Mother's Day at Bangkok Asoke Ward

Our Indian friends will leave this evening. They are such happy people. Some have been members of the Church for many years. Their area will be made a stake soon. 

It is also Mother's Day in India. It really isn't Mother's Day in Thailand. Their day is in August, on the queen's birthday.

Of course, true to Thai custom, we took a photo after Relief Society. Sisters today were from many countries, including India, USA, Japan, China, Thailand, England, Australia. Our ward is English speaking and is the neutral language for all. 

This man works in the temple with us. He is an enthusiastic person and always willing to speak English. He introduced these women as "Maa" (mother) , so one must be a grandmother, one his mother. They gave us sticky rice with banana slices, all wrapped in a banana leaf. Very delicious.

I want to remember all the beautiful dresses on these sweet Indian women--all sisters in Christ.

A Busy Week

Since cameras are not allowed in the temple, we don't have many pictures to post. Most of our time these last few days has been spent in the temple.

We said a heartfelt farewell to the Russian members. Babushka even gave me a hug goodbye. Though we may never see any of them again, they are our friends forever. We will have a joyful reunion in heaven. 

We still have several members from India with us. They are delightful too, and so faithful. Dennis says he doesn't know which is harder--pronouncing Russian names or Indian names.

We have worked hard this week with baptistry, initiatory, sessions, and laundry. I learned firsthand that the sealing sessions go all morning. It helps patrons to understand that the session will be long before they enter the sealing room. In Mesa, sealing sessions are every half hour or so. Here you come and go and may be there much more than an hour. Maybe two.

Some short highlights of the week: A group of about 30 BYU study abroad students came to do proxy baptisms; Bishop Causse gave the temple a short visit, unannounced to the workers. I recognized him right away and got to shake his hand. :-) We had a thunderstorm yesterday--which was nourishing to my Arizona soul; we bought an adapter so I could use my favorite curling iron brought from home. I plugged it in and sparks flew. Thank goodness for circuit breakers. I hope my iron is still functional when I get back to USA. We figured out the oven, and I made brownies from scratch.

I helped a sister from India at the veil ceremony. Indians speak English, so I thought perhaps she didn't read well. We struggled to finish. Later, she told me her language is not English but another language of India. I'm learning to be patient and trying to understand.

The missionaries from the MTC came to do ordinances. Several were to receive endowments and I was to assist in getting them ready for the ordinances. I helped issue their clothing, etc. The joy for this new step in their lives glowed in their faces, and I loved being a part of it. But in the midst of it all, the supervisor took me out to assist in sealings. How disappointing to not be a part of these young people's experience! But I enjoyed the sealings too.

A family sealed for eternity on Saturday.

Several Thai temple workers want to do the ordinances in English and are working hard to learn them. Many have asked us how to pronounce words, even the sealers. They need to "pass off" the English before they use it in the ordinances. Some of the hard words are place, authority, faithfulness, and anything with "th" or two consonants together. Their language emphasizes vowels, and in English the consonants are what are important.

Dennis and I were assigned to the Saturday 7:30 PM session due to several English speakers who had made appointments. At 7:15 PM, Dennis came upstairs where I was waiting to start the session, and said no one had yet arrived, and that we might need to cancel the session. At 7:20, two Thai sisters came. Okay. We could do the session for two people. Then a third sister came. I thought she might be Thai but she explained she was a part of a BYU Study Abroad program (I don't know if they were part of the same group earlier this week), and the others were downstairs getting dressed for the session. They had been delayed in Bangkok traffic! (Not surprising.) They trickled into the session two and three at a time until 19 had finally come. In total, we had six Asian sisters, ten BYU men and nine BYU sisters. The session started nearly 20 minutes late. For a session that we thought might not go, we nearly filled the room. (The rooms hold about 30.)

Here, we put the name-slips in our pocket at the veil and turn them in to the supervisor before we leave the session. One slip got stuck in my pocket when I pulled the rest out. Since it was so late, Dennis and I hurried down to our apartment and dressed for bed. A knock came at the door. I opened it a sliver. "We are missing a name-slip and we know you have it." Sure enough, the slip was still in my dress pocket. I will break policy from now on and not put the slips in my pocket!

