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The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced the call of two new couples to serve as mission leaders for the Church in the Asia Area. Amongst the 164 new mission leaders who will begin their assignments in 2022 are President Peter and Sister Kamalakshi Bushi for the India Bengaluru Mission, and President Taitama and Sister Tanya Tolman for the Singapore Mission.
Mission presidents and their companions serve full-time for three years. On a day-to-day basis, they oversee not only the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of their own families, but also assume responsibility for each of the missionaries assigned to their area. They leave their homes as needed and volunteer without pay.
DOWNLOADPresident Bushi is a first-generation member of the Church in India. His family, including a son and daughters aged eight to 17, will relocate from Hyderabad to Bengaluru for the new assignment. It will be a return to the full-time mission area of their young adulthood for the couple.
President Bushi will leave his employment as the Asia Area family history manager for FamilySearch and his Church calling as a member of the stake high council in the Hyderabad Stake. He said, “We feel deep gratitude and very humbled for the trust the Lord has put on us. I feel I am so inadequate for this assignment but accept it with faith and trust that ‘the Lord qualifies those whom He calls’.”
Sister Bushi shared her feelings about the call, “We are thankful for the opportunity to serve Him and His children full-time again after 21 years, and to testify of Him and His atonement to all those with whom we will be interacting as part of this assignment. We know that He wants us to learn and to be His ambassadors to proclaim the restored gospel to all those who are searching for it.”
DOWNLOADPresident Tolman hails from Māori ancestry in New Zealand, but was born and raised in Hawaii before moving to Utah in the United States. His family relocated first to Singapore in 2006, then Malaysia later that year for his employment. He is currently president of the Asia-Pacific and Latin America areas for Young Living Essential Oils.
During their service, the Tolmans will work extensively in Malaysia and Singapore, joined by their son and three daughters, aged nine to 17. President Tolman reflected on the blessings of raising their family in Asia amidst the beauty and diversity of its cultures, religions, and experiences. He treasures how his children have been gifted with a rich cultural education and have become citizens of the world. He feels grateful to serve God in sharing His gospel in Singapore and Malaysia – “a home and a people we love deeply and consider our own.” At the time of his calling, President Tolman was the district president in Kuala Lumpur.
The new calling initially brought the couple feelings of shock and inadequacy. “But as feelings settled,” President Tolman said, “the most prevailing sentiments that remain are humility and gratitude. Humbled by the calling and tremendous work at hand, and overwhelmingly grateful. Grateful for the heavenly opportunity to serve the Lord again as a full-time missionary, but this time with my wife as companion and children too!”
Sister Tolman added, “It is an honor and privilege to partner with my husband to serve God and the people of Malaysia and Singapore. I have loved these countries and their people for many years now, so being able to serve them in this sacred manner is a gift. I have always loved adventures, and this will be our greatest yet. To embark on this new calling hand in hand with my family and my Savior is a dream come true.”
Both the Bushis and Tolmans are due to start their mission assignment in July.