Week 88: Santa Claus is coming to town...

Dear Fam and Friends,

Last week we were able to meet Ashita and her parents at their home. They were very welcoming to us Elders. After we shared a scripture Ashita pulled out her Liahona and asked us some questions from Thomas S. Monson's talk. She had the entire talk all marked up.In my entire life of being in this church I have never done that. It was amazing to see her desire to learn more about our church. She was able to attend church. But she had to leave early because she wasn't feeling well. But she did accept to be baptized on January 8th. We are very excited for her decision.

It was cool to be interviewed by Elder Funk and President Hodges last week. Elder Funk just asked us how our mission experiences have been and what success that we've seen. It's funny because I actually met him 3 days before I reported to the MTC at an all India mission reunion. He said he remembered meeting me. I think he was just saying that to make me feel good.

Last night while riding back to our apartment in an auto I saw this big thing moving up ahead of us. We were traveling on the free way and I was puzzled to what it could be. Then when we got close enough I screamed. IT WAS A FLIPPING ELEPHANT!! YES AN ELEPHANT! I almost told our driver to pull over so I could ride the Elephant home. I'm going to ride an Elephant before I leave this place. If I don't, then people are going to question if I really served in India.

I'm way stoked to Skype home this week.

Elder Dusara

Week 87: New investigator, Ashita. Vivik brings friends...

Hello,

This past week was okay. We finally had a investigator come to church. Her name is Ashita. She also attends the level 3 English class. She comes from a christian background and she has a great understanding to the gospel. We are planning on inviting her to be baptized this week. We were finally able to meet with Vivik as well. He brought 4 more of his friends from English Class. One of them actually attends St.Dominic church just one block away. She said she was going to come yesterday but didn't show up.

I also read somewhere that walking around the streets of Delhi in the winter is the same thing as smoking 8 cigarettes a day. Today we have a sweet lunch appointment lined up with Brother Beesa from 2nd Branch. Then after that we are going to use one of the couple missionaries kitchens to bake chocolate chip cookies and deliver them out to members and investigators. Hopefully I can remember what my mom taught me back at home.

We are planning for our white elephant gift exchange next week. Then we have district meeting tomorrow with English class later in the evening. We already have Christmas booked with church, dinner appointment with couple missionaries, mission activity, and dinner at a members home. I think he is from Fort Lauderdale or something like that. 

One of the couple missionaries (the Hubards) went to Gujrat last month and they said that it looks like northern Arizona. I'll probably skype from their apartment. I'll do it the day after Chirstmas for me early in the morning like at 5 or 6.

The lines at the atms are like 3 hours long. last friday we woke up early and waited at the atm before 6am.. we still ended up waiting for 30 minutes. Also i finally weighed myself and I've lost 7 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I'm down to 175

Merry Christmas

From,

Elder Dusara

Week 86: Meeting with pastor and others

Happy December Everyone,

Last week we continued to struggle with meeting with our investigators consistently. We visited the Paul family with their pastor. He is really nice. When we walked in his home there was a few other members from their church that were there. They were all meeting for prayer. They were all showed great hospitality towards us. They all prayed that we have success in building the Lords kingdom. We hope that things will turn around this week.

We have a nativity program at the church every Saturday with snacks and games. We also show all Christmas videos on our tvs.

Also I have started to try to complete activity on the light the world campaign. We try to share this video and the message that it holds with as many people as we can. If you haven't seen it check it out. It's a great Christmas video for everyone.

https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_25-11-2016_dMIS_fmorg_xLIDyL1-A_

I invited all of you to light the world in 25 ways over 25 days!

Elder Dusara

Week 85: Three Thanksgiving dinners

Hey Everyone,

So this past week was a little rough. We were unable to meet with Vivick and Sonu because they were busy with studying for exams. Then on top of that the Paul family didn't attend church. Elder Lakshmanan and I already discussed that if they don't attend church or keep their commitment of reading the BOM then we will have to move onto someone new.

But on the bright side we had not one. not two, but three thanksgiving dinners. The first dinner was with the Session Family (Ex-Pat). They are a young family in 2nd Branch. They meet in the same church building as us at 11Am. There was 20 total people total in attendance. It was amazing to have a typical American Thanksgiving on the other side of the world. It was funny because half the people were Americans and the other half were Indians. So its kinda similar to the history of thanksgiving on how the Pilgrims and the Native Americans stopped fighting to share a feast. Then later that night we had another dinner but with the Massey family. This was our round 2 of Thanksgiving because they had all american food.

