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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Senior Missionary Conference

President and Sister Senior chose to have the senior missionary "specialized" training conference to be conducted on 15 - 17 May 2014 in Khao Yai, Thailand.  Khao Yai, is a popular country retreat about 2 1/2 hours north and east of Bangkok.  The Thames Valley Khao Yai resort, that we spent 2-nights, takes its inspiration from the country homes found along the River Thames, which flows through southern England. The resort complex consists of 58 rooms, offering seven different room types. Our room, for 4,000 Baht per night, was superb. The resort is situated on Thanarat Road, five minutes from Khao Yai National Park. 
Note:  Single click on any image to enlarge.  
This is President Senior conducting the training.  
The Training Agenda was as follows


 Cover of our training booklet. 


Thursday - First day's training.

Friday - 2nd day's training.


Saturday - 3rd day's training.
The training items that had the greatest impact on Elder Moleff was:
  1. We are first called to be missionaries, then our speciality (Family History) is second. Because of this Sister Moleff and I have invited the Sister Missionaries to have their contacts over for Family Home evening each Monday.
  2. Before President Senior came, the Bangkok Thailand mission was averaging 40 baptisms per month.  Now, with the inspired approach outlined below, the Bangkok Mission had over 200 baptisms last month with an average of 160 baptisms/month since January 2014.  The approach is now being used successfully in Poland. 
The Missionaries street contact and teach repentance and baptism, with the first discussion possibly being the commandments.  The doctrine being:
  • D&C 11:9  Say nothing but repentance unto this generation.
  • D&C 53:3 Take upon you mine ordination, even that of an elder, to preach faith and repentance and remission of sins, according to my word, and the reception of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands;
The principal being that all need repentance and baptism to enter into the Kingdom of God (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

The practice being, that the missionaries street contacting, will stop a person and ask, something like this, "Would you like to be forgiven of your sins?" or "Would you like to be baptized, so your sins may be forgiven?"  Many, say "no" or are offended because it implied that they sin.  So the missionaries move on.  After 30 to 50 street contacts, 1-person will say "yes-I want my sins forgiven."  One person was so taken by the Spirit, that he started street contacting along with the Missionaries and asking the same question.  This approach is in direct compliance with the Doctrine of Christ; and it is, what I consider, one of the best weeding-out process to find the elect that I am familiar with; those whom the Lord has prepared to receive the Gospel and build His Kingdom before His Second coming.  
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE RESORT ARE SHOWN BELOW 

Front door to our room.



Sitting Room. 
 I want a couch that deep in front 
of my fireplace back home.

Hallway from the door.  Sitting area on the right, bedroom on the left.  


  
The door on the left pass the TV goes out to
 a small patio.  On our last day we discovered about 4 TV stations in English but did not have or take time to watch anything.





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President Senior coming up the walk.
Our Thursday night dinner.


 This is a Thai dish that Elder Moleff ordered.  It was described as Glass Noodles with Seafood and Herbs.  There was shrimp, squid, and octopus for the sea food.  It was tasty.  Squid a bit chewy. Octopus legs not bad.  Did not try octopus body.

For breakfast there were two cooks on the patio.  They were fixing egg dishes.  You could order your  omelet  1, 2, 3 eggs and select what you wanted in it. Very Good.
Everything about the resort was magnificent.


Breakfast Bar inside with anything a person might want.   Imagine, even a Thai breakfast.
All the food was very delicious, and the presentation outstanding.

The photographs below are of a lunch visit to Palio a replicated Tuscan Village

There was a beautiful floor lamp in here but we were not allowed to take pictures and it was not for sale.  But imagine the cost if the small purse I thought Becca would like cost over $100.00.





Can you guess which object outside is not part of the store display?



Friday Night Dinner at Vino De Zanotti Italian Restaurant 
No Kidding Folks, this was REAL Italian


Can you guess who was first in the door?

 Entrance to the restaurant.


Nice looking restaurant.
 
Getting  ready for the feast.

Sister Moleff ordered the Sea Bass.  And of course its baked in a 1/2" sea salt cake after the insides have been cleaned, deboned, and herbs and seasoning added - You know, just the usual way we cook fish at home. 


Restaurant manager getting the salt off without allowing the salt to oversalt the fish.
What the Sea Bass looked like on the plate.




One satisfied customer.  She let Elder Moleff have a small bite.  And let me tell you something, this was the best fish that Elder Moleff ever eat. Unless it might have been the Trout that was baked in a brown paper bag in Alabama -but thats another story.

THURSDAY MORNING OF CONFERENCE WE VISITED THE KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK

 Khao Yai National Park (Thai: เขาใหญ่, pronounced [kʰǎw jàj]) is a national park in Thailand.
Khao Yai National Park is situated in the western part of the Sankamphaeng Mountain Range, at the southwestern boundary of the Khorat Plateau. The highest mountain in the area of the park is 300 m high Khao Rom.
This park lies largely in Nakhon Ratchasima Province (Khorat), but also includes parts of Saraburi, Prachinburi and Nakhon Nayok provinces.
The park is the third largest in Thailand. It covers an area of 300 square kilometers, including evergreen forests and grasslands. Its altitude mostly ranges from 400 to 1000 m above sea level. There are 3,000 species of plants, 320 species of birds like red junglefowl and Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo and 66 species of mammals, including Asiatic black bear, Asian elephant, gaur, gibbon, Indian sambar deer, pig-tailed macaque, Indian muntjac, dhole, and wild pig. Although evidence of tiger presence has not been recorded recently, monitoring by FREELAND Foundation in collaboration with Department of National Park rangers has discovered tigers (the Indochinese tiger subspecies) in other parts of Eastern Thailand where they were previously thought to have been completely extirpated. Its waterfalls include the 80 metre Heo Narok, and Heo Suwat made famous from the film The Beach. Namtok Sarika is popular with the Thais.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we did not see any animals.  We did, however, see road signs for "BEWARE ELEPHANT CROSSING," and "BEWARE COBRA CROSSING."


ON OUR WAY TO THE HEO ( or HEAW ) NAROK WATER FALL
  
Some sort of species of domesticated life ahead.  I wonder what they are?  Humm--- Looking good!

This one had to be restrained between two fences.







 
I suppose you've seen of a Cattle Guard.  But, have you ever seen an Elephant Guard?
 
A snake or a vine?  What do you Think?


Walking down 2km to the Waterfall.  And yep, you're right, we had to walk up 2 km.   I wonder why the walk up took longer than the walk down - same distance.  Just cant figure it. 



Very steep going down.  Knees did not like it.



Very tiring coming back up.  For a bunch of seniors that is.  199 steps, and NO Sister Moleff did not count them someone else in the party did!



This is the highest waterfall in Khao Yai. It cascades over three levels with the final level hurtling 80 meters into a deep abyss. At the height of the rainy season, this waterfall is a truly fearsome sight. In fact, almost every year at least one elephant loses its life after slipping into the treacherous water.
Heaw Narok (hell abyss) is on the south side of the park (in Nakon Nayok province). There is a 2km hike from the road through the jungle to the falls.


Open U-Tube Video of Waterfall

And now after a splendid, but tiring, morning it was FEEDING TIME!
 (its called LUNCH if you really want to know).  

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