White Wat in Chiang Rai Thailand

I think this security guy just wanted to look tough.

There is so much beauty in all of the white, there had to be something for the kids to get their picture taken with.  Quite a contrast to the white.  Not sure what this figure represents.

                                 

7 August 2016

The Sisters came buy to make cookies.  The two Sisters on the left are Thais.  The one in the green dress is 30 years old.  She has finished school and ran a business before she came on her mission.  The one sister in the front in red is from Myanmar.  The one behind her is Korean.  She is from Canada.

We went to the mountains to see the sights.  This is a place that they grow cabbage.  Chinese cabbage and regular cabbage.  The Elder second from left is Elder Saunders.  He is the grandson of Glen and Marvetta.  Great missionary.  The back row is Elder Bunker, Orem, Elder Saunders, Elder Noyes, Syracuse, his parents just moved there, and Elder Joyem, a Thai.










This is how you shingle a roof for cheap.  Notice he is using an air gun to help.  If there is ever a problem with a leaky roof, you just take a section out and put some new in.  If you want a new roof each year so you can have a green roof, just go find some new leaves and there you go.
                                                             


Mom was practicing braking.  I ultimately would not let her go when I saw the hill they would come down.


























Swinging in the mountains in the cabbage patch.

Catching up

We had the opportunity of going to this national park for a senior missionary conference.  It was a great time to be away from all the hustle and bustle.  There are 9 missionary couples in the Thailand Bangkok Mission.  2 couples serve in Laos and one couple in Myanmar.  One couple serves in Eastern Thailand, 4 couples in the service center in Bangkok, and us in northwestern Thailand.  We stayed in a very nice hotel

This is a view of the grounds and some of the buildings that you can stay in.  It has an old English theme.  We stayed here for 2 days.  It was good to receive counsel from President Johnson and to discuss what everyone is doing and how they are doing it.  We do not get to see these couples very often.  Maybe once every few months.



























This is a view from inside the national park looking towards the valley that we stayed in.  It is very lush and green.  It is the rainy season so we are getting plenty of water right now.  We were able to go on a night safari one of the nights.  It was nice to get in the back of a pickup and go out with a spot light to see what animals could be found.  We saw a lot of deer and quite a few other animals that are hard to explain because I have never seen them before.  They were the size of raccoons and large cats.  There were elephants but they do not come out at night.

        Taking it easy in the park.  This is a bench to take a rest on the way to the waterfall.  Looks like Sister Barlow is give out in this one!

                                                                

14 July 2016

The work is going great.  It is the rainy season.  Here in Chiang Mai it is comfortable.  The surroundings are very green.  The rice is growing and the fruit is plentiful.



We have had some opportunities to go to different parts of Thailand to take care of mission business.  Recently we went to the eastern part of Thailand to reorganize a branch.  The mission president and the first counselor were at a District conference in Bangkok and the president asked me to go and take care of the reorganization.  What an experience.  It sure strengthens your testimony as to who is in charge of His work.  It was a great experience for the District president to go through this process.  It was his first time to be on the other side of the desk asking the questions.

These are some rice fields on the way to the branch that we reorganized

This is the city that we went to in eastern Thailand

This is what some of the roads looked like after a rain storm one morning.  The drainage system is not the best and when you have a massive rain storm, it just does not handle that amount of water.




This was a painting in an art museum that we went to in Khao Yai.  It had a label something to do with facebook.  It is very appropriate for Thailand.  Everyone is on a device of some kind.

 Chillin' at the waterfall

This is us swinging in the cabbage field on top of the mountain

In the gardens of the Summer Palace

At the art museum

We have been blessed to be here.  We have had our struggles but the good out weighs the bad.  We have had many opportunities to help teach and see the work grow here.  We have taught people from Iran and people from China.  We love it here!!!!

June 8

These are random pictures of things and places that you see on the way to church.  Temples and lots of little places to eat

This is during fast and testimony meeting.  There was a member from Japan that wanted to share his testimony.  He could speak English some, but there happened to be a visitor that had served her mission in Japan.  He spoke in Japanese, she translated to English, and the one in the suit translated to Thai.

May 23, 2016

This is the best massaman curry you will ever have. It has carrots and potatoes and chicken legs and all kinds of good spices.

This is a house that is close by our housing area. They were moving and this is what the framework looks like.

A member made these two serpents. They are made from saw dust. He mixed it with glue and then formed them. Then he carved them.

This is a fruit. Very colorful. It is a bitter melon. When they start to get a little soft, they are ready to eat. Have not tasted one yet.

This is a tree at the entrance to the church. Very colorful with orange flowers. It just keeps blooming right now.

May 19, 2016

One of the hundreds of temples here in Chiang Mai.  This is a small one compared to others. 

This is Brother Somsayam.  It was quite the opportunity to Baptize him after teaching him 45 years ago.

This is the Post Office closest to the church.  This one is 3 stories tall.  Brother Somsayam above that was just baptized recently retired from the Post Office as a manager.  Quite the connection between me and him.

The work is going great.  It is very hot here right now.  It is the hottest in 70 years.  They need water.  We are a few weeks from when the rainy season starts.  the rain will be a welcome relief from the hot.  Our power bill has been a bit high due to the air running the whole time we are in the house and all night so you can sleep.  The food is great, especially the fruit.  Watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, grapes, litchi, rambuton, oranges, bananas, dragon fruit, apples.  We mostly cook at home.  The Elders and sisters eat out most everyday because it is easier and doesn't cost very much.  We have more time than they do to fix food.