Flakes Around the World

So my boss is gone to Washington DC for some type of training. Well, I hope they are training him on pest control.

This morning I come into work and a few minutes later get a call from the Consul General. Yesterday I asked it to be announced that we'd increased the hotel rates at the GQ. I guess the Ambassador up in Abuja was told and someone in her office said, "why is that the rat tax?" Turns out when she was here last week she said every night she heard rats "playing soccer" above her head. She told the front desk, but of course no one told me! Not that I would have known what to do anyway! So here I am working in a rat infestation. Added to the problem is that back in Feb. or Jan. the Ambassador stayed here and actually saw a rat in the restaurant.

I miss my boss who always takes the brunt of such problems.

I am just grateful that the Lord has asked women to stay home with their children so I can know I will not be working on rat infestations forever! One of my gardeners promises me he can go get some good poison. Won't that be nice.

Melissa

Ally and Moema, The crazy thing is I am actually developing a school feeding program where we feed the kids endangered black bengal goat meat.

Oliver

I have long thought Oliver was a racist, this only confirms my suspisions. If it had been a white goat I am sure he would have ensured its safety.

Have you seen an Elephant in India that can paint it's own portrait like this one?

Amber, I have been trying to think of anything that my Relief Society could do - it is made up of poor students so i dont know how much money we could raise but if there is anyting you want me to bring back with Moema and I let me know!

Am I the only one who feels sorry for the black goat which is now going extinct because of oliver? That was my favorite type of goat.

Ally

We are so sad for Spencer's broken leg. He came home yesterday after having screws put in his leg. Hopefully Taylor or Shelley will write more of his condition. We are all praying for you Spencer! Amber, thanks for posting the pictures and write up and Oliver - Wow - what can I say? That is absolutely amazing. Talk about having a meaningful job and making an impact! I am going to print those pictures and write up out and give to my mother. She shows the pictures of the school to everyone. The playground equipment sounds great. How about bathrooms and water? I know there is so much to do there. I could see some of the members of the ward in your picture. Who made the dresses? I am so glad you are getting lots of help. That little school won't know what hit them. Are the Dunn's leaving soon? Sister Dunn has to feel good about giving us the referral for that place. What an amazing work you both are doing there. Levin and Melissa come in less than 2 weeks- hurrah! Love Mom

I spent the night with Spencer at the Hospital last night. It was a rough night -- he was in a lot of pain. If you haven't heard he broke his leg jumping off a roof. It was pretty grusome -- think Joe Thiseman but worse. We gave him a blessing and he is going in for surgery this morning -- he will have long metal nails inserted to stabalize the leg. The will later remove them. Hawahii looks doubtful but he still has hope.
Taylor

Oliver took 2 of the boys and some young single adults to the school to do a hygiene demo (in anticipation of the kits which we hope will arrive soon), and to deliver biscuits, notebooks, water coolers, sewing supplies, school supplies, etc. A ward from Santa Barbara sent 53 little t-shirt dresses, so cute! It just killed me to have to stay home with the younger kids, but since our car seems to be the branch activity bus, there just wasn't room for the whole family to go. Next time, I'll get a sitter, or take a taxi!

I think we have found a welder who can make playground equipment. We think that would be a great thing for us to focus family fund money on. These children have no access to anything of the sort (they live in an area that is best described as a cross between a garbage dump/manure pile/toxic river), and since they have such a short childhood (since they marry at 13 or 14), we think it would be a neat thing for them to be able to have. We are still getting donations of more practical items from other sources. I think the idea of a bigger donation like the playground equipment is good, since they wouldn't likely get it anywhere else. What do you guys think?

My parents attend a YSA ward in California (that is their calling, to help strengthen the ward), and they are having a yard sale to make money to buy a computer or something like that for the school. I think they will also send some murals painted on big pieces of canvas to hang at the school. We have received several boxes of school supplies from people in the US, which are great.

But, even better is money, or something like the murals which can't be bought for cheaper here. We just bought 200 notebooks (a special kind that the school really needs that have graph paper, handwriting paper and another type of lined paper all in one) for 2400 rupees, or 60 dollars. That's only 30 cents each! And no shipping was required.

Some of you have asked about some projects that you can have youth groups, primary groups do for the school. If it is legal for you to do (and it might not be), a fundraiser (like a yard sale or a dime dinner) would be very helpful. Or maybe a paperback drive for children's storybooks. I am positive that there is no library, and that the children don't own a single book themselves. Paperback children's books would be thin and cheap to ship. You could probably get them donated, or buy them for cheap at thrift stores or yard sales. It would be a good thing to have little primary children try to collect. And we could cheaply buy new Hindi children's books here for about 50 cents each. So ten dollars would buy 20 or more books! Wow, wouldn't it be great to help the school create a little library for the children?

