Dear Family,
My time here in Visak with Elder Ward is flying. We are having a great time together. I am so grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to work in this city with such a good friend.
This past week was fun. As I reflect on it there are not too many things that happened which would be that great for me to share with you. I received that Warrior Newsletter finally and I can’t believe how many of my friends are close to returning home. I hope that each one of them is able to finish strong and get all that they can out of their missionary service. I am grateful that I still have a significant amount of time left. I am working hard to savor every minute I have out here.
We have been doing a lot of finding lately. As I have mentioned previously, I love finding. It is always an adventure. In our zone we are working on finding and teaching Hindu families. Here in India it can become a habit for elders to only find and teach Christians. It is much easier to work with Christians. It is a different experience while teaching a Hindu family. They don’t understand the nature of God, but when they are able to understand it-something incredible happens. I have watched some people as we teach them the doctrine of prayer; how they can speak with God themselves and that God will respond to them. In Preach My Gospel it teaches us how prayer is “two-way communication.” We have been exerting our efforts with these people here in hope that they can understand this principle. There is literally some kind of light that turns on when a person is able to understand this concept. We all are children of God, and as such, we have the opportunity to speak with him at anytime. As I watch that light turn on in others, my testimony of prayer is refreshed. I’ve been inspired to put more effort into my prayers. I am pleased to say that in doing so I am growing much closer to our Father in Heaven. I love you all and hope you are experiencing the power of prayer in your lives.
As I observe families here and talk with elders about their families at home I have come to realize something I never did before. Our family is way solid. You have done an incredible job. I remember listening to Elder Bednar’s talk in General Conference and recalling how our family consistently did the things he mentioned. I know nothing else but these good habits so I will obviously instill them within my own family because they WORK! Thanks again for being so diligent with that.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
persistence pays...
Dear Family,
I hope that all of you are doing well and enjoying the springtime over there. I think that the season we call spring does not exist here. It became very hot and sultry rather quickly, I am not sure that the weather here is much different than Chennai. But luckily the heat only adds to the fire of the work that our zone is experiencing.
This week was sad in that we lost a few of the families we were working with. Sister Lakshmi and her family were compelled to discontinue their investigation by the father. His name is Ramakrishna, their family is pure Hindu and it seems that he got scared because of some opposition they were facing. So he asked us not to come back anymore. Those other sisters, the ones we found because they had the picture of Jesus Christ outside their door, also dropped off. Their Father decided to harden his heart and insisted that we never return to his home. Elder Ward and I felt very bad. It really hurt when these families asked us not to come back. I have realized that my hurt was not because I felt that they didn’t like me or anything. It was because they were not willing to accept the message of the restored gospel. In 3 Nephi it talks about the 3 nephites and how they would not suffer- save it be sorrow for the sins of the world. In these experiences I am beginning to understand what that phrase means.
Don’t worry though! All is not lost. We have been working with Pushpa’s mother recently. She does not speak much English and at first we didn’t take her seriously. She is Roman Catholic and told us that she wouldn’t come to our church. But she would always tease her neighbors and tell them that they should come to our church. Then out of nowhere she decided to start coming to our church. I guess she saw the changes in her daughter prompted her to do it, but she has been coming to church the past three weeks. She knows it is true. Yesterday she told us that her parents and other family members were hassling her and telling her not to leave their church. She told them that she had been attending that church since she was a little girl and had never felt the spirit. She proceeded to tell them that she had never felt the influence of the spirit more distinctly than when she attended our church. I am learning not to doubt the power of the church commitment.
After church on Sunday we invited a member, Santosh, to go on an exchange with us. We planned to visit about 5 potential families. Each of the families refused us, claiming no interest in Jesus Christ. Santosh said the following. “Man, I always thought that missionary work was easy, but now I realize that it is hard!” Anyway he had the faith to stick with us to visit the last potential. It was a non-member referral we had received a few days before. Her name was Divya and she was there at her home and willing to let us in. It just so happened that she was extremely prepared to receive the message. She was so interested and Elder Ward and I were blown away by her understanding and desire to learn. We gave her the soft baptismal commitment and she accepted! It was nice for Santosh to see the how missionary work really is. How faith and diligence really do produce miracles. We felt very blessed.
