Week Six

Dear family,

I love and miss you all so much. I think about you whenever I'm done with missionary stuff for the day. While we eat dinner (with our hands) we all sit around telling stories and people love to hear about you. I tell about everyone so don't think you're safe. The missionaries here are awesome and I've made such good friendships. I love my area and the members here are so faithful. We are teaching so many great people. The Lord really has prepared people for us to meet. We are teaching one guy we met at a Mr. MoMo's stand in the middle of Delhi. Crazy that we could find someone looking for happiness in the middle of a crazy city at a dirty MoMo stand. By the way they have good food. It's worth the upset stomach. 

This week was just another crazy week in the life of a missionary. And I hate to keep stressing the whole "I'm a white missionary in India," but seriously people can't control themselves when they see me. It's weird. They want to take selfies and pictures, they literally hug us. It's weird and I'm not really a fan of the hugging because everyone is sweaty and smelly. Haha. But they are just good people. It just blows me away that skin color still means anything in the world today. How stupid. Racism is the biggest joke and anyone who is racist just makes me mad. I hear from home about black people killing white cops and over here in India people get treated better if they have fair skin. Why can't everyone just treat everyone fair and the same. If you're a bad person you're a bad person, no matter your skin color. If you're a good person you're a good person, no matter your skin color. We're children of Heavenly Father, brothers and sisters and we treat each other like hell. It's upsetting. I just like people to be happy. Haha. I miss the MTC because it was seriously a refuge from the world. Here in India it's so worldy and the people are really nice but it's just such a wicked world.

I had some run ins with Muslim people this week and they don't like me and they definitely don't like my name tag. But I'm pretty proud of it. I know I'm safe here in India and there are Angels watching over me. They just call us terrible names and one kid tried throwing a bottle at us and that didn't make Elder Armstrong very happy. So I let him know with a very casual death stare that he better not mess with me. Haha mom stop freaking out, I'm on the winning side. But yeah this week was the end of their holiday month and they were sacrificing animals and stuff. And with this I'm not being racist I promise, we met the most genuine Muslim as well this week named Saddam Hussein. No joke. Named after the original. But he was way nice to us and treated us so kindly, I only don't like the ones who treat me bad as I'm going to teach someone a lesson when they throw stuff at us and call us horrible names. 

But with this week I'll tell you about our food. So like I've said we eat with our hands just about every meal. And you only use your right hand as much as possible for everything. It's pretty hard. I have eaten biryani, butter chicken with roti and butter naan, we have had Afghani chicken, and egg curry, and today I'm having chicken curry. We have an Indian Elder in our apartment from South India who can cook the most amazing food. His name is Elder Uppe and he is awesome. I'll send a picture of our district next week I forgot this week. Besides that, I sometimes eat street food which is highly frowned upon, but its pretty tasty. The Mr. MoMo guy was so good the first time and it looked clean, but when we went back a couple days later it was not so clean but I had to eat the food again because it was so good the first time. I'm actually becoming more adventurous and I never thought that would happen. I am pretty picky when it comes to cleanliness and my food choices but here I don't know I just am going with the flow. When I don't eat Indian food I can get all the rip off American kind of food, I eat so much peanut butter and honey sandwiches and cereal. I'm just eating things that are prepackaged like cereals, and yogurt, and stuff I know is clean. Rip off brands here are like western family stuff and its really cheap, the only hard part is that nothing comes from cows. It comes from water buffaloes so even the milk is from water buffaloes. It's so weird, but its all I have. And it comes in bags of milk not cartons or jugs. I have a gym membership and have been waking up at 5:45 everyday for the gym. I love it and it's about the only thing I do that reminds me of home. I love releasing my stress in the gym and getting stronger; You should see these abs. Haha! But yeah I've gotten so much better this week and I'm sure I'll be sick again, but it's all apart of the experience.

Teaching people makes me so happy. You have NO IDEA how fulfilling it is. I love it, and Dad you always said I would be a teacher and I'm starting to think you might be right. But that's after I get done being a Navy Seal and Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. I love teaching though, especially English. I'm helping improve so many lives and people from our class are already getting better jobs because of the English they can speak. I spent hours this week helping kids in our Branch do their homework and reading with them on their floor of their small homes. I help them read write and do math as well and it makes me so happy. I'm falling in love with serving the people. Especially the kids who I teach. They call me Elder Neil Armstrong and sometimes even Elder Jason Bourne. I'm bigger than everyone here in India which is crazy and my muscles are tiny, but here people think I'm so huge and muscly. They think I'm 25 and it blows them away when I say I'm only 18. They have no idea how small I really am in America.

