Post Mission Review

by Joan
We've been home two weeks, and my heart and thoughts often go back to Ayutthaya. We loved our members--the close knit group, their testimonies of Jesus Christ, the unity, the baptisms and recent converts. We became attached to the elders who served in Ayutthaya and the sister missionaries we occasionally served with. There's so many things I will miss.

Elder and Sister Seppi came to the branch
and explained the PEF fund

So to somewhat complete our blog I am posting random pictures of happening near the end.

The youth gave us a farewell party, doing
a review of some of the activities we have held: the
Armor of God, Singing in the Rain, and Pioneer Day.

We came in April of 2013 and left Sept 2014. What a great experience! The Thai people taught us so much and have so much love to give. The Saints have strong testimonies. It is not easy being a Christian in a Buddhist society. They must have courage to stand alone. Many do.

David Shaw honored us by playing the bagpipes.

The youth swimming party we missed. We heard
it was a wonderful time.

Our tearful last Sunday at Ayutthaya Branch. Look at their
beautiful faces. These hold to their belief in Jesus Christ
amidst a non-believing culture. We love these people!

There are programs to help the members such as the Perpetual Education Fund. What a blessing it is to those who, without it, getting an education would be out-of-reach.

Elder Sowards with the group that came at
4AM to see us off at the airport--
including the giant. His name is
Mangkorakarn.

We Are Home!

We stopped off in Honolulu to visit the temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

The Hawaiian Temple

In the Honolulu Airport we ran into Sister Yim who has returned from her mission in Thailand.
It was good to see her again.

Happy reunion with our family at Sky Harbor Airport.
(Tasanee and Cory and family will join us this week.)

We had a great mission in Thailand. We have great memories. We miss our friends there and wish them the best until we meet again--which we hope will be soon!

Krungsri Hotel, the Best Desserts in Ayutthaya, Thailand

Food is plentiful in Ayutthaya. Street vendors sell an extreme variety of Thai dishes--anything you are craving.

But one of our favorite places to eat in Ayutthaya is not a street vendor or street cafe. It is diner at Krungsri River Hotel. Elder Sowards claims they serve the best hamburger in Thailand. It calls his name every time we cross the bridge. The menu has a wide selection including American, Thai, Italian dishes (and probably others). The price is more than the street vendors, but is worth the extra. Besides, it has the best deserts, including the best dressed chocolate mousse (wears a cute fan and rolled cookie), the most delectable that we've found in Thailand. I admit we have returned many times to enjoy its deliciousness!

Chef Chiiwin and staff at Kringsri River Hotel

In preparation for Elder and Sister Meeker who were coming up to Ayutthaya to move our furniture back to Bangkok, we went to the Krungsri Hotel to ask that they have four chocolate mousse for us when we returned for dinner on Friday night. Usually they only keep two on display, so we wanted to order them special. Elder Sowards asked to speak with the dessert chef. The hostesses went to the kitchen to ask if he would come meet us, and he did! Chef Chiiwin told us he has worked as a dessert chef for twenty years. We complimented him on his excellent work and asked that he have the mousses ready.

So we enjoyed dinner with the Meekers--excellent food as always. But we got a great surprise when the servers brought out the mousses! Not only were they wearing their cute fans, but the chef had added edible artwork to the plate. They were not only delicious, they were more beautiful than ever.

So... when you visit Ayutthaya, think of Elder Sowards and I and how much we loved living here, and stop in at the cafe at the Krungsri River Hotel and have dinner.

Don't forget dessert. And say hello to Chef Chiiwin for us.

Our Last Week is Proving Eventful

Ladies of the branch who came to Ganjanee's for
the farewell party

Some of Ayutthaya Branch youth

Brother Five upcoming rock star

Ayutthaya has new elders: Heiner & Kandum, plus we still have E. Larsen too – yes a threesome. We were sad to see Elder AngKham leave after only one transfer here. He is now a district leader in another area. Elder Heiner is from Mesa and Elder Kandun is a Thai native from the northeast part Thailand. 

Elders Larsen, Heiner, Kandun

Joan taught her last music theory class. Hopefully the 5 youth that attended will continue to grow in their music abilities. They gave her a Hello Kitty as a going away present. 

Music theory students

At Book of Mormon reading class after theory, Elder Heiner asked who played the piano. Everyone looked up and Brother Now said 'We all do.' "Wow, that was a highlight of my mission." When we came, one 14 year-old girl played the melody line of the hymns for church. Now she is playing from the simplified hymnbook and moving on to the regular hymnal. All the youth have taken piano lessons and can read music. All the members of the branch that wanted to learn about music and the piano had the opportunity. It has been fun to see the branch go from very limited music to many being able to do or understand.

