August 28, 2008Hello everyone. Before we tell what's going on, we thought we would tell you a little about the country. We have been here long enough to give an informed opinion. Just remember, it's an opinion and could change when viewed from someone else's eyes. First let us say we miss the good ole USA and never consider living anywhere else.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a very tropical climate. It's hot and humid every day; twenty four hours a day. For Sister Mills that is a major issue; for Elder Mills, let's just say he has embraced the climate. Sister Mills has hair to think about and Elder Mills, let's just say that is not an issue. Well, you get the picture; it's hot. It feels like 96 or higher every day. That aside, the country is beautiful. It is very green with plants and trees we can neither name or describe adequately. Most of the trees and brushes are flowering with just about every color of the rainbow; mostly reds, whites, orange and purple.We live in Colombo, which is the capital and is located in the southwest part of the country. There are more than five million people living in Colombo and it seems like all of them are driving, riding, walking, or cycling at the same time every day. It's been said that the streets and roads of southern India and Sri Lanka are the most democratic places on earth. Everybody and everything think they have a right to be on the road and they take full advantage of that right. You will see everything on the road. Besides the standard stuff, bicycles, motorcycles, trishaws, scooters, small cars, big cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, and vans we have seen dogs, cattle, water buffaloes, elephants, monkeys, tractors, and something that looks like a rotor tiller. Of course we always have pedestrians and most of the time there are no sidewalks. They all seek the same spaces and it can be very dangerous because the hierarchy is based on size. Needless to say the trucks and buses rule. There is always this cat-and-mouse game of chasing after the same space and they throw in a little chicken when they want to pass; and that's all the time. We pray every day that the Lord will keep us safe and we know your prayers are blessing us also.
We mostly stay in Colombo, but travel to some other parts of the country nearly every week; sometimes twice a week. We usually go to Kandy or Negombo. Colombo is the country's largest port and most of the goods coming to and leaving the country come through Colombo. All of the embassies of other nations are here, including the American Embassy. The largest universities and cultural attractions are here also, although most of the tourist attractions Sri Lanka is famous for are in other parts of the country. Negombo is a fishing town with a large beach tourist attraction. It's not as crowded as Colombo and people travel by bicycle and scooter a lot more. It is a large Christian population there; mostly Catholic. We have a nice branch there and there have a dependent group up in Chilaw, another fishing town further north. It's about 30 kilometers north of Colombo and the road from Colombo is very good. Still it can take an hour and half to get there. There is always everything on the roads.
Kandy is more northeast from Colombo toward the interior of the country. It is located in a higher elevation so it is a little cooler and the humidity may be 55 percent instead of 75 percent or higher. We know we have mentioned this before, but the road to Kandy can be breathtaking in more ways than one. There is a beautiful jungle and you may see elephants walking on the road. You can look just off the road in the trees and see fruit bats hanging there waiting for night. We don't know if you have ever seen a fruit bat, but these things can have a three to four foot wing span. There are a group of them that hang out at the Hilton Hotel in Colombo and at night they can get up close and personal. Back to the road to Kandy; it's only 115 kilometers from Colombo and it is pack every meter of the way. It can take four to four and half hours to make the trip. About two months ago, we started leaving for Kandy at 5:30 a.m. We can make it a three-hour trip when we do that. We were going there every other week. We have cut that to once a month since the Fullmers arrived here. We know we have mentioned them before so we won't get into many details about them. Let's say they are a ball of fire. They have been working on activation and fellowship and Church attendance is up more than 30 percent since they have been here.
Kandy is mostly Buddhist. They call it the Buddhist capital of Sri Lanka. It is the home of the Temple of the Tooth and pilgrims come from all over to worship there. The tooth of Buddha is one of the most sacred items of worship in the Buddhist religion. Each year they have a huge parade called the Perahera. It features dancers, drummers, ancient horns, and elephants—lots and lots and lots of elephants. We had an opportunity to attend this year's Perahera last week. It starts the first week in August and last for ten days until Poya day; you know the full moon day. Each night they line the streets and view this parade. The theme is mostly Buddhist, but it has a small portion featuring the Hindu Gods and paying them tribute. It was a great parade, but far short of the large parades featured in the US. We saw elephants with lights, elephants dancing, elephants needing a scooper, and we saw them over and over again. There must have been at least 85 elephants in the parade. They came through with white lights, with blue lights, with red lights, with yellow lights, and a few had no lights at all. They had at least seventy or eighty groups of dancers and drummers. At one point we thought the same guys were coming back to go through again and again. The only deviation was in the beginning. They had whip crackers cracking their whip to signal the start of the Perahera. They were followed by guys twirling fire. It featured three guys on stilts twirling fire; one of which might have been twenty or thirty feet off the ground.
We enjoyed it, but it would have been more fun if it didn't take so long. Due to the high security, we had to get to our seats about hour an half before the scheduled start, and the parade started nearly two hours later. Most of the little kids at our location had fallen asleep or they fall asleep doing the parade, which lasted nearly two and half hours. If you are counting, that is nearly seven hours. They may fly with some young folks, but we are getting too old to spend seven of our few remaining hours on a parade—even if it is the biggest and best in Sri Lanka. Needless to say one Perahera is enough.We mentioned the people are beautiful, and they are. The children are adorable. They are all lovely. You just want to wrap them all up and bring them back with you, especially the ones that are trying so hard to prepare themselves for a better life. Suffice it to say, we have become very attached to many of them. We love the adults too. We work with the young people mostly and they can capture you heart. There are some issues with the Sri Lanka people. Everything is about twenty to thirty years behind. Even when they have computers, they keep everything in a ledger. We can remember when we use to have the hard copy to back up the computer. Now you just back up the hard drive.
Next there is a dual personality of the Sri Lanka people. The public Sri Lanka and the private Sri Lanka is totally different. In their homes they are meek and humble. Regardless of their circumstances either rich or very poor, they are gracious hosts. They always make you feel welcome in their homes. They will always serve you a drink, even if they have to send one of the kids out to buy one. You get a drink whether you want it or not. They try to offer some snack with the drink, either biscuits (cookies) or fruit. They always invite you to dinner and serve you first. Sometimes they even give you their meal and only eat later if there is something left.
Now the public Sri Lanka is completely different. They are crude and rude. They focus on themselves and everyone believes they are entitled to that space or that place in line. There is no queue in Sri Lanka. They push in front of and take your place in line. If you manage to get service, the next person is so close to you he is pushing you out of the way so he can take care of his business, which is more important than yours. They drive the same way. There are accidents nearly every day where two vehicles run head-on into each other because neither wants to let the other go first. Elder Mills can always learn to be more patient and he if doesn't learn it here, it will be a short coming until the end.The businesses are the worst. Well, maybe the government is the worst. In the US there are two rules we use when dealing with the public. Rule number one is the customer is always right. Rule number two is to read rule number one again. The private businesses in the US got this down for the most part. We know that we think of government workers as inefficient. These folks will make our government workers look like the A team. The rule here is more like, take it or leave it; there aren't many if any recourses for issues that come up. We have been trying to get a stove top fixed since May. They have been out or promised to come out over a half dozen times. Of course we paid in advance. The only way you get something done is pay in advance; then you fight to get a satisfactory completion to your project. Anyway, it is next to impossible to get them on the phone. When you do, they promise to come out. We got frustrated and went to the store to get our money back they only made more promises to come out. Remember what Elder Mills needs as mentioned above. Needless to say, Sister Mills is the only one dealing with them.
