1 Feb. 2016

That's interesting, about the new missionary. I actually have had a few opportunities to practice French here. I've met a few people who have studied it in school, and I have a funny story. In the Coimbatore FRO office, things are a little slow. I've been there once or twice a week since the beginning of the transfer, but with no luck registering. Anyway, I've met people from 4 continents in there. One of those countries was Rwanda, where the guy spoke French. So, we had a very short conversation in French, where I quickly realized that I do not know as much French as remember knowing.

Things have been going pretty calmly here, up until today. We spent most of the week trying to stay in one area a day, to cut down on travel time. That's been going pretty well, but it's been slow. We have found quite a few prospective elder's houses, but we've been having trouble meeting with our investigators. We expected 8 to show up at church on Sunday- but none came. Give the missionaries in your home ward lots of referrals! They are really important! We have 3 investigators who we could baptize any day now if they would just come to church. 

Today was pretty fun, though. In the morning, we woke up early to go to a Hindu Yoga place. There, we wandered around the very well-manicured grounds, and got to see a lot of what happens in Hindu temples. There was a huge pool that was "energized" by small solidified mercury pillars in it that people would take a dip in, a pooja shrine with a bunch of chanting worshippers, and a whole building thing that takes some explanation. Elder Sampson, a former Hindu missionary, explained the concept behind Hindu temples. Apparently, the grounds and the shrines are comparable to the telestial rooms in temples, or the outer courts of the tabernacle of ancient Israel. The waiting place to get into the big room is comparable to the terrestial room or Holy Place, and the room itself was like a big celestial room, or Holy of Holies. It was lined with all sorts of carvings and decorations, and had a massive Linga in the middle. It looked like a big silver pillar wrapped in snakes, and decorated with a garland. It was supposed to be the biggest mercury pillar on the planet, consecrated by a great Hindu priest, the whole nine yards. There was near-silence in the cavernous room, which had a domed echoey ceiling. Everything was made out of stone, and there were several Hindu attendants to silently show you the proper way to worship the rock. When you were walking up to it, you are expected to maintain absolute silence. Outside the building, you wait, until the cross-legged priest flips up a sign, inviting you to enter. You file inside the dim space, and look around, before sitting until the bell chimes (about 15 minutes). It was kind of a neat experience, but also really weird. I'm starting to see more and more from being out here how good it is to know a God that answers prayers. 

I'm a little pinched on time this week, but I'll send pictures once I get to a less sketchy computer. See ya!