Twentieth Month Mark

Preston emailed and said he was extremely busy with transfers in the mission and wasn't able to write this week.  He said he would write next week.  He did send some pictures though!

My favorite place is on the rooftops overlooking New Delhi

Picture of Me and Elder Basil

Man who fed us dinner

Week Eighty-Six

Hey guys,

This week has been busy and crazy and tiring, but I wouldn't want it any other way! The days go by so fast, and even though they are going by fast I still have many more left here in Delhi! I love being a missionary and I have grown so much a person being here. 

This week we had Zone Conferences and exchanges. I had the opportunity to go on exchange with Elder Chidithoti. I trained him exactly one year ago and it was cool to see how much he has grown as a missionary. I used to help him in teaching the lessons and inviting people on the streets, he is now a Zone Leader and doing awesome work to help others. Such a great Elder! 

This week Elder Basil was really sick which made our week even harder, but you get used to being sick here so it didn't really bother us so much. The one cool thing about it is he gave one of our newest Elders the opportunity to give him a Priesthood blessing. The new missionary, Elder Kaldhari, speaks almost no English and gave such a powerful blessing in the most simple words. We then watched the First Presidency broadcast from our apartment as Elder Basil laid in bed. We all knew the next Prophet would be President Nelson, but President Oaks was an interesting choice to see. He is very missionary minded so we are excited for that! I had such a good feeling about the broadcast, I know those men are Prophets of God and that they are without a doubt the only men on Earth capable of leading us back to our Heavenly Home. The whole night was just a cool experience to have.

There was one funny experience I want to tell you about. Elder Basil and I have our own phones as assistants because we are always making calls and working things out. And although it's nice to have your own phone and all, we are still working with Nokia phones and Samsung phones from 2005. Seriously it's the biggest struggle to get these things going. And somedays when you have a lot going on and you are super busy, these phones make you pretty frustrated. Well this week I was getting upset with my slow phone and just for fun pretended to throw it at a wall in one of the colonies we were visiting. Elder Basil and I laughed at the thought of watching it break into a million pieces and hopefully getting an Iphone instead. We then realized we were in India and there is always one billion people watching the white guys. We looked around, no one cared. But then we looked up, and on the balcony was a young man about 20 years old. He was laughing at us and thought it was funny, we said hello and explained the process that lead up to the frustration. He asked why we had "simple phones" and we explained. Shubam is now a progressing investigator and loves reading the Book of Mormon. Elder Basil calls it pure luck and help from God, I call it Finding by Faith. Whichever it is, we love being missionaries. Have a good week and enjoy your life. Time goes fast and it waits for no one.

Love,

Elder Armstrong

Week Eighty-Five

Hello!!

I hope all of you had as good of a week as I did! I hope the snow is falling, the Jazz are winning, and the NFL playoffs are exciting. I hope all of you are healthy and happy and enjoying the new year.

This week I had the opportunity to go to Mumbai on exchange again! It was such a great time! I woke up in Delhi at 6 a.m. to get to the airport. The pollution, fog and cold here was horrible on the way to the airport. Then we got off in Mumbai just a few hours later and I couldn't even walk to the cab without sweating and feeling the humidity. Delhi is such a desert compared to Mumbai. This time in Mumbai I tried some new food. I had some Shwarma Rolls from an amazing Muslim Dargah. Muslim people are the best cooks in the world. I love their food. I of course had Vada Pav again; it's not Mumbai without it. We also ate at a member’s home one night and she made awesome South Indian food. The members there don't get to see white missionaries like me very often....like once every two years maybe. She was surprised at how much I could eat, and how spicy it could be, and then she offered to find me a South Indian wife ha-ha. Such a fun night, I just love Indian people. I don't know if I have ever told you this before or not, but they are the funnest people on Earth. They are just looking to have a good time, all the time. It's just a good place to be on a mission.

This week I have one experience that I would like to share with you. We taught a man named Mohan, we have taught him before and have known him for weeks but this lesson was just awesome. We were on the roof of his building at the very top. You could see all the buildings in Delhi for miles, all painted bright colors of every kind, filled to the top with Lakh's of people. Every building has Sarees and clothes out drying in the wind and big tanks on top to collect the water. The sun was shining and it was just a gorgeous day. You could see all the Hindu temples from Chattarpur to Qutob Minar and there we were, just two missionaries on the roof teaching a random guy who had become a friend. He used to be Hindu, but gave up on religion when he was about 20. He had questions such as, "Why do I need faith?" "Does God even live?" and, "Does He know me personally?" We were able to answer all of the questions, and to help him start to understand. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. 

The main point of this story that I want to tell you is that he is not the only one. Those buildings are filled with people, all of them with questions. Some will ask them, others won't. There are thousands and millions and lakh's and crore's of people who need and want the gospel in their lives. Delhi is full of them, Mumbai as well. All of India needs the gospel, and we are working at it. But while I'm over here working on these people, I hope you're joining with us. There are people in Robin Idaho that need help also. There are many people in Pocatello that could use the gospel light in their lives. Their circumstances will be different than the people of India, but the questions are all the same. The confusion is all the same. Yeah, maybe they won't listen to us, but we will never know unless we try. Maybe they have heard it before and didn't accept, but that doesn't mean we can't be a friend. Maybe they don't want to give up coffee or alcohol, but that doesn't mean they aren't good people.