Still we would be remiss if we didn't say the private Sri Lanka make you love this people and this country; especially the members of the Church. Well that's a little about the country and the people. Again, it is only our opinion and opinions are like names: everybody has one.
We have been here seven months and we know that the Lord has sent us here. We appreciate the opportunity we have. The one thing that is reinforced in your heart is we are all children of God and He loves each of us. Sometimes the injustices in life may be more apparent here, but we still know God is no respecter of persons. He welcomes all that will come unto Him. We realize that the great gift of agency is like a two-edged sword. It allows us to choose him and it allows us to choose otherwise. He uses us to bless each other lives and at the same time some choose not to be a blessing but a curse. We see what is going on over here with so many innocent people dying and realize bad things happen to good people and vice versa. We were talking to a member who is a recent convert. He said he was an angry man and was always preoccupied with death. He said he was unhappy and afraid. He joined the Church a little over a year ago and his life changed completely. He said now he has hope. He is no longer afraid, he doesn't get angry like he did, and he is happy. We reflected on our own baptism more than twenty-seven years ago and rejoiced. The joy the gospel brings never gets old. Our mission is a very important part of that joy. It is going so fast, we will see you before you know it. We love you and may God bless each of you.
August 3, 2008
We did get another couple on June 12. They are from California; a little town near Bakersfield just south of the Fresno valley. What a wonderful couple. Elder Fullmer is deaf; he has no hearing in one ear and can hear some with the help of a hearing aide in the other. Mostly he reads lips, so you can imagine how difficult it is to read lips when English is the second language for the speaker. We think he is doing very well. He speaks very well, but very loudly because he can’t hear himself talk. It sometime startles folks if they aren’t used to talking with him. The look on their faces is priceless. He is a very kind and loving person with an outgoing personality. He never meets a stranger. He knows all the neighbors and they love him. That could be because he is short like most of them and they like to look at an American eye-to-eye instead of looking up all the time.
Sister Fullmer is wonderful. She said she just came alone to keep Elder Fullmer out of trouble. She is very practical and warm. She pays very close attention to details like really trying to learn how to pronounce the folks' names correctly. She knows all the little towns around Kandy and how to get to someone’s house after she has been once. They are a good team. We have done several things with them already and it has been a joy for us. Now only if they were closer. By the way, the people in Kandy love them. They have almost forgotten about the Mills already.
We have been so blessed that we don’t know where to start with some of these updates. We have had some choice experiences. We love the baptism service more than any other in the Church. We know the sacrament meeting is important because it give us all a chance to renew the covenants we made at baptism, but to see one of God’s children make the initial covenant and to feel the Spirit present is like no other meeting. We know this isn’t a doctrinal principle, but we feel when you share a saving ordinance with someone you have an eternal connection to them. Well in any case, when we took Elder and Sister Fullmer to Kandy, we stayed a couple of days with them. We attended Church with them on Sunday. After the services, they had a baptism. It was a young husband and wife who looked like the light of Christ shone from their countenance. It was the highlight of our trip—if you don’t count the train ride back to Colombo.
We caught the train back. It was some ride. First of all, we took the observation car, which is first-class. It cost us 400 rupees (less than $4.00) a person and that’s up from 250 rupees due to the increase in oil prices. Your seat is reserved for you and there is a huge window from which you can observe the scenery; hence the observation car. The car itself looked like it had been rescued from the scrap heap of an old train graveyard. Did we ever say how hot it is in Sri Lanka? To cool us off we had to open the window and they had an oscillating fan hanging from the ceiling. All the comforts of home, they spared no expense. We must say the scenery was beautiful. There was this one place along the track where you could see the mountains and jungle in the valley below. It looked as if the drop would go on forever if the train would somehow jump the track. It was breathtaking if not downright scary. To top it off, the ride was like a rickety roller coaster ride in an amusement park. We bounced around and bounced up and down and toward the end it slowed down like all the rides do when they prepare to stop to let you off and/or to pick up more riders. We were happy to get to Colombo and we still haven’t decided which is the best way to travel to and from Kandy. We do think going first-class is the only way to go. We saw other folks packed into the other cars like sardines. Some were hanging out the doors while others hung out the windows and still others were packed so tight they didn’t have to hold on to anything to keep from falling. Yeah! We’ll probably take the train again, but not soon.
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| Brother and Sister Beck with Brother and Sister Mills. |
Sister Beck’s message was simple and basic. So much so, it reminded us of the description of the gospel by one of the General Authorities when he said, “the Gospel is simply beautiful and beautifully simple.” Sister Beck’s talk was that way too. She talked about faith and told many stories of sisters all over the world that have faith in Christ and although they make a meager living, they still recognize the blessings of the gospel in their lives. She talked about the family and why Satan is trying to destroy it. She taught that the Church is the only place on earth where the correct culture and family model is taught. She used examples in her family to help us understand the Lord's plan. You must have a plan to have a strong family and it must include family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family working together, and family love for one another. We will just repeat a couple of her stories to illustrate. She talked about having to sing the same song in family home evening every week ("Love at Home") and how when she was 15 she protested against singing the same old song and her father told her when you get lesson one, we will teach you lesson two. Love one another is lesson one. We loved the story about her relationship with her mother-in-law. They were so close that she could always rely on her for anything.
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| Sister Julie Beck with some of the Sri Lankan sisters, many of whom traveled long distances to hear her speak. |
We know it doesn’t seem like it, but we have been here more than six months. We had to make our first visa run. We are here on a visitor’s visa and that means we have to leave the country every six months. That is the way that we gauge our mission. We know when we leave the third time it will be to come home. On this visa run we went to Bangalore and to be frank, we were not looking forward to it. When we came out in January, we had a terrible experience in Bangalore and going back was not number-one on our things we would love to do list.
Well this time was completely opposite of the first time. We had a wonderful time in Bangalore. First of all it’s about 3500 feet above sea level and inland so it was a lot cooler than Sri Lanka. The weather was perfect; that made the trip worth it. There was very little humidity and no sweating at all. We didn’t have to turn on the air conditioner at all. A low speed fan kept everywhere we visited cool. It was great.
We stayed with the mission president. Our night there we got a special treat. We had the opportunity to attend a missionary release fireside at the mission home. There were six elders and one sister going home and this fireside was to honor and counsel them. The sister and half the elders were from India and would be going back home to use what they learned on their missions to strengthen their local units. One of the elder’s mother and younger brother came out to pick him up and they were at the fireside also. The agenda was simple; opening remarks by the president, five of the missionaries shared memorable experiences from their mission, the president gave them some counsel for their future and testimonies. Oh I forgot, we had wonderful dinner first and there was lots of music throughout the meeting. The Spirit was strong. A lot of their experiences were very similar so we will share just one. One told of a day when the rain was so hard that you could barely see. They went out anyway and the Spirit directed them to a bus cover. They met a man there and asked if he would like to hear about the Plan of Salvation. He said yes and invited them to his home. He was baptized and is now one of the leaders of the branch. You could see how the Spirit had forever changed the life of the one that was taught and the one that was teaching.
