Dear family and friends!
I am two days late on my blog this time! Why, you ask?! Because we have been out of the office all week doing house inspections in the Korat Zone! We traveled outside of Bangkok and got a chance to see some of the houses that Elder Brady is over but has never actually seen in person! This meant we also got to spend time with the young missionaries and see some more of beautiful Thailand! This whirlwind 5 day tour (Tuesday - Saturday) included inspecting 9 houses, spending a little time with 18 missionaries, and seeing some of the beautiful scenic countryside of Thailand. Our mission has 4 zones - Bangkok, Korat, Ubon, and Udon. We are in the Bangkok Zone and we work in the office and inspect the Bangkok Zone houses. Since Elder Brady is over all of the houses, we have wanted to go and see them at some point. Thankfully, we have other Senior Missionary Couples serving in the other zones who help with house inspections. Since the Taylors recently finished their mission and are no longer serving in Korat, we thought it would be a perfect time to go to Korat!
This week we had three family birthdays: our son, Kevin; our granddaughter, Audrey; and my step-dad, Craig! Happy Birthday everyone!
Spoiler Alert - There are close to a bazillion pictures, but if you want to see some really cool sights, keep scrolling!
As always we love you and miss you and thank you for your thoughts, prayers, letters (emails, texts, etc.) and love!
Love,
Elder and Sister Brady (mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, John and Shelly and so on)
This picture is from last Saturday (a week ago). On our way down to Rayong (which is in the Bangkok Zone), we stopped in Chonburi and did a house inspection with Elders Saodaeng (who leaves in a few weeks) and Kelly. Afterwards we stopped for some amazing wraps! I don't know how to describe them, but they were giant and delicious!
The Elders did a good job with their cleaning!
I mean look at what we got! We shared this! And it did not disappoint!
It has been a while since we sat by the pool and read.
It was a perfect night for it!
Breakfast. Enough said.
Wait, I will say more. You need to know there was a plate of fruit and veggies beforehand.
Rayong Branch picnic after church.
I love this sweet picture of some of our youth and primary children.
Elder Brady is just breathing it all in!
Our branch members make such yummy food!
Krispy Kreme Donuts are in Thailand too! In case you were wondering!
Monday morning, we woke up to a video sent to us on our messenger chat. Here is a screenshot of what was in the video! Yes!!! That is a scorpion in a toilet. And that toilet is in one of the Sister Missionary's houses! Elder Brady is over housing and they wanted to know WHAT TO DO!!!
They flushed it down in case you are wondering what they did!!
Tuesday, we took off for our road trip. I loved the cows on the sidewalk. So I rolled down my window and took a picture.
Then I saw a bunch of goats! So I took a picture!
Tuesday we headed to our first house inspection in Pak Chong. On our way, we stopped at Wat Tham Phra Phothisat. I was amazed at the beautiful mountains. You don't see those in Bangkok!
This little bridge was the start of our path.
The Buddha behind us was really big!!
This is a cannonball tree.
The flowers were so pretty and you can see the "cannon balls" on the lower right.
Beautiful white wat.
We climbed this tower to get a better view.
I took a picture of John taking a picture! :)
View from the tower.
Wild dogs everywhere.
On my way to see the cave! There is a shrine inside a cave in the mountain they told me!
Three hundred fifty plus stairs later, I entered the cave! It was so cool! Good thing I have been walking stairs in Thailand for my exercise! This was no easy task in 90 degree weather.
It was cool and it was cool! Get it? Cool temperature and cool to see!
Yes, I just made that up!
More of the inside of the cave.
On my way back down the stairs.
Tons of monkeys, but I just took a picture of this one!
We were so hot, we had to buy some ice cream afterwards from our new friend.
We made it to Pak Chong! Elder Brady inspects how clean their outdoor kitchen is!
Nice job Elders
Elders Fowles, Baltomore, Gonder, and Morgan smile for the picture!
All of these Elders served in Bangkok in the past so it was so great to see them again!
We spent our first night at a little motel called the Cozy Creek. It was darling.
The Cozy Creek.
These weather worn dresses were offerings hung near this mini-shrine.
On the road again Wednesday morning. We drove through this "tunnel" on our way to Chaiyaphum. It was just metal bars, so it wasn't really any kind of covering over the freeway.
But it looked cool, so I took a picture!
We see road construction everywhere. Up ahead it looks like sky train tracks are being built!
The Chaiyaphum House! I loved the front "yard!"
Look at the pretty blue floors in their kitchen!
Elders Bird and Pankrathok did a nice job cleaning.
KFC for lunch! Do you see this meal? Two chicken breasts (so hot and delicious)! Unlimited refill on the soda. And a coleslaw! All for less than $3 USD.
