First 4th of July in India...

Dear Family,

Top of the morning! We met with a former investigator named Steven Raj this past friday evening. I had never seen him before; I hadn't even seen his teaching record. We met him at the church in Nandanam. We chatted and I was trying to gauge his level of understanding and even more just the lessons which he had been taught by the elders before. After we said the prayer I had no idea what I was going to teach the man. Something in my head was just like 3 Nephi 27. I didn't wait. We opened the scriptures and read. Pretty soon in the lesson we realized the man needed a baptismal date. We challenged and he accepted. It was a cool experience. Actually he didn't come to church sunday or answer our phone calls. Not uncommon behavior for investigators in this place, but I'm sure we'll talk to him soon.

Last night we met a sweet family. The other day we were finding in a place called T-Nagar. Elder Schmidt said that it had been tracted out but we still gave it a go. As we were walking down the street Elder Schmidt randomly asked a watchman if there were christians in the complex. He didn't have a clue what we were saying, but took us to the first door, a hindu woman who spoke english and directed us to a christian door in the back. We scheduled an appointment with the man's daughter. He has a crazy story. Born christian, but converted hindu...Ha I made him tell me that like 3 times because it’s completely backwards. The only direction for a convert starts with hindu and moves to christian. Anyway, he converted back to Christianity. He attends the AG church which is the biggest church in Chennai. They have a great concept like home teaching. We shared a little world history with him starting with Adam and going through the line of prophets. At first we thought he might be contentious but he was surprisingly humble. At the end he said he has a lot to learn from us. Ha I'll be sure to keep you updated on that.

I have been continuing my bible study. This morning I was reading in Luke, the parable of the prodigal son. I never before saw the light it shed on the concept of repentance. I understood a little more about Heavenly Father's position in this process. I've realized that having the spirit while you study is so important. I learn so much more when I feel the Holy Ghost.

That’s all for this week. Love you.

Elder Tuscano

(below are excerpts from individual letters to family)

Happy 4th! We did as much as we could to celebrate. Whenever people asked us where we come from we made sure to tell them that it’s independence day there. Then we ate lunch at the american restaurant called Gallopin Gooseberry's. They had beef hamburgers. It was a day of days.

Before I came on a mission I had no idea what to really expect. You know people tell stories about their missions and how much they loved the experience. But I never really understood what they meant. I can't express how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve one myself. I could listen to people relate experiences from their service all day, but in the end it would not do much for me. I have already seen the benefits of doing this, and I trust that the Lord will continue to bless me now and throughout my life if I serve him faithfully. I can't imagine moving forward with my life without having that kind of assurance.