Author: Rick Neff

Actually, tomorrow (the 26^th) is our mission halfway mark! 274 days down, 274 to go. If we don’t extend, that is. If we fall so much in love with this work and the Nepali people that we will want to stay here yet a little while longer — time will tell how it will all play out!

We are fully engaged now — and not just with humanitarian work!

To explain, let me first quote Raffi, whose sentiments I love:

All I really need is a song in my heart
Food in my belly and love in my family
All I really need is a song in my heart
Love in my family

And I need the rain to fall
And I need the sun to shine
To give life to the seeds we sow
To give the food we need to grow

All I really need is a song in my heart
Love in my family

And I need some clean water for drinking
And I need some clean air for breathing
So that I can grow up strong
Take my place where I belong

All I really need is a song in my heart
Food in my belly and love in my family
All I really need is a song in my heart
Love in my family

The parts about love, of course, permeate everything we do. What it says about needing some clean water for drinking and “to give life to the seeds we sow, to give the food we need to grow” speak to our two projects currently in process. One is to supply by piping it from mountain springs, clean drinking water to 450 families in a remote village. The other is to give 257 families in another rural area the increased farming know-how and resources they need to provide food for themselves and sell the excess to the market, thus assisting them to be more self-reliant.

These two projects are in partnership with CHOICE Humanitarian, who we’ve mentioned before, the NGO that LDS Charities Nepal has been working with for years. Kiran is the CHOICE Program Director. In addition to his friendship (see below) he has energetically and eagerly supplied us with the detailed proposals we need to engage this process of lifting and blessing lives. We look forward to working closely with him and other members of the CHOICE team, as well as with other NGOs (e.g., Days for Girls, also see below). Harmonious working relationships remind me so much of the musical experiences I’ve so enjoyed throughout my life.

Continuing, from a song I learned on my (first) mission, lyrics by Sammy Davis Jr.:

The world is made of music,
Never ending symphonies of sound surround us,
Miracles of melodies are found around us too.
It’s a musical world, such a beautiful world!

Ding, dong, sing a song of spring and summer,
Spring song, summer song and all brand new.
I love music and I know that you do too.
It’s a musical world, such a beautiful world!

Why the musings on music? Because a handful of Kathmandu branch members have expressed interest in learning what we have to teach them about music. Conducting, piano, choir, etc. Next Saturday begins the adventure in learning for all of us. Wish us luck!

Speaking of halfway marks, in my personal study I’m a little over halfway through the Book of Mormon, in Alma 32. I love Alma! I love all the prophets in this great book, actually, but Alma’s blend of mind and heart, of logic and feeling, really speaks to me.

The closing paragraph of Hugh Nibley’s minimal statement on the Book of Mormon says:

“The Book of Mormon is the history of a polarized world in which two irreconcilable ideologies confronted each other and is addressed explicitly to our own age, faced by the same predicament and the same impending threat of destruction. It is a call to faith and repentance couched in the language of history and prophecy, but above all it is a witness to God’s concern for all His children and to the intimate proximity of Jesus Christ to all who will receive Him.”

To quote C.S. Lewis, with whom I’m in perfect agreement:

“I believe in Christ like I believe in the rising sun. Not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Of course, I still see imperfectly. I falter and stumble and mess up. But I’m trying to be like Jesus. I love Hugh Nibley’s word-pair — “intimate proximity” — I love that this is claimable through meditation and prayer and repentance and living His commandments as I strive to receive Him and come unto Him. May we all so strive!

 

 

At our neighbor’s birthday celebration. She and her husband run an international pre-school.

 

 

 

The praiseworthy mission of Days for Girls is to increase access to menstrual care and education by […] mobilizing volunteers and innovating sustainable solutions that shatter stigma and limitations for women and girls.

Missions are like life in miniature. The glorious experience of youthful missionaries, compressed into a few short months, resembles a lifetime of ups and downs, falling down and getting up again, blessings and challenges, joys and sorrows. And so it is with senior couple missions, though we have the benefit of a greater perspective on life and experience — with more behind us than ahead of us. Unlike our dear young Elders and Sisters, fellow laborers in the vineyard, we are not sharing the gospel message openly. Even so, I like this quote by Elder William R. Bradford:

When a missionary is placed in a mission environment of order and discipline where all that is done is in harmony with the Spirit the missionary experiences a great transformation. The heavens open. Powers are showered out. Mysteries are revealed. Habits are improved. Sanctification begins. Through this process the missionary becomes a vessel of light that can shine forth the gospel of Jesus Christ in a world in darkness.

