Where Did the Week Go?

Yes, where did the week go? It went by so fast and was filled with so many things that it seems like the events of this week occured two weeks ago. The week started with a flopped batch of brownies. When taking them out of the oven, Sister Tiefenbach banged the pan on the back of a dining chair. Did you know that when you hit a pan of freshly removed from the oven brownies, the brownies all slide to one side and then they fall? Well, we know now. It doesn't really matter because the missionaries will eat anything. Actually, they still tasted very good.

What is happening here? Elder Tiefenbach, why do you have a blanket draped over you? Why are you in a hospital gown? And, why are you in a wheel chair? This is Elder Tiefenbach on his way to pre-op tests. Why is he going for pre-op test, you ask? Elder Tiefenbach developed a hernia and needed an operation. This is Elder Tiefenbach the day before the operation.

Elder Tiefenbach went to the Fortis Hospital in Bangalore to see a doctor about his hernia. We called the hospital on Saturday morning at 10:00 for an appointment with a surgeon (notice it was a surgeon, not a GP). We had an appointment for 11:30 that morning, only because we couldn't get there any earlier. We saw the doctor and had surgery booked for Tuesday (only because Elder Tiefenbach had things to do on Monday). Although this doctor sees patients at the Fortis Hospital, he does all his operations at the Beams Hospital. It is a laproscopic center. It looked like a hotel when we walked in. The lobby has leather couches for people to sit on while they wait. We were greeted by someone dressed in business attire and ushered to the desk for registration. They took good care of Elder Tiefenbach.

Elder Tiefenbach had his surgery early in the morning on Tuesday. He had to stay in the hospital Tuesday night because he was still woozy from the anesthesia. Here is Elder Tiefenbach ready to go home Wednesday morning. He was fielding phone calls regarding office responsibilities even before he left the hospital. On the way to the office (directly from the hospital), Elder Tiefenbach told Sister Tiefenbach that she could have slept in the other bed in his room while he was in the hospital. Oh well! Sister Tiefenbach needed to be close to the office because she went in to get some work done each morning.

By Wednesday for lunch, we took Elder and Sister Loewer (front left) to Laajaawab, an Indian buffet restaurant across the street from the office. The food was pretty good, especially the butter paneer and the naan. The food is more typical of northern India rather than the food found in the south.

Elder and Sister Loewer are from Calgary and arrived in India for their mission at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. We were going to go meet them at the airport, but because Elder Tiefenbach had his operation, we asked the Smith's to do that for us. They were so willing to help. The Loewers stayed at the Smith's Wednesday night. They will be serving in Chennai (and Coimbatore). We are not sure how all that is going to work. We will wait for President Berrett to figure all that out. Wednesday night, we had the Allison's stay with us. They flew into Bangalore Wednesday evening from Rajahmundry.

On Thursday, we had many missionaries drop by the office. We always love to see the missionaries. We are getting to know more and more of the missionaries names and are getting to know them. We especially love to see Elder Solomon. He is such a nice guy. That sounds so simplistic, but that is exactly what he is - a nice guy. Elder Solomon is with two elders who are completing their missions: Elder Christensen (left) and Elder Srigiri.

They drop by to pick up supplies, to order things, and sometimes to meet the assistants to go out for lunch.

Elder Aeshamalla (seated) fixed the laminator. Sister Tiefenbach was so glad he dropped by. Now, she can use the laminator again. Also in the picture are Elder Randall (left) and Elder Worton.

Thursday evening, we had the farewell dinner for the five elders. They are (left to right): Elder Nakkapalli, Elder Lara, Elder Srigiri, Elder Barker, and Elder Christensen. You need to remember that this is all taking place during the last week that President and Sister Funk were in India. We never cease to be amazed at how much they can get done, and that makes us get a lot done in that same time period. Sister Tiefenbach made a couple of salads and Sister Smith prepared the fuit. We ordered some salads from a restaurant, and the Zobell's (oh yes, they flew into Bangalore Thursday morning), the Smith's and the Assistants helped prepare the spagetti and sauce and helped get everything set up. The dinner was delayed because President Funk and we did not leave the office until about 6:00 that evening. (We spent many late evenings at the office this past week.)

