The Great Escape

The title actually reflects one particular experience we had this week, but of course, we will not begin with that one. Although it relates to a specific event, we can twist it a bit to fit in with the experiences we had throughout the week. All the Bangalore missionaries, including President and Sister Berrett, made a small "escape" to Canada on Monday to celebrate Canada Day.  This was a great diversion for all the missionaries.




We had potato salad (so good), pasta salad, vegetable salad (fondly named Sister Tiefenbach's Rainbow salad), oven fried chicken, potato chips, pickles, and a beef dish that looked similar to chili (recipe created by the Tiefenbach's). It was delicious. The elders absolutely loved the food. The enjoyed having a North American meal.














The elders began gathering in our apartment at about 4:30 p.m. Here we have (beginning on the left) Elders Vaiphei, Penugula, Saroha, Mangum (on floor), Thanniru, Aydelott, Randall, and Mecham.









Our apartment was soon filled to the brim as all the missionaries arrived. Added here are Elders Kumar (2nd from the right) and Elder Kocharla. They enjoy any gathering when they can all meet together.









When Sister Tiefenbach told Elder Worton (Elder Ram is pointing to him) about the Canada Day celebration, he was a bit hesitant because it meant that the elders that work in the Whitefield area would be getting back to their area a bit late. He is the zone leader for Bangalore Zone. He asked me, "Does President Berrett know about this?" I laughed and said that he definitely knows about it because he is coming. Elder Worton is a very obedient missionary. Most of Elder Thanniru's face is in the picture and Elder Head made sure he was included in the picture. We are getting to know Elder Head quite a bit now that he is in Bangalore. We are enjoying him a lot.

The elders were quite orderly as they waited in line for the food. Elder Mangum (center) is displaying the feelings of closeness these elders have with each other. Elder Aydelott is very happy to be at our apartment to eat. The only elders that we can have at our apartment on a regular basis are the ones serving in the Indiranagar Branch (the branch we attend), so the others were happy to be able to come.

Elder Aeshamalla (the one stretching his neck to be in the picture) is great fun. He is in our branch, so we get to see him quite a bit. Unfortunately, he is being transferred next week. We will miss him. Elder Alosias (in the center) is from Coimbatore. He is a super fun loving person. He is always smiling, and he laughs readily. He is great fun to be around. We had the opportunity to sit in on a couple of discussions with him and Elder Head, and we enjoyed his spiritual nature. Elder Thanniru was one of our district leaders when we were in Coimbatore, so he will always have a special place in our hearts. He, too, will be transferred next week. We know transfers occur, but we still don't like them because we don't like to say good-bye. Mind you, as some elders leave, we always make new friends.

Elder Pace (left) and Aydelott are companions. Elder Aydelott will be leaving for the Philippines early Wednesday morning, at least we HOPE he will be leaving then. He is having some registration difficulties (we have many of those lately), so he will need to secure an exit permit in order to leave. He can't secure an exit permit until the internal papers arrive from his previous area to Bangalore. Monday is THE day he was told he could get his permit. We will see what happens.



For dessert, we had chocolate cake and ice cream. Mmmmmm . . . so good. We are enjoying working with President Berrett. The transition to a new president is working great. A few things are different but much is the same. Sister Berrett is in background. Elder Prakash (right) barely got in this picture.








Sister Tiefenbach and Elder and Sister Smith were able to enjoy the food, as well. Believe it or not, we had leftovers - not much, but leftovers, nonetheless.

Here are the Paisley Brothers (paisley ties). After the dinner, Elder Tiefenbach went with Elder Head and Elder Alosias to an appointment. The elders are teaching an older couple, and the couple wanted someone "with more experience" to baptize them. Elder Head thought of Elder Tiefenbach. So, they headed out to meet with the couple.






Sister Smith couldn't escape from her new assignment. President Berrett asked her if she could take over booking all the travel for transfers so the assistants to the president could spend more time doing missionary work and helping the other missionaries. This was her fist time booking flights, and we are sure she wanted to escape. She ended up booking about 60 flights. Elder Ram is teaching her how to do this job. He is such a good teacher. He is so patient and supportive, offering words of encouragement throughout his instructions. We are so impressed with him. We are SO SAD because he is being transferred this week, as well. We have been with him for so much of our mission that it will seem strange not to see him everyday. We will likely not see him again until he returns to Bangalore for his farewell dinner and fireside. This is a transfer we were expecting because we knew he would likely not finish his mission in the office. He will be going home in October. He has been the office since a week before we came to Bangalore. He is excited about his new assignment, as he will be training a brand new missionary in Vizak. He will be a GREAT trainer. We wish him well.