The heavens did indeed open for us this week.

A highlight was the bookend treat of our outing to attend the closing ceremony for the vocational training whose opening ceremony we attended two weeks ago at Charikot in the Dolakha district.

Sister Wolfgramm was feeling a little unwell, so she did not come with the rest of us. Sugam, Elder Wolfgramm, Taunya and I rode in one vehicle, and Sunila and her two kids, Rajshree (daughter, 17) and Chirag (son, 16) rode in a second one. Sunita had traveled there earlier to make everything ready.

Leaving around 7:30 Wednesday morning, we all made the rough, twisty, bumpy drive in just under 5 hours. The ceremony was at 2:00, so we had time before going there to freshen up a bit at our hotel (the same one, and even the same room as before)!

When we arrived at the ceremony venue, there was no line to greet us this time. The trainee-graduates were already in their seats, eager to get on with it. (We still got the traditional welcome scarves after being seated!) It was a happy, energetic occasion, and we were treated by Rajshree and Chirag to translation services for the several speeches that were made (except the one by Elder Wolgramm — and no, neither Taunya nor I was asked to speak!).

The dignitaries gave the graduates certificates, their ticket to a better future, and for blessings, the Tika — integral part of Nepali culture — a red dot applied on their foreheads. I was one of the dignitaries that got to do this!

 

 

Afterwards we were fed lunch, and then did inspection of the graduates’ work, and took pictures with them before heading back to the hotel. It was a great experience, not to be surpassed by an adventure to come the next day!

 

 

The adventure began Thursday morning when we started off from Charikot. The side road we turned onto off the main road had about a 30-degree grade at first, and much of the 17-km mountain road was that steep. Definitely 4-wheel drive territory, although parts of the road were paved, much of it was rocky and dippy. It was supposed to take about an hour, but we had a hitch. The driver suddenly stopped the vehicle and told us he had lost his brakes! The brake line hitting a rock and rupturing was the diagnosis. We were certainly glad this happened on the uphill and not the downhill stretch!

 

A fine pickle!

The other driver, who was more experienced than ours, was still good to go, so we all piled in his vehicle for the rest of the ride. It would have taken us an hour to walk from there!

So we arrived at Kalinchowk, our destination. It is a rural municipality that is also a hill station and tourist hotspot, situated at an altitude of 3749 meters (12300 feet). That’s at the peak, which to reach we took a cable car ride and a short hike. There we got to see the famous Kalinchowk Bhagwati Shrine, a Hindu temple where many devotees (not just tourists) come to worship and petition for divine favors. Sunila and Chirag (not Rajshree, she had homework to finish and didn’t come with us), Sunita and Sugam participated in the prayers and also the bell ringing, whose purpose is to notify the Hindu deity that there are petitions ready and waiting to be granted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we ate a nice Nepali lunch at an eatery at the hill station, then we all rode back in the one good vehicle (the other was repaired sufficiently to get it back to town for real repairs for the return trip).

Before heading home, we met in the office of the Chief District Officer, one of the dignitaries who spoke at the ceremony. We exchanged business cards, and expect to keep in touch with the hope that future humanitarian projects might come to pass there.

Speaking of which, another great blessing for our humanitarian work came this week as It Finally Happened! We’ve been waiting on pins and needles for the opportunity to get a new General Agreement signed, and it came at last after the government official who needed to sign it came back from his travels out of country. He is the Member Secretary of the Social Welfare Council of Nepal, and we met in his office for the signing. The signature on our side came from the branch president, who was granted limited power of attorney to do just that one thing — sign the agreement on behalf of LDS Charities.

Why not Elder Wolfgramm, current Country Director of LDS Charities, Nepal? Because his work visa had very recently expired, thus making him ineligible to sign. I will be taking over as Country Director when the Wolgramms depart in seven weeks, but will not have the experience of signing the next agreement — because this one is good for five years! This is what allows Utah-based LDS Charities to work with local NGOs with the goal of lifting the poor through collaborative projects that the NGOs will manage and that LDS Charities will fund.

This is a Big DEAL!! An agreement like this is what we would like to have (and need to have) with the Indian government, who, for whatever reasons, seems much more wary of foreign aid. We are grateful beyond measure that this came to fruition!

I love the thoughts expressed by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in a conference talk years ago. They really resonate with me, as I contemplate where I am in the sanctification process Elder Bradford talked about through which we may become “vessel[s] of light that can shine forth the gospel of Jesus Christ”.