This was the last farewell dinner for President and Sister Funk. Elder Ram (left) and Elder Raja (right) did a good job of preparing the agenda. This was the first Farewell Fireside that Elder Raja conducted. We are impressed with how hard Elder Ram and Elder Raja worked this week as they helped the President throughout the week. Whatever the President asked, they quickly and cheerfully did it. They just finished a two week tour with President Funk, and all this week, they worked from early morning to late at night. They are obedient, hard-working missionaries. We have great discussions with them in the office. It will be a sad day when Elder Ram is transferred.

On Friday afternoon, we had a short couples' meeting with President and Sister Funk. At this meeting, President Funk announced his new assignment as a general authority. He will be the second counselor in the Asia Area Presidency. We were not surprised at this. We are happy because we will get to see him several times before we finish our mission. Right after the couples' meeting, we attended a short farewell that the Service Center staff put on for President and Sister Funk. We had chocolate cake, apple pie, and ice cream. We particularly liked the honey roasted crunch ice cream. All the ice cream was Baskin Robins ice cream.

Friday evening found all the couples at The Only Place. We always enjoy the steak at this restaurant. The Smith's were planning to join us, but they received two phone calls about making visits to some members' homes. We would have liked them to be with us, but their visits were far more important than socializing with all the couples. Elder Loewer was bound and determined to do something weird during the picture. He succeeded.

We attended a missionary fireside on Saturday evening. (First, we worked most of the day at the office.) It was about "Where Your Treasure Is." They showed a video about John Tanner (church history) and then organized a scripture treasure hunt. We all had a spiritual and fun time. Thank you elders for all your work.

The fireside was planned and organized by Elder Solomon and Elder Aeshamalla. Sorry, we didn't get a picture of Elder Aeshamalla at the fireside.

On Sunday, we attended Church (of course) where both of us taught Sunday School lessons. After church, we went to the office to help President Funk with a few last details. We threw in a few visits by Elder Tiefebach to members' homes and then went back to our apartment for supper (dinner). Sister Loewer had the meal prepared for us when we arrived at about 5:15. We ate quickly and then went back to the church to attend a farewell for President and Sister Funk at the Indiranagar building. The farewell was open to all the branches in Bangalore. A few hours after the farewell, President and Sister Funk were on their way to the airport where they were going to meet President and Sister Watson, who will be looking after the mission until President and Sister Berrett arrive on May 9th. President and Sister Funk will be flying to the States at about 3:00 a.m. (This picture was taken at the Service Center farewell.)

As you can tell, we had a VERY busy week. Take all those activities, throw them into our work at the office, mix it all up, and you have our week. We wish we had time to tell you about the many tender mercies of the Lord that we witnessed throughout the week. We truly saw the hand of the Lord as He solved the problems caused by the mistakes we make as humans. Sometime, we will tell you of the missing passport.

Odds and Ends and Bits and Pieces

Well, the office was much quieter in many respects and less "interesting" this week because  the Assistants were travelling with President and Sister Funk. Elder and Sister Tiefenbach are far more subdued (some might say boring) than the Assistants! At the beginning of the week (before everyone left for their trip), we were very busy getting registration packets completed so the Zone Leaders could take them back to the elders who had been recently transferred to their areas. These registrations could have waited a bit longer, but Sister Tiefenbach wanted them to be ready for the Zone Leaders by Tuesday evening. That was a crazy time. Elder Barlow was in the office Tuesday evening while all the activity was going on. He said he missed the busyness of the office. We put him to work to help us out with all the madness about us. That evening, we had 16 people in the office.Don't look too closely at the date of this picture. It was not taken the evening of our whirlwind of handing out the registration packets. But, he did sit at this computer that evening.

