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!!