Flying in India

The days, weeks, and months seem to fly by. Elder Rees' arrival from the States seemed to be in the distant future not long ago, but all of a sudden, it was upon us. He arrived on Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. as all our American missionaries do. He arrived by himself, as the other missionaries that were supposed to arrive with him were waiting for visas or OCI (overseas citizen of India)  identification. That morning he attended the orientation at the mission home and then arrived at the mission office for the final part of the orientation. Elder Tiefenbach went over financial information with him, and Sister Tiefenbach took his picture for the President's Board and completed several other tasks to complete his orientation. Elder Rees will be serving in Bangalore with Elder Coombs as his trainer.

As soon as we flew through the final tasks of the orientation for Elder Rees, we headed to our apartment to prepare for our flight to Coimbatore to submit our application for our second extension for our visa. Remember, we still have not received the first extension. Shortly after we arrived in Coimbatore, we handed in our paperwork and were told to come back next Thursday to sign the papers and finish the application. Needless to say, we were disappointed that we couldn't complete it at that time. We are somewhat frustrated with the whole process of getting our visas renewed so we can continue our service here. We feel that we have been flying a lot lately.

 But, flying can have some good points. We were able to see a beautiful sunset far above the clouds. It was really quite amazing! The clouds below us were very thick; it was like being in a different world, with us suspended in time and space. It was truly an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the wonderful creations of our Father in Heaven.






Thursday evening, we went to Brother Raja and Sister Sumanthi's house. The time between our visits with them seems to fly by, and we feel as though we have not been gone from them for very long. We surprised our driver, Augustine, with a birthday cake. We celebrated a day early. His birthday is on August 23, but this was the most convenient for us to give him a cake. Fortunately, we had all the ingredients in our Coimbatore apartment to make him this cake. He was very surprised. When we started singing "Happy Birthday," he thought it was for someone else. He was shocked when we said his name in the song. Even then, we don't think he really comprehended that it was for him.

Brother Raja and Sister Sumathi had company over for our visit. They were not members of the church, but they were planning to go to church on Sunday. We were happy to visit with them. Elder Tiefenbach had the opportunity to give one of them (far right) a blessing. She felt the spirit during the blessing and was grateful for it. Brother Raja participated in the blessing. This was the first blessing that Brother Raja helped with, and he was quite nervous, but Elder Tiefenbach coached him through it.

 Elder Mills (left) was our District Leader when we were in Coimbatore, and he is still the District Leader there. Since we were in Coimbatore, Elder Mills has been to the Philippines to renew his visa, and he returned to his former assignment. Time has flown by so fast since then, but we feel that because we still see Elder Mills in Coimbatore with the same assignment that time has stood still. Can time fly and stand still at the same time? Maybe, Einstein has some insights on that! Oh, by the way, neither Elder Mills nor Elder Stoll (right) actually wear glasses. They bought these non-corrective glasses (clear plastic with no prescription) simply to look more intelligent, we suppose. They have fun with it. Things like this makes the missionaries endearing to us.

While in Coimbatore, we were able to visit with some of the members in the Family History Center. Here are Sister Shanti Arul (branch president's wife and our good friend) and Sister Deepa (another good friend). Sister Deepa, her husband (Brother Reynald), and their children are preparing names to take to the temple. They will be going to the temple next week-end to be sealed as a family. They have prepared for this day and are so excited to be an eternal family. The time has certainly flown by since they fist told us that they were preparing to go to the temple.


Here are Brother Reynald with one of his children and Brother Suresh Jayasingh. Brother Suresh and his family are also going to the temple for the first time. They will be travelling with Brother Reynald and Sister Deepa. Families in India make great sacrifices to go to the temple in Hong Kong, which is the nearest temple to them. We will be so happy when India gets its own temple. Having a temple in India will allow the saints in India to attend the temple more often so they can enjoy the blessings of the temple more abundantly in their lives.


 We went for lunch at a restaurant called Little Italy. We were the only customers there at that time. We had been to this restaurant a couple of times for our evening meal. They make great bruschetta! We were flying on the wings of love.

We also visited with Sister Radha (left) and her family. Her daughter, Priya, is getting married on November 7 to Brother Rangaraj. They will go to the temple a week later to be sealed as husband and wife for eternity. The whole family is excited about the upcoming marriage. We attended Sister Priya's baptism shortly after we first arrived in Coimbatore. How time flies!






