Farewell to Coimbatore and Touring Bangalore

After our daughter and granddaughters arrived on Saturday, February 15, we let them sleep for a few hours, and then we headed for Coimbatore. We had hired a driver to take us on the 6 hour trip to Coimbatore so we could go to the FRO and to apply for an exit permit and to say good-bye to Coimbatore. We took our daughter and granddaughters up on the roof of our apartment building. They enjoyed the view and the weather.





While we were on the roof looking down on the surrounding area, we saw a funeral procession, with many people following the ambulance/freezer box.

We attended two of the branches on Sunday, and then returned in the evening to say a final good-bye to some of the members. We also had the opportunity to have pictures taken with some of them. Here we are with the Amalaraj family. We hope to meet them again in this life.

Here we are with Brother Suresh and his family.












What is trip to Coimbatore without going to the bangle shop? The store owner is the mother of Elder Alosias, who is now one of the Assistants to the President. We all had a great time looking through all the bangles to make our choices of the ones we wanted to buy.

At one point in time, we were telling our daughter about the interesting objects we have seen carried on motorcycles and scooters. One of the things we mentioned was that we had seen a TV being transported that way. They thought it would be great if they could see that, and lo and behold, they got their wish when we headed to Bangalore on Tuesday. The driver and passenger were also carrying a lap top on the front and another package (the red and white one that can be seen here), as well as the TV.

On Wednesday, Sister Tiefenbach and the girls went to Bangalore Palace. After paying the admission fee, Sister Tiefenbach found out that she could have paid the fee for Indians. Sister Tiefenbach was delighted that she was considered an Indian. But, because the foreigner fee had already been paid, she could not get any money back, so the people in the castle said that we could take a few pictures inside the palace to make up for the extra money we spent on the admission fee. Normally, they charge an exorbitant amount of money (around $12.00) to take pictures.

Here we have our princesses outside the palace enjoying the beautiful grounds and the wonderful weather. We tried really hard not to laugh about all the poor folk back at home experiencing -40 degree weather.








The grounds were much drier than when we went to the Bangalore Palace with the Smiths, but we were still able to enjoy many beautiful flowers.

We love the bird of paradise flowers, but we think that our granddaughter is more beautiful than these colourful blooms.










We then made our way to Tippu Sultan's Palace. We had a lot of fun looking at the old architecture.

The pillars were great to see, and they also provided a great place to play. We wonder if the children many years ago played around the pillars.










The girls were so excited to see a cow outside the walls of the palace.

Carma (our daughter) and her girls loved their first auto ride as we toured these two palaces. Perhaps, they found the traffic from the view of an auto just as interesting as the palaces.










On Thursday, we had a cake that Sister Tiefenbach and Carma made the night before to celebrate three birthdays: Elder McDonald, Elder Veera, and Elder Tiefenbach. They all have birthdays within a few days of each other, so we grouped them together. This is the last cake that Sister Tiefenbach will be making in India. The chocolate cake was exceptionally good!

 We will miss Brother Shajan who works with the finances for the church. He has a great appreciation for Elder Tiefenbach.

We end our blog this week with the arrival of our daughter, Krista, and our son-in-law, Danny. Yes, Sister Tiefenbach's eyes are a bit teary. We were so happy to see them. We thought they looked exceptionally good considering they had been travelling twenty-four hours. Their arrival signals the beginning of a whirlwind tour that we will share with you next week. We are so grateful that some of our family have come to India to see us.

Travel to the North

Our regular blog is delayed because we travelled to Jaipur on Sunday evening. We began early Monday morning on our tours, and we will begin again early tomorrow morning as we make our way to a safari. We also did not bring our computer, so we will not be able to upload pictures to a blog until we return.

We hope to have a blog up by the end of this week.

The FIRST of the LASTS

This past week begins the FIRST of the LASTS. Well, in reality, we began our first lasts a while ago, but purposeful long drawn out lasts can become a burden and a bore to the recipients of the first of the lasts narrative. So, we will begin the first of the lasts this week. (This sounds a lot like "Who is on First?") This week was Elder Anderson's LAST full week before he goes to Chennai for his appointment with the USA Consulate to get his second passport in preparation for his trip to the Philippines to await his second visa for the LAST part of his mission. (Well, this sounds more like the first of the seconds of the lasts!) He was in the office on preparation day doing his email while his companion was playing basketball.

