September 19 2016

Very colorful breakfast, don't you think.  This is one of Mom's favorite.  Watermelon, banana, juice of any kind, and toast with peanut butter and jelly.  She usually receives this in bed.  We always have watermelon and bananas on hand to eat.  The other fruits we get as they are in season and cheap.  Mangoes are especially delicious here.

This is all but licked clean.  Peanut butter is a little expensive but it is one of our staples that we have on hand for sandwiches or on toast or with crackers.

This is what you call companionship study.  this is Elder Shipp (red head) and Elder Sun.  Elder Shipp just arrived here this transfer.  He is a greenie.  This is really at our house on Monday P-day.  Elder Shipp was a little tired and he slept while we played games with the rest of the missionaries.  After a bit Elder Sun didn't want to feel left out so he joined him for a minute.

 The picture above and below is of a street market in the center of old Chiang Mai.  They block of numerous streets and vendors set up shop to sell their wares.  This is only done on Sunday evening starting at 4:00 pm until 10:00 pm.  We walked a little bit of it just to see how it was.  Loads of people and lots of interesting stuff.  Plenty of food to eat also.  No we didn't buy anything.
The picture to the right is a picture of the mailman.  They ride motorcycles.  They have bags that are draped over the seat on both sides.  The colors of the post office are like brown and reddish orange.  They wear a jacket even in the hot weather.

214 Kilometers 8 Sept 2016

In the process of helping the Elders today we went 214 kilometers.  We went north to the mountains to visit a member.  It was beautiful!  The following pictures are just half of the story of today.  The next post will have the rest of the story.
                                                 

This was the path to his little house.  He is in a wheel chair.  His wife works in a city that is about 2 hours to the south.  She goes on Monday and returns on Friday.  She fixes him all his meals over the weekend so all he has to do is put them in the microwave.  He takes care of all the yard that you see in these pictures.

          There's a little old house in the middle of the woods.  a little old man by the window stood. If we could have hung a hammock on his patio it would have been nap time.  a little fish pond just off the patio with running water.

This is the pathway from his house to the road coming in.  The house in the back is theirs also.

 This is the bigger pond that is on the side of the path.  We asked him if he caught fish and ate them.  He replied not very often because he was tired of fish.

 This was the stream that we had to cross to get to his place.  We drove through it.  It wasn't very deep but he said when it rained and the water rose you could not cross.  We left just as it was starting to rain.

This is what you saw as you crossed the stream and entered into the yard.  Pictures do not do it justice.

5 Sep 2016

This is one of the smaller billboards.  It is bigger than life though

They do have graffiti here also.  This is just on some random fence in front of an abandoned building.

In the background on the right you can see a brick wall.  This is one of the entrances into the old city.  They are called doorways into the city.

this is a building that is in the process of being built.  The scaffolding is bamboo tied together.

The 3 in front are a family being baptized.  The young man on the left is also being baptized.  The other four are those brethren that are going to do the baptism.  What a day.

This is part of the canal that goes all the way around Old Chiang Mai city.  It might look beautiful but the water is nasty.

There are little shops that sell or offer services.  The one
above also sells noodles and drinks.  The one on the right
sells all things related to Buddha.

Another shot of the canal.  The tree at the right was probably
there when I was here 45 years ago

This is a speed limit sign.
No one pays attention to them.

If you look in the background of this picture against the building, you will
see 10 machines where the motorcycle is.  These are ATMs.  They are
everywhere.  That is how everything is paid for here is with cash.

This sign was in a park.  In this park
you cannot have a dog, drink alcohol,
smoke, litter or sell anything.

This is a park to go walking and exercising in.  The bank of dirt on
the right is what is left of the outside wall of the city.  They had a
wall around the inner wall to give them more protection.  Outer wall,
canal, then the inner wall.

August 2016

An old temple on a hill buried in among the trees

The inside of this temple.  This was an old one and not kept up very well

We climbed up about 150 stairs and found this huge Buddha

the gong sounded throughout the forest

                                           

What a beautiful spot by the lake in Phayao with a beautiful lady

This is a traditional Thai instrument.  It is played with two sticks with padding on them.

The throne room.

The shower with water heater.

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.