Dearest Family, May 27, 1998

CLAIRE - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LETTER THIS MORNING!!! I feel bad that you didn't get my letter about receiving your package with the books Katie and Brett made and the beautiful photos. I am not doing a good job of sending your letters to your e-mail address - I don't have time to send individual letters so I send everything to Bob and from what he tells me they go into a special mail box so maybe you don't ever see them!!! I LOVE those books - not only to read them myself but to take them to school and show them what can be done - in fact, I can't believe the beautiful art work they did and I can just imagine all the work involved. I have made VERY simple little booklets that I am going to introduce at our next workshop and I can use the ones you sent to show what can be done - the problem here is the expense. The schools do well to have enough cheap paper for their students to use. Most of the classrooms have 50 plus in their rooms too. I am SO anxious for you to see what they deal with here!!! I have great admiration for the teachers.

ANN AND BOB - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LETTERS TELLING ME ABOUT MEMORIAL DAY. I am SO proud of David Taylor for remembering to put the flag on PaPa's grave each year - he is a very special friend!!! I knew you would put flowers on the graves in Lehi - Bob - I was SO happy to have you comment about “Lela's” grave. I want to tell you about that. A sister to Aunt Marvel and my Mother was named Lydia. She was killed as she was riding with her husband on a canyon road in a horse and buggy - the buggy turned over - she was pregnant and as I understand it they both died. She was buried with her husband's family (Prior) and Aunt Marvel had her coffin dug up (I believe it was after Uncle Ira's death) and had it moved to the family plot where PaPa is buried. Aunt Marvel always called her Lela so that is what she had put on the headstone. It is confusing because my sister was also named Lela and she is buried in Brigham City. Just a little bit of genealogy - Ha!!!

ANNIE - THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking care of my medication - that has been a pain, I know, BUT maybe that is why I am in such good health and I REALLY am. I am proud that you would take your family to visit PaPa's grave and decorate it and also Grandma and Grandpa Rhodes and Aunt Marvels' graves - I hope they know that their deceased relatives KNOW when they do that. Bob said by the time they got there it was filled with flowers and that makes me so very happy. Your letter made me tired - Russell going to EFY - LeeAnna going to Europe - Jessie in Lake Powell with 25 of her friends - WOW!!! I AM THRILLED TO PIECES THAT YOU AND JEANNIE AND BARJI ARE COMING TO SEE ME - Will you be able to spend any time in Singapore? When we came here and stopped in Nagoya (?) Japan, they wouldn't even let us out of the airport place.

Brett going to “Boys World of Adventure” at BYU - I haven't heard of that program but it sounds FABULOUS - is it something like EFY? I am always SO happy when I hear about your getting together with John & Julianna and of course, the “Heaps of Pizza” makes my mouth water!!! I had an e-mail from my friend Anne Smith this morning and she said she gave John a bad time about not writing to me - I wish she hadn't done that because he does PLENTY for me!!! SORRY JOHN!!! I had a cute letter from Chris and Wayne and they JUST LOVED YOUR VISIT ROY AND PATRICE!!! Chris always writes the letters and she said Wayne wants Roy to go fishing with him in Plainview sometime. I can't think of a better person to know where to fish anywhere in Arkansas or Alabama.

WELL - I made it to China Town and I was SO proud of myself and was SO excited to shop there BUT it didn't work out that way and I am still trying to figure out if I were “set up” or “helped” and I will probably never know. I caught the bus in front of the Marriott and then changed at Phyathai Road to catch another bus like I was told to do. I started asking people to tell me where China Town was and one man who spoke and understood English pretty well asked me if I were alone. When I said I was he said, “Not good, Not good” - but he did tell me when to get off the bus. I got off the bus and went into one jewelry store just to look around and when I came out another man came up to me and asked me what I wanted to buy. I said, “Nothing - I just want to look around”. THEN - he pulled out his police badge and said he couldn't let me stay in China Town by myself. I have a big purse with shoulder straps - he made me put it over my head and told me to follow him down the street. He was with his wife and he explained as best he could that he would put me in a “Tuk Tuk” and have the driver take me to a good place to buy jewelry or I could come back to my apartment. I ended up at an “Export Store” where they were having a big promotional sale and it was very crowded and I also ended up buying an expensive ring - I KNOW THIS SOUNDS VERY DUMB!!!

This week is my last week to have any free time except when I am with my family. I have never had the opportunity to shop by myself and this is something I “Just Had To Do”. The ring is a solitaire Thailand ruby (1.45 karats) and there are tapered baguette diamonds around it - it REALLY is gorgeous. They gave me a guarantee so this is my plan - I want Bob and Claire to take it back to the States with them and have it appraised and if it isn't as good as they say it is I will have people here who will help me get my money back. This will also be a good place for Claire to go and see what is available in the good stores. I have NEVER bought jewelry for myself before and I probably never will again.

There is a couple in our teaching group and they are from Logan. They have bought quite a lot of jewelry and they have been in contact with a jewelry store in Logan who says it is a good investment. I hope the jewelry I have bought will be a good investment and not just extravagance. I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for the ring - I will send the charge slips to John so he can verify them with the Visa charge - Ha!!!

Janet and Darlene just heard that their teaching schedule ends the last of August and they are quite depressed - they don't want to go home. The schedule Helen and I have goes through September 18th. Our director, Marc Hall, is coming back to Bangkok tomorrow from California and maybe he will have definite plans for us. I am SO thrilled that I am anxious to get home - I have absolutely loved my mission and it will enrich the rest of my life forever but I love my family too much to not want to get back with all of you. The apartments in Farmington sound very nice and I am anxious to see the brochures.

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME. I LOVE YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL. Grandma B