Hawak Kamay

Throughout this journey I've talked a bunch about our fun trips (because they were), our nice friends (because they are), and my hilarious and delightful children (because they are indeed hilarious and delightful).  There are a few things though that I don't want to forget that are of a more serious bent. 

First, I wanted to say some last words about our branch in Makati.  Life in a branch takes a serious amount of sacrifice, especially when it is a branch full of expats and about a quarter of the group moves out every summer to take new government assignments.  It was hard for me to get used to, and I struggled sometimes with my calling, but I feel like I better understand that sometimes service in the church isn't about anything except what the Lord needs from you, and not what you might personally benefit from or prefer.  As we leave, I appreciate more than ever the devotion of the branch members to the church and to their callings.  The other thing I loved about this branch was that we had two General Authorities who attended.  Believe me, no one EVER started a talk by admitting that they procrastinated until the night previous.  Those men (Elder Nielson and Elder Ardern) were so kind and genuine, and their mere presence elevated the meetings because no one wanted to look like an idiot in front of them.  I'm really grateful for that.

Second, I had the opportunity to go with Jen to a stake in Malolos (about an hour north of Manila) for their Relief Society Birthday party a couple of Saturdays ago.  It was a local stake, meaning I didn't understand what was going on (which most of you realize is my default setting for the Philippines), but I was amazed to find that the sisterhood of Relief Society needs no translation.  It was a really great experience, and the sisters welcomed us with open arms.  There's an amazing openness in the people here that I am really going to miss.  Jen was singing some musical numbers and I was playing for her, and then we were heading back to Manila for our own Relief Society party.  A woman from each ward (there were a half dozen or so) was supposed to speak about their favorite woman from the scriptures for 3 minutes.  Jen and I, knowing that we had to be back to Manila, figured that we had plenty of time to travel back, but we were wrong.  Those half dozen three minute presentations went on for almost an hour and a half.  Another proof of our sisterhood?  No Mormon the world over has a clear understanding of the words, "THREE MINUTE TALK."

Last, today about 14 sisters from the branch Relief Society went to the local woman's prison.  We brought treats and Jen sang again.  A few words about this prison:  It was tiny, dirty, and stinky.  We had to surrender our cameras and phones and received a stamp on the wrist (that's the picture above).  The women were so excited to see us.  There was a chart on the wall showing the various offenses of the women: 1 murderer, a few assaults, a few thieves, and the vast majority were some unnamed offense: it was a code like "PC 351" or something, which basically means, "No good reason."  Probably 70 of the 90 prisoners have no idea why they are there, have never had a trial, and will be there indefinitely or until their desperately poor families can scrounge up a big enough bribe.  Yet, they smiled and engaged with us, and I (for the millionth time) thought, "Could I be like them if our positions were reversed?"  We sang songs for them, shared our treats, and the prisoners did a dance for us.  The women are provided nothing in the prison except for rice and a bed, and anything else they need must come from their families or donations like ours.  They also make beaded purses and key chains that they can sell for a little money.  I bought two little purses for Kate and Kiki which totaled 240 pesos- about 6 dollars.  All I had was a 500 peso note, which I gave the woman and told her to keep the difference.  She was so surprised and she cried and we hugged and then I cried.  My heart dies inside that something so little to me (materially) makes such a difference to another human being.  When was the last time in my life that $6 made any difference to me whatsoever, yet for this woman it was the difference between eating and not eating, or having soap or not.  I won't forget that just because an action seems small to me doesn't mean that it doesn't matter or isn't worth doing. 

