Quite the month, August 2012

August was a month of ups and downs. The unpleasant experiences help us to appreciate the good ones. First the good and then the not so good.

On August 5th Elder Hallstrom of the Seventies came for a meeting with President Leavitt. As one of their activities the President wanted to show Elder Hallstrom our mission office. He invited the Assistants (Elders Tongish and Biddulph), the Tiffanys and us to come to the mission office (on a Saturday when the office is closed) to meet him. It is always such a blessing to be in the company of a General Authority. He had a great spirit about him and although our meeting was short it was memorable.

 Elder Biddulph, Elder Hallstrom and Elder Tongish

Elder and Sister Tibbetts arrived in August and what a great couple they are. They took over in St. Stephens, New Brunswick which is a border city with Callais, Maine. I am sure the leaders and members there were happy to see them arrive, since the previous couple had to unexpectedly leave several months earlier. It is a great ward led by Bishop Doscus and the members are very missionary minded. They have young missionaries but the couples are especially good at reactivation and making new members feel welcome. Soon after they arrived, President Leavitt had them return to Dartmouth for a senior couple pot luck dinner so that we could get to know them. It was a special evening. They are so much fun, Sister Tibbitts is very outgoing and will have no trouble talking and reaching out to everyone.

 

 Sister and Elder Tibbits

On August 20th the Tiffanys and Griselda Campos came to dinner. The Tiffanys are a lively missionary couple assigned to the Church Education program. Sister Tiffany joined the Church in Nova Scotia many years ago when Elder Tiffany was serving as a missionary there. At that time it was part of the former New England Mission. It was several years before they married but we are sure glad they did. They are delightful. They now live in Utah and we look forward to meeting up with them is Salt Lake sometime in the future. Sister Campos is a wonderful woman from El Salvador who recently joined the church. She has been working in Canada for several years supporting her children and her mother back in El Salvador but her visa had expired and she was required to return to El Salvador. We know she will love seeing her children again but she is having a hard time leaving so many friends she has made in the church in Halifax.We had Sister Campos talk by skype with one of our sister missionaries from Mexico who is also from El Salvador. She is married and now living in St. George, Utah. It was good for Griselda to hear about the current status of the Church in El Salvador from her.

 Sister and Elder Tiffany

 Griselda Campos

Now, the not so good: Starting around the beginning of August my scalp on the right side of my head had been extremely tender. I mentioned it to a couple of people but didn't think too much of it. Then the day after our dinner with the Tiffanys and Griselda I woke up with sores all around my hairline on the right side. Immediately I thought "Shingles"! I was at the office and my head was really starting to hurt. I called Sister (Doctor) Hilda Fox, a wonderful sister in our ward who had been our doctor since we arrived but had recently retired. She and her husband are originally from England but have lived in Canada many years and joined the church there in the late 70's. I explained my symptoms to her and she agreed it was shingles. She was so wonderful. She not only called in prescriptions for me but she came to the house to check me, and even brought us dinner. Later when the shingles spread to my right eye, she got me an appointment at an eye clinic and again came to see me. The eye clinic was a long process of many visits but I am so thankful for good medical care.  It was a very unpleasant thing to go through but although the pain was severe, the support of so many people made it much easier. Members brought in meals and President and Sister Leavitt sent me some beautiful flowers. Our family at home called to give love and support as did my dear friend Carol.

 This was the beginning. The picture doesn't do it justice!!

Sister Fox

 Flowers from the Leavitts

I was out of the office recuperating for a week or so and then back only part time for another week. Elder Foley did a great job of holding down the fort at the office. President Leavitt was very understanding and encouraged me to get the rest I needed. August may have ended with health issues but we received special blessings for which we are thankful.