Thanksgiving

Hello all,

Thanks for the update.  Sounds like there are tons of cool things happening back home.  glad you got my letter from Sandy.  Did you find out more info about the history stuff for my journal?  I'm glad that you heard from President Berrett and found the Convent Road Branch FB page as well.  That's pretty awesome that you were able to find that. :-)  Indians take loads and loads of pictures whenever there is anything going join, so they look forward to seeing lots more.  Yes, I have started playing the piano in Sacrament meeting.  It's nice that they have a simplified hymn book as well, so I can play most of the hymns. 

Sounds like Thanksgiving went really well.  That selfie of Matthew is hilarious!  For our Thanksgiving, we didn't do too much except we went to a place called 'Portland Steakhouse and Cafe.'  They had a good old American Thanksgiving lunch going on.  It was pretty good, but I can tell you that yours was way better.  Ours was super expensive as well.  Oh well.  It was a good meal and we had to celebrate Thanksgiving somehow.  I'll send you a few pictures of that.

Awesome that the packages have made it!  I'll be excited to go pick those up.  The address that you have isn't actually the mission home.  It's the mission office, which will eventually be the mission home as well.  They are remodeling the upstairs.  The mission office is Whitefield and President and Sister Berrett are living in our area which is Convent Road.  I'll be able to go pick up the mail myself, hopefully today or tomorrow.  While I'm serving in Bangalore it is really easy for me to get the mail  because I usually go to Whitefield about once a week.  Thanks for sending those.  Any American food that you send will be greatly appreciated.  Beef Jerky is awesome as well as Cheese-Its and Pop Tarts.  I still haven't been able to find any brown sugar.  Sister Berrett made us some awesome cookies the other day.  When I asked her where she got brown sugar she said that she brought it back from Hong Kong.  Bummer.

Love the quotes about the Book of Mormon.  Since I've been out, I finished the Book of Mormon and started over.  I started really studying it, writing about it, and taking lots of notes and highlighting things.  It's such a good book.  I'm getting so much more out of it that I ever have before.   I've been reading in 1 Nephi where Nephi has his vision and is basically shown all of time.  It's so wild.  Crazy how he talks about how there are so many other things that he learned but can't be written down.  I'm excited to go talk to Nephi some day and ask him what those other things are.  :-)

Oh, and also our apartment is getting painted during the next few days so all four of us are going to Indiranagar to spend a few nights with the zone leaders.  It will be fun.  I made sure to lock up all of my things in my suitcase and hide it in my closet.  It will be nice to have new paint.

The people are good.  We have one guy named Mahesh committed to be baptized later this month.  We have been teaching lots of lessons.  We met these guys from Nigeria on the metro the other day.  They immediately started taking pictures with us.  We had plenty of time to talk to them about the gospel.  I was able to give away my first Book of Mormon to one of them.  His name is Julius.  I'm hoping that we will be ale to find more people to teach.  We are really focused right now on helping Bangalore to become a stake.  We have everything we need, except enough members.  Once it is a stake, we can have a patriarch, and the general authorities will start to consider getting a temple in India.  That would be awesome.  The visit with President Berrett was good!  He is awesome.

The other day, I bought some pomegranates.  They were good.  Also, Elder Mckamey had an awesome idea to put some hot chocolate mix into my oatmeal.  It was quite delightful.  I was able to bargain down an auto driver all by myself last week so that was cool!  Bargaining is pretty fun.  We had an appointment to play tennis with an investigator today but he canceled.  I think we will go shoot hoops in Whitefield so I will be able to check the mail today. :-) 

Love,
Elder Kent Thompson

An American Thanksgiving Dinner

Elder Grimmett, Elder Rees(Logan, UT), and Elder Mckammey (Shelby, MT)

A few Random Pictures

Elder Thompson and Elder Alex White (a fellow DHS friend) at the MTC

Elder D'Vaz  and Elder Thompson at the airport ready to fly to India

Elder Thompson and Elder Kyle Polson (a fellow DHS friend) at the MTC 

Elder Grimmett and Elder Thompson after church

Elder Thompson's first Sunday in India

Eating dinner at a branch activity

One Month Complete!

Hello All,

The other day, I hit my one month mark. It is flying by pretty fast! We did some fun things. On Monday, we got our hair cut, and Elder Grimmett made a sweet basket from up on top of a wall. It was pretty sweet. We got a new investigator this week named Sister Aswini. Hopefully it goes well.  She is really nice. I took the lead for the first time this week in teaching her the restoration. It went well. I got to enjoy a trip to McDonalds this week! It was pretty awesome. No beef, but you could get chicken, just like back home. The menu was sorted into veg and non veg. That's how a lot of things are here.

On Wednesday, I went to the FRO and got some legal documents. Now I am totally legal here in India! It was a long and painful experience, sort of like going to the DMV. Fortunately for me, my companions made sure that I was the first person in line that morning. 