I love you all. Have a good week!
Elder Tuscano
I hope that all of you are doing well and enjoying the springtime over there. I think that the season we call spring does not exist here. It became very hot and sultry rather quickly, I am not sure that the weather here is much different than Chennai. But luckily the heat only adds to the fire of the work that our zone is experiencing.
This week was sad in that we lost a few of the families we were working with. Sister Lakshmi and her family were compelled to discontinue their investigation by the father. His name is Ramakrishna, their family is pure Hindu and it seems that he got scared because of some opposition they were facing. So he asked us not to come back anymore. Those other sisters, the ones we found because they had the picture of Jesus Christ outside their door, also dropped off. Their Father decided to harden his heart and insisted that we never return to his home. Elder Ward and I felt very bad. It really hurt when these families asked us not to come back. I have realized that my hurt was not because I felt that they didn’t like me or anything. It was because they were not willing to accept the message of the restored gospel. In 3 Nephi it talks about the 3 nephites and how they would not suffer- save it be sorrow for the sins of the world. In these experiences I am beginning to understand what that phrase means.
Don’t worry though! All is not lost. We have been working with Pushpa’s mother recently. She does not speak much English and at first we didn’t take her seriously. She is Roman Catholic and told us that she wouldn’t come to our church. But she would always tease her neighbors and tell them that they should come to our church. Then out of nowhere she decided to start coming to our church. I guess she saw the changes in her daughter prompted her to do it, but she has been coming to church the past three weeks. She knows it is true. Yesterday she told us that her parents and other family members were hassling her and telling her not to leave their church. She told them that she had been attending that church since she was a little girl and had never felt the spirit. She proceeded to tell them that she had never felt the influence of the spirit more distinctly than when she attended our church. I am learning not to doubt the power of the church commitment.
After church on Sunday we invited a member, Santosh, to go on an exchange with us. We planned to visit about 5 potential families. Each of the families refused us, claiming no interest in Jesus Christ. Santosh said the following. “Man, I always thought that missionary work was easy, but now I realize that it is hard!” Anyway he had the faith to stick with us to visit the last potential. It was a non-member referral we had received a few days before. Her name was Divya and she was there at her home and willing to let us in. It just so happened that she was extremely prepared to receive the message. She was so interested and Elder Ward and I were blown away by her understanding and desire to learn. We gave her the soft baptismal commitment and she accepted! It was nice for Santosh to see the how missionary work really is. How faith and diligence really do produce miracles. We felt very blessed.
I love you all. Have a good week!
Elder Tuscano
09 MAR 10 letter
Dear Family,
This past week was incredible. Swarna Lata, Mounica, and Suchitra were all baptized! It was a great day for them. Kishore was there and I think he really liked it, he is not ready yet but I think one day he will be. The actual ordinances were pretty tough. They have never spent much time around water, so they were all very nervous. I baptized Suchitra, 19 year old, and when I finished the prayer and tried to baptize her she refused to go down! I tried to speak some words of comfort and we did it again. It worked out the second time and that was a huge relief. But anyway it was very cool. I will send you pictures next week…
We went to Hyderabad, which is why I am e-mailing on Thursday…We had a multi-zone conference and Elder Perkins, the Asia Area President was there with us! It was a great experience for all of us. He conducted a few interviews before the conference began. Elder Ward and I were not part of those but Elder Schmidt and Evans both had a chance to sit down and visit with him. He and his wife are amazing people. His wife was very bold. In the morning we had a few elders give attribute talks. They were supposed to last about 3-4 minutes. All of the elders gave good talks, but none were able to stay within their time limit. Sister Perkins was scheduled to speak right after these missionary talks, but according to the program we had, her time was already finished. She stood up and read about the stripling warriors and how they obeyed with exactness. She stated that she would not give her talk because her time had been eaten up by the elders before her. It was a powerful lesson and I think we all made commitments to stay within the time we are allotted when giving a talk!