The president’s counsel was great and he felt inspired to write it out and put a copy in each one of their release packages. He covered everything and we certainly could have benefited from that counsel when we were that age. In fact a lot of it still applies and will forever. We won’t try to recap his whole talk, but one or two points we all can use. Goals! Set some goals that should stretch you and should be measureable. Just like baptism is the beginning of our walk with God, the end of your mission is the beginning of your eternal service to God. Continue to prepare yourselves to be ready whatever the Lord will call you to do. We may not be around to see it, but know these young people will be great in the service of the Lord. Of course, the testimonies were the highlight of the meeting. The Lord’s gospel will go throughout all of Asia via India and he is preparing his Saints for the work. We were blessed to be able to attend such a special meeting.
We were there two days. We came in Monday morning and were supposed to leave Wednesday morning (there was a four-and-a-half-hour delay going back).Elder and Sister Asplund were like our host. They showed us around and took us to lunch and dinner. They are Seminary and Institute (CES) missionaries like us and they have Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) also; so we were a good match. They gave us some training on career workshop training and we got to attend an Institute class in their apartment.
We were happy to get the career workshop training. Although we don’t think they will get PEF implemented before we leave, career workshop training can benefit our young people in Sri Lanka now. It is always good to get to know yourself better; to know your strength and your weaknesses; identify were you can improve. We are excited about rolling it out. We have already talked to the district president about it and he is on board.
That Institute class was wonderful. The young adults had confidence and they were willing to share and participate in the lesson. The Asplunds prepared an outstanding lesson and focused on a few Gospel principles to hammer home. The young folks enjoyed it and we felt blessed to be a part of the class.
We did do some other things. They showed us around and we had a choice of going to one of these beautiful parks or going to one the city's shopping districts. We don’t have to have more than one guess to know where we went. That’s right, we went shopping. We all enjoyed it! It was really different.
Before we lose everybody, let us tell this one cute little story and bid you farewell until next time. Did we ever mention about getting items through customs? Well, if we did here we go again. If you put something in an 8 ½ by 11 envelope or one of those $11 flat rate envelopes, it usually comes right through to us with no problem. We said usually because things can change around here in a hurry. Well bless your wonderful hearts, you want to send us more and we really appreciate that. It is fun to receive packages. Still when they come in the large sizes, we have to go down to customs and pick it up. The process is so antiquated that it is like a Saturday Night Live skit. You would more than likely die laughing if it wasn’t you going through it. The second to last time we went down there we met some of the younger elders picking up packages also. He got his package first and had received some licorice from home. Sister Mills commented how much she loved licorice and he gave her two packs right there. She proceeded to open one right there and started eating it. All of the workers begin to look at her strange as if to wonder what is that she is eating? While Elder Mills was getting the package and paying the customs fee, Sister Mills started sharing her licorice with all the staff. Before we left, they all were eating licorice.
Now why are we telling you this story? The last time we went down, all the staff recognized Sister Mills and they were falling all over themselves to see that we got our package in hurry. Each of them looked over at us and would give us the high sign as if to say I will take care of you quickly don’t worry. Sure enough they did. We were out of there in thirty minutes. We have spent hours in that place. We guess lesson to learn is one we all know; a little kindness goes a long way. God bless you all! June 7, 2008
The Paulsens went home. That's right: we're all alone! Not really—we are just the only couple on the island. We are the face of the Church in Sri Lanka. The other day, we got a request to do something as the representative for LDSC (Latter-Day Saints Charities). When we said we did not represent LDSC, they said our names were given to them as the LDSC reps. So we are the first-line contact for the Church on the island. It just keeps us busy. When we lost the Paulsens, it was difficult for a few days. It felt like a real loss. We know they are home enjoying their family and readjusting to life in the states, and we wish them well. Still, we miss them.
We just got an opportunity to watch General Conference. It was two weeks late, but better late than never. What a great conference! I'm looking forward to the May edition of the Ensign. Until you don't have access to the broadcast, you don't realize how much you need to hear the messages. We knew it before, but having to wait two weeks really brought it home. We really love and appreciate the Brethren for the great example they are us. They work so hard. Whenever we might be feeling overwhelmed, we look to their example to give us hope. What a powerful testament of Jesus Christ, His Church, and His prophet. There is no doubt about who we are and what we believe. We add our testimonies that Jesus is the Christ and that He lives. He is the Only Begotten Son of the Living God, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His Church on the earth today. We testify that Thomas S. Monson is His prophet for this time and holds and is authorized to exercise all the Keys of the priesthood. We didn't get a chance to stand in solemn assembly and sustain President Monson, but the Holy Ghost has born witness to us and we know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I guess General Conference is the same everywhere: a group of faithful Saints always attends and takes advantage of listening to a prophet's voice. There are always some that look at it as a time to do other things because they can catch up with what was said by reading the Conference edition of the Ensign, or they think they will listen to the archives file during their leisure time. It never happens. When you don't have that opportunity, you long for it and you pray that others who do have the opportunity would realize how blessed they are.
Since General Conference we have had a roller coaster of events, mostly highs. We have some great gatherings of the Saints to study, learn, uplift, and fellowship each other. We have also had some sad events. Oddly enough, they have given opportunities to serve, learn, uplift, and fellowship each other, too. Well, guess this hasn't been much of a roller coaster at all—just different types of events give you these valuable opportunities in life. They always reaffirm your faith and testimony that Jesus is the Christ and He lives. Let's just review some things we have experienced over the last few weeks.
The sisters here had a District Relief Society Birthday party. It was wonderful. They came from every point on the Island where the Church in found. Our District is very small and in terms of miles, it's pretty close; but in terms of ability to get there, it covers a huge commuting time. For example, Kandy is 115 km (about 80 miles) from Colombo; it takes seven to nine hours round trip. Negombo is 45 km from Colombo, and it is three hours round trip. The road is a lot better. Well, that will give you some idea of what the people have to go through to gather for one of these events. By the way, very few own cars or other means of transportation. They mostly travel by bus. Well, back to the party. MOre than 150 sisters came to the event. They were treated to uplifting remarks from a member of the District Presidency and members of the District Relief Society Presidency. They were served a very good meal and spent a few minutes fellowshipping, catching up with each other since the last time they saw each other. There was picture taking and dancing, lots of hugs and genuine caring for each other. What was amazing is that they put it all together in less than two weeks. They knew it was coming; they had one every year and they knew this year's event would happen also. The District Relief Society President was sick and in the hospital so it was cancelled until further notice. With God's blessing she was able to recover and direct the event. The Sisters were elated. Next they will get another opportunity to rejoice in their sisterhood when Sister Julie Beck, the Relief Society General President, visits Colombo on 19 June 2008. We are sure it will be another great occasion.Following the Relief Society bash, we had Zone Conference and District Conference the very next week. Zone Conference was very special; we had Elder Hallstorm of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Second Counselor in the Asian Area Presidency presiding. He gave us great training and some great counsel; we want to share just a few of the things he said with you. When we take on the name of Christ, we should actively ponder and reflect on our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ daily and perform a selfless service daily. Always be mindful of how we use His holy name daily; sometimes we become too casual with His name and don't give it the reverence it should always have when we speak it. Well, it caused us to reflect, and we are better for it.