There is a sister named Sandy that is here with her husband for a business trip. They went home last friday, but before they left, they treated us to BBQ nation, which is a pretty expensive all you can eat meat place. It was pretty exciting for a bunch of missionaries like us.

We don't spend a ton of time finding new investigators, but rather we work with members, especially less actives and recent converts. We spend a ton of time traveling to people's houses because our area is so big, and traffic is really bad everywhere. Our days are usually filled with appointments. When we talk to people on the streets, we give them a little card with our name and numbers, as well as directions to church. People come up to us ALL the time asking where we are from and what we are doing. Little kids are especially excited to see us. Yesterday, we went with a member named Derga to visit some people, but they all bunked on us. Derga took us to meet some of his extended family. Even though none of them could speak English except for Derga and his wife, they were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Very very friendly and chill. They invited us to come to dinner next Sunday. We get fed pretty often. It's nice. 

Probably the hardest thing about finding new people to teach is that they have to speak English, and they can't be Muslim. It's a bummer because we have met soooo many super nice Muslim people, but we can't teach them because it's dangerous for them. Also, many of the older generation doesn't speak English. The younger kids learn it in school. I think English will be a lot more common in a few years. The other languages here and Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi. Most people can speak all of those languages, but not write or read in some of them. Many people can speak English, but only read Tamil. It's weird.

The branch has a group of hearing impaired people. One of them is named Karthik. He is my good friend, and is teaching me how to speak in sign language. I'm getting pretty good at it, because whenever I don't know a word, I can just spell it out. Indian sign language is a little different than American sign language, but it's really fun. My companion is helping me also, because he is really good at it.

I enjoy Indian food so much. When I eat with members, I usually have rice, biryani, curry, chipates, or dosa. There's not too much of a variety, but it is all so delicious. When I eat at home, I usually have rice, eggs, vegetables, oatmeal, bread, just simple foods because they are less expensive and easy. We go out to eat quite a bit because we go far away from home.

Yesterday, I spoke in Sacrament Meeting. I talked about member missionary work, home teaching, visiting teaching, fulfilling our callings, etc. It went really well. I was kind of bold because I wanted to remind everybody that their callings (especially HT/VT) are very sacrad and important responsibilities. It went well, and the spirit was there to help me for sure. I invited everybody to be like Nephi and to "Go and do".

Hopefully this is a good summary of how things are going here. I would love to hear from you, and love you all! Sorry if there are lots of typos, I don't really have time to proof read.

Love, 

Elder Thompson

The city of Bangalore

Outside of Elder Thompson's apartment

Kent made stir fry

Dinner at BBQ Nation

Elder Thompson and Karthik, a deaf member of the Convent Road Branch

Elder Thompson and Elder Grimmett emailing from the Family History Center

November 16, 2014

Hi,

The week has been really good. It was a good week. I went on exchange with Elder Mangum this week. It was pretty fun. I have settled in really really well. The only thing that I really need to still work on is remembering names, and trying to memorize all of the streets and things.I'm getting better at understanding people. Sometimes you can only pick up words, but that is all you really need. Although, It's pretty nice to be in an apartment with all American elders. I didn't get to first class, but there was nobody next to me so I could stretch out a little bit. We don't wear our name tags unless we are at church. Apparently there are certain political groups that might beat you up if you have it on. Weird! That's only in Bangalore though. Even if they wanted to though, I could take them. They are all small. :) I bought a sweet backpack at the Nike store in the mall. It should last me for a long time. Yeah, I have had curd rice. It's really good! A great way to cool down your mouth after eating some spicy curry. I haven't found raisins, but there was an elder the other day that had a bag of golden raisins. He said somebody gave them to him, so I'm still not sure about that. It's funny, most elders get packages with pop tarts and cheese its, and I asked for raisins :) haha. Although, two elders in my apartment got packages on saturday, and I was pretty jealous! America knows how to make some mighty fine food. Don't worry about the TP. It's not a problem at all. There is a little sprayer just like the one you would fine in a kitchen sink. Pretty convenient actually!

That's way crazy about stake conference! Sounds like there is a really good new presidency though.

That's pretty cool about the lead kindly light song! That is one of my all time favorite church songs. Wish I could join you at the temple! I won't have a chance for that for a while. Awesome job to the kids! That's quite the accomplishment to get such good grades.

Sounds like you enjoyed eating at taste of India. My stomach has not had any problems at all. I haven't eaten anything that I haven't liked. Yes, you eat with your right hand. Nobody makes a big deal out of it though. We eat out for lunch quite a bit. The pills don't leave a taste in my mouth? It's just a pill so I'm not sure why it would be a problem. What was the name of the animated movie? I'm glad  that Matt send that stuff to you! I was going to send him with a letter to send from home, but we couldn't get ahold of him. I'll send it with a lady named Sandy who is going home next week.