The newly arrived Elder Wigington did his emailing after playing basketball. This is his FIRST time for doing his emailing in the office. The missionaries no longer do their emailing at an internet café. They all go to the church building closest to them to use the computers there. But, when they are in the office, they can use our computers if we, the Smith's, and the assistants are not needing them.





This is the LAST setting apart of a new missionary in which Elder Tiefenbach will be assisting President William. Whenever President William sets a new missionary apart, he asks Elder Tiefenbach to assist. This has been a great joy and a wonderful honour for Elder Tiefenbach. The LAST elder for Elder Tiefenbach to assist with the setting apart is Elder Sundarrajan from Chennai.

Along with the LAST setting apart is the sending off of our LAST batch of missionaries. We have absolutely loved preparing missionaries for the MTC to begin their missions. Elder and Sister Pedely (brother and sister) are from Hyderabad, so their stake president set them apart. Here is our LAST batch: Sister Pedely (next to Sister Tiefenbach), Elder Pedely, and Elder Sundarrajan (next to President William). All three of these new missionaries had been attending BYU Idaho together (along with Sister Katuka from Delhi who will be joining them in the Philippines) and had already attended the temple. They are well prepared to begin serving the Lord. We love to see the excitement of new missionaries as they set off for their flights to the Philippines MTC. This LAST send off was a bitter/sweet experience. It was sweet because of the great feelings we experienced and the great relationships we developed with these young people in such a short time; yet it was bitter knowing that this is the LAST of such experiences.

This past week has been the FIRST week of training for Elder McDonald (left) and Elder Veera (right). Now, many of you will say, "Hold on! I thought you were training Elder and Sister Loewer." Well, you are correct. But, Elder and Sister Loewer had to travel to the States to attend the funeral of their son-in-law. That means they would be missing ten days of training, so Elder McDonald and Elder Veera were brought in to get trained. Elder McDonald is learning Sister Tiefenbach's responsibilities, and Elder Veera will take over in the finance office. They will then help the Loewers with additional training after the Loewers return. Next week will be the LAST week in the office for us.

This is likely the LAST sunrise we will see during our early morning walk in Bangalore. The sun will rise again - don't worry, but this was probably our LAST time walking in the morning. We likely will not walk next week because we have special guests staying with us next week. We have had a lot of smoke and other pollution in the air lately, which caused the rising sun to be blood red. This picture does not do justice to the colour of the sun.




These are our special guests!!!!! We were so excited to see our daughter, Carma, and two of our granddaughters. They arrived at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but they didn't get out of the airport until an hour later. Picking up their luggage took forever!!! We were beginning to wonder if they were having trouble clearing immigration. We were about to call them, but Sister Tiefenbach suggested that we wait another five minutes before calling. A few minutes later, we spotted them! When they came out of the arrival doors to the outside of the airport terminal, Carma looked a little overwhelmed as she saw a sea of people standing behind the barricade, many of them holding signs to greet passengers. Luckily, we were right at the front and a little to their left, so they saw us quite quickly after her initial look of "Woa - how am I ever going to find my parents in all these people?" Sister Tiefenbach wanted to jump over the barricade to get to them faster, but she decided to do the right thing, and she ran to the end of it where she could get to them to give them hugs. Elder Tiefenbach wasn't too far behind Sister Tiefenbach. He can move pretty fast. This is likely the FIRST and LAST flight to India for our daughter and granddaughters. We think they look pretty good considering they had been travelling for 24 hours. This is definitely a new experience for them.

After an hour trip to our apartment, everyone was ready for bed. We reached our apartment between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. We think they were definitely glad to be away from airplanes for a while. We get to do this all over again in less than a week when our daughter, Krista, and her husband, Danny, come to India. The LAST countdown will begin on Monday.







We wonder if this is the LAST time this chicken will cross the road. We wonder why it was wanting to cross the road. Whether it was this chicken's last time or not, we do not know. But, we know it was definitely the LAST time we will see this particular chicken. We saw this chicken while we were on our way to Coimbatore. Back track a bit: After sleeping for about three hours, we all got up, had breakfast, and got into the vehicle we had hired for our trip to Coimbatore.