Anyway, let me know what you think about any of these ideas.
Amber

We can't believe what we are hearing about Spencer! What happened? What do they need to do to fix his foot? We will be thinking about him and praying for him.

I trust that Oliver will blog more about these pictures, but here is a brief description. He visited some schools that he has been helping, along with the UN World Food Program to get nutrient fortified biscuits, and little pouches of milk for their afternoon meal. They wouldn't get one otherwise. Oliver is handing them out to some kids at this school. Isn't the little boy holding out his hand so cute? Check out how crowded the classroom is. Also, the little girls with the pictures made the pictures to give to Oliver. We have 4 all together, and they are even mounted so we can hang them on the wall. They are so cool. Oliver also visited a "diarrhea hospital," as he put it. People there have cholera, thyphoid, and other fevers. They also have a wing for malnourished children, which is what you see in the last picture. The three pictures of the kind of dark hospital area is the awful tent where many people rest and suffer in the heat. The chart shows how many people they have come into the hospital everyday. The chart shows that in a little more than 2 1/2 days, they have treated 1127 people. I am so proud of Oliver. Part of his work involved re-allocating some funds that were meant to go for wildlife conservation to help the hospital build a new wing. 6 million dollars. I guess the church isn't the only reason that we are supposed to be here.

I gots the idea. What is something every Fat Tongan needs to know how to do? Play the Ukelele! I am serious, Ukelele lessons would be the bomb.

And there are more good ideas where that came from...

Levin

Lite Sweet Jasmine Rice with Mango
YIELD
Serves 4
TIME
25 minutes to assemble
30 minutes to rest
Total Time: 55 minutes
Our Soft Jasmine Rice makes this classic Thai dessert easier to prepare and every bit as delicious.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup uncooked Jasmine Rice 1/2 teaspoon salt
1-13.5 oz can Lite Coconut Milk 1 mango
2/3 cup sugar
DIRECTIONS
1 Cover rice with cold water and rinse. Repeat until the water runs clear, about 3 times, and drain.
2 In a medium saucepan bring 1 & 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and stir briefly. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
3 In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, sugar and salt. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
4 Pour the boiled coconut milk into the cooked rice. Stir well.
5 Cover top of rice directly with wax paper or aluminum foil. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
6 Peel the mango and cut into slices or squares.
7 Spoon the rice, or scoop with an ice cream server onto a serving platter and decorate with mango slices.

Hi everyone its me Moema.
I am not a frequent blogger but necessity has driven me becuase I need some help .
Next semester I will start with my Intergrated Business Core, which basically means that all the business students are split into 4-5 "corporations" and they have to come up with a business idea and implement it. A panel of "investors" who are actually the professors decide whether or not the plans proposed are feasible. All the money raised from the businesses will put into scholarships so its for a good cause and its also 80% of the grade. Anyway I was hoping for some suggestions from anyone and everyone on what they think would be a good business idea that could make money at BYU-Hawaii. Think of any ways we could take advantage of the poor Asians out here. Previous successful business have: Sold smoothies, BYU Hawaii T-shirts, BYU Hawaii blankets.
Allyson and I have come up with a few ideas here they are

1Spinning Classes 3x a week
2 Boxing/Kickboxing Classes 3x a week
3 BYU-Hawaii Beach Towels
4 Extreme Yoga
5 Hosting a benefit concert - we think we can get Jack Johnson to come:)

Thanks

Part of a talk called The Nobility of Failure


Today I will share with you in brief form the story of 17 men who served the Church in a cause they considered a failure. The cause was the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to India, Burma, and Siam (Thailand) between 1851 and 1856. I first became aware of this great chapter in Church history when I wrote about it in my master's thesis. Recently, with many more sources and resources, I have rewritten the story of the mission: Nothing More Heroic: The Compelling Story of the First LDS Missionaries in India (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1999).

Last summer my wife and I, in company with Shahram and Sarah Paksima--wonderful BYU students who served as our guides and helpers--traveled to India to retrace the footsteps of those early missionaries. Our goal was to visit as many of the cities and cantonments, villages, shrines, temples, and roads where missionaries of the Church's East India Mission served in the 1850s as was possible. We started our travels in Bombay. This was appropriate because Hugh Findlay, one of the first two full-time missionaries in India, served there and in Pune, 80 miles distant, for several years, most of it alone. We could have begun our trip in Calcutta, where the first converts to the Church were made, but our plans worked better from Bombay.

Wherever we went we looked for the imprint of their steps. Not much remained after almost 150 years, but most of the cantonments--military bases or camps--were still in place. We were surprised that they were so large--more like towns than camps. Our missionaries visited cantonments wherever they went in India. Unfortunately, because of military and government policies regarding preaching on cantonment, they were largely rejected and unable to have influence among the European military personnel. But I believe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I need to tell you at least the main parts of the story.