More Russians Come

 Another group of Russians have arrived. Nine in total. I love the spirit they bring with them. Two couples were ordained as temple workers, were trained, and then performed all the ordinances for those receiving endowments. It was a sweet experience. They will stay five days and do ordinances for their ancestors. One sister held an ordinance card in her hand, and with glowing eyes, told me (in Russian) this was her great-great grandmother. So special.

I helped with initiatories for the Russians, me speaking English, and the other two ordinance workers speaking Russian. One Russian sister, who came last week, spoke English without an accent, said, 

"It is like we in the Church are all one nation, the nation of Christ. Though we live in countries that might not get along and aren't following the commandments, we as a church are. We are united in Christ."

It is profound to think of it that way.

Last night I worked most of the time in clothing. I feel sorry for my first patron because I didn't know what I was doing, but I learned trial by error, and everything went well after that. 

The one hour shifts here in initiatories make our 1/2 hour shifts in Mesa seem wimpy. Dennis usually works 2 hours in initiatories. I've decided it is a mindset. Just go in for the long haul!

Our group of Russians had the temple to themselves yesterday morning and this morning, since the regular temple schedule doesn't start until 4 PM. Their group did initiatories and an endowment session. One babushka was either hard of hearing or didn't want to deal with my English. She was cute and finally warmed up to me. 😊 Then, by chance, we

 had lunch with them at the hotel. Communication is always fun. We sat across from a young man, a computer programmer from Siberia, who spoke excellent English.

Dennis led a session this morning. In attendance were patrons from India, Japan, USA, Russian, and Viet Nam. Where else could you find a group so diverse but united in the same cause, believing in the same God. I love being with these wonderful followers of Jesus Christ.

Cinco de Mayo

 Since it's Monday and the temple is closed, we took the MRT (subway) to Sukhumvit  Mall to eat Mexican food at Sunset Tacos for Cinco de Mayo. We only know of one other Mexican food place in Bangkok--(I'm sure there are more)--and that is Que Pasa?, but we had no easy way to get there. The food was pretty good at Sunset despite that they got my order wrong. I asked for two tacos and an enchilada. They brought me two full dinner plates: one of two tacos, and one of two enchiladas. Communication is so fun. We will eat the other enchilada for lunch tomorrow. Dennis had a hamburger. He said it was pretty good. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Bangkok, Thailand!

Exploring Terminal 21 Mall was interesting. It has many floors, and the theme is airplanes and traveling. Each floor is a different part of the world. The food court is on the floor 4.  We found the theaters and I got this photo of Dennis with two of his best friends.

I've often wondered why this gold fellow below never wears clothes.

On the mall's top floor, we bought a non-smart phone so we'd have a local phone number. Now we need to learn about it. Every new phone has a learning curve. The instruction manual is confusing. We need a 12 year-old to help us.

We look forward to tomorrow and starting our second week of service in this beautiful temple. Life really can't get much better than being in the service of our Lord.

The Bangkok Temple

A Great Weekend!

We saw more friends from Ayutthaya this week. Nano was about six when we served there in 2013-2014. She is now 15 years old and a beautiful young woman. Below is Bunlerd and Sutep. Nano and Sutep are being featured with others in a Church video, and they came for filming.

 Dennis was called and sustained as Gospel Doctrine teacher in our new ward--the Bangkok Ward, English speaking. The attendance filled the chapel and cultural hall.

It was fast and testimony meeting and many bore inspiring testimonies. The bishop requested that the visitors wait until the last fifteen minutes to bare their testimonies so that the ward members would have time to do so. (I've seen it happen during previous visits when visiting returned missionaries have taken up the testimony time.)

The first testimony given was by a young girl about age nine, who told about being born with only one leg and how she depends on the Lord for help to accomplish her goals in walking and doing everything that people who have two legs can do. She has a prothesis that is quite impressive. I look forward to learning from her strength.

After church, they held a baptism of a young man from Myanmar and a sister from the Philippines. The first talk was in English, then a confident Burmese teenager gave a talk in Burmese. When he finished, he blushed. Sweet. The baptism took place on the 3rd floor in the MTC font. We packed into the medium size room, standing shoulder to shoulder, to observe. As when we lived in Ayutthaya, so many stay for the baptism to give support the person. Here is a feeling of "We're all in this together" and "All for one and one for all."

