It was pretty warm and humid up until 5:00 pm
yesterday. We were on our bikes then and the temperature dropped 20
degrees--very suddenly. We were hit by a big cold front. It's been sunny and chilly today.
We had stake conference Saturday and Sunday. Some other missionaries and I sang in a choir during the Saturday
session. We had a member of the Seventy come and give a neat
presentation on how the Church has been using technology to aid
in missionary work. He showed a video of President Spencer W. Kimball
prophesying that new technologies, which they "couldn't yet fathom,"
would one day be used in the work. So that was cool. Sunday session was pretty boring, though.
I talked with a Zoroastrian man from Pakistan a few
days ago; that was fun. I went to a Hindu Temple a few hours ago today; I
will send you pictures. That was really cool.
So that's what was exciting this week. Other than that, it's been pretty slow, as usual. Glad to hear the FBI security clearance on me came in! [This has to do with his Visa]
I hope Dad has fun in his new calling. Glad you're enjoying working in the nursery too! And that you and Catriel didn't catch Dad's bug.
Alright, I'll send you some pictures now.
The inside of the temple here was the most interesting and beautiful,
but photography was not allowed :( The inside of the center dome is
filled with statues of the "24 Incarnations of God," as also all the
pillars holding up the ceiling. They also had large statues of other
deities and their messengers (all incarnations of one god) made of
porcelain, within gold canopies, to which some worshippers were bowing while I was there. We had to walk without shoes in there and it was
very cold. Well worth it, though. Wish I could've taken pictures.
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| That's me standing in the gateway. |
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| This is a part of the gate of the temple. I forgot to mention that each piece was hand carved in India, and then put together here in Houston. |
The whole building is covered in these hand carved statue things. No
mortar was used at all; every marble and limestone block that make up
the building fit together like Legos.
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I have never changed a bike tire before; so, I did not realize that one needs to put the hose inside the tire before inflating it. As you can see, this is far too big to fit inside a bike tire. haha
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| This is my district, a few weeks ago. |
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| This painting was hanging inside the bathroom of a member's home. |
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| Sunset in Houston |
Love you Mom! Thanks for writing me! :)
Elder Duffin