Wednesday afternoon, we headed to Maha Sarakham for our next inspection. These are not cobwebs! These are actually working spider webs! Elder Fairey likes the spiders in his outdoor kitchen. They keep the mosquitoes down au natural! We had to give him bonus points for that!
Elders Fairey and Winfree did a great job!! And it was so good to see them!
Dinner was McDonalds! We love Thai food, but sometimes the missionaries just want some comfort food from home! I had to grab a picture of these young boys hanging out with Ronald!
Happy Birthday Facetime with Kevin!
Kevin was celebrating with his boys, Dawson and Sawyer, so we got to see them too!
We sure love and miss the Brady Boys!
Thursday drive! We saw more interesting sights on the roads!
I wasn't sure if that was a bull or a water buffalo!
This giant standing Buddha is across the street from the missionaries in Roi-et!
The streets of Roi-et. We miss our missionaries when they leave Bangkok, but they love the quiet of the areas outside of Bangkok. Roi-et is a decent sized city, but the streets are not as crazy busy!
This cute little picnic table is outside the missionary's house.
Another cool kitchen. At least this one is indoors!
Elders Lutter and Dunham give Elder Brady the grand tour.
We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant with the Sisters and Elders in Roi-et! The food was delicious! We had curry and teriyaki! Yum!
This is the Roi-et chapel! It is cool to see so many church buildings in Thailand. When John was here in the 70s, there was only one official church building. (The old Asoke building is still standing just a few blocks from where we live now, but is not currently in use).
Sisters Lundberg and Furlan did a nice job cleaning their home. I loved the floors in this apartment!
We have been working on a song and so we sang it for the sisters!
Sisters Lundberg and Furlan and us posing!! :)
The famous Roi-et tower. From the Google:
Roi Et Tower (Hor Wot) is a 101-meter-high, 35-floor landmark in Roi Et, Thailand, designed to resemble a traditional Isan panpipe instrument (Wot). Located in Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Park, it serves as a cultural symbol with 360-degree observation decks on floors 28–34, offering panoramic city views.
Photo op!
View from the top of the tower!
Another view!
Can you see the zipline wires in the top left of the photo? I was going to zipline for $6 (and that included a photo and a video of the event!!!), but it started to rain and thunder and storm and they shut down the zipline!
The glass floor at the top of the tower!
Beautiful art for sale at the tower!
On Thursday late afternoon, we drove to Buriram.
More cool things to see on the road!
Buddha statues are everywhere!
I thought I had missed the shot with the rain, the wires, and the moving car! But I got it!
Another truck, another cow.
A beautiful building in a park in Buriram. Another drive by photo!
Facetime with Audrey Vernon! Happy Birthday 10-year-old! We love and miss you!
Another shot from the road! This giant statue was in the roundabout!
Friday morning, we inspected the Buriram house! Elder Lowry shows us two bottles of oil that were in his cupboard! One is baby oil and the other is cooking oil! Elder Lowry said he almost cooked with baby oil once! This is why Elder Brady always asks the question: "Are your cleaning supplies stored separately from your food!" We usually joke with the missionaries that somewhere someone cooked with something that they should NOT have and so now the question is on the official form!
Here we are in front of the Burirum Church building! This building is not a traditional building. On the outside, it looks like another local business, but the inside is all remodeled and looks like a traditional church building you would see anywhere! Elder Freedman used to be one of our office Elders in Bangkok and Elder Lowry was one of our Rayong Elders!
We miss them and it was so good to see them!
This is the Buriram Castle. We wanted to get out and walk closer, but just took a picture from the car, because . . .
The surrounding area was jampacked with cars and people that were in town for the Grand Prix! There was a huge race happening and this was the place!
Another Facetime with Kevin! Kevin has moved to Oregon and wanted to let us know he made it safe and sound!
Thursday afternoon, we headed to Phanom Rung Historical Park. This museum shows artifacts found in the ancient ruins that are over 1000 years old!
Elder Brady climbs the steps on our way to see the ancient ruins. Good thing we walk stairs for exercise! Have I mentioned that already??
These were the original steps - steep and rocky!!
The ancient temple in the background.
It was a really stunning sight!
A five headed snake!
We made it to the top!
Here is a little info from the google:
Phanom Rung Historical Park is an archaeological site in Thailand, covering the ruins of Prasat Phanom Rung (Thai: ปราสาทพนมรุ้ง, pronounced [prāː.sàːt pʰā.nōm.rúŋ]), a Hindu Khmer Empire temple complex set on the rim of an extinct volcano at 402 metres (1,319 ft) elevation. It is located in Buriram Province in the Isan region of Thailand, and was built at a time when Khmer social-political influences were significant in Srisaket. It was built of sandstone and laterite between the 10th and 13th centuries. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, and symbolises Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling.
It reminded us of some of the ancient ruins in Mexico City.
The carvings and the art are fascinating.