Chandra and the flags of the MTC

We are still adjusting. Dennis studied the Smeg operator's manual for our oven/range, and we think we might be able to use it correctly soon. Our microwave is foreign to me too. I'm still adjusting to the toilet paper thing. Old habits are hard to break. 😊 We're still trying to figure how to work our TV, how to get on the internet, getting the bugs fix with our passkey, sleeping on a hard bed. I got used to the hard mattress in the Ayutthaya, so I know can do it again. But my bones are older now.

I took a little downtime to do this jigsaw puzzle I brought from the USA. 

My grandson has turned into a dog. It must be true because I saw it on FaceTime.

Members from Udorn Thani and Ubon, youth and adults came to do temple work.

Setting Up House

Hitch a ride on the back of a motorcycle taxi.

 We've gone shopping two days now at Lotus/Tesco for housegoods, and each time has been an adventure, besides fearing we were being kidnapped. Few brands look familiar. Even Head and Shoulders has Thai script all over it. Comparing prices by weight is a challenge. Finding someone to help you who speaks English is iffy. Some product equivalences do not exist such as spray Pam, even by any other name.

Food vendors in the mall

We wanted to take a taxi home because we bought so much stuff, but none wanted to go in that direction. Finally, Dennis talked to a tuk-tuk driver and he accepted the job. He took the direct root home. He went the back way into the Temple driveway. Slick, except for the standstill traffic at Petchaburi and Asoke. (Pictures I've posted.) We will look for him next time we need a tuk-tuk.

Young couple from India sealed this week.

We've had groups from all over this part of the world. The Russians have been here about a week, and have left this morning. They were such inspiring people. I feel some loss that they have gone, but some will come back in August. The group from India will leave on Tuesday. A group of 85 came from Ubon and Udorn Thani, Thailand--many youth accompanied by several adults. There are people here from Myanmar and Cambodia. They all bring such a wonderful spirit with them.

Dennis has led several sessions. I worked in initiatories--specifically washing--for an hour and a half straight. Imagine me speaking English, the next sister confirming in Thai, something never allowed in Mesa, but we do what is necessary here. I started making mistakes around an hour. We were busy the whole time, so no sitting.

I mostly worked the recommend desk yesterday. It is the best place to meet members from all over. The come with happy anticipation and leave glowing with Christ's love. I love it.

Street vendor makes omelets to your liking.

There are things I'm still trying to get used to. Light switches in our apartment flip down for on, not flushing toilet paper down the toilet--oops! Not crossing my legs (it's exhausting not to.) I usually wait for a Thai to cross their legs before I do--but few do. It is impolite. Making sure not to drink tap water, to turn on the filtered faucet instead. Not doing anything with my feet but walk (like scooting objects especially.)

Chicken with corn kernel coating, and fried seaweed--maybe.

There are food vendors all along the streets near the temple. Here's some fun things I've seen. The chicken on a stick they grill right there is so delicious. Fruit vendors--yum. 

Fried fish heads.

I haven't seen boiled chicken feet yet, but that's a favorite too--of the Thais. Not mine. I can't get myself to try it. Or fried beetles. Let it be.

To each his own.

We've Moved

 We were set apart on Tuesday evening and went right to work serving. I sat at the recommend desk mostly, kept my eye on the children in the non-patron waiting room, did one veil in English, and studied the Thai language cards.

This morning, Dennis and I moved into our apartment. We unpacked every bit we had packed from home, including a box of Press and Seal, a Costco bag of chocolate chips, and my "Mother's Favorite Kitchen Tool", which is actually a paint scraper I can't live without. Three essentials in life. The apartment is very spacious. I feel so blessed to be here and take it as one more sign that Heavenly Father loves me.

Tuk-tuk leaving Tesco, groceries loaded, we sitting in the back seat.

As soon as we unpacked, we headed out to Tesco to buy groceries. It is only one short stop on the MRT (subway). We bought way too much, but that's what you do when you set up house. Then we went to find a Taxi to take us and our load home. We found a  tuk-tuk driver and loaded all our goods on his vehicle. What took us 5 minutes on the subway, took 15 minutes on the tuk-tuk.

Our welcome to our housing.

I was sure he was taking us for a "ride," that he would stop at a gift shop and he'd get a commission on whatever we bought, (that's happened to us before) or that we were being kidnapped and he and his gang would take all our groceries and housegoods and desert us miles from the temple. (Which has never happened to us.) 

We went up and down and all around the city. But what a relief to finally see familiar surroundings, and especially calming when he turned into the temple driveway. Whew! Why he took the long way home, I don't know!