Near closing time of the office on Monday, we met Elder Wadsack-Stewart (right). He recently returned from the Philippines after securing a visa for his second year of missionary service in India. He is the companion for Elder R. Kumar, our first Zone Leader from Coimbatore. We will always have a special place in our heart for him. We invited them over Monday evening before they reported in to the Assistants' apartment for the evening. We served them rootbeer floats. They loved them. Sorry, we forgot to take pictures of the rootbeer floats. We have 1 can of rootbeer left.

We really had to search our creative minds to come up with an idea for our blog this week. We were too busy to think about taking pictures, so we are short on pictures of the things we have been doing this week - hence "Odds and Ends and Bits and Pieces." 

One thing we have noticed is that many people sit in a squatting position. We don't think we will every be able to sit like this. We thought that maybe only young children sit like this, but that is not so. Our legs would be so cramped from sitting like this. Actually, we probably would not be able to get up once we got down like this. Well, maybe the tree might help us.

While we were out travelling one day this week, we saw several blocks along one street that had MANY marble and granite stores. It was interesting to see so many slabs of granite on display as we drove along the street. We were in an auto. This store is a marble store.

Do you remember the sod that was put down in Coimbatore in small little tufts? Well, when we were there last week, we stopped to check out the growth. Look at this! It is completely grown in, just as they said it would do. We were a bit skeptical, but it worked. Maybe, we should start this trend in Canada. It certainly would be a lot cheaper than laying the large rolls of sod that we normally do.

When we were at the Sekar family home last week in Coimbatore, we had an unexpected guest at the dinner table. We asked what it was. Their answer was, "Some kind of insect." They did not know what it was, and they didn't seem the least bit concerned, so we ate our dosa and coconut chuntney while keeping our eyes on our guest. Sister Tiefenbach thought it was a praying mantice. This is the first one we have ever seen.

Our driver from Coimbatore, Augustine, misses us a lot. Obviously, he misses the business we gave him, but we think he misses being around us more than the business. He became a good friend to us and always took care of us. Whenever we needed to buy something, like a handle to a drawer, we simply asked him where we could get it, and he would help us find the right place. He became our translater, our driver, our photographer, our helper, and our friend. We miss him. We spent almost our entire time in Coimbatore last week with him. We would like to see him buy a newer car so he could get more business. His car does not have air conditioning, and most people want to ride in an air conditioned car. Many, many days we wished he would have an air conditioned car.

His car may have been hot, but it was more comfortable than an auto. In truth, we think that Augustine's car needed some work on his shocks, but it was more forgiving than an auto. Autos are less than comfortable, but they get around quickly because they can squeeze into smaller spaces through the traffic. This is a typical auto. The autos come in different sizes. Some have an extra seat that is folded down and that can be raised to accommodate more people. The added seating space gives room for the body, but there really isn't room for everyone's legs. This auto does not have the extra folded down seat.

Now, this is the way to ride. Children can fall asleep anywhere. When we first arrived in India, we were so surprised to see babies being held on their mothers' laps on a motorcycle. There definitely is no room for a car seat or any other type of safety gear here. We are so protective of our children and concerned for their safety in Canada (and other countries, too).

Early this past week, we received an email from Brother Don Johnsen (left) from North Carolina. He is in Bangalore on business (computer stuff) and wanted to get information about meeting times, etc. He knew Elder Wadsack-Stewart and was hoping to see him, but Elder Wadsack-Stewart serves in Chennai, which is far from Bangalore. Elder Wadsack-Stewart was in Bangalore at the beginning of the week, but we didn't think about Brother Johnsen that night. Elder Wadsack-Stewart was in Bangalore only for a short while, so getting together with Brother Johnsen wasn't practical. They would have had to get permisison from the mission president, as well. So, Brother Johnsen took us and the Smith's out for dinner. We went to The Only Place. Where else would we go? It is The Only Place to go.

Here is Elder Tiefenbach sporting his new t-shirt from our friend, Santosh, whom we see every day when we walk in the park. He sent us four more t-shirts (2 for Sister Tiefenbach and 2 for Elder Tiefenbach).