We went to Sister Kanjanee’s retirement party in the evening after transfers. The dinner was delicious and interesting as they served us various courses of food – one at a time. They had an honoring ceremony that we took part in, giving Ganjanee our best wishes and tying a friendship string around her wrist.

Sister Ganjanee

Joan taught how to make/bake chocolate chip cookies, chocolate pops, no-bake cookies and Texas Sheet Cake to interested members.Some were interested because they like these treats. Some are hoping to sell these as treats and become more self-reliant. I helped translate as Joan taught and did the taste test – no I did not eat the cookie dough! What surprised us is that the members were excited to see the cake rinse in the oven. Most do not have or use an oven. When Joan brought out the large bag of Costco chocolate chips (that Ted sent by way of Tommy) everyone was surprised at the size of the bag and the size of the chips. They even passed a cup of chips so they could sample them. We can buy chocolate chips here but they are small and not as tasty. The class went real well and one member remarked that he liked the ending of this training better than most classes (we ate the goodies).

The farewell party on Saturday evening was at a sister’s house out in the country. We had feared it would rain like it had almost every night. It did not rain! We were there with much of her family and friends to celebrate her retirement also. The member sister sent a small bus to bring the members out, too. We had a Thai dinner followed by Karaoke. After much karaoke the branch members sang "Come Though Fount” Then they asked Joan and I to lead the youth in a Virginia Reel dance. We had no idea that was coming. Next they asked Joan and I sing “Longer Than” karaoke that we sang weeks ago at the branch party. The evening was fun and always a surprise. We didn’t ride with the members in the bus/truck they came in but we heard they sang hymns all the way back to town. Almost like caroling. One member said it was the most fun he had had in a long time.

We found out in mid-week that we were the speakers in Sacrament meeting this week, not next as had previously been assigned. This increased our preparation efforts. Joan gave most of her talk in Thai and did well. I was assigned to speak about honoring the Sabbath. I tried not to criticize anyone but to help everyone see the importance of keeping it a holy day. We were two of 6 speakers on the program, and still ended on time.

 Jackson Shaver from Mesa came to our church on Sunday. He brought yummy American chocolates. He couldn’t stay long but it was fun to see him. Joan shared one of the bags of Hershey Nuggets with the Relief Society. The sisters ate with smiles on their faces and a Mmm! rippled through the group.

Sunday night the branch clerk brought some papers for me to take to Bangkok. Several members came with him, so we invited them in for a few minutes. Next thing we are doing is taking pictures. Camera phones are wonderful – our members are even better. At the same time Sister Mod Shaw put a slideshow with music on Facebook. It has lots of fun pictures of the branch members with us. It was so special.

Unexpected visitors: Top: Bro. Su, Sister Ben, Sister
Ked, Sister Saaw, Sister Baithery, Brother Nong

Monday night we had a going away dinner at President Seniors. The Goodsons are leaving this week and we leave next week. It was very enjoyable to eat and have family home evening together with the senior missionary couples.

I have discovered that finishing a mission as a senior couple is much more involved than a young missionary. Young missionaries just pack up leaving behind worn out clothes they don’t want to wear ever again, turn in the mission phone and go visit members and investigators to say good bye. They eat a lot of goodbye meals. As a senior couple, who is not being replaced, we must close the bank account, internet and phone services, pay off water and power bills and determine what to do with everything in the house. Some stuff belongs to the owner, some is the missions and some we bought. We are not getting trunky, but must prepare as all cannot be done last minute.

Five days left in Ayutthaya--so sad to say goodbye!

Our Last Transfer Meeting

We attended our last transfer meeting--yes, our last. Elder Sowards and I love to go to the meetings and feel the enthusiasm of the young people there. We love these elders and sisters and will miss feeling of their energy. We have full confidence that the missionary work in Thailand will go forward with full commitment from these missionaries.

Those finishing are Sisters Barton and Ng. Best wishes for your future.

 Thailand Bangkok Mission's new elders and sisters. Welcome!