In 1849 two young Latter-day Saint sailors, George Barber and Benjamin Richey, neither of whom held the priesthood, sailed from Liverpool, England, to Calcutta, India. Because their ship needed repairs, it was put in dry dock, and they spent some time at a home for sailors. There they met a scripture reader named Maurice White. Their conversations with him regarding their newfound faith led them into company with a group called the Plymouth Brethren. The young sailors taught the restored gospel to their new friends, and soon several of them were converted. But because they held no priesthood authority, Barber and Richey had to leave their converts unbaptized when their ship sailed from Calcutta.

Some months later, written requests for living witnesses arrived in Liverpool from Calcutta. Church leaders decided to ask Joseph Richards, a Church member who was an elder, to visit with the Plymouth Brethren on his next trip to Calcutta. He was a sailmaker on the merchant ship Gloriosa. In June 1851, Richards met the Church's friends in Calcutta and baptized four of them--James Patrick Meik; his wife, Mary Ann; Matthew McCune; and Maurice White. Richards ordained White an elder and called him as president of the Wanderers Branch. These new members were the first to be baptized as Latter-day Saints in all of Asia. The Wanderers Branch was the first Church unit in Asia. Richards remained in Calcutta for only two weeks and then returned with his ship to England.

Based on this small success, Elder Lorenzo Snow, who was president of the Church's missionary work in Italy, Switzerland, and Malta, decided to include India in his jurisdiction. He sent Englishman William Willis to Calcutta and Scotsman Hugh Findlay to Bombay. Willis arrived in Calcutta on Christmas Day of 1851. Findlay arrived in Bombay by March or April 1852.

Initially, Elder Willis had wonderful success. He was greeted well and warmly by six members of the Church. White, the branch president, had left for England, but James Patrick Meik and Matthew McCune had taken up the work and had baptized several others. Meik was constructing a small meetinghouse in the heart of Calcutta. Elder Willis was pleased when representatives of various groups of Indians sought him out and exhibited interest in his message. Before long his ministry took him 20 miles or so beyond Calcutta in several directions. He regularly wrote to Church leaders in Liverpool regarding his successes. In January 1852 he wrote that he was "bounding with grateful emotions" that he had been called to preach the gospel in India ("Letter from Elder William Willis: The Gospel in Calcutta" Millennial Star 14 [15 March 1852]: 91). He began baptizing groups of Indians--all former Christians, mostly Baptists. Four months later, in May 1852, he reported a Church membership of 189. Most of these were native farmers. There were about 19 Caucasians among the group.

Willis' seeming success and positive reports to England led Elder Snow to carry a positive recommendation to the leading Brethren in Salt Lake City that the East India Mission should be enlarged. On August 28–29, 1852, the Church held a special conference in Salt Lake City. The First Presidency called 108 missionaries to many states and nations. Nine elders were called to India and four were called to Siam (Thailand). They left Salt Lake City in late October and traveled south to San Bernardino by wagon train in a group of almost 40 missionaries. At San Bernardino they sold their wagons and stock and sent their money back home. Then it was on to San Pedro, where they found a small ship to carry them to San Francisco. After several weeks of unsuccessful fund-raising there, the elders were blessed to receive a large contribution from a California member named John M. Horner. They could now continue on to India. They sailed through the Golden Gate on January 28, 1853, and 86 days later arrived at Calcutta. Captain Zenos Winsor and his clipper ship, the Monsoon, had been wonderful hosts.

But on arriving in India the elders faced disappointing news. Elders Willis and Joseph Richards (who had returned to India as a full-time missionary in the summer of 1852), had left Calcutta to preach the gospel at various cities and cantonments up the Ganges basin. By April 1853 they were in the vicinity of Delhi. Furthermore, almost all of the native Indian members in and around Calcutta had already fallen away. There was also an apostasy among the European Saints. Only six or eight members remained of an expected 200.

The problem among the Indians related to their expectation to be paid to be members of the Church. The issue was complicated. Time will allow only a brief explanation. Indian converts were outcast when they joined any Christian church. They lost their place in society. They had no former social relationships, no occupation, no means of financial support, no place to live, and no community political rights or power. When they became Christians, they in effect became part of a Christian quasi-caste. Their occupation was now to be Christians, with all that implied. To be Christian was now their work. Conceivably, if asked what they did for a living, they might have answered, "I am a Christian." I'm stretching this just a little bit, but I want to make a point. When they went from denomination to denomination or from mission to mission seeking higher compensation, they were doing a somewhat reasonable thing within the context of their own experience and circumstances. They wanted the best pay they could get for doing their new caste occupation--being Christian. But this reality did not help the disappointed hearts of the missionaries. They considered these people to be hypocritical apostates and developed a great distrust for Indians.

