My last P day, I got to go to Bangkok and go bowling with Elder and Sister Larson, and a bunch of other missionaries. Loads of fun. 

     I got to do switch-offs with some of the missionaries in Bangkok. It rained. A lot. And we had to go see a church member in an apartment, and since the irrigation system in Bangkok is so awful, we had to take off our shoes, and wade through the water up to our ankles, to get to their apartment. I just hope I don't contract any disease. 

     Elder Fukino and I were walking past the Monkey Buddhist temple where most of the monkeys hang out, and where all the tourists go to when a tour bus pulled up, and a group of tourists came out. It was the most stereotypical group of tourists I have ever seen. All middle-aged, all had cameras, all of that. When the monkeys came out, all of them pulled out their cameras and took photos. 

     The four of us missionaries and some members ate at a Shabu Buffet together, and then Elder Tone (the Burmese missionary) said, "Man, I am getting fat! I need to go running!" Those words were music to my ears. Elder Tone usually sleeps during exercise time, and he never told me that he likes to go running. So now, we are running every morning. I'm happy that we get to do it, but now the problem is that my endurance is pretty much gone. 

     Elder Fukino and I were going to visit a church member, and she wasn't at her house. It was the middle of the afternoon, and very hot and humid out and we were sweating bullets. We decided to walk through some neighborhoods, and find people interested in hearing the gospel message. We turned into a random street, and ran into a man and started talking to him. He then told us that someone gave him some red colored Christian book a few years back. Books of Mormon (Is that grammatically correct?) are blue, so I thought it was another church that gave him a Christian book. Later he took us to his house, and he pulled out an old blue-colored Book of Mormon. He said that some missionaries gave him that book 10 years ago. He said that he enjoys reading some of the stories in that book, and would like to know more about the book.  Not a coincidence, a miracle. 

Shoutout to my good friend Preston Seymour to getting his mission call to Peru.

-Elder Brinkerhoff

Monkeys, Monkeys Everywhere

     

     Hello from the Monkey City. 

     Things are going well here, and I am all settled in Lopburi.

     Last Wednesday night, I packed up all my stuff and the next morning I met up with all the missionaries that were going to be transferred in Bangkok. I was looking for my new companion but then turns out he was still in Lopburi, and I would be going with Elder Tone (The Burmese missionary) to Lopburi, to meet our new companions. Then an older Thai couple with a truck came to Elder Tone and said that they were driving us to Lopburi (A few hours north of Bangkok). They treated us like we were family, despite us just meeting them. After going to Lopburi, these extremely nice church members took Elder Tone and I to lunch, then took us to our house to meet our new companions. I met Elder Tone's new companion, who is half Thai.  Looks like I am the only white guy in the house. Should be fun. 

     My new companion is Elder Fukino, he is Japanese-Hawaiian from Hawaii. Funny thing is, that we were in the same house together when I was in my greenie area (Surin), so I already know him. It's really fun to serve with him.

     I love being in a four-elder house. Because if you have a companion on the quiet side, you got two other fun missionaries to be around as well! And it's double the fun. 

     The members are awesome in Lopburi, along with the other areas that I have served in. They are a really tight-knit group, and they love us missionaries to death. I have eaten with them at least once each day ever since I have been here. One member asked if I could write my name in a little notebook she had, and she has written down the names of every missionary that has served here for the last few years. She had 50+ names in that little book. 

     People weren't kidding when they said this place was nicknamed the monkey city. In the "downtown" area, there's an ancient stone Buddhist temple, and

there are hundreds of monkeys roaming around it and surrounding areas. I see loads of tourists there, and all of them travel a few hours north, just to play with monkeys. These monkeys aren't the cute and cuddly kind. They steal a lot and are kind of crazy. If I get one scratch or bite from them, I have to get a series of rabies shots. 

     Elder Fukino and I were visiting a church member, and he was wearing a Fishers High School shirt. That high school is in Indianapolis, and it used to be a rival high school to Harrison when I was there. I've always been curious on how shirts like those wind up in Thailand. 

     I have been noticing some other patterns concerning the areas I am serving in. I am now the pianist for the church congregation. I have been using my piano abilities in all the areas I have been serving. I have noticed some common characteristics concerning the missionaries called to Thailand.  If you:

- Have studied Chinese or Japanese (I have)

- Had a parent serve a mission in Thailand (Thanks mom!)