I love teaching the gospel as well and how happy it makes people. There's nothing better than seeing happy families. Seriously the gospel blesses all families and makes everyone so happy. To see that firsthand for two years is such a blessing. I know that families are eternal. I don't know if I could have served a mission without that understanding. I couldn't have left behind family, and especially grandparents, without the for sure knowledge that I would see them again. Anyone can go at anytime, but I know that we all will live together forever through the blessings of the temple. That's how I have peace with being 7500 miles away. I know that no matter what, we'll all live again, together, with the Savior and our Heavenly Father, if only we keep the commandments. So do your best to keep the commandments and repent when you mess up so we can all live together happily in the Celestial Kingdom. 

I love this gospel and I love how happy I am here in such a crazy place. I laugh to myself all the time because it's just so crazy where I am. One year ago I can remember everything I was doing with my friends and I never would have guessed in a year I would be in India. Last year I was at football camp and that's all I cared about, now I'm in stinking India. Crazy how things change. 

I miss you all. I love you all. I'm sorry this email is a little shorter but I want to email some friends back before I have to go. 

Please stay safe everyone. I miss you all and I love hearing from you.

Lunch at Chili's

I was looking at another Elder's blog and found this picture of Preston with the American Elders  going to Chili's last Monday on their P-Day to celebrate the 4th of July.  He is looking much better in this picture and hopefully he is over his sickness.  The Elder on his blog said he ate Chicken Fried Steak and a milkshake.  Hopefully, Preston found something he could eat and he held it down.  Can't wait til Monday to hear the latest. 

Letter from Mission President

 THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST

OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

INDIA NEW DELHI MISSION

Floor 3, F48,

Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar

New Delhi 110057, India

Tel: 91 11-2615-0060, Mobile: 844-774-7151

28 June 2016

Dear Brother and Sister Armstrong,

Your son, Elder Preston John Armstrong, has arrived safely to the India New Delhi Mission, and he is already hard at work with an excellent trainer Elder Derek Huskey as his companion.  Elder Armstrong is happy and well and is anxious to assist in the work in his assignment in the Dwarka Branch.

It is evident that you have a wonderful family, and he speaks about you with love and devotion.  He will appreciate your weekly letters to him, supporting and strengthening him throughout his mission.  Receiving letters from family brings joy and encouragement to every missionary.  He will be corresponding with you weekly on his preparation day.

Thank you for sending such a devoted young man to join our team here in New Delhi.  The next two years will be life-changing for your son, and we love him already.

Sincerely,

Kirt L. Hodges

Mission President

First Week in India

Dear Family:

Okay, so the travel was absolutely crazy. We were treated like kings in Salt Lake City, and in LA we heard every BYU joke I can think of. And then it got really different. After 16 hours from LA to Abu Dhabi, which was very bumpy and had so much turbulence, I only got 3 to 4 hours of sleep. Then I was in Abu Dhabi and was separated from the other Elders and all by myself. I got lost and went to the wrong flight and had to go all the way across the airport by myself practically running to make it on time. I got the weirdest looks because I'm white, christian and had the name Jesus Christ on my chest. I thought it was pretty cool. Then on the flight to New Delhi I didn't sleep either and going through customs was crazy. I had to fill out cards and visa stuff and they didn't like that I was a missionary for the church and I didn't even have my name tag and tie on the entire time. Oh and I got robbed. A man came up to me in a nice shirt and said he would help me fill out the card so I figured he worked there. And then after he got done helping me fill it out he asked for a tip and because I'm stupid I tipped him, and then when I went to the desk he was gone and had totally duped me. Luckily I was smart enough to put all my bigger bills away and only had a 5. I am 100 percent positive he didn't work there and that he totally used me because I was American. It was nice to learn my lesson that fast. Anyways, I didn't get back to the mission home til like 5am I think and only got 2 hours of sleep and then woke up and went to work.