Sister Tiefenbach is at home in the kitchen. She is happy she brought along her apron that Krista made for her. Actually, Sister Tiefenbach is happy that Krista sent both Sister Tiefenbach's and Elder Tiefenbach's aprons to the MTC when we forgot them at home. Sister is waiting for dinner to finish cooking.

This was dinner for Sunday night. We had meat loaf with the Sister Tiefenbach's tasty sauce and cheese, and buttered carrots and peas with dill. Sister Tiefenbach also had a baked potato, and Elder Tiefenbach had rice. The meat loaf was yummy!

Although we had many busy times this week, we also had quiet times. Our walks in the park always give us time to admire the beauty of the Lord's creations. We love to see the green leaves and the flowering trees. The park is an entirely different world from the busy traffic that can be found only a few blocks away. We need to always remember to take some quiet moments where we are away from the noise of the world so we can listen to the still, small voice prompting, teaching, and inspiring us in our journey through life.

Tribute to Lucky

We began the week with sad, sad news. Carma and Rob's dog, Lucky, had become so sick with her cancer that she had to be put to sleep. Getting ready for the office was difficult. Tears and fresh mascara do not do well together.  She has been with the family for many years. She got her name because she was lucky. Here is the story. Carma and Rob had come across her on a country road. She was lying on the side of the road and left for dead. Carma and Rob picked her up, took her to a vet, and took her home when she was well. She was lucky to have been picked up by Carma and Rob and lucky to live with a new family who cared for and loved her. Hence, she was named Lucky. We will miss Lucky. This blog is for Lucky. We will review the LUCKY things that happened to us this week.

We were LUCKY to find A&W Rootbeer in Bangalore! Interestingly, (as our daughter Carma pointed out to us after she had some A&W Rootbeer in the States) A&W Rootbeer is bottled by Coke in Canada but by Pepsi in the States. The rootbeer we had was bottled in the States. Apparently, the recipes are slightly different in the two countries, but the rootbear tastes great in both.





What a LUCKY week! We were able to see Elder Mills (left) and Elder McDonald. Elder Mills was our District Leader in Coimbatore, and we first met Elder McDonald at the airport when he arrived in Coimbatore on his way to work in Erode. We enjoyed seeing him each month during our Coimbatore Zone Training meetings. Elder Mills and Elder McDonald stopped in Bangalore to catch a flight to the Philippines. They have been out on their missions for one year, and their visas are expiring. So, they need to leave the country to apply for another visa. Three missionaires flew out of Hyderabad to go to the Philippines, as well. They, along with two elders from the New Delhi Mission, were to all meet up in Kuala Lumpur for their connecting flight to Manila. Well, that was a good plan. One of the missionaries flying out of Hyderabad forgot his registration papers. Without them, he was not allowed to leave the country. We woke up in the morning to an email letting us know that the elder could not get on his flight. Needless to say, we knew what the first job Sister Tiefenbach had to do that day - book another flight. He had one more chance to leave the country before his visa expired. He was LUCKY that we had originally booked flights for two days before the visas expired. He had one more chance. LUCKY!!

We continued to be LUCKY as the week progressed. We had the wonderful opportunity to welcome Elder Smith (beside Elder Tiefenbach)and Elder S. Kumar to Bangalore in preparation for their return home after completing successful missions. Sister Tiefenbach had their departure packets ready for them. The best part of going through the departure packets is giving instructions on taking the de-worming medication. How fun!

Because President and Sister Funk were still in Utah, we and the Smith's were so LUCKY to host the farewell dinner for these two elders. Sister Smith and Sister Tiefenbach made a wonderful meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, mixed vegetables, and of course Sister Tiefenbach's famous rainbow salad. Elder Smith (the younger) commented that he does not really like vegetables, but he loved the salad. All the food was gone by the end of the dinner. Dessert was banana cake, made by Sister Tiefenbach, rootbeer or orange floats, and watermelon.



