So ... an update has been demanded! Actually, I've been working offline on several updates but haven't gotten around to actually posting them. I'm several trips and local festivals behind.
Before I start inundating you with Halloween and our trip to Trichy, I need to make a quick mention of Thursday evening's experience.
There's a new family in our branch that has three kids in the Primary. Cheryl, Janaki and I wanted to visit them as a Primary presidency, but we delayed until we could arrange a time when John and Janaki's husband, Gopi, could join us because of the language barrier (only the father speaks much English) and because they live in a poor neighborhood where Cheryl and I might attract unwanted attention.
The stars aligned Thursday night and we were finally able to make the visit. The family lives in a neighborhood where the streets are too narrow for anything wider than a motorcyle, so we left our car at a nearby train station and walked along a stinking canal and past several garbage heaps, turned down a side street and found their flat.
We climbed a set of tight, dark stairs and arrived at their room, smaller than Evie and Samuel's bedroom, with a sink and cooktop in one corner and open shelving, on which everything they owned was stacked neatly, against one wall. There was no furniture at all, just a small woven mat on the floor. The entire family of five -- mom and dad, a 12-year-old girl, and 10- and 8-year-old boys -- live in this one room. There's a bathroom and pump out the door and around a corner on a balcony. I'm not sure, but I believe the bathroom is shared with other tenants.
We sat cross-legged on the floor and talked about Primary and the Sacrament meeting program that the kids will be participating in. Abiya, the daughter, had some questions about feeling the Spirit, so we talked about that, too. We helped Abiya prepare her talk for the program and her brother prepare his scripture reading. We shared scriptures about the sons of Helaman and the faith they were taught by their mothers.
The mother served us coconut rice and sweet, hot milk. The Spirit was strong, and the family was eager and happy. The visit was both beautiful and difficult. I felt exactly as I had in the first days of my mission to Brazil, and during branch activities in the Congo, and at all the times when it seemed clear how simple the gospel truly is. Activity days, Faith in God, Scouting ... they're all great programs, but they're just trimmings really. On Thursday night, I saw a family working together to improve their lives through the gospel, happy to have someone there to help out a little. I hope I never forget the experience.
Before I start inundating you with Halloween and our trip to Trichy, I need to make a quick mention of Thursday evening's experience.
There's a new family in our branch that has three kids in the Primary. Cheryl, Janaki and I wanted to visit them as a Primary presidency, but we delayed until we could arrange a time when John and Janaki's husband, Gopi, could join us because of the language barrier (only the father speaks much English) and because they live in a poor neighborhood where Cheryl and I might attract unwanted attention.
The stars aligned Thursday night and we were finally able to make the visit. The family lives in a neighborhood where the streets are too narrow for anything wider than a motorcyle, so we left our car at a nearby train station and walked along a stinking canal and past several garbage heaps, turned down a side street and found their flat.
We climbed a set of tight, dark stairs and arrived at their room, smaller than Evie and Samuel's bedroom, with a sink and cooktop in one corner and open shelving, on which everything they owned was stacked neatly, against one wall. There was no furniture at all, just a small woven mat on the floor. The entire family of five -- mom and dad, a 12-year-old girl, and 10- and 8-year-old boys -- live in this one room. There's a bathroom and pump out the door and around a corner on a balcony. I'm not sure, but I believe the bathroom is shared with other tenants.
We sat cross-legged on the floor and talked about Primary and the Sacrament meeting program that the kids will be participating in. Abiya, the daughter, had some questions about feeling the Spirit, so we talked about that, too. We helped Abiya prepare her talk for the program and her brother prepare his scripture reading. We shared scriptures about the sons of Helaman and the faith they were taught by their mothers.
The mother served us coconut rice and sweet, hot milk. The Spirit was strong, and the family was eager and happy. The visit was both beautiful and difficult. I felt exactly as I had in the first days of my mission to Brazil, and during branch activities in the Congo, and at all the times when it seemed clear how simple the gospel truly is. Activity days, Faith in God, Scouting ... they're all great programs, but they're just trimmings really. On Thursday night, I saw a family working together to improve their lives through the gospel, happy to have someone there to help out a little. I hope I never forget the experience.
Amy, this is what I miss about living overseas. The impressions on your heart that moments like these make are very rare indeed.
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