India is absolutely incredibly crazy. The traffic here is like none other. The lines in the road mean nothing, even the direction traffic goes in is just a suggestion. Everyone has bikes and there are motorcycles and cars and everyone honks their horn. It's so loud and everyone gets so close to each other on the roads and in person. There is trash everywhere, it smells everywhere you go. The pollution and air quality are so bad as well. Everything is dirty. EVERYTHING. It hasn't bothered me too much so far, but one thing has: The heat. I am going to die, it is so hot. The humidity is horrible and everywhere we go we have to have so much water. This place is so big and there are so many people, there is no way they could count them all. 

I have seen almost everything crazy you could imagine. People going to the bathroom on the side of the road. Monkeys and cows cover the whole city. Dying dogs are everywhere on the sides of the roads, they look like they haven't eaten in 5 years. I have not seen an elephant yet, but I will soon because everyone has seen them. 

Everyone comes up to me asking for money, but mostly asking for food, especially little kids. They always run up to me and start putting their hand to their mouth asking for food. Everyone is dirt poor and homeless. And then there are rich people who throw their money around like it's nothing, but there aren't very many. I have seen so much poverty, you couldn't imagine what these people live through. It's amazes me. The U.S. has it's problems but it's nothing like this. 

I am the first American in almost ten years to get a full 2 year visa. My companion however is actually American. He served here for a year, and then was sent to the Philippines like I initially thought I would be. He is now back to train me for his last couple months. His name is Elder Huskey, he is from Northern California. We are the only companionship of two white Americans. There are Indian Americans here too, but only three of us Americans are white, haha. He's pretty cool though and I look forward to learning a little more about India from him. We are serving in a suburb of Delhi called Dwarka. We are living in a place called Patel Garden. And for dad to look up on google maps we live in the Excellence Apartments here in Dwarka I think in sector 18. 

Umm what else. I don't know everything is crazy I can't even begin to tell you. People seriously poop on the sides of the roads. I have been eating with my fingers for a week and that's new. Oh and yeah, my left hand has been different. So let's just say it's a third world country. I haven't gotten sick yet and the food is pretty good. When we haven't eaten Indian food I have been surviving off of peanut butter and honey sandwiches. The showers are cold, the beds are dirty. We have lizards in our rooms like crazy. Sorry I'm just rambling out facts here trying to tell you everything. 

Now some spiritual stuff. It is insane here. We are being instructed to teach only English speakers, because all the church handbooks are in English and we are trying to build the foundation here and they need leaders and priesthood holders. We are trying to contact 120 people a week and we need 3 baptisms a month. We are trying so hard to build the first stake here in India so that the Church will be officially recognized. We need about 300 more members. I am in charge of teaching an English class twice a week and on Sundays during Sunday school. I teach for about an hour of nothing but English and we invite everyone, but I teach about 60 to 80. It's free. Then at the end I ask if anyone would like to stay for a short gospel message and most people do which is really cool. That's just one of the ways I am serving and finding people. It's so awesome to teach people English I love it. The people here are so nice, especially the members until they ask you for money.    

I can barely understand anyone, English is not English here. And I'm learning a lot of Hindi so I can get around without being ripped off. Everyone thinks I'm a millionaire because I'm white so they charge triple and without the Indian missionaries here to argue them I would be broke or stranded. That's why I'm learning Hindi so it will be awesome when I'm fluent.

Sacrament meeting was hard to understand as well, they would talk in English and then go to Hindi and back to English. But the entire time I felt the spirit so strongly and I could feel Heavenly Fathers love for them and their faith. We have two members who used to be Muslim and are hiding the fact that they are members of the church from their families. The assistants are trying to find out what to do with them because about 4 months ago a Muslim converted and was killed by his family when they found out. Not joking at all. This place is real. The people have such great faith to follow the spirit and the feeling the get when they hear this message. The spirit and this church are definitely strong enough to make you want to die for it. It's amazing to me.

