Landscaping Work at Coimbatore Chapel

The painting at the church is almost complete, and other workers are busily working on landscaping. The church has a couple of women hired as gardeners that work every day. Several additional workers have been hired to help with the landscaping. They put down some new sod. Yes, folks, this is how they do it. Apparently, this sod is temporary. It will be lifted up and moved to another location in the church yard, but it will look much like it is here. The leave gaps between the pieces of sod, and the pieces grow together. We will be watching to see if it really spreads as rapidly as they have said. If someone put sod down like this back at home, we would probably fire them. One advantage of doing the sod this way is that the cost would be significantly less.

Another job the workers were given was to prune the trees (bushes) that run along the entire length of the church. Brother Ramamoothy gave specific instructions to cut the tops off so the trees were about four feet tall. They would then be rounded on the top and shaped. The idea was that the shorter trees would give a better view of the beauty of the church building. Well, the workers obviously didn't understand the instructions. When Brother Ramamoothy returned in the early evening to look at the work, he saw the trees as you see them here. He was not well pleased. They had hacked off the branches  from the bottom three to three and a half feet of the trees. There wasn't much that could be done to change what they had done. Gluing them back on was not an option. They are going to round the tops a bit, and see what that will look like. If that doesn't look right, we think they may plant new plants.

They chopped off the brances from bottom of these plants, too.











The workers have also been busy digging up grass that was a little on the wild side in other areas. This entire area was dug up by hands. The weather was hot that day, but they kept working in the hot sun. All this grass had been hauled away by the next day.

At the back of the church stands a little building. As we were looking over the landscaping work that was being done, Sister Tiefenbach mentioned that she wondered what the little building was. Elder Tiefenbach informed her that it is a bathroom that was built for the members of the church from the villages to use when they come in for conferences. Apparently, they feel more comfortable using the toilets outside than the ones in the church.

As we were enjoying the outside that day, we saw a few butterflies. This one landed conveniently on the ground and paused long enough for us to take a picture.









This black and white butterfly fluttered around our heads for quite a while. Several times, we thought it was going to hit our heads. It didn't seem to be trying to get away from us.











This is one of the views from the church parking lot. Many houses in Coimbatore have tiled roofs like the partial roof seen here. They are typically small two room houses. We see many houses like this one with collapsed roofs in Coimbatore. The building behind the house is a new building under construction. We see a lot of new construction in Coimbatore.






Three new buildings are being constructed on the street we take to the church. This is the newest building to be started. All the poles are used for bracing in preparation for the cement that will be poured for the upper floors.

We posted a picture of the banyan tree in the back of the church yard a few posts ago, showing that fall comes to Coimbatore. As you can see, not many more leaves have fallen. So far, we have not seen any trees that have lost all their leaves.

We pass several cemeteries on one of the road that we often take. Usually, we see several ambulance/freezer box vehicles, such as this one, parked along the street by the cemeteries. People are buried very quickly here after they day - often the same day or the next day. We are not sure, but we suspect the freezer boxes must be used to help preserve the bodies between death and burial.





Another sight we see often is a group of workers being transported to work.











We simply had to post this picture. We have been wanting to take a picture of this for a long time. This is a barber shop that is about half a block from the new building with all the bracing we showed above. We are sure the owner wanted a sign that read "salon."











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Two weeks ago, Second Branch had its Primary Presentation. This week, First Branch had theirs. The children sang exceptionally well. Sister Tiefenbach was very pleased with them. The primary presidency went to a lot of work to make sure the children were dressed the same. All the girls looked beautiful in their white dresses. Only two nursery aged girls did not have white dresses. No one bought new clothes; they already had white dresses. The primary presidency provided the purple accessories. We are particularly impressed with two of the girls because they do not speak English, but they memorized all the songs. We are sure they will learn English quickly because the other children speak it very well.

Today, we were also able to get a picture of Brother Raja, Sister Sumathi, and their children. They are in First Branch. Their son goes to a boarding school, and he is only allowed to go home one weekend per month, so we don't have an opportunity to get a picture of the family together very often. These are the girls who do not speak English.

This week, we said good-bye to Elder Racharla, as he returned home after serving an honorable two year mission. He flew out Wednesday morning. We had him, Elder Ram, and Elder Vaipei over for pizza on Monday (P-day). Elder Racharla was excited about the pizza - maybe because he helped make some of them. Because it was P-day (preparation day), the elders were able to stay for quite a while at our apartment. We had a wonderful visit with them. We wish the best for Elder Racharla as he returns home. He was a good, dedicated missionary. We will miss him.

