Handyman pruning the bushes

We were greeted by Saski one morning as we were leaving the apartment building.  Saski had trimmed all around the bush but the top still needed to be trimmed.  Elder Meyers asked him how he was going to do that.  Saski said, "watch I'll show you." He moved to the middle of the bush and climbed until he got to the top and came out holding his hands out stretched.  I told him he would be going to America.  He was happy.  He said that he brother was already in America and now he could join him.  Saski is a wonderful young man.  He comes and changes our light bulbs or anything else that he can do for us.
On Monday Maljini came to our apartment around 5 pm.  We had met her at the Christmas party and she called later and asked if she could come for a visit.  We said that would be great.  We enjoyed getting to know her better.  It is amazing how people are drawn to us.  Maljini is not a member of the church but she loves to get to know Americans.  She invited us to her house next week.  She visited for over two hours before she left.  She loved the home made bread that I had made that day.
We taught our first full discussion.  Robbie is 26 years old.  He was raised as a Hindu.  Many of his family have converted to Christianity.
Elder Meyers and I had prayed before we went that the Spirit would be present.  We knew it wouldn't matter what we said if he could feel the Spirit.  I was giving the first concept.  About half way through the concept Robbie became teary eyed and stood up and got his handkerchief and wiped his eyes.  I told him through the translator that when I feel the Spirit that I react the same way.  That was truly a testimony to us that the Lord had heard our prayers.  Robbie committed to reading the Book of Mormon, praying about the truthfulness of it, praying about Joseph Smith being a prophet, and he also committed to come to church. 
The yearly supplies for each branch came in so we made a trip to Negombo to deliver their branch and seminary/institute supplies.  While we were there we went to the fish market and drying operation.  If the fish is unable to be sold, they clean, salt and put the fish in the sun to be dried.  The manager of the place met us as we got out of the car and gave us a wonderful tour.  He showed us the drying operation and explained how it worked.  Then he took us to the fish market and showed us many different fish. As he took us through the market he pointed out four small sharks.  He said that the fishermen had caught the shark that morning and when they cut her opened they discovered that she was pregnant.  The prawns were huge and the Parrot fish was beautiful. The Parrot fish was blue and yellow in color.  The manager said there were 27 different types of fish. Of course when we got close to the end of the tour he kept saying how expensive it was to live here in Sri Lanka.  He wanted a tip.  We enjoyed his time so we gladly gave him a tip.
On our way home we had the driver stop by McDonald's.  Elder Meyers and I got a fish sandwich, fries,and pop.  We asked our driver what he would like. He said a chicken sandwich.  So we got him a chicken sandwich, fries, and pop.  He ate a few of his fries but never touched his sandwich or pop.  As he drove he asked if it would be okay if he stopped by his house.  We said that would be fine.  As he got to this small home he said my kids never get McDonald's I will give my food to them and that will make them happy.  His three kids, two girls and small naked boy, came out waving to us.  This act that the father did for his children really touched our hearts.  We said if he had told us, we would have gladly bought each of them a Happy Meal.
Friday afternoon the Relief Society sisters had a Relief Society Meeting.  Sister Eshani, the Relief Society President, had asked me to demonstrate how to make a chocolate cake and banana bread.  There were only six of us there but we had a good time talking and eating.  Sister Eshani wants to have these meetings at least once every three months.  It is so hard for the sisters to travel.  Even though it doesn't cost much to ride the bus, it is a lot for them.
Saturday morning I went with Sister Eshani and Sister Ann and delivered Christmas baskets to some of the needy families in the branch.  I had discovered that one 12 year old girl who is a daughter of one of these families only wanted a school bag for Christmas.  I shared that with Sister Eshani.  She said we will stop and buy one for her.  We saw 4 families and it took us 5 hours to do that.  Most of the time was spent traveling to their homes.  Today at church the 12 year old's mother said that Udari loved her school bag.  Elder Meyers enjoyed his 5 hours alone in the apartment.
Saturday evening we went to Rosemary and Harold's 25th wedding anniversary.  It was a big deal.  There were probably 75 to 80 people in attendance.  Elder Meyers got the opportunity to speak.  They had a catered dinner after the program.
Today was Christmas.  It started by Jason's family, Mandy, and Parker's family skyping us.  They were all at a cabin near Donnelly. Each year as a family we do a puppet Nativity.  They did that for us over skype.  Tears filled our eyes as we viewed the Nativity.  It brought back such good memories.  Jason then read a letter that we had written to the family.  He asked if we wanted to read the letter but we hadn't kept a copy and probably wouldn't have gotten through it without tears.  We want them to know that we loved being there for that short while and knowing that they were happy. 
Then it was off to church for Sacrament Meeting.  The branch organized a Christmas Program with scriptures, songs by the choir, and songs by the congregation.  After the program there was a baptism for Sonali.  She is the branch president's daughter. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. We had three men there to see what a baptism was.  Robbie, Gihan, and Dinuka were all there.  After the baptism was over there was cake, biscuits(cookies), and ice cream cones served.  Elder Meyers and I helped serve the ice cream.
Finally we came home after a District Council Meeting that Elder Meyers needed to attend.  We had leftovers for lunch.  At least we didn't have to stress out about eating too much and gaining a lot of weight.  It has been a wonderful week for us!
We are grateful for each of you and hope that you have had a very Merry Christmas. Jesus is the real reason for the season and we have difinitely felt that this year. We look forward to a wonderful 2012 and wish you the same.