- Have a parent that had served a mission in Asia

- Have one or more parent that is a Thai or Laos Native

- Have connections with Thailand, such as teach English or have lived in Thailand before

No joke, about half of the missionaries here in Thailand fall under at least one of those five categories.  

     Have a good week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

​

Transferred

     Our Pday was moved to Wednesday since it's transfer week. 

     Last Pday, Elder Duke, Brother Love, and I went to a Chinese Market in Bangkok, to buy fabric and other fun stuff. Why am I buying fabric? Because Thailand has lots of really amazing fabric, and we give the fabric to people who make ties. We then trade them and sell them to each other. Now I have over 15 different types of fabric, from musical note fabric, to elephant fabric. There's one missionary who spent over 1000 American Dollars on fabric and labor for making ties, and he has over 200 ties. I won't go that crazy I promise.  Also, here there are places that can make you tailored suits for about 100 dollars for a brand new suit. I love how cheap stuff is in Thailand!

     Elder Duke and I were walking to a bus stop, and Elder Duke walked next to an older man and politely asked him if he would like to learn about Jesus Christ. He started YELLING at us. Like yelling a lot at us. Never got that before, and he yelled at us until we walked to the bus stop and walked onto a bus. It was kind of hard to take him seriously, since I was about

nine inches taller than him. I later asked Elder Duke what he was yelling about, and Elder Duke told me that he was yelling at him on how religion kills people, how religion supplies weapons and stuff like that.

     You never know what kind of stuff you will see when you walk through neighborhoods in Thailand, finding people to teach. I saw a mom and her three kids outside of her house, and I started talking to her, and asked her what she was doing. She said she was doing something with her kids, and after she said that I saw Elder Duke laughing. After I talked to her, Elder Duke told me she was about to hit and punish her kids. Whoops. Also, while wandering the neighborhoods I saw a cock fighting business with a ring included, a woman bathing outside her house (I am scarred for life), and at one point Elder Duke and I were surrounded by 16+ Barking dogs, 12 of which were free roaming dogs.

     I love reading stuff in English here in Thailand. Sometimes Thai people are really awful at translating and writing in English. I was looking at a Ukulele and read something on the side of the box. The stuff they said in English was so awful that I took a picture. I should invite that whole company to come to English class.

     After church each Sunday, the whole church congregation gets together to eat. One member brought a Spanish omelette. So now I can tell my friend Cannon Garner (serving a mission in Spain) that I have eaten Spanish food in Thailand. 

     While travelling to church, a very nice 81-year-old Thai woman was talking to me and couldn't stop telling me how handsome I was. Hopefully, girls about 61 years younger than me can say the same thing to me that when I go home from my mission. 

     I am getting transferred out of Samutprakan. I am going to Lopburi, a few hours north of Bangkok. I am starting to see a pattern in the areas I am serving in. Surin was known as elephant city, Samutprakan is known for the world's largest alligator farm, and now I am going to serve in Lopburi, which is the monkey city. Maybe my next area after that is Sakkon Nakkon, an area known for eating dogs (eating dog is illegal in Thailand). 

     My new companion will be Elder Fukino, he was in the same house as me when I was serving in Surin. Also, Elder Tun, a Burmese missionary who was in my district these past four months, is going to Lopburi with me as well (It's a four-elder area). I am going to miss Samutprakan. Made a lot of great friends, and even was honored to meet Brother Pronchai, one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. 

     Next Stop: Lopburi!

     Elder Brinkerhoff

​

Expert Trackers

     

     Man this week flew by, just like the last few weeks. 

     A church member took Elder Duke, Brother Love, and I to a floating market. I was really stoked at first,

but then when I got there it was a little disappointing. I heard was there were boats that sold cool stuff, but they cancelled the boats because people kept falling in the water. It was still pretty cool though, we fed some fish, goats, and ate lunch and watched a bunch of happy old people sing and dance on a small stage. I saw a woman selling a bunch of wooden frogs with a spiked spine and a stick in it's mouth. I have seen many people selling those, which I don't understand why they are popular. Then she demonstrated, and

my mind was blown. She pulled the stick out of the wooden frog's mouth, and stroked the stick on the spine. It sounded EXACTLY like a frog's chirp. I bought it immediately for a dollar. Thai people are so clever.