Jen sang a few songs at the prison also: Amazing Grace, and she and I sang A Child's Prayer, and she sang a Filipino song called Hawak Kamay.  Here's the English translation:

With hands held
Sometimes you'll feel
The problems are so heavy
Sometimes you'll have hard time
And say you can't go on
Just look up at the sky
There might be something to hold on to
Or you can call me
And you'll know anytime
With hands held
I won't leave you in your journey
In this world without guarantees
With hands held
I won't let you go in you your journey
In the world of nothingness
Sometimes you'll feel
The world is crumbling under your feet
And the tide of problems
Are taking you away
Just look up at the sky
There might be something to hold on to
Or you can call me
And you'll know anytime
With hands held
I won't leave you in your journey
In this world without guarantees
With hands held
I won't let you go in your journey
In the world of nothingness
Do not say you are alone
Always think there's someone with you
I am here, I am here
With hands held
I won't leave you in your journey
In this world without guarantees
With hands held
I won't let you go in you your journey
In the world of nothingness
In the world of nothingness
With hands held
With hands held
With hands held
In the world of nothingness   

I'm really grateful that at the time Jen was singing this at the prison I had no idea what she was saying because otherwise I would have cried my eyes out.   When we left we hugged the women and they wanted to make very sure that we were coming back.  I'm grateful I got to have an experience like this one my last week here- I've posted before about the personal longing I have felt to know that something big connects the human race, and while I don't specifically know what exactly that "something big" is, I have been blessed to feel the connectedness nevertheless. Whether I've been in the branch, in the provinces, or in the prison, what I have felt above all else is, "We are more alike than we are different."

Bangkok, Part Three and The End

Friday night we laid low- dinner near the hotel with Chris and Jen, and then the girls and baby went to bed.  On the way back to the hotel from dinner baby Zander was fussing and a hooker asked him if he needed a hug.  Bangkok is awesome.

No trip to Thailand is complete (for Bruce, anyway) without some Muay Thai boxing.  I was grateful he had a guy friend who wanted to go with him.  He reported that the fighters seemed very young.  "Like, ten." he said.  Music played the whole time and sometimes there was more dancing than fighting, at which point the referee would encourage the fighters to start beating each other again.

It's a good night of fights when someone gets taken out in a wheel chair.

We had a few hours to kill in Bangkok before our flight, so we went to Lumpini Park.  It's Bangkok's version of Central Park.  It was green and beautiful.  This statue of the king was out front.

The king's name is King Rama- all the kings are called that. The current Rama is the 9th one, and he is the longest serving head of state in the world.   He is in his 80's now and is going senile, but everyone we spoke to said that he had been a good king.  The country was beautiful and clean, so we might be inclined to agree.

The next few pictures are inside Lumpini Park.

After the park we went to the Jim Thompson House- Jim Thompson was an American architect who moved to Thailand after WWII and is credited with reviving the silk trade in Thailand.  He disappeared into the jungle without a trace and left his home to a nephew.  The home (which is 6 traditional Thai houses now joined together) is open for tours.  It was an amazing example of Thai architecture and had some cool antiques.  The Thai people believe that once something is broken, it is bad luck and they get rid of it immediately.  It stands to reason then, that they aren't much for antiques!  The tour guide said that the house was "A house full of broken things."  (Um, stop with the hard sell...) Our guide told us that the Thai people aren't good at preservation for that same reason, which is what makes the Jim Thompson house so important: he didn't care if things were broken, he just loved beautiful items. 

These girls love beautiful items too...

...as long as if by "items" you actually mean "turtles."

The main part of the house- picture taking was frowned upon so I don't have a lot.

The downside of Thailand: it was so hot and humid that it ruined two boxes of Hot Tamales that I had in my suitcase.  I'm trying not to be bitter.

The other downside of Thailand (which is actually nothing to do with Thailand and everything to do with Philippine Airlines):  We were given a lot of grief when we were trying to check in for our return flight about our visas.  The gate agent insisted that we couldn't re-enter the Philippines without proof that we were leaving, and we nearly wore our voices out explaining that we had a multiple entry visa that actually REQUIRED us to leave and come back every 59 days, and we were actually trying to COMPLY with the visa requirements and not DODGE them.  The man wasn't getting it at all, but after 40 minutes we finally were checked in- unfortunately our flight was leaving in 30 minutes, and we still had to clear passport control and security.  We were those crazy people running through the airport at a dead sprint with children in tow and panic in our eyes, but we made it.

It was a great trip and a nice farewell to Asia.  I think there are some nice things about the Philippines, but it's hard not to compare when visiting other Asian countries- many times we thought, "Get it together, Philippines, and you could be like this!"  After such fun experiences in Hong Kong and Bangkok I'm developing a love for big Asian cities!

