“Hey Elders, do you know if Khon Thais go camping?”

Oy and Ay

That was indeed my most intelligent question from this week...

Hi family :) 

This week was equal parts wacky and wonderful, as always. 

Sister Weed and I started out our week by visiting Sister Tia in the branch who just had a baby! We met her when the baby, Ay, was just two days old. She is so sweet. Now she’s about a month old and has absolutely theeeee most hair of any baby ever. Sister Tia is amazing. She is actually from Cambodia but learned Thai when she came to Thailand. She and her family of four (she has one older daughter named Oy who is CRAZY) live in a one-room cement home with a tin roof. They have one bed that they all share and a refrigerator. And that’s pretty much it. It is so humbling to go to their home. But they live like the happiest people ever. She has such great faith. She has had a hard time getting to church because she was pregnant and she is still recovering from giving birth. When Sister Weed and I first met them, Sister Tia asked me to take a picture of her daughters for her. We agreed and got it printed out and framed for her. When we visited this week, they had hung it up on one of the wood beams in their house. I wanted to cry it made me so happy. I love that lady. We took so many pictures for her and we’re getting them all printed out today :)

The Pa Gua antic of the week happened in the English class we substituted for on Wednesday night. We were learning about the days of the week when suddenly Pa stood up and announced, “Sisters, I am going to sing a song now.” So we let him. It was a song he made up for remembering the days of the week. Priceless. I wish you could have heard it. He and the other pas also proceeded to have a very loud discussion about Marylin Monroe and the 7 Year Itch, which was pretty funny.

This week my life was changed for good when Sister Weed and I were at Sister Becky’s house. We go there twice a week now, once to teach Sister Becky Thai, and once to translate for the Primary Presidency meetings. (Ok, Sister Weed translates while I play with the daughters Giada and Lizzy, but you know, it all works out in the end.) Anyway, she has a coconut tree in her backyard and she offered me one. And I drank the milk and then ate the insides and I think I was the happiest person who ever lived. For some reason I thought I didn’t like coconut? But that is so untrue. I love it.

Other exciting landmarks of the week include me making my first street contact ALL BY MYSELF THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Sister Weed and I were on a Song Taw (those pick up trucks with seats in the bed of the truck, remember? The super sketchy ones that are my favorite mode of public transportation? haha) and Sister Weed was on the other side of the truck so I talked to this woman all by myself and set up an appointment and everything. The blessing of being able to speak and understand is real. I ALSO MADE MY FIRST THAI PHONE CALL which doesn't sound that exciting, but trust me, understanding people over the phone is ridiculously hard. I was pretty excited when I had a successful phone call all by myself without handing the phone off to Sister Weed. :)

On Saturday afternoon we taught Nong Bam how to make brownies with some of her friends. It was so much fun! We forgot to buy eggs, though, so I told everyone, “We need to go to Seven real quick to go buy some buffaloes.” Oops. 

We also began teaching a church member’s parents this week! On Saturday afternoon we went to their house for dinner and it was SO MUCH FUN. The dad showed us his garden. I kept thinking of Grandpa! Grandpa would have loved it. There was every fruit tree imaginable. Jeem, the mom, has learned with the missionaries before but it was about a year ago, so it was cool to reteach her about the restoration and teach her husband for the first time. During dinner, Jet, the member son, played lots of American music and I didn’t even feel mad about it haha. However, the new hit song in Thailand is called “Take Me to Your Heart”— it is SO BAD and I love it haha. When Jeem drove us back to the church, she made us all sing it in the car together at the top of our lungs and I was so happy :) She and her husband were so happy to learn about the restoration and we are going back next Saturday to teach them again. :)

Last night we had dinner with the Thai/French family in our Branch. The grandma and grandpa lived in America for about four years so they knew all of the American recipes. They made us TACOS. Sister Weed, Elder Creer, Elder Campbell and I stuffed ourselves happily. They also had rootbeer so that was a majorly awesome thing. (The grandpa, Suchat Chaichana’s conversion story is in the Ensign, actually, from July 2002. The story is called Underneath the Shelf or something like that. It’s very cool! Also, I can’t exactly remember his name, so I may have spelled it wrong...oops. Thai names are so hard to remember.) It was so fun and also so confusing because people were switching back and forth between English and Thai and French all over the place. Oy. Headache. 

This week one of the members asked to see a photo of my family. So I showed them. I told him that Walker was my son on accident, then corrected myself and said he was my little brother. And then the member, Brother An, told me that WALKER LOOKS LIKE A VAMPIRE FROM TWILIGHT. It killed me! I have never heard that before Walker went to EFY and now I’m hearing it in Thailand?! What the heck?! Hahaha it killed me.

Other exciting news includes the discovery of one of my wisdom teeth growing in. It is not painful. I’m hoping I pick up on Thai much more quickly with that little guy. Also, I have discovered that my hair is curly. Not like the wavy it does in the US but straight up CURLY in Thailand. Crazy stuff.

Well, I love you family!!

Happy Wan Meh! (Thai Mother’s Day!)

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Sister Hungry

Sister Weed and me. She's the best mom ever! Haha.

The phtoto of the girls hanging up in their house.

Sister Weed, Sister Dang and I being afraid of the monsoon outside the church.
Sister Dang is an RC who loves helping us teach! She’s so great.

Me and Nong Bam: )
Also note my curly hair.

Mother's Day.
Yesterday after sacrament meeting, all of the mothers sat up front and the Young Women sang the Thai Mother's Day song.
 It was so beautiful. And then all the children gave their mothers strands of flowers and waiied them. They got down on their knees and did the traditional and very respectful bow. It was such a beautiful thing to see. It made me tear up!

Me and the terrifying snail. OH I hate that thing.

Me and Navame, my little French buddy.