     I saw an anti-smoking billboard, and below I saw the website and it said stopforking.com. I didn't know forking was a problem in Thailand. Stop forking! This has been a public service announcement from the country of Thailand.

     We have a few church members that we have lost contact with. Their phones stopped working, and we have little information about them. So guess what? We spend some time tracking them down. We called one church member that never picks up her phone, and surprisingly she picked up her phone, and said she lived in a certain street. When we went to her street the next day, we called her and then she picked up, and then her phone died. So we had to find her the old fashioned way: asking people in that huge neighborhood. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but miraculously we found her. We had something like that happen the next day as well.

     Flashback: One day I was waiting to cross a busy street, and was not paying attention at one point. Someone grabbed my arm and started escorting me across the street. I looked to my right and it was an old Thai lady who was about five feet tall, escorting me across the street.

     When I am inviting others to learn about Christ and/or English, some Thai people struggle and try to respond to me in English, despite me asking them in full and complete sentences in Thai. Some people say: "No... no... busy.... I... go...." in English. Almost every missionary in Thailand has also gotten the reply "I am Buddha!" in English as well.  Man there are a lot of Buddhas in Thailand.  

     Some people have asked me, so what to you do on missions? What you do do as a missionary?  Well, it actually depends on where the missionary is. Our main purpose is to find and teach the restored gospel to people, and to help them come unto Christ.

     Here are some of the responsibilities that I have to do when I am in Samutprakan:

1. Find people; teach them about the restored gospel

2. Teach English

3. Find inactive church members; help them any way we can.

4. Help and serve church members, and strengthen their faith.

That's just a few things that I do.  Missionary work isn't easy. It can get really hard at times. But it is worth it. Very worth it. I have seen many miracles happen in missionary work, and get to help many people as well. I have read my friend Cannon and Jonathan Degraw's emails in the last week, and they have shared some amazing, mind-blowing miracles they have seen in their work too. Also, as I read other missionaries' emails they shared many other miracles as well.

     Despite hardly running at all on my mission and losing my endurance, despite not getting to be on social media, despite learning a very hard language, despite struggling, despite missing my friends, family, and America, despite not listening to my favorite music and watching my favorite movies, it's all worth it. Serving a mission is worth it. 

     Much Love from Thailand,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Songkran and Easter

     Before I go off on how Songkran was, let me give an update on the week:

     Two Elders had to stay in our house one night, because one of them had to renew their visa in Bangkok and their area was on the other side of the country. One of them who had served in Samutprakan before, Elder Bow, asked me how many rats I have killed in the house. I hadn't killed any, I replied.  He said when he was here he killed 13 rats in his house!  When the lights were out, Elder Bow asked if the door to the room was locked. I told him no, and he may or may not have said that the house next door was abandoned and haunted, and he may or may not have had a paranormal experience one night when he served in Samutprakan. 

     At the end of each district meeting, our district does a group "cinnamon roll." Don't know how to cinnamon roll? There is a demo video attached.

     Elder Duke, some members, and I went to help a member cut some grass in her yard one morning. She lives in an interesting neighborhood. Many of the small wooden houses are built over a small river, and there's about a five-foot sidewalk over it, and if you fall off the sidewalk, in the water you go! The most ridiculous thing is that people ride their motorbikes on that sidewalk to get around. I have always wondered how those bikers never wipe out and have their bike end up in the water. Well, on that day I saw that happen on the way to the member's house. The man was ok, just not his bike.

     When we cut that member's grass, it wasn't with a lawn mower, it was with a large knife, the old fashioned way. Also, that member told us to be careful, since she had seen poisonous snakes in that large patch of grass. Luckily no snakes were out, (maybe they were out playing songkran or something). It started getting really hot, and I was drenched in sweat and started getting blisters on my hands. But, we kept cutting, until we got much of the job done. I don't know why, but every time I do labor like that I think it's just practice for when I am going to work in my Grandma Brinkerhoff's Garden, when I go to college. (My grandparents live in the same town).

