Stella Christina Sunderraj

India Bangalore Mission

2000-2001

I am Stella Christina born in a family who went to Roman Catholic Holy Family Church located at Ramamurthy Nagar Bangalore. As I grew up I learnt my father’s family migrated with his parents and 4 siblings 2 sisters and 2 brothers from Coonoor Ooty, Tamilnadu. They settled in a Bangalore place called Castle Green Compound. My mother was born at Kancheepuram and raised in Bangalore. She was born with 5 siblings during her young age and lived near Broadway Shivajinagar and later moved to Castle Green Compound closer to my Grandfather's' work place. Both my father and mother were born and raised in humble circumstances. I am privileged to be born in a family where the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught during my early days.

December 1987 was the remarkable turning point in my life. It was winter, the time to celebrate Christmas came a new path in my life. One evening two angels landed up at our doorsteps as requested by my uncle Michael Anthoney. Two Missionaries Eder Mathew and Elder Raju visited us to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I was eight years then, my mother was brave courageous to break the traditional Roman Catholic way of worship and accepted the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I just followed my mother as she showed interest towards the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Twentieth of March 1988 was a new day and new life to me and my mom as we entered the waters of baptism to become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ever since we joined the church we strive our best to attend church and be nurtured with the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life was more challenging than it was after our baptism, my mom had to work to provide us and help us go to school. During the early days of Church at Bangalore we attended home groups in member homes. Later when the membership increased we were asked to attend church in a rented facility near Nagavara palya which was 3 miles from my home. Each week going to church was a challenge as we didn’t have enough means for travel, so we walked for 3 miles each Sunday. It was such a heart filling moment as we walked to reach in time and partook sacrament, we never felt fatigue of walking 6 miles each Sunday, faith prepared and molded us to face everyday trials of our time.

After my 10th grade schooling I had quit school and supported my mom to meet the family commitments. I have to work even on Sundays as I worked in the retail industry, yet I never missed sacrament and made my best efforts to pay tithing which my mother taught dutifully. My faith in the gospel never diminished though trials engulfed us, I always longed for an opportunity to attend all 3 meetings like other children, diligently prayed to God for ways and means to participate in young women's classes like others.

Year 2000 was another milestone in my life while I happened to attend the Young Adults conference where Mission President Solomon encouraged me to make a commitment and set a date to go on a mission, though I didn’t have hope as I was supporting my mom. I was persuaded to write on a piece of paper my mission date, I just wrote and committed to serve a mission. Later my branch President Sudhakar Prabhudass was influential in convincing my mother that I go serve as a missionary. I am grateful and ever would be thankful to my mother who sacrificed and supported my desire to serve my mission, another challenge cropped up even my brother wanted to serve, we both applied for mission and received call at same time and we left our single mom and served the Lord with trust that he would take care of my mom.

My mission experience was marvelous, I was asked to serve a mini mission for 2 months before I went as full-time missionary. The first blessing I received as I stepped into the mission was my patriarchal blessing and Temple endowment. The desire to serve him each day intensified as I studied the Book of Mormon and prayed to the heavenly Father and Jesus Christ each day.

Though we faced many challenges to proselyte on mission yet his tender mercies attended us and made me an instrument in his hand to serve his children. I served in four areas, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Erode and Hyderabad. I had the privilege to serve under President Solomon for about 4 months and 14 months under President Nelson. During the end of my mission I was asked to extend for 45 days to help the Semmadu chapel open house.

Mission molded me to face the world both temporally and spiritually. Soon after my mission I have to work and support my mom for a while. The mission taught me great experience how to lead life during tough times. I never thought my mission would bring such a great blessing into my life. The Lord showed me a faithful priesthood brother as pronounced in my patriarchal blessing.

23rd December 2006 was another great day in my life as the world commemorated the birth of Prophet Joseph Smith. I got married and sealed it to my eternal companion. We are blessed with 2 wonderful daughters. I love my family especially the temple and the blessing of eternal family, all this was possible through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was able to feel and sense God’s plan while I was in the celestial room with my husband. What more can I ask God than an eternal family and temple sealing which was the greatest blessing of my mission.

I am grateful to my uncle who was an influence in my life, also I express my sincere gratitude to my mother who always encouraged and supported my righteous desire and also not forgetting I am thankful to my mission presidents who were kind to me. I am grateful for the missionaries who knocked at my doors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, also for every leader who helped me to be what I am today. I am grateful for prophet Joseph Smith for being an instrument to bring forth the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.As an 18 years old boy I was on my way to college when I was met by some missionaries (not of our church) at the bus stop. They invited me for a spiritual meeting in the. I could have said yes and not gone, but in the evening, I was somehow moved upon to go to that meeting. Near the Methodist church (outside) I met the guys who invited me and several others. In that group were two young men who were dressed in white shirt and neck ties. They introduced to me as missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. My understanding is that they were members of the congregation which invited me to attend the meeting. We were taken to one members home, where there was spoken about the last supper. After some discussion we were all offered a big glass of tea. Now somehow, I sat next to the missionaries, perhaps they were dressed so neat. But I was surprised to see that they wouldn’t drink tea. I asked to myself “They all belonged to the same church how come the head of the church in whose home we had this meeting serve tea, but a member of their church wouldn’t drink?”. Confused I asked why they dint drink tea. They said would come home and explain why they don’t drink tea. Now I was in my first-year engineering college. My parents wanted me to be a medical student, but I insisted I do engineering because I loved to find out how things worked or why something was done the way it was done. In this case I was very interested to see the scientific side of things, why the young men dint drink tea. They looked like some college going guys. I gave them my home address. But only now i understand why (since I also served a full-time mission, what golden such contacts are to invite you to come home). The missionaries came home the very next day. My mom found somebody unusual and invited me to come downstairs. It was the strangers I met the previous

day. They told me that they came to tell why they dint drink tea. Now you also got to understand that in 1991, the church in India was part of the Singapore mission. There was no formal MTC for the missionaries. The two missionaries were Elder Braganza and Elder Beesa. I was all primed to hear about the tea story, but the brethren were reading out to me something from a book.