This is the LAST time we will have to stop here for a bathroom break on the way to Coimbatore. We will likely stop there on the way back, though. Here we are waiting our turn to experience the unknown condition of this gas station bathroom. Let's just say that it wasn't great, but it could definitely have been worse. At least, it was a western style toilet. The girls would definitely had problems with an Indian style toilet.




This was the LAST time visiting the Amalaraj family in their home. This is a picture of all the girls.











The girls decided to let the boys join them for the next picture. Brother and Sister Amalaraj's son was not home when we visited them, so he is missing. We have become close friends with the Amalaraj family, and they are very dear to us. They are gracious hosts and true friends. We shall miss them, but we will have them in our hearts forever. We hope this will not be the LAST of our meeting with them, apart from seeing them eternally.





We attended church on Sunday, of course. Many people were surprised that we would be leaving for home shortly; they thought the time had gone by far too fast. We also are surprised that the time has passed so quickly. Both of us had the opportunity to say a few words in the 2nd Branch meeting, and Elder Tiefenbach was also asked to say a few words in the 3rd Branch meeting. We did not attend the 1st Branch Sacrament meeting because we thought two sacrament meetings was enough for the girls, considering their bodies had not yet adjusted to the change of time. This is a picture of Brother and Sister Abraham.

Sister Shanthi and Brother Suresh were SO sad that this would the LAST time seeing us. We loved working and visiting with them when they were investigating the church and after they were baptized. They have become eager learners of the gospel. Their children love being involved in primary and other activities. Saying good-bye was difficult. Sister Shanthi hugged Sister Tiefenbach so tightly! Brother Suresh gave Elder Tiefenbach a big hug, as well. We hope they will work hard to go to the temple where they can be sealed for the eternities.


Of course, saying good-bye to Brother Raja and Sister Sumathi for the LAST time was painful, as well. From the time they were baptized to the time we left Coimbatore, we visited them every Thursday (or an alternate day if Thursday did not turn out). We read scriptures, sang hymns, and shared testimonies, and they always fed us. They are so giving. We visited them last night, but Carma and the girls were too jet-lagged to go with us, so we did not take a picture of us together that night. We made sure we got a picture of them with our daughter and granddaughters. We have seen the Vargise family receive so many blessings since they joined the church. The windows of heaven have definitely poured out a blessing in such a great abundance that they do not have room enough to receive it. This is literal as well as spiritual. They bought a fridge. This is the FIRST fridge they have owned. Sister Sumanthi opened the fridge to show us, and her face lit up with excitement and joy as she shared this wonderful news with us. Their house is literally getting filled with blessings. What is absolutely wonderful about all these blessings is that they always acknowledge the source of these blessings. They are truly a humble family. They are preparing for the temple, and we await news from them for when they will be going.

The FIRST of the LASTS has prepared us well for our departure. We are so excited to see family members, and we are grateful for the great experiences we have had in India. Saying good-bye to people who have been part of our lives is difficult. We knew when we started our mission that we would have difficulty saying good-bye. The people in Coimbatore welcomed us into their lives with open arms, and they have loved us from the first time they saw us. They continued to love us when we were transferred to Bangalore. Saying good-bye was difficult for them because they know they likely may not see us again. We plan to attend the open house of the first temple in India when it happens, and we hope to see many of the saints from Coimbatore there where ever it may be, but we will not see everyone. Coimbatore is the FIRST place we fell in love with the people of India, and it is the FIRST place we began to say good-bye; it is the LAST time we will be in Coimbatore while serving in India. We also fell in love with the people in Bangalore, and we will say good-bye to them. They shall receive our LAST good-byes. In being our LAST, they will lead us into our FIRST step into our life at home. Thus, we see that "many that are FIRST shall be LAST; and the LAST shall be FIRST" (Matthew 19:30). (We expect that no one has ever interpreted that scripture in that way.)