     We also had zone conference this week, and some of the missionaries made a recording in honor of me. I feel so loved.

     Songkran was a blast. It was a three-day celebration, where everyone has a water fight. The day before our Pday, we had nothing to do, so we had to go out and walk around some neighborhoods, in the heat. I was not looking forward to it, but then come to realize that that was probably the most fun I have had when walking through neighborhoods. Since I'm white the natives feel like they HAVE to get me soaked. They would ask me first, then I would tell them "yes," when I

would get drenched a bunch of times. Some kids were too shy to throw water at me, but when I told them it was ok, they reacted like I just gave them 100 dollars and fired away. Later, we took a truck ride (a truck with benches and a metal frame) to a member's house. During that 20-minute ride, I was standing and then BAM; we got blasted with water, three or four times on that ride. People stood at the streets, throwing water at every truck that passed by that had passengers. 

     On Pday, we went to Central World, a massive chain of malls, to go play. It's the only area approved by our Mission president, since it's family friendly, and other Songkran celebrations can get really sketchy. Elder Duke and I bought massive water guns, wore our floral shirts, bought waterproof bags, and were ready for war.  We went to one street, where we were with hundreds of people, All the missionaries in Bangkok showed up, met together, and had at it. Many missionaries, including us, brought church members as well. People were spraying each other with water guns, people had buckets, large water fountains were spraying each other, and there were water tanks everywhere so people could refill. At one point one of the missionaries wanted to start a "train" of missionaries so a large group of us got together and walked together in the large street. At one point another missionary yelled "Members!" There was a group of 16 members together, and we had a Members vs. Missionaries battle for a few minutes. I should have taken more pictures, but my camera wasn't waterproof. Dang.

     After, we went to another area, called the "foam area." A large group of us missionaries waited in line, and we played with foam. There was foam everywhere. At one point I was completely covered in foam. 

     Later Elder Duke, a member, and I went into the freezing cold mall to get some food. Since all of us were soaked, we were freezing. I thought Elder Duke was going to get hypothermia or something, since he was shivering so much. 

     We took a bus ride back to our house, and at that point I was mostly dry. Then when we got off of a bus, we walked toward our house, and guess what? Our neighbors were out ready to get us soaked. And so I walked into the house, completely drenched again. 

     I loved Songkran. So much fun. But all that aside, Easter will always be the more important holiday. It was last Sunday. Despite it feeling like another ordinary Sunday, I am forever glad for Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I will be forever grateful for Christ and his love for me and all of us. I hope that all can come to appreciate him, and follow his great teachings. Every day I ask people if they want to learn about Christ, and I get turned down, laughed at, and ignored most of the time. But, I am happy that I get to have my name and his name on my missionary name tag, and get to serve him and other people every day. 

     Happy Easter!

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Thailand!!!

    
     I looked at my watch and realized I have been on my mission for eight months now, six of those months here in Thailand. I'm a third of the way done.  

     Here are some of the phrases that I have said in the last six months that I never imagined that I would say:

     "I wonder if he's found anything valuable in our trash can."

     "Did you see that? He just took a drink out of the trash can and drank the rest of it!"

     "Why do middle-aged Thai women offer us their daughters to marry?"

     "He has hair down to his knees??"

     "Why would you ever take a selfie with a dead body?" (When we visited a mortician)

     It's the beginning of April, which means that April and May are supposedly the hottest months of the year. I am dreading hot season; the stories I have heard of how hot it gets... Yikes. At least we get to play Songkran next week. Due to Songkran my Pday will be changed to next Thursday.  Click on the link below to learn more about Songkran.

SONGKRAN

     It's been a pretty good week. Elder Duke and I are getting a little busier with teaching people and helping people in our church, which is great.

     Last week, two members, Elder Duke, and I went to Muang Booran. It's an ancient city, where people recreated a bunch of Buddhist temples all around the county, and made it small scaled and put it in a park. For example, it's like the Statue of Liberty mini-replica in Las Vegas. We rented bikes and biked all around the place. It was really cool for the first few hours, then at the end I was like: "Oh look... another Buddhist temple.." 

