Happy New Year...

Dear Family,

It was so nice to talk to each of you on Christmas. You all sound the same as I remember, but it has not been too long. We'll see if I feel the same in May. Transfers went down on saturday; we got to take a nice A/C bus to the airport. Elders ward and evans came with me. My new companion is Elder Doss-Johnson he is from Santa Clara, Cali. The same place where andy benton is from! He is an OG, really a cool guy. He is very chill, but down to work hard. In our short time together we have experienced quite a bit of success.

Yesterday we taught the first muslims either of us has ever taught. We contacted them in an area called Karkhana and went over to one of their homes. They are auto drivers, but both of them are well educated and intelligent. It was quite an experience. They were very receptive. I feel like you all may be thinking that muslims are dangerous or something and we need to stay away from them as missionaries. That is not the case; they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I hope that I can teach a lot more during my mission. Last week there were two baptized in Chennai.

The work is going good; the Branch President asked my companion and a new elder fabrizio to speak in sacrament last sunday. It was great, the whole sacrament was a huge emphasis on missionary work and the members are starting to get better about it. I had a few members walk up to me and give me referrals last week. I am really excited for these upcoming weeks.

I realized something last night about the people here. We were sitting in an investigator's little one room house, and talking with them. They kept bringing us food and drinks as the people here will always do. I realized that these people will give you everything they have. If that means just water, they will be sure to give you it. They simply love everyone and care for them. I have learned so much about service and compassion from these wonderful people.

Love you all
Elder Tuscano

(below are excerpts from individual family letters)

We are continuing to work with Brother Singh; he came to church fifteen minutes early this week! I have noticed that people's perception of time here is very different than back home. No such thing as punctuality… I am trying to emphasize to people that things start when they’re supposed to, not thirty minutes or a half an hour later. But singh will be ready for baptism very soon and we have others who have dates as well and we will work hard to help them progress.

I bought soy milk the other day and it tastes way good! It was nice to have something close to milk, I just can’t get over the fact that the milk here comes from water buffalos, too weird for me to want to drink it.

The work out here is definitely moving forward, the branch is starting to become more excited about missionary work. There is just so much gossip out here in the branch it kind of tears people apart. There really is a division of loyalty.

Virtue is a really cool topic. I was studying it a few weeks ago and there are some cool lines you can draw between it and power. Look at the story of the woman who touched christ's garment and was healed. See what power healed her.

India is crazy; boys and girls here are not allowed to talk to each other really (referring to dating). Most marriages are still arranged…