When we found out Elder Hallstorm was coming, Sister Nichols (the mission president's Wife) asked Sister Mills if we could have something different for lunch. We were their last stop, and they were getting tired of rice and curry, pizza, and stuff like that. Sister Mills made a few suggestions; we could cater in from one of the restaurants around the area or she (Sister Mills) could fix some side dishes to go with KFC. Knowing we are the only couple on the Island, Sister Nichols said, "I'll leave it up to you. Surprise us; I'm sure it will be good." After pondering a while, Sister Mills decided she couldn't leave such an important meal up to a caterer. So out she went all over town, dragging her poor companion, Elder Mills, with her to find all the things she would need to make this a memorable meal. Sister Mills worked hard, got the perfect menu, and put together a meal that all were happy with. Everyone ate until they were full and more than once her lunch got praised in our afternoon training session.Unfortunately, Elder Hallstorm had to leave and was unable to stay for District Conference, so President Nichols presided over conference. We are aware that we keep saying "great," but we are simple folks and our vocabulary isn't adequate enough to express how we feel about these things. After saying that, it was a great conference! Of course, it was a two-day affair and again the folks came from all points to be here. Generally the sum of the average attendance of each unit in a Stake or District is more than the attendance at the conference. Here it's different. The attendance at District Conference is greater than the sum of the average attendance of each unit. We don't know if that is good or bad, just different. Anyway, more people get to hear the outstanding spiritually uplifting messages. There was standing room only. President Anton, the District President, gave one of the best talks we have ever heard in a Stake or District conference. His topic was feed my sheep; you can find the text in John 21. We all know the circumstances and most of us almost always associate the scripture with missionary work—going out among those not of your faith and declaring the word until them and inviting them to come unto Christ. President Anton came from a different approach. It's not the first time we heard this approach, but it was one of the most powerful times. He came from the perfecting the Saints point of view; the brothers and sisters already in the community of Christ. We need to feed them also; that's why we have home teachers and visiting teachers. Not just those who have fallen out of fellowship or gone less active, but those who are there every day. We all need a kind word, a selfless act of service, a gentle smile, a hug spiritually as well as physically sometimes. He talked about how we owe every effort we have to find the ones that are lost and we know in our hearts if we have done all we can do. He made a very interesting observation. Sometimes we are feeding the sheep and we are feeding them poison. We are supposed to nourish them with the good word of Christ (President Hinckley said that), not poison them. How do we poison them? We do it with our back-biting, gossips, rumors, and negative attitudes. That is just a taste of the talk, and if causes one of you to think about that Chapter of John in a different way, that would be good.
Next we had our first Institute fireside and Seminary scripture bowl. It has been so hard to get everyone together so we had to combine everything. So while the Institute students watched a CES fireside on DVD, the Seminary-age students were doing scripture matches and scripture crossword puzzles. Thanks to Karen Crapo, they played scripture basketball and they loved it. We brought them all back together and played games with an Old Testament theme. We later divided into teams and competed for candy by answering questions from the Old Testament. They all had a great time. We served a good meal and all of those that were present had a wonderful time.We must give special recognition to Sister Mills again. Elder Mills was in the midst of very nasty sinus infection and couldn't help with the planning. She managed to drag him along when shopping for materials and food. She organized the Branch members to help with the games, activities, and food. They are always willing to help. Fortunately, Elder Mills was able to feel well enough to help with the implementation of the plan. Again, it was great.
About the other work, we are doing everything. Happy days are here. We don't have to wait until October to get another couple. We are getting someone for Kandy on June 12. We are elated, but we think Kandy has mixed emotions. They are used to seeing us and they know they want see us often now that the new couple is here. That will last about two days and they will forget the Mills and will love the Fullmers. As far as the other stuff is concerned, let's just say it is a lot. Going into details may come across as whining. We are busy and we love the work and the people. The situation over here makes one's heart very heavy, so we cry a lot. We see the faithfulness of the Saints and it gives us joy.
Now for a few of the sad things that have taught us so much and have strengthened our testimonies. Since we have been here, there have been four funerals in our small Branch of either members or very close relatives. Elder Mills has attended all the funerals and Sister Mills three. Elder Mills has dedicated the graves of three of those that have passed, and the other was cremated. The district president's mother died and so did the branch president's mother. In order to have his mother buried in the family plot, the district president had to agree to an Anglican gravesite service. They were members of the Anglican Church before they became LDS. All the cemeteries are divided into sections over here; Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and of course the largest area is Buddhist. LDS are not welcome in anyone's part of the cemetery. So you have to do what you have to do get your relative buried. After their service we dedicated the grave.
The branch president's mother had been sick for a very long time and for the last year and half she had been in an invalid state. Her suffering was unbearable for the family, so her passing was a blessing as well as a deep loss. He agreed to participate in a ritual Hindu service so he could have some prayers said and hymns sang at the wake and he could have someone dedicate the gravesite. Elder Mills was happy to do it for him. We would go into the Hindu service but it was beyond any words we could use to describe it. We are still searching the Internet and trying to get private explanations of what we saw. We can only say it was very interesting.
The other funeral that taught us something was one of the sisters in the branch, Sister Chandra. She was the first in her family to travel, the first female to pursue a career. She married outside of her race and she joined the Church. Because of all she did, she was estranged from her family for 27 years. She had a twin sister that she didn't see for all those years. She finally came back to Sri Lanka and reconciled with her family; she was a role model for the young women in the family. She always was true to herself and to her faith. She battled cancer in the last stages of her life, but never complained. She was at Church every Sunday when she wasn't in the hospital; she bore her testimony every fast and testimony meeting. It was always full of praise for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and gratitude for the many blessing she received as a member of his Church. Oh! She was endowed and kept a current temple recommend, even though the nearest temple is in Hong Kong. She kept her own set of temple clothing and left instructions that she was to be buried in them. Her sister honored her request, and Sister Mills was one of the endowed sisters that helped dress her before she was buried. Yep! You guessed it. Elder Mills dedicated the gravesite. It was a very spiritual experience and taught us a lot about what you should be willing to do and suffer to live the gospel when the Holy Ghost has born witness to you that is true.
We love all of you and miss seeing you.