Among the European members of the Church there was another problem--polygamy. At the same special conference at which the elders received their calls, the Church had made public its doctrine and practice of plural marriage. Word of this announcement arrived in Calcutta via the mail steamer three weeks before the elders arrived there. Polygamy was the shout heard round the world. The new members in Calcutta were deeply troubled by the doctrine, and some apostatized. But that was just the beginning. Nearly everywhere they went throughout the subcontinent, the elders were persecuted and rejected for their beliefs.

But there was nothing to do but go on. Soon after they arrived, Mission President Nathaniel V. Jones assigned the other eight India elders to places around the country. Two were assigned to go up the Ganges (they eventually traveled over a thousand miles to Delhi and beyond), three were sent to Madras, two were asked to go a few miles north to Chinsura (until they heard from Elder Findlay in Bombay), and Jones and a companion remained in Calcutta. Elder Chauncey W. West, who presided over the four Siam-bound elders, having learned that the way was hedged up to travel overland to Siam (a war was raging in Burma), made the decision to try to teach the gospel in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) and then move on to Siam when it was possible. He and Elder Benjamin F. Dewey went briefly to Ceylon and then on to Bombay, where Elder Hugh Findlay was laboring. They stayed there a few months and then sailed home around the south side of Sumatra, through the straits between that island and Java, around the east side of Borneo, through the South China Sea to Hong Kong, and then finally back to San Francisco.

One of the Siam elders, Elam Luddington, made it to Bangkok briefly but was persecuted by Christians and Buddhists and finally fled after 127 days in the country. His voyages home were frightening and life-threatening. The fourth Siam elder was Levi Savage, Jr. He spent most of his mission alone in Burma, where he learned to speak and write Burmese. On the way home from his mission, he joined with the Willie Handcart Company. It was Savage who warned that group not to go on because of the lateness of the date. Nevertheless, he went forward with that ill-fated company of emigrant pioneers and did his best to alleviate the suffering when it came.

Ultimately, the India elders visited most of the important cities on the subcontinent. They were not totally without success. They baptized well over 100 converts, 20 or so of whom emigrated to Zion. But they also saw a number of their converts weaken, wane, and wash away with the waves of criticism and persecution.

One of the most difficult problems for the elders was the news of missionary success from Britain and Denmark. In both places thousands of people were joining the Church and moving on to Utah to be with the Saints. The India missionaries discussed among themselves and also in their letters to the British Church periodical the Millennial Star their sense of failure when compared with the truly fruitful fields. They did their best to explain that matters in India were not like those in England. They occasionally complained in their journals and wished for a better place to teach the gospel.

Frankly, while traveling in India last year, I found it difficult. There are many, many people, and conditions leave much to be desired. I remember picking our way along the jam-packed, overworked sidewalk in downtown Calcutta. I found myself wondering how anyone survives with so much heat, so many buses and trucks belching black exhaust, so many people, so many taxis, so much humidity, so little sidewalk. How can anyone stand the constant pressure of hawkers and the pull at one's trousers of beggars clamoring for baksheesh? Getting across the street was like swimming perpendicular to a massive school of enormous, fuming fish. Looking upstream or down at the traffic was almost like watching a complex water ballet of vehicles weaving in and out. How can people drive such streets? How can anyone get anything done? Did our early missionaries really walk these very streets? I asked myself. No, the streets they walked have been gone a long time. But they walked and worked in this very place and many other places much like it. The early elders did not fight exhaust fumes or as many people in the streets, but the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. Poverty was ever present. Transportation was tediously slow and difficult. And diseases common to tropical climates--malaria, cholera, dysentery, and others--were a problem.

We traveled from place to place last summer in sturdy air-conditioned trains. When we rode through the countryside following the routes of the elders, we went in comfortable, air-conditioned automobiles. And when we retired for the night, we slept in clean hotel rooms after eating clean, tasty food. My heart goes out to our early missionaries who traveled so far on foot or by bullock cart. Many nights they slept on the ground under trees or in abandoned sheds, not knowing what kinds of varmints and poisonous snakes might share their rustic rest but trusting in Almighty God that he would spare their lives another night.

Among Europeans in India our missionaries seem to have been the only ones who walked and carried their own bags and belongings. Others felt it was beneath their station to stoop to such labor. Villagers found them odd and often stared at them as they plodded through their dusty or muddy paths. Lacking fresh water, our elders sometimes drank from wells, but usually drank from tanks, simple reservoirs used by the natives to catch monsoon rainwater. By the end of the year these reservoirs were rank and unsavory.