From a Fun P-Day to a Wonderful Sunday

All the missionaries in the two districts in Coimbatore went on a "field trip" to Malampuzha (pronounced Malampula) Dam Garden in the state of Kerala, which is about an hour away by train. This was our first train ride in India. We enjoyed riding with the rest of the missionaries. Elder Tiefenbach took this picture, so he is not in the picture. Starting on the first row from left to right, we have Elders Solomon, Thanniru, Ram, and Racharla.In the back row from left to right, we see Elders Smoot, Augustine, Thomas, Challa and Sisters Jebamani, Tiefenbach, and Madabuthala. This outing was particularly for Elder Racharla because he will be finished his mission this coming week. He was happy that we were all able to go on a trip together before he leaves for home.

No one knew exactly which platform on which we were to catch the train. We went to what we thought was the right one, but after a short while, we began to think that we were at the wrong place. After a few inquiries, we found at that, indeed, we were not on the right platform. We headed to the right one and found our train. The train was mostly filled. We all found seats, except for our trusty Zone Leaders. So, they sat up in the luggage racks. The sacrifice SO much for us! Actually, Elder Racharla sat there for a short while. He stood by the door of the train to watch the scenery. He did not want to miss anything.


You will notice throughout these pictures that we are not wearing our name tags and that the elders are not wearing ties. This was under the direction of the mission president. With the number of missionaries we had together, he thought it would be best if we looked more like tourists.







We disembarked at Palakkad Junction. We had to go down to the main level to leave the train station.

 

While at Palakkad Junction, the elders decided to buy some breakfast. The Sisters and Elder and Sister Tiefenbach did not want anything to eat, so we waited outside the restaurant for them.
After the elders finished their breakfast, we took an auto to the Malampuzha Dam Park.









Elder Solomon (our fellow Canadian) made the sacrifice this time to take the group picture.

The weather was hot, bright, and sunny. It was a perfect day for our outing!








The first fun place we found was the playground, but the elders were very disappointed!! We were very proud of them! They didn't play on the equipment at all. We are sure they were tempted, but they saw the sign, and they obeyed.

In case you cannot see the writing on the sign, it says that "Elders are requested not to use the playing equipment." We see so many signs here that are specifically for the elders!



Elder Ram, you are definitely WEIRD!!!!

We found a vine covered archway. It was welcome relief from the hot sun. It was also a great place to take pictures. Here we have a fine group of good looking missionaries: Elder Tiefenbach, Elder Thanniru, and Elder Racharla.








We thought we would have a nice quiet, romantic time together under the vines. Elder Ram!!!! How did you get in this picture? Better yet, WHY are you in this picture???










Sister Jebamani and Sister Madabuthala are quiet, but they had fun, too. We went on these swings. They were further down from the playground, but were probably still part of the playground. We didn't think of that when we decided to swing - besides, the sign was for elders, not sisters.











Sister Tiefenbach cannot pass up an opportunity to swing. She had a wonderful time with the wind blowing in her face as she came swooping down on the swing. Swinging is SOOO refreshing! She needed help from Elder Tiefenbach to get going. He was a great pusher. How does she swing so high and still keep her purse with her?

Elder Solomon is following the example of Elder Ram. He needed coaching from Elder Ram to get the pose just right. A beard would definitely improve the likeness, but we think President Funk might have something to say about that!









As you can see, the park was a great place to spend the day. We are taking a little break from walking here, and we stopped to look out over the park. There is Elder Ram again wanting to be the focal point!









Elder Tiefenbach is pausing for a moment on our way up to the top of the dam. On the other side of this dam is a LOT of water.












We made it up the steps to the top of the dam. The view was worth the climb. Looking out on a body of water is always inspiring. Elder Tiefenbach is enjoying the view. What is he thinking about? He can't be thinking about sailing off to a far away distant land because we are in a far away distant land. While up on top, we saw an eagle soaring with the winds. It looked like it was having fun playing in the air currents. We thought how wonderful it would be to be able to be so carefree and soar up in the sky. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a picture of the eagle.

Back down in the park, we were standing close to the lily pond, looking into the water with the Sisters when Sister Tiefenbach suddenly said, "What would happen if a snake suddently jumped out of the water toward us?" Needless to say, the sisters did not enjoy Sister Tiefenbach's humour.