We all enjoyed the floats. The missionaries were really LUCKY that the store had rootbeer at the time of their farewell dinner.











After the dinner, we had the spiritual part of the farewell. Elder Tiefenbach was LUCKY to be able to preside at the farewell. That was a wonderful experience for him. We could tell that it brought back many memories of his own mission. He did a wonderful job. Elder Ram conducted the formal part of the meeting. As usual, he did a great job. We find it interesting that when he conducts a meeting, he is very serious and formal. But, when we are in the office, he jokes around a lot. He knows when it is time to be serious and when it is time to joke around. We are LUCKY to work with him so closely. Elder Smith and Elder S. Kumar both spoke for about 10 minutes each. They both learned a lot on their missions. We are always touched by the humility missionaries show when they are ready to go home. They certainly learn to give of themselves and put others first while they are on their missions.

Here is Elder Tiefenbach with Elder Smith and Elder S. Kumar. We should explain why we say S. Kumar and not just Elder Kumar. We have three Elder Kumar's in the mission; hence, we put an initial in the front so we all know who we are talking about. Elder Tiefenbach was LUCKY to be with these two elders. This will certainly be a memorable experience for him.

We can tell (left to right) Elder Ram, Elder S. Kumar, Elder Smith, and Elder Raja love to be together. They are LUCKY to have known each other, and they will always have fond memories of this day that they spent with each other. One thing that we enjoyed on this evening was that after the formal part of the evening was over, the missionaries stayed for a while and visited. They seemed so comfortable and at ease. We were definitely LUCKY to be part of their special evening.

Here is the entire group. We had a great evening. We are LUCKY to be in Bangalore to have these wonderful experiences.

We are LUCKY to be in Bangalore, and we are LUCKY to have been in Coimbatore where we made so many good friends. We went to Coimbatore on Thursday evening. Our trip had a two fold purpose. One purpose was to look for another apartment for the missionaries. The second purpose is to maintain our residency in Coimbatore because we are registered here. Once we receive our new visas, we can begin the process of shifting our registration to Bangalore. But, one LUCKY advantage of maintaining residency in Coimbatore is that we get to see our friends like the Raja family.

We were LUCKY to be at the general conference broadcast this week-end in Coimbatore. We were able to see so many people: (left to right) Sister Sumathi Appasamy, Sister Tiefenbach, Sister Saraswathy, Brother James Vincent, Sister Isaac (daughter of Sister Appasamy), Sister Anitha (wife of James Vincent) and their two children.

We were LUCKY to have been able to visit many people in their homes while we were in Coimbatore. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of everyone. Although we didn't get a picture of the Amalraj family in their home, we were LUCKY to get a picture of Sister Tiefenbach with her good friend Sister Punita Amalraj after the conference sessions today. We are anxiously awaiting her son's (Akash's) mission call. We absolutely love this family.

What a way to end our Sunday. LUCKY us - we were able to go to the Sekar family's home for dinner tonight. Sister Shanthi made sevai (no idea how to spell that) and dosa with coconut chutney. It was good. She knew we particularly liked those two dishes that she makes, so she made them especially for this evening. After dinner, we had a gospel discussion, sang songs, and took pictures. We are so impressed with this family, and we consider ourselves LUCKY to know them.

We have used the word "LUCKY" throughout this blog, not to suggest that the things that happen to us are the result of random occurrences but so we can think about the good things that happen in our lives. LUCKY's life started out in a bad way; she was left for dead at the side of the road when she was a puppy. But, she was found by a loving family and had a good life.  In our lives, we will experience bad things, but we also have countless blessings. We are LUCKY, not because fate has handed us good times, but because our Heavenly Father loves us. He is the source of goodness and love. He desires to bless us as we strive to keep His commandments. We have seen so many examples of lives changed as the people accept the gospel and dedicate themselves to serving the Savior. As they do this, they feel peace and an assurance that the Lord accepts their offering.