I could not stop taking pictures!
My favorite flower - the bougainvillea. They have always reminded me of my years living in Hawaii. Now they will remind me of Hawaii and Thailand.
Smile! Even though it is 900 degrees out! Haha!
Time to walk down the steps! We had to be very careful as they were very steep!
We made it to Korat! The Zone is named after the city! Sisters Peterson and Cobia have beautiful smiles! And they did a great job cleaning. Sister Peterson was in Bangkok for four transfers and we had so much fun getting to know her. We miss her! We keep telling her (teasing her) we hope she comes back to Bangkok, but she loves being out in the country! Sister Cobia has not been in Bangkok with us, but always spent time with us on the transfer/training day. She made us old missionaries feel like we were needed here! Sister Cobia leaves in another week! We will miss her!
Korat Elders Bridge and Nelson did a great job cleaning their place! They were both in Bangkok and it was so good to see them again!
Elder Bridge kindly picks a wild papaya for me!
Dinner with the Korat missionaries. This little restaurant was so inexpensive and delicious!
They start the meal with this little mini glass of lemonade! It was so refreshing!
Finally some Thai food! Arroi Mag (delicous) Pad Thai!! But don't get me wrong, we ate Korean, Japanese, and American food this past week and it was all sooooo good!!
This restaurant actually had every kind of food! Pizza, Slads (yes it said slads), and shave ice! Elder Nelson was hungry! This was his dinner! Seriously! Haha! The Sisters and Elder Bridge had pizza. Elder Brady had sweet and sour chicken and rice and I had the Pad Thai.
I had to get a closer shot of the chocolate shave ice! I stole a bite and it was amazing!!!!!
And it is so pretty!
Friday evening Sunset.
This was possibly the highlight of the trip. We went and met with Brother and Sister Bualoi and Sister Orn in Korat. She gave me the biggest hug and told me how much she loved us.
Elder Brady sang one of the old group songs to her family. (Yes, that is my papaya on the table).
She could not stop smiling the whole time!
Saturday morning, we were back on the rode and on our way to Bangkok. I had to keep my camera ready at all times!!!
Another photo op!!!
Our final sightseeing stop on our way back home, was Wat Ban Rai!
On our way to the Wat!
Beautiful statues and structures.
Elder Brady standing next to the Snake Head Statue! Here is a little info from the Google:
Wat Ban Rai is one of the famous temples in Nakhon Ratchasima and recognized as the residence of the noble monk 'Luang Pho Khun'. Originally, Wat Ban Rai was a small monastery, then Luang Pho Khun who was widely respected in the province developed it and became the big and well-kwon temple until now. Even though Luang Pho Khun passed away, Wat Ban Rai is always one of tourist's destinations in Nakhon Ratchasima. Interesting buildings in the temple - The chapel is beautifully decorated with enameled tiles. - Hor Thep Wittayakom is the elephant-liked ceramic shrine in the center of water. On the roof top are the statue of walking Buddha and the statue of Luang Pho Khun. Around the building depicts Buddhism's sacred texts. The shrine is Asia's largest ceramic mosaic shrine with more than 20 million pieces of mosaic. - The museum of Luang Pho Khun exhibits the life and background of Luang Pho Khun. - The statues of 7-headed Nagas are situated in the center of water decorated with around 900,000 pieces of mosaic. Interesting places nearby - Huai Bong Wind Farm is in the area of Dan Khun Tod and Thae Pha Rak districts. It is the first wind power generator project in Thailand with 90 wind turbines in the area of 10,00 Rai.
In case you missed this fun fact in the long paragraph above, I will repeat it here:
The shrine is Asia's largest ceramic mosaic shrine with more than 20 million pieces of mosaic.
20 MILLION pieces of mosaic to create all of this beautiful art!
There was so much to see and appreciate!
Elder Brady wondered what was going on in this painting!
I loved this bird and creature beneath!
This three headed dog or dragon was so cool!
Inside the shrine.
Beautiful bench!
Gorgeous ceiling.
Statues at the top!
Lights in the basement (this structure had 4 levels representing different parts of life). From the google:
Wat Ban Rai (specifically the Viharn Thep Witthayakhom) features four distinct levels representing Buddhist cosmology: a dimly lit basement (underworld/hell), a ground floor (human realm/monk's life), upper floors (heaven/teachings), and a rooftop (relics).
This was supposed to represent the underworld/hell. I thought the lights were pretty. There is probably some analogy hidden in this!!
Another drive by shot on our way home.
Home at last on Saturday night! I love to see the temple! And if you look closely, you can see the moon in the upper right! It is good to be in Thailand!
If you made it this far, please let me know! I will eat some mango sticky rice in honor of you! It is once again mango season in Thailand and I am so excited!!!
Thanks for reading! We love you!
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