People Make the Difference

We had another busy week in beautiful Bangalore. It was busy with many people coming through the office. We knew we were going to have many people through our office today, so we decided to make a special treat of cinnamon buns. The missionaries were very appreciative. Here Elders Peck and O'Dell, the zone leaders in Bangalore, are enjoying a break from their preparation day activities.







 Elder Bean (left) and Elder Newbill loved the cinnamon buns, too. The missionaries in Bangalore got together at the Whitefield Branch building to play basketball. You can tell from Elder Bean's shirt that they had a good workout. You can also see Sister Loewer in the picture. We will explain her presence later in the blog. We love having the missionaries come into the office. Their presence brings enthusiasm and excitement to our lives. They actually seem to enjoy seeing us. They definitely make a difference in our lives.



Our friend, the former Elder Raja, come into the office on Monday and invited us to join him for dinner. We very much enjoyed a quiet evening with him at California Burrito. It had been a busy day, but it ended happily. People make all the difference.









More people came to the office on Tuesday. We look forward to missionary leadership council. Our friends from throughout the mission arrive in the mission office for a day of meetings. They all bring greetings and beautiful smiles. Here we see MANY missionaries crowded into Elder Tiefenbach's office. We love to think that they are crowding in just to see him, but in reality, they are getting reimbursements from him. Nevertheless, they love to visit with Elder Tiefenbach. Some of them simply come into the office, sit down, and have a good chat with him. Here we have (left to right) Elder Wadsack-Stewart, Elder Solomon (fellow Canadian), Elder Loewer, Elder Cunha, Elder Erupula, Elder Aeshamalla, and Elder Anderson.


Here we have what looks like a very serious conversation between Elder Solomon, Elder O'Dell, and Elder Anderson. Both Elder O'Dell and Elder Anderson seem focused on Elder Solomon; he must be saying something highly profound.  Perhaps, they are simply discussing where they will go for lunch. Whatever it is, they look serious.






President Berrett is sharing his great spiritual insights with Elder Randall while Elder McDonald is working on his documents for reimbursements for Elder Tiefenbach. We are so blessed to work with so many great people. We can't imagine our lives without having had this great experience. Our lives have been touched by our leaders, by the missionaries, and by all the couples who have served with us. They have been a support and an inspiration to us.

 What a great pleasure it was to welcome nine new missionaries to the India Bangalore Mission! Four of them have been waiting for over a year to come here. This was a great blessing indeed. Our prayers and fasting for the elders to receive their visas have been answered. Here they are partaking of lunch/breakfast before they begin their orientation. Elder Brimhall and Elder Weatherford are not in this picture because they were delayed at the airport at Hyderabad. They arrived a few hours later than the others who flew into India through Bangalore.

Our new missionaries are (back row left to right): Elder Burnett, Elder Larsen, Elder Larson, Elder Hansen, Elder Kesterson, Elder Van Wey, (front left to right) Elder Wigington, (President and Sister Berrett), Elder Brimhall, and Elder Weatherford. We are excited to have them. Unfortunately, we have only a short time to get to know them before we return home.

This week Elder and Sister Loewer, assigned to the Chennai District, transferred to Bangalore to assist in the mission office. They will be our replacements and came in for training. This reminded us of our transfer twelve months ago when we got the call from President Funk to come work in the office for a few months. Those few months turned into twelve wonderful, rewarding, spiritually filled months. We have witnessed many miracles. We still miss our friends in Coimbatore, but we love the office work despite the hectic schedule.

On Saturday, we went shopping with the Loewers. They were looking for some gifts to take to their grandchildren next week. Early this week, the Lowers received news that their son-in-law died from his long sickness with cancer. They are going to the USA (they are from Canada) to be with their daughter for about one week. They will return later in February to resume some training from the office elders that have been brought in to help out in the office while the Loewers are gone. Elder McDonald and Elder Veera will be in the office beginning Monday. We will spend some time training them, and they will continue to give more training to Elder and Sister Loewer. The President isn't quite sure how everything will settle in the end. The Loewers departure for ten days put a kink in the training schedule we had planned for them. The office elders may end up staying, and the Loewers may be given an assignment in Bangalore. We will have to wait to see how everything settles. Well, we won't see because we will be home.

