Thailand Letter Dearest Family, September 10, 1998 4:50 p.m.

CLAIRE - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL PICTURE!!! That was SO thoughtful of you and I LOVE IT!!! I am a little surprised - it looked like Lee Anna and Mary Ann are about the same height - everyone has told me that Mary Ann was tall - maybe it was the way they were standing. I was SO happy to see Susanna back with the family!!!

ANNIE - THANK YOU FOR CHECKING OUT THE CONDO - I am happy that you LOVE it!!! I have had too much furniture for my Orem home so I know what you are talking about. I will NEVER have a garage sale for my furniture - I'll stack in a rental place first. I'm sure I will find a solution!!! It sounds like Jean and Ricks' new home is going to be beautiful with a beautiful view - THAT'S GREAT!!! I envy you traveling to Logan - I will be anxious to go there again and see how much things have changed in the past 50 years. I have been there but not to spend anytime on the campus.

BOB - I'll bet you are in San Antonio about now for your allergy examination. I hope you do as well as you would like to. Does it ever get any easier to take those exams after you have been practicing for awhile? I want to hear about how President Hinckley did on the Larry King Live Show - he is such a remarkable man that I'm sure everyone in the church was proud of him. You asked about my transfer - I will be by myself to train the new missionary teacher. Marc has the names of those who are coming but he won't tell us who our companions will be until he has time to visit with them - that makes a lot of sense to me. He knows Virginia, Phyllis, Vicky and me and he will try to match up our personalities. Helen will stay an extra week to train the teacher who will be with Vicky - THAT'S GOING TO BE INTERESTING!!! Helen will stay here in the apartment with that new teacher. I am supposed to take the computer with me when I move on Oct. 6th but I am betting that Helen will keep it until she moves. THAT'S OKAY!!!

About my move. I had a phone call a couple nights ago from the Superintendent who is supposed to find me a place to live. He said he had found a townhouse. I'll tell you what happened. PraPa found out that I was worried about moving into a one room condo so she called this superintendent and told him to find me a townhouse. She has been SO sweet to me - I am the same age as her mother and she thinks I am going to fall over any day - Ha!!! I will go check out this townhouse in the morning. Marc Hall went to see it yesterday and he says it has two bedrooms, one living room, two showers, BUT no kitchen. He said he thinks I should buy a refrigerator, a microwave, a hot plate and a sink to make a kitchen so we will see what happens. He also said it has sliding glass doors and windows and they are not safe so I need to get padlocks for them. I think I will just do the best I can and let the new couple fix things for themselves.

Marc also said I will be assigned to Lopburi to help in the church and he will find me a teaching situation so I will probably go to Ayutthaya on Saturdays and teach and then attend church in Lopburi on Sunday. I am happy about that!!!

This will be a new adventure for me and I CAN DO IT!!! Today was our last day for the Bangkolam District and it was kinda' sad. Six teachers came home with us in the van and said they would come fix dinner for us a week from Sunday. They gave us gifts and we all cried a little. We will teach Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week and THEN WE ARE THROUGH!!! We are going on a trip this Saturday with one of the Districts and we don't know where but they said it would be all day. Then we will go to dinner on Wednesday night with the other Districts and probably have some kind of a ceremony on Thursday. They never tell us what is planned so every day is a surprise. THEY REALLY HAVE APPRECIATED US AND WANT US TO KNOW THAT - THEY KEEP TELLING US THEY HAVE LEARNED MORE ENGLISH THAN IN ANY OTHER SEMINARS THEY HAVE EVER ATTENDED - of course that makes us feel good.

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

Dearest John, Thursday - September 10, 1998 5:50

I just wrote you a detailed letter about the money I needed and then I must have hit the wrong key because I lost it!!!

Could you please wire me $1,000.00 today? The Visa card has not arrived yet and even if the second one is the only one that comes I don't believe I had better use it. I could be in real trouble if the first one you sent has been stolen. Would you please check with the First Security Bank and ask them what I should do? I can't block it from here because I don't know the number of it or any of the information they need.

