Dear loved ones,
Hello from Thailand! It is hard to believe we have been on a mission for 67 weeks! It is also hard to believe that 2 weeks ago, John was wrapping up 2 weeks in the hospital. I can't believe John's brother, Rick and Belle have come and gone! I can't believe we survived immigration last Friday. And I can't believe another transfer is wrapping up and we are saying goodbye to missionaries (whom we have grown to love and will miss so much) and welcoming new missionaries this week (that we know we will love).
Update on John: He continues to improve which we are so grateful for. He goes to bed a little earlier these days and takes an occasional afternoon nap as his energy levels return. His stomach is still sensitive, but that is to be expected.
I will move on to the pictures.
But before I do, we love you and miss you and thank you for your love, support, prayers, and kind texts, emails, and comments!
Love,
Elder and Sister Brady (mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, John and Shelly, and so on)
Last Friday was immigration day! We got up at 0'dark 30! Well, 3:30am to be exact! I can't believe we are even smiling in this picture! We caught a Grab (taxi) at 4:00am and headed over to the immigration government building. We stood in line until 5am to get into the building. We were given numbers to stand in another line inside the building. At 6am, we were given new numbers to sit in a line (there were numbered chairs lined up for us to sit in while waited for the office to open at 8am. Once we got our chair numbers we went downstairs to sign immigration papers, find some breakfast and take a walk around the building. Pictured above is us with the MTC Leaders, President and Sister Harper. Smiling!
This is us a little before 5:00am - standing in line to get a number and enter the building. We were a little concerned with how Elder Brady would hold up considering he was in the hospital just one week before. And his stomach was still hurting somewhat. Thankfully, he did OK. I was concerned because my experience at immigration last year was not good. I had a horrible headache last year and some stomach issues (I will say nothing more about that). Last year's queue number had us seen just before noon, so it was a long difficult day for me. I was not looking forward to going to immigration.
I am happy to say, I did NOT have a headache this time! And my stomach was working just fine! Additionally, we got a lower queue number and we were finished just after 10am and home by 11am! Here we are taking a little walk to explore the building and stretch our legs.
Sitting in our assigned chairs, waiting for the office to open!
After we got home, we ate some lunch and then proceeded to take 2 hour naps! It was the best! Then I got a message from Belle asking if we were going to be in the office. So of course, we went down to spend some time with Belle in our office. We met Belle last year at the RMRT conference. Her favorite thing to do is to make fun of Elder Brady! Haha!
He served his mission here and is back in Thailand to visit Belle.
Saturday morning we did our first virtual house inspections! Our favorite thing to do is to do house inspections! Not that we love inspecting the houses . . . but we love to spend time with the missionaries! We often go to lunch with them and get to know them better! With Elder Brady's stay in the hospital and concerns about traveling about our Zone until he is feeling better, we did some inspections via Messenger Video. These are our dear Rayong Elders (we were so sad not be in Rayong). Elders Westcott and Casinillo did a great job (as far as we could see via video!)!
But seriously, I was so impressed with how they polished the bathroom fixtures! I had to take a picture!
Look! You can see Elder Westcott's smiling face in the reflection!
Sisters Jasper and Henry both serve in Rayong! We were so excited to have Sisters in Rayong, but we hardly got to go down there this month! They also did a nice job cleaning! Sister Henry heads back to the USA this week. We will miss her!
After we did the house inspections, we Facetimed with Kevin!
One week and one day after getting out of the hospital, Elder Brady heads out on his first "field trip." He decided meatballs and potatoes sounded good for lunch. So we headed over to IKEA. This is the Emsphere Mall (where IKEA is located). They always have some sort of gorgeous art or holiday decorations here. Elder Brady is taking a rest on the bench.
Look who is in town!! Rick and Belley caught the train and met us at IKEA. They arrived in Thailand the day before and were excited to spend some time with us. Originally, we had some plans to head to an Ancient City and maybe go to the beach, but they said they would be happy just hanging out and catching up and relaxing with us! Thailand is hot this time of year, so they were fine staying indoors with the cool AC and enjoy some time with us and some time at their hotel. So Saturday we basically went to lunch together! We sat and visited with them for quite a long time! It was lovely.
The sunset looked so beautiful from the window next to our apartment on the 5th floor. My iphone does not quite capture what I saw, but I am leaving this photo here for the memory!
Saturday evening we talked to Dawson (Kevin's son) and wished him a happy birthday!
Happy Birthday 9 year old! I am so thankful for technology and how we can stay connected to our children and grandchildren even though we are so far away! In fact, Michelle's daughter Jenna called me Sunday morning (Saturday evening for her) for a school assignment. She wanted to talk about the 80s decade! She asked me a lot of questions and it was fun answering her and remembering my life in the 80s! A lot happened for me in that decade!! I went from graduating high school, to college, to meeting and dating and getting married to my eternal companion (and current mission companion - haha), to becoming a mother and having our first 2 children! One thing that was fun to talk about was how different communication was back then. The thought that we could talk to each other and see each other's faces on the other side of the world was like SCIENCE FICTION!! We couldn't even call each other because it was so expensive! No texts! No emails! Just good old fashioned hand written letters! I do miss getting letters in the mail (which is probably why I still love Christmas cards!) but the crazy wonderful things we can do today is amazing! I love that I can talk to my children on the phone or via video anytime I want to! Well that was a tangent . . . wasn't it?! Haha!
