Light the World
Our Nativity display at the Little Mount Chapel attracted much attention from the passing crowds. This is adjacent to a major bus stand in Chennai. Buses are coming and going constantly, carrying thousands to their jobs, homes and shopping. Our missionaries were kept very busy, answering questions. Missionaries are not allowed to proselyte on the streets – however, if people stop in to look at the display and ask questions, we are very happy to oblige. Local members are able to stand in the streets, next to the Church and invite people in – but the Americans (in particular) can get in trouble if they do so. The local laws are very strict about this and they ARE enforced.
District Conference was held on December 8 & 9. President Evans – Asian Area President – visited us. We spent the previous 2 weeks coordinating repairs and ridding the building of mosquitoes. Little Mount gets a lot of use and is beginning to show its age (7 years). Sister Gibson and I were in charge of ensuring that the entourage of General Authority, Mission President and their companions were fed lunch among all of the meetings. Mission Presidents are particularly busy, since they must interview all of the Zone missionaries, meet with District/Branch Presidents and sign Temple Recommends. Sleep must be a rare commodity for a Mission President, especially in a far flung area like Bengaluru Mission.
Sister Gibson and I attended all five of the Chennai District Christmas parties. The Saints here love to celebrate any holiday, but they particularly like Christmas. It is not commercialized (yet) as it is in the States, so the celebrations are simple and very enjoyable. The members all love to perform, the Primary children, Relief Society sisters and the youth. No one is concerned about rushing about, buying gifts and preparing for parties that few people will attend. We didn’t see any videos or evidence here of people fighting over the last X Box or some toy that would be forgotten soon after the holidays. We did see people caroling their neighbors into the wee hours of the morning – of course we viewed it on video, since missionaries don’t keep late hours. Sister Gibson and I were corralled into our first (and probably last) choir with the other missionaries at one of the Branch gatherings.
The pictures are entertaining as is the video (if I can get Blue Host to allow the upload).
The wall surrounding Little Mount has become a place for political advertising (this election season in India – a new parliament and prime minister will be elected in May 2019). Local parties plaster poster pictures of their candidates on the many brick and concrete walls that encompass the city and the innumerable colonies (individual neighborhoods) around Chennai. Late in December, in the middle of the night, a group of local Saints (NOT the missionaries) tore down the posters and put a fresh coat of white paint on the wall that encompasses our grounds. A particularly obnoxious painting of a local politico was covered (this was an “evil” looking dude). As expected, the local party demanded reparations for “vandalizing” their advertisements. Since our Church owns the wall, the demand went unheeded.
We attended our first Indian wedding on December 11 – it was a Church wedding with some of the traditional cultural trappings. The bride and groom are in the center right (groom is in blue) of the picture amongst all of the well wishers. There is no bashfulness here about taking pictures and video before, during and following the ceremony.
Some photos from our Colony…..