Sister Divya, daughter-in-law to Sister Radha, is expecting her child in a few weeks. This will be her second child. We don't understand how she can sit on the floor when she is pregnant, but she seemed to be quite comfortable.

We were quite busy while were in Coimbatore. At times, we felt that we were indeed flying from one thing to the next. While we were "flying" from one appointment back to our apartment, we stopped in have a look at the room Augustine (our driver) is building. Currently, he is sharing an apartment with one of his sisters. The apartment is located on the top floor of a house owned by a different sister. That sister wants to rent out the top apartment to someone else once the other sister moves out. So, Augustine is building a 10x16 room on some property that he owns. We are happy for the progress he has made in his life since we first met him.

We have two sets of Sister missionaries in Coimbatore. They are always a delight to see. Sister Peddinti (second from the left) is a "greenie." She returned from the Manila MTC at the end of July. She is a sweet missionary and is excited with her first assignment. Sister Dhikao (second from the right) is always thrilled to see us. They are seeing great success as they work together. Sister Peddinti's English has improved a lot since we first met her a little over a month ago.



Ahh, and then we have Sister Punitha and Brother Amalaraj, our good friends. We continue to be impressed with them, and we love to visit them. They are gracious hosts, and we always have great conversations with them.They are adapting well as their son is serving a mission in Delhi. We are grateful for good friends in Coimbatore.







President and Sister Berrett were visiting Erode Branch on Sunday, so we caught a ride with them when they returned to Bangalore. Their driver, Sampath, drove to Coimbatore to pick us up after he dropped President and Sister Berrett off in Erode. Riding in a car to Bangalore gave us a different view of India than flying high above the clouds. We drove through some very picturesque areas of India on our trip to Bangalore. Sampath drove VERY fast at times, weaving in and out of traffic. At times, we are sure we were indeed flying. A couple of times, we stopped to take in a wonderful view and to take a picture. We loved the splashes of colour of the Hindu temple peeking through the dark, green trees. 

We may have been flying along the highway, but we took a moment to view the splendor of the setting sun. We commented several times on this trip that we often are amazed as we realize that we are on the other side of the world from our home. We are actually here - in India - seeing the sun set IN INDIA. This is truly amazing.

 We have been flying in an airplane, and we have been flying down the highway. But the greatest flying that we can ever do is when we "wait upon the Lord," for we "shall mount up with wings as eagles; [we] shall run, and not be weary; and [we] shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). As we soar on eagles' wings, we shall truly see and understand the love that our Heavenly Father and the Savior have for us.

Business and Pleasure in Chennai

We went to Chennai (on the east coast) this week to check into our visa extension application that we made a year ago. We still have not heard anything about it, so we took the advice of the woman at the FRO in Coimbatore, and we went to Chennai to inquire about it. We went to the FRRO Tuesday morning and were told we needed to go to a different office. We went to see the person who recommended to Delhi that our visa be extended (the Under Secretary to Government). He told us that we will get the visa and that it will come soon. We are sure that he and his staff will do something about it because he and one other woman assisting him were very surprised that we had not heard anything. He also told us to apply for another renewal when we return to Coimbatore. So, we will be taking another trip back to Coimbatore to get another renewal application going. Fortunately, the second renewal will not have to go to Delhi. The man we saw said that he would approve the request for the second renewal. On the way to the Under Secretary, we passed the Marina Beach. It extends about 12 km along the city's edge.

We also passed the University of Madras, which is one of three oldest universities in India. Lord Elphinstone was a major player in establishing this university. It was established in 1857.













After lunch that day, we spent the rest of the day with the Loewers being tourists. We went to the San Thome Basilica. The original church was built in the 16th Century by the Portuguese over the supposed tomb of Thomas the Apostle. It was rebuilt in 1893 by the British and has the status of a cathedral. It is a beautiful building, and we enjoyed seeing it.












The inside was equally beautiful to see.

As we mentioned above, the claim to fame of this church is that it is built over the tomb of Thomas. Apparently, he was martyred in the Chennai area (St. Thomas Mount) and was buried at this spot. According to the story, his remains were later removed and taken back to the Holy Land. This replica is situated under the church in the place of his tomb. Many historians dispute this claim, saying that although Thomas may have indeed been to the west coast of India, he would not have been able to travel to the east coast. Interestingly, however, Jewish synagogues have been documented in the area, so we know that the Jewish religion made its way to this part of India at some point in time. Whether or not St. Thomas was here and was buried, we don't know.

