Happy Halloween from Thailand!  Nobody celebrates Halloween here.   Except for us. The senior missionaries (they are the best) are throwing a Halloween Party for us and the ward members tonight. 

Highlights from this week:

     One night when we were riding back to our house, we were about to cross a small bridge that was over a small canal, but it was blocked. A man was walking his baby elephant across it.  That's not something you see every day!

   

 After I sent my last email, the four of us missionaries and the Larsons (the senior missionary couple) crammed into their car and drove an hour to some waterfalls. We got lost at one point since the directions were awful, but we found a really sweet glassy lake in the middle of nowhere, and got some sweet pictures. Then after about an hour of searching we found the "waterfalls." They were very small, but it was really cool to see. I also saw a worm about a foot long while walking to the falls.  

     I bought a basketball so that the four of us missionaries could play basketball during exercise time in the morning: which means I could run! When we got there the next morning, we got on the basketball courts, and I saw a massive paved road, where numerous runners/walkers/bikers were enjoying it. And guess what? I can't run on it. Mission rules state that I have to be within sight and sound of my companion. Oh well. I just ran around the three big basketball courts, and it wasn't that bad. I'm just glad I get to run. First time I have run in a month, and I was winded after 30 minutes. 

     The other day, Elder Cecil and I were eating at an outdoor restaurant. The food was amazing as always, but there were flies all around us, and it was getting really annoying. Elder Cecil said he had enough, and killed six flies in the next five minutes. After that it seems like all those flies were either dead or flew away in fear. A few days later at the same restaurant, I finished my dinner early, and I started killing some flies, and ended up killing 14. 

     

Tuk Tuk

Elder Cecil and I took a Tuk Tuk out in the countryside to teach a member, who hasn't been to church in a while. It was really cool to see, and it reminded me a lot of Battleground, Indiana, how it was in the open, and was really quiet. 

     Every morning, I eat two scrambled eggs for breakfast. One day, I was running out of eggs, so my companion and I biked over to the egg stand, and I bought 80 eggs for about six dollars. I'm set for the next month! The scariest part was trying to bike home, with two bags of eggs on each handlebar. Luckily none broke. 

     Since I play piano, I get to play every Sunday in church. Also, in a few weeks for the 50th anniversary cultural celebration, I got assigned to play seven piano pieces for that. My parents would be proud. And guess what? I get to go to Udon on Thursday for a mission tour conference (my mom served there!), so I get to accompany a sister missionary on the piano while she plays violin. It is SUPER hard, and I have three more days to learn it.  Challenge accepted.

Spiritual thought of the week:

     I started not feeling very well one day, and I was achy and fatigued. While we were teaching a recent convert and her friends at a restaurant, it rained outside. A lot. Luckily the rain stopped, and we biked home to get a few things. When we got home, it rained hard again, and I was still feeling sick and fatigued, and feeling a little down. Then my companion mentioned how it was neat how we didn't get soaked while being outside, and how that was a hidden blessing.  I then remembered reading a church book "True to the Faith" and on the subject of gratitude, it says that we should be more grateful in our lives. I was fine the next day, and now I feel great. Then I remembered that I am physically and worthily able to serve a mission, and have so many blessings in my life. Also, my companion had a frustrating day the other day, because he felt like we wasted a day due to teaching very few lessons to people. A few days later at church four people who haven't been to church in a few months showed up. 

     If you ever are feeling down on yourself, have gratitude. I see many people here in Surin living in poor conditions, yet they are grateful. I thank Heavenly Father every day that I am a missionary, and that I am able to serve the people of Thailand, and they continue to help and bless me too. 

     Have a fantastic day, and be grateful!

Elder Brinkerhoff