Email from Ashley with first news from Thailand (May 18, 2011)

Hi everyone!

I've been trying to help Dad with something & this morning I got to talk to Mom & Dad
for about an hour on the phone!

They are both loving Thailand! Mom said it's been in the 90's & she is sweating on
one side of her face of course, but they love it.

They have a really nice condo in the middle of downtown Bangkok. It's on the 15th floor.

Their ward covers such a large area that they have dinner after church on Sundays for the
people who have to travel so far to get there. It makes you grateful to have a church so close!
They also have 6 Elders serving in their ward.

When they went to transfers they found out that their mission is broken up into areas that have
silly names given to them (by the Mission President I think). . . Bangkok is called the Beast.
And because Mom & Dad are in the middle of downtown, they were told that they live & serve
in the "belly of the beast". I thought that was pretty funny.

They've seen cockroaches at a restaurant while they were eating. The Elders they were with said,
"That's nothing. You should've seen the big rats we killed in our apartment!" It made Mom very
grateful for her beautiful condo.

They've been able to teach an English class & they have 2 appointments tomorrow at the
Employment Resource Center. Mom has a cheat sheet that she carries that helps her speak to the
taxi drivers, but when they start trying to really have a conversation, she gets stuck.
They were both so excited & just love being there!

Love, Ashley