Week One Hundred Three

Hey guys!!

What a great week we have had here in Mumbai, India. Last night we set a family of four on a baptismal date for next month, I am so excited for them and cannot wait to see the pictures. On my mission I have had a good amount of baptisms, but I have had more experiences where I found someone on the streets, referred them to different Elders, and then they eventually got baptized. That will happen again this Sunday as a young college kid named Satyanarayan will be baptized here in Mumbai. I found him while eating dinner on the streets one night.  He was interested in learning English, but was unavailable for our weekly class each Thursday night. I asked him when he had a night off and he replied Sundays. Problem solved, you can learn English by coming to church, listening to people who speak English and are reading the Book of Mormon in English. It took him less than a week to feel something more important than learning English and he's getting baptized into a branch that already loves him. The amount of baptisms a missionary has isn't a measure of their success at all, everyone should know and understand that, but it is what we are here to do, and I love seeing people act on the gospel message of repentance. 

I have loved every minute of being a missionary and I will continue to love it in my final week as a missionary. I have one more email to write...and I will make it a good one. But I have to go to a zone activity now and eat some more vada pavs...time is running short in India...and I'm pretty sad about it.

Love,

Elder Armstrong

Trip to the Taj Mahal

 

Week One Hundred Two

Hello Family and Friends,

I hope and pray that all of you are doing okay and that life is treating you well. I am enjoying the last few weeks of my mission and I cannot get enough of India. I am eating as much Indian food as I can and enjoying all the sights, smells, and blessings of being in this wonderful country. 

I'm sorry I wasn't able to write last week, we had the Taj Mahal trip and I got to Skype home, but there was just no time to catch up and write a letter. The Taj Mahal was amazing and I really enjoyed it. At first it's just kind of a big marble structure, but then you walk inside and you're like "wow this is a giant marble structure!" The inside is really amazing, they have these marble flowers carved into the walls that are all multicolored and really intricate. It is way cooler when you learn the history of the building, how old it is, how long it took to build, and then that the entire thing was built just to be a tomb for the guy's wife. Pretty impressive. We had a lot of fun as a group, it's so weird to think that I met these Elders 2 years ago and now here we are, finishing strong together. 

This week as I have been pondering and thinking about my future I've also had the opportunity to think about the past. I am so extremely grateful for the wonderful people that God has placed in my life. I look at every turn of my life I have always been around the best people. From my family, especially my mom and dad, my brothers, to my best friends that I grew up with. I think of church leaders and my mission president, and all of the wonderful people here in India that have blessed my life so much. Life is tough, and one thing that makes it easier is being around people who lift you up and make it easier. You can learn a lesson from everyone you meet, whether it be good or bad. You can also be a blessing to everyone you meet, if you choose to be so. I know I would be nowhere close to this happy if I didn't have the friends and family that I do. I hope that all of us will do our best to thank those who have blessed our lives and helped us when we needed them the most, and that we will try to be that person who reaches out in love towards others. It's kinda crazy how paths cross in this earthly life, but recognizing that we all are children of our heavenly father will help us to take the time to help each other out and push each other forward.

I love this gospel, I love this church, and I know without a doubt it's true. 

Love,

Elder Armstrong

Week One Hundred One

Dear Family and Friends,

How is everyone? Things in Mumbai are going really well. The work is good and we are finding some really interested people. This week we taught a Reverend of another Christian faith, he was from Kerala, a very Christian populated place in India. He really liked the Book of Mormon and he had heard of Joseph Smith before, so we will see how it goes. 

This week I get to go back to Delhi for Stake Conference, that will be so awesome and it will be the last time I see the members I love so much in Delhi. Next Monday I will be at the Taj Mahal, and so my letter may come later next week. I am very excited for the Taj Mahal, I've been waiting for so long to go and see it and it's finally my chance. 

I don't have much time to write this week like I did last week. I have very few P days left and I have a lot of fun stuff to do. I hope everyone is doing well and that you all stay healthy. Every day I get the opportunity to teach someone about the Restoration and I can't even begin to tell you how much my testimony has grown since starting my mission. The restoration is still happening, we are apart of the dispensation of the fullness of times. I hope we all treasure our knowledge of that and do what we can to share it with others. Where much is given, much is required. Share the gospel, do family history work, be a friend, reach out, and God will bless you. We all have talents and abilities that help us bring others unto Christ in this earthly life, I invite all of you to think of your talents and abilities and use them to bless others lives.

Love,

Elder Armstrong