The title of his talk was taken from the hymn: Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King:

I testify that, though he never needed it, he gave to us what we desperately needed—that program of progress—repentance, which beckons us to betterness. I thank him for helping me, even forgiving me, when I fall short, when I testify of things known but which are beyond the border of my behavior, and for helping me to advance that border, bit by bit. His relentless redemptiveness exceeds my recurring wrongs.

[…]

I testify that just as he has helped to carefully construct this second estate for all mankind, he also has helped to carefully construct each of our little universes of experience. I thank him for blessing me therein with a wife, children, parents, leaders, and friends to help me. I thank him now for the tender times, the jarring times, the perplexing times, and even for the times when my learning is so painfully public—lest in such moments to come I am too taxed to testify or too anguished to appreciate.

As we enjoy our “little universes of experiences” here in Nepal, we want to thank you all for your love and prayers. We really appreciate the support we feel from you!

Our only sure reliance is to trust in the Lord and His love for His children.
— President Dallin H. Oaks, October 2019 Conference

It just keeps coming back to our mission scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6. We do acknowledge Him in all our ways, and marvel at His goodness, His love, His grace.

We got to see more of Nepal this week than we could have hoped for, and in the process participate in more humanitarian work lifting and blessing lives. Nothing was our doing, we are trusting in our dear friends and mentors, the Wolfgramms, to carry us along in the wake of their previous work. And they are sure evidence that trusting in the Lord is paramount, their example of not leaning to their own understanding reaffirms to us the vital importance of following suit.

What work? Kicking off a vocational training program in rural Nepal (the Bhimeshwor municipality near the city of Charikot, in the Dolakha district in the Bagmati province of north-eastern Nepal, to be exact), co-sponsored by LDS Charities and a local NGO. The people who went besides us and the Wolfgramms were a spunky woman, Sunila, representing the NGO; a friendly consultant, Sukum; and a young woman, Sunita, also employed by the NGO — actually, she met us there and then came back with us the next day.

Hotel Ambrosia was Wednesday’s, our first day’s destination, a 6-hour drive from Kathmandu. The road is paved, we were told, but our driver had to negotiate many stretches of severely damaged and bumpy pavement on even more narrow, twisty mountain roads than we encountered en route to Darjeeling! Happily, his expertise and 4-wheel-drive vehicle saw us there safely.

 

The accommodations were very nice, although it’s still weird to have a shower just stick out of the wall next to the toilet, no separating wall, no stall, no curtain, nothing! (Just like in our hotel in Birtamod.) Our rooms did not have numbers, just names of sacred Himalayan peaks: ours was Gaurishankar, the Wolfgramm’s, right across from us, was Kanchenjunga (the one we saw from Darjeeling).

 

 

A nice dinner, sleep, and the next day’s breakfast and a bit of sight-seeing later, we went to the training venue.

 

 

 

 

 

The opening ceremony followed a bit of celebration of the dignitaries (us!), including the mayor of the municipality whose meeting hall was donated for the ceremony and the training. 35 young trainees were there, including 19 women, some to learn bricklaying, the others plumbing. They were all happy to be there and celebrate the occasion.

Sunita was the Master of Ceremonies. She introduced all the dignitaries and then the speakers, which included the mayor and the Wolfgramms! So they are not only dignitaries, they are celebrities too! Maybe for the closing ceremony we will get to attend in a couple of weeks they’ll ask Taunya and me to speak!

 

Ceremonial bricklaying — the man crouching is the mayor, who started it off.

 

On the way back we stopped at a restaurant where the favorite dish of the Nepali folk was fish soup. We were non-fans, so just watched them eat and enjoy — Elder Wolfgramm was a fan so he partook.

 

Other Attention Getters

 

 

 

What really got our attention this week? Food from home! Real maple syrup! Heavenly bacon bits! Not pictured, a 20-oz bottle of A&W Root Beer!!

We have branch members, the Jeff and Amy Howe family, to thank for this wonderful gift of food they thought we would like and that they can easily get once back home. Jeff works at the US Embassy here, but he is retiring and they are moving back to the States next month.

Or nearly so!

We hope and pray that after another week of waiting, in mind-numbing frustration, our long-awaited Exit Permits will be granted. Presumably there is some official in Hyderabad who tomorrow morning need only do a final review of our applications and push the “approve” button, thus triggering an email with an attachment that will be our official permission to leave India!

It was a couple of small miracles that got us to that point.