November 13, 2008
Hello everyone! It has been a while since you have heard from us and lots has happened during that time. We don't want to bore you with too many details, although Elder Mills maintains boredom is a self-inflicted condition. As you know, we are getting old and we can’t always remember exactly what we have told you, so bear with us. We are sure you remember the dear loving senior family member or friend that would tell you the same story over and over again every opportunity they would get. We hope we won’t fall into that category.When we last communicated there was a lot of pressure on the missionary effort here in Sri Lanka. We were notified by immigration that the visa that most of our missionaries were using was not the right visa for what they were doing. They asked two of the elders and one of our couple missionaries to leave until they could obtain the correct visa. By the way, they wouldn’t tell us what the correct visa was. Since this was an issue, the Area Presidency moved all foreign missionaries out of Sri Lanka. Those who weren’t scheduled to go home within 30 days were transferred to India. By the end of September, there were only two native Sri Lanka missionaries and us left in the country. Our visa was different than the others. The last time we went for an extension, we requested and received a multi-entry visa. Since what we do is different from the other missionaries, the only thing to determine was did the visa allow us to do what we do. We were in limbo for nearly a month while the Church researched what type of visa we needed to continue to do our work in Sri Lanka. After a while they came up with the multi-entry visa. We said we already have that visa. Next was to determine if what we had was the same thing as they said we needed. After more research with lawyers and Sri Lanka embassy personnel, it was determined that our visas were just fine. We can stay in Sri Lanka to supervise the Seminary and Institute program, supervise mission and unit budget spending, visit members, advise the leadership, and just about anything except proselyte. When we got the visa we were just happy that we wouldn’t have to go to immigration every six months for an extension. It turns out it would be what we needed to stay in the country. We feel blessed.
Of course, this means we have to cover the whole country. We did that for a couple of months after the Paulsens left so we knew what it would be like; so this time we had an edge. We are not new and fresh off the plane. We have been here longer than eight months and have met Saints all over Sri Lanka. We have developed great relationships, including trust. We look forward to seeing them and they us. They trust our advice and they know we love them. We will have to hold down the fort until we can get the visa stuff fixed to bring other missionary couples, but we feel blessed to be able to stay in Sri Lanka and not have to transfer to India. Of course we will be visiting India every six to seven weeks for training and instruction. We enjoy that break for a few days. It actually refreshes us.
Speaking of refreshment, we have had some opportunities to take a few days to visit some of the areas of interest in Sri Lanka and India. We went to what they call "up country," because it has the highest elevation above sea level on the Island. We went with the last four Elders left in the country. Within two weeks of the trip two of them had left for home. We were in Nuwara Eliya ("New rail yah"). First of all the drive was beautiful, a little scary, but beautiful. We climbed winding roads through what is known as tea country and mountain sides are dotted with beautiful waterfalls (one of which is pictured above). Some of them are so small you can barely recognize them as waterfalls while others are so majestic you wonder what their origin is.
Tea is a major industry for Sri Lanka and most of it is planted in the up country. It is grown on the mountainside in beautiful green fields which present a breathtaking picture as you drive. There are many tea plantations where the tea leaves are grown, picked, and processed. We made a stop at one place and visited the processing factory on a tour. The place we visited was typical of the factory in the area. From the outside the building was impressive, but once we went inside it was another story. The process was well organized but antiquated. First of all, every leaf is handpicked by these amazing women who are somehow able to stand on a slope at these very steep angles with a harvest bag hanging from their heads down their backs. They are an amazing site doted throughout fields working nonstop. They bring their harvest two or three times a day to the collection location to be weighed and they earn what amounts to about 40 rupees an hour (less than $.40 in U.S. dollars) for this back-breaking work. Once the material is back to the factory, it is dried, separated, fermented, grinded, and separated again. An interesting point for us was that the green tea is not fermented and has little or no caffeine. Once the last separation occurs, they add the various favors. Of course, they wanted us to sample their product, but we couldn’t accommodate them. We hope we didn’t get into too many details, but it was so fascinating to us we wanted to share a little of it.
The best part about Nuwara Eliya to us was the temperature. Because of the elevation it was very cool. The daytime temperature is about 70 degrees and the evening temperature can be in the low fifties. Needless to say it was joy to walk around and visit sites without feeling like we were in a sauna. The area has a British influence and you could see that in the architect and gardens. We visited the largest Hotel in the area, had lunch at an Indian restaurant and visited a beautiful old botanical garden. It was a wonderful day. It didn’t matter that it was ten and half hours round trip and we couldn’t stay overnight because we had the young elders with us, we still loved every minute of it. The botanical garden was beautiful. Like everyplace else in Sri Lanka it had large groups of monkeys running together in family units. We were no more than five feet from them and they weren’t afraid. We will just say we were tentative.Earlier in October we went to India for zone conference. We always love zone conference. President Nichols always make sure that what we learn can be used in the mission as well as when we return from our mission. Our theme this time was the missionary guide, Preach My Gospel. Not only can you use it to share the gospel on a mission; you can use it to share the gospel throughout this life. Preach My Gospel will help all of us to invite others to come unto Christ. It helps us recognize opportunities we have to share the gospel, and more importantly it will help us to recognize the Spirit and how it works in our lives. With these tools we will be a powerful witness of Christ and be willing to bare our testimony of him at all times and in all places. It was a great experience; we came away rejuvenated.
Because of flight connections we had a few hours on our arrival date and our departure date that we could visit some of the interesting areas in Bangalore. The office couple, Elder and Sister Linton, was our host. (Sister Mills is pictured here with Sister Linton.) We stayed with them while in town and they took us around. It was nice because we went to places they hadn’t seen so it was new for all of us. We did a little shopping, but it was not our total focus. We went to a castle and another very old botanical garden. The botanical garden was beautiful, but not as well kept as the one in Sri Lanka. The gardens here in South Asia all have these huge trees that are hundreds of years old and many varieties of beautiful flowers. There were many that weren’t in season. They have huge flowers shows twice a year show them off in full bloom. The castle belongs to the royal Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore. It was the summer palace because Bangalore has a high elevation and is cool most of the year. The present King is the 28th in his line, but only has a title now, with no real power or authority. He uses the funds from the castle tours to support his lifestyle. His other castle in Mysore has been converted to a five-star hotel and is a significant part of his support. We thought the castle was great, though it was not well kept.Finally, we had the opportunity to go south in Sri Lanka to visit some possible sites for our couples conference in February. We visited three resort hotels on the beach and either one will make a wonderful site for our conference. This is a picture of the pool at one of the resorts.
It was the first time we have been that far south and the drive was beautiful. Did we say this is a beautiful country? The surrounding areas or villages are poor and appear to need help but the hotels across the track and on the beach are amazing. We are still negotiating so we will let you know once we finalize our choice. Of course, there is always a chance that we may stay in Colombo at the five-Star, Hilton. Seriously, as you know, the best part of the conferences is the instruction we will receive from President Nichols. We know everybody’s mission president is an awesome servant of the Lord and we have had an opportunity to be instructed by many mission presidents in the past. Our mission president, President Nichols, has the most amazing ways of making the scriptures come alive. We always feel uplifted and edified when we hear from him.We will say goodbye for now, but we would like to say how much we miss all of you. It’s because we miss you so much and are still willing to be here to serve God that we know this is the Lord’s work.
God bless you all!
Brother and Sister Mills
December 19, 2008
Hello everyone!! November was very special. We started out with District Conference and ended with Thanksgiving Day celebration. Both were wonderful events that helped us to understand why we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you were reminded to be thankful every day. Like most folks, we sometimes focus on what we don’t have and it leaves us feeling wanting. We have found when we focus on what we do have we are blessed beyond measures.Elder Wan, our Area Authority accompanied President Nichols, our mission president, and presided over the district meeting. There wasn’t an official theme, but the general focus was on unity. “Be One”! We had some very spiritual dissertations on the subject throughout the conference. We would like to share one that President Nichols made. He pointed out that in the scriptures how Jesus always speaks the will of Heavenly Father and how the Holy Ghost only bears record of the truth as revealed by the Father and the Son. One would never say something or do anything the other wouldn’t do. They are the example and have commanded that we be one with them also. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me”(John 17:20–23).
