Dear Family,
So Rajahmundry has always been known as the 'missionary factory' in the mission and I am starting to see why now. For one reason there are so many good youth here and they really don't have anything better to do than to go with the missionaries. Institute classes are packed with members because that is the fun thing to do on a Saturday night. It's kind of crazy but these kids are so righteouss. They are really going to pave the way for the future of India. But the sad thing about Rajahmundry is that despite 300,000 people it is still considered a village and therefore there are no real good jobs for people with degrees. So what usually ends up happening is that the young members finish their degrees, go on a mission, and then leave Raj. So we're constantly having to fill the young single adults.
But now we are focusing on a more permanent purpose: families. Families in Rajahmundry stay put, and that's what we need most. The branch president told us during a PEC meeting to focus on finding families and no sooner than he said it, the Lord started to bless us with families. We have been finding so many families lately and they are really good. The other day we were on exchange with a younger member, Arun, and he stops us on the road and says "hey come and meet my cousin". We're thinking of another 17 year old kid but we knock on the door and find a young family with two kids and everyone is speaking perfect English. The father's name is Kalidas, mother is Jyothi, the daughter is Monica and the 4-year old son is Shenkar. They were a great family and wanted us to come back so made a return appointment and left. I turned to Arun and said "Arun, when I ask you if you have any referrals for--Those are the people I'm talking about!" He just laughed and said "okay my darling".
Well Chaitanya and Indu were baptized and the photos are enclosed herein so you can see them. Them and their two children are going to be amazing members. Chaitanya is so interested in the Holy Ghost and the priesthood, I can't wait until he gets them both. We went to their house on Monday to have Family Home Evening with them and it was simple but so much fun. We taught Indu how to lead music, we taught the family how to pray in English, we played games and we even had treats. We went around in a circle and said what we were all thankful for. When it was Chaitanya's turn he said he was thankful that God sent us to his door to show him the true church. Although I'm not sure he knew it, he bore a beautiful testimony.
So India is really great and I've had a lot of spiritual experiences but there are some really strange things which I'm not sure whether to laugh at or be completely disgusted with. For the past couple of days we've been seeing a man with no pants stand up against a wall with his back towards us and touch his butt and then touch the wall. Sorry for the disgusting image I may have left in your head but I felt like it needed to be said. But there are a lot of funny things to laugh at, some of which are the cows and buffaloes. They just mosy around wherever they want and people just treat them like community pet. There is a Hindu tradition where the people will take the cow poop and mix it with some water. Then they will spread it all over in front of their door. When I first saw my companion told me what it was and I couldn't believe it but then I saw an 8-year old kid running with a bucket of poop he had collected for his mother.
I hope to be able to send some scenery pictures home because there is some pretty amazing landscape. There is one road which we go by almost everyday and on either side are vivid, green rice patties. I just wish the weather was as beautiful as the scenery. It's starting to get really hot now and it's only going to get hotter. You should see my collar tan line, it's probably the most distinct tan line I have on my whole body. I was looking at my neck in the mirror and above the collar it is a nice tan that I would find respectable back home and below is translucent white. I think that it even glows in the dark.
Well I'm going to sign off for now and read your letters. I hope everything is going fine. Paige I think your finally graduated now. Congratulations! Thank you for all your love and support.
I love you a million crazy cows,
Elder Mackay
No comments:
Post a Comment