Reaching New Heights

We seem to always have great experiences every week. Some of them may seem routine to you, such as missionaries leaving or coming. But, to us, every missionary that comes is just as exciting as the first one, and every missionary that finishes his or her mission is just as wonderful and precious as the first one. It is almost like having children. Each one is wonderful. Each child is special. Each missionary is wonderful and special, and each one raises us to new heights. We are thrilled to be part of their lives. As you may have guessed, we said good-bye to a missionary, and we said hello to three new ones. Sister Anushuya,, who served in the Canada Toronto Mission but finished her mission here was released on Wednesday.

We had the privilege of having her stay at our place the night of her farewell. We all helped get the farewell dinner ready at the mission home. Here are Sister Singh (left), Sister Bathula (pink), and Sister Tiefenbach busily getting things ready.









Elder Tiefenbach likes the posed view better. Sister Bathula has been at a couple of farewells and is always in the kitchen helping with whatever needs to be done. Sister Bathula will be having her own farewell in just a little over a month. We are getting to know Sister Singh better as we are seeing her more now. She will be training a new missionary, Sister Yelamanchili, and is quite nervous about it. She is very tall, as you can see.






President and Sister Berrett are working hard to learn all their responsibilities. We can tell they are quickly getting to know all the missionaries. One thing that we have noticed here is how quickly we become attached to the missionaries. We have known Sister Anushuya a short time and have seen her only twice, but we and the Berretts have a close connection to her. We can't explain how we can develop these feelings we have for the missionaries so quickly.




The missionaries LOVE the couples. Sister Anushuya insisted on having her picture taken with the couples. As soon as Sister Anushuya walked into the office on Wednesday around noon, she spread her arms open wide and said, "Sister Tiefenbach! I need a hug!" Life can't get better than that! Experiences like this certainly takes us to new heights.







We welcomed Elder Penugula. He is serving in Bangalore for his first assignment. He is one of the missionaries that Sister Tiefenbach got ready to go to the MTC. Unfortunately, she was not able to officially send him off because that is when we were in Coimbatore. But, everyone made it to Manila safely and returned safely this week.






Sister Yelamanchili also returned on Wednesday from the MTC. She will be serving with Sister Singh in Chennai. We have 4 sisters serving in Chennai and four in Coimbatore. Sister missionaries do not serve in any other cities in our mission right now. By the beginning of August, we will have several more sister missionaries. The presence of sisters definitely changes the mission. The Assistants have to remember that extra work needs to be done with sisters. For example, when the Missionary Leader Council (formerly known as Zone Leader Council) meets, they have to think about where the sisters are going to stay. As long as the council consisted of elders only, they simply had all the zone leaders stay at the assistants' apartment. Obviously, the sisters can't stay there. Sometimes, the assistants forget about that until we ask them where the sisters are staying. They usually respond with, "Oh, yeah."



We had a surprise arrival of Elder Saroha. He is from Delhi and has not been to the MTC yet. There was an urgency for him to start his mission immediately because of family circumstances. The Delhi office tried hard to get him to the MTC first, but there was a delay for his Philippines visa. As soon as his visa is ready, he will attend the next available MTC intake date. Then, he will return to serve in our mission.




We and the Smith's went on a "field trip" on Saturday. We went to Mysore to see the Mysore Palace and a few other things. We had made that 3 - 4 hour trip when we first arrived in India. Smith's had not been there before. We enjoyed seeing the sights for the second time. Mysore Palace was spectacular. We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the palace. We wish we could share the wonderful carvings in the ceilings and doors, the gorgeous paintings on the ceilings, the glorious pillars (reaching to new heights), and the ivory inlays on the floors and doors. Doesn't it sound wonderful? It is. This time, we used the headsets for the audio tour. It was much better taking the audio tour. There was much pomp and ceremony associated with the Indian Royal family.




Two animals are prominently featured in the carvings and grounds of the palace: the lion and the elephant. Lions are strategically placed at many of the entrances. The lions represent royalty and power.

Hmmmm . . . Who looks more fierce? Sister Tiefenbach does not have the fangs needed for a really fierce look, although some of her children's friends may think she is just as scary looking.