Then on Saturday 12 of us missionaries traveled to the Goldrup (Ex-Pat) household for another Thanksgiving dinner.The food was super tasty. Sister Goldrup even made Jello with pretzels... I know that sounds weird but it was pretty tasty. Then On Sunday Sister Parker gave us Honey ham. It's been about 23 months since I've had honey ham. I was on cloud 9.

Elder Dusara

Week 84: New boys from english class, teasing monkeys...

Hey,

This past week was awesome. It's so awesome to directly see the blessings of being more obedient. We started teaching 3 kids from English Class, but one of them isn't in our area. The ones that we are teaching are Vivik and Sonu. They are 12 and 13 years old. They met with us 3 times last week. We also met with their parents to make sure that they were okay with us teaching them. Both of their parents were okay with it. But they are way awesome. They even came to church in white shirts. Peter and his wife still haven't came to church. That's a big bummer for us. No worries. We will focus more on Vivik and Sonu instead.

FUNNY STORIES
While walking to the cyber cafe I bought a couple bannanas for some monkeys that were hanging on the balcony above me. I tossed one banana up to the second monkey and I threw it kinda fast. THE MONKEY DID NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! It started to growl at me and  flare it's ears out. I thought it was going to pounce on me. I already had made the decision in my mind that if it did that I would be ready to fight back and be the first missionary in history to wrestle with a monkey in india. But it disappeared

Then last week while my auto was stopped at a red light a little begger girl was asking me for money but I ignored her. Then she asked for my water and I ignored her again. Then she just grabbed my water bottle and walked off... what the flip. I got robbed by a 5 year old.

Its now in the 70s during the day and in the 50's at night. This money crisis is still a mess. The lines at the average atm is about 1 hour. AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

Elder Dusara

Week 83: Finding more new families, meeting with Elder Evans

Hello,

We found four new homes in our branch directory. Three of those families haven't been visited in a long time. They asked us if we knew an Elder Green and I'm pretty sure that he finished his mission about 3 years ago. We also started re-teaching someone from our English Class named Raja. He's 20 and he needs guidance and motivation in his life. We are continuing to teach Brother Peter and his wife. They still haven't made the full commitment to come to church. But we are praying that their faith will increase so that they may do so. We even had Sister Nisha at our last lesson to bare her testimony.

The visit with Elder Evans was awesome. I received some new insights on how I can be a better missionary and individual. He explained to us that there is a difference between being obedient and being faithful. We are obedient when we are asked to do something and we do it. We are faithful when we do things without being asked. He also talked about being "rich" in scripture terms compared to worldly term. We are "rich" by scripture terms when we can provide the basic needs for ourselves and our families., with having a little bit extra to give to those in need. Then "rich" in worldly terms is owing whatever the newest fashions and materialistic things are.

Also to get rid of fake and black money in this country. Everyone was instructed to exchange any 500 and 1000 rupee note bills to the banks to get the new 2000 rupee note. That's like if in the US if we were told to exchange all 10,20,and 100 notes to the bank. All the lines at the banks have literally been worse than the lines at Disney Land. I waited about 45 minutes just to exchange about 2500 rupee ($40USD).

I'm healthy and I'm happy. I'm just trying to get through this month with this whole money exchange thing.

Elder Dusara

Week 82: Found new family to teach, meetings this week

Hey,

This past week was great! I'm amazed at how fast it went by. Elder Lakshmanan found a family of 3 in Mahipalpur while we were trying to find a member's house. We have met with him two times already. The first meeting we had he asked us about the Godhead on if it's one person or three different beings. Then in the second meeting he asked us where in the bible that it talks about the book of mormon. We showed him the scripture in Ezekiel. We invited him to church and he said that him and his wife will come but they were not able to make it.

Today was a lazy P-Day. We went to Taco Bell for lunch and then I bought a rubiks cube. After this we have a dinner appointment Bro Suresh. Him and his family used to live in bangalore. My brother actually visited him and his family a lot when he was on his mission. He said tha Chicken Biriyani is on the menu for tonight.