     One day, while I was walking, I asked a woman who was walking past if she wanted to learn about Jesus Christ, and she said, "Thailand!!!" in English, and walked away. I'm guessing since the majority of Thai people are Buddhist and that's the national religion, she was just saying that she was Buddhist.

     The other night my companion and I were riding on the back of a truck (where they put seats and a metal frame around it). I buzzed the button for the truck to stop and we got off, and I pulled out money to pay the driver. While pulling out the money he yelled, "COME ON!" in English. I jumped a bit and almost dropped my money and hurried to pay him. I then handed him the money and told him, "Two people" in Thai. Then he yelled back in English, "TWO PEOPLE? OKAY! 4 BAHT.  HERE YOU GO! THANK YOU!  BYE!" I guess some people can communicate only through yelling.

     Saw some more miracles this week. My companion and I found a woman and her daughter who used to live in Hong Kong, and they told us that ever since they moved to Thailand they have been searching for a Christian Church. We started teaching them, and they love our message. They asked us to come back.

     Also, we visited a member who hasn't shown up to church in a while, and her contact information on the phone said that she went to a different Christian church and fell into bad habits again. We paid her a visit, and when we walked into her apartment, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a stack of Liahona (church) Magazines in the corner. She said that earlier that day she was trying to feel closer to God, and she pulled out the magazines. Then she added, "Then you two showed up!"

     I hope everyone has had a good General Conference weekend, and that all can enjoy the great messages that the prophets and apostles have for us. General Conference will be this weekend for us. I feel like it was just a month ago that I was in the MTC listening to the messages. 

Thailand!!!

-Elder Brinkerhoff

Elder Pornchai

     It's been a whirlwind of a week, lots of highs and lows, and miracles as well. And it's been raining too, rather than being sunny and a little hot every single day. The problem is that it's raining right as I am writing this email, and my companion and I were planning on going to an ancient city, but looks like those plans are cancelled. Rats.

     I am staying for another transfer in Samutprakan. Part of me wanted to leave and have a new adventure, part of me didn't. Transfers are pretty fun. After everyone gets their transfer calls, the missionaries all around the country start calling each other to see who's going and who's staying, and who got new companions.

     The other day while riding on a bus, I was looking out the window, then I saw a woman wearing a Harry's Chocolate shop (a bar in West Lafayette) shirt. I guess whoever previously worn that shirt was a little upset that Harry's chocolate shop isn't actually a chocolate shop.

     Last Wednesday, nobody answered their phones, so we were stuck for 6 hours, wandering neighborhoods, finding people to teach (we call it inviting). It was frustrating, since most people said no, or that they were Buddhist. 

     The next day, we scheduled another two-hour block of inviting in the morning, and right as we were about to leave the house, we got a phone call from a member, and she said, "My mom's in town right now, could you come and teach her right now?" Looks like we don't have to invite for that two hour block. 

     Our district leader asked us to find three new investigators last Sunday. We had two hours left in the day, and when he told us that challenge, my first thought was: "We invited for six hours the other day and had little success, that's going to be tricky." But we accepted the challenge. We were wandering through a neighborhood, and got the usual excuses when we asked them if they wanted to learn about Jesus Christ:  "I'm not free," "I'm Buddhist," and "Every religion teaches good!" or they just ignore us altogether. It gets really frustrating at times. It was getting late, and we turned a corner to one street, where there were four dogs on the street barking at us like crazy. We walked past them, and then walked past a group of men outside a house, blasting their music and drinking a lot. We were about to turn around, and we invited at one last place. There were a few people living in a poorer house area, and they let us in. We introduced them to the gospel, and three women were interested. We asked them if we could come back the next day to teach them, and they all said yes. 

     Brother Pornchai (Pronounced Prawn-chai) was feeling a little sick and hasn't been to church in a while, so Elder Duke and I paid him a visit. He is the man who my Uncle was good friends with when he was getting his master's degree. I didn't really know too much of his backstory, the only thing I knew was that he was blind, has a master's degree in English at BYU, and was good friends with my Uncle Kent and my Grandpa Barrus. 

     When we got there, he started talking to us a bit, and walked over to a bookcase, and handed me the book called, "Pioneers in every land." (I highly recommend reading that book) My first reaction was: "Why would he hand me this book?" While Elder Duke was talking to him, I opened the book and the first chapter title said: Pornchai: The First Thai Patriarch. 