Fish drying operation

Baby sharks

Very large prawn

Parrot fish

Cleaning and sorting

Fish manager

Sis Meyers' cooking class

Harold & Rosemary's 25th Anniversary

Grandchildren doing the Nativity over
Skype for us

Pres Kolitha, Sis Primali and the baptism
girl Sonali

We feel that Christmas is finally coming to Sri Lanka.  As we were visiting this week we took several pictures of Christmas decorations.  We will share a few of those with you.
We also took a picture of one of the many contraptions that they call vehicles around here.  This vehicle has a name but we don't know what it is.  We call it a rototiller wagon.
Sister Primali continues to be bedridden with Dengue Fever.  She is so weak and her joints ache.  The doctor told her it could take up to three months before she is totally back to her normal self.  We went to visit  her this week.  We are her visiting teachers.  We took dinner for her and her family.  We made spaghetti, homemade bread, and chocolate cake.  She sent an email later that night saying how much they enjoyed the meal.  This was a special treat for them since they don't cook foods like that.
Some of our favorite English students came for a visit.  They said with English being out they were having withdrawals.  They were lonely for their teachers.  We really enjoyed having Gihan, Dinuka, Krishnan, and Nishanta for several hours on Wednesday.  They wanted to see every inch of our apartment.  These men are wonderful! 
There have been many protests here in Colombo the last few days.  We get a text message from the USA Embassy that tells us where the protests are and to stay away from the area.  I guess the people get very violent sometimes during these protests.
The big event this week was our Colombo Branch Christmas Party.It was suppose to start at 5 pm but it was 6:30 pm before it started.  We are learning to be patient.  Each organization did something for the program.  The Young Men sang some carols as a couple of the boys played guitars.  The Primary did the Nativity and sang several Primary Christmas songs.  The Relief Society sang carols in Sinhala.  Chubby danced for everyone.  She really got into her dance.  Everyone gave her a standing ovation when she had finished. She was so happy!  Several other members danced and sang.  Santa, from the USA Embassy, came and brought each child a gift bag filled with stuffed animals, a fruit drink, soap, toothpaste, pencils and a Christmas ornament.  The children were so so excited! I actually felt the Christmas Spirit as I watched the children and remembered my own wonderful grandchildren and how excited they must be.  After the program we all went outside and enjoyed a catered dinner. Many danced to the music that was provided by a deejay.
We are indeed blessed to know that we have a Savior who came to this earth!