These are my expenses as of now: 6,250 Bahts, rent money; 8,000 Bahts utility money; and 10,000 Bahts for a Winter suit and Blazer I have had Gulati make for me. I don't know what will be expected of me for “upfront” money for the new apartment. I hope I don't have to buy a refrigerator, microwave and hot plate and then wait until the new teacher comes to help pay for them but I don't know.

I have saved all the information you sent to me when you wired the last money. I imagine all the numbers will be different but if they aren't I can use the information I have.

I am SO sorry to be so much trouble but I absolutely do not know what to do!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH JOHN - I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Dearest John, September 10, 1998 4:30 p.m.

THANK Y0U JUST MILLIONS JOHN!!! I got my money and WHAT A RELIEF!!! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your phone call and all you did to wire me the money - I know that was a big headache for you and I am so sorry but I didn't know what else to do. IT WAS WONDERFUL TO TALK TO YOU - I thought of a million things to ask you about after I hung up but I worried about how long we were talking.

I'll have to tell you about my experience today getting the money. I had to go out to Bang Su this morning to teach with Janet and Darlene and also to see Mr. Witt who is the Superintendent of Schools in that area where I will be. He had found a town house he wanted me to look at - SO he and Marc met me at the school and took me to see it. It is much nicer than the condo in the High Rise bldg. - at least it has three bedrooms - two of which are air-conditioned. It also has a couch, television, dining room set, washing machine, two bathrooms, etc.

I told him I would have to get a taxi to come home so I could get to the bank to get my money so I could pay my rent on Sunday. The banks will be closed tomorrow. WELL - he wouldn't even think of my doing that so he called the Metropolitan Banks in Bangkok to see where I could get my money - I already knew that I could get it close to Ruam Rudi but with the language barrier I couldn't get him to understand. SO he had his driver come to get me at the school and then he insisted on going with me to the bank so I would be safe. We drove, and we drove and I thought we would never find the bank but an hour later we were at the bank. THEN - we went in and I filled out all the forms and then we waited for another hour. I couldn't believe it - he left to go get some lunch for his driver and while he was gone I went to the officials at the bank and said I was going to complain. I told them that it only took me about ten minutes to get money from Western Union at the bank on Sukhumvit and over an hour was JUST TOO LONG!!! They looked at me and smiled their typical Thai smile and came back in just a few minutes with my money. It is really hard for me to be patient in a situation like that. Mr. Witt had given the transfer number and everything they needed when he called them so we both thought it would take just a few minutes.

I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW THRILLED I AM TO HAVE THE MONEY. AGAIN - I DON'T EVER WANT TO BE POOR!!! I am concerned about how much “up front” money I am going to have to have to get in this new townhouse. The rent will be 15,000 bahts a month - that will be 7,500 for each companion. Marc said I would have to pay 15,000 bahts this next Friday when we sign the contract - I am going to tell him that I think the church should pay that - don't you think they should? THEN I will have to pay 15,000 more when we move in on October 6th because we have to pay two months in advance in addition to the 15,000 when we sign the contract.

I hope I don't have to ask you to wire me any more money. Maybe my Visa card will come by the time I need it. I WILL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS I GET IT!!! Did you ever talk to First Security about the Visa card - I honestly don't know if it will be necessary to cancel it or not. My roommates seem to think it will soon come - I am relieved to know that you put it in cardboard to send it.

My new address after October 6th will be:

62 Thana Place Soi Ladpraw 71 Ladpraw Road, Ladpraw Bangkok, 10230 Thailand

I will go to Lopburi on Saturdays to teach an English camp and then stay for church on Sunday - that will be a real missionary activity and a good way to end my mission.

THANKS AGAIN JOHN - I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH. GIVE MY LOVE TO JULIANNA. Mom