He pointed out that by revelation the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles can do nothing unless it is unanimous. “And every decision made by either of these quorums must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other” (D&C 107:27). Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost set the example and the Brethren have shown us how it should be done. They strive to have their entire actions one with the Godhead and we should also. It raises the question Christ asked his Nephite disciples, “What manner of men ought ye to be?” Although it’s a rhetorical question, He answered it, “Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27).
Elder Wan was more practical. He pointed out how we should love one another and not judge. He illustrated by telling a story about Elder Holland. Many of you may have heard this story before, but it was the first time for me. When Elder Holland was about ten years old, the bishop and the Sunday School president came to his house to issue his father a calling. At the time his father was less active and a smoker. They came into the smoke-filled room and issued a call from God for him to be a Sunday school teacher. After a few minutes, his father stated the obvious: “I’m a smoker.” The bishop thought for a few minutes and said, “That’s your problem; what are you going to do about it?” His father thought for a few minutes then got up and threw his cigarettes into the fireplace and asked, “when do you want me to start?” That incident changed his life and the life of his entire family. His son is now serving as a Apostle. Elder Wan commented on how our actions can change someone's life. If we are one with Jesus Christ, it will be for the better.
The message was exactly what we needed. The Church has a difficult time building a foundation in a Buddhist country and we need to be unified in the word to make it happen. The Conference was very uplifting and gave all us things to ponder about how we can be better. We are convinced that the same thing applies here as it did in the early days of the Church in this dispensation. President Joseph F. Smith said, “This Church stands in no danger from opposition and persecution from without. There is more to fear in carelessness, sin, and indifference from within; more danger that the individual will fail in doing right and in conforming his life to the revealed doctrines of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we do the right thing, all will be well, the God of our father will sustain us, and every opposition will tend only to the further spread of the knowledge of truth.” We can see so many of the things the early Saints dealt with, including intense persecutions from those not of our faith. We know the Lord wants His Church here and He will do everything to help the righteous Saints of Sri Lanka prevail.
While we are on the subject, you know the current missionary situation here. Right now it’s us and two native Sri Lanka elders serving here. Soon it will be just us. The two elders are in the process of being transferred and we will be the missionary face in Sri Lanka. It is exciting, challenging, stressful, and joyful all at the same time. We will be busier than we are now if that is possible and it will require more trips to cover the rest of the country. While we won’t proselyte, we will teach all those who want to learn about the Church; mostly member referrals and walk-ins. Elder Mills baptized two converts a week ago and we pray it is just the start. We do have a few people in our teaching pool and we will see how that turns out.It really is an extension of what we already do. We teach Seminary and Institute, train the Seminary and Institute teachers, teach Sunday School, and train Sunday School teachers. We train the leadership and fill in teaching young men and young women. We prepare young people who want to serve a mission and we prepare the Saints to attend the temple. Preparing those not of our faith to be baptized is just an extension of what we do.
Speaking of temple preparation, we just finished a temple preparation class. We had a couple that are moving to Australia and plan to be sealed in the Sidney Temple with their two children. There was a senior couple (they are shown here on their motorcycle; we use the term "senior" carefully, since we are older than they are) that have been members for seven years and sent two daughters on missions. Now they are going to the Hong Kong Temple to be sealed to their daughters. We have a sister whose daughter will be completing her mission in the Philippines in June. She is preparing to pick her up from her mission and go to the Manila Temple while she is there. Finally, we have a sister that joined the Church a year ago and she wants to share that joy by going on a mission; we are also preparing her for her mission call. It has been a great experience for us and we look forward to our next class.We had a great Thanksgivings Day. Sister Mills was determined to have something as close to home as possible. We didn’t let the fact that it is always 86 degrees (feels like 96) bother us. We started our search for a TURKEY early. We frequented all the stores that remotely catered to any western culture and found a turkey. We couldn’t find any cornmeal, but if they had any, we didn’t what they call it. So we got our daughter-in-law Rachel to send us her mother’s recipe for dressing. Good thing it had the substitutes! Sister Mills had to sub a few things for poultry seasoning. We finally found some cranberry sauce! It was whole berries, but cranberries nonetheless. Now for the other sides, we had mashed potatoes, green beans, candied sweet potatoes (the purple kind with white insides; she didn’t trust them for pies), creamed corn, gravy, and the big surprise, broccoli salad (normally we would have macaroni and cheese). We invited the missionaries and two of the sisters that Elder Mills home teach. Now we were set for the big day.
Elders Mills went off to teach the temple preparation class while Sister Mills prepared the dinner. We had a 6.2-kilo turkey (13.5 pounds for the metric challenged). It took Sister Mills 8 hours and 45 minutes to cook the TURKEY. It really turned out a lot like many of our other Thanksgivings. We had people we love to share the meal with. We had many things for which to be grateful as we do every day. The food was great! The missionaries ate very well but the two young ladies just picked at their food. There were plenty of leftovers—enough to make turkey soup. While we missed our family very much, we feel blessed to have shared a special day with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters. Of course, Elder Mills shared some of the history of Thanksgiving to help our friends understand how it got started and why it means so much to us. Next is Christmas. We don’t know what all we will do, but none of our plans include Sister Mills cooking for more than nine hours.
We had another young single adult fireside (our single adults and their chaperones are pictured here). This time we added a dance after the fireside. Bishop H. David Burton was the speaker. We won’t get into the details; we will just say he gave all the young folks something to ponder. The DANCE was the big thing. We had polled the young people to try and find out what they would like to do. A dance was the most popular answer. Not just a dance, they wanted a DJ. Since the second counselor in the District Presidency fits into this category, the District President assigned him to help out. He arranged for the DJ and was assigned to screen the music to insure it was appropriate. Everything went well. They enjoyed the fireside and were spiritually fed. We provided the lunch and everyone enjoyed that too. After a little coaxing by Elder Mills, they all started dancing and most of them never sat down again. The girls were dancing with the girl and the boys dancing with the boys. All the music was fast so it was mostly everyone showing off their moves. On occasion you would see a boy dancing with a girl. It was fun. Everybody was enjoying themselves. The music got a little loud, but we asked them to turn it down and they did. The Branch President came to look in on the dance, and we could tell he wasn’t happy. He didn’t say much but we could tell. A song came on that he was not happy with and he asked the DJ not to play it, and he complied with the request. We asked what was wrong with the song and all the young people said nothing including our assigned keeper of the appropriate standards. The Branch President left after he requested they not play any Tamil songs because they have double meanings.Later things were going strong again and in pops the Branch President and shut down the music in the middle of a song. He declared the song was inappropriate and told them not to play Tamil songs. We talked to him and said the song had a double meaning it said he asked the girl in and he kissed her. We said okay! Then we found out he was unhappy with the DJ playing dance music in the chapel. We explained to him that this was a multipurpose meetinghouse with the chapel area doubling as a cultural hall. On Sunday it’s the chapel and on other days it’s what we need to use it for. The dance had been going on for a few hours so we decided to shut it down. Nobody got upset; they all talked about what a great activity and how much fun they had.
