How we live

This is our apartment. It is on the fourth floor, and it is a nice and good sized home, conveniently located in the town of Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR. There are many restaurants and shops within a short walking distance. The landlord is fantastic and takes good care of their property. If something needs to be fixed they are there almost immediately. It is a serviced apartment, so there are two wonderful women who come and clean three days per week and change our sheets once per week. We wash our clothing and towels, cook when we do not eat out, and wash the dishes. The helpers wash the dishes if we have left them in the sink, so we make sure they are all clean before they come. They do not need more work than they already have.

It is convenient that the Deseret International Charities' (DIC, the church owned NGO we are known as here) office is on the third floor right below our apartment. 

Our apartment is on the top floor.

The top corner is our home.

Parking area underneath the building. There is  always a security guard at the opposite end from the camera.

We even have a small koi pool behind the security guard.

The stairwell up to our floor. These are great for cardio workouts. 

I love the tiles in the hallway on our floor.

Looking through the front door into our apartment.

The living area.

Kitchen/dining

Office area and the front door.

Kitchen looking towards the secondary bathroom. The kitchen does not have hot water, so we scrub the dishes well with lots of soap and water. The blue dome on the counter top is a water purifier. The water here contains a lot of chlorine, so it is a good idea to use one of these for drinking. 

Secondary bathroom with a wet shower. Turning on the shower makes a big part of the bathroom very wet. The sink only has cold water, but the shower has a water heater on the wall.

Balcony off the kitchen. It is where we hang our laundry to dry.

Same balcony. This is looking out at the driveway you see in the first couple of pictures.

Our bedroom. There is a second balcony behind the curtains.

The bed after our helpers have put on fresh sheets. This is a weekly battle 😂 They like to put the duvet so that the long end is at the feet.

We prefer to have our rear ends covered when we sleep, so we turn the duvet around - every week. They probably wonder what is wrong with the strange foreigners 😆

Here are our kind friends who take such good care of our home 💗

Our master bathroom.

I do not believe the owners of our building are Christian, but they have decorated for Christmas  💗 

It looks very cute 😊

Christmas tree!

They even put lights in the bushes along the driveway 😍

I wonder if they intentionally paired the song with the sign 😂

A toe tapping food delivery advertisement in our elevator 🎵

Spiritual Heart Health / Companionship / Team

I have wanted to share the gospel since I heard it was possible for me to serve a mission after my conversion at the age of 16. As a convert in Sweden where the church was very small, I did not know how to go about applying. Just as I turned 21 and thought seriously about asking our branch president what to do, I instead was on my way to California to meet Craig and his family. I was supposed to stay three weeks, but we married six weeks after I arrived. I did not serve a proselyting mission, but found a different way to serve - I had Craig and our beautiful children. It was a wonderful trade, but I love the gospel and hoped I would eventually be able to give back for all the blessings I have received from my Heavenly Father and the gospel.

Craig and I feel blessed that we are healthy enough to now serve as senior missionaries, and although I miss my family tremendously, I am happy to have my favorite person and companion to serve with. We have been married almost 46 years, but it is amazing how much you still learn about each other when you are together 24/7. It seems we have grown closer in the eight months we have served so far.

I thought of Craig as I was reading a talk by Elder Ronald M. Barcellos from the October 2025 General Conference called "The Lord Looketh On the Heart." I love this talk; it is a great reminder of how to live a Christlike life by improving the spiritual health of our hearts. These are his suggestions:

💗 "Strengthen your relationship with Christ" 

He says that "the Savior warned that while many are called by Him, few are chosen 'because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and [they] aspire to the honors of men.' Do I make the Savior a priority in my life? Is my eye single to His glory in all that I do?" Are we really working on building our character and becoming more Christlike, or obeying for the sake of obedience? 

Elder Barcellos also suggests we treasure up the scriptures in our hearts. Scripture study is not always easy to fit into a busy day, but that and prayer are the best ways to get to know Christ and how to become more like Him. Some days we have more time than others. On busy days, do we take the time to ponder on even one verse? To be honest, it is something I personally struggle with. Although it may not be ideal, listening to the scriptures has helped me tremendously in my studies.

He quotes one of my favorite scriptures: "Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received His image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" I love the visual of having His image in our countenances and can see that happening as we change our hearts. There is a light shining from those who strive to be like Christ.