Okay and last message for this week. When you think of Mormons you think of Salt Lake and Provo, Utah and Idaho. You think of temple square and BYU. But it actually goes much farther beyond that. It goes all the way to India. But it doesn't stop there. It goes from Delhi to Dwarka and from Dwarka you can catch an auto for 10 rupees. That will take you to the metro, or train. That train will take you to Dwarka Mor in sector 13. From there you get off and get on an electric rickshaw for 10 rupees. It will take you a couple miles from the metro station and take a few turns throughout the crowded ally ways of the city. Once you pass two Ansh soda stands, you turn and you'll pass the royal blue soda stand. From there you keep on going until you get to the cement store. You get out and you walk about a quarter mile to a like shack in the middle of all of this chaos and you find the gospel of Jesus Christ being lived by the best little family. When you get here you'll meet Abishak and his family, all who are members except his dad. Abishak, or Bobby as he likes to be called, calls his dad an angry man. He actually was just beaten by his dad who undoubtedly drinks. His mom is a faithful member who is so kind, his sisters are sick and his 7 month old baby sister has a really high fever. Bobby is trying to learn English, we are helping him learn English and read the Book of Mormon. He wants to serve a mission like us, and really wants to come to America when he serves so he knows speaking English could help fulfill that dream. He works in a clothing factory where he bags clothes, its basically a sweatshop. This way he can raise money for that mission. He likes clothes and music and cricket. And he loves the gospel. 

These are the people I was destined to meet. This is why I'm here. I love my calling, and I love this place. It amazes me 100 percent that these people are living the gospel in secret, or at least against everyone else's will. Everyone has a picture of the prophet or of Jesus on their wall trying the best they can to live what they know to be true.

I hope I answered lots of questions. I'll do better next week. 

Love and miss everyone. I miss America, but this is my home for now.

Stay happy and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Love Elder Armstrong

 Me and Elder Huskey

 Me and Bobby and his mother

A typical day in India

Arrived in India

Preston was able to make a quick phone call to Doug and was only able to talk for a minute, but said he was with his mission president and tired, but glad to be there.  It was 4:30am there.  He also said that he is the first American missionary for this mission president.  Can't wait for his email!

SISTER HODGE'S EMAIL

We received this email this morning at 12:15AM. 

Hello Brother and Sister Armstrong,

This is Sister Hodges from the India New Delhi Mission. President Hodges and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of your son, Elder Armstrong, to one of the most wonderful missions in the world.  He will love his mission to India just as we do!  We are excited to pick him up at the airport in about fifteen hours and we will bring him to the mission home for a couple of hours of rest, if he desires.

Thank you for preparing such a fine son to serve the Lord. His missionary experiences will bless him the rest of his life.  He is arriving at a fruitful time in this country and the work is accelerating rapidly. Many doors have opened and are opening to the church.

As you know, President Hodges and I are from Idaho Falls, and we were raised in Preston.  We like Elder Armstrong’s first name!  We have driven through and stopped in Arimo many, many times throughout our lifetime. We feel blessed to serve with such a fine missionaries as Elder Armstrong.  Please know that we love him already and we look forward to our service together for the next two years.

Love,

Sister Hodges (and President Hodges)

Week Three - Off to India

Dear people from home,

I am freaking out! I leave to India in less than 24 hours and I couldn't be more excited to see what the Lord has in store for me! Whether it is teaching English classes, doing service, or actually getting to proselyte I have no clue. Whatever He wants from me I will do. The plane is going to be loooong. The airports are going to be crazy. I will be flying with two elders going to Bangalore, one of them is Elder Shuman from Preston Idaho. We have been super close here at the MTC and we never knew each other before this. Crazy. But yeah from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi, I'm on my own. But who gets to do something like this, serving The Creator of the World and my brothers and sisters all the way on the other side of His world, and have their parents pay for the entire thing?;) It's going to be amazing.

This week has been like any other week here at the MTC. Super Awesome. Since the last time I emailed I went to the temple and heard about Orlando when they prayed for the people there and the flag was half staff. That is horrible. The Second Coming is closer than ever, in fact it's one day closer today than it was yesterday;) The world is beginning to be a very sad place and it honestly has been so nice to be tuned out from all of that horrible stuff and just feel peace here at the MTC. I don't have to listen to Donald Trump be an absolute idiot, and I don't have to hear Hillary Clinton lie to everyone's face, while they know it's happening, and then nobody do anything about it. So yeah, it's been nice in Spiritual Prison;) And also, I love the Provo Temple. Man is it cool.

So throughout the week I've also met Elder Carrasco from Aberdeen and Elder Eborn from Highland, both really good friends I grew up playing football against. It was nice to see them and see that even beyond sports there is a bigger purpose to life. 

I've had so many cool experiences and it kind of all blends together so it's hard to remember them. But I promise to keep writing very informative letters. 