     I was surprised, and read Pornchai's entire story in that chapter. At age 14 he started going Blind, and at age 26 he was completely blind. That didn't stop him from moving ahead in life, however. He learned American Braille, and started learning English. He also wrote stories, and won many awards as well. One was featured on the BBC World News radio.  Later, he met the missionaries, and became a member. He walked three miles to go to church as well. After that, he went to BYU Hawaii to get a bachelor's degree in English, and also a minor in Spanish. Afterwards, he went to BYU Provo and got a master's degree in literature, where my Uncle Kent and my Grandpa Barrus met him.  He later returned to Thailand. He has translated a lot of important church books and documents into Thai, like the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. When the first stake was organized in Thailand, he was called to be the first Patriarch in Thailand.   One of the most interesting quotes that Brother Pornchai said in that book was, "I want to work to the end of my life, and make my life worthwhile. 

     After that visit, I walked out of his house in awe. Brother Pornchai is an inspiration. He got two degrees in English, doing all of it while being blind. And he is an inspiration for many church members in Thailand as well. 

     He is still making his life worthwhile. He is still writing. I then thought of my family, and how they are making their lives worthwhile, and how their influence has made me want to make my life worthwhile as well. 

My Question for you is: Are you making your life worthwhile?

-Elder Brinkerhoff

Goin' Fishing

     You know things are heating up in Thailand a little bit when your english and Jesus Pass along cards get soggy in your shirt pocket.

     On pday this week, a few missionaries and I went fishing with some church members to a small pond. (I got to wear my awesome elephant shirt.) The first 15 minutes I caught a small fish, and was very proud of myself for being the first person to catch a fish. Then I didn't catch anything for the rest of the time, and everyone else caught fish that were a heck of a lot bigger than mine.  I think I will just stick to the hobbies that I am good at, like running, piano, and Thai boxing.  

 

     I did another switch off in Bangnaa, with Elder Ton, who is from Burma. He is a funny dude. He taught the security guard some English. (See video.)

     My companion and I go to the 7/11 near our house pretty often to get snacks and other stuff. The workers know us pretty well too. Well, one day my companion and I were walking in a neighborhood and inviting people to know about Christ and inviting them to attend English class.  I saw a teenage girl outside her house and asked her if she was interested in Christ/English, and she laughed, said, "One second!"  ran into the house.  She brought her friend out to look at my companion and me. Then one girl said, "Do you remember me?" I said no, and she said, "I work at 7/11!" Then I realized who she was. 

     Now that the church members know that I play piano, I play every Sunday. Last Sunday I was sitting during church and one of the members came up to speak. Next thing I know everyone in the congregation was standing, holding hymn books. The chorister was looking at me, and said, "Play #15." I had to go Improv mode and just go for it. Somehow I played that piano piece well. Somehow. Any of you piano players out there, prepare for unexpected times to play piano. Shoutout to my piano teacher Mr. Rich for making me sight read during piano lessons sometimes.

     We had Zone conference last Saturday as well, I love those. We play games, we learn from each other, and learn how to become better missionaries.  We played a game where one team had to flip cups to the opposite side, while the other team had to do the opposite, in a certain amount of time. It got ugly, elbows were thrown everywhere, at one point I was lying on the table, and then I was on the floor. Elders can get really competitive at times. My trainer, Elder Cecil, was standing next to me and on the other team, and we were going ham on each other.

     During zone conference, I was talking to Elder Latimer, who was a missionary in my MTC group. I noticed his planner cover photo: A photo of Dwayne Johnson, with a small photo of a house on his head. I asked him about that photo, and he then said: "Always build your house upon the rock!"  I'm going to be sorely disappointed if Elder Latimer doesn't become a famous comedian. He makes me laugh all the time.

     Transfers are this week, so I may be on the other side of the country, or staying for another 6 weeks.

     It's been a good week, lots of ups and downs as always, but I am glad I am serving.  During church, one of the members was teaching a class, and she asked me, "Have you ever wanted to go home?" I replied, "Sometimes, but I know I am doing the Lord's work."

     I can go home in August 2018. But for now, let the work carry on.