Nothing happened on Monday or Tuesday. No progress still on Wednesday, except for a message that nothing would happen again on Thursday, they would be far too busy because the Chief Minister (like a state governor) was visiting Vizag! I guess it’s a big deal when VIPs come to town, so we Very UNimportant People would just have to wait another day.

On Friday we went to the Foreigners Registration Office (we thought) for the last time. Babu, a member of the Church, came with us to help us communicate. The officer helping us (I’ll call him Raj) had us both sign and date a statement, supposedly the last step on each of our parts.

Then Raj said that the Chief of Police who needed to sign off on our files wasn’t there, sorry, there was nothing he could do about that. We left, disheartened, and then while waiting for an Uber, saw Raj walking down the street and around the corner, carrying a bunch of papers. A few minutes later he came back and beckoned to us to come back inside. This was after Babu had left and our Uber driver still hadn’t arrived. Small miracle number 1, that he delayed so long that we were there when Raj came back, so we cancelled our Uber and went back to the office. Raj said he found out he could cancel Taunya’s visa, which would make it so she could just get an Exit Permit and not need the Chief’s signature! So he did, both on her physical visa, and in the system. A little scary, having an invalid visa (cancelled without prejudice, it said, so it was all good). He then said we could leave, he would wrap up our files within an hour and send them to Hyderabad. We asked if they would finish processing them today, but he said no, probably not — Monday at the earliest.

Disappointed, we went back home, and just two hours later, Raj called Babu who gave us the message that he needed Taunya to come back one more time for another signature. Small miracle number 2 then happened. I had a little prompting to take my passport/visa with me, which I wasn’t thinking I should need to, since they said this was about Taunya. So I heeded the prompting — and it was good that I did, because despite what we were told, Raj really just needed me! He cancelled my visa too so we would both just need Exit Permits and the remaining process did not require the Chief’s signature! A few more documents and fee payments later, all handled by our mission office assistant and district president, our files were sent to Hyderabad for final processing and approval. It was too late in the day by then, and the Hyderabad office was closed until Monday.

So we couldn’t leave yesterday, which would have allowed us to attend the inauguration of the Help Babies Breath project that started today and goes until next Friday.

But a compensatory blessing that brightened our week was being able to attend District Conference, the adult evening session last night, and the general session this morning. In both sessions we were able to sing with the missionary choir two songs: Hope of Israel (that Sister Baird arranged back in January and the missionaries in the New Delhi learned and recorded for a Mission Leaders’ Conference) and If You Could Hie to Kolob.

The conference was presided over by Robert K. William, our mission president, who spoke in both sessions. The Spirit was strong, and very uplifting messages were given. The theme of the conference was creating a stake in Vizag. There was strong emphasis on the spiritual strength and commitment that every member would need to develop to reach this goal by the end of next year. Doing the small and simple things: daily personal and family prayer, scripture study, full tithe paying, generous fast offerings, loving and dedicated ministering, and whole-hearted love-share-invite member-missionary outreach. And then the icing on the cake was this afternoon, a family of four was baptized and joined the third branch. We stayed for that joyous occasion, and while waiting we were surprised to be invited to enjoy some more traditional Indian food, which nicely supplemented the peanut-butter sandwiches and cabbage salad we had brought for lunch!

Oh, one more minor but noteworthy happening: we got a new badminton record this week — 130 consecutive hits back and forth!

Hugely much more consequential in its implications, coming back to If You Could Hie to Kolob, we sang a different ending to the third verse — and this is a good place to end on:

The works of God continue, and worlds and lives abound.

Improvement and progression have one eternal round.

(Already a thrilling thought! But then…)

Because of our dear Savior’s atoning sacrifice,

We can feel His grace and mercy and have eternal life.

 

 

 

A New Beginning!

Overshadowing all other thoughts and concerns this week — we are really going to Nepal!

We fly on Wednesday, May 3rd, arriving in Kathmandu around 8:30 in the evening. The next day, after adjusting to the 15 minute (!) time change, we’ll be rarin’ to go on our new assignment!

But more on that next week when we’re there in the flesh instead of just in spirit!

This week we’ve seen and done a few things that we did not want to miss.

On Thursday, we played badminton in the morning with a real net, in the smaller walking park just a half mile away.

On Friday we went to Vizag’s “Central Park” — it didn’t open for real until 9:00am, so we just walked around the jogging track on the outside a couple of times. Maybe we’ll get to see the inside, maybe not.

