October 24th Letter

So Hey family,

Hey so the best news of the week first, we had an investigator get interviewed for baptism and she passed she will be baptized on Sunday! Her name is "Eaw" It is pronounced like the word ow (like when you get hit and it hurts so you say ouch or ow.)

This week was crazy! I can't even explain it. All week long we have been doing nothing but flood stuff. Apparently the flood is coming to Bangkok. It has already come into north Bangkok and flooded it out. They had to evacuate all the missionaries out of the Bangkok North Zone and move them all to the esan (which is Thai for east Thailand). Anyway we have pretty much been buying food all week and water trying to save it so when the flood hits we will have stuff to eat and drink. One day President Smith called Elder Iverson and me and was like "right now is the time to buy water." So we immediately went out and bought a ton of water, and then seriously not even a full day later every single place was out of drinkable water. You still can't find any in like 7-11 or what not, no water at all. I thought it was a pretty inspired move by President to send us all out when he did.

Other then that we didn't get a whole lot done this week because of all the preparing and what not that we had to do. The transfers were supposed to be this week but now we are not having them for at least a whole other week but maybe even 2 or more. President canceled all the missionaries that were supposed to come in from the MTC so they are stuck there for a while. (I bet they are so disappointed! I remember what it was like with the riots going on and thinking that we might not be able to come in.) Anyway President decided to send all the missionaries that were supposed to finish this week home a week early because they weren't sure if the airport was going to flood. That means that one of the AP's went home and left Elder Larson all by himself to handle this flood garbage, I'm sure he so stressed.

Elder Iverson and I had a fun few days at the airport this week. We were asked to go and pick up a senior couple that was going home. They had to fly to Bangkok to get interviewed by President Smith and then take another flight to America with all the young missionaries. Anyway, Elder Iverson and I picked them up and took them to President Smiths hotel (yeah... he has to stay in a hotel because his house has/is flooded.) That was on Friday and then the next day we got an emergency phone call from Elder Larson. One of the senior couples flights that was flying in from the MTC accidentally didn't get cancelled so they had flown in and nobody was expecting them. So they sent us to pick them up, but when we got there we couldn't find them. They decided to leave the airport and go look for a church or a place to stay. Anyway we searched for hours but we didn't find them - Bangkok is a big city. It was such a stressful day. I'm not sure if they have been found yet. I think they went to church on Sunday and found some people or missionaries but i'm not sure.

It has been such a fast and crazy week. But even through all of that I still haven't seen any flood water. Elder Iverson and I are convinced it is a hoax. Everyone we talk to talks about the flood but we haven't seen any floods. It is just like one of those stories that you hear a lot about but never get to see with your own eyes.

So on top of all that I was able to do switch offs with Elder Osborne (my LOOG). Which was really cool. He has gotten so much better at the language since when I was with him, he is a way good missionary too. The Stake Conference was way fun. The speakers were from Salt Lake actually, it was Elder Scott and Bishop Burton, along with somebody from the Young Women's presidency and then Elder Perkens the general authority in China. It was good everybody had good talks about respecting our wives and about preparing for temples and personal revelation - we had a good time.

Umm... I haven't gotten the package yet because the office has flooded so their is no way to get there. But the marshmallow popcorn in the last package was really good. It tasted just like kettle corn to be honest with you. The movies this week are RV and Dumb and Dumber, and the theme is probably "Road Trip".

Yes mom I have seen a Thai wedding, at least part of one, it was wierd. They did it in a very western kind of way, but I think the typical Thai weddings are at the buddhist temples so I haven't seen one of those. If you ask me what I remember most about the wedding is that everyone (and I mean everyone) was way drunk. Alcohol is a huge problem in this world, but it seems it is 10 times worse in Thailand.

Umm... I don't have a whole lot more time so I will answer your questions about Halloween next week and then I will try and get the pictures of Thai kids as well. I love you guys.

P.S. You probably noticed I took money out of the account, that is just in case of an emergency and I run out of money. Don't forget, I am in good hands so don't worry.