TBM - Amazing Thailand (part deux)

Hello from Bangkok, Today I'm sending you some photos that I hope you'll find interesting.  There's no central theme.  These are just some of my favorites from our recent activities.  Please don't think that all we do is play over here.  I just never have a camera while we're working! There are two twins from the local branch that have learned traditional Thai dancing.  It takes them 4 hours to get ready for a show.  Their mom has to sew them into their costumes.  Here they are: Ping Ping & Pong Pong I wish you could hear the music that accompanies these photos! Here's a shot Sister Lindorf took.  How many elephants can you find? Missionaries get hungry This is not what we were eating, but for some - this is dinner. Here's a closer look It reminds me of something from Fear Factor, but I guess there are people who consider these a delicacy.  And lots more fun if you don't have to catch your own! Here are a couple scooter shots.  Notice the reflector on the back of his bike.  I knew those old CDs were good for something.  Watch out AOL. We've been trying to get a good shot of 4 on a scooter, but so far, this is the best we've been able to come up with.  The Family Scooter Since everyone takes shoes off when entering a home in Thailand, our host's children took the opportunity to 'arrange' the guests' shoes for an 'easy take-off'. Where's Waldo? Long day at church Here's a flower for you growing on the side of the road Let's see, do we have these at home? Hope you have a great week. Elder & Sister Lindorf

TBM - Bits and Pieces

BITS AND PIECES FROM THE LAST FEW WEEKS Greetings and love from Thailand! We have a new Mission President and family.  Pres Dodge was a missionary here 30 years ago and his Thai has come back miraculously!   They have brought their daughter, Amber, who is a sophomore in High School. As soon as they arrived, Pres Dodge and his family went on a whirlwind, 3-day Mission Tour, in order to meet all the missionaries before transfers.  In each of the meetings, he had every companionship stand, and then each one had to introduce his/her companion to the Dodges.  It was great, because a companion will say things about you that you would never say about yourself.  Even though I know my companion would never say this about himself, in the spirit of great companionships, I'm going to share with you what I told them that day.  "Elder Lindorf is my FAVORITE companion!  He is tireless in his service to the Lord.  If he didn't simply drop to sleep eventually every night, he would never stop serving.  I just hold on and try to keep up!  Also, he deeply loves the scriptures.  He faithfully reads his scriptures every morning, before he allows himself to do anything else.  They are a top priority of each day.  And he can turn anything we need to do into an ADVENTURE!"  Wahoo! Pres and Sister Hansen wrote to us and said that as part of their Sacrament Meeting Report, they had all the Return Missionaries in the audience come up and sing Called to Serve in Thai.  What a wonderful sight that must have been!  Every 3 weeks, we have the opportunity to join with about 50 missionaries and sing Called to Serve in Thai to our Lord!  We raise the rafters!  (…in a good way.)  I know that will always be one of the highlights of our mission.  It's an exhilarating, spiritual experience that can't be duplicated in any other way!  We just received a new Senior Couple to the Mission who have served 2 previous missions to Zimbabwe.  We have loved hearing their stories, which have helped us appreciate how good we've got it here!  And, now, we have 5 more Senior Couples "on deck," who'll be coming in over the next few months.  Speaking of Zimbabwe, our friends from Provo, the Jenkins, just reported on their mission to that country as Mission President and beloved companion.  In commenting on some of the challenges in their living conditions, they noted that during their 3 years they killed 13 cobras and were robbed 5 times. Recently, two of our Senior Couples have had to go home a little early with health problems.  It strengthens our faith daily to work alongside such faith and courage.  Some of those still here, work through difficult health on an ongoing basis.  But at FHE recently, we were each bearing our testimonies, and they said that even with health challeneges, THERE IS NO PLACE THEY WOULD RATHER BE!.  The fire in there eyes as they expressed this conviction sunk deep into my soul. Speaking of challenges, our young missionaries are not immune.  We have one dear Sister whose mother passed away, night before last.  Fortunately, the Mission Department got in touch with Pres Dodge, and she was able to call her mom from the mission home and say a parting good-bye.  Pres and Sister Dodge were both there to bless and strengthen her.  We love her dearly and pray for her daily. Some of you may remember an appeal I sent out about 6 months ago for a native Thai missionary currently serving, Sister Kornwika.  Well, our dear friends, Dave and Sabrina O'very, are sponsoring her to come to the USA and study in the ESL program at BYU.  However, yesterday she had her visa interview at the US Embassy and she was turned down!  Where most people get their visas after a brief, 5 minute interview, they questioned her for 30 minutes.  The bottom line was that they couldn't quite swallow the fact that a family in the United States, who had never met her, would be willing to give her such an opportunity.  I think they thought it was some kind of a cover up story for fleeing the country.  We are working through it and would appreciate your prayers in her behalf. Elder Lindorf's Dad is in the hospital again.  This makes 4 times in the 10 months we've been here.  We pray that he will be blessed and strengthened.  We hope to be with him again at the end of our mission.  Here he is, showing off his new tie made for him by his great-grandkids. We just received the latest pictures of our newest grandbaby, Jane, showing her all fat and happy at 2 months old!  This is a particular joy, since she has struggled to gain weight since her birth.  But through lots of work from her parents and lots of prayers, she is now beginning to thrive.  We are so thankful the Lord has blessed her so much! We are on lesson 5 in our Temple Preparation Class.  Wow, are they getting excited!  Last week's lesson was on symbols and how everything in the Temple is symbolic.  We discussed, as examples, the symbolism of the temple itself and the white clothing we wear inside.  It was wonderful!  (The monks here, wear orange robes  …quite a contrast.)  Thais are so naturally curious, almost in a childlike way, that they ask questions about everything.  It generates lots of lively discussion and lots of piqued anticipation.  We are looking at Sep or Oct for our Temple trip. It is always a glorious privilege to be part of this great gathering process.  The Lord's Kingdom IS being built!  As to our little part in that building, I'll close with Elder Lindorf's line that he says each Monday morning, "Hey! We get to go back to work again!"  God bless you! Our hearts are filled with love for you! Sister and Elder Lindorf