Yesterday we went to Bheemili, a scenic beach about 25 km from here that attracts many tourists. Of course there were groups, large and small, who noticed us and wanted to take pictures with us.

Yesterday we were also privileged to attend the baptism of a young sister in the first branch. She’s the younger sister of the wife of our doctor friend who we met on our first day in Vizag. It was Friday that we were blessed to visit those two in their home and see their new baby!

From this morning’s walk at Sivaji park:

 

Random sights that caught my attention:

Per the sign, shopping at the CMR Mall (biggest in the city) is The joy of life — for the ardently materialistic!

(SIN is a brand name, derived from their slogan “sinfully stylish clothes for men”.)

There’s some apropos gospel-related response to this floating around in my head waiting to be captured and written, but the hour is late, and I’m going to bed instead!

We had another quiet week here in Vizag.

Yesterday we played badminton in the parking garage because it was too windy outside behind our building, where we played earlier in the week.

Friday we walked to the beach (about 2 miles each way) and on the beach (about 2 miles) — a total of 6 miles that left us pretty exhausted — and not just from the exertion of walking. We’re getting up at 5:00 now to try to beat the heat. By the time we get home it’s 90+ degrees on its way to highs of 100!

On our walks this week we met some more fascinating and friendly people (an accountant, a retired doctor, a police officer and his wellness-coach wife), and saw some sights replete with beauty and delight.

Rock On, Rock Art!

 

Architectural Beauties:

   

Our new favorite park, with flora and fauna and people too!

              

We have a grandnephew who can relate to this next picture. Here’s a bonus for you, grandnephew! If you see this by some small chance, enter a comment on this post telling me why you can relate and you’ll get a personal private email reply from me!

That’s all for now!

For a servant who’s not serving.

General Conference is such a great oasis in the desert of intense uncertainty we find ourselves in. Yes, we are still in a holding pattern, still not allowed to serve in our calling as humanitarian volunteers.

The closing hymn of the Saturday Evening Session really hit home, especially the phrase: “More used would [we] be.”

We sincerely wish the Indian government leaders would be more open to foreign aid to help their people, especially the poor and needy, of which there are so many. But it is what it is. Despite this reality we hold out hope for a sooner-than-later resolution to our immobility.

Every day we see something new, or meet someone who knows someone who needs help, or who can help. We can only smile and say we’ll know more soon about how we might be able to help, or collaborate with them in helping to lift and bless people’s lives.

In the meantime, we continue to explore Vizag and its many features and allures. Here’s this week’s highlight reel of photos and videos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caught some big ones without fishing boats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waves at Yarada Beach

 

 

 

 

 

Make no mistake — he’s making stakes!

Yesterday, to celebrate Taunya’s birthday, we had lunch with the Bairds at a nice restaurant in the Dolphin Hotel downtown.

The food was great—not nearly as spicy this time as the food we ordered for delivery a couple of days before. Alas, I may never arrive at the point where the Indian degree of spiciness adds to rather than diminishes my enjoyment of food! Balance and moderation, the happy medium, the beautiful blend — give us more of that, please!

The phrase from “More holiness give me” I mentioned earlier has a precursor: “More fit for the kingdom.” We need to stay focused on the kingdom and each of our small but important part in building it. To be fit for the work we need to maintain and enhance our spiritual poise in the face of discouragement and uncertainty.

To quote Lumière again, “Life is so unnerving for a servant who’s not serving.” Far more unnerving than that, far worse than the pollution in much of this earth’s air, water and ground, is the pollution that festers in people’s hearts. Would that this pollution be rooted out, would that we all become pure in heart, a people prepared to bring again Zion, to be ready to meet the Lord when He comes! We know He IS coming, and when He does He will usher in a thousand years of peace. This planet will be cleansed from the filthiness on its face, and find rest with its grateful inhabitants in the healing presence of the Prince of Peace!

Another shall-we-just-say interesting week in Vizag has come and gone. In many ways, our daily routine is pretty settled: up at 5:30, scriptures, yoga, prayers, breakfast or a snack, then out for our morning walk.

Lots of walking and exploring some new parts of town:

 

 

Everybody’s got a water buffalo!

 

 

In addition to our daily prayers, we do lots of thinking — but see the admonition on the tour bus! — some reading and writing, some online and in-store shopping, eating in and out, just your typical missionary life!

 

Lunch arriving at Platform 65

 

We’ve started playing early morning badminton (just back-and-forth birdie hitting, no net, no games) with our friends in the walking park. I recorded a short video of their “coach” playing with one of them. (They call him “our booster”.)

