I'll love you forever...

When I think of my mother, I think of a book that she read to me when I was a little boy. I don't even know if she remembers the book, but the words in it have stuck with me throughout my whole life. I remember my mother reading this book to me and acting it out as she sang the song each time, lulling me to sleep. Enjoy!

“A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "This kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town.  If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.”

(Original book by Robert Munsch)

The Work: 

We have the church to stay. The keys are handed over, the building is ours. We made it! The branches will have full access to all of the blessings of a normal church building. That is such a blessing. My thanks be to God that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established here in Laos. It is a miracle! 

Visiting Sister Janhuan and her grandaughter Khidnoy

Brother Janpheng and his wife

Some BYU professors from the linguistics departments of BYU Hawaii, BYU Provo, and BYU Idaho came to do some workshops with the Lao English professors from all around Vientiane. We went to help out. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I should have! This is Dr. Anderson from BYU Hawaii talking about reading with the students. Fantastic training! It was such a pleasure to meet these very smart people!"

The Funnies: 

We were playing with some of Brother Janpengs children, and one of their little boys had a toy that he played with. He would throw it in the air, and the toy would buzz around the floor, trying to escape the grasp of this 3 year old. It made cool sounds too! The toy is a bug that this little one found in the forest. Classic Lao. “Cool toy there, what is it?” "A bug," he says hahahahah. 

#tallpeopleproblems

My new car

The Culture: 

Elder Cheney learning how to weave

For you Mom: this is the man who made the nativity set!

Get into the truck... what is this?... oh... raw meat from the market. Classic Lao

A stand that sells different spices

Small American influence in Laos. We met with the Ambassador from the United States (Ambassador Bitter), who was just fantastic. She held a "town hall" kind of meeting which we attended with other American citizens. America is awesome! I am so grateful to have the freedoms that I do, regardless of who is president, what problems might be happening...I still deeply love America and will be eternally grateful for our country’s forefathers who set up this great nation. [Mom comment: ...and the foremothers who helped but whose efforts remain largely undocumented.]

The Spiritual Thought: 

I hope you know how much I love you Mom. I'll love you forever I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be.

-- 

Love the Lord and Laugh, 

ອັບຣາຮາມ ສະມິດ-ດິກສ

Abraham Smith-Driggs