Thailand Letter
Dearest Family, October 26, 1998 Monday 4:30 p.m.
I just sent a message to Barji and Jessie - I was SO thrilled to hear from them. Their e-mail address was a little different from the one at the top so I don't know if they will get it. It sounds like they are doing SO-O-O-O good - it makes me envious to not be there to see Logan at this time of the year.
LAURA - CONGRATULATIONS FOR GETTING THE LEAD IN YOUR SCHOOL PLAY. I want to hear the name of it and what part you will play - I think that's SUPER!!!
CLAIRE - Thank you so much for your letters. I appreciate your telling me all about the carpet, counter tops etc. for the condo - I will trust yours and Jean's judgment if you have to choose colors before I get home. I LOVE the carpet you have in your upstairs and if it isn't too expensive that is what I would like to have. The beige and moss green counter tops sound great. ANNIE - I want you to have some input too!!! I want to read the "Persian Pickle Club" when I get home - I feel like a Persian Pickle most of the time - Ha!!! I want to hear all about the Halloween Party - I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!! I can't believe Laura is going to girl/boy parties already - is she old enough? We had Kroger's grocery stores in Little Rock and I thought they were very good but then I have always thought the Smith Stores were the top of the line. Let me know what happens to Abel Porter's job.
BOB - Thank you so much for your letters too and I hope your "under the deck storage place" is finished and that you are happy with it. When you said that you had learned that it is the "little things" in life that really matter I couldn't agree more. My companion, Myrth, takes up SO much of my time but then she will put little treats on my bed, etc. and it takes the anger away from me. She is just smarter than I am - Ha!!! The people here really are loving her so I have a lot to learn and it is good for me. I had no idea how difficult the "Trainer" job was in the mission field!!! I am SO glad you and Claire supported the "Old People's Party" in your ward and don't you dare ever neglect going to them even when Claire doesn't have to. It means SO much to the old people and I would love to have you teach me how to play Scrabble.
ANNIE - I was THRILLED to have your message this morning. You sound SO busy and I know Sundays must be very hard for you. I felt bad when I read that Susanna was 20 on this birthday - I can't keep track of my grandchildrens' ages but when one reaches the age of 20 that is reason for a better birthday greeting than I gave her - I will make it up to her when I get home!!! I am going to miss all of Russ' football touchdowns so he will have to do it all over again next year. I am proud of Lee Anna and Jimmy too with all their activities of cheerleading, flag football etc.
Marc Hall called me this morning and said he had to have a definite date for my going back to America. I had called the Mission Home and told them I would go home when Marc and Cherri and Virginia went home but I guess they didn't give him the message. He still wants me to go to Anchor Wat in Cambodia but I REALLY don't want to so I told him I wouldn't go. They are all going and they will be gone until probably November 13th so we will leave for America on November 14th. I think that would be better than for me to go home alone. I just want to leave with as little fuss as possible and that seems the easiest way. Anchor Wat in Cambodia is just more ruins and I have seen enough to last a life time!!!
We had such a fun weekend. Our teacher friends drove their car and took us to Lopburi. Lopburi is famous for their monkeys so we visited the "Monkey House" the four of us were posing for a picture taken by a stranger when a monkey jumped up on Myrth head. Somjit and I tried to get it off her and the monkey scratched my hand but he bit Somjit on the elbow. Myrth just laughed but then she said, "He scared the crap out of me" - I thought I would die laughing. We hurried and got some antiseptic for Somjit and she said she had had a recent tetanus shot - I hope she doesn't have a bad reaction.
We taught 6 students English on Saturday night and then went to Nurack's home to spend the night and then we went to church on Sunday. Nurack took us to have dinner with his mother and they had prepared lobster and Myrth would not eat one bite. Our friends brought us home on Sunday afternoon and they had fixed food in their car so we ate all the way going and all the way coming back - they stayed with their friends in Lopburi.
This morning the school sent a van for us and we taught all morning and then they took us to a restaurant for lunch. Myrth absolutely won't eat the Thai food so she just has rice with a few vegetables in it. I eat everything to make up for her and if it continues I will have to put a stop to it because I am gaining too much weight. We are invited to our neighbors for dinner tonight and I am already worried about what they will serve and what she will eat.
We have a busy week - we have to go to the Mission Office on Wednesday for a meeting with our Area Supervisors who are here from Hong Kong - the McSwains. Then on Friday we have to go to the chapel downtown for a curriculum meeting. This sounds easy but getting there is a REAL chore. We have scheduled school meetings in between these meetings to see if we can check Resource Center Boxes.
Bob - I sent you a map on Saturday. I hope you get it soon. I thought after I sent it that I should have marked the Ruam Rudi address on it because you know where that is. I hope you can figure out where I am. The Rimkhlong Road is along a khlong that is the Bangkok Water Supply - it is all muddy and when Myrth looks at it she can't believe it can ever be purified. I don't worry about things like that anymore.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL. Grandma B