 

Coach putting on a show!

 

Yesterday we went to lunch with the Bairds, then attended a first branch baptism (Satya, who got married our first day here, three and a half weeks ago) and then a third branch YSA (Young Single Adult) activity, which we came at the tail end of while they were just talking and cooking and eating. The chicken kebabs smelled wonderful, and they offered, but we politely declined to partake. All four of us seniors were given the opportunity to share some thoughts with the YSAs and bear our testimonies. The Spirit was strong!

 

 

Now, how’s that humanitarian work going, you ask?!

Well, we had our momentous meeting on Friday that included all three humanitarian couples (us, the Jones, and the Gerlachs) and our immediate chain of command — our direct manager, his supervisor, and his supervisor (the Director of Temporal Affairs), plus two lawyers from our legal team in Hong Kong.

The meeting went for about 90 minutes during which the lead attorney told us very clearly that because the government is clamping down on how foreign contributions come into and are used in India — pretty much all the types of projects we have been doing we can no longer do. All the ideas we brought up in the meeting were shot down — no can do. We asked for a concrete example of a project that we CAN do, and got nothing. We left the meeting very confused, frustrated, and disappointed. Why are we even here if we can’t really do anything?

Basically we were left in the dark about what value we can add by being here in our current calling as humanitarians. We were asked to brainstorm, and pray for guidance to come up with ideas we could discuss in a follow-on meeting that will happen hopefully as soon as tomorrow.

Taunya and I thought, prayed, discussed our ideas just with each other, and pretty much wound up going in circles and getting nowhere. We went to bed pretty unsettled, but we each slept better than we thought we would. So yesterday morning we decided we had enough energy to tackle “the stairs” again. Which we did. Resting about 3 times during the 20 minutes or so it took, we climbed 816 (yes, I counted them!) stairs, which had several landings breaking them up (which I didn’t count). During one of our rests, a man who we greeted briefly as we began to climb, and who had shortly thereafter started following us, caught up to and then passed us on his way to the top. As we exchanged greetings, he said we inspired him to make the climb — that wasn’t his original plan! We greeted him again at the top, and then had the most amazing and enlightening conversation where we learned, first, that he was a retired engineer after a career working at the naval base.

His English is excellent, and we learned so much more from him as he freely shared his thoughts about his country, its history and current status, its people and their mindsets and struggles. He asked why we were here, and what we thought of his country. That triggered more learning about our mutual desire to do good, to act charitably toward our fellow beings. He shared with us what he saw as opportunities to do humanitarian work here. I won’t go into details now, but will just say that his ideas felt promising! We’ve been pleading with Heavenly Father to guide us and lead us to people who can help us in our quest to lift and bless the poor and needy. We know that he was a direct answer to these pleas — and he was pleased when we told him that!

We were walking while having our conversation, and we ended up walking all the way to the other end of the Kailasagiri hill, then down the long road that ends at the beach road, and back along that road to where he had parked his car. He kindly drove us home, and we exchanged contact information with intentions to reconnect.

At the YSA activity last night we learned that the branch president is the principal of a private school with 800 students. Another brother in the branch who I talked with briefly has a PhD in chemistry! He works for the government on sanitation works. So, we can’t help private schools, and we can’t do sanitation projects with the government, but it still felt like another door opening a crack, letting in a little light, beckoning us on through the remaining darkness. There are people here who can help us learn and grow and figure things out!

Because as Taunya reminded us by putting 2 Timothy 1:7 on the fridge: “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” We have not given up, nor will we succumb to wishy-washiness about the work. What work we do not know right now. But we will learn, and then we will not try, we will go and do!

Or as it’s officially known, Visakhapatnam, a way-smaller-than-New-Delhi city of only 2.4 million (!) on India’s east coast — the Bay of Bengal. 17° North latitude, 83° East longitude. Tropical weather indeed, high temps in the upper 80s to lower 90s, with high humidity. But the air is so much cleaner than Delhi’s!

Here’s the blow-by-blow of our once-again-unusual week — which saw no humanitarian outreach efforts to speak of, as we’re just getting settled in.

Monday

We packed, weighed, repacked and wondered how we were going to fit everything in our suitcases. We eventually did, and were (only!) 34 Kg overweight! We bought some flowers and a card for Elder and Sister Jones, as a small token of our appreciation for all their excellent help and training. They were out and about while we did this so they were surprised when they came back. They and the three other couples took us out to dinner to say farewell, although not so much farewell from the Bairds, as they were going to be coming to Vizag too, and very soon after us.