We then made our way to the Kapaleeswarar Temple (Hindu Temple). India has MANY Hindu temples throughout all its cities and villages. This one is one of the more famous temples. You will notice that the temples are colourfully ornamented with carved figures.















A close up view allows you to see the detail of the work.












 As we walked around the temple grounds, we looked up and saw a peahen strutting around on the roof of one of the buildings. She put on a bit of a show for everyone.

Our last tourist destination for the day was to go back to the beach that we passed on our way to the Undersecretary to Government, the Marina Beach. The wind was quite strong, as you can see by the waves in the Bay of Bengal. Yes, we touched the water of the Bay of Bengal. The water was warm. Sometimes, we have to pinch ourselves to make sure we are not dreaming. When we picture a map of the world in our minds, we still cannot believe that we are really here way over in another part of the world. India is becoming so familiar to us now, and we are beginning to think that this is the way the rest of the world is.



 As we were on the beach, we saw a boy riding along the shore on a horse. He stopped right in front of us, obviously wanting some money. We were approached by others looking for money. It is part of being in India.

We enjoyed our day with the Loewer's. Here are the four of us on the shore the Bay of Bengal - amazing!











We didn't know how long we would take to look after our visa business, so we had booked our return flight for Thursday morning. We had wanted to go back to Bangalore on Wednesday night, but the tickets cost a lot more than on Thursday morning. That means we had a whole day to play. We spent the day with Elder and Sister Loewer travelling to a few sights outside of Chennai. Our first stop was to a spot that has several naturally occurring rock formations that have been carved by humans. This one is the beginnings of a carving of a lion. This whole place is called the Tiger Cave.

 We saw several Hindu places of worship that had been carved in the rocks (temple caves). Seeing these huge rocks sitting there surrounded by flatter land was amazing.













Here is a huge rock. We found a bit of shelter from the rain (the rain lasted all day, which is unusual for the Chennai area).


















This looks like Sister Tiefenbach jumped from the top of the rock and gracefully "glided" down, gently touching the ground with her foot. Perhaps you have heard of Mary Poppins!















We then made our way to another place called Mahabalipuram (just a little way from the Tiger Cave area). (Actually, the whole area is often referred to as Mahabalipuram.) Mahabalipuram was once known as Mamallan, meaning the great wrestler or great warrior. Again, we saw many caved temples with intricate carvings. These carvings definitely must have taken a long time to do. This particular monument is called the Decent of the Ganges, which depicts the descent of the Ganges river to earth from heaven. This whole site is a protected monument and the Archeological Survey of India is responsible for it. We saw many signs mentioning the Archeological Survey of India. Apparently, this site was created as a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The carvings in this area were done in the 7th century.

Here is another . . . big rock. Sister Tiefenbach seems to always have encounters with big rocks. She is so strong. I bet none of you could lift this rock up the way she is. Actually, when she went under this rock, she had a small moment when she wondered if perhaps the rock might move. It has been situated this way for a very long time, but just maybe, it might move at the precise time she went under it. Fortunately, it did not move. She wondered what might happen if she was actually able to push it down the hill.



We walked A LOT that day. We saw an old light house. The man taking us on our "tour" is the branch president of one of the branches in Chennai, President Edison. When he was a boy, his class went to this area on a school trip. He and one of his friends decided they would climb the lighthouse. He still remembers and feels the consequence.













We also saw the Shore Temple, but alas, our camera died, and we don't have our own pictures. We are expecting pictures from Elder Loewer. We have included a picture from Wikepedia (legal to copy and share). The Shore Temple is so named because, obviously, it is on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is an ancient temple, being built in the 700's A.D. with blocks of granite, and it is also ornamented with intricate carvings, although they are not as colourful as the ones we see on temples throughout the cities. The temple had three parts: an outer courtyard, a small building type of structure, and a larger structure. Hmmm . . . this sounds amazing like Moses' tabernacle. The structure on the right is the larger one. In the outer courtyard, was a square/rectangular structure that looked very much like a baptismal font. It had a small hole in the side that looked like water could be drained from it. Sister Loewer said that when she was there once before, someone told her that this structure was used to burn incense, but it sure looks like a baptismal font. Also, at one side (or it might be the front), we saw a large depression that looked much like it could have been a fountain. Instantly, we thought of the fountain of living waters that issues forth from the Temple of God. The similarities to our doctrine were striking.