Dinuka, Gihan, Nishanta and Krishnan

Nativity at Primali's home

Rototiller wagon on the street

Roundabout decorated for Christmas

Young men singing

Relief Society sisters singing Sinhala carols



Primary children doing the Nativity

Santa with Rochelle





This is a picture of an end of the year school party.  We crossed a four lane road with eight lanes of traffic just to take this picture for you.  The kids were enjoying themselves jumping in the jump houses and dancing to Christmas music.  It was so hot but they were dancing their little hearts out and enjoying every moment.
The same day that we saw these children, Elder Meyers was able to snap a picture of the local bicycle bread man.  This guy rides around from early morning ringing his bell and waiting for his customers to come buy his baked goods.
Since most schools are out, we too have slowed down.  With no English classes and no seminary/institute to teach we are trying to get ourselves organized for the new year to start in January.  We will be teaching Old Testament in seminary/institute this year.  That should be a challenge for us but with the Lord's help we can do anything. We spent most of this week doing reports, preparing new lessons for our English class, and making flip charts with the 2012 songs that will be taught in Primary. I love the Sugardoodle web site!
We were invited to a wedding this weekend.  This was an arranged wedding.  Many of the weddings here are still arranged weddings.  J. B. Anton, who is a Sri Lankan living in Canada, and Luxmy Balakrishnan were married in a Methodist Church.(This church was built around some graves.) Luxmy is a member of the church but has become less active.  She is a wonderful girl and seems very happy about this marriage.  Anton will return to Canada and she will join him when she is able to get a visa.  They hope in the next 3 months that they will be together. 
I was shocked at how elaborate the wedding and especially the reception was.  Luxmy lives in a home with her parents, brother and aunt.  The home is a small four room home made of cement and hardly meets their needs.  We were told that many families do without and go into debt to host such huge weddings. 
It was interesting to see new customs.  The bride and groom are dressed about like any American at their wedding.  When they go to the reception(here it is known as a Homecoming) they take pictures in the wedding dress and then the bride changes into a Saree and the groom wears a long white jacket with pants that match the brides Saree.  Anton told me that he and Luxmy had to go to 10 different stores to find the right Saree.  I told him he was lucky that he didn't have to go to 25 stores.
There were about 200 people at the reception. After the bride and groom changed into their Saree and matching outfit, they went around the room to each table and personally greeted each guest. Then a wonderful Sri Lankan dinner was served to everyone.  Next there were pictures taken of each family with the couple. Many people handed the couple an envelope with money in it.  We tried to just hand our envelope to the couple without the picture but they insisted that we take a picture with them.
Today at Primary Garrett and Riley made a big announcement. They told everyone that they were going to get a new baby at their house.  Riley says it is a girl and Garrett says it is a boy. I said I think we had better tell mommy she is going to have twins.
Most people only have 2 children around here.  They say they are unable to financially care for more than that.  Sandi, Riley and Garrett's mom, just told me a few weeks ago that they weren't having anymore children because they couldn't afford it. She said the kids had told her that they wanted a new baby and she told them that she couldn't get one for them.  They told her to just go to the hospital and they would give her a baby.  Sandi was excited when she called us on Tuesday to tell us that she was pregnant.  Sometimes the Lord knows what we all need and He is definitely in charge!

