Cricket anyone?

India's #1 most popular sport is Cricket. Even though we don't know how the game works, we watched part of a game at a restaurant called the Whitefield Social. This match was between Sri Lanka and India. Go India!

Arvind invited us to his recital where he played the piano and then sang a very moving India love song in Hindi language called, "Mar Jau Ya Jee Lu Zra". In English, "Should I Die or Should I Live a Little". It's also called, "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin" or "Still Somewhere Inside Me".

It's still amazing to us how this young man, born blind, has acquired so many talents. Listen to him sing.

Office News

Sister Martin ordered a hand crank pencil sharpener from our office supplier and this is what arrived. 

At least it does the job...

A favorite sport at the church among the young and older men is badminton. It happens to be the 4th most popular sport in India, behind Field hockey #3, and Football (Soccer) #2. 

They asked me to try it out at an Elders Quorum activity.

Followed by Biryani Rice and the best beef curry I've ever had made by Brother Charles. They let me take home some sauce. I heated it up the next day and it even tasted better.

I wish I had the recipe. (Sister Martin was taking all the great pictures.)

We've had a lot of requests for copies of the Holy Bible at the mission lately so I've ordered many more copies. Of course we use the "Classic" King James version.

We were invited over to visit the Issac family for and authentic Kerala, India dinner. They are a fantastic family and we enjoyed the evening. Nicole served in our mission and Carol is getting married next month in Kerala. 

This video describes some of the dishes we enjoyed.

Ah Oh. Make sure you look in your cup before you pour water in to drink...

What a way to finish off a blog with double baptism. A day of rejoicing and thankfulness..

Daniel, next to me, gave his wonderful testimony. He was visiting his daughter and was out for a walk. He came in to the church grounds and asked the security guard, Nagaraj, if he may pray. He opened up the church and told him to turn out the light and close the door when he was done. Daniel said he opened up the hymn book, was reading through some hymns and then wondered who Joseph Smith was. When he came out of the church, the Elders were outside, He asked Elder Nagaraj, Ostler and Joseph who Joseph Smith was. They shared some basic gospel concepts and told him they would talk about Joseph Smith next time. Every day, Daniel walked over to the church to pray and read the scriptures.  Over the next few weeks the missionaries answered his questions and taught him the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. About a month later, he decided to be baptized. He has been rejoicing and praising God.