Dear loved ones!
I am going to have to hurry and write something because even though it is the day after Christmas here in Thailand, it is still Christmas in Hawaii!
I could not let this year go by without writing the Brady Family Christmas letter. Since we have been so busy the past few weeks and I just did not have the energy or brain power to write, I enlisted the help of ChatGPT. I put in a simple request for a humorous poem about tired but happy Senior Missionaries and young energetic Elders and Sisters serving in Thailand! I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with the result!
And now I present the 2025 Brady Family Letter:
’Twas the night before Christmas, in Thailand so bright,
The chapels were quiet, fans humming all night.
Senior missionaries slumped in their chairs with a grin,
So tired they yawned—but still happy within.
Their schedules were packed, their naps short and sweet,
With scriptures, and meetings, and walking the heat.
They’d earned every wrinkle, each story to tell,
Laughing, “We’re exhausted—yet all is still well!”
Down the road zipped the Elders on bikes with a bell,
And Sisters with smiles that could brighten a cell.
They shared joyful messages, simple and true,
With neighbors and friends (and a gecko or two).
They taught with their hearts and a language half-learned,
Mixed tones, mixed vowels—but testimonies burned.
From villages busy to streets lined with trees,
They served where they could, saying, “How can we please?”
There were baptisms planned with much splashing and cheer,
Towels, white clothes, and families near.
The waters were warm, the smiles were wide,
As faith took a step and hope took a stride.
From seniors worn-out to the youth on the run,
They all shared one mission—and laughed while it’s done.
So here’s to Thailand, to service, good cheer:
“Merry Christmas to all—and keep serving next year!”
Well, thanks to ChatGPT, our streak of Christmas letter continues unbroken!
We hope you had a very Merry Christmas this year and that the New Year will be filled with happiness and Joy! While we miss you all very much, we are grateful go have this opportunity to serve the people of Thailand and our young missionaries as they share the good news! Jesus is the Reason for the Season!
With much love,
Elder and Sister Brady (mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa, John and Shelly, and so on)
On to the pictures:
We love nativities! This beautiful ornament hangs on the tree in our office.
Saturday - Merry Christmas from Rayong!
This fun display in the lobby of the "Star Convention Hotel" in Rayong. 
We started Saturday with a baptism in the ocean. A sweet mother and daughter got baptized.
We love our missionaries - Elders Sevilla, Westcott, Allred, and Borden.
Next stop the Branch Christmas Party! Time to take the tie off and relax!
Sister Grape made some delicious brownies and shared them with us.
The Branch Party was held next to this beautiful river.
There was also this lovely Wat that lit up as the sun went down.
This is Aujima and her mother and grandmother. Three generations! And Sister Brady!
Potluck after church! So many amazing Thai and Filipino foods.
Elder and Sister Brady enjoying a little lunch!
The sunset view from our apartment.
Our senior missionary friend shared these gorgeous photos of paintings of Jesus and I had to borrow them. They are serving in Africa.
I also love this pictures she shared.
Monday morning we got up early to get on an airplane to fly to Khon Kaen for 2 back to back Christmas Zone conferences with all of our Thailand Bangkok East Mission missionaries! Let me tell you how we got to the airport Monday morning. We exited out of the back of the Temple Annex and crossed a busy street weaving in and out of motorcycles and cars. We cut through a break in the cement barriers only to discover there was a large puddle of muddy water that we had to jump over. So Elder Brady jumped the muddy puddle with two suitcases in hand and landed on the rocks on the other side. I did not think I could maneuver the jump with my suitcase, so I tossed my suitcase over the puddle. It landed on the rocks and then in slow motion it fell backwards into the puddle. I jumped across and then pulled it out of the mud. Then we walked across the rocks, over the train tracks and across another street to get to the elevator that would get us up to the sky train. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing, train, plane and automobile finally got us to the camp we would be staying at for the conferences! What an adventure!! I wish I had paused and taken a picture of my suitcase in the mud.
You will just have to imagine it!
We had a 45 minute flight and still got a meal! It was an amazing and delicious chicken wrap!
On the cab ride out to the Khon Kaen dam (camp/resort/place) we saw a lot of sugar cane fields.
We finally got to the facility and got started with the decorating. The Senior Missionaries were in charge of decorating. After my panic attack, I reached out to the other senior sisters who were so helpful.
Sister Kanyaphan helps decorate! President Kanyaphan is in the background!
A beautiful Thai Nativity
More decorating.
Elder and Sister Brady work on the Christmas tree.
The Stennetts brought this cute 7-11 lego display with little missionaries!
7-11 is the place to go in Thailand!
The conference room is all decorated! It looks so great! And Christmasy!
President Kanyaphan, our APs (Elders Huber and Nash), and Elder Brady pose by the giant bike!
This is the field where Pday activities will take place the next day!
And this was lunch at the restaurant! Yummy delicious Thai food!
This place reminds me of Young Women's Camp! So outdoorsy!
President Kanyaphan took this cool shot of the decorated conference room.
Monday night sunset.
Tuesday morning - the missionaries have arrived (most of them rode in vans through the night to get here) and are now participating in the spiritual day of the conference. Tuesday was the Bangkok and Korat Zone conference day.
