Chuckles from Thailand

Hey Mom and Dad,

Whoa! Great news from home this week! Spencer, MaryBeth, and Tori all safe and sound in Utah. (I suppose every Mormon has to live there at some point. With the exception of my birth, I have dodged the bullet thus far. I wonder how long that will last... Maybe I'll get stationed at Hill one day. As long as it is on assignment to fly F-16s, or maybe even F-22s, I suppose I can handle that!) Jacob is about to finish hs and move on to bigger, better things (btw, if he is still looking at art schools, I talked to a sister in my zone who is an outstanding artist and she told me about a school in New York, or maybe Pennsylvania, run by Marvel Comics... sounds like it is pretty competitive, but it's probably worth a look). Stephen Henderson got his mission call. I suppose all the guys back there are getting there calls. That is a really exciting time of the year for the LDS cadets. And the news about CM Pomeroy's MLA approaching you first, Dad, that is awesome!!! I have been pulling back on my own reigns with all my might to keep from sending my request for reapplication too soon. I still have all the info you all sent at Christmas, and based on the instructions therein, I will start corresponding with the Academy and Mr. Heiggard late next month. Still a little early, but I think it'll be ok. Oh, and MASSIVE THANKS for the Girl Scout cookies and ties!! Oh man! I totally wasn't expecting that! I got the package when I went to Bangkok last week. I was talking to the new missionary that took my place in Don Muang when another elder comes up with this huge box for me. I about fainted when I was overcome with joy upon reading the contents of the box. I have one box of cookies left, and am currently wearing the blue tie. Well, gross story first, and then I'll tell you about my first baptism. So, remember ages ago when we were rafting and I fell out of the boat and smashed into the water ear first and couldn't hear for a while? Well, that problem has reoccurred now and then over the past few years, mostly when I go swimming and stuff. We all thought it was a build up of wax and that we got it out with the ear wax softener... Well, about two months ago, it happened again, but with both ears! I just woke up one morning and everything was muted. I pulled the tough guy maneuver and decided to wait it out... you know gather some intelligence on the issue before I decide to go to the doctor... see how bad it really is or potentially could be... Oh and constant ringing was another symptom. Eventually, I discovered that usually by the time study was over and we were on our way out the house, my ears weren't plugged anymore, but the ringing was still there. I figured that the ringing was just the effects of pressure from the wax build up and that my ear drums would heal with time.... This assumption was based on zero medical training whatsoever, but it was based on my desire to rationalize away a trip to the doctor that would end in me being called a sissy or something. Not that that would ever happen, but I think that is what is going through every man's mind when he refuses to go to the docs. So anyway, one day, the inability to hear returned and didn't go away for a few days. That was cramping my style. Not only couldn't I understand the language in the first place, but now I had to try and understand something I couldn't understand without even hearing it!! So I gave in and called Sister Dodge to get the ok to go to the hospital. The hospital referred us to a small clinic. After a 1.5 hour wait time, I finally get in. The doc spoke pretty good English, so in an English/Thai conversation, I learned that I had a massive build up of wax deep inside both ears, that the wax was hard, and that it would be better to try softeners before using the probe to get the wax out. I told her I had tried to softeners before and that I wanted it out ASAP. The rest of the conversation went approximately as follows:Doc: It's gonna hurt.Me: I don't care. Get it out.Doc: Can you endure the pain?Me: Yes...At this point my companion busted out laughing, the doc called her assistant in, and they started sticking this long, skinny, silver probe in my ear. It had a little loop on the end. It looked kind of like the lassos animal control people use these days. Suddenly a lot of pressure in my ear. Felt like someone had stuck a vacuum in there. Then I felt the probe leave my left ear and all of a sudden I could hear again. It was amazing. They did the right ear next. I can't believe what came out of my ears and what a difference it made. I could hear clothes rustling as people across the room shifted position in their chairs. I could hear air rushing past teeth as people near me breathed. Pretty much all I couldn't hear was hearts beating. Every individual tread on my bike tire hitting the pavement as we left was caught by my now Daredevil-like hearing. As to what came out of my ears. It was disgusting. Two big, dark, dark orange (to the point of being black) wads of wax about the size of a pinky nail. Got the picks. Look forward to em. The assistant put them on a little tissue, showed em to us, then handed them to me and said to show them to my girlfriend... She was disappointed to find out that the only people I would be showing them to were the other two elders back at the house later that night. So that's that story. Going to the bathroom the next few mornings was out of control. The sound of my pee hitting the water in the bowl was far too loud. I had to figure out how to plug my ears and aim at the same time... Sorry if that is too much coming from a missionary, but that is just the way it is. Anyway, on to the spiritual side of things. Brother Iit got baptized last Sunday. Nothing super amazing. Just a great program where the branch president spoke, along with the member, Brother Mii, who helped teach Brother Iit everything. I had the privilege to be the one who performed the ordinance. No sweet stories except for a confirmation through the Holy Ghost that the priesthood is real. That we need to use our priesthood to serve, and the best way to serve is to be worthy at all times so that we may administer ordinances of salvation, such as baptism, to others. Elder Nordgren and I were asked to give a blessing to the young daughter of one of our single sisters two days later. Sister Baw (like ball without the ls) was so grateful. Even if she hadn't said so a million times, we would have known due to the look in here eyes. Here again I realized what being a Melchizedek priesthood holder is all about. Beautiful experiences. Well, my time is past gone. Until next week,

Love,
Aaron