08 JUL 10 letter

Dear Family,

Alright then, it is hard to believe that another week has come and gone. The past few weeks have been especially fun. It is a blast having a new mission president and showing him around the mission here in India. We have been in Bangalore for the past two weeks. President is finally getting settled in and we will be getting on the road next week. It will be fun to take him around the country on Kingfisher airlines.

So I’ll take a second and tell you about our new mission president. He is a great leader, and very different than President Nichols. It is a wonderful opportunity to see him and how he works. He has this humility about him. Perhaps it stems from his terribly green roots, but it really seems like he trusts and listens to our counsel. He is a man who likes to ponder and think about things before making decisions. He has a very warm spirit about him, many of the elders commented on the fact that he is very approachable. Though he has only been here over a week, I can clearly the mantle that has been placed upon him. We planned transfers with him these past couple days, but it’s important to recognize that he has only met about 20% of the missionaries. With that limited knowledge we counseled together and he was able to make some truly inspired decisions about where an Elder needs to go. In all that he does he depends on the Lord. One of his biggest principles for decision making can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 107:30-31. If you get a second, read that scripture and apply it as you prepare to make your next big decision.
We had a zone leader council yesterday and it was one of the best on my mission. He spoke about the purpose of meetings and why we hold a council. Much of the time was spent talking between the Zone Leaders and what we could do to improve the state of the mission. There was a unique feeling in that room as all of the zone leaders were engaged in discussion. The passionate discussion led to revelation. There were wonderful new ideas, goals, and plans that came into play. I really appreciated President and how he encouraged us to counsel. There is power in that kind of meeting.

My time in the office is really making me appreciate the opportunities I have to go out and teach. I was able to go on exchange last week with Elder Briggs. He goes home this coming Monday, but they invited us to go on a split with them. I remember when he was my district leader back in Chennai. I was so impressed with his ability to love these people. I am becoming more and more interested in the principle of love. I have seen on my mission that people begin to change when they can feel your love. The gospel is true and certainly the most powerful instrument to change lives. But that power can never be unlocked until we love the people we work with. I hope that I can someday understand love and charity. I have no idea what it really means, but I would like to have more of it in my heart.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I really need them. I love you all!

Elder Tuscano