The Russians came again to the temple today, so did the Indian group, a Myanmar group, and members from Malaysia. I was able to do initiatories in English, which felt good--like coming home again. I was orientated in clothing rental and baptismal clothing issue. 

Thai is coming easier to read and learn. I figure if I keep at it, I'll be able to read and speak by the time we return home to Arizona. Ha, ha!

Being a Tourist

 

Since we have been here five days and not done any touristy things, we visited the Jim Thompson House Museum. He was an American businessman born 1907 who came to Bangkok and established silk exporting, it becoming a very successful business. He provided the silk for the costumes in the movie "The King and I". He also collected ancient Thai art. His house is traditional Thai teakwood and very lovely. Jim Thompson disappeared mysteriously--an intriguing story.

 By the way, the 1956 movie, "The King and I", was banned in Thailand when it came out because of its portrayal of the king.

One of the joys we've had being in Bangkok, is that many members are coming to the temple from so many different countries. This morning we met several from Russia and a family from India. 

The family from India said they had saved for 10 years to afford to come without using Church funds. They are receiving endowments Tuesday and being sealed as a family on Wednesday.

The little girl in pink will be sealed to her family on Thursday.

Tears came while we talked with them in the annex. The Indian family are in the center of this photo, surrounded by two Russian families. My heart burned with the Spirit, knowing this was fulfillment of the Lord's plan.

We are all joyful to be together. No matter our political foundations, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

We had a lovely Bangkok sunrise this morning.

Again, I am thankful for FaceTime and Zoom so we can keep in contact with our family. I pray it never fails us!

Day Five in Bangkok

We have been blessed to run into several friends from Ayutthaya. Many come to serve as ordinance workers twice a month. It warms our hearts that they have embraced the temple and are serving here. This photo was taken in the welcome center. It has several couches and chairs, videos on temples playing daily, showers, bottles of water, etc. Since Bangkok is a destination temple, it is well used.

Ayutthaya branch president and wife

There is so much energy among the Saints. Love abounds. I hope the enthusiasm here for the gospel and coming together never ends.

I am reminded daily of the creativity of the Thai people. These are a watermelon and a cantaloupe carved into flowers. They were on display for a class in RS to learn to do the art. (The ladies in Ayutthaya are especially skilled in flower arranging.)

Our Airbnb for the first week and a half in May was cancelled. The owner came to our hotel to apologize and give us the news that the complex had clamped down on short term rentals. Airbnb is part of her livelihood. I felt bad for her more than for us. We invited her to church. Maybe she will consider coming.

The temple from the roof of hotel

 Sunday we attended our new ward, the international English speaking ward. There are many countries represented. Most of the women in Relief Society are from the Philippines. Afterwards a potluck was held. We sat at a table with young adult men from Brazil, Pakistan, and a Thai who grew up in Argentina. I wish I had taken their picture because they were all adorable.

Potluck

Gathering for potluck after church is a monthly event for the international ward. (In Ayutthaya it is every week.) 

The members from Myanmar met in another room. Many have had to flee from their country due to the unrest. Dennis spoke to a man from Myanmar and said he heard the branch president had to flee the country. The man said, "I'm the branch president who fled."

Next door to us at the hotel, is the Russian couple who are here for a few weeks to help the Russian members. The husband is also a sealer. He does the ordinances in Russian no matter what language the participants speak. There are language cards for every language needed. I asked the sister what I should call her. She answered that her phone didn't work in Thailand. :-) We finally communicated that her name is Natal'ja. 💖

First Encounters

The annex and temple was filled with the energy of 40 returned missionaries from all over SE Asia at a special 3-day conference held for them here in Bangkok. Some received their endowments during their visit, meaning they had served their missions without being endowed. What a blessing for these young people to get together and share their testimonies of Jesus Christ, and attend the temple together.

Conference attendees gather for a photo in front of the Christus in the garden court between annex and the Temple. They are from India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Myanmar, and other countries of SE Asia.

You can't tell much from these two photos taken from our hotel window. The darker one was taken at 4:30 AM
and the lighter at 6:30 AM. All day long, the traffic is at a standstill. The light at Asoke turns green and it almost clears out, but then in seconds, it packs up again.

I love the free enterprise in Thailand. If you have something to sell, set up a table and sell it. This is a typical scene, mostly food along this alley to the canal where you can catch a water-bus. We stopped here to get iced chocolate and iced Ovaltine. Yum!