This is the front view of the Mysore Palace. It is definitely majestic in its appearance. It's English based architecture is evident.

The majestic front gates are about 300 meters directly opposite the front of the palace. One can picture the pageantry of the grand processions with the elaborately decorated elephants and horses, the bright colours of the guards, and the regal attire of the royal family members. What a grand sight that must have been! Thinking of this makes one almost feel taller. It can help us reach new heights as we remember that we are all of royal heritage as we are sons and daughters of God. We can think of the glorious day when we can receive a royal welcome when we are invited back into God's presence.


Here is a different view of the palace. It seems that it is in two different sections. The palace is filled with many archways, each one with intricate carvings.











We definitely reached new heights on our trip to Mysore. Here we are high in the air on the back of an elephant. An elephant!!! Did you get that folks? We rode an ELEPHANT!!!











We got on the elephant by a platform. We really weren't interested in trying to hoist ourselves up any other way. Walking up the stairs to the top of the elephant was way easier than any other way of getting on top.

The Smith's were on the other side. We were hoping to go on separate rides so we could take pictures of each other, but we were next in line for the same elephant. A kind man offered to take pictures of us. He actually followed us as the elephant took us on its course.

We were not content to sit only on the platform on the back of the elephant. NO!!! NOT US!!!! We bravely made our way further down and sat on the elephants head. Each of us had the opportunity to carefully make our way to its head.








Okay everyone, this is hard to believe, but the picture says it all! Who is on the elephant's head now???? Why, it is Sister Tiefenbach! We bet many of you are surprised. Actually, the elephant was much softer that we expected. Obviously, this was an Indian elephant, not an African elephant.















The elephant ride cost 100 rupees each (roughly $2.00), BUT the tip cost us 500 rupees per couple. Because we were foreigners, the "driver" did extra things like have us sit on the elephant's head and get a picture with the elephant at the end of the ride. We and the Smith's were deciding on the amount of the tip. We decided 100 rupees was a good tip, which is a 100% tip. When we handed him the 100 rupees, he said, "No, 500 rupees." We said, "No, 100 rupees." He insisted on 500 rupees. We decided that it wasn't worth bargaining over the tip, and we paid him the 500 extra rupees. It was worth the experience of the ride. It was great fun and was definitely a new experience for us, making us rise to new heights.

We were going to ride the camel, too, but we decided one 500 rupee tip was enough for one day.












This is an example of many trees in the palace grounds where vines co-exist with the tree. In other words, these vines are parasites. We found out that sandalwood is actually one of these parasite vines that grows on trees. We didn't know that before. That is what happens when we rise to new heights; we learn new things.













We had a wonderful time at the Mysore Palace. We enjoyed the company, and we enjoyed the break from our everyday work. We will be set for another week of surprise challenges that always seem to crop up in our work at the office.
















After we were done at the Mysore Palace, we went to the hill station of Chamundi. It is a quaint little town that is the home of the Chamundi Hindu Temple.
















The weather was cool and drizzly. Many of the little shop stands were closed or had tarps over them. This one that sells roasted corn remained open.










Even the monkeys enjoy the corn. Monkeys were everywhere.

A woman sat nearby, selling her flowers. Temple worshipers buy these flowers to make an offering in the temple. Many people wear knitted head covering when the temperature falls to the low to mid twenties.









Another reason to come to this hill station is to take in the view. Looking out on this panoramic view testifies of the immensity of God's creations. Despite the grayness and wetness of the day, the view was breathtaking.









We went back down to Mysore and stopped at the Saint Philomena Cathedral (It is both Saint Joseph and Saint Philomena.)
















Again, we enjoyed seeing the architecture of the building. We loved the high arched ceilings. We were able to go inside and down into the catacombs. That was a strange feeling.

We leave you this week with another view of the Mysore Palace. The towers of the palace seem to be reaching up from the beautiful earth that God has  adorned with rich, lush, green foliage, stretching upward, upward to the sky to find new heights and new possibilities. Elder Devere Harris (October, 1984) said, "there seems to be a yearning, a longing, a reaching up for something not had here. I think a wise man of old described it best when he said, 'Surely God has planted the seeds of eternity into the souls of men.'"