The haze over Bangalore has been bad lately. When we look out on the horizon from our balcony, we can see the haze hanging over the city, but when we look straight up in the sky, we see the blue, blue sky. The blueness reminds us of home.

We have thoroughly enjoyed teaching both the temple preparation class and the mission preparation class in our branch. We did not get a picture of our temple preparation class. Today, was the last day for both the classes. It was a bitter, sweet day at church today. Sister Lobo (next to Sister Tiefenbach) was very emotional because she knew that we would not be sending her off on her mission at the end of March. Of course, Sister Tiefenbach became very emotional, too. We hope that the brothers and sisters attending the temple preparation class felt the spirit bearing testimony of the importance of temples. We hope the desire to go to the temple will burn brightly and strongly within them. We love the temple, and we hope they could feel that love as we taught the lessons. Sister Lobo and Brother Anthony (next to Elder Tiefenbach) attended both classes. They will make great missionaries.

This is Brother Inyavan with Brother Anthony. Brother Inyavan also attended both classes, although he was not able to attend all the missionary preparation classes because of his work schedule. He will need to work on his English some more before he will be able to go on a mission, but his English is continuing to improve, and he has a strong testimony and a strong desire to serve. We were impressed with the talk he gave a few weeks ago; it was filled with the spirit.





We have said many times that we love the people here. The people make the difference. They have loved us and welcomed us unconditionally. Those in our temple preparation class and missionary preparation class have drawn very close to us. We shall miss them. Although this picture does not have everyone we know in India, it represents all those who have touched our lives and who have made a difference in our experience here in India. This week, we do not have a scripture to leave with you. Rather we offer a hymn that best summarizes our thoughts this week as we reflect on the people that have made a difference in our lives: What greater gift dost thou bestow, What greater goodness can we know Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways Strengthen our faith, enrich our days (LDS Hymn #293).

Feelings of Belonging

We have had some wonderful experiences this week. Maybe, to some of our readers, they may seem typical of many other weeks we have discussed, but as we interact with the missionaries and with the members of the branches here, we feel part of their lives, and we feel and recognize the tender mercies of the Lord. We went to Deepak's, the former Elder Sharma's, house for lunch on Monday. His mother went to a lot of work for us. She reduced the amount of chili and other hot spices so the food would be okay for us. We appreciate the accommodations they make for us.

Deepak's mother made two different types of chicken and some delicious ghee rice. We have had ghee rice before, but it wasn't as good as this. She also did not insist on us eating more food when we said we were full. We appreciated her loving kindness toward us. The members of the church here in India absolutely love having us in their homes. They are always honoured to have us visit in their homes, but it is we who are the more honoured. We wish we could personally introduce many of our friends from India to our friends  and family in Canada. The people here will always be treasured in our hearts, as they have made us part of them.

On our way back to the office after lunch with Deepak and his mother, we noticed the train going by. It was definitely travelling faster than we were. Traffic in Bangalore is so congested! The picture is small, but if you notice the train car on the left, you will see a man standing in the doorway. The trains are often crowed, so many people stand in the doorways. Other times, people simply stand in the doorways to see the view. We know that we would never see people hanging out the doors of trains in Canada.

The watermelons have been out in full force this past week or so. We can buy watermelon all year around, but the striped ones are only available during this time of year. During watermelon season, one can see many stands like this throughout the city. We haven't bought one of these yet, but hopefully, we can get one before we leave.






We had a few missionaries drop by the office on Monday. We have mentioned many times that we love to see the missionaries. We feel we are all part of a large family. We all belong to each other. From left to right we have Elder Gottipati (green straps of a backpack showing), Elder Karri (back), Elder Pydimala, Elder Justesen, and Elder Veera.







Added to this picture are Elder Pilli (sitting) and Elder Anderson in the back.












Elder Anderson finally was successful in registering with the FRRO in Bangalore. Here is his registration certificate as proof. The elders get SO excited when they finally get finished with the FRRO. The always come back to the office with a big smile on their faces and give a big sigh of relief. Congratulations Elder Anderson!