The last place we went was the Five Rathas, which is an area close by with more structures and carvings. There was a big carving of an elephant that was carved out of a single rock, or so it appears. The Five Rathas are five monuments that all resemble chariots. They are not temples or places of worship because they have never been consecrated. Again, this picture is from Wikepedia and is available to copy and share.

This is the view from our hotel window. Of course, we were able to charge our camera after we returned to our hotel, but too late to get pictures of the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas.










Here we are finally on our way back to Bangalore. Our flight was just over 2 1/2 hours late leaving. That put us back in Bangalore a lot later than we anticipated.










At long last, we touched down in Bangalore. We went to the office after we dropped our luggage at our apartment and spent a couple of hours working on financial things and other office necessities.









Saturday was a busy, but relaxing day. We did a bit of grocery shopping at a nearby store, baked bread, and made carrot cake. The bread turned out fantastic. Unfortunately, the carrot cake fell in the middle. Sister Tiefenbach is frustrated that her carrot cakes ALWAYS fall in the middle. She uses the same recipe that others have used, but her cakes ALWAYS fall, especially when she uses a 9x13 pan. They didn't fall as much in the small round pans. The internet says that carrot cake often falls in the middle because the edges of the cake cook faster than the middle. Although this is the case for all cakes, carrot cake is a denser cake, so the faster cooking of the edges becomes a problem. We are sure the cake will taste fine. We will find out on Monday when we eat it at the office.





We also "roasted" some cashews. We haven't found roasted cashews here, yet. They are all pale in colour, so we have to roast them. We simply heat them on low heat in a non-stick fry pan, turning them frequently. They are much better tasting after we roast them than prior to roasting.







Here are Sister Tiefenbach and Caroline (not sure of how she spells her name), a member of the Church from New York. She has been in Bangalore for the past few months with some kind of program. She was so happy to find her way to the church so she could attend. This is her last week here, as she returns to New York this week. We have enjoyed her contribution while she was here. We never cease to be amazed at how quickly we develop close relationships here. We seem to have immediate bonds with people as we meet them.


In this picture, hopefully you can see the artistry on Caroline's hands and arms (well, you can only see one of her hands). This painting is done with henna and will last a couple of weeks. It is considered to be a beautiful adornment in India.










This is a long blog. We are almost done. This area, which is on the way to the church building, was once filled with garbage and wild plants. We assume that someone will be building something here, as it has been cleared, and they are beginning to dig.








Just a few houses down and across the street from our house, we see a house that is being demolished. Can you imagine the back-breaking work involved in demolishing an entire house with a sledge hammer. Remember, all the houses here are build out of brick and cement. We thought that the house that was there was a nice looking house, so we are not sure why it is being demolished. We don't know if someone is building a different house or and apartment building. We shall watch its development.

So ends this week of seeing wonderful sites. In all that we have seen, we acknowledge that "even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30: 44), and we acknowledge the role that the Savior plays in Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness. We marvel at the majesty of the sea as we watch the waves crashing into the shore. We marvel at the wonderful, beautiful natural rock formations, and we are in awe at the creative minds and hands of the ultimate creation of God, his children. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to see and experience so many wonderful things.

Shedding a Tear or Two

This week, 10 missionaries completed their missions, and we sent them off to continue their lives in their respective homes. One of those missionaries was our beloved Elder Kumar. We took him out for lunch on Monday to thank him for his service in the office. We have been so fortunate to have known him and to have worked closely with him. We went to a restaurant called The Peacock. The restaurant had Indian and continental cuisine, so it appealed to all taste preferences.




When we entered the restaurant, we realized that a buffet was available, as well as à la carte. Sister Tiefenbach and the Smith's opted for the à la carte. The others chose the buffet, but we soon found out, it was not the normal type of buffet. The kitchen staff prepared various items on the buffet and then brought it to the table. This proved to be a time consuming process. Lunch took at least 2 hours. The Smith's and Sister Tiefenbach left the restaurant before the others, as they had things to do at the office. Elder Tiefenbach and Elder Bown ordered a pasta dish for their buffet main course.

Elder Kumar order chicken biryani. He didn't like it, so he also had some pasta. They were excited to finally get their main course.












They had a nice selection of dessert, which the Smith's and Sister Tiefenbach did not get a chance to see.











