Today was church! We went to the brand new church building in Chennai - a 2 hour drive. It is a beautiful building and it looks very out of place in the dirty, noisy city.
Today the first stake was organized in India and I think Elder Holland was the one coming but I'm not sure.
In sacrament meeting a new member was confirmed and two woman were being baptized after church. This growth is amazing. It was strange for me to hear Indians speak of Christ. I am used to seeing Hindu gods all over, not paintings of The Last Supper. I am used to seeing men wearing dirty clothes and no shoes, not suits and ties. It was a comforting change and it filled me with joy.
Prosalating is against the law here so any growth is through members taking action and referring to missionaries. Three families were gone today because they had traveled to Hong Kong to be sealed in the temple. Hong Kong! These members are so devoted and powerfully faithful.
A man gave a talk today who started an orphanage as 20 yr old and is now a doctor. The talk was about family values: fhe ,prayer , scripture study, communication, love, and encouragement. He also used The Family Proclamation to talk about husbands and wives being equal partners and how men are to work hard to support their family - an interesting topic from a cultural standpoint.
It was a great talk and it could have been given in any American ward. The Gospel is the same wherever you go and the needs if the people are often very similar, no matter the language or culture. Family is a core doctrine and this man did a great job of laying down the foundation stones of a faithful family.
Throughout the day the theme was faithful individuals = happy families = wards grow= more stakes= temple in India one day. That is their main focus and goal and I believe they will acheive that sooner rather than later just based on the faith I saw today from a few of the members.
Relief society was fantastic! A woman gave the lesson about the Book of Mormon and why it is important to us. Inspiration is universal, we all have the right to receive it. This woman was inspired to teach this topic and it was powerfully done. I am continually impressed with the woman of India. The ones I met today were smart women. Women work hard here! Im not sure if I have mentioned this before but the women are always working! They are always carrying something, getting water, cooking, sweeping with their bundle of sticks/palm fronds, taking care of kids, or leading the cows. The men are always standing around the city just relaxing next to a little shop their friend owns. It is quite confusing. I haven't figured out what they do all day.
Anyway, the Relief Society President have a beautiful testimony at the end and said, "Pray for us, that we may have a temple in India. Visit often and enjoy the blessings of the temple because it is so close to you."
It makes me wonder how many times I take for granted having a temple two miles from my apartment in Provo. They desire the blessings of a temple so badly and I hope their growth will continue and a temple will be announced.
Another thing i thougt about were the Hymns. Many were about saints/pioneers and i thought about how odd it is that those were all the ones we sang but then I thought about it more. These people are pioneers in this country. They ate laying the foundation of the church in this nation. They are incredible people for sure.
We got home around 230 with nothing to do. It was hot today. 111 degrees!!! Without the humidity factored in. I felt the heat today more than I ever have because I was bored and didn't have anything to distract me.
Dinner was great tonight! We had chicken and fruit and cucumbers! Most meals consist of rice, a flat bread and potato something.. Starch starch and starch. It is starting to really gross me out so having those things (along with rice of course) made me so happy. I didn't take a single grain of rice because I just wanted fresh things and meat. So good and not too spicy tonight!
It was a good day although brutally hot. My eyes are still a bit infected/irritated but hopefully the drops will help. The group I am with is awesome and I'm having so much fun with them. Great people, great professors, and great opportunities!
Today the first stake was organized in India and I think Elder Holland was the one coming but I'm not sure.
In sacrament meeting a new member was confirmed and two woman were being baptized after church. This growth is amazing. It was strange for me to hear Indians speak of Christ. I am used to seeing Hindu gods all over, not paintings of The Last Supper. I am used to seeing men wearing dirty clothes and no shoes, not suits and ties. It was a comforting change and it filled me with joy.
Prosalating is against the law here so any growth is through members taking action and referring to missionaries. Three families were gone today because they had traveled to Hong Kong to be sealed in the temple. Hong Kong! These members are so devoted and powerfully faithful.
A man gave a talk today who started an orphanage as 20 yr old and is now a doctor. The talk was about family values: fhe ,prayer , scripture study, communication, love, and encouragement. He also used The Family Proclamation to talk about husbands and wives being equal partners and how men are to work hard to support their family - an interesting topic from a cultural standpoint.
It was a great talk and it could have been given in any American ward. The Gospel is the same wherever you go and the needs if the people are often very similar, no matter the language or culture. Family is a core doctrine and this man did a great job of laying down the foundation stones of a faithful family.
Throughout the day the theme was faithful individuals = happy families = wards grow= more stakes= temple in India one day. That is their main focus and goal and I believe they will acheive that sooner rather than later just based on the faith I saw today from a few of the members.
Relief society was fantastic! A woman gave the lesson about the Book of Mormon and why it is important to us. Inspiration is universal, we all have the right to receive it. This woman was inspired to teach this topic and it was powerfully done. I am continually impressed with the woman of India. The ones I met today were smart women. Women work hard here! Im not sure if I have mentioned this before but the women are always working! They are always carrying something, getting water, cooking, sweeping with their bundle of sticks/palm fronds, taking care of kids, or leading the cows. The men are always standing around the city just relaxing next to a little shop their friend owns. It is quite confusing. I haven't figured out what they do all day.
Anyway, the Relief Society President have a beautiful testimony at the end and said, "Pray for us, that we may have a temple in India. Visit often and enjoy the blessings of the temple because it is so close to you."
It makes me wonder how many times I take for granted having a temple two miles from my apartment in Provo. They desire the blessings of a temple so badly and I hope their growth will continue and a temple will be announced.
Another thing i thougt about were the Hymns. Many were about saints/pioneers and i thought about how odd it is that those were all the ones we sang but then I thought about it more. These people are pioneers in this country. They ate laying the foundation of the church in this nation. They are incredible people for sure.
We got home around 230 with nothing to do. It was hot today. 111 degrees!!! Without the humidity factored in. I felt the heat today more than I ever have because I was bored and didn't have anything to distract me.
Dinner was great tonight! We had chicken and fruit and cucumbers! Most meals consist of rice, a flat bread and potato something.. Starch starch and starch. It is starting to really gross me out so having those things (along with rice of course) made me so happy. I didn't take a single grain of rice because I just wanted fresh things and meat. So good and not too spicy tonight!
It was a good day although brutally hot. My eyes are still a bit infected/irritated but hopefully the drops will help. The group I am with is awesome and I'm having so much fun with them. Great people, great professors, and great opportunities!
So cool! I love that the Gospel is the same everywhere. This reminded me of church in China - the same Spirit penetrates each Child of God. Did they speak in English or did you have a translator for everyone? I can't wait for the day India gets a temple - when they get one - I bet they will shortly need more!
ReplyDeleteEnglish is India's primary language (thanks to the Brits) but Tamal is the most common language we hear. Church was in English but in Relief Society we had to wait every few minutes for the RS Pres to translate into Tamal for those who don't know English.
ReplyDeleteIt will definitely be a long road for them to get a temple but these people are praying and working hard for it!