This week we will have a zone meeting with Elder Evans from the seventy. Then This weekend is also district conference. Then tomorrow is district meeting. So this week I will be pretty busy. The Branch members out here are awesome. I'm excited for the rest of the week

Elder Dusara

Week 81: New area Munirka branch, Diwali in Delhi

Hello all,

I'm a little bit sad that my time in Pitampura is over. I was hoping to stat for one more transfer. But I'm very excited to be a part of the Munirka branch. I'm very excited to get out and work to find new people everyday. I've honestly been in the best mood since i got here.

I'm already loving my apartment mates. Elder Parthiban does a a great job of making sure everyone goes to bed with food in their belly. Last week we were able to meet two old investigators. I remembered coming to their home about 7 months ago when I was on an exchange with Elder Mall. We have a return appointment set up for next Friday. She also said that she wanted to attend English Class this week as well. I'm just way stoked to be in the area that I'm in! Also I'm still a district leader but in a new area.I live 3 minutes walking from the mission home.

My new companion is Elder Lakshmanan and he is from Bagalore, India. We are both opening up a new area. He's a hardworking missionary and I'm excited to see what this transfer holds.

Last night was Diwali and there was a ton of fireworks going all night long. The pollution level this morning was 1578. Back at home it won't go any higher than 50. I'm wearing a mask to help keep my lungs safe.

Today we went to a huge Muslim Mosque called Jama Musjid. It was massive and there was tons of foreigners there. We actually ran into an old church member from Switzerland. I also ran into a he/she while walking up a narrow spiral stair case.

This week we have a lot of finding set up and I feel that my companion and I will have a lot of success.


Elder Dusara

Week 80: Meeting Udith on the court, Diwali in Delhi

Dear Family and Friends

Yesterday we had the opportunity to watch the Primary Program. Those Primary songs will always have a special place in my heart and bring back memories of being in Primary. Yesterday when Elder Mani and I were looking for a sports complex that was open. A stranger came up to us and asked if we were school students. We told him about how we are missionaries and we didn't even have to bring up the fact that we teach English class. His name is Udith and he is not Hindu and he believes that there is a higher power, but he just doesn't know what that higher power is. He invited us to come back next Sunday to play basketball with him so we could play and talk more. We told him that we would meet up this week. He speaks perfect English which is a huge blessing. Elder Mani and I are both very excited to meet back with him and to discuss The Restoration pamphlet.

Last week all eight of us missionaries went to the Massey's home for dinner and birthday cake. I had some pretty amazing Shai Paneer. I would highly recomend it if you want to try indian food.

This week is transfers and we will find out tomorrow night if we are being transferred or not. I'm content with where ever my Heavenly Father wants me to go. Also this Sunday is Dilwali. It's a HUGE Hindu holiday out here. It can be compared to the same hype that we have for Christmas in the United States. So on Sunday night all missionaries will have to be in our apartments by 6PM.

HAPPY DIWALI!!
Elder Dusara

Week 79: Finding new less active families is a blessing

Hey,

This past week was much better than last. My family arrived safely in Australia. We were FINALLY able to find a new investigator. But we already have to drop him because he's a Muslim. There is a rule stating that we shouldn't teach him just for the safety of us and him from his family. But we also were able to find new new less-active families in our area. This week we are bringing Ankush (YSA member) with us to find two more homes. This was a big blessing to my companion and I. It feels amazing to know that we are finding our Heavenly Fathers lost sheep.

Last week we also had our zone meeting where we were able to receive training on how we can become better missionaries. Also next Monday we have a sports activity with our zone. Count on me playing basketball and soccer the entire time.

New Delhi is very close to become a stake. I think the papers will be submitted by the end of this year.

I love you all
Go Seahawks

Elder Dusara

New Delhi zone

Week 78: A change in attitude...

Hey,

This past week was hands down the WORST week for me numbers wise. Today we are going through our area book to see if we can start teaching some old investigators again. Also one of my goals this week is to change my attitude . So far its working. I'm handling the stresses of being a missionary much better. My thoughts aren't on me. I'm constantly looking for ways to help people around me. I think that watching all the conference sessions made me have a change of heart.

