We are still here legally!

 We renewed our visas for the last time. You can now make an appointment online and fill out the paper ahead of time. The process worked out beautifully. We went to a new office at the immigration complex and were finished in just a few minutes, instead of the several hours as last time.

The immigration complex has many independent vendors selling food and all kinds of items. It is almost like an open mall. We took a moment to pick up cactus for friends, to remind them of Arizona.

On Tuesday, we went to Bang Na on the Sky Train to have lunch with Win and Ling. They are professional musicians who are also temple workers. They did all the ordering, (things I would haven't thought to order) and the food was delicious. Squid, shrimp, fried rice, bass soup, and a wrap of leaves, lime, ginger, and fried nuggets of fish.

We ordered several deserts to try. The cheesecake won over the chocolate cake. Imagine that.

Our week in the temple was filled with initiatories mostly. It is a pleasure to complete these ordinances. I get a little more variety in my schedule, but Dennis serves in initiatory hours on end without a break, and it is exhausting. I love his dedication. On Saturday, he led two endowment sessions. I was able to be a patron in his afternoon session. We had groups from Cambodia and Malaysia.

Several of the Russian girls who came a few weeks ago for endowments are now at the MTC here. It is a joy to see them again.

Asian babies are so beautiful. I love it when their mothers let me talk to them. I think they are a little surprised that we look different from the people they are used to meeting.

I tried to set Fern up with a date. It didn't turn out as I hoped. No more matchmaking. Though Mafi, from last week's post, is still hopeful that I'll find her an American husband. 

This week, we will welcome our last group from Eurasia before we fly back to Arizona on Monday. We have a large group of Thais coming too, from Roi Et and Kalasin, so we will keep too busy to get trunky.

The Most Lovely Week

 Monday, we took the canal boat in search of Platinum Mall. We over-shot the landing and the "porter" kept telling us our stop was up ahead. Well, we reached the end of the line. No Platinum. So we took a taxi back several miles to the mall.

We'd been to Platinum a year ago with Ed and Marie Mecham when we came to Thailand for the temple open house. It is a fun place with several independent booths, one after another, all jammed together on 5-6 floors. I had a wonderful time going through the zillions of aisles, but Dennis got tired of it really fast. We got what we needed and took a taxi to Rama 9 Mall to do our grocery shopping.

Here is another head-scratching example of English grammar.

It is a lovely thought though.

The more I think about it, there is no other way to say it as beautifully.

This whale is outside the grocery store. The form is completely covered with colored water bottle caps. Does this look like a recycling project for Cub Scouts?

When we got back to the temple complex, we went to an FHE service project of putting school kits together with the full-time senior missionary couples. The refreshments were potluck desserts. We had made oatmeal cookies that didn't go over well, but the MTC president and wife brought Krispy Kreme donuts that were a big hit. We took our cookies home and spread them with peanut butter. Yum! 

This is Mafi, her mother, and Dennis and I. Mafi is a lawyer for the UN in Bangkok and has traveled the world. She and her mother were baptized two months ago here. Mafi is intelligent, is 30 years old, is outgoing, and would like to marry an American. Anyone interested?

Hiki and Margaret

This lovely couple is from New Zealand and Australia, having homes in both places and Malaysia. We have visitors from all over the world every Sunday. Many are sent by their companies to work here for a week or so. What a contrast to our ward in Mesa where visitors are far and few between! 

Our week in the temple was kept busy helping another large group of Eurasian members, including three sisters from Romania. Tuesday and Thursday mornings started with baptisms and initiatory, and then endowment sessions. Busy, busy! Two female new endowments (two little Romanian ladies) and two male new endowments. One family with children were sealed, among many more live sealings, including living to deceased. They worked very hard, and even expressed disappointment that we weren't holding sessions for them on Friday morning.

Three special Friday morning sessions were filled with full-time missionaries, some brand new, and others who had come to Bangkok for transfers, taking time to attend the temple. I wished I could hug each one and thank them for serving.

I was sad to say goodbye to the Eurasians on Sunday morning. We had worked hard together for five days straight. I promised we would see each other again, if not in this life--all sisters in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Yekaterina spoke very good English, and we enjoyed conversing with each other. She, and all the sisters from Eurasia, will always have a tender spot in my heart. I love how the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ, brings us together on common ground.

We wish we had a picture of the whole group of Eurasians together. But here Dennis and I are with the sisters--photo taken after their Sunday service with President Khanakham and before they left for the airport. The Romanian sisters had already gone back to the hotel. I'm sorry we missed them!

Here is the family recently sealed for time and all eternity. This is the joy of being here, being a part of this great work of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, and seeing families sealed together for eternity.

Dennis taught his last Sunday School lesson on Sunday. I will teach Relief Society for the last time next week.