While the missionaries were being taught, the Seniors left and spent some time decorating the outdoor space with Christmas decorations! Sister Taylor sets out cute gingerbread men and Santa Clauses! Lots of activities would take place here later on!
Tinsel and streamers galore! Elder and Sister Stennett help with taping them up!
Afterwards we went back to the conference center to be spiritually fed.
Elder and Sister Brady sing Silent Night with Elder Westcott.
Elder Brady is shocked to see Sister Cobia and Sister Peterson "fighting" on the way to lunch!
Haha!!
Sisters Stennett, Cobia, Peterson, Pathoumma, Brady, Brooks, Polsan, Jenkins, and Taylor pose for a picture on the deck outside the restaurant.
Elder and Sister Brady.
We love Sister Jenkins!
Elder Brady sings Mele Kalikimaka and Sister Brady dances the hula with missionaries participating!
Sister Cobia and Sister Peterson do the Napoleon Dynamite dance! Haha!
Dinner was centered around this lovely fish! It was actually good. Some of the missionaries actually eat the eye! Not this missionary!
My little phone camera captured the stars in the sky! I could not see all of these stars, but my camera could! So cool!
Tuesday evening ended with the Nativity story and a testimony meeting.
Wednesday morning was Pday (sports and play) for the Korat and Bangkok Zone missionaries. The Kanyaphans asked the Seniors to hang out with them for the morning.
Some of our missionaries had fun doing acrobats. Sister Peterson does a back walkover.
We facetimed with Kevin for a bit. Technology is crazy, isn't it! Who would have ever imagined that you could chat with your child on the other side of the world in a little screen you hold in your hand! When Elder Brady served in Thailand in the 70s, he was not able to talk to his parents for two years! It was simply too expensive. They wrote letters and that was it!
Elder Wingrove flies through the air as he does back flip after back flip.
Elders Tupou, Tang, and Dollar play Mahjong. Sister Stennett wants to learn how to play!
Sister Stennett and Sister Brady decide to go for a walk and do some exploring.
A walk across the Dam lead us to some stairs that went up a hill to a beautiful Wat (Buddhist Shrine). The view was amazing!
So pretty.
The carvings is exquisite.
I love these elephants.
The resort had some poinsettias set out for Christmas.
Sisters smile!
Sister Stennett, our mission nurse, has a rule not to pet the animals because if you get bit, you get 5 rabies shots! We had fun taking pictures of her pretending to pet the dogs.
This is not fudge! Everyone got some blood pudding for lunch. We piled it all on Elder Stennett's plate. Trust me he was only pretending to eat this!
One of these Elders leaned over the bridge and his nametag fell off . . . so they climbed down into the ravine to find it! And they did!
Time for the Wednesday night talent show for the Ubon and Udon Zones! Sisters Sanford and Brunt made cookies for their talent and they shared one with everyone!
Elders and Sisters danced some Bollywood for us! Elders Lewis and Clark (this is really their names - haha) and Sisters Jasper and Colver did a great job!
Sisters Cameron and Malquist did a medley of cultural dances.
Here they are performing a dance from Laos.
Another beautiful evening!
I love this gorgeous view of the reservoir sunset and sliver of the moon!
Smile Elder and Sister Brady.
At the White Elephant gift exchange, Elder Brady and Elder Elliott got in a tug of war over some yummy dried mango!
Thursday morning, CHIRSTMAS MORNING! Elder and Sister Brady got up to go for a walk. Elder Brady could not resist challenging Sister Kanyaphan to a race! Haha!
Elder and Sister Brady hiked up to the Wat! The view is stunning the second time too!
The road less traveled.
Thailand loves dinosaurs!
This beautiful elephant and small boy reaching for the water jug was carved out of a tree.
Nothing more inspiring than shoes that are worn and walked in by the Lord's servants!
Even President Kanyaphan's shoes wear out!
It's almost time to head to the airport, but first some box lunch with Sister Gilson.
It's almost time for the missionaries to board the vans to head back home. Have we mentioned how much we love these great missionaries! Elder Kelly said his mom found the Brady blog and reads it! I wonder if she will get this far in the blog! If she does - "Hello Sister Kelly! Let your son know you were both mentioned in the blog!" Pictured (sort of left to right): Elders Hiltscher, Stauffer, Kelly, Guanuna, Hansen, Jones, and Dixon.
All of the missionaries from the Bangkok and Korat Zones pose on the bridge.
All the missionaries from the Udon and Ubon Zones pose on the bridge.
We finally got to the airport and had a couple of hours to wait for our plane (it ended up delayed an hour), so we treated ourselves to some relaxing Christmas foot massages! Best gift ever!
It was our first time flying in almost a year! I miss airports! I miss my job as a flight attendant and I miss flying to see all of our family! It was fun to fly!
Friday, was a day back at the office. We kept busy catching up with all of the things that didn't get done while we were away for four days! The highlight of the day (and the night before) was talking to all of our children and grandchildren! Those Christmas phone calls are the best! Friday evening (pictured above - The Howards, Bradys, Stepps, and Meekers) we got together with the Senior office missionaries from the East and West mission for a belated Christmas dinner and games. We ate pulled pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh rolls, fruit salad, corn, cookies, a cheeseball, and crackers! After dinner we played a couple of games and had a great time!
If you made it this far, I will treat you to an egg custard if you come to Thailand!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!