It was good that happened in the morning because I gave a talk in the afternoon. The assistants and the zone leaders were to come prepared with a 5 minute talk on how “inviting sacrament attendance blesses families.” There would be 1 assistant and 1 zone leader to give a talk, and I was the lucky zone leader. I was pretty nervous to speak in front of a general authority but luckily I was prepared. I made sure to be punctual and I think it went well. Elder Perkins really liked it, so that made me feel happy.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Tuscano
This past week was incredible. Swarna Lata, Mounica, and Suchitra were all baptized! It was a great day for them. Kishore was there and I think he really liked it, he is not ready yet but I think one day he will be. The actual ordinances were pretty tough. They have never spent much time around water, so they were all very nervous. I baptized Suchitra, 19 year old, and when I finished the prayer and tried to baptize her she refused to go down! I tried to speak some words of comfort and we did it again. It worked out the second time and that was a huge relief. But anyway it was very cool. I will send you pictures next week…
We went to Hyderabad, which is why I am e-mailing on Thursday…We had a multi-zone conference and Elder Perkins, the Asia Area President was there with us! It was a great experience for all of us. He conducted a few interviews before the conference began. Elder Ward and I were not part of those but Elder Schmidt and Evans both had a chance to sit down and visit with him. He and his wife are amazing people. His wife was very bold. In the morning we had a few elders give attribute talks. They were supposed to last about 3-4 minutes. All of the elders gave good talks, but none were able to stay within their time limit. Sister Perkins was scheduled to speak right after these missionary talks, but according to the program we had, her time was already finished. She stood up and read about the stripling warriors and how they obeyed with exactness. She stated that she would not give her talk because her time had been eaten up by the elders before her. It was a powerful lesson and I think we all made commitments to stay within the time we are allotted when giving a talk!
It was good that happened in the morning because I gave a talk in the afternoon. The assistants and the zone leaders were to come prepared with a 5 minute talk on how “inviting sacrament attendance blesses families.” There would be 1 assistant and 1 zone leader to give a talk, and I was the lucky zone leader. I was pretty nervous to speak in front of a general authority but luckily I was prepared. I made sure to be punctual and I think it went well. Elder Perkins really liked it, so that made me feel happy.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
zone council in Bangalore
Dear Family,
Greetings from Bangalore! I hope that all of you are doing well. We just finished an edifying Zone Leader’s Council. I love to come here and be with all the Zone Leaders throughout the mission. President trained today on the impact of a leader, he spoke about some influential leaders in his life. It strengthened my resolve be a better leader, but also not to determine the effect of my leadership based on the immediate results. After speaking about 10 great world leaders, he got very emotional and started to speak about his father. How his father was really the one who had the most influence on him. I took some time to think about my father and the influence he had on me. I probably did not respond well to your example and influence while I lived at home, but Dad they mean everything to me now. I am so happy when I reflect on different experiences I had with you. Thank you so much. I learned so many things from you and will be very lucky if I can successfully implement them when I raise my own family. Anyway it was great.
This past week was great. We were able to have some experiences that really strengthened my testimony. As I have previously mentioned we are working with an excellent family-Kishore Kumar. They are 4 members total, but only 3 are preparing for baptism – the mother and the two daughters. Before setting up their baptismal date, we were made sure to obtain permission from Kishore and he readily gave it. But last week he told his family that he did not want them to be baptized. This man is the administrator of all the public hospitals in the Visak district, which makes almost 100 hundred hospitals. He is extremely head strong. There were many reasons that he was against the baptism, I will not give an account of them for lack of time. But we were distraught and had no idea what to do. For a few nights we tried to resolve the concern but were unsuccessful. Days of fervent prayed seemed not to be enough, so we decided to fast. It is hot here and I do not fast unless it is fast Sunday or I absolutely have to. But this, we felt, was required. A few hours after we finished our fast, Kishore called us and gave us the approval. The only condition was that we postpone it for one week. I am not sure why he wanted that, but I could really care less what the reason was. We were exuberant, as were his wife and daughters. It really was a testimony builder and I thought I would share it with you all. Their baptism should be this Sunday and I will send you pictures.
