One Year Mark

Heyyyyyyyyy!!!

1 YEAR!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! I don't know how it went by this fast, and I don't know how I made it a year without getting a one way ticket back to Marsh Valley. But here I am and I am happier than ever, just living life in India as a missionary. This week we had transfers and it was tough to leave Noida and Elder Mani, but I am excited to serve in a new area called Lajpat Nagar. (Lodge Putt) I am serving with Elder Karkala as a Zone Leader. We are the Zone Leaders of the Delhi East zone, covering Noida, Lajpat Nagar, and Malviya Nagar. We are already so busy which is nice.  I am excited for the opportunity to serve in this assignment and help the mission progress. Elder Karkala is a longtime friend in the mission and a really cool guy.  He is from Hyderabad. So I now have a Tellegu speaking companion again, my favorite Indian language, and we will be drinking a lot of Thums Up and eating a lot of Hyderabadi Biryani. 

I have a lot to do as a Zone Leader, but I am enjoying Lajpat Nagar. We are in inner Delhi and in a very nice area with more people in the middle class of India. The missionary work is awesome and many people already know and understand English, and a lot of people are just more interested. The Branch is very good and has leaders that can lead without the help of missionaries. We only focus on bringing more people into the church which is weird because for the last year I have been teaching lessons, talking in sacrament at least once a month or more, and helping the branches grow and develop. Now I kind of get to just sit back and focus on being a missionary. There is great food and awesome places to go in Delhi.  We are right in the middle of all the crazy night life and big fancy rich people with nice cars. It's going to be fun.

What else is happening? My MTC companion Elder Stephens and I are living together finally, he is awesome and we have a lot of fun, especially at our year mark together. We are the best at playing this game called Carrom and the Indians who have been playing their whole lives can't stop us, it's really fun. Also, right outside our apartment is a badminton court that we can play on every morning for exercise and every p day too. I have got to get better at that though. 

Things are going great here and I am such a happy person. If there is anything that I have learned in the first year, it's just that I know the Gospel is true. It truly is. I cannot tell you how many experiences I have had to just prove it to me, miracles truly are happening all over the world. I know that what I am doing is worth every hard time and it’s worth walking in the hot Indian sun and not having toilet paper and not watching football. It's worth it all, because the blessings are real. I love the gospel, and am so thankful that I get one more year to serve these people. 

Never give up in your trials, in all things choose the right, be a good person, love everyone, and love Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. If you do these things you can make it through anything, including one year in foreign country with nobody you know and completely out of your element. I'm here because the Savior has been with me at every step, without Him, I would be so lost in this world. 

Love,

Elder Armstrong