We finished teaching in the TRC this week with the different investigators. The lessons are so powerful and I loved TRC. I loved the investigators I came to know and cannot wait to love the people of India. I know there is someone there waiting just for me. Heavenly Father has been preparing me my entire life to invite others to come unto His Son. While this has been going on he has also been preparing someone to meet me. Last night we had a devotional and the speaker asked for missionaries who were converts to come up to the front. There were four of them and all of them had been worked on by Heavenly Father up until the point the missionaries met them. And I know that He is preparing others to meet me. And if I follow the Spirit, and the Will of the Lord, it will happen. Teaching in TRC is different though, everyone I taught says they have read the bible before or grew up Christian, so it's easy to have similarities. In India they believe in Cows and I don't know exactly how to relate that to Jesus Christ yet! Maybe if I tell them the parable of the lost sheep I can relate it through some kind of farm animal story...I'm just kidding, but really I have no idea what teaching will be like there. Good thing I'm not the teacher, and that all I have to do is invite the Holy Ghost to be in the room and he'll testify of truth. But don't get me wrong, I'm ready to serve the people. I'm ready for a new challenge that doesn't hurt my elbow to accomplish. 

This week we got new Elders and one of them on his first morning here jumped out of the top bunk and landed with bare feet on a picture of his girlfriend. A piece of glass went into his foot three inches and at 6 a.m. we were up trying to stop him from bleeding out as he was in shock and unconscious half the time. It was gross and the dorm rooms still have blood stains everywhere. He seems to be doing really good now and he didn't have to go home, he has a little scooter for now and will find out later. We also have Elder Shumway, and he's the man. I don't have a picture with him but just imagine a giant football player who has a full ride scholarship to play for the University of Arizona. Because that's him. He plays linebacker and it's way cool to play basketball against him and we get pretty intense just like me and Elder Bockenstedt did. We aren't supposed to be competitive or keep score, but that's impossible and lame. So we release our stress out on the court and go all in it's great. But really he's an awesome guy and he is straight out of high school as well. I look up to him for having the strength to do something that I couldn't have done. There's no way that I could have went on a mission if I had a full ride to any college. 

We've been learning a lot about The Savior lately. We studied the paintings of him in the front hall of the MTC today and I just want to share with you what I have learned. 

Christ is often looked at as loving and kind and softhearted. All of those are true, but when looking at the pictures closer a good amount of them He didn't look that way, he had a more determined, certain, look on his face. He knew His purpose in life. He knew what he had to do for us and he was serious as well, we Have to Follow Him. He is the only way back. He is the entire reason we are here, without His Atonement there would be no hope. There would be no life. I've understood that here at the MTC more than ever before, and I know my purpose in following Him and testifying of Him so that others can choose to Follow Him as well. I thought that throughout my life I wasn't a very good follower of The Savior, especially my earlier years of High School. And I wasn't the best that I could have been, but it was always there somewhere. It was hidden but I always knew what was right and I guess I just have always been tough on myself for not being the best. But today as we looked at those pictures there was the one with Christ calming the storm. And I quickly remembered being in primary and I remembered how cool it was that The Savior walked on water, and I wanted to be just like him and walk on water as well. That was so awesome to me from the time I was a little kid. It was then I realized that I have Always wanted to Follow Him. I just didn't always believe I could. 

My message this week is to Follow Christ. He is the Way. He is the Light. He is Everything that matters. You can Follow Him, even when you think it might be hard. He wants you to come to Him. He loves you and he has a purpose for you in this life. 

I am excited for India, I know I have someone there for me. I know I have been prepared for this and that it's what I am supposed to be doing. I know India will be hard, the hardest thing I have ever done. But when Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered, his wife Emma asked when the trials and sufferings would stop. The Prophet responded to her saying, "Perhaps I am meant to swim in deep waters, better deep than shallow." 

I'm ready, and excited.

I will never forget my where I came from. Next time you hear from me I'll be in India. 

Love you guys. Always Be Happy.

ADDRESS:

Elder Preston Armstrong
Third Floor, F48
Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar
110057 New Delhi
India

EMAIL:  preston.armstrong@myldsmail.net

PICTURES:

Me at the temple and me and my district. The girl up front with the white name tag is our teacher Sister Widmer. Her maiden name is Wrubell and her dad is "The Voice of the Cougars" at BYU! So shes basically famous!

And the older couple in this picture are from our branch presidency.  They are so cool and have been such an impact here at the MTC!