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.
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