Dearest Family, August 9, 1998

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LAURA!!! It is about 3 o'clock in the morning in Layton so I don't believe Laura is celebrating yet - maybe you celebrated yesterday. I hope you have a very wonderful birthday and I will be thinking about you. I think you are probably home and rested from your big family backpacking trip - I am anxious to hear all about it. Jessie and Barji kept telling me how tall and beautiful Laura is - I can't believe you are all growing up without me!!!

RICKY - WHAT A WONDERFUL LETTER FROM YOU THE VERY DAY YOU ENTERED THE MTC!!! I cherish it and I need to have your address so I can write to you. The time you spend in the MTC will be the most memorable of your first few months in the mission field so make the most of them. I LOVED the food in the MTC so maybe you will put on a few pounds - I don't believe you will gain any weight in El Salvador. (I am writing this like you will be reading it - Ha!)

I got my pictures back and they are SO good!!! I look at them every few minutes to help me remember when the girls were here. I hope Ann & Jeans' pictures turn out good too so they can remember their time in Thailand.

I keep thinking of the Bobs and the Roys being in Colorado at about the same time and not seeing each other - poor planning - Ha!!! I also try to envision little Katie carrying her backpack - I HOPE SO MUCH THAT YOU ALL HAD LOTS OF FUN. I guess Michael couldn't go with you because of his job - that sounds like such a good job for you, Michael, and I am proud of you!!!

I taught my Relief Society Lesson today and I am glad it is over. We have been having about 15 sisters this Summer while many of the members are on vacation in America. WELL - today every seat was filled - there is a large group of young people with their chaperones here on a “goodwill trip” - we really don't know very much about it but it looks like some youth group has sponsored it to become acquainted with the Thai young people. They are having a fireside tonight. I was pleased with my lesson and I appreciate so very much all the help from “home” - I learned so much about dispensations - far more than the people in the class did.

This has been a fun week except for Friday!!! Our schools have done really well and they are working hard to finish the things for their resource centers. We have had a lot of company in the apartment and it will be like this until we go home. I was asleep a few minutes ago and was awakened by a lot of laughing - I came out of my bedroom and Nut (the Bobs remember her) was here - she is already planning a trip for me to go with her for Loy Kratong and that isn't until November!!! Yesterday I went to the old Parliament building again for the Queen's exhibition - I really didn't want to go but my friend Wantana had planned it and I didn't want to disappoint her. We came home about 3 o'clock and started to work on things for school and then Somjit and Lamchuan came with groceries to cook dinner for us - they made Thai Omelet's, carrot Thai salad, and a different kind of chicken cashew. IT WAS ALL DELICIOUS!!!

Virginia has started traveling on weekends so I will try to help Vicky. She came to the apartment on Friday afternoon and stayed until today and she went home after church. I feel bad for her - she tries SO hard but she has a very different personality and a lot of the people are not very kind to her. I don't think my roommates go out of their way one bit and that's sad!!! I don't know what we will do about next weekend - I am not supposed to travel alone after dark and I teach here in the apartment until 7:30 - she will probably come over here again and that is fine with me!!!

I will tell you about my terrible day on Friday!!! I got up and cleaned the apartment and did my laundry and other personal jobs - Janet and Darlene teach on Fridays and Helen worked on her journal and photo albums. I went to the Phloenchit Center about 2 o'clock to get the “Gospel Dispensation Picture” printed for my Relief Society Lesson today. I decided to go to the ATM and get some money to last me through the month - John always used to send my monthly money about this time of the month and I liked to keep it in different places for rent, utilities, food, etc. I got 10,000 bahts and I already had about 7,500 bahts in my purse. I KNOW IT WAS VERY DUMB TO CARRY THAT MUCH CASH AND I DON'T EVER DO IT!!!

I got my pictures printed and paid for them. Then I went to the Villa Market and got a few groceries. I took my wallet out of my purse and was holding it to pay for the groceries and then I remember helping the clerk put the things from the cart onto the pricing belt. WELL - when I went to pay for the groceries I couldn't find my wallet. I said, “I can't find my wallet” - the grocery clerks all started to laugh and I thought at first they were playing a joke on me. One of them said, “No problem” - and I said, “It isn't funny”. I asked for the store manager and she came and we walked around to where I had bought groceries and of course we couldn't find it. She went with me and we went to the print shop and it wasn't there. The store manager asked me if I had a key for my apartment and I said yes and he handed me a 100 baht bill to help me get home. They all acted like this was a daily occurrence.

My wallet had my Visa card in it and of course that was my big worry!!! The money amounted to about $500 - 20,000 bahts - and that is a big loss but I worried they would charge much more on my card. I didn't want to call John in the middle of the night so I waited until 8 p.m. which would be about 6 a.m. Orem time. In the meantime I taught my four students who come to the apartment and when their mothers came for them I told them about it and one of them used to work for VISA so she hurried and called to have them “block” the card. That took SO long and it was about 8:30 when they left. I hurried and called John and it was SO funny - I have forgotten all about answering services and when I got his message I about cried. HE WAS SO SWEET AND CALLED ME AS SOON AS HE GOT TO HIS OFFICE. He had to call twice and I think how funny to not call home for over a year and then in one day make three calls to Orem. He had arranged a conference call with the Lehi Bank so they could send me another VISA card - they couldn't do it without talking to the cardholder. THANK YOU SO MUCH JOHN!!

My roommates have been very sweet. Darlene loaned me 10,000 bahts and they will loan me more when I need it until my card comes. I guess this is an experience I had to have but it has upset me even though I keep trying to talk myself out of it. I always thought the Phloenchit Center was very safe but I guess there isn't a safe place in Thailand right now. I hope the money helps someone. I wish it could go to some of the handicapped beggars on the streets.

Thailand is all decorated for the Queen's Birthday - it is August 12th. They have her picture all over the streets with beautiful lights all around them. It is a holiday for the schools so we are going on a trip planned for us by the Ministry of University Affairs - it will be a fun day!!!

I had a letter from Byrd and he told me that Chris and Wayne stayed in the cabin and they made themselves at home. He didn't tell me how they got in. I believe they must have “master keys” for all the cabins. He also said that Wayne tried to use the weed eater but the altitude made him dizzy - he said he did clean out some of the grass around the cabin.

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