Bicycle bread man riding the the street

One of the grave markers around which
the old church was built

Old Methodist church where the
wedding was held

Taj Samudra Hotel where the
reception was held

Married couple walking down the aisle

Receiving line on the porch outside the church

Anton & Luxmy at the reception

Anton & Luxmy in final dress

Christmas decorations at the mall

The Christmas season has begun! We made our weekly visit to Majestic City Mall.  We go there for part of our banking for the church.  It is interesting to see decorations with a Palm Tree in the background.
Elder Meyers turned 61 on Friday.  Our Wednesday English Class gave him a party.  They spent an hour before class decorating.  They are wonderful people! As you can see from the spread of food on the tables we were all stuffed when the party was over.  They sent what wasn't eaten home with us.  We shared it with the security guards in our apartment.
Gobin, one of our Chinese students, will be going back to China this month.  He has been in Sri Lanka teaching Chinese to business men.  He gave us a hug and told us that he was glad that he had the opportunity to meet us.  It was sad to have to say a final goodbye to him. It just amazes us how many friendships we have developed in the few months that we have been here.
Sister Ann, Milli, and Codi called to sing Happy Birthday early Friday morning.  Then Riley and Garrett called and sang and finally Jared called and said, "Happy Birthday, Elder Meyers." Anura, our tri-shaw driver, stopped by on Friday to wish Elder Meyers a happy birthday.  He brought candy, bananas, papaya, and fried stuffed rolls. Later that evening President Anton stopped by with a present.  He bought a pink shirt for Elder Meyers.  He insisted that Elder Meyers try it on.  He was afraid it wouldn't fit but it was perfect.  Ann and Milli stopped by and pick President Anton up and took him home. I made a chocolate pie for Elder Meyers' birthday.  That will be the only pie he will get here in Sri Lanka! Elder Meyers kept saying it was the thought that counts.
We visited several members this week.  I will tell you about two of these sisters.  One was named Emily Mary Amerasekara.  She is 86 years old and lives in an elderly home.  One of her sons is a member and lives in Hawaii.  He called and asked that the church visit with her.  We went to her home and discovered that she was in the elderly home.  Her neighbor was nice enough to give us her address and phone number.  I called her a few weeks back and asked if we could come. Then Elder Meyers had his kidney stone problems so we were unable to get there as soon as we wanted to.  When we walked up to the home, she was sitting on the front porch with several other ladies.  We could hear her tell them that we were here for her. The first words out of her mouth were, why did it take you so long to get here? We had a lovely visit.  She showed us around the home and told us about her three sons.  Beau, who lives in Hawaii, hasn't been home in 27 years. She is lonely but gets around really good to be 86.  She is a member of the church.  She was baptized in 1980. She was one of the original members of the church in Sri Lanka.  She no longer is active but still has a testimony.

Then we met a lady by the name of Priyanthi Thudawa at Arpicos.  Arpico is the closest thing that we get to Walmart.  She was working in the cosmetic department.  We were looking at some items and as we walked past her she ask, "Are you Mormon missionaries."(We aren't allowed to wear our name tags here.) Elder Meyers responded, "Yes, we are missionaries."  She then told us that she had served a mission in Singapore. She doesn't come to church because she works on Sunday.  She is hoping to get a schedule change that will allow her to attend church. Before we left she asked if she could give me a hug.  I thought we all need to be aware that people are watching us even when we don't know they are watching.
Saturday, we made another trip to Negombo to interview two young boys for baptism.  Their families have been reactivated and they are 9 and 1l years old .  We were suppose to interview at 10:30 but it was 12:30 before they both arrived. While waiting I helped clean the church since the Relief Society sisters were there cleaning.  I couldn't just sit there and watch.
Our English Classes and Seminary/Institute Classes are all over until January.  We are hoping to get out and visit more this month.  We also hope to take a couple of sight seeing trips.