When the Cat is Away the Mice Will Play

Well, maybe we don't really have cats in the office, but President Funk left on Monday evening, and we were left on our own to play - I mean work. He told us that their apartment was being renovated so he and his wife were being "evicted." He then jokingly said that if the work doesn't get done quickly, they may have to stay with us. (This whole Likely story.) In actual fact, their apartment was getting some work done, BUT . . . why wasn't he in the office all week??????? We received a few emails from him, BUT where was he? He said that they would be leaving for a short while. Where are you going President????? Lo and behold, we see him at General Conference internet broadcast being held in Salt Lake City. What's that we heard? Did we hear right that Randy D. Funk was being sustained as a General Authority? President, that is a little more than being away for a few days! You are half way around the world from us. Truthfully, we are thrilled about the announcement. President Funk is a kind, caring, compassionate, humble man, and we sustain him whole heartedly in his office as a General Authority.

So, what did we do all week with the President so far away (well, we didn't know how far away he was at the beginning of the week)? We worked really hard!! Oops, sorry about that Elder Ram. When the cat is away, the mice will play. Transfers came out this week, so Sister Tiefenbach was very busy getting all the documents ready for the USA elders to de-register so they can register in their new areas. By the end of the week, Sister Tiefenbach had all the de-registration packets finished and mailed to the elders. She completed about half of the registration packets.

Transfer time can always be a sad time, especially when an elder leaves from where we are serving. This time, we say good-bye to Elder Barlow. We will surely miss him. He always brings a bright smile into the office every morning. We will miss his sense of humour, his hard work, and his dedication. We invited them over last week for dinner, as you may remember in our post, but we could not tell you the reason we invited them. The official word of his transfer was not out yet. We ended up having them over again this week. It was a rather unplanned invitation. At the end of a hard day at the office, I knew I didn't have anything prepared for dinner, but I asked if they wanted to come over for some pancakes. We set a time for 8:00 that evening, but they showed up an hour early. Obviously, their other plans fell through. They sure can eat a lot of pancakes. They still looked hungry when the pancakes were gone, so we made scrambled eggs for them, too.

All mail and packages for the missionaries come to the office, and Elder Tiefenbach ships them off to the missionaries. One day this week, we received a badly beaten up package for Elder Thompson. Elder Tiefenbach had a dilemna about how to get the badly beat up package in shape for the courier to take it. The package was fairly large, and he did not have a box big enough to put it in. There were also other items of mail that needed to go to the same place. So, Elder Ram and Elder Tiefenbach thought and thought and thought until their creative minds found a solution. Here it is. This looks like Elder Tiefenbach's suitcase that he had one time many years ago when Sister Tiefenbach went to the airport to pick him up from a business trip, but that is a different story.

Monday morning was a memorable day for Elder Solomon - well maybe, he would like to forget it. This is what he looks like when he put his foot in his mouth, only to take it out to put the other one in. Let us explain. Elder Barlow needed to go to the FRRO office to de-register, and missionaries always have to be with someone, so Elder Solomon and Elder Aeshamalla volunteered to accompany him. That means that Elder Ram would be able to stay to get some work done at the office. Just as Elder Solomon et al.  were leaving, he said to Elder Ram, "Does this mean that you are stuck here with Elder Tiefenbach as a companion?" Okay, how could Sister Tiefenbach let that go. She said, "Excuse me Elder, stuck with Elder Tiefenbach." Well, Elder Solomon seemed so embarrassed because that is not what he meant. So, he tried to explain further: "I meant that Elder Ram would be stuck in the office with Elder Tiefenbach as a companion!" Of course, none of us could let that go either. We all knew what he meant, but we were simply having too much fun with this. Elder Ram popped up with his C'mon Son! sign, which he uses whenever someone, including himself, is about to make a bad decision or do something stupid. Elder Solomon decided to take our advice and stop trying to make things better and leave with Elder Barlow.

