Mannings 2 Thailand: Senior Missionary Conference

We attended our first Senior Missionary Conference held in Kanchanaburi at the Felix River Kwai Resort on May 9-11. All but two of the 15 senior couples serving in our mission were able to be present, and it was a delight to get to meet everyone. We missed the two couples that couldn't make it!!

Ready to head out for our weekend Missionary Conference!

Our Mission President and his wife taught us, among other things, about miracles. Sister Senior taught us that the Savior was able to feed the 5000 because He took what He had and made more of it. She said he continues to do the same with us - He takes us as we are and is able to work miracles with us. She stated that it is a miracle that we're all here serving together and that He allows us to be successful! We were instructed to be creative in our thinking of ways to serve others and to especially find ways to serve with the young missionaries and be examples to them. She said that the senior couples are a huge strength to the Mission, and she was very appreciative and in awe by the service we all render. President Senior referred to Pres. Uchtdorf's message about our being His hands and thus we should serve as He would if He were here. He said that we do everything we do in the name of the Lord, and He helps us from there. By following the Spirit, we can be the answer to someone's prayer. That is an awesome thought!! We were told that in those discouraging moments that come on our mission, and we can each know that there will be some, that we can know this is the Lord's work!! On the last day of the Conference, as usual, we had a testimony meeting. How thrilling it was to hear everyone's testimony!! Those are always the highlight of a Conference - whether it's for the youth or for the Seniors!! The Spirit touches all hearts no matter the age of the heart! It was a beautiful experience, and we are so blessed to be here with these remarkable brothers and sisters serving the Lord together.

Our first stop on our way to the resort was the War Cemetery and Museum, where we learned about the history of the area - and the great loss of life involved in the building of a railway through the area. During WWII, the Japanese army needed to transport goods to the war front in Burma so it was decided they needed to build a railway from Thailand to Burma in order to transport those goods. At the Cemetery, it was heartbreaking to look at the headstones and see the names of all the young men who died in the effort and see that most of them were in their early 20's. The country of Thailand had donated the land for the cemetery, which was a very kind gesture, to honor all those young men who gave their lives. It was a beautifully maintained cemetery and very touching to visit.

(pretend there is a "D" on the first word, so it reads "Death Railway Museum"!)

Our next stop was the Museum, where we learned more about the torture and devastation the men endured as POW's. The Japanese used their POW's to do the hard labor, as well as men from surrounding countries that they bribed to do the manual labor in building the railway. These men ultimately became their slaves, and over 90,000 perished from the ordeal. Over 16,000 Allied soldiers gave their lives. That anyone survived the experience is absolutely miraculous!

The next day, we toured the Hellfire Pass and Museum. A little history lesson: Hellfire Pass is the name given to that part of the railway line where so many young men perished due to the tortuous conditions of cutting through the mountainous, rocky pass using the most rudimentary tools available. It was truly a moving experience being there where so many men gave the ultimate sacrifice so that freedom could endure. It felt like sacred, holy ground.

A view of the winding stairs down to the Hellfire Pass area.

A clump of bamboo trees - bamboo everywhere!!!

Same bamboo clump - farther away!

A portion of the original railway through Hellfire Pass.

This gives you a little perspective of the task faced by the POW's.
They were working right in the middle of the hot, tropical rainy season. Unbelievable!!

For Jeremy: this looked like a red Box Elder bug! They were everywhere!!

The next day, we were able to go see the Bridge over the River Kwai, the very bridge that the movie starring Alec Guiness was based on!

Elder took enough photos of this bridge that he could probably construct one in his dreams!!

We were told by a friend when we first arrived in Thailand that we need to make sure we get out of Bangkok every few months so we can get a feel for what Thailand is truly like. We now understand why he said that. Bangkok is NOT what Thailand is! This is a truly beautiful country when you get out of the city. We are blessed to be here and believe that He brought us here to do His work, and now we are doing our best to serve Him here in Thailand. He has blessed our family with a multiplicity of blessings, and serving this mission is our way of showing gratitude to Him for those blessings.

Here are a few photos of our hotel in Kanchanaburi. Very lush place!!! So unlike Bangkok!

Our group had dinner at a fabulous restaurant on a deck overlooking the river and the Bridge, and we were blessed with a beautiful sunset to cap off our weekend. (This is a party boat that was going down the river. Sounded like they were having almost as much fun as we were!)