That afternoon we shed some symbolic tears of joy when the triumphant Elder Fitzpatrick, one of our missionaries returning home, finally got his registration certificate. We hadn't realised until a couple of weeks ago that his registration process that he began in February when he transferred from Hyderabad to Bangalore was not complete. As soon as we discovered this, we began working right away to discover why it hadn't been completed. Of course, we ran into bureaucratic issues. We were requesting an exit permit just like we received for Elder Aydelott. Well, the authorities told him he could not get an exit permit, but that he would need to get his original copy of his registration certificate from Hyderabad. Hyderabad said they had sent it, but Bangalore said they didn't have it. They were stalemated, and neither the Hyderabad nor the Bangalore offices would facilitate resolving the issue. He was then told by the authorities to apply for an exit permit (which  was our original request).  We then gathered all the documents we had originally to seek for an exit permit, which also required documents to get a police check. He took courage and valiantly headed off to the FRRO in Bangalore with his documents to get his exit permit and vowed he would not leave the FRRO until he got it. He triumphantly returned in the afternoon with a . . . registration certificate! Go figure that one! It's enough to make us want to cry from hitting our heads against the wall. Well, that did not matter any more because he now had a document that would allow him to leave. Interestingly, his registration certificate (called an RCRP) was valid from Monday to Thursday only. That was just plain weird. Sunil had never seen anything like it. Here is the victorious Elder Fitzpatrick.


On Monday evening, we decided to make pancakes for our supper meal, and we wanted apple sauce to put on top of the pancakes. So, we made the big jump and used the pressure cooker to make the apple sauce. This is the first time we have used a pressure cooker. They are used a lot in India because the cooking time is reduced drastically, which reduces the amount of gas needed for cooking. We had never used it because we did not know how to use it. But, a few months ago, Elders Ram, Aeshamalla, Prakash, and Kumar came to our apartment to cook their Sunday meal because they ran out of gas at their place. So, we took lessons from the knowledgeable Elder Aeshamalla. We bit the bullet, and made apple sauce in the pressure cooker; however, we couldn't remember what to do with it after the allotted number of whistles. In trying to figure out what the next step was, Sister Tiefenbach touched the rocker. Well, you can guess why a tear or two could have been shed - hot steam shot out. In reality, no tears were actually shed, but it did hurt. At least, it helped us remember what the next step was: release the pressure (but don't use your fingers). The apple sauce was great! We are now converted to using the pressure cooker. We will have to buy one when we return to Canada.

The next tears to be shed were also symbolic. Along with our apple sauce for our pancakes, we wanted whipped cream. We bought some cream, the same kind we had purchased once before. The meal was starting to take shape. Finally, the cream was nice and thick . . . we watched the process with eager anticipation as we began to salivate by thinking about the smooth, rich, creamy taste. Looking wasn't enough. Anyone who LOVES whipped cream knows that one has to taste it before it is served - right? Well, let's just say that those symbolic tears began flowing; the cream tasted like it had a bit of vinegar in it. Yuck! Our hopes were dashed! Luckily, we had some powdered whipped topping mix that we were able to whip up. It tasted okay but not as good as good whipped cream. All in all, our pancake supper was great.


 On Tuesday, all the home bound missionaries came to the office. The office was a hubbub of joyful and exciting activity. Six of the home bound missionaries are (left to right) Elder Fitzpatrick, Elder Aruldoss, (Elder Mecham is not home bound) Elder Hollings, Elder R. Kumar, Elder Barlow, and Elder P. Kumar. Elder Barlow always has such a great smile!

 Tuesday evening we had the farewell dinner and the farewell devotional at the mission home. The meal, of course, was good, especially Sister Berrett's freshly baked dinner rolls. We always have more than one. There is Elder Barlow with more food going into his mouth! We catch him at such great moments. We caught a portion of Elder Pace with Elder Worton next to him. We are sad that his parents could not come to pick him up. We hope they will all be able to come at Christmas time so we can meet them. He has been a solid, dedicated, obedient missionary. We will miss his leadership.

This shot gets Elder P. Kumar (next to President Berrett), Elder Fitzpatrick, Elder Pace (his full handsome face this time), Elder Worton, Elder Hollings, and Elder Aruldoss.

 What is Elder Worton talking about? Is he still teaching about missionary work? Whatever it is, Elder Pace is being quite attentive.