At times the temperatures were so high that sunstroke was almost unavoidable. Most Englishmen in India at that time would not leave their bungalows between 10 o'clock in the morning and the cool of evening. But the elders usually had no place to hide from the sun. One of the elders, William Carter, suffered so miserably in the heat that President Jones sent him home after only a couple months in the country. President Jones said Carter "was too far advanced in years and had been through too many hardships to stand the climate of India" (William F. Carter, "Incidents from the Journal of William F. Carter," in Kate B. Carter, comp., Heart Throbs of the West [Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1943], 4:17). This action probably preserved the life of the elderly Elder Carter. He was 42 at the time.

To summarize, the elders faced a number of problems. The single greatest deterrent to their success was the then-accepted doctrine of plural marriage. A second great problem was the refusal of the cantonment commanders to allow the elders to preach in those areas. Closely associated with this problem was the wholesale rejection of the elders by most of the Europeans throughout the country. They were an arrogant and haughty group who considered themselves above the elders and most other men. There was much corruption and immorality among the European civil servants and soldiers.

But was everything dark and evil? Were there no good people to assist the elders? Actually there were some wonderful people, native Indians and Europeans, who came to their aid and made their lives bearable and at times satisfying. In almost every city a few generous individuals provided places to sleep, rooms in which to preach, and food to eat. Others even paid for the publication of tracts, handbills, and pamphlets. Elder Skelton wrote that the only times he went hungry were the times when he didn't want to ask for food. The Lord always provided if Elder Skelton would ask. And in each major place--Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Poona, Karachi, and Hyderabad--converts to the restored gospel gave freely of their personal resources to support the Lord's purposes. Perhaps the kindest people as a group were the captains of ships and river steamers. By count, the India and Siam elders sailed on at least 49 oceangoing sailing ships and river steamers. In a number of instances the captains took them gratis or at greatly reduced fares. Six of the elders sailed around the world without purse or scrip.

In closing, what can be said of the East India and Siam missions of 1851 to 1856? Relatively few converts were made. Certainly the missions did not change India or Siam. One of the important facts is that all 17 elders lived through the experience. This may sound trivial today, but I doubt if we could find another group of European men of similar age who went to India from England and America at that time who did not lose up to half of their number in a similar time period. Diseases and debauchery took many lives. Our elders suffered miserably with malaria, dysentery, and fevers of diverse kinds, but they were blessed to survive and return home to their loved ones. In addition to the problems related to health were those connected with travel. Various of the elders experienced harrowing times at sea. But they returned home safely.

Probably the most important observation we can make in historical retrospect is that the mission strengthened the missionaries' testimonies. They accepted the call from the Lord and did their best to establish the restored gospel in the mission field. As I have reviewed these men's journals and other writings, I have not found a single complaint or question regarding the wisdom of Elder Lorenzo Snow or President Brigham Young in sending them to India. The elders were obedient. They trusted in the Lord and in their leaders. Among these elders several announced publicly upon their arrival in Utah that they were ready to accept any future assignments from their priesthood leaders. For example, Elder Chauncey Walker West wrote:



I feel grateful to my Father in Heaven that my life has been spared to mingle again with the saints in these peaceful valleys, and I now report myself on hand for duty whenever the servants of God call, for the Priesthood is my law. ["The India Mission: Letter No. 5," Deseret News 5, no. 36 (14 November 1855): 286]



I should mention that these men were Church members with considerable experience. Most were married. The average age was 32. Richard Ballantyne had already founded the Sunday Schools of the Church before his call to India. Three of them had been in the Mormon Battalion. Others had fought in the Battle of Nauvoo in 1846. And still others had helped construct the Nauvoo Temple. One was among the first group of pioneers to enter the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. All of them died in the faith, and most of them lived long lives and produced a great posterity.

Another point is that even though convert baptisms were few, about 20 members emigrated to Utah to be part of the commanded gathering. The descendants of the Meiks, McCunes, Booths, Hefferans, Taits, Davies, and others who came to Zion are grateful for the missionary service rendered to their ancestors in India.

Finally, the Church was obedient to the Lord's commandment to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. It was not easy to go to places like India, Burma, Ceylon, and Siam. But the Lord had commanded it. Did it matter if the elders did not have great success? Not really. The Lord was trying his Church and his people. To some the mere fact of going may not seem that important, but it was. In his dedicatory prayer of the Hong Kong Temple in May 1996, President Gordon B. Hinckley noted the faithfulness of the three elders who served in that unsuccessful mission at the same time the elders were in India. He prayed:



We are grateful for the faith of those who, nearly a century and a half ago, first came to Hong Kong as missionaries of Thy Church. Their labors were difficult and largely without reward. But their coming was an evidence of the outreach of our people to all nations of the earth, in harmony with the commandment of Thy Beloved Son that the gospel should be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. ["Hong Kong Temple: 'May Thy Watch Care Be Over It'" (dedicatory prayer), Church News, 1 June 1996, p. 4]



In a similar way we can honor the elders who served in India. They did not succeed impressively, but they went and they served and they remained faithful.