Motor scooters everywhere! Once the traffic stops, it is fair game for cyclers to drive between the cars to the front of the line. They drive in gutters, sidewalks, and anywhere they can squeeze through. This photo is mild to reality.

Today we did an endowment session. I asked for headphones because thought the presentation would be in Thai, but there were more non-Thai people attending so it was in English. Four people were from the Philippines, two from Malaysia receiving their own endowments, two from Russia, two were Thai, and Dennis and me. The presentation had Thai subtitles but went by so fast I'd read the first few words, and then the next line appeared. The Thai workers try their best to handle the diversity. Some live up country and can only come to serve once a month. They often forget some of their training and have to relearn it. The session was perfect enough, and still beautiful. The Spirit was there and bore witness of the importance of the work.

We haven’t found a permanent place to live yet but have several possibilities. We are hoping to know next week. We will move out of the hotel on Monday into an Airbnb a block away. Back to walking Bangkok streets! 

One of the senior full time missionary couples is assigned to work with the members in Myanmar. When we were here ten years ago, the mission sent the first four elders into Myanmar. Now there are two branches at least. The political unrest has made it hard for members.

Looking up at the temple at night.

We've met other senior couples. One couple is here for a few weeks from Russia, to help members coming for their own endowments. They have so few places they can go due to the Ukrainian war. They can come to Thailand.

We have met couples running the mission office. In July, there will be two missions in Thailand, and they both are headquartered in the annex at the Temple. We also met the Family History couple. That is a huge task since Thailand kept few records before 1940, and most people are cremated, so there aren't headstones for which to search.

We have enjoyed our time here very much, and look forward to serving in the next five months.

We are back in Thailand! April 2024

 We are back in Thailand! We hope to stay for 5 1/2 months and serve in the Bangkok temple. Only crazy people do adventures like this--leave home not really knowing how their plans will turn out, no mission call, only on a whim and a hope, and a few encouraging words. We will stay at this hotel for about five nights, an Airbnb for ten, and after that, who-knows-where.

Our layover in Taipei, Taiwan, included this
unique forest gate entrance.

After a very long trip, about 24 hours, we arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. We left Phoenix on Monday and lost Tuesday when we crossed the international dateline. After a big mixup with our Grab driver (equal to Uber in the states) that took an hour to resolve, it took us another hour to get to the hotel because--well, because Bangkok is one big traffic jam. I'm sure our driver was sorry he took our call. He spent so much of his afternoon taking us to the hotel.

We are staying at the FX hotel right by the temple, literally next door. We don't have the temple right out our window and 20 feet away, as we did for the open house, because we are on the east side of the building. The rooms on the east have a great view of the Asoke/Petchaburi intersection and high-rises, and are a foot or two feet larger than the ones on the north, which I appreciate. Right below us, our room's view is a junk heap, so we try not to look down. The room has no place to put anything, so we'll live out of our suitcases for five days.

Besides the temple, the Church built an "annex" next door. It has two stake centers, two mission offices, the Church administration offices, patron housing, MTC,
and a welcome center. It's an amazing building.

When we got to our rooms, I crashed for about two hours. Then we went downstairs for dinner. I had Tom Kaa with shrimp (coconut soup), and Dennis had Thai fried rice. I slept again until 7 AM. Today I've had no jet lag, but Anan claims it will catch up with us.

Here are the Temple front doors at night, a welcoming sight.

Below: Every car has a Buddha on the dash for blessing and safety. It's usually a little statue sitting on the dash, but I've not ever seen one like this. Considering how Thais drive, it's a wonder we don't see more accidents! They are taught very young how to maneuver tight traffic.

Below is a typical sight in this part of the crowded city. A beautiful tree's overgrown roots have destroyed the sidewalk, and
motorcycle taxi drivers in orange vests, waiting for customers. A makeshift porch cover is made from discarded banners.

It feels good to be back in Thailand. I will get used to living in the city again. Always noisy, always crowded. The smells are unavoidable. I love the Thai people, especially the Saints. That is why we are here.

We've talked with several family members via FaceTime. The littlest grandson stared at us on the screen straight-faced for a while and finally broke out in a smile. 

He must have recognized us. My heart warmed. I miss them all.

With FaceTime, I think this is doable.