Mutant Dog and Pig Throat

Another episode of..... An Elder's Life in Thailand

This is my favorite letter so far. I TBAG(truly busted a gut-so much better than LOL) while reading it. And then I got to relive it all over again when I read it to Megan and Jake! This letter should win an award or something!

"So it was a pretty good week. I guess I'll start with talking about the subject line. Last week I told you about some of the sweet Thai cuisine I got to eat. Well, my trainer has been feeding me this stuff called Namtog once or twice a week. It's a dish from the east side of Thailand; a region called the Isaan. It's pretty tasty stuff. Sticky rice, or khawniaw, with some spicy meat. Usually served with some cabbage and minty tasting leaves on the side. Often ate with hands only. It's just spicy enough to still be enjoyed. Well, I always had a little suspicion about the meat, and I found out this week, two days ago in fact, that it is always made with pig throat! Delicious!! Haha. On the same day, I think, a few of our appointments had fallen through again so we were hitting the streets pretty hard, doing some inviting. Elder Kelley and I were just rolling along, chatting as we searched for people to talk with. It was mid-day, and most people hide inside to escape the heat, but not us missionaries! So anyway, all of a sudden, Elder Kelley is like, "Whoa! Check out this dog!" The only dog I saw was like 100 yards down the alley, so I asked him which one, and he's like, "This one!!" So I look over and there is this wretched heap of... of... something laying on this little platform, making some really disturbing breathing noises. Turns out it is a dog that had almost no hair, had numerous growths all over it's body, and was just laying there, waiting to die. It's skin looked like a pink Yoda, except not all neat and cute, but hidious. We got some pictures, so I'll send them your way soon (probably on a cd instead of the card, sounds like that's the best way to do it). A lot of the dogs here have mange and look gross, but this one looked like something little kids check for under their beds and in their closets every night.

In other news, I got sick last week. It started on Thursday morning when we were doing companion study. I just felt like garbage. Headache. Body ache. The works. I knew it was going to be a bad day. Well, I toughed it out. Decided to go with some advice I heard from a buddy back at the Academy that the best way to get rid of sickness is to PT it out of yourself. Haha. Yeah, didn't work. Went to bed a little early that night, but didn't sleep. Tossed and turned. Had to hit the bathroom about five or six times. The fourth time I just stayed out of bed and layed on the ground next to the bathroom. It was storming pretty hard outside, and while I was laying there it sounded like someone had broken into the house so I was trying to figure out how I could take on some little Thai guy who knows muay thai kickboxing when all I've got is a little bit of kung fu from Brother Franklin and some good ol' American style boxing from the Academy and I'm sick out of my mind. Fortunately, no one broke in. Morning came finally, and I started trying to get ready. Needless to say I didn't work out because I was totally out of commission. Started ironing some clothes for the day and had to sit down to regain strength or run to the bathroom every 30 seconds. I was determined to get out of the house, but after puking my guts out, I crawled back to my bed and just layed there until Elder Kelley came upstairs. Decided to sleep until 11:30 and see how I felt. Slept until 2 and could tell Elder Kelley was going insane having to stay inside, so even though I was still only at like 60%, I got up and went to work. We were waiting for a taxi, and my bowels were still just going crazy. I was fighting like a champion to keep from soiling myself, but finally a fart escaped. Well, you know how flatulence is when you have diarrhea... You just don't do it. I thought I was safe from the feel of things, until a taxi finally rolled up and I moved to get inside. I could tell by the lack of friction between my cheeks (no, not the ones on my face) that something was very, very wrong. Yes. Yes, I had scharted, and it was BAD. So I had to wait another hour until we got back to the house and I had an opportunity to assess the damage and get outfitted with some fresh threads... Not somethings you usually tell people about. Dark days, you know? But as I sit here reliving the experience as I write it, it really is quite hilarious. It would be unjust to keep this one to myself. So that was how the end of the week went. The cherry on top was I think Sunday night. Before leaving the house, I looked outside and decided it was so beautiful out that rain gear was absolutely unnecessary. As I held the poncho in my hand trying to decide whether to leave it on the desk or in my bag, I had this sneaking suspicion that if I left it, karma was going to own me. I was right. It sprinkled a bit, but we had a chance to go home and eat. I looked at the poncho again, and my gaze shifted back and forth from it to the outside. I had to make this decision again, and I chose incorrectly once again. I thought the sprinkling was all Thailand had instore for us that day, but 7:30 rolled around and it started pouring. We hid under a tree until the worst of it was over, but I still got soaked. Elder Kelley was ok though, because he has already learned that rain gear is absolutely essential here, no matter what it looks like outside. I just laughed the whole time, because it really was, like I said, the cherry on top! The work itself is going great. We have four awesome guys with baptismal dates. We got two new investigators yesterday. I am doing a lot more talking to people on the streets. Life is good. I can't complain!
Love,
Aaron"


The mutant dog

Oh, what adventures!

Remember the picture of Aaron eating "something" on a hot dog bun? We asked him what is was when we talked to him on Christmas day. You'll never guess. Unless of course you have been to Thailand and you know this great kept culinary secret. It's...........ice cream!