So . . . where was I? Sunday! We talked to Jenna and then went to church. Rick and Belley came over and we fed them a spaghetti dinner. They brought us some Cinnabon! Yum! And we played Risk! Rick brought the game from the USA, to the Philippines, and on to Thailand! Thanks Rick! I was the biggest loser! I lost my strong hold on North America early on. John ended up conquering us all! He ruled the world and was very happy about it! Nobody was mad because he had just gotten out of the hospital. I am not saying we let him win ...
Sunday evening - another beautiful sunset. I zoomed in this time for you!
Monday morning workout. Same stairs. Same shirt.
Monday, Rick and Belle came over again and we ventured across the street to the building behind us (we walked under the street via the subway tunnels so we didn't have to dodge cars on the road).
We had lunch together at a little restaurant. We ate yummy Salmon Salad!
Rick and Belle came back over to our apartment and we watched a movie and visited some more!
We sure were happy to see them and so glad that they spent time with us in Thailand!
Tuesday we did a house inspection on line with Elders Guanuna and Hunt and I forgot to take a picture! We also headed back to the office and had a ton of work to do! So we did some catching up in the office.
Wednesday we did a house inspection with the Chonburi Elders!
Elders Kelly and DeLange did a fantabulous job!
Also on Wednesday, Sister Call and I headed out on an adventure! We often get packages for the missionaries that don't make it to our office, because they get stuck in customs. Usually, we can pay a small fee (or sometimes large fee) and the package will be delivered. But sometimes there are additional charges and issues. Sister Peterson had a package that was held up for months. Since she was supposed to pick it up in person, but could not do that based on where she is serving in the mission now, we gathered up signed permission letters and passports and all that was needed to try and pick up her package! The Customs Postal office was an hour plus away by subway, train, and walking to the final destination! And it was hot out! We were melting! We got there around 11am and then we had to jump through some hoops. They did not want to let us pick it up at first, but finally agreed it would be OK. We got a number and were told to sit and wait until we were called!
Well, our queue number was 31! As you can see on the screen in the background, they were on number 30! We were next and we were very excited to finally get Sister Peterson's package . . . and then we saw all the lights go off! And then we read the sign that said the office was closed for lunch! We had to wait another hour. Did I mention I was VERY HUNGRY??? And I was looking forward to leftover spaghetti back at the house?? I could feel my energy drain and I was maybe even feeling a little frustrated and HANGRY!!!
Fortunately, right next to the waiting area, there was a little stand that made fruit smoothies. We each bought a smoothie and Sister Call bought us some cookies. The Hanger left and the energy flowed back into our veins! We got back to sharing stories and sipping on our smoothies while we waited.
And at last, nearly 5 hours later, we had Sister Peterson's package. There was a huge storage fee and custom taxes that had to be paid (which gets taken out of the missionaries funds), but the mission was accomplished. Sister Peterson was very happy! Here we are waiting for a Grab ride home!
Wednesday, late afternoon, Elder Brady gave a patriarchal blessing to Elder Seesombat, one of our missionaries who was heading home from his 2 year mission on Thursday. That was a special experience. We will miss Elder Seesombat.
Thursday morning breakfast. Chocolate milk! There is this amazing chocolate milk you can buy at 7-11 here in Thailand. It is called Dutch Mill. And we discovered if you freeze it, it turns into soft serve chocolate ice cream! And it is the best breakfast "drink" ever! FYI - I ate some fruit too.
On our walk home, I noticed some workers painting over the graffiti on the walls near the bridge.
So I took a picture for you all to enjoy. I wonder how long the wall will stay clean?!
Elders Wingrove and Olson stopped by to say hello. And we said goodbye to Sister Cameron who is heading home to Australia! She is the first missionary we met in the MTC 15 months ago!!
Sisters Jasper and Sister Makilan stopped in the office to chat with us.
We talked for almost an hour!
Friday morning! Transfer day and new arrival training day! It is so good to see all of these happy faces!
Sisters Brunt, Lundberg, me, Peterson (proud owner of a long awaited for package), Allen (brand new sister missionary), Makilan, Zabala, and Jasper! Photo cred: Elder Richards (who did a selfie but did not include himself!)
Missionaries gather around to see who the new arrivals will be paired with.
Sister Allen will be trained by Sister Lundberg! And Elder Banana will be trained by Elder Hiatt!
Friday afternoon, Elder Brady and I wait at the Doctor's office for a report on his ultrasound. Good news - things are looking very good! Bloodwork, ultrasound, everything is heading in the right direction. There is still some inflammation and that explains some continued pain, but we feel your prayers and are so grateful that he is continuing to heal!
Home at last and we ran into these great Elders! Elder Htoo is back in Bangkok! Yay! His new companion is Elder Guanuna. Elder Hunt is leaving Bangkok and heading to Nong Khai!
And here is a picture with out my hair flying in my face!
And that wraps up this week!
Do you realize that we only have 5 transfers left???
Spoiler alert - I need to head up to our apartment and start packing!
We are moving tomorrow!
It is just down the hall to a bigger room - The Meekers from the West Mission are headed home and we are inheriting the bigger apartment! We are going to miss the Meekers!
We love you and we miss you!
Thanks for reading!
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