Halloween in Hyderabad

Halloween this year was a blast. We went to a party hosted by the Ernteman's at Aparna Orchids. The food was great and the entertainment as well (except for some not so shinning moments in the Fire Dancer's performance where he took his shirt off and we were all hoping nothing else would come off). The kids loved the Fire Dancer (I hope no pyromaniacs were born tonight: especially among our boys). They also loved the bounce house despite many close encounters that left some of them crying for mommy. Crystal and I won a prize for our matching costumes as Escaped Convicts (We weren't quite sure how the neighborhood security was going to react when they saw us, but we did make it through to the party).

We had some trick or treaters in our neighborhood and all the kids loved the candy we gave out. I was surprised to see some of the local kids from India trick or treating. I guess word gets out when candy is being distributed by the neighbors. Some of the expat families did a good job of getting the word out ahead of the holiday by giving a flyer to all the neighbors.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Our first week at church was very good. We went to the meetings for the Madinaguda 2nd Branch because they had services at 2pm in the afternoon. The other option was Madinaguda 1st Branch which meets at 9:30am. That is a tough time to get to church when you get off of work at 3am in the morning some nights. Two things surprised us: 1) all the meetings are in English and not Telegu (except for Relief Society sometimes)and 2) our house is located in the Madinaguda 1st Branch so we will be going to church this year at 9:30am. It is also nice that the church is only about a 15 minute drive from our house so it is very close.

We are the only family from outside of India in the Branch so it is easy to spot us. I think we are also the largest family in the branch with 4 children. We have Elders from the US in the branch but the missionaries are having a hard time getting Visas so that may change soon once the current Elder's Visas expire. The sisters love Lexi and she is the most popular branch member. The sisters call her "Baby Doll" and she gets passed around R.S. every week.

We have gone to several baptisms so far (Spencer was a witness for one sister that was baptized). There are about 125 members that come each week and we are growing. Spencer is an instructor in the Elder's Quorum and Crystal is the Relief Society Meetings coordinator. She is also helping to teach the branch members some more of the Hymns. The primary is small so all of the children stay together for the full two hours except the Valiants have a short separate lesson.

We had a branch activity at a resort outside of the city in September. The resort had a large kids area, a cricket field, badminton, a large swimming pool with a water slide and some indoor games. The kids all had a blast on the slide and in the pool. Aubrey also got the hand of badminton. They had the resort cater an Indian meal for the branch and the kids had Briyanny and Curry over rice and Nan bread. William said "Mommy, my mouth is steaming" when he ate the Curry. We had Gulab Jamun (Deep Fried bread balls covered in Sweet syrup) and vanilla ice cream for desert. I think William and Logan had about 3-4 servings of this.

The branch presidency had a small fireside presentation after dinner about temple attendance and urging members to save for a trip. We are in the Hong Kong, China temple district but many members go to one of the temples in the Philippines because it is cheaper travel and accommodations. The presidency asked Crystal and I to bear our testimonies of the importance of temple attendance. It was nice to have a chance to teach them the principles of the gospel and feel the spirit. I hope the meeting inspired some of the families to save for a temple trip. The cost is about $1,200 USD for a family of four to go and get endowments and sealings done. For some families this is more than their annual wages so it is a difficult thing for many to save for. Hong Kong Temple Here We Come!!