Sister Bathula was the only sister missionary going home with this batch. She is also a dedicated, hardworking missionary as she dedicated herself to invite others to come unto Christ. She was always willing to lend a helping hand and was always in the kitchen helping Sister Berrett whenever there was Missionary Leader Council.

We didn't get a picture with our camera of each of the missionaries with us. This batch was difficult on us to see them go. We have worked closely with most of them and have grown to love them dearly. Elder Fitzpatrick always brought a ray of sunshine into the office. There was something wonderful about his presence, and we were always delighted to see him. We will miss seeing him, and we wish him well as he returns home.




What can we say about Elder Barlow.? He is dedicated and always seems to have a joyful spirit. You can see his contagious smile. We enjoyed working in the office with him and would liked to have had him stay there longer, but, alas, he was needed elsewhere. We miss his humour. We will always remember him when we walk over a certain spot in the office floor. He was a lot of fun - don't get us wrong, he was also spiritual!

Elder Kumar, Elder Kumar: he was there for us when we first came to India. He helped us in ever possible way when we were so new and not knowing what was going on. We worked together in Coimbatore for about four months, so we had a lot of time to develop a close relationship with him. He was then transferred to Gajuwaka (part of Vizak) and then to Chennai. We were delighted and thrilled when we found out he would be finishing his mission in the office in Bangalore. Saying good-bye to this batch of missionaries did not bring symbolic tears; it brought real tears. Tears welled up in Elder Tiefenbach's eyes as he gave Elder Kumar a hug and told him that we loved him. That was all it took! Tears not only welled up in Sister Tiefenbach's eyes, but they flowed. Whenever we have partings like this, we always cheerfully say we will see each other again, but the reality is that we may never see some of these missionaries again. Knowing this as a real possibility is VERY sad for us. We have grown so close to this batch of missionaries.

 Sister Tiefenbach had tears of joy when she made bread on Saturday. It turned out almost exactly the same as when she made it at home. We are not exactly sure what made the difference. Perhaps it was the packets of yeast that she received in the mail from our daughter Brenda. Our daughter Chantel had sent some yeast from Canada prior to that, and it seemed to make a difference compared to the bread that was made with the yeast from India, but it still was not the same results as when Sister Tiefenbach made it in Canada. But, this yeast made a lot of difference. It is the same type of yeast, so we are not sure why the results were so different this time. The bread rose so well.

While the bread was rising, Sister Tiefenbach took a few moments to go over the hymns she was going to play for Sacrament meeting on Sunday. She usually sits down, but did not take the time to do a serious practice. Do you like the keyboard stand? Sometimes, we use the ironing board for the stand.













We were eagerly waiting for the bread to be done as we watched it in the oven.

Ahhh!!!! the aroma of freshly baked bread! Making bread is such a satisfying and rewarding activity. We can certainly shed symbolic tears of joy to see the bread finally turning out the way it is intended to be. Doesn't this make your mouth water? Imagine the aroma!

Not only did the bread smell good, but it looked so appetizing with butter and jam spread on the fresh, soft slices.











The bread not only smelled  good and looked good, it TASTED fantastic! YUMMY! Elder Tiefenbach could hardly wait to sink his teeth into this delectable treat, but Sister Tiefenbach made him wait until she took a picture of him. The taste, however, was well worth the wait. Eating fresh bread is not just an event; it is an experience! Maybe, you are now shedding tears of sorrow because you didn't get any of this bread. Sorry about that! You will have to simply imagine the taste and the experience.



 We couldn't have this great experience without sharing it with someone, so we invited Elder Ramaraj (next to Elder Tiefenbach) and Elder Bown. Elder Ramaraj, native of Delhi, is the new assistant to the president. We have previous experience with him as we worked with him in Coimbatore. We have been so fortunate to have been able to work with so many great missionaries. We receive so much joy in sharing with the missionaries. We truly have many tears of joy in our hearts for knowing these fine young men.


 We have been truly blest and have shed symbolic tears and real tears as we have seen many tender mercies of the Lord in our own lives and in the lives of our family and many people here in India as they embrace the gospel and devote their lives to serving Him and His kingdom. As we acknowledge the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives, we are reminded of the Jaredites when they landed on the shore of the promised land, for "they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them" (Ether 6:12). May all of us, too, shed tears of joy as we approach the Lord in gratitude and partake of his love and abundance.