RAMOJI FILM CITY

I know this is a lot of pictures but I couldn't decide which ones to leave out....and I did leave a lot of them out!!!
We had a Zone Activity today with all of the missionaries serving in Hyderabad. (about 30 of us) We went about one and 1/2 hour by bus to RAMOJI FILM CITY. It's India's version of Universal Studios....
We had a great time and enjoyed the day together. I can't say it was as good as Universal Studios but I can say the company was great.

This is the gate coming into Film City. I'm so fascinated at all the metal and concrete they use here. Nothing is made of wood. Wood is a premium and hard to get. But metal is cheap, cheap, cheap!!
Fun Elders to be with. Only 2 sisters in our group and 3 couples. This is the entrance.
Sign as you drive in...

Lots of people around to entertain us. And Statues to take pictures with.

Getting ready to watch a western stunt show. That's Sister Arza taking a picture and several of the elders that were with us. We all took of in different directions when we first got there, but many of us ended up spending a lot of the day together.

My Super Man Guy looks pretty good huh?
This is the cute man I brought with me ! We have lots of fun together. I sometimes have fun just watching Elder Kasper because he seems to really be enjoying all of this. Especially the days where we don't run ourselves to death. We don't often get a play day like this and you can tell by his smile he liked this!!
Elder Clark having fun!
Elder Toleafoa left from Hawaii

Elder Evans behind karate Joe!

Elder Nixon sitting

Elder Tyler right. (He's from Jackson Wyoming and he's one of the zone leaders.) All but Elder Tyler just came
Still the actor and makes me laugh every day. I really liked this picture.

We all liked this fat little boy. Elder Kasper bought this hat for me today. It cost 130 rupees. Thats almost $3....It's really a cute hat. Elder K actually bought 11 hats for me. Keep going and you'll hear the story.
These cowboy hats are the other 10 hats we Elder K. purchased. We bought them for our 4th branch line dancers. They were really hoping to wear cowboy hats when we dance. We got them for 25 rupees. That's about 50 cents each. The elders saw us with all the hats and wore them until it was time to leave film city.

India's version of it's a small world. Very different.

Basketball dancers!

Sister Arza left. (from India)

Sister LaFevre (from Utah) She was born in India but she and her 2 sisters were adopted by a family from Utah when she was only 6 years old. Her family consists of 14 children and they are all adopted. I told her she must have a wonderful mother. Sister LaFevre was very excited to receive a mission call to India and she and Sister Arza are wonderful missionaries. I quite often go with them to teach. It's definately my pleasure to work with these sweet sisters.
Riding the rides. Elder Alred was trying to hand of his hat during the ride. Great Missionaries. They know how to work and they had fun playing together. It's good to see they can have fun too! A little fun makes the work go better....at least in my book!

I do believe this is the hallway that never ends! We really liked this picture too! It's actually a painting on a wall in the haunted House!!

Those crazy cowboy elders crossing the bridge that takes you to the haunted mansion! Only problem was every time I would take my camera out to take a picture...out would pop 6 more cameras. Elder K would take 3 and I would take 3....Needless to say it took some time to take all these pictures.


Elder & Sister LaDuke (Left)

Elder and Sister Fullmer (right)

LaDukes are LDS humanitarian missionaries and work with 1st branch. Fullmers were in Sri Lanka but got kicked out because of the wrong visa. (Along with all the other missionaries...Missionary work is closed in Sri Lanka) They take care of 3rd branch. 3rd branch is an hour away for us so we are so happy they are here.

It was a great day as you see!

New Missionaries in Hyderabad

New missionary to Hyderabad, Elder Christensen is helping Satish with the piano. Elder Christensen has about 5 months left. He is serving in 4th branch. We now have 4 elders serving in 4th branch!! The church is growing in Hyderabad and so is the missionary program!!
Satish serves on the Young adult committee for Youth conference. We've had a lot of fun getting to know him. There are some wonderful young people that we get to work with. We are so blessed.

Our Newest Neighbors

These Parrots have moved into the apartment right next to us. It's out our kitchen balcony where the pigeons nested.
We have loved watching these 2. They must be very attached to each other as we never see just one. They are always together.

6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY

It's our 6 month anniversary and no one is more surprised than us! The time has gone by so quickly. We know we will blink our eyes and this mission will be over. In this past 6 months we've met some wonderful people and our lives have been enriched far and beyond any service we've been able to give. We are indeed grateful for the opportunity to serve....especially in India.

The Kids at the Zoo

Jeffery and Karen (in the yellow shirt) are cousins and they were my responsibility at the zoo. Karen is Pres. Venods daughter (2nd branch president) Jeffery and Janice (orange shirt) are brother and sister.
I would really like Jeffery to be Keayen or Porter's PenPal. He is 7 and watches the discovery channel and he knew all of the animals. He's a very smart little boy. (Sister Jothi in the purple)
Janice
Jonathan taking the picture.

Jonathan's mom just had another baby boy. This makes 4 cute little boys. They are all handsome little boys. Jonathan is one of the best singers in primary. He is not afraid to sing out. Today I went to visit AnnaPurna (his mom) and the new baby. He was playing David and Goliath with his homemade slingshot!!
We had nice group.....and this is not everyone. There are 3-4 missing in the picture.

My good friend Sirisha is the primary pres. They challenged her to dance on the bus. She's a good sport.
Sister Jothi is one of my favorite people. She is a new convert....I think 3 months. Her 5 children and also her husband were also baptised. They are a great little family. We love to visit them. She is a superb cook!!

Victor (husband to AnnaPurna who just had the new baby)
Eating lunch I brought peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Everyone else had rice and tried to share it with me. I did end up eating some of Sister Jothi's because she is such a good cook. It was yummy.

Our bus!!!
Robert and his wife, Priyanka were also part of our group. They have 1 child.


2 of Sister Jothi's 5 children. Sister Jothi was sustained as 2nd counselor in the primary presidency Sunday. Working with Sirisha will be a good experience for her.

Happy Happy Birthday

In honor of your birthday, I went to the zoo on Saturday. We took the primary children in a bus and a lot of parents to supervise and went to the zoo in Hyderabad. It is a big zoo and I had a great time. Elder K. couldn't go. He had to stay and teach "Career Workshop."

SO.......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Rebecca 5th Oct

Cheryl 6th Oct

James 8th Oct

We love you and I thoroughly enjoyed the zoo on your behalf!! I hope you feel of my joy for your birthday!!

I really thought this little guy was fake! He didn't move for the longest time and he was so shiny clean that he looked like a polished statue!!
This little bird looked like he was wearing stilts!!

This turtle is much bigger than it looks!! I was amazed.
Panda Monkey. I love the monkeys. He was my favorite. He was just staring at us! He's much cuter than my backyard monkies!
I thought the pair were cute in the box. I wondered if they thought they were hiding!!
Beautiful Animal

The way he looked at us made me a bit afraid. He looked mighty hungry.

3rd Branch Elders

We've been spending a lot of time with these elders, getting them out of 3 and 4 bedroom apartments into 1 or 2 bedroom apartments. We've learned to love them and are so grateful for the time we've shared together. They are good, hard working young men who serve the Lord well. 3rd branch church in the background. It's one of 2 chapels in Hyderabad a city of 9 million people.
Elder Turala is being transferred this week. Elder Davis will stay.

Elder Story (left)has about 5 weeks left on his mission.
Elder Kunha from Texas has been here 5 weeks.

Elder Raju and Elder Kupkee. These 6 missionaries are a diverse group of talent and personality.