I know that the commandments have guided me in my life and in my relationships. A prophet once said – When we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear. Thomas S Monson Looking back down the years of my life and seeingContinue reading “Commandments”
Category Archives: Life Lessons
Study Groups
One of the best things about living in Thailand – at least the time when I lived there late 2005-2009 – is that we had a Relief Society study group. I remember studying the Book of Mormon and Jesus the Christ. We took turns teaching, but all came to the meetings humble enough to shareContinue reading “Study Groups”
Conference Weekend!
The Feast of Tabernacles is a traditional Jewish feast where they build tents and remember the time when their ancestors, the children of Israel, wandered the desert for 40 years. In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin calls all his people together to speak to them and to offer burnt offerings according to the lawContinue reading “Conference Weekend!”
Why?
A Thailand friend recently asked me why am I going all the way back to Thailand with the blog? My answer: Have you ever had a time in your life that so much happened that it was disorienting? That is Thailand for me. So much of my time and efforts revolved around the refugees, andContinue reading “Why?”
This is where I came in
We moved to Thailand fall of 2005. Steve had already been there 2 months, but the rest of us trailed behind. The International School of Bangkok (ISB), would take only Noah, our youngest child. Jordan & Jessica had to stay behind to finish their semester, after which Jessica would graduate early and Jordan would startContinue reading “This is where I came in”
The Follow Through
Well, maybe you can imagine what it must’ve been like to have 300 new members of a church in your ward who all speak a different language and are very new to the culture of the church. How do you teach them to give priesthood blessings? How do you teach them to have visiting teachingContinue reading “The Follow Through”
The Miracle
The miracle everyone was talking about when we first moved to Thailand happened to missionaries. One Elder had been serving in Cambodia and he fell into a swollen river and developed an eye infection. The Mission President sent him to Bangkok, Thailand so he could get good healthcare at Bumingrad Hospital. This missionary had learnedContinue reading “The Miracle”
Serving Overseas
I have now lived and served in the church in 5 countries, the US, Costa Rica, Thailand, Indonesia, and China. Everywhere we went we always had a community of friends. All the Sunday School lessons, Primary lessons and even the Relief Society lessons were the same. Yet, there were differences. Weekly youth activities were seriouslyContinue reading “Serving Overseas”
…after the mission
As you would imagine, we were very busy for awhile. We visited all Mom’s Doctors, (there were 3), and we got her three new ones. We held a big garage sale, (we made $1424), we made numerous trips to second-hand stores, and we moved her to our house in Post Falls. Everything went off withoutContinue reading “…after the mission”
“Old age, it’s not for sissies.”
My late father-in-law, Alma Hofhiens, was fond of saying this – especially as he grew older. Sometimes, what make old age so hard is that you never know what to expect. One day you’re feeling fine – celebrating your birthday at a party – and the next you are in the hospital with no clearContinue reading ““Old age, it’s not for sissies.””
