Happy Birthday Riley!

It is hard to believe my "baby" is 21.

Where have the years gone...

He is in Thailand being a great missionary.

Here is an excerpt from his last letter...

..Man, being a missionary sure is marvelous.  This week was sick.  Highlights: Mr. Pump and taco night, Benny progressing like a maniac, and 13 investigators at church.

Mr. Pump at taco night: B. Suchard and his family invited us over for taco night.  He helped with the retranslation of the Thai Book of Mormon.  To get to his house we went to the market in Minburi to board a van or something that would take us to his neighborhood.  We asked this random cat where in the market we needed to go to get there, he didn't know so he asked truck driver for us.  We thought the truck guy said he could take us (apparently he didn't) so we jumped on.  As the truck was pulling away the random cat jumped on too.  As we drove along, E. Campbell started chatting with the random cat, turns out his name is Pump.  He invited Pump to taco night with us.  Pump accepted.  Well soon after the truck driver's wife gets out and asks where we are going, then starts yelling at us for getting on the wrong truck (easy lady, your husband said he'd take us).  So we get off and take a taxi to B. Suchard's house, in the meantime we learn that Pump is Christian already and studying a master's degree at a nearby university.  At first Pump felt pretty awkward, but he opened up as the night went on.  After enjoying the delicious tacos, we taught Pump the Restoration and B. Suchard shared his conversion story.  He told Pump that God had prepared a way for Pump to meet us.  B. Suchard told him it wasn't coincidence that we met Pump at the market and that he got on the same truck for unexplainable reasons.  We gave Pump a Book of Mormon and invited him to study for himself.  He showed genuine interest.  There is no way he isn't getting baptized.  Then we ate brownies and ice cream.  Nutshell: He went from Random Cat to Mr Pump at taco night with a restoration lesson in between.

Benny: Benny is progressing at space-rocket speed.  We met her 3 times this week, everytime she showed greater faith and understanding.  The last time we met her she told how she was thinking that morning and decided that prayer has to be two-way communication (Buddhist prayers are more like wishlists chanted into the air).  She realized that she needs to listen as she prays for God to answer her.  She just gets it.  She is ready, so I think we are going to move her date up to this weekend.  She, like Su, has faced lots of opposition.  She said her friend, the one that originally got her interested in Christianity just 9 days ago, has given her tons of anti-mormon crap.  She has also seen some stuff on the internet.  But her progress isn't slowed by the opposition at all!  She is great.

We had 13 progressers at church.  True Story.  We helped S. Ooy, who was just baptized, invite two of her neighbors to church.  They came, the only problem is they come from the mountains between Burma and Thailand and don't speak Thai very well.  But nothing stops those who have faith, so no worries.  This 15 year old kid, Non, who is friends with one of the Sisters' recent converts came too, we are trying to meet his dad.  Sawaeng and Bua didn't come, neither did the scooter family.  But we finally got a hold of the eternal marriage man who we couldn't contact for weeks and he came.  This nice woman who sells coconut ice cream on the corner who we started teaching came for the second time.  Then Su and her family came.  Ladies and Gents even the Burger Master came.  Nutshell: Sunday was great.

The Burger Master is hilariously eccentric.  He downloaded the Book of Mormon in German on his tablet.  It was in pdf format though so he couldn't choose books and chapters.  It was side-splitting watching him try to flip from 1 Nephi to Alma during Sunday School.  He didn't make it in time.  He also thinks that by downloading a teacher's manual for Gospel Doctrine class that he downloaded the secret edition of the Book of Mormon that only we, missionaries use.  Although he is a crack up, he has great faith in God.  We just need him to marry Su so they can be baptized.

Everything is great.  When I write these letters I feel like Mormon trying to abridge hundreds of years of records.  I can not write even a hundredth of what happens in a week here.  I guess it's good I don't hae to engrave my letters on plates...if  I did I'd limit it to this summarizing statement: Thailand is either hot or rainy. จบ...

It makes my day to read his letters and see the great work he is doing.

He is a fabulous missionary.

He is also a fabulous son!  Adds to the joy in our family!!

I can hardly wait for him to come home, we are on the homeward stretch.

Less than 6 months to go.

Woo Hoo!!

Happy Birthday Riley!