If the email doesn't go through for some reason, PLEASE don't worry all week about it. I will understand, and know that you are always thinking about me :) 

Can't wait for the Christmas stuff! That will be a great day for me! :) 

Love, Elder Thompson

Ps. I got a ton of groceries today, as well as laundry soap for like 11 bucks! It's pretty awesome! I also got a hair cut today. It cost 60 rupees. (aka. $1.) 

Elder Thompson

India Bangalore Mission

No. 2, Rear Building

Garudarcharpalya, Mahadevapura Post,

Opp. ABB Tech Park          

Whitefield Road, Karnataka

Bangalore 560048

India

My First Week in India!!

Hello,

Wow, India is an amazing place! My first day here, we had a dinner appointment with a member family. They fed us some really spicy curry and tortilla type things. You eat it with your hands. You also eat rice with your hands. It's super nasty to do that, but I've gotten used to it. Food is really really cheap here. I got a massive bag of oatmeal for about 190 rupees which is about 3 dollars. My companion is super nice. Really selfless and great. It's nice to have him as my trainer. There are two other elders living in the apartment with us. It's a pretty good apartment. It's made of concrete, and all of the paint is peeling off the walls. 

My first area is in Bangalore. My travel companion, Elder D'vaz is in Rajahmundry with his trainer right now. We don't really spend any time knocking on doors or anything, we mostly work with members. We are trying to get our branch into a ward, and Bangalore into a stake. Yesterday, we went to church. It was the primary program. There were 10 kids in the primary. It was really funny to listen to the little Indian kids give their talks. Elder Grimmett and I had to teach Gospel Principles, because the teacher didn't show up. Apparently, that's pretty common. The members have trouble actually doing their callings. But they are all pretty nice. There were some guys from America, there for work. It was sooooooo nice to be able to talk to somebody that actually speaks really good English. 

The other day, we helped a man named Savio move from his old house to a new house. I thought the new place was pretty gross, until I saw the old one. The old house was literally the size of the food storage room back home. It had no ventilation other than the front door. It was hard to breathe in there because it was really moist, and I'm sure there was lots of mold in there. He also had to pay 3000 rupees a month for the old house, and the new one was free so that's lucky. His new place is a much bigger room, with a couple windows. 

India is super great. My first day here was really shocking, but I have adjusted to it really fast and well. My jet lag is almost gone already. I'm not too tired during the day anymore. 

We drive around in little three wheeled cars called autos. I attached a picture Of the four of us riding in one. They're pretty fun. 

So some crazy things about India:

1. There is trash everywhere! It's pretty nasty, and it stinks whenever you are outside. 

2. The only rule of driving is that there are no rules. You don't assume that the other driver will follow the rules, you assume that anybody can do anything at any time. Also, Everything is on the wrong side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the wrong side as well. 

3. Any time is a good time to cross the street. I'm still getting used to walking out in front of on coming traffic. If you hold out your hand, people will usually stop or at least slow down for you. 

4. You pretty much bargain for everything. My companion bargained hard, and got me some sweet fake Ray Bans for 120 rupees, which is about 2 bucks. 

5. Guys hold hands with guys, and girls hold hands with girls. It doesn't mean they are gay or anything, they are just being friendly. Weird.

6. Everybody has a cell phone. It doesn't matter if you life in a house the size of a closet, you will have a phone. Also, they are never on silent or even vibrate for anything at all. 

7. There is always room for one more person, or one more thing. People cruise around on motorcycles with an entire family, or a major load of stuff.

8. Motorcycles are called bikes, and Bicycles are called cycles.

9. There is a military school right by our apartment complex. They drive the kids to school in armed army trucks, and the school bell is a bomb siren. haha

10. You eat rice with your hands.

11. People take pictures during sacrament meeting.

12. If they are muslim, don't teach them. It is dangerous for them if they leave their religion.

13. There is a muslim mosque near the church building. Whenever they gather for prayer, they blast the prayer song throughout the entire city with this huge speaker. 

14. Indians LOVE honking. The bikes all have car horns. I'm not sure if it helps or not, but they honk a ton. 

15. There are wires hanging down over the sidewalks from time to time. Watch your head.

16. There are random cows chilling out in the city. Apparently, they are all owned. They like to eat garbage. There's also lots of stray dogs.

I think that's all. India is great!!! 

Let me know if there is anybody that would like to be on this list.

Elder Rees, Elder Grimmett, Elder Thompson and Elder Mckammey in an auto

Your Son's Arrival in India

Dear Brother and Sister Thompson: 

We are grateful for the arrival of you son in the India Bangalore Mission.  He arrived safe and in good spirits.  We have great need for him as a missionary.  We felt the strength of his testimony as he shared with us his feelings for missionary work.

