the lastest from the Risers it makes you appreicate your blessings.

May 24, 2009



Dear Ones,

In preparation for writing this letter, I just talked to Dad about what we’ve done this past week. We’ve been here long enough that everything we do, we’ve written about before. When I think about what I just wrote it’s pretty funny that whenever we go anywhere, it’s like I’ve never been there before--I still can’t find my way around the city! I seriously think I have a direction disorder, coupled with a time zone disorder--and a lot of other disorders, too, that I won’t ask you to think further about, PLEASE. Moving forward, quickly:

Monday: Teaching, planning meeting, errands, FHE with the Oldham’s (I love FHE--always have, always will--and, honestly, it’s not just about the treats!)

Tuesday: We traveled through the countryside on our way to get signatures for wells and toilets. It’s beautiful now because wet-season rice seed beds are sprouting. We always love seeing life in Lao as it really is in the villages. It is always like a dream that we’re here. There is so much we take for granted…one of our family members recently commented about the washing machine picture Teima put on our family website--the one she used while she was here which is similar to the one we use all the time. “I can’t believe people in the world still use something like that!” was the comment. The real story is most people in the world don’t even have something that nice. Most people use a basin or bucket of water and wash and rinse their clothes by hand--and many have to walk a long way to even get to water! I noticed several women in the villages washing clothes that day--squatting down by a basin of water. We enjoy meeting the village and school leaders, drinking and eating coconuts, soaking in the sights and sounds and spirit. Teaching that night, as usual.

Wednesday: Teaching. In the afternoon, Elder Riser and I painted boards. More appropriately, we attempted to paint boards. When he resupplied our paint recently the paint store didn’t have red, so Elder Riser bought YELLOW. He thought it would be bright and cheery. It is a nice color, BUT the consistency was all wrong--way thicker than usual. So…when we stirred the grout in it became totally unmanageable. So we tried stirring in water…and more water…and more water. It was such a mess, we threw it away and tried again with the same lack of success. So…Elder Riser used the paint plain, without adding the grout, and painted backs of several boards, and then we cleaned up.

Very eventful day!

Thursday: We have been putting chalkboards into schools with a district Ministry of Education official who has been helpful beyond the call of duty in every sense of the word. Thursday, he had arranged for us to visit two schools in his home village, we thought. We were finishing the second school, when he informed us the people had prepared lunch for us before we went to the third school. What??? We had planned on only two schools although we had enough chalkboards with us to do a third because several of the classrooms had two chalkboards in them already--one in front and one in back of the classroom. So…President Khamphee and I drove back to Vientiane--about 35 km--to get more school supplies and classroom kits. We discovered in the middle of the whole process of the day, that school isn’t even in session! They are taking a break because they are not having the usual long break because the SEA Games are in December because they are not going to be ready in August because the venues won’t be done so…there will be a school break in December instead of in June. They are taking a mini-break now. Students and teachers had just come to school because we were coming! Whether or not they will still have the supplies we gave them when the school term starts is a question to be answered at some future time. Teaching in the evening.

Friday: Teaching. Shopping. Date night.

Saturday: Haircut for Dad. Laundry. Painting boards--blue this time with better success. Walked home (about an hour walk in extreme heat--I thought I might die! but Dad kept reassuring me we could make it.) Indexed my first batch of records from a South Carolina Census. If you haven’t tried this, it’s a fantastic way to use time in a worthwhile way! Go to familysearch.org to read about it and volunteer to index records. Anyone can do it--male, female, young, old, member, nonmember, people from all over the world! All you need is a computer, internet connection to download records (after downloading you can work offline until you are ready to submit completed work), and about 30 minutes a batch (after you figure out what you’re doing). It took me longer for the first batch! but I felt a fine sense of accomplishment when I was done. Try it! You’ll like it! Dad worked on preparing for his responsibilities for Sunday. At 6:00 pm, we (the Oldlham’s and the Riser’s) picked up President and Sister Dodge who were here on their last visit to Lao. They finish their assignment in July. We strolled along the Mekong to a new French restaurant we recently tried, ate dinner, then strolled over to Joma’s for desserts--such yummy delicacies as brownie blisses and cheesecake with mangos. Don’t feel too sorry for us here! Then we rolled (this is NOT a typo) home, following a wonderful and memorable evening with eternal friends.

Sunday: Sunday meetings as usual, except that President and Sister Dodge were the speakers. Sister Dodge is a master teller of stories who likens simple things in our lives to eternal principles. She gave two examples--watching her mother cards and her son putting puzzles together--to illustrate how often in our lives we seem to see no progress--and then suddenly one card or one puzzle piece can change the tempo of the activity and we begin to see the big picture. So it is with our lives, but it is our Heavenly Father who is moving the puzzle pieces around or who shuffles the cards. . .and all of a sudden things “fall into place” and we see what was happening all along. President Dodge used the same theme: Heavenly Father knows the end from the beginning. If we use the tools He has given us, we can return to Him. The tools: scriptures, leaders-especially the Prophet, and prayer and personal revelation. Our lives are richer because we know them…we are edified every time we are with them. I would love to have that affect on people. We love meeting with the members. We are grateful to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to be missionaries in Lao. We are thankful for each of you and the wealth of experience you add to our lives, too. We love you!

Until next week,

Elder and Sister Riser, aka whatever you want to call us