Speaking of signs, Sister Tiefenbach found this sign on her computer screen Thursday morning. Hmmm.... does that mean that Sister Tiefenbach did something or was about to do something she would not be proud of? He said that it was to encourage Sister Tiefenbach and to let her know that she could do it (referring to all the work she needed to get done in a short time period. The sign made her smile. Have we said how much we love working with the missionaries in the office?

This was lunch for the missionaries on Monday (KFC). Elder O'Dell was still here at that time; he left on Wednesday morning to Hyderabad (we think that is where he went). Elder Solomon and Elder Aeshamalla often drop by the office on Monday to have lunch with Elder Barlow and Elder Ram.

This was our supper (dinner) Monday night. Hmmm . . . which looks more nutritious? Okay, so we cheated a bit. We started with a package of dry soup mix and added chicken and fresh vegetables. We didn't get home until late that night, which is becoming a habit lately. We were tired, and neither one of us felt like spending a lot of time cooking, so we opted for simplicity. The soup was very good, especially with some whole grain bread to accompany it. No, Sister Tiefenbach did not make the bread. We certainly don't have time for that right now.

We took our camera on our walk Friday morning in hopes to find the sun rays filtering through the trees, but alas, it was not to be. But, we were able to get a picture of our friends. This group of men walk every morning - well almost every morning. The man in the red t-shirt is Santosh, the man who gave us some t-shirts from his clothing company. We are each wearing one of the t-shirts he gave us.

Friday was the last day at the office for Elder Barlow. Before he left, he and Elder Ram took a few moments to remember Giri, their trusted horse that got mangled in their fan. They exhumed him from his grave to have one last look at him.







They gently placed him back in his final resting place in the floor of the office and reflected on their friendship. We don't know if the office will be the same without this kind of wierdness!










So, we say good-gye to Elder Barlow.

He will be a Zone Leader in Vizak, so hopefully, we will get to see him every month when he comes to Bangalore for Zone Leader Council.
















We went shopping for some groceries on Saturday. On the way home, we saw a big Amway building. Amway is big in India. We know several people in Coimbatore who are involved with Amway. One day at church in Coimbatore, a couple of foreigners visited our branch. As usual, we welcomed them, and in the course of our conversation, we found out that they were high up in the company and were in Coimbatore to do training, etc.

We don't see as many carts pulled by cows here in Bangalore compared to Coimbatore, but we see a few of them.  We see a lot more cows roaming the streets here, but not as many carts.










Bangalore also has far more western style stores than Coimbatore, but street vendors are still plentiful.

This is New Frosty's, a store where we buy most of our chicken and beef. Chicken is about half the cost as in Regina, and the beef is also cheaper; however, the cost would probably be considered fairly expensive for many people in India. We see a lot more people in Bangalore who are well off  compared to Coimbatore. The IT business is a big thing here.





Today, we attended Sacrament meeting and Sunday School in our branch. Then, we went to Whitefield Road Branch to attend a baptism. Brother Raj (left of Elder Tiefenbach) was baptized. He is the nephew of Augustine, our driver in Coimbatore. We were happy to be there in place of Augustine. Elder Randall (next to Raj) performed the baptism. Elder Pydimalla (left) is Elder Randall's companion. Elder Randall is being transferred next week to a different branch in Bangalore.




When we returned from Whitefield Road Branch, we made the final preparations for the dinner for Elder Solomon, Elder Ashamalla, Elder Ram, and the newly arrived Elder Raja (front left) (Elder Barlow's replacement). We had lazagna, garlic bread, carrots, and Sister Tiefenbach's famous "rainbow" salad. We finished the meal with apple crisp and ice cream for dessert.






The cat (President) will be away for another week, and we will carry on the work at the office. We will likely take a little time out to play a bit, too. President Funk is highly dedicated. Just before we left the office on Friday, he emailed about a few things that needed to be done. This would have been 6:00 a.m. in Salt Lake City the morning before he was to be sustained as a general authority. President and Sister Funk have many Christlike qualities, are spiritually in tune, have great spiritual knowledge and insights, and show great devotion to the work of the Lord. Our lives have been blest and changed as we serve with them.