Bangkok, Part Two

After showers and room service last night, we hit the hay and geared up for another exciting day today.  We stayed in Bangkok and took a water taxi up to the Grand Palace for the sights. 

 Bangkok is full of rivers and canals- it is sometimes called "The Venice of the East."

Thai architecture is beautiful.

Wat Arun.

At the Grand Palace.
The Grand Palace was built in 1782 and covers 218,000 square meters.
The Grand Palace is one of over 30 structures on the grounds which also includes temples, halls, and pavilions.
Anything gold that you can see is covered with 24 karat gold.
Also, if you are wondering why we are wearing so many clothes in the summer in Thailand? 
Because the Grand Palace has a dress code: no shoulders, no knees, nothing tight, and shoes off in many places.

After the Grand Palace, we walked to see a 110 foot reclining Buddha.  It was so. darn. hot.  Kiki cried through pretty much all of this.

The right of the picture is the Buddha's toes.  They are ten feet tall and are inlaid with mother of pearl.

Maybe you remember that I'm kind of obsessed with nuns?
Add monks to the list.

Did I mention it was hot?  Did I mention that Kiki was having a melt down?  Sometimes the most welcome sight to a tourist is a thin crust pizza and the hotel pool.

Bangkok, Part One

We made it to Bangkok on Thursday night at about 5, which doesn't seem too bad until I tell you that we left our flat at 8 that morning and the flight is only 3 hours.  It was a day fraught with peril: plane delays, long waits for take-off, and navigating a foreign subway.  The Jensen's (who we were meeting here) were quite certain that we had been sold into sex slavery.  The effort was worth it though!

The girls were thrilled to find a cupcake establishment that had an excellent understanding of proper frosting.  Although the Filipinos love sugar, they don't get buttercream at all.

"I get buttercream."

We had dinner and cupcakes then headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
We wanted to be prepared for Friday's adventures.

Friday started with 3 hours in the van.  The kids held it together admirably.  Naps helped.

This is a real sign.
The road we were on bisects the jungle- the heaviest part of the jungle on one side, and the water on the other, so elephants cross so they can drink.

Kate and I on the mean streets of Kanchanaburi.

The first stop of our tour was Erawan Falls.  It's a set of seven waterfalls.

Number One.

Number Two.
Those are fish behind her.  When you put your feet in the water they would nibble them.

Chris, Jen, Zander, and us.

Still waterfall number two.

Again, check out those fish!
The waterfalls are located in a national park.  It was so clean.  When we entered the area of the waterfalls, we had to procure all of our water bottles to be inventoried.  On the way out, we had to re-inventory and were fined for any missing bottles.

They had a great time playing in the waterfall.

The aforementioned fierce monkey.
They kind of were.

Waterfall Three.
Also the waterfall known as:  The waterfall where Russian tourists pull their swimsuits into their bum cracks and pose sexy on a tree right by my kids.
International travel is VERY eye opening.
And bum crack opening.

Waterfall Four.
Kiki screwed up all of her courage to slide down with Bruce.
She didn't save any for when she hit the water- she came out crying.

We only hiked four waterfalls then ran out of steam.  We were on a guided tour which turned out to be great.  Our guide called the restaurant as we were leaving the fourth fall and ordered our lunch, so by the time we reached the bottom our food was ready.

The restaurant was a total hole in the wall but it will probably go down as one of the favorite meals I've ever eaten.  The food was good, certainly, but something about good company and beautiful surroundings makes for a memorable meal.
Maybe because a transvestite cooked it.

After lunch, we crossed something else off of the bucket list: Elephant Rides.  Not much to say except it was pretty awesome.

We also went on a raft ride.

One more shot with the elephants.

We went on a train ride on the Thai-Burma Death Railway. 

Then we went to sleep.

It was an unbelievable day...sometimes on these adventures I have to pinch myself.  I never dreamed that I would find myself on the back of an elephant in Bangkok.  The girls are quite the travelers, which I'm grateful for.  They will have the chance to prove themselves: we have 24 hours of travel coming up in just ONE week.