This slide was calling to us to do a group picture. This time, Sister Tiefenbach made the sacrifice, but the two ground positions were taken, and she really did not want to go up on the slide, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice.

We took a bus back to Coimbatore. Actually, we took a bus from the park to the nearby town to catch the bus that would take us to Coimbatore. The nearby town wasn't so nearby. It took about 40 minutes to get to it. Then, we had another 1 1/4 hour bus ride to Coimbatore. The trip back seemed long, but the day was great. Everyone commented that it was nice to get away from the regular routine and away from the noise and congestion of the city. We enjoyed the open spaces and the quietness of the park. What a great day!!

The next day, we took Elder Racharla to subway for lunch. Well, we took Elder Ram, too, but it was for Elder Racharla. Subway is his favourite western type restaurant that is in Coimbatore. We will miss him when he leaves this week.

Tuesday was Divali. We were to stay in our apartment after 6:00. That was okay because we were able to go up on the rooftop and enjoy the fireworks. We could see far out into the city, and all around us (the full 360 degrees), we could see fireworks. Everyone seemed to be setting off either fireworks or firecrackers for over 3 hours that night. It was quite amazing to see.






The fireworks and firecrackers were also going Monday night, as well. We had two nights of great displays. On the morning after the festivities, the streets were littered with the remains of the firecrackers.

On Friday, we invited Elder Thomas over for birthday cake. Obviously, we invited his companion, Elder Challa, too. We invited Elders Solomon and Smoot, but they wanted to go to the apartment and get it ready for a surprise birthday party for Elder Thomas.

We were also able to visit several families this week, as well. We actually do other things than have fun all the time. Today, we went to Erode to meet with the members of the church there. We were fortunate to be visiting on a day that a baptism was scheduled. We were able to attend the baptism of Calevani Rajesh, She was baptised by her husband, Duraisamy Rajesh who was babtised last week. Just prior to the baptism Elder Tiefenbach had the opportunity to ordain Rajesh to the priesthood. We also had several assignments to fulfill at the Branch, as well. We returned to our home Branch at about 4:30 so we could attend some leadership and planning meetings.


This week was also transfer week so we had to bid adieu to our friend and District Leader, Elder Thanniru. He has always made sure he included us in the district meetings. We have never felt like we were outsiders or old people that the missionaries have to "put up with." They seem to actually like to be around us. We truly have been blessed to be associated with many great missionaries.







To end the blog this week, we want to let everyone know that we have had a few snags in our visa renewal process. At the end of the week, we were told that our visa extension application had been declined and we would have to leave India immediately. We went immediately to the FRO to talk with them. We clarified a few points that seemed to be a problem. They are re-sending our application to Chennai with a recommendation that the applications be approved, so hopefully this time, we will have good news about our visas. We ask for your prayers that we will be able to get our extensions so we may continue to work with the members of the church here in India.

Fall in Coimbatore

Yes, fall arrives in India, but not all trees lose their leaves from what we see. Also, the leaves don't turn colours the way they do back home. Here is the tree in the church yard after some of its leaves have fallen to the ground.










The church is getting a fresh look. It is being painted on the inside and outside. This is Brother Raja. He is a painter (that's obvious!). He and his family were baptized in July of this year, and is one of the families that we visit every Thursday. Although the new paint is the same colour as the old paint, the whole building looks much brighter and cleaner. The paint on the inside is a bit different, but it is still a light colour in the same tones. Again, the inside looks brighter and fresher with the new paint.



Early in the week, we made a follow-up visit to the 1st Branch Elders' apartment (Elders Solomon, Smoot, Thomas, and Challa). Their kitchen counters were still not as clean as they should be. Sister Tiefenbach ran her hand along the counter and felt . . . grime (that is the best word). I had some of the Elders run their hand along the counter to feel it because they said they had cleaned the counters. After feeling the counters, they said,"Oh." They thought they had cleaned them. By the time we left, they had everything ship shape. This is the outside of their apartment.

Their apartment is on a street called Race Course, which is a very nice location. It is well treed and has a pool and a tennis court. We have never seen anyone in the pool. The complex has about six apartment buildings with about 30 apartments in each building. This is the entrance to the apartment complex.







