September/October Update

Life in India continues to be ever changing and unpredictable. However we continue to enjoy the envolvement in the new and unexpected things that come our way. The most recent unexpected is that of being assigned Branch President of The Dwarka Branch. The previous Branch President was called as the District President so as there are no qualified Melchizedek Priesthood holders, I was assigned the responsibility. The first counselor in the Branch had been a member only 2 weeks and the second counselor is a member since March. Needless to say I feel the weight of teaching, training and preparing one of them as the Branch President when we leave.

We continue to see growth and expansion of the Branch with the addition of 4 new members during the past two months. We now have two sets of Elders assigned to the branch which is going to result in still more members as time passes. It is such a pleasure and blessing to witness people join the church and receive such strong testimonies of the truthfulness of the restoration

First Counselor and newest member in the Dwarka Branch. What do you think of our Baptismal Font? We were able to use the local swimming pool until it closed for the winter at the end of Oct. Yes there are a number of excellent, clean and modern facilities here. Life is not always a hardship here, contrary to some images most people have about living in a third world country.
The new Latter Day Saint Charities couple arrived in Oct. and we have been involved in assisting them in the transition into taking over the ongoing humanitarian projects we have been involved in until they arrived. As part of this transition and training we made a trip to Bihar to see the devastation and problems first hand with the flooding that happened there. A Dam gave way in Nepal resulting in enormous flooding in Northern India. This disaster has displaced close to 2 million people and will probably not return to normal for many, many months to come. LDSC approved the purchase and distribution of around 10,000 infant blankets so needed to help prevent hypothermia in newborns and infants. We traveled to Patna, capital of Bihar, and then to Northern Bihar to see first hand what other things could be done. The Tanners (new LDSC couple) are working on other projects for relief. Here are a few pictures of the Bihar flood relief trip.

Water was everywhere for miles and miles. There seemed to be no movement of the water and we saw only one river channel which did not seem to be flowing at all.
The Government has set up thousands of refugee camps with tents yet many people are not wanting to leave their homes, which are surrounded with water for fear of loosing cattle and other possessions.

UNICEF, the organization we have partnered with, has set up labor and delivery tents but the facilities are very primitive and lacking so much in the way of adequate supplies and equipment. It truly was a heart wrenching experience to see so much suffering and difficulty in meeting the minimum necessities for life but progress is being made and relief aid is being provided. There will be a need for relief aid for some time to come.

The other project that we transitioned to Elder and Sister Tanner was the Rain Water Catchment Dam Project. This project is constructing 15 rain water runoff catchment dams. The benefit is that the lake that is created will provide water to the underground aquifer for many months. This project is in partnership with a Delhi Rotary Club. This is perhaps one of the most effective and long lasting effective projects we have seen. Normally there is only one or two days of rain all year in this area. So by creating a lake the water is made available for a much longer time to the water pumps below. Rotary has constructed several such dams in this area. One farmer reports that as where before the dams he harvested only one crop a year he now is able to harvest three crops because the water to his wells is replenished for most of the year. These pictures are of those which have been completed. The LDSC dams are not yet finished. A trip the end of Nov. is planned to see some of the newly completed dams.

Now that we no longer have the humanitarian work to be involved in, it could be asked what will we be doing to keep busy. Believe me this is not a problem. With the release from the humanitarian work we will now be able to concentrate on Career Planning and Employment needs along with he every present need to strengthen and teach members about the church and it's organization which includes lots of church leadership training and the ever present need to strengthen one another. The time is flying by so fast we are confronted with the reality that there is more to do than time to do it in.

Well with this I think I will conclude this blog. A couples mission is a great experience and one can do as much of those things one sees the need for. No one can possibly do all that is here to be done but we can concentrate on those things that we have talent and interest to do, all of which helps the work move forward. We encourage all who can to try it, serving a couples mission is great.