Tomorrow is our Zone Meeting. Afterwards. Elder and Sister Hubbard offered to make an Indian dish with paneer for the entire zone. Also tomorrow all missionaries need to be at their apartments by 6PM because its and Inidan Holiday called Dussehra (Its pronounced the same way as my last name)

Things could be a lot worse for me right now. I could be sick or having family struggles at home. I'm thankful for the life and family that I have and I'm excited to see them all in 6 months. I've still got more work to do while I'm here. Thank you for all the support that you give me.

Elder Dusara

Week 77: Trip to the zoo

Hello,

Wait! Stop! You're probably wondering why I'm sending you this email today and not yesterday right? The computer that I had yesterday wasn't working and there was no more systems available. Plus directly after emailing the district had a dinner appointment at the Massey familys' home.

 This transfer I've felt that my mission has slowed down a lot. This past week Elder Mani and I tried to go finding in the morning at some local parks or populated areas. We had our sprinkle of success. Looking back on the week I feel like it blew by. I want that feeling for the rest of my mission. I'm going to try to do a better job of making my mornings more effective. We are still struggling to find new investigators. Maybe our luck will change this week.

Yesterday for P-day we went to the zoo as a district. I LOVE big animals. It was way cool to see a Bengal Tiger as well as a White Tiger.

This week I've learned that everyone has problems. There is not a single person on this planet that doesn't have problems. We can all help one another in listening to each other's problems and doing everything we can to help. We ALL could use someone to listen to us.

Elder Dusara

Week 76: Needing to grow the teaching pool...

Namaste,

My area is tough but we just had Nisha confirmed yesterday and that was a big blessing. We have no more progressing investigators now so it's back to square one. As we are struggling a new goal that we have set for ourselves is to try our best to strengthen the member that we already have.

Today we had a zone activity in the space next to the mission office. I had a blast playing. It's been over a year since I've played. My team won all of their games. Afterwards we went into the chapel to play some games. Then everyone went to Vedantas (Famous Indian resturant among missionaries).

More finding is in store for me this week. Finding is actually my biggest weakness in missionary work so let's see how this goes.

Elder Dusara

Elder Armstrong and Dusara

Week 75: Nisha gets baptized

Hello all,

I was surprised to find out that I was staying in Pitampura with Elder Mani. Him and I get along well so it's not a bad thing at all. Nisha was baptized yesterday by me. It felt good to get back in the water. She can be a great help in the branch. Her English is pretty good and she has very good understanding once something is explained to her. Also, at church the is a student from BYU-Idaho that has been visiting our branch for the past 3 months and his name is Timothy. He gave his first talk in two years about complimenting others and how this can make someones day. That's something that I'm going to implement into my missionary work.

There is honestly only one area that we visit that has semi active members that we visit. It is sometimes rough for us because we find ourselves in the same routine. This week we are planning on contacting some referrals with our members. I'm back to being the district leader in Pitampura.

Nothing really exciting about this week. I'm sorry that this letter is pretty bland.

Go Hawks!

Elder Dusara

Nisha's baptism

Elder Basil and Dusara with Timothy

Week 74: Testimony grows each week, Chand's last p-day

Hello,

This past week we had to move Nisha's baptismal date because she is still working on breaking her tea habit. But she is back on track for this Sunday. This past week I really enjoyed our zone meeting. I took down some notes that I need to review so that I can better use the tools in my missionary work.

Elder Mani has adjusted to missionary life well. We finish our 12 week training this week. I'm glad that I had the chance to go through the program again.

I feel that my testimony grows every week whenever we have a guest speaker in our branch. Sister Hodges gave us some constructive feedback on how we can teach "Ye Shall Have My Word" better. With transfers this week I think I speak for everyone in the mission when I say that i'm excited and ambitious for what transfers has in store.

Last night for dinner I made hash browns and scrambled eggs. Who says I cant cook?

Last week after zone meeting we had some chilli soup that was made by Sister Adams. Then afterwards we went to Johnny Rockets for shakes. I ordered two large shakes... The waitresses had a lot of questions about our beliefs and we invited them to read the Book of Mormon. I never thought that, that would happen.

Today for Elder Chands last P-Day we went to an Indian restaurant. There was about 10 of us Elders. I had butter chicken and naan. I'm still not tired of that combination. Afterwards Elder and Sister Hubbard bought us ice cream.

Elder Dusara

Streets of Delhi

Breakfast is served

6 month remaining pant sacrifice

6 month burn