjoyed her initiation into the Indian birthday tradition.  We think she was glad she got her own little piece of cake and did not have to take a bite of the same piece of cake that Sister Tiefenbach had bitten.







Elder Ram was less careful with Elder Barlow. Elder Barlow can really open his mouth wide. On the exterior, Elder Barlow looks like a mild mannered, serious, office-type of person (you know, the Clark Kent type), but he is just as wierd as Elder Ram. So, maybe rather than the Clark Kent/Superman comparison, maybe Dr. Jekel/Mr. Hyde would be a more appropriate likeness. They wanted a close up picture of the procedure so they could show everyone how the professionals do this. Obviously, they have this tradition down really good!! Elder Smith was also favoured with an offering from Elder Ram, but Elder Tiefenbach missed out because he received an important phone call just as we were beginning the celebration. The candles were already lit when the phone rang, so we went ahead with the cake.

After feeding everyone a small piece of cake, everyone had their own larger piece. So, how much cake did Elder Ram and Elder Barlow really eat???? Actually, the cake was shared with 8 or 9 other people who also work on the same floor as us and on the floor above us.

Oh look!! There is Elder Tiefenbach. He made his appearance between phone calls. The cake celebration was a welcomed stress reliever for Sister Tiefenbach. She was having an extremely stressful day. Here is the story. All the elders from the States have only a one year visa. At the end of that time period, they must leave the country to apply for another visa to India. The missionaires now go to the Philippines for this process. In order  to apply for another visa, they need to turn in their USA passports with their visa application. That would leave the elders without a passport in a foreign country (Philippines). So, to ensure that they have a passport, the elders have to apply for a second passport at least 3 weeks before they leave India. Applying for their second passport requires a flight to Hyderabad, unless one is already in Hyderabad. Regardless, the appointment is with the USA Consulate in Hyderabad. To apply for their second passport, they must show their first passport to verify that they are who they say they are. Well, Sister Tiefenbach received a phone call from Elder Hatch (a senior missionary serving in Hyderabad) tellling her that five missionaries were in Hyderabad for their interviews, and none of them had their passports (all passports are kept in the office for safe keeping). "Was this the day of the interview????" Panic stricken, and after a pause of silence brought about by the understanding of the gravity of the situation, Sister Tiefenbach replies, "Not only do they not have their passports, they don't have their applications for their 2nd passports!" So, how is that for a jump start for Tuesday????

We solved the lack of applications fairly quickly, so a bit of the stress was gone. Sister Smith suggested to Sister Tiefenbach that she have some chocolate. So, that seemed like a good time to bring out the cake. Later, we found out that the elders couldn't even get through the Consulate gate without a passport. Three of the elders had their driver's license, so the guards let them in. The other two were not allowed in no matter how much everyone pleaded. The three that got in were not really any further ahead than the two that were left out because the staff at the Consulate could not process the applications without the presence of the first passport. We were in big trouble again. The elders were told that when the leave the Consulate, they would have to make an appointment for the next available time, which was April 9th. April 9th!!!!! They are supposed to be flying to the Philippines that day!!!! STRESS!!!!!! No worries, they said. The elders were told that after they make the online appointment, they simply write an email requesting an earlier appointment. They could not guarantee that the elders would be able to get in the next day, so we were praying desperately for that. We don't know whether Elder Smith or Sister Tiefenbach thought of the brilliant solution to the problem. Or, maybe it was a combined solution, but we decided to fly Elder Smith to Hyderabad with all the passports early the next morning. We were counting on the Elders being granted an appointment for that day. The elders sent the request the following day because the office was closed by the time they were finished. Within 15 minutes of sending the request for an earlier appointment, they were told they could have an appointment for that day (Wednesday). By the time the elders knew they had an appointment for that day, they already had their passports in their hands. We believe the Lord truly stepped in so His plan would not be thwarted by the absent-mindedness of the mission secretary or by the lack of clarity on how this whole procedure of what she was supposed to do. We don't know exactly what happened, but we know what didn't happen. Needless to day, it will be done right next time. We even had a bonus: President Funk did not fire Sister Tiefenbach. Everyone agreed that the problem was systemic, and in the end, it didn't seem to be as much of a catastrophe as we thought it was. Elder Tiefenbach felt so bad for Sister Tiefenbach; he didn't think it was completely her fault, but he knew the difficult situation that Sister Tiefenbach was in. He felt helpless because he couldn't take it away like he would like to do.

But, somone can take it all away. This whole episode made Sister Tiefenbach think of the Atonement. Sometimes, we simply blow it; we mess up. But, if we show that we repent, the Lord steps in and carries us. Sister Tiefenbach is ever grateful for the Atonement. She knows Divine intervention was involved in this.

