Dear loved ones,
I can't believe this is the 40th mission letter! That means we only have 12 more letters until our 1 year mission anniversary! That also means that in 12 weeks, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years will have all come and gone! And it will be 2026. So there!
I am going to get straight to the pictures because there are a LOT of them! John's brother Rick and Rick's Belle are in town and we have had so much fun taking a few days off and spending time with them and seeing the sights around Bangkok!
And there is always a "bunch of other stuff" as office missionary and patriarchal blessing duties are still happening!
I am posting day early this week because the next few days are going to be FULL!
We love and miss you!
Love,
Elder and Sister Brady (mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, John and Shelly, and so on!)
Picture time:
Look who is in town! John's brother, Rick, and Belle are visiting from the Philippines! We took this picture on Thursday at Dusit Central Park. John and I visited there a couple of weeks ago and thought they might enjoy the view! We have done a lot in two days and will do more tomorrow (which I will share next week). But this is a sneak preview. If you want to see more of our adventures, keep on scrolling!
Last Saturday, we took our weekend drive down to Rayong.
But first we stopped in Chonburi to inspect Elder Matsui and Elder Jones apartment.
They did a good job, so, of course, we needed to go to McDonalds to celebrate!
Elder Matsui is heading home (back to Hawaii) tomorrow after serving two years in Bangkok!
Outside of McDonalds in Chonburi, we saw the Tourist Police car! What??
Hey! Hey! Hey hay truck! Where are you headed?
Finally, at our hotel, we caught this bird trying to see into our hotel room!
And then the bird started whistling a pretty song!
Sunday school time. Jack, who just got baptized last week, helps with the lesson.
Zooming in on Sisters Sanford, Lundberg, and Siri during our Sunday evening devotional.
It's 9pm when the devotional starts, so sometimes we see PJs and blankets in the background.
Another yummy Thai Dessert! There was fresh fruit, some sort of coconutty thing, and corn flakes on top! What more could you want? It was quite tasty!
In the cool of the evening, groundkeepers tend to the temple ground. There is constant work being done, keeping the space around the temple so beautiful and peaceful.
Do you see those lights on the 2nd floor? There is an apartment right in the temple where our temple president and matron live. Can you imagine living in the temple??
Closer view of the lights in the temple on Monday evening.
(The temple is closed on Sunday and Monday).
We had two patriarchal blessings on Tuesday. This family traveled to the temple from India to be sealed. The couple (in the middle) had never received their patriarchal blessings and were so excited.
Elder Bird (one of our APs) heard that the sisters had been given small Nutella jars, so Elder Brady needed to show him that we don't favor any of the missionaries!
Elder Lewis's dad came to Thailand on business and so we had to get a picture! AP Elders Bird and Elliott, me, Sister Howard (one of the new office missionaries), Brother Lewis, President and Sister Kanyaphan (our mission leaders), and Elder and Sister Belnap (who will be leaving us soon!)!
Wednesday! Rick and Belle arrive and we start the day with lunch at the annex! The four of us ate lunch for around $8 USD total! And the food was amazing!
Next stop - Terminal 21! This mall has a different city as the theme for each floor of the mall. This is the San Francisco Level (in case you couldn't tell)!
Waiting for the sky train! Elder Brady and Rick standing at attention! Haha!!
Walking along the Klong on our way to the Jim Thompson House.
Jim Thompson was an American man who came to Thailand, fell in love and decided to stay. He revitalized and started a Thai Silk business back in the 1960s that is still going today.
He built a beautiful house in Bangkok that is now a museum and open for tours.
It is filled with beautiful artifacts and artwork.
I loved this old wooden Buddah.
On top of this table are the chamber pots used for "necessary business" when they didn't want to go out to the outhouse at night. The one shaped like a cat was for the children.
This was a mouse house! It looks like a doll house but children kept their pet mice in their and they could see them run around inside!
This woman is making Thai Silk!
PS - Jim Thompson disappeared in 1967 and no one ever saw him again.
On our way to the train station, I stopped to get a photo of this cool elephant structure. You can see some street food carts down below! There is always interesting food to eat everywhere you go!
We were so tired from walking in the heat, we stopped at a 7-11 to buy an ice cold drink. I looked across the street and noticed a roof top pool!
I zoomed in and you can see someone swimming!!
We sat on the steps in front of the 7-11 and rehydrated ourselves!
Time for a selfie before we head to the train.
After we got home, I ran to the store to buy important things like veggies and ice cream.
This DQ special is yummy ice cream with rice on top! Calm down! It is a sweet rice! Haha!
Thursday - We met Rick and Belle at their hotel and took a mile walk to Lumphini Park.
On our way, we passed the US Embassy!
I loved the beautiful artwork on the sidewalk!
Hello USA!
We made it to Lumphini Park! Here you can see Elder Brady, Belle, Rick, and a bunch of other walkers and runners enjoying this shady path in the park.
Beautiful view of Lumphini. I love the boat on the water.
So pretty!
John sang for the King and Queen of Thailand and about 600 emissaries in Lumphini Park back in the 70s. We walked around the park trying to remember where he sang nearly 50 years ago!
Here is a Water Monitor swimming in the little creek.
Hello!
Another beautiful structure!
Walking towards Dusit Thani Central Park!
John thinks this might be the building he sang in!
Enjoying a day off from the office!
And take some scenic pictures. I love the Thai Orchids!
Goodbye Lumphini Park!
Hello Snake Farm!
This was a cool place to visit! We got to see lots of snake exhibits!
And a museum!
And a snake show! This is a venomous Cobra!
Smile for our friends, John!
Last stop, Central Park!
I know I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I am going to do it again!
This is the Dusit Thani hotel. Back in the 70s, John had the lunch buffet near the top floor.
Back then it was the tallest building in Bangkok.
John and Rick enjoying the view of Lumphini Park from the Dusit Central Park Rooftop Gardens!
This little reflection pond was a great place to take a picture of the park and skyline.
The brothers enjoyed reenacting their pretend boxing matches from their childhood!
Would you rather make a wish? Or waste a wish?? I could not resist getting a picture of this! Haha!
Sometimes things are literally lost in translation!
This is the cool Dusit Central Park Mall Escalators! Apparently taking a picture here is a "thing!"
I will admit it is a cool backdrop for a picture!
It was another great day in Bangkok! But we are tired and ready to call it a day!
Here we are on the escalator heading down to the train to head back to the annex!
Well that concludes most of this week!
I am going to post this early this week because we have a full 3 day weekend ahead!
We will do some more sightseeing with Rick and Belle tomorrow (Friday) and head down to Rayong on Saturday for more house inspections and church!
The fun, the food, and the work never end here!
Thanks for reading!
We love and miss you!
An amazing blog! Beautiful memories forever. 💖
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! And yes! We will treasure these memories!
DeleteAt the subway, you wrote that it was Elder Brady and Rick Standing. Any relation to me? What a beautiful park! Just how hot is it there now? Is it hot every day year round? You two look great!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes, as a matter of fact. Rick (Standing haha) is the uncle of some of your nieces and nephews! Weather: rainy season is wrapping up - maybe a couple of more weeks. And then it is the "cool" season. November - February. But, in short it is hot every day year round! And it is always humid. This week the low was 76 in the early morning but by 9am it is close to the 80s and it got to around 92 by 11 or 12. Sometimes the heat wears us out! One of the nice things about being office missionaries is we have the nice air conditioned office to work in!
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