Elder Meyers' 61st birthday party



Elder Meyers' chocolate birthday cake

Dinuka, Susan, Premila, Ann and Helen

Guobin, Krishnan, Gihan and Anura

Food spread made by Nishanta in the center

Anura and Guobin

Pres Anton with Elder Meyers

Nil Suresh Greak and Kasum Ravikumar

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I assume everyone is tired of turkey by now.  This was a very different Thanksgiving for us.  They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here so we decided to do as the Sri Lankans and not celebrate too.  We spent the day visiting with some of our sisters in the branch who live very far away. 
The first sister we stopped to see was Sister Daisy.  She has been a member for a year and a half.  She was baptized in Germany.  I asked how she met the missionaries and she said it was by accident and that accidental meeting led to her baptism.  She is an older lady that lives alone.  All of her three children are working abroad. She has been talking to her neighbor Rohini about the Church.  She invited Rohini over while we were visiting.  Roheni had some questions so Elder Meyers answered them for her.
Our next sister lived even further south.  This was Sister Ginna.  She was baptized in Cyprus.  She is a very happy lady!  I have never seen her without a smile.  She has a huge garden and works all day to keep things weeded and cared for.  She gave us some lady fingers(okra).  I was happy about that!  She knew we were coming so she went to the store and bought all kinds of biscuits, cookies, and pop for us.  What we couldn't eat she sent home with us.
As we were headed back to Colombo, we saw an area that had been hit hard by the Tsunami in 2004.  I asked Anura why things looked so bad.  He then talked about the Tsunami.  It hit the area the day after Christmas.  The members were at Church.  When they heard what happened they hurried to assist the people.  He said it was heart breaking to see death, damage, and the devastation that the Tsunami had caused.
On Saturday Elder Meyers and I traveled to Negombo.  Elder Meyers interviewed Brother Tharindu Uduwerella for baptism.  He is a young man from Kandy.  He is dating a girl in Negombo so he took the lessons from the Kellerstrasses.  He is 21 years old but he decided not to tell his family that he was getting baptized.  He was afraid that they would disown him and kick him out of the house.
Saturday evening we attended a special baptism.  That was our granddaughter, Lydia's baptism.  Jason made arrangements for us to watch the program through Skype.  It was very special to hear the speakers, the singing, and hear as Jason baptized and confirmed Lydia.  What a special occasion!  Of course we had a few tears as we thought of our family and the great blessings that they bring to us in this life!  We look forward to much joy and happiness with them through the eternities.
Today, Sunday, we went back to Negombo to watch their Children's Sacrament Program.  I needed to do this since I am a counselor in the Colombo Branch Primary Presidency.  The program was wonderful and the Spirit was strong. 
We are happy and staying busy trying to help these wonderful people.  We testify to you that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior, and Redeemer!  Be happy and know that you are loved.

Rohini and Sister Daisy

Sister Ginna

Papayas in Sis Ginna' backyard garden

Sis Gianna's garden

Negombo's Primary practicing for program

Almost Elder Milan with Tharindu

We had the YSA group over for a family home evening on Monday.  We had six in attendance.  Elder Meyers did a lesson on service and showed a short video.  He used part of Mandy's talk that she gave in Sacrament Meeting a few weeks ago.  The family was a lot better behaved and attentive than our children used to be. After the lesson we had a spaghetti dinner.  Of course I had to make it totally from scratch.  They all seemed to enjoy it.  Spaghetti is something that most of them had never had.
Sister Premila spent the night with us because she lives so far away.  We skyped with her fiancee who lives in Alaska.  It was fun visiting with him.  She stayed up talking with Matthew until midnight but Elder Meyers and I went to bed at our usual time.  Premila was up around 5:30 the next morning and went to work.
Elder Meyers finally passed his kidney stone.  We went to the hospital on Wednesday with President Anton.  We saw a kidney specialist and he ordered some test to make sure all was well.  He had an ultra sound done for $17, urine test $2, blood test $30,and the visit with the doctor was $11. Isn't that amazing! The test were all good and the ultra sound showed no stones. We were so happy and Elder Meyers is feeling a lot better. He just needs to get his strength back now.
President and Sister Funk came to Sri Lanka and held training for the senior couples, which includes us.  Elder and Sister Kellerstrass joined us in Colombo.  Friday morning was spent in training and interviews with the president.  Then we took everyone to Hotel 168 for lunch. We had Chinese food.  It was wonderful and we were all stuffed.  We sure had fun visiting with each other. President Funk had interviews so we dropped him off at the church.  Sister Funk came to our apartment and stayed with us until President Funk picked her up around 7pm. They left after a simple dinner of scrambled eggs, toast, and apple goodie.  President Anton and Anura joined us for dinner.  You would have thought we had fed them a steak dinner.  They are always so gracious.
Saturday was the Adult Session of District Conference.  It was held here in Colombo and web cast to Negombo and Kandy.  Then today, Sunday, everyone met in Negombo for the General Session.  Dinuka and Gihan, our English students, rode the bus with the Colombo Branch.  We were excited to see them.  They came and sat with us.  We introduced them to President and Sister Funk.  They wanted us to take a picture of them.  The conference ended with Priesthood and Auxiliary Training. Elder Meyers was asked to give a training on record keeping.  I understand he did an awesome job! It has been a weekend filled with the teachings of the gospel. 
President Funk gave our mission statement today.  It is 3 Nephi 5:13.  Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life. This statement applies to us as missionaries.  We all need to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and declare his word to his people because everyone deserves everlasting life. 

