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!