Okay, now for the real great escape story: This past week, we found out that Elder Eden's registration in Rajahmundry expired on July 7. July 7th !!!!! That is one month before he was scheduled to go back home. Somehow, that didn't get picked up. Actually, the FRRO agent in Hyderabad noticed it when Elder Edens registered in Hyderabad (his previous area), but the agent didn't inform us, and we didn't check the expiration date. The expiration date for Elder Eden's registration in the place before he was assigned to Hyderabd had the correct expiration date, so we never thought to check the date again. Our experience is that once an expiry date is given, all the ensuing issuing cities leave it at that date.

The Hyderabad agent talked to the authorities in Hyderabad at the time he noticed the different expiry date, and they told him that it would be no problem because he could simply apply for an extension when the expiration date was close. We didn't find out about the problem until our agent in Rajahmundry (Elder Eden's new city) phoned Sister Tiefenbach to tell her about it. Well, applying for an extension became impossible because the paper work from Hyderabad had not reached Rajahmundry, so Rajahmundry refused to grant an extension. We were then told that Elder Edens would have to apply to the central government for an extension. So much for the idea that he "simply needs to apply for an extension." We waited until the last minute to see if something could be worked out, but we were not successful. So, because his registration was soon to be expired, he could not stay in the country even though he had a valid visa. Yes, he could stay in the country past the expiration of his registration and work on extending it, but we would run the risk that it would take several weeks to months before his extension would be granted. Thus, he would not be able to leave the country in time for him to return to school on time back in the States. At about 7:00 in the evening, President Berrett finally made the difficult decision to fly him back home. Our GREAT ESCAPE plan was put into effect. Salt Lake City was contacted to arrange a flight for him to get out of India before his expiration date. Sister Tiefenbach contacted our travel agent in Bangalore to book a flight to Bangalore. It sounds so simple when it is written, but phone calls and emails were flying back and forth in a flurry of excitement and activity. By the way, did we mention that President Berrett was on his way to Sri Lanka in the middle of all this? We are so grateful for modern technology that allows us to communicate at times like this. It was a busy night!

Sister Tiefenbach emailed the flight tickets to Elder Edens between 9:00 and 9:30. He went to an internet café, and just as he was about to print the tickets, the power went out!! Agh! Sister Tiefenbach phoned Elder and Sister Allison, who are serving in Rajahmundry, to print the tickets for him. (They have back up power in their apartment.) He dropped by their apartment early the next morning on his way to the airport. Needless to say, Elder Edens reported that he didn't sleep much that night.

He arrived in Bangalore at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and we had a wonderful farewell for him at about 6:30. When we heard that Elder Edens would have to leave before his farewell, we were sad. But, as things turned out, we had time to organize a farewell for him. Sister Smith and Sister Tiefenbach planned a meal (roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, mixed vegetables, and rainbow salad, with banana cake and ice cream for dessert). After the dinner, we held a fireside. Elder Kumar and Elder Ram prepared the agenda. We were touched by his testimony as he shared several experiences he had on his mission. The spirit was very strong. This was the second farewell that Elder Tiefenbach had the privilege of presiding at. That, folks, is our GREAT ESCAPE story. All the pictures with Elder Edens were taken at his farewell.

Today, Elder Tiefenbach had the wonderful honour of baptizing the older couple we mentioned earlier. Their names are Brother Elisha Kommuguri and his wife, Sister Marthamma (Martha) Kommuguri. Their sons have been members of the church for several years, and they and their wives were so excited that their parents decided to accept the restored gospel and to be baptized. One son lives in Pudacherry, which is further away, so he could not attend the baptism. They were delighted to have Elder Tiefenbach baptize them because Elder Tiefenbach is a Canadian. Sixty years ago, Brother Elisha attended a Canadian Baptist college, and so he was very excited when he found out that Elder Tiefenbach was a Canadian.

Elder Head (left) and Elder Alosias (right) were the elders who taught them. They also helped with the baptism. Because of the age of Brother and Sister Kommuguri, the decision was made to have several people in the font to help. It all went smoothly. The baptism was in Whitefield Branch, and we will likely attend there next week for the confirmation. The other man, Brother Anand Sagar Kommuguri, is their son. Their son mentioned several times how happy he was because now their family can work toward being an eternal family. Indeed, this is the whole plan of the gospel - to link families together for eternity and to dwell with our Heavenly Father. The Lord has declared, "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). We understand that we can receive eternal life when we are sealed as families because families are the basic unit of the eternities. The Lord continues to invite all to come unto him so that all may receive the fullness of all the Father has.