"So we had a small opportunity to teach about the history of Elijah..."

August 3, 2011

My first transfer is officially over! Wow! Two months in already! When they say that the time on your mission flies by, they weren't kidding!
Speaking of holidays, Indian Independence Day is on August 15. There's another holiday two days earlier, but it has a weird name and I don't know anything about it. The only holiday that I'm looking forward to is Holi. It looks amazing! Basically it's a holiday that allows you to throw paint at each other. Not sure how it applies to missionaries. Apparently we get to join in on our P-Day and have some fun with paint. You should see the pictures that they have here!
Everything's the same here. Elder Varada's still my companion. Still in Malviyah Nagar. Still haven't sent out post cards. Still...um...working hard. hahaha.
Yesterday I went on exchange with Elder Avans. One of our visits was with the Reetu family. Elder Avans had worked with them when he had served in Malviyah Nagar. They’re still investigating the church. We stopped by because Elder Varada and I believed that they would like to see a familiar face. We gave them an invitation to the District Conference (this Saunday). The daughter, Nidhi (10 years old), had a question about the picture in the front; a picture of Elijah visiting Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple. So we had a small opportunity to teach about the history of Elijah; the famine that lasted for two years, and his eventual Translation. I explained about the prophecy in Malachi, where it said that Elijah would return “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” And now, because of Elijah’s return, everybody around the world wants to know their family history and is doing genealogy work. She seemed really interested in our lesson. She had to translate for her mother, who wasn’t very comfortable with English. Overall , it was a good lesson. Nidhi said that she wanted to know more about the Ten Commandments, so Elder Avans showed her where they are in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah chapters 12 and 13).
As it turns out, Elder Avans is American. Elder Randall, another Elder, is also American. They have grandparents that are Indian, and so they get to come here under what is called a P.I.O. No idea what that means. But apparently they get to come to India all of their life; I guess it's like dual citizenship. So, there are 6 American missionaries, and not just the four that we had thought! He goes back next April. I don't know when Elder Randall leaves. We talked about his life in Delhi a lot. He still misses hamburgers. His mom sent him homemade beef jerky today for his package. And some other stuff, but he mainly stuck with the beef jerky. He gave me a few pieces. It was very good! I'm not a huge fan of beef jerky. But beef has its own unique flavor to it. Or so I've noticed, anyway.
Elder Bunga is now our solo Assistant. With Elder Chelladurai gone, the mantle now falls on him. His companion is a Stripling Warrior; a member that acts as a missionary companion for some time (usually a full transfer) in order to gain experience in the work before going on their own mission. His new companion is named Brother Balwant. He is the Elders Quorum President of Pitampura Branch. Every Sunday he goes back to Pitampura while Elder Bunga comes to Malviyah Nagar with a member. Balwant has been a member since December. He goes on his mission in October. That means that he won't even be a member for a full year before leaving! Truly inspirational. I'm fairly certain that he'll be serving in the Bangalore Mission. If I remember correctly.
I went to the local mall this morning with Elder Avans before going to reunite with Elder Varada. he wanted Barbacue Sauce, and so I tagged along. We arrived at a store that was predominantly American. As he was looking for his barbacue sauce, I looked at some of the prices on the products.
2 Reeses package: 125 rupees
8 Reeses package: 725 rupees
Poptarts box: I think 700 rupees.
Twix: 40 rupees (thank goodness!)
Reeses pieces (very small bag): 75 rupees
That's all that I can remember. I can also buy 6 Oreo cookies for about 20 rupees, a Gatorade for about 60 rupees, and a Sprite for about 35 rupees. Those come from a small store near our apartment. We go there sometimes for bread and stuff. A good meal of chicken and rice doesn't cost more than 100 rupees at any time. Roti and Chole costs about 20 rupees for 3 rotis and a small bowl of chole. So the candy in that store is fairly expensive. I may go back for some Twix, but I think that the Reeses are outside of my price range. Skittles are nowhere to be found.
Thanks for the tip on the Ibuprofen. It says that it works on stomach problems, so I took one on Saturday and Sunday nights. After that, I got better and haven't worried about it since.
India is a truly beautiful place. As soon as I find an SD Card Reader, I'll email you a few pictures.
Love you all!
Elder Montgomery