Wednesday night, after the stress was lifted from everyone's shoulders, we had the pleasure of seeing Elder Kumar. He was the Zone Leader when we first arrived in Coimbatore. He took such good care of us when we were new; he will always have a special place in our hearts. We were so happy to see him. Elder Kumar is a hard-working, dedicated missionary. Elder Kumar was in Bangalore for Zone Leader training. All the zone leaders in the mission came into Bangalore for the Wednesday training. We were actually favoured by two visits from Elder Kumar. He came Tuesday evening and Wednesday everning. Elder Kumar has already finished his Bachelor of Pharmacy and plans to do a Master's Degree when he is finished his mission. He will be finished his mission in about 5 months.

 Elder Aruldoss came with Elder Kumar on Wednesday. He served with us in Coimbatore. We feel a special closeness to all the missionaries with whom we have served. Elder Aruldoss spent a few years in Arizona as an exchange student before his return to India to prepare for a mission.

One way to deal with stress is to exercise. We walk every morning Monday to Friday in a nearby park. The park is filled with green trees and plants and is a haven of peace and quiet before we begin our busy days at the office. Our walk is always a great start to the day. This is the main entrance to the park. Obviously, we do not wear our missionary attire when we walk in the park.

In our daily walk, we see some of the same people everyday. We see a particular friendly group of men. We say hello to them every day. The men walk quite a bit slower than we do, and when ever we overtake them, they make some comment to us about us being younger or some other similar comment. One day, the more talkative member of the group was alone; the others did not come. He was coming up quickly behind us, and we jokingly asked him if it was his turn to overtake us. He laughed and then joined us for the rest of our walk. He owns a t-shirt company, and before we finished our walk, he had our phone number so he could phone us later to deliver some free t-shirts. He sent 2 girl shirts and 2 boy shirts.

The man's name is Santosh. He has two companies in Tirupur, which is about 50 km east of Coimbatore. But, he has his home in Bangalore. One of his companies is called GoGo Garments. His son has taken over the business now. Santosh did a good job of judging our sizes. Elder Tiefenbach looks great sporting his new t-shirt.

We went shopping at a different mall on Saturday. In the mall is a grocery store called Food Hall. It has a few things that the other grocery stores do not have, but the other grocery stores have things that this one doesn't have. But, it was nice to go somewhere different. Although we see many trees everyday in Bangalore, we don't see many lawns. We were surprised to see this rooftop lawn from the vantage point of the huge mall windows. The swimming pool looked inviting, too, as the weather has become hot.

Although the hot temperatures of the summer are once again upon us, Bangalore is favoured by many trees. This is one of the streets we walk on the way to church. The abundance of trees shelters us from the scorching rays of the sun, while allowing us to enjoy its warmth. This street looks like it could be any typical street in North America. Maybe, our memory of home has faded, and we now consider the things we see here to be the same as in Canada. There is something wonderful and inspiring about seeing a group of missioanries walking down the street together. They have a presence about them, and they look like they are definitely on the Lord's errand.

We are slowly getting to know the members of the church in our branch. This is Sesha Kumar (right) with his daughter and his wife (Anna Poorna). He is the Sunday School President. We can't remember the name of the man on the left. Elder Tiefenbach has been asked to teach the youth Sunday School class. It is not a calling, but he will be doing it each week. Sister Tiefenbach was asked to play the piano/organ for the opening and sacrament hymn at the last moment. Elder Barlow, who usually plays the piano, was delayed (with his companion, Elder Ram) in arriving at church because they dropped by an investigator's home to come to church with them.

This, dear family and friends, is about a 2 minute walk from our apartment. Can you believe  that we haven't been there, yet? We never seem to think of it during the week, but we are reminded every Sunday because we walk by it on our way to and from church. Don't worry, we are never tempted to go their on Sunday! You may be wondering why McDonald's is a wonderful sight to see, but it stirs up some wonderful memories of when we would always go to McDonald's after institute on Thursday evenings when we were dating. Elder Tiefenbach would almost always order a filet o'fish, and Sister Tiefenbach would order a cheeseburger.

 However, wonderful the sight of McDonald's may be, nothing can beat the beauties of the creations of our Father in Heaven. One of the beauties we see are the trees in Bangalore. We see many flowers on trees here; however, not all the flowers on the trees are actually part of the tree. Many trees have flowering vines that grow beside them and entwine themselves in the branches of the trees. The co-existence of the majestic trees and the delicate, radiant flowering vines is a wonder to behold. Throughout our lives, we will always have stressful moments, but as we take time to enjoy the grandeur of Heavenly Father's creations, we can be reminded of His precious gift he has provided us, His great plan of happiness. We know that in the grand scheme of His plan of happiness, this life is but a small speck of time, and our difficult and stressful times are smaller, yet. The Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is central to our Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness, will buoy us up and give us strength to pass through difficult and stressful times. We but need to take advantage of this gift.