Week Forty

Dear Family, 

 

What a week. I think India is one of the few places on Earth where you can see a man in a BMW honking and trying to get around a herd of bulls in the middle of the busiest street in Noida. I will admit, the cows that roam the roads here remind me of home and the cow poop that is everywhere is just an added bonus. 

This week we had transfers and it went really well. I am still the only American, and the District Leader in Noida, but my companion is now Elder Mani (Money). He is a really good guy and is my batch mate, we both just hit 9 months and we are having some fun together. He likes to work and is a funny guy, so I don't have any problems. His mother tongue is Tamil and is my first Tamilian companion; the others have all been Tellegu. So I am excited to learn Tamil for my Chella Kutti's (sweet hearts or girlfriends) back home. He is 26 years old and he does have trouble speaking English and isn't as strong as other Indians in the language, but we manage. If my emails are shorter in the coming weeks I apologize as his parents are illiterate and don't have a computer. So there is no communication between him and his parents on P day. He can talk to his brother though, and he usually just watches bible videos why his companions email, but I'll feel bad for making him wait.

Last night we spent some time at our investigators home...we got whitewashed into a new area and so we are picking up where the other missionaries left off with some long time investigators we are hoping to get on date soon. Sometimes people just need to feel your love and support instead of being like robots and sharing a scripture and then leaving or eating and then leaving. I like to make my investigators and families feel as if we are a part of their family. Last night we did that by taking funny pictures with the kids and their friends...which I will now print off and give to them to keep. And we played some games and they even taught me how to sing a Hindi song. It feels nice to sometimes just take a step back from the crazy missionary trying to do everything so fast and just slow down show that you care about them.

This week was good, but it was tough, as were some of the weeks leading up to it. I have always been good at putting a smile on my face even in hard times, and if you ask me "Everything is always good". I think I got that stubborn hard headedness from my dad. I have never ever liked asking for help. Ever. And I wasn't about to ask for help from anyone here in India. But right when I needed it the most, I got a package full of love from home. The package had candy and beef jerky, and the multiple personal hygiene products that will help me get through the tough days. But the best thing of all was the card, with a simple reassurance that my parents and family are praying for me and thinking about me all the time. And that means everything. Life hasn't been easy in India and I miss my family. Sometimes when we go through hard times in life we need to realize its okay to ask for and receive help. We know that serving others is important, but sometimes we are the one who needs the service. Heavenly Father has messengers of help all around us, just waiting to give us support. And even more than that our Savior is waiting to help us, waiting to take our struggles away, but we need to kneel down and ask, we need to accept the strength and peace that The Atonement can bring us. I told my mom in every email that I didn't need a package, but it was exactly what I needed to get through another week. Maybe we say we are "fine" or "okay", but maybe we need someone else’s help. Don't be too stubborn this week, there are blessings waiting for us.

Love Elder Armstrong