Tuesday

Getting to Vizag was something of a hassle at the airport, pre-flight, but nothing earthshattering. The flight was 2.5 hours, and included a meal — which we weren’t expecting but were very grateful for! Post-flight went smoothly, our bags were some of the first ones off (LIFO advantage!) and our drivers were there to meet us and take us to our new apartment—which is very nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday

We were planning on spending a quiet day getting organized, making shopping lists, relaxing a bit. But at 11:20 the Vizag 1st Branch President called to invite us to come to a wedding! It was supposed to start at 11:30, but we didn’t get there until 12:10, and still arrived in time for the opening song and prayer!

The program included introductions of the bride and groom by friends and family members, and marriage counsel by branch and district leaders. The actual ceremony was conducted by another brother who had a license to perform civil marriages. He was a pastor in a different church before his conversion. The ceremony was long, about 20 minutes, after which the couple hung flower garlands around each other, and another pair of matching neckware, among other things.

Lalitha and Satya were the bride and groom. She’s a recent convert, he’s currently taking the lessons. They were a very nice couple, pleased to meet us afterwards, even inviting us to participate in the wedding cake ceremony, which had them first cutting and serving each other small pieces of cake, then inviting many others (including us) to likewise serve them and be served by them.

The wedding overall was quite different from the first one we went to! The venue was much more modest (the cultural hall of the soon-to-be-Stake center) and the food served after the ceremony could fit on three 10-ft-long tables. It looked catered so we weren’t concerned about eating it. There were neither utensils nor napkins — everyone ate with their fingers, so we did too. A nearby washroom provided the sink to wash our hands afterwards.

 

After coming back to the apartment, we decided to look for a grocery store nearby. Google maps found one, which turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall type of store, not exactly what we were looking for, so we went with Google Maps’ second choice. It then led us on a walk through a slum, which elicited a lot of stares and giggles, mostly from the little kids. But some of the adults looked at us warily, almost like we were intruders in their realm. And when we got to the Google Maps’ destination point, the store wasn’t there! We asked and got directions to another one about half a mile further, so we were still able to pick up a few groceries. It made us smile that 6-8 employees of that modest store drew near and competed for the opportunity to try to help us find what we were looking for!

Thursday

We found a mall where we had lunch after looking around a little, and then went on a short walk to a big supermarket. We picked up a few more essentials and were disappointed at what we couldn’t find — like vanilla extract for making chocolate-chip cookies, or banana bread. But we ordered that and some other hard-to-find things online.

 

 

 

 

 

Cows still rule in Vizag!

Typical sights and sounds riding along in Vizag.

Friday

We went back to the big supermarket today, and had an interesting encounter. A lady came up to us and just started talking. Her English was good, and so it was easy to understand her story. She’s been trying to talk to people who look American in hopes they can help her find a job in the US. She’s a widow with two grown daughters, both in college. She has a bachelor’s degree in special education. She just wants to have a better life than she thinks she can have here — being a widow with daughters in India comes with many disadvantages. I kept thinking, the restored gospel would give her a better life regardless of where she lives, however, we were not at liberty to steer the conversation in that direction.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster restaurant, near the Andhra University campus, was our choice for dinner. The name was fun, it looked interesting, and the Italian food we ate there was okay, but it was noisy and the service was very slow. Still, reading their witty menu was amusing, and it even made reference to EMACS (for all you former students)!

 

Saturday

We decided to check out the beach today. We took an auto-rickshaw to the Ramakrishna Beach, and spent about 45 minutes just walking along the beach and observing the (mostly domestic we assumed) tourists frolicking and relaxing there. It was fun to see palm trees on a beach again! Towards the end of our walk, a half dozen people approached us and asked if they could take selfies with us. We couldn’t refuse!

 

 

Sunday

We did our morning routine, yoga, breakfast, etc., but this time we decided to check out a nearby park and get in a little walking exercise.

 

 

 

Our leisurely morning made us almost late for church, as the Vizag 2nd Branch met at 11. But we were there before 11, and were warmly greeted by several branch members who were excited to see a missionary couple!

The meeting started in English, but the two speakers switched to Telugu soon after starting their talks, only intermittently coming back to English. They were very excited as they shared their messages, about the importance of staying on the covenant path, and repenting and forgiving.

Afterwards, two members asked me to give them a priesthood blessing with help from another Melchizedek priesthood holder. Their simple faith was wonderful to behold!