I hope we all can see the people around us in a different way, and look and pray for opportunities to share the gospel. How selfish it would be to keep it to ourselves. 

Love,

Elder Armstrong

Pollution and smog outside the door of my apartment

Week Eighty-Four

Love my Mission!

Hello family and friends,

What an eventful week we had. It's so sad to hear of the passing of President Monson. The first Prophet I knew was Gordon B. Hinckley, but I grew up listening to and loved President Monson. He was a very happy and cheerful man, always ready to make a good joke in his talks; he told amazing stories and connected them to the Gospel. I remember his story of starting a canyon on fire and the time he wiggled his ears in conference. He was always serving and looking to help others, I know he was a Prophet of God. We got the news right during my training in MLC this week and everything just stopped as we talked about him and his life. It was a cool little moment, but it was a shock. 

This week Elder Basil and I had two baptisms. Their names are Nirmala and her son Ahman. They are part members to the church and are the family I told lives in Rishikesh, India. Sister Nirmala was a devoted Hindu all of her life even while her husband Raju was a Mormon. They had been married for 21 years and Raju was praying for his wife every day. She finally had a change of heart and was ready to accept the Savior and his gospel; she made time, came to Delhi, and was taught and baptized. They have committed to coming to Delhi once a month for the Sacrament, which is a huge sacrifice for them to make. Then we hope to start a home group there in the coming months. I grew to love Nirmala and Ahman so much and it was so amazing to hear them bear their testimonies after the baptism. The best sight ever was seeing Ahman come out of the Bishop’s office with a smile on his face and a stack of scriptures and youth pamphlets and all the materials he needs to learn and grow in the gospel. He was so excited to show us his new Bible and Book of Mormon and we are so happy for him.

This week I just want to bear my testimony that President Monson was a Prophet of God, and so will our next Prophet and our next and our next and it will never end. We have the Priesthood of God on the Earth today and it will never be taken away. We are led by leaders who have been called of God, your bishops, stake presidents, and home teachers were all called of God. We receive revelation in this church. The Church of Jesus Christ is a perfect church, the people may not be perfect, the leaders may not be perfect, but they are called to the position they are to serve. Love your leaders, follow our prophets, and trust in the Lord. I promise this church is the True Church of Jesus Christ, and you will be more happy and blessed than ever before when you decide to give yourself to Him.

Love,

Elder Armstrong

Me and Ahmen (notice the Sweater, I am actually cold)

HAPPY NEW YEAR Nineteenth Month Mark

Dear family,

Happy New Year!! Life is going great and I have completed my "mission year". The entire year of 2017 I was a missionary. I started the year finishing my time in Dwarka as a trainer, I then had the wonderful opportunity to serve in Noida, our mission's toughest area as the district leader. I loved my time there and learned so much. One cool thing about that, I was the last American to serve in Noida because of the increasing political problems and the area not being very safe. You can see now why I loved it there;) I then served in Lajpat Nagar in the center of Delhi as a Zone Leader. I loved being there and I had so much fun, that was a great learning experience and I have some really great memories from that time. Next I came here to the Munirka Ward not long after we became a Stake! I have loved every second of this ward and area and being an assistant to President Hodges, he is the coolest and I have learned so much from him and this leadership responsibility. I am so excited for 2018 and for the last few months I have in this mission.

This week we have been blessed immensely by the Lord in finding people who are interested. We have been welcomed into the homes of so many people and we have felt that we are literally being led by the Spirit to places and apartments where we can have success. Yesterday we went to a home and taught Aki and his wife the Restoration. They were so prepared that before we could even invite them to be baptized they invited themselves and asked if we could baptize them. They have been wanting to be baptized for a long time now, but random things kept stopping them, and now they found us. After the lesson which was seriously amazing Elder Basil and I left with just the biggest smiles on our faces and gave each other a huge hug. It's the coolest feeling in the world to see someone accept the gospel and have a desire to follow it because they know it will make them happy. Better than any touchdown I have ever scored or wrestling match I have ever won. I absolutely love it. 

This week we have a few baptisms on Saturday for Nirmala and Ahman from Rishikesh up in North India. It's a state called Uttarakhand and it's close to Nepal, a few weeks later we will baptize a family from Dehradun which is also close to Rishikesh and they will hopefully start a home group together in the coming months. It's so cool to see the work come together and to see the gospel spread. 

Right now I am just lost in the work and it's the best thing ever. I think that as true disciples we will all lose ourselves in the service of our God, the service of our fellow men, or any other true or worthwhile practice. Follow the Saviors example and "go about doing good", be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" I promise you your time will be spent well and you will look back as a much happier person knowing you gave your all to something that changes lives. I hope all of us will start the new year with awesome goals that will bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. 

Love,

Elder Armstrong