09 FEB 10 letter

Dear Family,

Greetings from Hyderabad! We just arrived last night at about 7 in the evening. The train ride was about 12 hours, it was a nice trip. The Indian countryside is so beautiful and it was nice to get to know more of the elders in our zone and Rajamundry. It is a cool experience being in H-town again; in some ways it feels like nothing has changed and I’d never left this place. I am so happy to be serving in this mission and to have these cool experiences.

This past week was great. On Sunday Deepthi was baptized! It was incredible. After all that she has overcome, watching her be baptized just seemed so right. One of my favorite things as a missionary is the gratitude expressed by recent converts towards us. I know that the Spirit does all the work, and we really are just instruments in the hands of God. But hearing a recent convert sincerely express their appreciation to you for bringing them to the knowledge of the restored gospel is perhaps the most rewarding experience of a life time.

Also we have been meeting with Kishore Kumar and his family. They are so good, we gave an invitation to be baptized and they accepted. All except for Kishore, he is so busy with work that he hardly had time to meet with us or come to church. He has less interest in spiritual things, but he has made progress and we feel that he will come around. He told us on Friday that he feels like he is returning to the good habits of his childhood. After moving out, he stopped going to church and praying and hadn’t resumed until we met him a few weeks ago. Swarna Latha is a saint. She has been trying for years to get her entire family into good worshipping habits. She has been unsuccessful until now. With the knowledge of the restored gospel and the fellowship of the members their family is making significant changes and Swarna Latha is so happy. It is exciting to see.

I went on exchange with AP Mehan on Saturday and it was a great experience. He is a great missionary and a good friend. I learned a lot. I was most impressed with his ability to work, when finding I truly felt like we were working. That was a contrast to a common feeling that elders have when finding, which is they are just simply walking around. Elder Mehan didn’t waste a minute but talked with everyone everywhere we went. He had faith that we would find good people and he exhibited that faith through his work ethic. I am grateful for my leaders and the many things I can learn from them. Thank you all for the support. I hope you have a good week!

Love,
Elder Tuscano