Taunya had a better time in Relief Society than I had in Priesthood, as Elders Quorum was almost exclusively Telugu. An occasional English word was written on the board, and interspersed in long passionate comments by several of the brethren.

We chatted with and had some lunch with the Bairds, who arrived yesterday and are happy to be here and to serve the members and leaders. They have such a good spirit and zest for the work!

We met with the district presidency for a few minutes, and discussed ways they could help us carry out the Church’s mission to care for the poor and needy in this area.

Back to the apartment to reflect on life’s little adventures, and the big adventures that are still to come!

Disclaimer: As tender mercies go, this first one was pretty low key, compared with other ones we have seen this week.

But still so exciting! We and two other couples were invited by President and Sister William to visit Agra and see the Taj Mahal!

This happened on Monday. We had a very early start to our day, leaving by 5:15, riding with Anil (the professional driver for the mission) in the mission car. The others — President and Sister William, Elder and Sister Bingham, and Elder and Sister Baird — rode in the mission van. It was a long ride — 2.5 hours — but we enjoyed talking with Anil, who regaled us with his miraculous conversion story!

We got to Agra, and after a pit stop at the Marriott hotel where we were going to have lunch after our tours, it was off to the Taj Mahal.

A crazy number of souvenir hawkers accosted us on the way from the parking lot to the shuttle, but then our tour guide met us and we shuttled away from them.

The tour, complete with historical and political commentary, and of course descriptions of the marvelous architecture and workmanship, lasted about 90 minutes. We saw the Taj Mahal from three of four directions, saw the optical illusion of the four towers — one at each corner — whose cylindrical sides looked parallel due to the flare in size at the top to counter the perspective. We went up to the main structure and touched the ivory-white marble facing, then after putting on booties went inside where no photography is allowed.

 

 

 

Our guide, Muhammed Ali, took many pictures, of couples and the whole group, along with some specialty shots (mirrored and reflected images).

 

 

 

 

Interestingly, there were signs around the grounds warning visitors to not tease, irritate, or even make eye contact with the monkeys — however, no monkeys were to be seen, because the groundskeepers had cleared them all out in preparation for visits by dignitaries in conjunction with the G20 Summit to be held in India later this year. I looked it up and learned that India, during its G20 presidency, intends to hold in all about 200 events across the country!

After that, we drove over to the Agra Fort and had another fascinating tour of that structure complex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saying goodbye to our guide, we went back to the hotel for a delicious buffet lunch with all the Northern Indian food we could eat. We swapped with the Bairds for the trip back to New Delhi and had a delightful conversation with President and Sister William.

Another huge highlight of our week was meeting Elder Uchtdorf. He was visiting India this week to meet with government officials, and also the missionaries and the members.

Thursday is when we saw him and Sister Uchtdorf, shook their hands, had pictures taken, and most significantly were taught and edified by their words in the afternoon Mission Conference, and again that evening at a New Delhi Stake special devotional. One thing Elder Uchtdorf said, more than once, and that really stuck in my mind, was that Christ is the center of everything. It reverberated and resonated and surfaced in some thoughts I will share below.

We met again with Vinay Stephen on Friday. What a good man! He took us to see two buildings they have and use for their charitable work, and for which we are working on a proposal to refurbish and make them more suitable to helping more people. (Like adding on a kitchen to serve meals to some of the homeless.)

The people we saw who are employed by the Sadik Masih Society, as well as Vinay himself (their director), have a great spirit about them, and it is a joy to try to figure out ways we can collaborate with them on humanitarian projects to serve the poor and needy.

Here are my thoughts as I pondered our collaboration with these good people.

How do we learn to make Jesus — the center of everything — the Author and Finisher of our faith — how do we make Him the central focus of our lives?

Taunya reiterated the hows in her talk today (see below). Pray to Heavenly Father, read and study the scriptures (feast on the words of Christ), and serve.

Another thought: Learn to look for and see Him everywhere, in every sight we see with our natural and our spiritual eyes, especially looking at people and seeing the Light of Christ in their eyes. See the goodness and virtue in them.

It was Monday evening that the Bishop of our ward here asked Taunya and me if we would give the talks, which we did today in Sacrament Meeting. It was fun, although a little stressful, as any of you who have given talks can relate to!

And now for the great news! It was a wonderful tender mercy that we have been certified to move! The inscrutable gears of bureaucracy fell into place and the paperwork was completed. (The e-certificates were emailed to us as proof!) We are now one step closer to moving to our new assignment.

More info to come as we learn more!