E-mail March 23, 2014

Well my stitches are out and I'm back in the full swing of missionary work. This was the best week we've had for teaching in a long time, and although it left us tired out of our minds it's so rewarding when you know that you worked hard and helped someone to come a little closer to Christ. I had a discussion with my companion this week about the law of the harvest; how we sow what we reap and get back exactly as much as we put into something. This principle has become an equation that we can live by as a missionary. When we choose to give our all to the work, even if our appointments bunk or a lesson doesn't go as well as we planned and we feel like our time was wasted, it always comes back to us. For example there was a home we tried to find right after I came to this area but despite our best efforts we couldn't figure out which house it was. None of the members knew this man and none of the neighbors in the area spoke English, and so after trying three different times we decided he didn't live there anymore. A few weeks later we were in the same area again and we felt like we should try one more time. To make a long story short, we finally found the man and his family and they've become one of our best families to visit. The faith and spirit we feel every time we visit him easily makes up for the all the time we spent wandering around looking for a door number that didn't exist. Whatever we give of ourselves to serve the Lord always comes back to us, I testify of that. I also testify of the importance of following the spirit, because if we hadn't this family would still be lost to us.

In our apartment we have 4 elders and 4 beds, but there are 5 mattresses. Out of the four of us my companion was the only Elder previously living in the apartment so when we first arrived he told us that the extra mattress was already "taken". I feel bad admitting it, but watching my companion sleep on peacefully and comfortably on a bed that's twice as cushy as mine made me just a little bit jealous.

So I hatched a plan.

One day after coming home I said I was tired and wanted to go to bed early. After making sure that Elder Thompson wasn't coming to bed for a while I carefully slipped his extra mattress onto my bed, tucked both of our sheets back in perfectly so he wouldn't notice, and immediately went to sleep. I knew that if I was already asleep when he came in he would be nice enough to let me sleep instead of trying to get it back, and so when he came to bed much earlier than I anticipated I closed my eyes and stayed perfectly still. I peeked just enough to see him walk over to the beds, look at his, look at mine, then sigh in frustration as he flopped down onto a slightly less soft surface then he's used to. As the lights went out I smiled in smug satisfaction and then drifted off to sleep. The next day I was surprised, however, when he didn't make any reference to my stunt, and at the end of the day I was beginning to wonder if maybe he hadn't noticed. As I walked into the room ready for bed I noticed that Elder Thompson had already fallen asleep, but I didn't think anything of it. I walked over to my bed and let my fatigued body drop onto the mattress, only to sit back up in pain as my back felt the full force of the wooden 2x4s in my bed frame. My companion immediately started snickering uncontrollably and as I stood up to see what had happened I realized that he had completely overturned my bed frame and placed the mattress back on top of the ribbed bottom to make it look normal. I learned that day that I'm living with a force to be reckoned with, but the wheels of revenge are turning and I'm already plotting my retaliation.

Elder Thompson, you have been warned.

And more pictures!

Until next time everyone, stay strong and Morm-on. ;)

-Elder Cloward

I'm pretty sure that D&C 89 says that oats are meant for horses...

it's a little hard to see but this highway is actually going right down the middle of a jungle preserve. Pretty cool ah?

Welcome to the Vijay Kiran apartments. The only downside is that those trees fill up with bats the size of small dogs every night. *Shudder*

Maybe this restaurant can't afford real plates, or maybe these are considered fancier than fancy dining ware. Either way I'm happy with it. :)

That's rice and curry, and that's a banana leaf. Put them together and we call it lunch. 

This is how missionaries work out their abs in the morning. (Ignore the look of extreme pain on my face.)

I can't get enough of these sunsets.

Public restrooms are extremely rare in India, so we were so excited when we saw this sign- until we realized that it's actually just pointing at that tree. I guess it's back to basics over here.