We have two weeks left of our service here in the Bangkok Temple. We look forward to one more "normal" (ha, ha) week before our last group of Eurasians come. They are always so fun!

Happy Birthday, Dennis!

 We started the week by going to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Dennis' birthday. Even though his birthday wasn't until Friday, Monday is our free day. The food was delicious, and the staff sang "Happy Birthday" to him in English.

Afterwards, we went grocery shopping at Big C. The store was so crowded we could hardly get our cart down the aisle! 

I don't know about fashion trends in the states, but here are some of the things we see at the mall.

This week, a group from Singapore came, which was easy because most of them speak English. Some still used the Chinese language cards in Initiatory, it makes it more meaningful to experience the ordinances in your native language.

We also had a group from Cambodia. It proved more challenging because none of these sweet women spoke English or Thai, and they couldn't read my hand signals either! At least we have language cards for Initiatory, but we don't have the endowment film in Cambodian.

I had a special moment in initiatories with a Cambodian sister. She seemed so tiny sitting in the chair, and she could hardly read the Cambodian card as I gave the ordinance in English, let alone read the English temple-issued proxy names. I'd read the name for her and she would repeat it--syllable by syllable, and I imagined elegant women to match the beautiful English names. Then the Spirit touched me, telling me that this humble, almost-illiterate woman was certainly worthy to stand in proxy for even the most elegant queen. A humbling experience.

We deal with divers languages every day. I say that every blog, but until you live it, you can't appreciate the challenge!

Our oldest grandson, Dillon Van Stapley, received his endowment Friday in the Mesa, AZ temple. What a milestone in his life for us to miss! We felt our loss, but are so happy for him. He has his mission call to Spanish Fork, Utah.

I made a Texas sheet cake for Dennis' birthday. You can see we only had pecans enough for a fourth of the cake. We don't know if it turned out so delicious because we've missed having good American chocolate cake, or what, but we really enjoyed it. We shared with the other couples who live by us. 

It was also President Khanakham and Sister Khanakham's birthdays this weekend, so we took them each a piece of Dennis' birthday cake. We had plenty to share. We also made this birthday card, and several of the Friday and Saturday shift workers signed it for the Khanakhams.

Saturday was Sibekjamrat Jelernket's first time to act in his new calling as a temple sealer. We were privileged to help this good man with his first proxy sealings. 

(Dennis and I are a bit windblown in this photo.)

So, Monday marks three weeks until we leave Thailand and fly home to the USA. We face our departure with mixed emotions--eager to see our family again, but wishing to still be part of this great work. 

We will pray daily that the Lord blesses these fine Thai members to carry on this important work.

In Search of Elephant Pants

The flower beds around the temple look like just that--beds. These silver vase planted around the east entrance are in perfect rows. Groundskeepers work daily keeping the beds beautiful.

This is the first week in many that we do not have Russian members visiting. Our mornings have been for ourselves. We've been out three days to the market, buying groceries and looking for elephant pants to take home to our family.

The temple had to add a least one extra session every day. We are doing a card system, that if you made a reservation online, you get an entry card for that session, if not you get a standby card. And then the standby people will go into the added session if they don't get into the first one.

Shirley Kay from Mesa, and her husband, Sean, have arrived to begin their MLS mission in Phuket, Thailand. Talk about honeymoon locations for missions! Phuket has a branch.

We've never been to Phuket, but every tourist (it seems) who comes to Thailand has.

Motorcycle taxis line up to take single passengers to their destinations. Something we don't see in the States. And then the rider often is looking at his phone as they zoom down the street. Scary to me!

Dennis went back to the dentist to have the crown put on his broken tooth. Here's the "team" working on him. We're hoping this tooth will wear its crown for many years to come. It cost about a third of the price compared to the States.

Sophy from Cambodia, the sister in red, has delivered her baby. (She's posted photos of her beautiful baby girl on Facebook.) With a week before delivery, she led her third group from Cambodia here to the temple. She is amazing! Talk about strong leaders, these two Cambodian women are the best.

In Sacrament meeting on Sunday, all our songs were from the new collection. Everyone sang out with confidence as if they had already learned the song. (We have a lot of exuberant singers in our ward.) I was touched by the Spirit in these new hymns lyrics and music! So inspired. 

Dennis taught Sunday School about the stripling warriors, and did a great job. He challenged everyone to memorize, or read everyday for a week, Helaman 5:12

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

This man, Allen, is from Madagascar, here working in Bangkok. His family is still back home. He's the first person We've ever met (that knew about it) from Madagascar.

Dennis got a haircut from the same barber lady as last time. He looks good. Here he is holding up one of the elephant pants we bought. Yep, they have elephants on the print, with wide legs like elephants. These are the fad among Thais and tourists alike.