TBM - Over the River and through the WOODS!

Greetings from Thailand, Some of you know the Woods family from Price, Utah that came to visit us a few weeks ago.   They wanted to see Thailand for themselves - up close and personal.  We spent an amazing weekend together.   I'd like to give you a peek into some of Thailand's treasures outside of Bangkok. The Floating Market Vendors and customers go from boat to boat up and down the river. Have you ever heard of Palm Sugar?  The syrup drips from these blossoms. They boil off the water and form the crystals into these little cakes. Thais are famous for their wood carving.  It's amazing what they can do with a chisel and a piece of hardwood. Even more amazing is the beautiful inlaid designs This lady is beating wood pulp to be made into paper They put the pulp in the water then gather a thin layer on each screen.  This is how it turns out.  Anyone for exotic animals?  This is a real Cobra with venom. In this next picture, the trainer catches two poisonous snakes, one in each hand, then bites a third right behind the head - so he's carrying it in his teeth - while he does a flip into the water with all three snakes!  What some people will do for a living! Scorpion Lady Asians wear flip flops doing just about everything - but rock climbing too!  So Nate, tell me again why you needed those $100 shoes? We also had fun with the monkeys Sister Lindorf is being counseled in grooming methods Sawasdee Khreb! Come to Thailand and we'll share a weekend with you! Best Wishes, Elder and Sister Lindorf

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TBM - Trang

Hello again, This week I'd like to share with you our train trip to the South of Thailand to visit Trang Province.  We had business there, but we also had a lot of fun - Pday included. At our hotel there was a UNESCO presentation on bringing sustainable educational and vocational resources to Thailand to help the people help themselves.  We met the Governor of Trang Province and the Mayor of Trang City.  Unfortunately, they were so busy taking our pictures for the newspaper, that we don't have a picture of them! There is only one faithful member of the Church in Trang who has lived there with almost no contact other than church magazines and an occasional visit for the past 17 years.  She joined the Church in the North, but had to move back to her hometown to care for her aged mother.  The nearest Church members are 5 hours away by bus.  Her name is Yindee and she is seated next to Sister Lindorf  in  the picture: Her friend is not a member (yet) but runs a Nursing College in Trang.   We arranged to teach English to her students one of the days we were there.  It was a lot of fun and the girls were eager to learn. We also did a little sightseeing in the vicinity.  Have you ever been to a rubber plantation?  Did you know the stuff they make tires out of is white, not black when it comes out of the trees? Here is a rubber tree oozing latex.  It is collected in a tiny cup hanging from each tree and gathered every morning. After some minor processing, the raw material is rolled into sheets and sold to rubber producers to make a variety of goods. Have you ever seen how Cashews grow?  It's no wonder they're expensive.  The Cashew nut is inside the brown shell growing at the top of the blossom.  Only ONE nut per apple sized  fruit. Although this is the 'rainy season' we had some beautiful beaches to visit. Notice the unusual patterns in the sand.  These are made by some kind of crab.  Here's a closer look: I've been to a lot of beaches all over the world and I've never seen anything like this! These beaches are on the Indian Ocean and were hit by the tsunami of 2004.  There are signs now to warn people to head to higher ground.   There is dense jungle nearby with a suspension canopy.  This is not for the faint hearted! Blue Fern We were able to hold church services with Yindee on Sunday and she was extremely grateful.  It was a good experience for us all.   Everyone we met in Trang was extremely friendly and open.  It would be a great place to serve a Senior Mission if we just had a few more Senior Missionaries! In Myanmar, and Laos (also in our Mission) Senior LDS Charities Missionaries have organized branches of the church with over 100 members each in countries where we are not even allowed to proselyte.  All of this interest has been initiated through the English teaching program.    We are having such an amazing experience here.  I know I've told you that about every week - but it's TRUE!   We are so happy to be here.  Whoever said "Service is its own reward" was correct.  It's the BEST! All our best to you, Elder & Sister Lindorf

