Dearest Family, June 19, 1998

We have had such a funny time with our computer. I hurried to get on the computer the day Bob, Claire and Michael left so I could tell about their visit. I couldn't get “on line” and I was SO frustrated - I tried all afternoon and the next morning early before I had to leave for school. I did type a letter to you and I hope someway you got it. Yesterday, Thursday morning, we received a long message from Internet Thailand with all kinds of explanations about a serious “glitch” with their entire system. I was able to get on for a few minutes and I received the letter Bob wrote at 4:30 in the morning, one from Patrice and also one from Ellen Mae and Mel. THEN I had to go teach again and when I tried to get on last night I had the same problems - this morning we had another message from Internet Thailand with all kinds of apologies. I don't know what is going on but they have promised us it is fixed and they said they wouldn't charge us for usage from Tuesday through Thursday night - we think that is funny because we couldn't get on to use it anyway. ISN'T THIS FUNNY THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN RIGHT AFTER BOB AND MICHAEL HAD WORKED ON OUR COMPUTER AND IT WAS WORKING SO WELL!!! I don't think we will have any more problems but I can't be sure - PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU EVER RECEIVED THE LETTER I WROTE ON TUESDAY, the 16th!!!

BOB - Thank you SO much for your letter - it was so WONDERFUL to hear that you are home safe and sound and everything went well. You didn't mention “customs” - I hope you didn't have problems but if you did please let me know how much I owe you. I have also worried about the weight of your luggage - did you have to carry a lot of things in your laps??? I am SO happy that you like your hand carved elephant -I LOVED THAT PLACE!!! I DEARLY LOVED YOUR VISIT AND I MISS YOU.

PATRICE - What a thrill to hear about your bountiful harvest!!! I am SO proud of you for having a vegetable garden - I don't think there is anything that compares to things you grow and how wonderful that you are preserving some of them. THIS IS SO GOOD FOR YOUR CHILDREN TOO!!! I think it is too bad when people don't plant gardens if they have the space and the sun - everything is grown here in such great abundance and I am constantly amazed at the truckloads of fresh vegetables and fruits I see on the streets - AND THEY ARE SO GOOD!!!

LAURA - I read the message you sent to your folks - it just appeared on our computer this morning and it was fun to read (I hope you don't mind). I think the telephone bill you referred to was the one your Mom had told me about - we are SO used to calling long distance in America and it is hard to remember that it is so much more expensive calling abroad!!!

We had such a fun experience on Wednesday. We all got home from our schools about 3:30 and the parking lot of our apartment was completely filled with cars and Dubey was directing other cars to go into the parking lot of the Chateau De Bangkok, next door. They were having a HUGE India family party in the apartment upstairs of our landlady. They came down and invited us to go up for it. I have never seen more gracious people - they welcomed us like we were long lost relatives. They were all dressed up in their native India dress and the women looked absolutely gorgeous - I wish you could have seen their buffet table. We had all kinds of DELICIOUS food, none of which I had ever tasted before and they wanted us to taste everything. This was a family party to welcome the new little baby girl who is now 2 months old and she has more black hair than most people ever have (and they NEVER cut it). It is their custom to bring gifts for the new baby as well as the entire family and they believe they will receive many “blessings” according to the gifts they give - needless to say, their apartment was filled with gifts. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

Helen and I taught our two English teachers later on Wednesday night and I gave them each one of the Utah Olympic T-shirts that the Bob's brought. They were thrilled and so appreciative - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THOSE TO ME. These two teachers do SO much for us - they are constantly bringing us food and taking us to nice places for dinner besides helping us with our art work for school.

School is going fine and so is the teaching at the Ministry. We are working on our resource center material in the schools and the teachers LOVE to do art work. We try to get everything finished in the mornings so we can teach English in the afternoons. We have to do things for nine subjects for 38 schools. We taught the same group of teachers that Bob, Claire and Michael taught and they all asked about them and it took most of my morning to tell them about their trip to Phuket, etc. - they were SO interested - I will take the pictures next week when we are with them again. THEY WERE A REAL SUCCESS!!!

Mel Manning had hip replacement surgery - he is doing well. Ellen Mae had cataract surgery on both eyes and shouldn't drive so they are pretty well confined. Mel has suffered with bad hips for a long time and I hope this helps.

BARJI AND RICKY - I received your graduation announcements - THANK YOU SO MUCH! I want to get you a special remembrance but I will wait until Barji and Jessie are here and they can help me choose something for Ricky too. I am SO out of touch I don't know what you want and for this special occasion I don't want to just give you money.