Elder Mayo – Paradise, CA

Elder Paxton – UT

Elder Howard—Lehi, UT

Elder Davis – Arizona

Elder Mitchell – Payson, UT

Elder Walker – Sandy, U

Elder Evans – Boutiful, UT

Elder Bush – Maine

Elder Martindale – Logan, UT

Elder Pratt – West Valley, UT

Elder Parker – Holiday, UT

Elder Taylor – SLC, UT

Elder Reid – Washington

Elder Hinckley – Idaho

Elder Chamberlain – Sandy, UT

Sister Grover – Idaho

Sister Ong – NY

Sister Hatch – Springville, UT

A Visit to Chaing Mai

The Shepherds in Chaing Mai

We visited a member and sang “Happy Birthday” to her. She had tears in her eyes. That was the first time anyone had ever wished or sang her happy birthday. Celebrating birthdays is gradually becoming traditional here in Thailand when before it hasn't.

Sowards in Samoeng

We visited a mother of a sister who is serving a mission on SLC Temple Square. The Sister is originally from Ayutthaya but left from a Bangkok branch. She had emailed asking us to visit her mother and take a Book of Mormon to her mother and her step-father to read. We had a good visit and invited the mother to church. She said she may come.

The two young missionaries and I visited the mother of another sister in the branch. The mother is not a member and just had her knee replaced. She wanted a blessing. We administered to her. She then asked if we could give her younger sister, who was there, a blessing too. We explained that we usually administer to the sick. The mother said her sister had bad migraine headaches and could we administer to her. We explained that the blessing is by the power of Jesus Christ and faith in him to be healed. We administered to her too. What a special opportunity to use the priesthood to bless people’s lives.

I had challenged the young men to memorize Section 4 and I'd take them to DQ where they could have anything they wanted. All but one has memorized it and received their treat. The one is almost there. The young women felt left out, so I promised them the same. So now all the active YW have memorized it and have had a trip to DQ; we took the last two this week.

We had lunch on Friday with Anan Eldridge and his wife Rosella. They are wonderful people and always so kind. He took us to a wonderful lunch buffet at a 5-Star hotel saying he thought Joan might be tired of Thai food. We ate big time. Delicious! We love talking with them.

We usually feed the elders before transfers. Joan made German pancakes and the elders ate them up, but didn’t seem to want more than two – unusual for young elders. They confessed they had just had dinner with a member and investigator. They had planned to come hungry to our supper, but when the investigator invited the, they felt obligated. I would never had been able to eat both meals!

We went to Chiang Mai this weekend (with permission from the mission president) and stayed with Fred Shepherd. He has a very beautiful house in the mountains west of Chiang Mai. 

Shepherd's Home

Bbq bugs for sale at food market. Yum!

We attended both Chaing Mai branches’ sacrament meetings and also witnessed 2 baptisms.  I even met the daughter of one of the early converts baptized while I was there. Her father drove a 3-wheel taxi bicycle back in those days. When he joined the church his wife left him with three very young children to care for while he still had to make a living. This sister was the youngest who was not even a year old when the mother left. I had may doubts that he would stay strong in the church. The father has passed away but the children have all grown up in the church. This daughter said her father would not let her be baptized until she had a testimony of the Book of Mormon and had memorized the 13th Article of Faith. She was not baptized until she was nine. She  has two children leaving on missions soon – one to San Diego and the other to Rochester NY. I am most humbled to have helped start the gospel in that city 44 years ago.

Monday evening back in Ayutthaya, we invited a Sister and her son to have family home evening with us. The husband is not a member but she and the son are. We had hoped her husband would come, but no. We discussed prayer and Joan shared the story about when Von was a baby, we prayed and fasted three months for Von’s tear duct to open without surgery.

The sister shared a story about having only 100 baht (less than $5) and needing food. Her husband does car upholstery and had some jobs in the works but doesn’t get paid till finished. She had prayed very hard that they would sell an old bicycle collection they had for sell. People had shown interest but no buyers. She felt really down and had wondered why her prayers were not being answered. That evening some men showed up to buy the bicycles and paid cash. She felt blessed. 

We are very blessed each day of our mission. It is a joy to be serving the Lord.

Singing Time at School

We visited Wat Nongchid school for the last time today and sang English songs with the children for an hour. Principal Noy is a member of our branch. We came three times during the last school year, so this was a review of the songs they already had learned. They are amazingly behaved, and even toward the end of the hour when they were getting squirmy (having to sit on the floor) they still sang and kept focused. I love their school uniforms. All the students in Thailand, even the universities, wear uniforms. It solves the fashion competition and modesty problems.

We sang: Row your Boat, Singing a Song is Fun To Do, Kindness Begins With Me, Sing Your Way Home, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes,  Rain is Falling All Around, Make New Friends, and their favorite--Once There Was A Snowman. None of them have seen snow. This picture is of the entire student body except the kindergarten. And it is the smallest school (being set out in the country) that we have visited in Thailand.