Sacrament Meeting

So, it has been a while since I have posted, and I think it might be time to post again. This week has been much like the week before, with a few small exceptions. I got to go shopping this week. I went shopping for souvenirs twice and have finished my shopping I think. If I find something else that catches my attention, I might still buy it, but I could go home tomorrow and be satisfied with what I've got.

Also, we finally got to church. It was smaller than any of the branches I have been to before... including the many tiny ones I was assigned to in Korea. There was a family, one family, that was active and regular, and the rest of us were foreigners or Indians here for a visit. The group of us amounted to about 10 people... and I think that was larger than normal. I was please with their efforts though. It made me very happy to see how strong they were in the gospel when they had so little support. They day we went was district conference, which meant that the leadership (Branch President, and 1st Councilor) were off to district meetings. The rest of the branch didn't go, but rather stayed to have their own branch meeting. The 2nd councilor seemed a little shy. He didn't conduct anything, but he did sit up front. Instead the Elders Quorum President conducted sacrament meeting. He was an American who is there on company assignment. Thank goodness for his strength!

So, we sung the opening prayer, prayed, sung the sacrament prayer, prayed, sung the closing hymn, and prayed. That had to be the shortest sacrament meeting I have ever attended by far! No talks. No announcements. Just song and prayer. I guess normally they do have a talk in there, but this time they didn't. But it did make me think... isn't that the real reason for sacrament meeting anyways? To have sacrament? To pray and sing to our God? Of course, instructing each other is important too. And we did do that in Sunday School.

The same brother who conducted Sacrament Meeting, also conducted Sunday School, and taught it. They used the gospel principles handbook for their material. It was a good lesson. Very simple and too the point. But one brother there who was Indian, and is there for only a month or two, spoke of his conversion during the lesson. He said that he was converted while he was in Texas, and that shortly after his conversion, 9-11 happened. During that time, I guess Texas had a "Share your neighbors faith" program in which once a month, some religion would speak about their beliefs in some public meeting. I guess the first meeting was about Hinduism, which was his former religion. He said that as he listed to the speaker, that things sounded very familiar, and good to him. He said he wondered if he had given his religion from birth the chance it deserved. But not long after, he went to a general conference meeting to listen to the general authorities speak. He said he heard the testimony of one of the speakers and felt an overwhelming spirit of peace and confirmation about the prophets and the truthfulness of the church. I was really impressed by it. He seems like a very nice guy, and very sincere. He seemed very devout, and strong in the church. I'm sure his strength will be appreciated wherever he goes.

After Sunday School, the services were over. There was no Elders Quorum, no Relief Society or Primary. But we did stick around for a while and chat with the people who were there. It was a good experience... and I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to be there. By the way... here are some pictures that I have taken, but have not posted anywhere. They aren't that beautiful, or great or anything, but they are here:

(If you don't have flash, or for some reason, can't see the images below, or if you'd simply prefer to see them a bit larger, please click on the links below!)

Rainy Day




The Kids




The House