English Class Graduation 2025!

Our English students are all government workers who knew very little or no English before they started. We met Monday through Friday one and one hour every week, then they stayed for another one and one half hour learning with a Lao teacher. They worked very hard and progressed quickly. We are very proud of them! Speaking English can help them tremendously in their jobs and lives overall, and we hope they will all experience much success. 

In our group were teachers, police officers, soldiers, and an electrician. They are all different, but everyone is fantastic! Our Lao counterparts are also wonderful. These professional teachers, Ajarn (meaning teacher) Noi and Ajarn Phai, teach grammar and reading while we mainly work on listening and speaking skills. It is a great partnership. 

We gave our students framed copies of this picture as a keepsake, and we all signed our names under our faces. Craig made this with AI and had them dressed like their professions. We kept one for us and it will be placed on a wall in our home in Idaho. I love it!

Top row: the Lao teacher Phai, Phetxay (Tom), Teevanh, Happy, Ammy (she is 12 years old and joined us late in the semester when her school year was finished)

Middle row: Suzanne, Bounkom, Kongjai (Jai), Bounthanome (Nome), Phoutsavang (Lor-it means handsome)

Bottom row: Craig (doesn't he look like Glenn Beck here 😄), Somphone (Phone), Davanh, Khamla

All ceremonies in Lao have a banner, tables for the "official" people, and chairs or benches for everyone else. One of the speakers is at the podium. The director of Deseret International Charities Lao (DIC, this is what we are called here), Tiengsack, is sitting on the right at the table in the middle of the picture, the man on the left, Mr. Kia Young, is the person responsible for the classes at the school, and the woman in the middle is Mr. Kia's boss. I got caught trying to open a water bottle 😰 

I was asked to speak for the foreign teachers. It was difficult as we have learned to love the students who have become good friends. We miss them very much already. Our students and the Lao teachers later commented on how they could tell I was on the verge of crying. They were not wrong 😢

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The obligatory group picture at the end of the ceremony

Another picture of us outside the main building

Some of our goofy students at the lunch after the ceremony 😁

Mini hearts! I need to learn how to not look goofy in pictures from these beautiful people 😜

The Swedish frog song in English  

Our class song, because THEY ARE CHAMPIONS! We sung this at the end of each class. At the end of the semester everyone knew all the words except the short part where there are a lot of words that you have to sing very fast - "you brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it."

Prayers - Miracles - God's Timing - Our Will vs The Lord's

We had two difficult but testimony building experiences the past few weeks. A few weeks ago we attended a funeral for a dear friend, Noi Wisanbannawit, who had passed away from cancer at the age of 63. It was a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that went from stage 0 to 4 in less than two years. She and her husband, Wisan, had been married 35 years, It was difficult for him to see his wife suffer, but also to lose her. She was a busy, happy, and overall amazing woman. 

Noi's funeral where hundreds of friends gathered to say goodbye

Last week we were able to see another dear friend, Cherry Thongmee, who has had three strokes since August 2023. She cannot speak, but her husband, Arun, has figured out a way for them to communicate, so he was her mouthpiece when we were talking with her. She is bed bound as she has only recently been able to move the fingers on her right hand, as well as bend her right leg a little. She too, is an amazing woman, happy, busy, and full of life like Noi.

Because Cherry is not able to breathe well on her own, the doctor has performed a tracheostomy. Condensation from the breathing tube settles on her face, so Arun, or the nurse, put up her hair to keep her more comfortable. It looks cute on her!

Many have prayed for miracles for these two women, but the kinds of miracles we have asked for have not happened. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need while we ask for what we want. I do not know why these two marvelous women and their families have had such difficulties, but I do know that God gives us the kind of trials that we need to learn and grow.

In the series The Chosen, Jesus' disciple, James the lesser, has a physical disability. Even with a cane he has difficulty walking. He tells Jesus that he knows He can heal him, and asks why He is not doing it. Jesus tells James that he has great faith and that those around him will benefit more greatly from seeing him exercise this faith while going through difficulties. His suffering serves a greater purpose, allowing him to inspire others through his faith.

This is how I view what our friends are going through. Noi, Wisan, Cherry, and Arun are all great examples of faith and strength through struggles. Noi was pleasant and loving through the end. Even though she was weak and could not communicate well towards the end she apologized that she was not responding to messages. Her faith was enormous and we all saw it in the way she lived her life.

Wisan's faith matches his wife's. After Noi got seriously ill his normally happy demeanor changed. He became more serious and it was clear he was concerned for Noi. It did not change his giving nature however. He was not only making sure the beautiful funeral ran smoothly, but did what he could to make sure those who attended were comfortable. After the funeral he said that Noi would not want him to be sad, so he was working on being happy again. He is a great example in how faith and perseverance can help you in your life.

Wisanbannawits, Khanakhams, and Mackleys in our home in Bangkok in the 2010s

Noi and Wisan 💖

Wisanbannawits, Khanakhams, and Mackleys in our home in Bangkok in the 2010s

It was difficult to see Cherry. We know her as a vibrant happy woman with a lot of energy. She is no longer able to go anywhere or communicate without the help of her husband. It is exciting that she is now able to move the fingers and the leg a little on her right side, and she has the sweetest crooked smile. Despite her not being able to do much on her own, there is still a light shining from her. It is clear she still has so much love and is happy when friends visit. She truly brightened the room, and we are better for having spent time with her. We cannot wait to be able to go back to see her again.

At one of the Thongmee son's baptism

Cherry and Arun 💖

A chance encounter on an escalator in one of the many shopping malls in Bangkok

Cherry's loving husband, Arun, is an amazing man as well. He has not only figured out how to communicate with his sweetheart, but is helping her exercise so that she will hopefully gain more movement before their son's wedding in December. Because he has to work, he has installed a camera in Cherry's room so that he can see her on his phone when he is at the office or away from home. It also helps him keep contact with the nurse who is at their home during the day. Arun tells you the good and the bad, but does not complain. It is clear the deep love he had for her before the strokes is still there. He still looks at her with the same love and affection. When asked how he is doing, he says this is the situation they have been given, and they are trying to figure it out. 

These friends are beautiful examples of Christlike love. They are people we should all strive to be like. I am grateful to my wonderful friends for inspiring me and others. Their faith and perseverance through very difficult times strengthen my faith and resolve to become better and more faithful. They are beautiful examples of enduring to the end.