AIT #12: February 5, 2003
Sorry I wasn't able to write last week -- the e-mail servers were down. On Tuesday we got the fateful call of who was moving: Elder Nelson (outside of Bangkok), Elder Suttiphong (outside of Bangkok), and Elder Rock (in Bangkok). Wednesday we went to the immigration office to renew the visas for Elder Rock, Elder Nelson, and me. Most of my MTC district was there. I never thought I'd get to see all of them so often, but I guess that's what happens when you're in Bangkok. :)
Thursday we went up to moves at the Pakkret chapel at 6:30 a.m. Elder Nelson moved to Udorn and has a Thai companion, Elder Praseard. Elder Suttiphong moved to Khon Kaen and is companions with Elder Romashko. Elder Rock moved to Din Daeng and is companions with Elder Holman (I think). A few other people in my district moved, too -- Elder Applegate (to Chiang Mai), Sister Craner (to Chiang Mai as well), Elder Orrock (to Bangnaa), and Elder Lo (to Thonburi South). My new companion is Elder Serrao, who moved here from Ayutthaya. He's the new zone leader, which meant we had to stay at moves for ZLTM (zone leader training meeting). All the zone leaders' companions stayed at the church while the zone leaders went to President Slater's house for the meeting. Lots of my MTC friends (Elder Applegate, Elder McLelland, Elder Walker, Elder Hamblin) were ZL companions also and so we stuck around for quite a few hours together. Elder Walker and I went out proselyting for a couple of hours, walking around Muang Thong Thani (the area around the office). We didn't know the area at all, so it was interesting. :) Near the end of the two hours, we walked down a khlong path to talk with a man we saw. As we walked up to him, his dogs scrambled up to us and a rather large one opened its salivating jaws, latching onto my ankle. Luckily it let go immediately and miraculously didn't pierce through anything. So I can finally say I've been bitten by a dog. ;)
So, when we got back to Bangkapi later that afternoon, we dropped all of Elder Serrao's stuff off and went out proselyting. Elder Stevenson and Elder Christiansen are both trainers (for their final six weeks in Thailand), training Elder Houston (from Phoenix, Arizona) and Elder Gould (from Morristown, New Jersey), respectively. It's fun seeing greenies and thinking back to what it was like when I first got here, three months ago. Time sure flies by. Oh, Elder Serrao trained Elder Bloom (from my MTC district) in Ayutthaya. Small world. :)
On Friday we decided to walk instead of riding our bikes. Took the bus down to our first appointment and then walked all afternoon. I'd forgotten that blisters exist. :) It was a lot of fun, though. We talked with one old man who was making a fish net. Very neat. It only costs 30 or 40 baht for the supplies to make one. Hmm, next preparation day I'm not doing much... Just kidding -- it usually takes months to make a net. I'm thinking I may buy a goldfish, though. Oh, Friday morning we had to take Elder Nelson's bike to the Raw Saw Paw, a shipping company that transfers missionaries' bikes from province to province.
Saturday we had DLTM at the church. I took the two greenies out to find people to teach. I found out that we ride an average of 30-35 km a day, not 10-15. (I finally figured out how to work my speedometer. :)) We went to the office yesterday for interviews with President Slater. Oh, it's now a requirement to study the gospel for an extra half-hour each day, usually during our breaks. I was very, very excited about that -- I wanted to do it anyway, but now that it's mandatory, I don't have to make excuses anymore. ;) I finished Basic 2 last Monday and Basic 3 this morning, so I can finally study reading and writing. Very excited about that.
Did I mention that Bunying was smoking 60 cigarettes a day before he quit? I think that's a lot. :) He and his wife quit drinking coffee last week as well. He's getting baptized on Sunday, and Tu will probably be baptized not long after. We still don't know what's happening with the Korat thing. He finished reading the whole Book of Mormon last week.
There was a drug bust and shootout in one of the neighborhoods we work in, apparently last week. Someone was killed, according to the guard who tried to get us to leave. (We were talking with an old man in that neighborhood the other night and the guard rode up on a bike, then stopped next to us. He told us what had happened and recommended that we leave.) We did leave, of course. The other day I was riding along and a little girl who was playing in the street jumped out in front of me. Angels must have helped me brake, since I wasn't expecting it at all, and miraculously my bike stopped mere millimeters before her. It would have been awful had I hit her.
For those who are wondering, we can write e-mail once a week to our families, on Wednesdays. We can only use the Internet for an hour a week, which is why we often say we're pressed for time. At the immigration office a man walked up to us and asked if they would be playing President Bush's announcement there. We had no idea what he was talking about, since we don't watch TV or read the newspapers. Sounds like World War III is brewing. Apparently there was a skirmish in Cambodia, involving someone blowing up the Thai embassy, but people have been saying it's all settled down.