Your son has been assigned to work in the city of Bangalore, in the Convent Road Branch serving with Elder Grimmett from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.  Elder Grimmett is a dedicated missionary and we are confident that they will be able to help and support each other in the work of the Lord here in India.   

We have attached photos of your son the day that he arrived, one with us and one with his companion.  

Many parents have asked about sending packages to their missionaries. Postage is expensive for those sending from outside India and custom charges are often assessed. We recommend that for birthdays and holidays that you put money in their personal account to save on customs charges and risk of damage.  If you send a package, especially from outside India, it should be sent to the mission office.   THE FIRST LINE OF THE ADDRESS SHOULD READ -- “Indian Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” This is for customs purposes. The missionaries name should be written elsewhere on the package. Please keep in mind that most of our transfers are done by air travel. The local airlines have a 15 kg (about 33 lbs.) weight limit.  Missionaries struggle to keep within that limit so they transfer very light and discard items not necessary.

The Mission Office address changed about 9 months ago.  The new address is as follows:

India Bangalore Mission

No. 2, Rear Building

Garudarcharpalya, Mahadevapura Post,

Opp. ABB Tech Park          

Whitefield Road, Karnataka

Bangalore 560048

India

Thank you for your help in your son's preparation and your support of him as he serves.  The people of India are so grateful for the truth and knowledge the missionaries share.  I know he will come to love the people with a deep love.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

President and Sister Berrett
India Bangalore Mission

President's cell: +91 98 45 744900

Sister Berrett's cell:      +91 98 45 744909
Mission Office: +91 80 67926712  

From time to time we post experiences on our blog at www.davidterryberrett.blogspot.com
you can find President Berrett on Facebook at David Berrett

Elder Grimmett (from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) and Elder Thompson

Sister Berrett, Elder Thompson, and President Berrett

Hello From India

Hello,

Just wanted to let you know that I have arrived safely n India.  We made it through with no trouble and all of our bags made it to us.  We were picked up by President Berrett and are at the mission office now.  Driving here was insane!  Everything is opposite and the only traffic rule is that there are no rules.  Crazy!  London was pretty cool too.  The flights were long, but I got some good sleep.  Hopefully my jet lag will wear off soon.

But yeah, all is well!  It's going to take a ton of getting used to here, but I'm up for it.  We got here at like 6:00am and it was already hot.  Wow!  Hope all is well at home.

Love,

Kent

November 3, 2014

Hello,

My MTC time is almost done! It's been fun and we have all become so close. It's going to be a really long few days getting to India. I'm excited though. Elder D'vaz and I will have a party. Hopefully the phone card and my debit will come in the mail today. If not, I may have some trouble. I'm excited to call home tomorrow. But yeah, It's been good! It's just Elder Harris and I living in the residence now. It was actually pretty sad to have the others gone. This morning, we went to the temple and did initiatories. It was really good. I'm glad that we had and extra P-day before going off to the airport. We've learned so much, and have just all gotten along so well. Last night at the devotional, Russel M. Nelson's wife spoke to us. It was really good, and the spirit was super strong. I don't think I've ever had any spiritual experiences that were stronger than the ones here at the MTC. It feels like winter already! There is snow up on the mountains. I've been trying to not think about snowboarding every time I look at them. :) Halloween was fun. It was just another normal day, except they had caramel apples at the cafeteria! Also, one Elder came to our room trick-or-treating. I'm not quite sure what he was trying to look like. He had a blanket over him. Maybe a ghost or something. I'm so excited to get to India! We had a meeting telling us how to get through customs. We also got our first bottle of Malaria medicine. It's called doxycycline. Oh, and I met two guys that were in the District videos that I watched before I came! They work here. It was pretty cool. We invited our investigator, (who is really our teacher playing the role of a guy named Carl) to be baptized. He accepted the invitation, but I'm pretty sure he was just being nice. We weren't quite sure what we were doing in there. But it's ok! I'm learning every day how to effectively share the gospel. I think it will just take time before I can really get my message across the way that I and the spirit wants to.

I think that's all! I look forward to talking to you all tomorrow!

Love, 

Elder Thompson

Memorizing the First Vision

The entire zone

Kent's district at the temple

The whole district with their teacher, Brother Lester

The big map L-R Elder Hansen, Elder Dann, Elder Climmer, Elder Harris, Elder D'Vaz, Elder Lindsay, and Elder Thompson

Elder Thompson and Elder Harris

P-day at the temple

Elder Harris' birthday cake

The mountains from the classroom window

Sunrise from the classroom

The entire district with their teacher, Brother Hoffman

Elder Harris and Elder ?

Kent's favorite picture of the Savior at the MTC

The Zone at the big map

Elder Thompson's district looking very GQ

An email to remember

Bennett and Kent just before the drop off!

Anna, Kent, and Clara just before the drop off!