YSA at Home Evening

Pres Robert Williams-2nd Counselor to Pres Funk

Rochelle Anthony-Sis Sheron's new baby

Gihan, Sis & Pres Funk and Dinuka
at District Conference

What a week we have had!  It has been filled with joy, excitement, and memories.
Monday was Sister Meyers' 59th birthday.  The celebrating started early that morning with skyping with most of our children.  After skyping the doorbell rang and there was Anura, our tri-shaw driver, with papaya, bananas, and sesame candy.  As he was preparing to leave, President Anton, Sister Ann, Codi, Milli, Anjeli, Mightily and Jared came bearing gifts and food that would last all week.  They also brought a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday.  We had a wonderful day visiting and answering phone calls.
Wednesday, our English Class threw a party after class.  The men planned, prepared and decorated for the party.  Dinuka, Gihan, Krishnan, and Nishanta were the party planners.  Nishanta is the baker so he did most of the food with the others paying for it.  Nishanta made a cake that said, Happy Birthday, Sister Meyers.  He made it in the shape of a book.  They all said that that was our English book.  On the other side of the book he wrote in Sinhala, Wishing you a long life.  As I rode away in the tri-shaw with tears in my eyes I thought, what will I be like on the last day when I have to say good-bye to them? It is just amazing how much love we feel for these people that we work with!
Thursday the Colombo Branch held an Open House.  The Relief Society and Elders Quorum Presidency planned and carried out this program.  They selected several clips and put them together to make one continuous video that showed the believes of the Church.  It was wonderful! There were 115 people in attendance.  65 of those were either less active members or non members.
We had invited several people to attend.  Four of our English students showed up.  They were Dinuka, Gihan, Susan, and Helen.  After the program was over I asked Susan and Helen what they thought about it.  Susan placed her hand over her heart and said, "It feels good inside."  I looked her in the eyes and said, " I know, that is because it is all true." Dinuka and Gihan came up to us and asked if it was ok if they came to church on Sunday.  We quickly replied, "That would be great!"
Elder Meyers continues to have pain from his kidney stones.  President Anton has kept him supplied in pain medication but he wants to have a scan done sometimes this week to see what is going on.  It is amazing how the Lord blesses Elder Meyers to do any assignment that he has and then when it is over the pain returns.
Today is Sunday and who should appear at the doors of the Church?  You are right, Dinuka and Gihan.  They stayed for all three meetings and attended our Gospel Principles Class.  They asked so many questions.  It was sooo exciting!  They had a hard time understanding about a God that had a body and on top of that he has a son, Jesus Christ.  We gave them a Bible and some pamphlets. Elder Biggs had given them a Book of Mormon earlier.  We assured them that we loved them and didn't want them to feel like we were pressuring them into the Church.  We told them we would always be their friends.  They left smiling and saying they would see us on Wednesday for class.
Sister Primali brought a surprise birthday cake to Primary.  At the end of Primary all the children sang Happy Birthday to me and we all enjoyed a piece of cake.  This is the first year ever that I have had three birthday cakes.
This week we have had memories of a year ago.  On the 6th was the 1st anniversary of Asher's accident and on the 8th was his death.  We have relived those memories.  Some good and some very unpleasant.  But we know that Asher lives today.  As we were reading the scriptures this week, we read what Alma said to his son, Corianton about death.  In Alma 40:11it says: Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection--Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.  Asher has been taken home to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  Asher is happy.  I think he has probably learned not to use his favorite word anymore, honky.  He understands the total plan.  I'm sure he is cheering for us and all his family to be happy and live a good life so that we can see him again.

Sis Ann watching Deb open her present

Sis Meyers 1st Birthday cake

Sis Meyers 2nd Birthday cake

Wednesday's English class celebrating
Sis Meyers' birthday

Sis Eashani with family and friends
at the Open House

Sis Rosemary feeding her family members
at the Open House