Week 102: Aradhana gets baptized!

Aradhana's baptism was great. The water was freezing, but I didn't mind because it was hot outside so it was pretty refreshing. Sister Amy Paul was very happy that another member in her family joined the church after 24 years of trying. We will talk with her in our next appointment about who will be confirming her.This Tuesday Sister Amy Paul is taking the entire district out to lunch to celebrate.

This week I have my last zone conference and I'm sad that this is all coming to an end so soon. I'm going to do my best to be a sponge and just let it all soak in.

Some days go by slow, but when I look back at the weeks, the weeks are going by faster. The weather will be in the low 100's for the rest of the week.

Elder Dusara

Week 101: Sister Aradhana's progress, Chhaya keeps progressing...

Hi Everyone,

This past Sunday Sister Aradhana passed her baptism interview and has chosen me to baptize her. We were also finally able to get in contact with Chhaya again. She was also able to attend church this past week and is continuing to battle getting her parents permission to be baptized.

Right now the weather is in the mid 80's. But By next Monday we will reach the 100's. The weather right now is quite refreshing but next week I will be melting...

No big plans this upcoming week. Just finding and meeting new people.

Also my entire body was sore for about 4 days straight after playing competitive sports for the first time in over 7 months.

Elder Dusara

Week 100: Aradhana's progress...Holi in Delhi

This past week was good. We are continuing to teach Aradhana and she is progressing well. She came for sacrament and left to go to the hospital because her arm was giving her pain. But after that she was able to return to church to witness a baptism for Elder Basil's investigator.

Yesterday all of the missionaries were on an apartment lock-down because it was Holi. That's the big color festival. So we just stayed in our apartment and threw water balloons at each other. We even threw some at our neighbors and any kids that walked by our apartment. It was a blast because we got into a serious war with our neighbors on the roof top of our complex.

Today I played basketball for the first time in 8 months. I have a ton of rust to shake off when I go home. But it was a ton of fun because we had about 13 missionaries playing.

Elder Dusara

Going home infographic

Week 99: New companion...elder Chiditholi

Namaste,

I was sad to see Elder Challa go. But Elder Chidithoti (from Hyderabad and been out 4.5 months) is pretty great. This past week we were able to set Aradhna on date for the 26th of this month. She came to church yesterday and she enjoyed it a lot. We were unable to meet with our other investigators, but we will try again for this week.

 Elder Chidithoti wakes up on-time and he's a clean individual. I'd bet that our apartment is the cleanest out of all the elders apartments in the mission. I know this is going to be a transfer to remember. I just hope that I'm able to baptize with him.

Sanjeev actually served in his ward. Elder Chidithoti didn't make the connection that we were brothers until last night when he was looking through my photos from home.

Well today we are planning to try to go Go-carting in a place outside of Delhi called Gurgoun.

Elder Dusara

Other comments from letters to parents:
After almost two years in India, Elder Dusara is able to eat his veggies and fruits. I don't like them but I can eat them and not be grossed out. 

I felt like I was in a different world when I got here. There is so much stuff that you will see that doesn't make any sense. Just be open and ready to adjust to the culture. There are plenty of fast food restaurants in every area. The challenge is finding a decent grocery store for snacks and cereals that taste like home. 

Indian hot dog

Snake charmer