We had Zone Conference on Tuesday. Although the conference is geared to the young missionaries, we are always invited because we also belong to the missionary force. The missionaries make us feel part of the mission and seem to want us around. Go figure that! We enjoy listening to the presentations and instructions given at these conferences, and we always feel good at the end of the day. When the time comes for introducing ourselves and for bearing of testimonies, we are also included. We take our turn just like all the young missionaries. Here are Elders Bean and Coombs. The lunch for our conference was catered by Brother George, who is from either Ramamurthy or Lingarajapuram Branch. We can't remember which branch he is attends.

 Here we have more elders feeling satisfied from the lunch. From left to right, we have Elder O'Dell, Elder Peck, and Elder Newbill.










We are not sure what Elder Pydimala (left) is eating here. Elder Vaddi is finished and sitting back taking some time to relax. Elder Anderson still looks like he eats very carefully when he uses his hands.









Here we are taking some time with Sister Berrett to enjoy the fellowshipping after lunch. Maybe, we are showing a bit too much fellowshipping! At least Sister Tiefenbach is NOT sitting on Elder Tiefenbach's knee.









We met in the Relief Society room for the instruction sessions. We sat beside Elder and Sister Smith at the back of the room. That way, we could give the elders a cuff if they didn't pay attention! We would never do that, but we warned them of the possibility.








This is the group of us preparing for the official zone picture. President Berrett came to sit in the open space beside Sister Berrett. He was adjusting his camera, so Elder Tiefenbach had Elder Coombs take this picture. This is inside the chapel at the Whitefield Branch. The building is a Stake Center sized building. Now, we just have to wait for Bangalore to become a stake. We are hoping that this will happen in the next year. We will be anxiously waiting to hear the news of when it becomes a stake.



We went to Brother and Sister Augustine's house for dinner on Wednesday evening. They thought we didn't eat very much, but we had more than enough. Again, we were treated royally, and they told us that they felt honoured that we came to their house. No matter how many times we hear members say that to us, we feel inadequate to receive such graciousness. The Augustines are so welcoming to us. They are the parents of a missionary, Elder Augustine, who served with us in Coimbatore. He is a great missionary who has a great ability to listen to people and understand their thoughts and feelings. He has a great capacity to connect with other people.

We made sweet and sour meatballs for dinner on Saturday night. The meatballs were great; the sauce was great; the rice was rice; and the vegetables were fantastic. It was a delicious meal.










Today, we attended an open house to celebrate the new home and the blessing of a baby for Brother Alfred and his wife. We can't remember her name. They will be attending our branch once they officially move into their new house, so we don't know them. But, we know some of their relatives, and we wanted to show support to them and welcome them into the branch.






Many people came to congratulate the couple, and we were able to see many friends from other branches, as well as some former missionaries. Here is Brother Raja. He served as one of the assistants for the last few months of his mission.










We were thrilled to see Sister Judy and Brother Samson with their two daughters. These are the girls that Sister Tiefenbach taught piano lessons to. Their parents told us today that the two girls played some of the prelude music for Sacrament meeting this week. They only play the melody line, but before Sister Tiefenbach taught them anything, they would not have been able to do that much. We were so excited to hear that. The branches here do not have people who can play the piano, so if these girls can continue to learn, they will be a great asset where ever they live.




This is the house, minus the top floor. The couple will live on the second floor (1st floor according to the people of India). Brother Alfred's brother will live on the main floor and his sister on the third floor. There are two flats on the 3rd level. The sister will live in one, and they will rent the other one out. The room on the fourth level will also be rented out. We were happy to attend this open house. All the people were happy to see us. We did not have to stand in line for the food; someone went and got the food for us and brought it to us. We are always treated with such great respect. We can truly feel the love and appreciation they have for us.

Our time in India is fast drawing to a close. We can't believe our service here is almost over. We have mixed feelings about this. We are over joyed that some of our family is coming in a few weeks to "pick us up" from our mission, and we are greatly looking forward to see the rest of our family upon our return, but we are keenly aware that we will miss the people here. As we have served here, we have loved the people, and they have loved us. We have felt a great sense of belonging to this land and its people. We consider these feelings to be one of the tender mercies of the Lord given to all those who serve others. We have served the people, and the people have served us. We have truly felt and understood Kind Benjamin's address when he said, "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).