Observers of the martyred Joseph Smith might have found his life a failure if they had seen his limp and lifeless body on the ground at Carthage Jail. And many who looked on the Savior as he hung dying on the cross might have considered his mission a failure as well. But time has shown the apparent temporary failure of Joseph Smith to be but the prelude to the glorious growth of the Lord's work. And the Savior's apparent failure at Calvary was in actuality the greatest conquest in all eternity, the conquest over sin and death. That we may learn to distinguish between what appears to be success and what is success in eternal terms is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

No problem, I think it is my sacrasm or something that is hard to interpet on the blog - i actually hate communicating via typing- I know there is nothing that makes me mader than culture being destroyed. WE are so excited to see India!!!!

Oops, I guess I got a little carried away, and got too into the debating spirit of the blog that once was. I'm embarrassed , and feel a little silly. That's what happens when Oliver isn't around.... I lose my senses! Sorry Ally, I didn't mean to be condescending, or to chew you out. Please forgive me.

Weird about the doctor visit, Melissa. I bet you are glad to be coming home to have the baby. I discovered the hard way that it is a little different to have babies in a foreign country. They sometimes have their own ways of doing things!

Amber

Allyson,
We missed church in South Africa because I was so sick. But are the women not allowed to wear head dresses there? They wear them all the time here. Over 50% of the women at church have them on, and if it's special (like a blessing of a baby) they ALL do. No one complains. But I do agree about the Nigerian men! Why can't they wear their native dress??? Levin would flip out if one of them blessed the sacrament with a chief hat on and a flowery long top and pants. But I say, better he's in Nigerian dress than our little friend Christian who passes with his Tupac belt buckle. :)

Anyway, sounds like all the girls agree native dress should be allowed.

Interesting story (don't let Spencer read this) - I go to an American doctor here, but the 2 nurses are Nigerian. One of them asked if I'd been circumcised. I honestly had to stare at her for a long time before realizing what she meant. I just thought, "it's a little early to start asking me about that we don't even know if I'm having a boy or a girl." Then I realized she meant ME! Lucky for me the other nurse who has spent plenty of time in an American hospital came in and in some way answered for me. I'm not even sure what she said I was still in shock.

Sorry if that was too personal for the blog. I can see Lincoln planning a way to boot me off the blog. :)

Melissa

Amber, I think Allyson is actually in agreement with you, I know I am. I loved those picutres you posted. I think I will need to make another trip to India to go there. David would fit right in with those tall guards. I'm giving some presentations on India and need to give some food to sample. I wish there were some easy Indian finger foods. ANy ideas? JaL

Be careful Ally, just because it "seems strange" to you and your American sensibilities and culture, that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it. It may be true that certain elements of various cultures are evil (like arranged marriages, and putting the women in subservient roles) but as long as the clothing is modest in fit and fabric, and is comfortable for the wearer to wear in a church setting, then why not?

I am sure that some of the stuff that we consider normal and fine looks strange to other members in other countries. But there is no predominant culture in the church. We are from different countries, and we should preserve those cultures, so long as the elements of the culture are uplifting and good. The church may have been restored in the US, but it is not an American church, it is a worldwide church, full of life, and a variety of peoples and cultures.

Amber

Yeah I have said it before and I will say it again - Tongan men can wear skirts, Indian woman can wear pants but when african women wear headdresses or nigerian men wear their traditonal dress that is a no no - seems strange to me!
Ally

Amber,
Wonderful! Thanks for answering the question. Church culture vs. church doctrine is always interesting (and sometimes annoying).
Melissa

Melissa and Levin,
As far as I'm concerned, the "no-pants for women" rule is an article of church culture, and isn't a commandment or anything. Jana and I discussed this when she visited.

I have about 20 Indian outfits, but I can only wear about half of them to church, because the others aren't in appropriate fabrics to wear to church. Many of my outfits are salwar kameez suits, which consist of a knee length tunic over a blousy pair of pants, and several are the more traditional sarees, which look more like a toga-type dress.

If you go to church here, about 40 percent of the women are wearing the salwar kameez, with the others wearing sarees, or western clothing. Almost no Indians wear western clothing, but many Americans wear Indian clothing at least once in a while. I wear Indian clothes to church 90 percent of the time.

People are wearing their "Sunday Best," whatever that may be. I say that if you are more comfortable worshiping in a dress, wear a dress. If you feel your best in other appropriate, modest clothing, then that's okay too.