Coimbatore continues to have a lot of construction going on. Much of the construction, as you have seen in the past is very labour intensive, so construction takes a little longer here. This is a new building not far from the 1st Branch Elders' apartment. It is going to be a new Big Bazaar, which is a department store that is similar to Walmart or Zellers, but doesn't have as wide a selection.






We see many people carrying loads on their heads. This woman is carrying a load of papers, but we see a variety of things being carried this way, such as loads of bricks and sand. We can imagine we would have a bunch of crushed vertebrae if we carried some of their heavy loads.








We visit this little girl's family every Thursday evening. She is modelling her Mickey Mouse back pack for us. We had her put it on her front so we could see the back pack and her face. We enjoy going to their house to teach English. We hope we are being of help to the family. Many people can understand some English, but they are reluctant to speak it. We find that women, in particular, are very cautious about trying to speak English. Some members of this family have moved to another house, so only three people live here now instead of seven.

 We had Zone Training this week. Our Zone Leaders, Elder Ram and Elder Racharla were well prepared. We arrived to the meeting early and caught the last part of their planning meeting. We were impressed with the detail of their planning. They had goals in mind of what they wanted everyone to learn, and they came up with specific questions to ask so those attending the trainig to meet those goals. Our Zone Leaders have been busy travelling to Bangalore, Chavadi, and Erode for the past week. They put in a lot of hours in their assignments.

 

 

All the missionaries seemed to enjoy the training. Their favourite part was the carrot cake that Sister Tiefenbach made. Several said that they would stop coming to the meetings if she stopped baking for them. They all look attentive here. The first four missionaries are from Erode: Elders Aeshamala (left), Aruldoss, Vaddi (2nd row left), and McDonald. In the back row, we have Coimbatore Elders: Augustine, Thanniru, and Tiefenbach (the good looking one!). Elder Solomon is peaking in on us here.

 

On the other side of the room are: Elder Solomon (front left), who is our fellow Canadian, Elder Smoot, Elder Thomas (2nd row left), Elder Challa, Sister Mathbuthala (back left), and Sister Jebamani. We are really happy to have sisters in our District now. We chastized Elder Solomon during a recent meeting because he introduced himself as being from Bangalore. We told him that if he doesn't introduce himself as being from Canada, he wouldn't get any more treats! This time, he made sure he said he was from Toronto, Canada. We gave him a nod of approval.

 

After Zone Training, we accompanied one of the Elders to get some medical tests done. He was a bit nervous about having blood taken, but he was a real trooper! They take blood a bit differently here. At home, they insert a needle and then attach a collection tube that is a vacuum container. After attaching the collection tube, the blood begins to flow into the tube. In India, they still draw the blood out through the needle by pulling up on the syringe and then depositing the blood into a collection tube.

 

This lab is very efficient. The results were e-mailed to us that evening. Also, we did not need a doctor's requisition. We ordered our own tests.

 

 

 

 

We thought that the Zone Leaders had been so busy that they may not have been eating properly, so we invited them for supper (dinner for those who use that term) on Saturday night. We had meatballs with a homemade barbeque type sauce that Sister Tiefenbach makes, rice, and a salad made from cauliflower, carrots, onion, red pepper, and tomatoes. Elder Ram used a fork, but Elder Rachala ate Indian style - with his fingers. We used forks, too. They ate well, so we think that indeed they were hungry.

 

 

Today, 2nd Branch had its Primary Presentation. The Primary Presentation is a presentation made in Sacrament meeting by the children of the church to show through song and word the things they have learned throughout the year. Sister Tiefenbach has been working with the children since shorthly after we arrived in Coimbatore to prepare them for the singing part of the presentation. The children did very well in their presentation. First Branch will have their Primary Presentation on the fourth Sunday of November. We had a practice today. These are some of the children in First Branch at the practice today. Several children were absent in First Branch today.

 

We are also met today with the Christmas program committee to begin making plans. Sister Tiefenbach has written a program for the event. It is entitled, "Picture a Christmas." We hope that the members here will enjoy the program. It will different from most Christmas programs they have had in the past. The choir for the program is making good progress. We continue to be impressed with the quality of the men's voices in this choir. They are every bit equal to the men's section in the choirs at home.

 

 

Although some of the trees are losing leaves, the temperature continues to be hot. We are still experiencing temperatures in the 30's. We can't believe that December is at our doorstep, and Christmas will be upon us. Elder Tiefenbach has experienced a warm Christmas before, but this will be the first for Sister Tiefenbach.