Out of time. It's getting hotter here. The work is going really well and we're working quite hard. I love Thailand and missionary work and this gospel. :) Take care and have a great day! :-)
Thursday we went up to moves at the Pakkret chapel at 6:30 a.m. Elder Nelson moved to Udorn and has a Thai companion, Elder Praseard. Elder Suttiphong moved to Khon Kaen and is companions with Elder Romashko. Elder Rock moved to Din Daeng and is companions with Elder Holman (I think). A few other people in my district moved, too -- Elder Applegate (to Chiang Mai), Sister Craner (to Chiang Mai as well), Elder Orrock (to Bangnaa), and Elder Lo (to Thonburi South). My new companion is Elder Serrao, who moved here from Ayutthaya. He's the new zone leader, which meant we had to stay at moves for ZLTM (zone leader training meeting). All the zone leaders' companions stayed at the church while the zone leaders went to President Slater's house for the meeting. Lots of my MTC friends (Elder Applegate, Elder McLelland, Elder Walker, Elder Hamblin) were ZL companions also and so we stuck around for quite a few hours together. Elder Walker and I went out proselyting for a couple of hours, walking around Muang Thong Thani (the area around the office). We didn't know the area at all, so it was interesting. :) Near the end of the two hours, we walked down a khlong path to talk with a man we saw. As we walked up to him, his dogs scrambled up to us and a rather large one opened its salivating jaws, latching onto my ankle. Luckily it let go immediately and miraculously didn't pierce through anything. So I can finally say I've been bitten by a dog. ;)
So, when we got back to Bangkapi later that afternoon, we dropped all of Elder Serrao's stuff off and went out proselyting. Elder Stevenson and Elder Christiansen are both trainers (for their final six weeks in Thailand), training Elder Houston (from Phoenix, Arizona) and Elder Gould (from Morristown, New Jersey), respectively. It's fun seeing greenies and thinking back to what it was like when I first got here, three months ago. Time sure flies by. Oh, Elder Serrao trained Elder Bloom (from my MTC district) in Ayutthaya. Small world. :)
On Friday we decided to walk instead of riding our bikes. Took the bus down to our first appointment and then walked all afternoon. I'd forgotten that blisters exist. :) It was a lot of fun, though. We talked with one old man who was making a fish net. Very neat. It only costs 30 or 40 baht for the supplies to make one. Hmm, next preparation day I'm not doing much... Just kidding -- it usually takes months to make a net. I'm thinking I may buy a goldfish, though. Oh, Friday morning we had to take Elder Nelson's bike to the Raw Saw Paw, a shipping company that transfers missionaries' bikes from province to province.
Saturday we had DLTM at the church. I took the two greenies out to find people to teach. I found out that we ride an average of 30-35 km a day, not 10-15. (I finally figured out how to work my speedometer. :)) We went to the office yesterday for interviews with President Slater. Oh, it's now a requirement to study the gospel for an extra half-hour each day, usually during our breaks. I was very, very excited about that -- I wanted to do it anyway, but now that it's mandatory, I don't have to make excuses anymore. ;) I finished Basic 2 last Monday and Basic 3 this morning, so I can finally study reading and writing. Very excited about that.
Did I mention that Bunying was smoking 60 cigarettes a day before he quit? I think that's a lot. :) He and his wife quit drinking coffee last week as well. He's getting baptized on Sunday, and Tu will probably be baptized not long after. We still don't know what's happening with the Korat thing. He finished reading the whole Book of Mormon last week.
There was a drug bust and shootout in one of the neighborhoods we work in, apparently last week. Someone was killed, according to the guard who tried to get us to leave. (We were talking with an old man in that neighborhood the other night and the guard rode up on a bike, then stopped next to us. He told us what had happened and recommended that we leave.) We did leave, of course. The other day I was riding along and a little girl who was playing in the street jumped out in front of me. Angels must have helped me brake, since I wasn't expecting it at all, and miraculously my bike stopped mere millimeters before her. It would have been awful had I hit her.
For those who are wondering, we can write e-mail once a week to our families, on Wednesdays. We can only use the Internet for an hour a week, which is why we often say we're pressed for time. At the immigration office a man walked up to us and asked if they would be playing President Bush's announcement there. We had no idea what he was talking about, since we don't watch TV or read the newspapers. Sounds like World War III is brewing. Apparently there was a skirmish in Cambodia, involving someone blowing up the Thai embassy, but people have been saying it's all settled down.
Out of time. It's getting hotter here. The work is going really well and we're working quite hard. I love Thailand and missionary work and this gospel. :) Take care and have a great day! :-)
posted by Ben at 3:36 PM
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