It just so happens that we were raised in a culture where "Sunday Best" for women always meant a dress. That isn't the case in many other places. We shouldn't mistake American culture for church rules, and impose our culture on others. Wouldn't it be weird for our mission president to give a talk here telling all the women to stop wearing the salwar kameez and start wearing something they were totally uncomfortable in? I can't imagine that will ever happen!

I don't feel funny wearing the salwar suits because they are beautiful, modest, and appropriate for wearing in India. Here, a regular church dress feels strange to me, because my legs are uncovered, and Indian women don't ever have their legs uncovered. I don't know how often I will wear the Indian clothes in the US, but I am sure that I will occasionally, since there isn't any big reason not to.

A long winded response to a simple query, sorry!

Amber

P.S. Oliver just called from Bangladesh. He says he is having a life changing experience. He visited a real live cholera hospital, just like in the movie that Jana gave to us to watch... the Painted Veil. They had beds with holes in the middle and everything. He has managed to re-apportion 6 million dollars that was earmarked to save the Bangladesh Black Goat, to help build a new wing to the hospital. I guess the people were all outside in a huge tent, suffering in 110 degree heat.

Lincoln,

I do the L funds but just changed mine to the riskeier L2030 fund (from the L2020) right before the stock market tanked so lost a lot of money.

My advice would be to keep it in something like L2020 until you think this recession is over and then after that split it between 2030 and 2040.

How much are you doing - 5% match?

Amber,
I've been curious about this for a while, but keep forgetting to ask. So while visiting teaching my Nigerian lady and my Brazillian companion said, "well the Indian women can't wear their native dress to church because it's pants and we have to wear skirts." In their minds it's akin to men wearing blue shirts to bless the sacrament.

It seems like reading your blogs, etc. though that the women do wear their native clothes to church pants an all.

I'm arguing that if the Indian women can wear pants to church then the Nigerian men can wear their native wear to church. As long as they do the right cloth it's formal to them. The women dress native, why can't the men?

Levin disagrees with me on this of course.

Anyway - any enlightenment on the Indian women wearing pants to church?

Melissa

PS. We had the best sacrament meeting we've ever had here yesterday. Our youth got back from their temple trip. I'm sure Levin will want to tell you about it. It's often hard to feel the spirit very strongly here, but yesterday was a definite exception. It actually made me think maybe we're here for a reason other than sitting in our little compound counting down the days.

Levin and Oliver,

What advice would give for allocation of my TSP funds?

Lincoln

Thank you so much for posting those pictures. That new camera is amazing. Wow - what an adventure and tourist information. I guess I will have to come back and see that! I am so glad you got to spend some time alone with Jared. I am so glad he is doing better. Oliver - good luck in Bangladesh. What an amazing life you all live. We are going to have some excitement in 3 weeks with Levin and Melissa come. Lucinda and Dawson are coming down for a weekend to see them. Lincoln - send us some pictures on the blog of the lambs in your backyard. You children make life entertaining for your parents stuck in Utah. Love Mom

Jared and I (Amber) went on a little embassy sponsored trip to Amritsar this weekend. First thing we went to the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan. Every day, they have a changing of the guard, and it was the strangest changing of the guard I have ever seen. The guards were all huge... over 6'6", and they had the fiercest demeanors. There was a lot of drama as they marched one by one to the gate, where they did some exercises along with the Pakistani guards, who were also HUGE. They kicked so high that one of them actually kicked off his own hat! Before and during the actual changing of the guard, people from each country were shouting sayings of "country pride" for their respective homelands. Some of the "cheerleaders" had lost their voices by the end. People took turns running down the area in the middle of the crowd, dancing, waving huge flags of their country, and singing songs. It was all very loud, and a little over the top. So fascinating. Then we went to the Sikh Golden Temple, which is the holiest place on earth for Sikhs. We watched the night ceremony, where they put the holy book of scriptures "to bed" for the night. It was crazy, thousands of people were trying to get a turn carrying the holy book, which they regard as a form of the one true God. At least they don't believe in thousands of gods, or have monkey headed idols everywhere. People were getting into the "holy" water around the inner sanctum of the temple, men, women and children, though the women all bathed in the water behind big barriers. The next day, we went back, and visited the community kitchen, which has been open for more than 500 years. It looks like they are still cooking they same way! Note the enormous iron pot over the fire. They were cooking about a ton of lentils at once. They let anyone come and help, so the men took turns stirring the giant pot, and the women got to make chapati, which they later cooked on enormous gas skillets. The kitchen where they did that was so hot! And it wasn't even too hot outside yet! After that, we visited the place where that British general (Dyer) commanded troops to open fire in a public area on civilians: men, women & children. More than 1500 people were killed. Many people jumped into a huge deep well to escape the gunfire, where they died either from the jump, or from the soldiers leaning in and shooting them. The train ride was about 6 hours each way, but it was so worth it. Maybe we'll go with Allyson. It'll be so hot, but wow, what an experience!