There were some Church employees visiting and conducting some training in another part of the building. During their lunch break they came up to visit and commented we could never do this in India. Although we got approval before we had the activity we were thinking, oh my goodness, they may send us home for this. Seriously, we will have to get a clear understanding about the use of the building before our next activity.
As you can tell, we are loving it. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you are getting ready for the Christmas season. With the economy the way it is maybe we will all find creative ways to celebrate. May God be with all of you and if you don’t hear from us before then, we hope that you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year.
February 4, 2009
Hello everyone. We pray you have settled into the New Year by now and that you all have hope for the future. We know you have been holding on tight to the rollercoaster of the economy and pray all of you will have a safe ride. We know that some of you have lost jobs and taken some big hits on your portfolio. Our prayers are with you. We have taken some big hits also, but serving this mission has given us a wonderful perspective on the things of the world. We are grateful for our faith. This recession (when your neighbor lost his job)/depression (when you lost your job) are going to cause many of us to end up in some strange places. Let us trust God and look for our purpose for being there.
It’s official! We are now the only missionaries in Sri Lanka. The last two—Elder Nuwan and Elder Davenasean, pictured here with Elder Mills—were transferred to the Singapore Mission in January. That means we are it. The Mission and the Asia Area are working hard to get approval for us to be in Sri Lanka and proselyte. There are so many legal barriers in place it will be a long, hard struggle, and every day the government is trying to pass more laws to make even more restrictions. We have been dedicating part of our fast for the easing of the restrictions. We have noticed that it is happening all over the world, not just in Sri Lanka. Even in the USA they are trying to change the phase freedom of religion to freedom from religion. Satan is on his job.Anyway, all this shifting of missionaries has given us lots of additional work apart from the obvious. We have been closing down apartments and it can challenge you. Keeping the Spirit when folks aren’t being fair can test the faith. This month we have moved furniture out of the Chilaw apartment and meetinghouse, the Negombo apartment, and the Kandy apartment. We still have to move out of the two Colombo apartments and remove air conditioning units from everywhere but Negombo. We were able to sell them to the owner there. I know it sounds boring, but it consumes a lot of time. Still we have so many other things to do. We stay busy and that’s fun.
This month has been a very busy one for Seminary and Institute. Because of issues beyond our control, we ended the Old Testament year with a graduation and award ceremony and two weeks later started the new year with the New Testament studies. It was tight but exciting. The district president had to call all the new teachers and they all had to be trained before we could start the new year. Not only that, separating Seminary from Institute this year created some issues we needed to solve before starting. We had some amazing activities and a lot of fun with the young people. Remember, everything has to be done on Saturday. Any special activities have to compete for Seminary and Institute class time. We decided to take the fifth Saturday for special activities. On every fifth Saturday we will have a CES fireside for young single adults combined with a social activity. For seminary students we will have scripture mastery and a social activity. January 31st we went to Kandy for our CES fireside and activity/seminary scripture mastery and activity. We showed the institute the DVD broadcast of the CES fireside and followed that with another group activity like a dance (you remember the last dance) or games. At the same time we have a separate activity for Seminary to focus on scripture mastery.
This time we heard from President Monson, and what a wonderful fireside it was. Our young single adults here, like this age group everywhere, need to be reminded that they have a benefactor who has given them a great gift, even an opportunity for eternal life, and that they need to prepare if they are going to meet His great expectations.
Since the school year has just started, we focused our instructions and games in Seminary on a review of the Old Testament scripture mastery. We helped them understand why studying the scriptures is so important and how we can develop a habit of studying and pondering the scriptures. Of course we separated groups and carried on our activities in separate parts of the building. We gave the dance thing another shot for the Institute and they loved it. This time we hired a DJ that is a member of the Church and had the branch president listen with a keen ear. There were no issues. Still we think we will keep the dances in Kandy and save the games for Colombo. We had a wonderful four-hour trip to Kandy. We had fun singing and playing a game of scripture chase that the youth decided to play. We were pleased that fifty people participated. The next one is scheduled for May.
Our district presidency is putting a lot of focus on leadership training this year and we have lots of opportunities to help. We had our first training session in January. Elder Mills was able to offer training to the combined district leadership and to the branch pPresidents in the breakout sessions. Sister Mills provided training to the Primary presidents. While training is very important, we feel personal diligence will be the most important principle. The scriptures tell us “Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.” Until we all take responsibility for our own learning, we will continue to point fingers and blame others. The district presidency can only point out what the Lord wants us to know in carrying out our duties. They use the scriptures and approved Church materials. They love us and create an environment for the Spirit to be present. We have to be accountable.
There has been so much dependency on the missionary couples in the past that now the members need to get their legs under them, bring forth their testimonies of the gospel, and let their light shine. We know that they have testimonies. We have seen them in their actions. We also know that Sri Lankan culture is a tremendous roadblock for growth. In that regard, they aren’t any different than people anyplace else, including the United States. The culture of the gospel of Jesus Christ is at odds with all worldly cultures. We know our lives change totally when we join the Church: the way we do things, the way we express ourselves, the way we relate to each other, and, more importantly, the way we relate to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
We have been going to India every month it seems. We went to Chennai again in January for Zone Conference. It was a little different this time. Since we didn’t have anyone to stay with, we got to stay in a hotel. The Marriot Courtyard in Chennai is very nice. We agree it is above the quality of the Courtyards you find in the United States. We were supposed to go on a site-seeing tour of Chennai, but we were worn out from the flight (we had to get up at 3:45 a.m.). So we stayed in and rested. Zone Conference the next day was a joy, as they always are. It’s easy to get uplifted when you feel the spirit of so many fine young men and women, all with one purpose: to do the Lord's work and invite everyone to come unto Christ. We are rejuvenated every time we attend. Although we had a wonderful spiritual experience, we did go to Chennai, and there is always something. The custom agent challenged us as we were leaving to return to Sri Lanka. In India, when you have an “M” type visa, you need to register with the police department. On our visa it says we need to register within fourteen days. We took that to mean if you are going to be in India past fourteen days you need to register, and so did all of the other custom agents we have been dealing with until this point. This agent said we needed to register, and we had fourteen days in which to do it. They let us go through but warned us if we came back to India we would need to register regardless of how long we plan to stay. Of course the thought of spending time in an Indian jail gave us great concern. We contacted the mission office as soon as we returned and relayed the story to them. They agreed with us, but said they would check it out to see what we have to do. They sent someone to the police station to inquire and the police said we didn’t have to register. Now we have two conflicting points of view—one from the authority that performs the registration and another from the authority that enforces the registration requirement when entering and leaving the country. We will be heading for India in February and March; we will let you know how it turns out. Meanwhile our Chennai flight buddies were up to their old tricks. This time they had to stop the plane on the runway to make them be seated and close the overhead compartments until we got to the gates. As soon as the wheel touched down they were up out of their seats, grabbed their bags, and lined up to exit the airplane. We have been warned by a former Sri Lankan Air flight attendant to always expect the unexpected on the Chennai flights.