We have a free day today and we always welcome those - we will work on more resource material - then some teachers are coming to help us - then I will teach those two University students - so we will be busy.

I LOVE the pictures you left with me Claire - THANK YOU SO MUCH. I took the few pictures I took on Helen's camera down to be developed and will send you any that are good. I COULDN'T ACCESS THE CHRISTMAS PICTURE YOU SENT BOB - the message I got said “it couldn't be found”.

I LOVE MY FAMILY SO MUCH AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO BE HOME WITH ALL OF YOU AGAIN. I will make the next few months some of my best months here - this has truly been a marvelous experience. Bob wrote that he thinks I have adjusted to this culture more than I can ever recognize - he's probably right!!!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED MY LONG LETTER THAT I WROTE ON TUESDAY.

I love you all so very, very much. Please be so very, very careful. Grandma B

Dearest Family, June 19, 1998

I was SO happy to come to the computer and find that the Bob's have received the letter I wrote this morning. I AM SICK that you didn't get the letter I wrote on Tuesday because it told about all the things we did while they were with me and I'm worried that I won't be able to remember everything now. I guess there isn't any way I could retrieve it is there?

BOB - I ACCESSED THE CHRISTMAS PICTURE YOU SENT AND IT WAS SO EASY. I love the picture - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I had two new students start English lessons tonight and they brought me a HUGE basket of fruit - I wish you were here to help us eat it. We waste way too much fruit. We still have two English teachers here now and it is almost 9:30 - I excused myself to try to finish this letter - they are helping us with things for the Resource Center. That is going to be a BIG, BIG JOB.

I got my pictures back and they are SO good - I will send you copies Claire. Helen was very sweet to loan me her camera. I keep hoping mine will show up but if it doesn't I'll get another one.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking all those things home for me. I kinda' thought some of the glass display cases would break - I really don't care that much about them but I had to try to send them anyway - I wish the schools would give us easier things to pack. I'm SO glad you didn't have problems going through customs but your trip sounded very hard!!! I LOVED YOUR VISIT SO MUCH AND I MISS YOU!!!

I had better close and help the teachers “finish up”. They are SO sweet to help us.

Claire - please don't send that scarf - it is too hot to wear it here anyway. I'll just get it when I get home.

I'll write a more detailed letter as soon as I get time. We have been invited to spend the day tomorrow at the home of one of the Assistant Directors here - I'll tell you all about it when I write again.

I love you all so very, very much. Please be so very, very careful. Grandma B

Dearest Family, June 19, 1998

Just a note to tell Bob that I got the picture of Ellen Mae and Mel - HOW NEAT!!! They really look good - especially Mel after such an extensive surgery. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO DO THAT WITH ALL YOU HAVE TO DO AFTER YOUR VACATION.

I'm SO happy you made it back in time for Katie's Clytie Adams Ballet Recital. I don't have jet lag but I have a hard time keeping my eyes open after 9 p.m. I think it is wonderful that you could do your surgeries.

I will get my thoughts collected and write another letter to replace the one I wrote on Tuesday - I want it for my journal - it will be old news so you won't have to read it. We have so many things going on in this apartment all the time that I will lock myself in my bedroom to try to remember everything - Ha!!!

I have no idea what I am going to do this morning with that Assistant Director and her family - Helen assures me that we will have a good time and a good dinner. I have to make a tape of all the songs I am teaching before I go so I had better close - if I sound awful on the tape I am NOT going to give it to the teachers. They have asked us for one and Helen has already made her tape - she has a beautiful voice but she won't sing my songs for me!!!

I think about “The Roys”, “The Johns”, “The Weinerts”, “The Woolleys”, and “The Bobs” all the time. I did acknowledge the things you have written to me about in my Tuesday letter and now I can't remember those things - OH ME!!! I think about all the VERY IMPORTANT things going on in the lives of the Woolleys and Weinerts and I feel badly that I seem to ignore them - I really don't but it is difficult for me to do them justice so far away. Susanna in Jerusalem, Lee Anna in Europe, Jessie making plans to come to Thailand; Ricky with all his preparations for his mission to go to El Salvador and Barji making plans to come to Thailand. If anyone would have told me a couple years ago that we would all be such international travelers I would never have believed them - let's all remember the REALLY important things in life and be so very grateful for all our MARVELOUS blessings!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL. Grandma B