-Elder Brinkerhoff

Are You Sure? Seven peppers?

     Just another week in Thailand. I feel like the weeks nowadays are getting faster. The saying goes: "The Days go by weeks and the weeks go by days." 

     The Last few weeks feel like it's just been a few days.

     Anyways, last pday was pretty fun. My companion, Brother Day, and I went to Central world in Downtown Bangkok. Literally It's a huge mall building six or more floors full of stores, and turns out there are like five other buildings surrounding it, and they are all connected. One could spend all day there, and not be able to see all the stores in those buildings. It was super fun to explore, and they had everything there, from cheap Thailand souvenirs to Nike gear. If anyone loves to go shopping, this is the place for you. There were lots of white people there, and turns out the majority of them are Europeans. I guess they love Thailand more than Americans do. 

     I got to switch companions for the day and got to go to Bangnaa, the area where my mom served. It was really neat again to be in the same area that my mom served in. Also, the apartment that the missionaries stay in has a gym with treadmills. After teaching a lesson, a woman across the street made us free food. She LOVES us missionaries. Loves us so much that she makes us free food. After she made us food another woman nearby gave us free pumpkin dessert. She loves the missionaries too. I kind of want to serve there someday.

     

     Papaya salad is a popular dish here in Thailand. They also put small hot peppers in the salad, and it is very delicious. Usually the people who cook it put at least 1 or 2 peppers in the salad for me, since they assume that I'm white and can't handle the spiciness. One day I came up to the cook and asked for seven pepper papaya salad. She said, "Are you sure?" about five times to me, and then pulled out seven peppers, held them up to me, and asked if I was sure, again. I agreed. I started eating the papaya salad, and it

wasn't so spicy, at first. Then it hit me, when I started sweating bullets and tears were forming in my eyes. My mouth was burning. The cook looked at me and I gave her a huge thumbs up. The result of eating seven-pepper papaya salad? Drinking two full bottles of water, tears in my eyes, sweating, and some burn marks on my chin when some of the juice dripped down my chin. 

     I heard some missionaries built their spice tolerance to eat 25 pepper-papaya salad. Challenge accepted.

     

     I walked past a smoothie stand and noticed the sign for the smoothies. The lady at the stand was confused to why I was taking pictures of her smoothie sign. Good thing she doesn't have that smoothie stand in America.  ("Porn" is a common Thai name for a girl.)

     The other day at church, I saw a woman who looked familiar. Turns out it was the woman who my mom taught on her mission. She was there visiting a member, and she was very excited to see me again. 

     During church some Primary teachers came up to my companion and I and asked if we could teach some of the little kids for a few minutes. There were three little kids, and it was lots of fun to teach them. Lots of fun. One of the Sister missionaries in a different area called one of the little girls, "the cutest little Thai girl I have ever seen." Later on in church, I walked past some of the church members in Bangnaa, the members in the area my mom served. One member who knew my mom, pulled me aside, talked to me for a minute, then handed me a large bag of delicious sweet-fried peanuts. I love church members. They spoil the missionaries sometimes.

     Every time my companion and I visit one member, his mom buys my companion and I a bottle of Pepsi. My last companion would save it and give it to a homeless person on the street. Last time we met up with the member, I saved the Pepsi that was given to me, and gave it to a really poor woman on the street. Her facial expression of gratitude was sweeter than Pepsi. 

     Some members asked my companion and I if we could visit a sick member in the hospital. We agreed, and visited him, along with three church members. He was on a bed, looking miserable, and the only thing he could do move was his eyes. He couldn't talk at all either. All of us spoke to him for a minute, and one of the members played church music on her iPad and held it close to his ear. Before leaving, I noticed a tear streak down his eye. That small sign showed that he was really appreciative for visiting him, despite him not able to speak. I am truly glad to be a missionary and to be able to serve the people of Thailand. By small and simple acts of service can really go a long ways, and I have seen that all the time as I serve my mission.

     Small acts of service can go a long way.

     Have a great week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

The Lost Sheep

  

     Last P day was a hoot. I planned out and invited the missionaries in my district to go explore a small island, and then go to the World's largest crocodile farm.  Two members came along as well, which made it a lot more fun.  The island was really neat.  It looks like a jungle, and hardly anyone was on it.  We went to the croc farm and bought long sticks with string attached to a raw chicken, and we fed and tormented the massive crocodiles with our chicken-on-a-stick.  