Like the rest of you, we had the unique opportunity to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It was a moment we always thought would come, but never in our lifetime. What a blessing. Talk about great expectations! Not only the United States, but the world, is counting on President Obama to solve every problem of the world. We pray that he does well, but whatever he does he will fall short in somebody's eyes; that is the nature of being president of the United States. We couldn’t believe the excitement. If he had been running in Sri Lanka, he would have won 98 percent of the vote. They love him here. Everyone congratulates us as soon as they find out we are Americans. It is almost like he made it all right to be an American in a foreign country. We would just like to say this: We have always been proud to be Americans, even in our youth when we actively fought against the injustices. Although the election of President Obama is of historic achievement, racial injustices still persist in our country and throughout the whole world. We know that only true disciples of Jesus Christ will be able to make racial harmony possible. When we are one with the Father and the Son.
If you have been following our updates from the beginning, you remember we attended about six funerals in our first six months in Sri Lanka. We finally got to attend our first wedding. It was a beautiful Buddhist wedding at a nice hotel in Kandy. The groom and his family came in first, led by costumed drummers and dancers. Once they were situated, the drummers and dancers came back to lead the bride and her family in. After the families were situated, all other guest came in at their leisure. The bride was dressed in a beautiful white sahree and the groom had on the traditional Kandyland noble outfit. They were on a stand and everybody gathered around while the Buddhist priest performed the ceremony. Sister Mills commented that everyone could see if everybody would just sit down. We later found out that it would be considered rude if you sat down. We won’t bore you with all the details, but there were a few we thought interesting. They tied their baby fingers together with a string to symbolize the union and poured water over the string. We are not sure what that meant and we are still looking for a satisfactory answer. Later the priest had them feed each other cake, rice, and banana to symbolize taking care of one another. One more interesting thing: it had to start exactly at 9:15 a.m. because of their horoscopes. Astrology places a big part in whom and when they marry.This is also a look at the clash of the cultures. We came at the invitation of the bride’s family. Her father is the branch president of the Kandy Branch, and she is a member. It is rumored that she would rather not have married someone not of our faith, but those that she liked were of a lower caste and didn’t have very much money. Now the parents have arranged this union with a very rich young man of their caste. They find honor and prestige in the community but may have jeopardized their daughter’s salvation. We have looked at these mixed marriages and the ones with other Christians may be a struggle, but they usually are able to continue to practice their faith. However, the ones who marry Buddhists almost always become less active. What is strange, when a person converts from Buddhism and their spouse remains a Buddhist, there is usually no problem with them attending church. Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule.
As we start our last six months, we feel blessed to be a part of this great work. Heavenly Father has said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” We do that by inviting all to “Come Unto Christ” and we are grateful to be a part of that. We love you!
May 2, 2009
April is always great! We have General Conference and in most years we have Easter. In addition, we get to celebrate the anniversary of our births. Plus our baby has a birthday in April (although she would probably want us to stop calling her our baby.) What’s not to LIKE?
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We were thinking about the Apostles of old and how folks would walk for days just to hear them speak. Today we have modern technology and they can speak to millions all over the world. We are truly blessed. Still, there is nothing like seeing them live and people still travel from far distances to attend conference in Salt Lake City. We bear witness that the scripture is true “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” Truly these are Apostles of God bringing His word to us for our benefit. We love conference and not being able to see it live has given us a greater appreciation for the General Authorities and general officers of the Church. They are truly inspired of God.
We loved all the talks, but one of our favorites was Elder Jeffery R. Holland. We saw that the five-minute excerpt from his talk about Easter was put on YouTube and was one of the most visited videos. We love Easter and because we had a week delay before we could watch conference we got to view the two Sunday sessions on Easter Sunday. It really reminded us of the deep appreciation we have for the Atonement of Christ. We don’t have adequate vocabulary to describe how much the Atonement means to us—not only can we be washed clean of our sins, but we can find relief from burdens, trials, and any problem we may have. We embrace the gift and treasure it. We appreciate it when we think about all you being there and us being here. When we need help so bad that it hurts, we know we can trust Him and the gift. We love and appreciate Christ everyday of our lives, but Easter makes you want to comprehend what is incomprehensible. Try as we may, we can never fully understand the suffering he bore for us.
Oh well! We move on to some stuff about what is happening over here. First, we are okay. The fighting you are reading about is up north more than 350 kilometers from us, but the tragedy is real. The poor innocent folks trapped up there are real. They need your prayers. No one (not even the UN) can get in the area to offer help. Prayer is the only way to soften the hearts of those in power.
Second we had an awesome birthday. If you remember, we had to combine the celebration with our wedding anniversary from last month. So we had dinner at one of the five-star hotels in the area. Great, right! We even top that. We had a baptism on Sister Mills’ birthday, which happens to be April 6th. We will talk about that later. We went to the Hilton with our appetites ready for some great western-style food at the “all you can eat buffet.” We had eaten there several times before and had always enjoyed it soooo much. Since Elder Mills’ birthday was Sunday and Sister Mills’ birthday was Monday, we went on Monday. Of course going on the Sabbath was out and we wanted to go on one of our birthdays. We had never been on Monday, but we had been on every other day except Sunday and it was always great. One of the things they have is theme nights where they serve a specific style of food. After checking out all the various food choices available to us we concluded we must have come on Asian night. So much for the western-style eating; not to worry: the breads, fruits, and desserts were great. We had a great time; it reminded us of how much we love and appreciate each other. We are looking forward to many more birthdays and anniversaries together. Maybe not as exotic as those we had over here, but together nonetheless.
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When we were called on a CES mission we didn’t anticipate teaching converts and certainly didn’t think we would be involved in any baptisms. We thought we would be teaching seminary and institute and training seminary and institute teachers. While we have been doing a lot of that and it has been fun, we feel blessed to be a part of these folks accepting Jesus’ invitation to come unto him. The joy is so great you can’t describe it. The only thing that compares to it is when you remember the day you accepted that same invitation. We personally feel when you share a saving ordinance with someone there is an eternal connection.
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One more story to show how blessed we are. We had a birthday, but in today’s world we are not that old. However, you could say we have been on the cab stand for a while. The point is some of the parts are breaking down and wearing out; especially for Elder Mills. He broke a tooth on his front upper bridge and we decided to wait until we get home to get it fix. He looks funny but he could deal with that. About three months ago on the tooth supporting a lower bridge began to ache. Not wanting to get dental work done here, we decide to take some pain pills and deal with it. It stopped hurting. We said let’s get that looked at as soon as we get home. The other day with no pain involved the bridge just fell out while eating some pizza. When we went to the dentist she said the tooth is broken and the bridge can’t be reattached. The next thing out of her mouth was the two scariest words in the dental vocabulary: ROOT CANAL! At first we said no way, we will deal with it when we get home. Then we thought about it. This is a blessing in disguise. It happened with enough time left to get it done here and it may take two months to get settled in the states before we have time to get the work done. Besides, it cost almost one-third of the cost in the United States to get it done here. The Lord blesses every aspect of our lives. Although this may be a temporal matter, all things are spiritual. The Lord works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.
God bless you and we will see you soon.
—Brother and Sister Mills
The Mills are serving in Sri Lanka and can be reached by mail at:
N Mills
2 Anderson Road
Colombo 5, Sri Lanka