TBM - God minister to our need

Dearest Family and Friends, Thank you, so much, for your tender and loving responses to our email mission updates.  You bless our work and fill us with your love and encouragement.  God bless you! As you may have heard, Jessie, our youngest daughter, just had her first baby.  Jane Ellertson was born May 12th, and we are so grateful for God's blessings in her behalf.  She was blessed today, and we have already read and seen beautiful accounts of this treasured event.  Well, this week, I'd like to share with you some very tender experiences surrounding her birth, and a testimony of how God truly ministers to our needs. There are many sacrifices that you make to go on a mission, but none seem as great as being absent for family times.  While I feel those sacrifices keenly, I have noticed that God blesses me so that I don't feel the pain.  I feel the sacrifice, but not the pain.  However the day that Jane was born, I felt great pain.  Part of it was for Jessie, I know.  It was so hard to not be at her side.  Every particle of my being yearned to be there; to share, to love, to bless.  But I was not.  I went to work that morning suffering in mind and spirit, praying fervently for the Lord to bless the delivery and to comfort my soul.  It happened that the Mission Office was very quiet that morning.  In fact we only had the two office couples there, which meant there were no Thai speakers.  After a little while, a group of Thai people came in the front door.  I went out to greet them and help them as best I could.  They were all happily chatting in Thai, and I soon figured out that they were a group of extended family.  They obviously were comfortable waiting for someone, and didn't really need my help.  So I just quietly observed them, allowing the familial love to wash over my aching soul.  Soon, one of the District Presidents came in, and I found out that he was going to be borrowing President Hansen's office to interview several family members.  They were preparing for a family trip to the Hong Kong Temple.  Again, I silently thanked the Lord for giving me this sweet scene, as it brought me comfort and joy.  As the various members went to and fro from the office, I too found myself going to and fro from my desk to the foyer.  As my heart was heaving great tears on the inside, on the outside I was watching and loving this sweet family.  Then, out of the blue, a young woman from the group (about Jessie's age) walked right up to me.   With no greeting or prelude, and in perfect English, she asked simply, "Would you like to hold my baby?"  God sent me this sweet angel of a woman and her beautiful little boy, and my pain was assuaged.  My yearning arms were soothed in such a sweet, personal way, that only Heavenly Father could have orchestrated.   My heavy heart was healed, as my prayer of gratitude flew heavenward. Now that you've heard my side of this sweet miracle, would you like to hear a little bit of Jessie's side?  Today, at Jane's baby blessing, Jessie bore her testimony.  My sister, Cindy, was there and wrote to me about it.  I would like to share a quote from her letter.  "Today we went to Jane's baby blessing.  Your daughter offered a very sweet testimony.  She talked about the responsibility she feels as a parent to teach and rear Jane unto the Lord and how there is not anything more important that she could be doing with her life.  She then bore her testimony of missionary work.  She talked about the Spirit that has sustained her for her entire pregnancy and the birth of Jane.  The Spirit and other people have filled in the gap during her parents' absence.  She discussed how difficult it was to have you half way around the world, but she bore witness that she had a testimony of the importance of the work that you are doing in Thailand.  Her sincerity and love towards you and your mission was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes." I want to leave with you my testimony, that the Lord knows, loves, and ministers to each of us individually.  He is the author and finisher of all that is good in our lives.  And I know that whenever we sacrifice for Him, He will pour out personally chosen blessings upon our heads.  I know this to be true. All my love, Sister Lindorf

TBM - More Fun from Thailand !!

Hello Family and Friends, Today I'm going to share some more 'local flavor' from this wonderful country that's so endearing to us.  We're growing to love it here more and more each day. If you think it's hot where you are, notice the three vehicles on the right shown parked in the picture below.  Each one has it's wipers extended to keep the rubber from melting onto the glass - and they're parked in the shade! The truck that's parked blocking them is another great Thai tradition.  When ever there isn't anymore room in a parking lot, it's perfectly acceptable to block other cars as long as you leave your car in neutral so it can be pushed out of the way.  It happens everywhere. It's considered 'chic' to use English in advertising.  Thais love to learn and use English and our weekly classes are very popular all over Thailand.  Here's an advertising slogan that didn't translate too well.  I think they were trying to say 'GO BANANAS!' We visited the Grand Palace on one of our recent outings.  Here is a shot of one of the scenes painted on the walls.  These hand painted murals line the walkway around the perimeter of the grounds.  They depict various historical events, do not duplicate each other and stretch for over a thousand yards.  The detail is amazing. Here I am with a couple of new friends I met at the Palace. We also visited the Elephant Museum.  It's hard to capture in a picture how large this structure is.  Visitors get to go up inside the elephant. The next pictures are taken inside the BASE of the structure.  They didn't allow photography inside the Elephant, but there is an elevator that runs up and down one leg and stairways that run in the other legs. That's about all I can show you, but inside the belly of the beast, there's a large room with constellations painted on the ceiling like you might see in the night sky.  Very amazing.  We went up the elevator and down a spiral stairwell inside the back leg.  The walls are all hand painted murals.  Sorry I couldn't take pictures of them. This dragon is on the grounds at the same site.  That's one way to get more water into the air! This next picture you'll recognize, I think!  This is my favorite attraction in Thailand. Have a great week! Elder & Sister Lindorf