Anyway that took up most of the letter this week. There are many more things happening, I am unable to share them all with you. I promise at a latter day, when time is sufficient, that I will tell you everything. I love you all and hope that you are happy. Thank you for your prayers and support, they mean so much to me.
I hope that all goes well as you prepare for this trip to San Francisco. I am sure that it will be a great experience and I am especially glad that you will be able to have the whole family there. Thank you for all that you do Mom – taking our family on trips has not always been the easiest thing for you. I am so happy that you did it anyway, those memories together are priceless.
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Thursday, February 25, 2010
pictures on doors...
Dear Family,
Hello there! I hope that everyone is doing well this week. Things are really starting to heat up here in Visak. It is sunny all the time. The pollution is not as bad here so Elder Ward and I are getting a little tan. We went to the beach this morning and played football – it was a blast. Elder Evans is now in our district so we have a pretty tight district for the time being. Elder Ward, Elder Schmidt, Elder Evans, and myself-President hooked it up in Visak 1st branch.
This past week was fun. We met a cool family; I’ll share the experience. Last Thursday we had an appointment cancel in the early afternoon. It was real hot but we were able to generate some excitement and we went finding. After a few apartment buildings we met a lady who directed us to the top floor of her apartment building. There, posted on the door was the picture of Jesus Christ that you find on the first pages of the book of mormon! We were incredulous. I proceeded to peel back the picture and found the Joseph Smith portrait on the back. By this time the daughters had come out and we began to ask them where they got the picture. They stated that a Hindu friend had given it to them months ago. They had no idea what it was, but they were very interested to find out. As we returned a few days later for the appointment we found that they were prepared. After teaching clearly about the book of mormon one of the daughters expressed her gratitude. She said that for months she had looked at that book on her shelf and just wondered what it was. She was so happy to know that God would tell her if this book was true. The Mom and Dad are good. We will see their intent within the next week or two. But we both felt that it was a cool experience. I can’t find words to describe the excitement we had in seeing that picture on their door. After seeing 100,000 doors with Ganesh photos on them, it’s impossible to look at that picture on a door and not be filled with happiness!
Elder Ward and I are excited for another transfer together. We hope that we are able to really get Visak going. Other than transfers there is not too much that happened this past week. So that’s about all for now. Everything else is going well. I am learning so much about the gospel and leadership as well. I am so happy to be here and I am thankful for your prayers. They certainly carry me. I love you all have a good week.
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Hello there! I hope that everyone is doing well this week. Things are really starting to heat up here in Visak. It is sunny all the time. The pollution is not as bad here so Elder Ward and I are getting a little tan. We went to the beach this morning and played football – it was a blast. Elder Evans is now in our district so we have a pretty tight district for the time being. Elder Ward, Elder Schmidt, Elder Evans, and myself-President hooked it up in Visak 1st branch.
This past week was fun. We met a cool family; I’ll share the experience. Last Thursday we had an appointment cancel in the early afternoon. It was real hot but we were able to generate some excitement and we went finding. After a few apartment buildings we met a lady who directed us to the top floor of her apartment building. There, posted on the door was the picture of Jesus Christ that you find on the first pages of the book of mormon! We were incredulous. I proceeded to peel back the picture and found the Joseph Smith portrait on the back. By this time the daughters had come out and we began to ask them where they got the picture. They stated that a Hindu friend had given it to them months ago. They had no idea what it was, but they were very interested to find out. As we returned a few days later for the appointment we found that they were prepared. After teaching clearly about the book of mormon one of the daughters expressed her gratitude. She said that for months she had looked at that book on her shelf and just wondered what it was. She was so happy to know that God would tell her if this book was true. The Mom and Dad are good. We will see their intent within the next week or two. But we both felt that it was a cool experience. I can’t find words to describe the excitement we had in seeing that picture on their door. After seeing 100,000 doors with Ganesh photos on them, it’s impossible to look at that picture on a door and not be filled with happiness!