💗 "Serve God and others . . . with a sincere heart and with real intent."

Elder Barcellos says that "The quality of our thoughts and words is a good indicator of the purity of our hearts." He also reminds us that the Savior warned Samuel that "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Are we serving others because we want to be more Christlike, or because we want others to see how good we are? What is our motive?

💗 "Align your will with His"

"I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts." "Our Heavenly Father desires more than mechanical acts of obedience and service from His children." He knows what is in our hearts better than we do. We are blessed that we have the capability to learn and grow to help our hearts become more spiritually healthy.

"But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned." That does not sound pleasant, but again, we are blessed with a kind Savior who loves us and knows that we are here on earth to learn. Once our hearts are aligned with His we are more likely to understand what He needs and how to do His will without needing to be commanded in everything.

This talk reminds me of something C.S Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity. In it he talks about The Cardinal Virtues. He argues that God wants more than mere obedience; He cares more about our character, and wants us to become people who naturally produce obedient behavior. Isolated acts of obedience do not make us virtuous, but character is revealed in consistency. I read somewhere that a poor tennis player might hit a great shot occasionally, but that does not make him a good player. The best way to become consistently good is to listen to Jesus Christ our teacher, practice what He teaches us, and to hopefully eventually "experience [a] mighty change in [our] hearts."

I am grateful to have a missionary, as well as life, companion who consistently strives to become better, is good and loving, who prefers to serve and counsel behind the scenes, who takes joy in helping others shine, who expects more from himself than others. My companion is honorable, and one of the most honest people I know. Being with him makes me want to become better, and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father who guided him to me. I cannot imagine a better person to serve with. My prayer is that if you do not already have this kind of companion, you will find him or her.

Elder Barcello's talk:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/14barcellos?lang=eng

Best Sabbath 💖

December 14, 2025

Sunday is usually my favorite day of the week. We go to church, learn how to become better and more Christlike, and see family and friends. Today has been one of my favorite Sundays. ELEVEN new members were baptized in our little branch today! ELEVEN!!! I have never seen so many be baptized all at once like this and it was amazing. With almost the whole branch watching, it was not quiet the whole time, but the Spirit was very strong. 

The most spiritual and humbling part was when our elderly sister in the wheelchair was baptized. She was so sweet and humble as she let three sisters help her into the water, a young father lower her into the waters of baptism, and then carry her out and up the stairs to her wheelchair. 

After the baptisms they all bore their testimonies, and although Craig and I could not hear and understand a lot of what they were saying, we could feel the Spirit and their sincerity. They all had big smiles on their faces as they came back out to join us after they changed back into their Sunday clothes. 

What makes this extra special, is that the church is not allowed to proselytize here. These sweet people feel the Spirit and see the great examples of their family members and neighbors. They notice how the gospel has changed them and are anxious to receive the same blessings. 

Our little branch has close to 100 attending each week, and we currently have 11 full-time missionaries who have left Laos to serve in different parts of the world. These are strong and faithful people and we are so happy to be here to not only serve them, but also learn from them. We are better for knowing them.

Here are our newest members before the baptisms with the branch president on the left, a grandmother on the right, and a mother in the back middle of the picture. (This picture provided by President Tiengsack.)

Snuck a picture before the baptisms.

One of our newest members with her grandson 💗

Our missionaries and where they are serving.

School Renovation Progress Check in Vang Vieng

End of June, 2025:

Craig's Pictures and Commentary -

After checking the progress of school renovations nearby, we had a bit of a break this weekend while we were in Vang Vieng. It's amazing how green and lush this place is!

It is planting time in the rice fields of these misty mountains.

This is what it looks like when the rain comes in sheets, families come home, and neighbors get together in parties, helping plant each others' fields.

The clouds rarely leave the nearby mountains.

Planting shack - used for resting when it is hot, and a place to eat when taking a break from the hard work.

Limestone monoliths, groves, lagoons, and rivers seemingly everywhere.

Great view!

A common road within this small village.

Fried fish with a couple of spicy sauces - very good!

Dinner view 💗

I would like to try this fishing method back home.

A friend found; this baby goat was only about 48 hours old with the umbilical cord still attached -- his mother was not so impressed . . .

Another one of Suzanne's new friends.

More friends.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes with a random little boy.

This random little boy was amazing with these little guys.

The boy was, in fact, a chicken whisperer.