 
 
 
 

Romney: I could have won, with a few more Osmonds
Posted: 12:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNN) — At Wednesday night’s Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C., former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave his “Top 10 Reasons for Dropping Out of the Race":

10. There weren't as many Osmonds as I thought.
9. I got tired of corkscrew landings under sniper fire.
8. As a lifelong hunter, I didn't want to miss the start of the varmint season.
7. There wasn’t room for two Christian leaders.
6. I was upset that no one had bothered to search my passport files.
5. I needed an excuse to get fat, grow a beard and win the Nobel prize.
4. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.
3. I wanted to finally take off that dark suit and tie, and kick back in a light-colored suit and tie.
2. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn't win, my fundraising dried up.
1. There was a miscalculation in our theory: "As Utah goes, so goes the nation.”

how much would the hygeine kits project cost to fund and do you think the impact will be significant?

Here is our latest charity project... It's actually the one that we started a long time ago. Remember the kid whose family lived in the leaky squatter's electricity-free hovel? Well here it is. We tried to help them find another place, but it really didn't work out, so they are back in the little house. It has electricity now. We are paying to build it a little stronger, and then to fortify the roof. Here is phase one. The little house has one room, that the girl is standing in, that they use for cooking, eating, and sitting with each other. It is probably about 8 feet by 12 feet. It has a cement floor, and one tiny window. The other times I have been here, it was much neater. The house was in upheaval for the construction. Then there is one other room about the same size. The floors on that side are dirt. We are building up the crumbling walls. You can see that the roof is made up of little bits of plastic. Our next project is to strengthen the roof, so it keeps the water out, and doesn't make it too hot inside. It's already 105 here everyday, soon to be 120, or so. I am not sure, but I think the bathroom must be a shared community thing, outside the house. Remember, there are 7 people living here. Count your blessings, loved ones.

Next week we are going back to the school. it will be a YSA activity, and they will demonstrate some hygiene tips in anticipation of the hygiene kits that are soon to come. We are waiting to hear from SLC about funding for that. I wonder if we should wait though. The kids need them now. Anyone want to spearhead a project for sending 200 hygiene kits to India? If we do get the funding, there are about a million other places we could deliver the church kits to. Anyway, just a thought!

Amber

 
 
 
 

I had Memphis so would have pulled a Dad and won my own 25 bucks back if they had been able to hit a fowl shot. I'll send you your winnings. I assume sending cash through the mail to Nigeria is safe.
Taylor

Taylor,

How did your kids end up doing on the NCAA tourney?

I ended up with a whopping 140 points and picked Kansas to go all the way! Melissa can confirm this and it is NOT like that time I hit the homerun. Her score was 86 points.

The Bagwell family also does NCAA brackets and it is a very very serious thing in their family(they even have a trophey). Well, lets just say they are all a little low that an outsider came in and blew them away.

Levin

So yesterday we invited a Nigerian family from our Ward for dinner. They have been members for about 15 years, big family and the father is about 55. Well we asked him if they did April Fools in Nigeria and he said, oh yeah and proceeded to tell us the prank his wife pulled on him. I guess he has to go to the Republic of Benin for work a lot. Well on April 1st when he got home she met him very angry and told him that a woman from Benin came to their house with a baby - HIS baby. She said he had been cheating on her for many years with this woman and the truth has finnaly come out. She threatened to called all of the children together to tell them that their father was unfaithful and a liar and asked him if he had the gall to deny it after all of these years. WOW - that is serious. They mean business when it comes to pranks :-)

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/04/03/snoop-dogg-a-mormon-april-fools.htm

Forty years ago (give or take a day or two) we met for the first time, here.
The photos aren't great but niether are the subjects.

If you didn't hear yet, I'm going to Hawaii for part of the summer, and getting a job at the PPC, hoping to raise some cash for my mission! wish me luck!

I love this article!

http://cnnentertainment.co.nr/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01

WHICH ONE WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

Amber, those pictures are awesome. We would love to get a DVD of your trip if you send one out. I especially like the picture with all of the Vietnamees on the boat waving to you. If that was Nigeria they would all be giving the finger.

We are excited to come home for R&R. We will probably be at Mom and Dads from May 15th-May 24th.

Levin

Wow! What amazing scenery and photographs. I bet a big part of you is going to miss all the photo opps when you come back to the states to live, huh Amber? Post more we love seeing it. I agree with Ally I think you should submit them to National Geographic and see what happens.

Along with JaLayne should submit some of the natural disaster pictures, so gruesome and graphic.
Lucinda

We had severe straight line winds on Monday night that created havic and blew some shingles off our roof. We are being punished with sickness and natural disasters around here. Fun.