Elder Ward and I are excited for another transfer together. We hope that we are able to really get Visak going. Other than transfers there is not too much that happened this past week. So that’s about all for now. Everything else is going well. I am learning so much about the gospel and leadership as well. I am so happy to be here and I am thankful for your prayers. They certainly carry me. I love you all have a good week.
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
16 FEB 10 letter
Dear Family,
Things in Visak are going well; it is really heating up again. The memories of Chennai heat are returning quickly. Anyway, it’s good for me; I just tell myself that walking around in the heat builds character. So by the time I get back to Utah I should have built plenty of it!
This past week was full of train rides. We came back to Visak last Friday. The train ride was about 14 hours. We figured the distance is actually about 300 miles or so…the trains travel a bit slower than you would think. But that is just fine because the Indian countryside is beautiful; all of the rice patty fields and chili fields are quite breathtaking. If you’re in the mood for a scenic journey the train would be your choice mode of transportation. It was a fun journey and zone conference was good, but I was very eager to get back to Visak and get to work.
Elder Ward and I are working with some incredible people. One of our greatest successes this past week was with a sister named Puspha. She is actually the cousin of a recent convert family and has known about the church for some time. About two weeks ago we decided that we would start to focus on her. She was OK at first but it seemed like she wasn’t that interested. At the end of one appointment we challenged her sincerely to read and pray about the book of mormon. It was close to a week and a half before we saw her again. She seemed different. There was nothing incredible about it, but we could certainly sense a change in her. As we taught her, she was much more attentive and became excited when we would extend commitments. She had felt the spirit. The process of conversion had begun, and we continue to watch it take place. I feel so privileged to be a part of it.
Church was also good. We continue to have great people come to sacrament, and they seem to enjoy it a lot. There are a lot of great people in Visak and the church is really a fun place to be. There are always new and exciting things that happen. I will go into detail on another occasion when time is sufficient. But it really is always a riot. Anyway I love you all and hope you have a good week. See you next time!
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Things in Visak are going well; it is really heating up again. The memories of Chennai heat are returning quickly. Anyway, it’s good for me; I just tell myself that walking around in the heat builds character. So by the time I get back to Utah I should have built plenty of it!
This past week was full of train rides. We came back to Visak last Friday. The train ride was about 14 hours. We figured the distance is actually about 300 miles or so…the trains travel a bit slower than you would think. But that is just fine because the Indian countryside is beautiful; all of the rice patty fields and chili fields are quite breathtaking. If you’re in the mood for a scenic journey the train would be your choice mode of transportation. It was a fun journey and zone conference was good, but I was very eager to get back to Visak and get to work.
Elder Ward and I are working with some incredible people. One of our greatest successes this past week was with a sister named Puspha. She is actually the cousin of a recent convert family and has known about the church for some time. About two weeks ago we decided that we would start to focus on her. She was OK at first but it seemed like she wasn’t that interested. At the end of one appointment we challenged her sincerely to read and pray about the book of mormon. It was close to a week and a half before we saw her again. She seemed different. There was nothing incredible about it, but we could certainly sense a change in her. As we taught her, she was much more attentive and became excited when we would extend commitments. She had felt the spirit. The process of conversion had begun, and we continue to watch it take place. I feel so privileged to be a part of it.
Church was also good. We continue to have great people come to sacrament, and they seem to enjoy it a lot. There are a lot of great people in Visak and the church is really a fun place to be. There are always new and exciting things that happen. I will go into detail on another occasion when time is sufficient. But it really is always a riot. Anyway I love you all and hope you have a good week. See you next time!
Love,
Elder Tuscano
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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
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
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