     We then went to a crocodile show.  Two middle-aged white guys sat near me. One of them turned to me and said, "Where are you from Elder?" There's something I never hear in Thailand, especially from a white guy. Turns out he was a missionary in Thailand 37 years ago, and returns often for business. He's been to the croc farm so many times he knew exactly what was going to happen in the show. 

     Some of the missionaries in my group went to get a picture with the big tiger again.  I noticed that there was an animal that I wasn't able to get a picture with when I came to the croc farm before. I eagerly walked up to the lady in charge of the photo booth, handed

her six bucks, and sat on a bench, like a father awaiting his first-born child. The lady handed me a bottle, opened a cage, and handed me a tiger cub, and I got a picture with him. I wanted to hold him for a few more hours. 

     Probably one of the best parts about Thailand is how ridiculously cheap the food is. One of the members showed us a restaurant where one could buy chicken steak and fries for two bucks. Also they sold T-Bone steak for five.  

     My Grandpa Barrus Turned 92 this week. He is an amazing person, he has served numerous missions, been to over 50 countries, and has been such a loving and kind man. I am glad he is a big part of my life. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

     This last week we have been searching for many church members that we have lost contact with. At one point my companion spent four hours searching for one family.  And we FOUND them. Our area has hundreds of neighborhoods, so it was huge to find them, since we couldn't use google maps. We only used the poorly written directions on the phone. We have found numerous church members who have lost contact with the church. It reminds me of Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, where a shepherd went to find just one sheep in a flock of 100. It is great to be one of God's shepherds, looking for the lost sheep in the hectic Thailand.

     Have a good week,

     Elder Brinkerhoff

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

     I always look forward to emailing. Always.

     Been another High-Low week. Many of the people we are teaching aren't picking up their phones, so that's been a little frustrating. 

     

     We invited some other members to our house for Family Home Evening. Again, we are probably the only house in our entire mission that's allowed to do that, since our area doesn't have a church. We all ate food together and taught them a brief lesson. 

     All the missionaries in Bangkok and us got to go to a mission conference, and a few church leaders came and spoke to us. It was really amazing, many shared stories and their great experiences on their missions as well. One of them served in South America, and I thought of my dad when he shared his stories.

     Two of the members, Brother Love and Brother Day (they go by nicknames) took the week off, and they have been hanging out with us the last week. We ate dinner with them one night, and we took them to help us search for people to teach. We went to a place called Miami, a big outdoor shopping place with a Ferris Wheel, and that didn't work out well since there was loud music and people didn't want to learn about the Gospel, or English Class. But, it was way fun though.

     I have noticed that Elder Duke has a gift with fending off dogs. The dogs in Thailand are really wimpy, and we often walk past a lot of strays, and they hardly even move. But this last week we have had some dogs try and get us, but Elder Duke just pretends to pick up a rock and they scatter. He has fended them off when I wasn't looking. Despite him being a lot smaller than me, he's like my guardian angel...

     There are two workers on a bus: One is the driver and the other is the "bus bag" where they collect money. I talked to a guy who collected money, and he said he's been working on a bus collecting money for 38 YEARS. 38 YEARS!!! Sheesh I would literally lose my mind if I ever had that job.

I found the International Academy of Magic. I found the sign but I don't know where the academy is.. 

     My companion and I took a bus about 4-5 miles north of our house, and we went into a neighborhood to find people. We got lost and we were out for like 3 hours. Then we finally found an exit to the neighborhood, and we were about a half of a mile south from our house. How did that happen?

     The other day at Church I was talking to a church member who lived in the same area where my mom served. Later she introduced me to some members that knew my mom. Small World after all. One of them was so excited she gave me a big bag of bananas. Church members are so giving. I love them. 

     I invited a bunch of missionaries and a few members to have a fun P day with us. Today we are exploring a small island, and going to the Crocodile farm. Should be way fun. 

Have a Great week,

Elder Brinkerhoff

P.S. The Redhead missionary is not my companion, he just happens to be in these pictures. He's awesome.