I look at the pictures at the beginning of this blog and I can't believe it has been three months since we received our call, so many things have happened.
We have seen, done and been through so much and we keep learning more each day, not just about our work in the office but about ourselves, the scriptures, and the church.
We love these missionaries and the fine people that they are, we have wonderful young men and women and senior couples that inspire us each day.
The one senior sister in our office, Sister Green, who is over referrals had a grandson die last
Tuesday morning. I took the call from a family member who asked to speak with the president, I told her that he was in interviews at one of the churches in Brampton, she said it was a family emergency and she needed to speak with him, I gave her his cell number. I have the phone 27-7 and when I get a call like that I immediately give them his cell number because it is always something bad. A few minutes latter the president called me and told me that the lady was Sister Green's daughter saying that Sister Green's grandson had died that morning of a drug overdose, and he wanted me to be aware when the call came in for Sister Green, that I was to be there to help her, just before the president called she received the call and was on the phone the same time I was talking to him, I could hear her crying in her office and told him that I would take care of her. I went in and she was sobbing at her desk. I hugged her and let her tell me about it; this grandson was a good boy but was rebellious and wanted to do it his way. Sister Green has only one son and he and his wife tried so hard to be the best parents they could, but no matter what they did, Adam made his own choices. The parents felt like such failures and Sister Green was so hoping that when he turned 19 in June that maybe he would pull his life together and go on a mission. I told her that his parents were not to blame, we can teach and teach and love and love but it all comes down to choice and he made some bad choices. I also told her that now he was on a different mission now, this seemed to help.
Sister Stevens (her companion who is over the vehicles) and I took Sister Green to Buffalo that afternoon to fly to Ohio to meet her daughter and continue to fly to Utah. President and Sister Middleton were so kind and told us to take her and not to worry about the office, Dad stayed behind to answer the phones etc.
We left here at 3:30 in the afternoon and her flight was for 6:00 p.m., it usually takes 2 hours to get to Buffalo and then we have to wait at the border for 15 minutes to an hour to get over, we knew that it would be a miracle to get her there in time. We all said a prayer and even though we were going into the early rush we made it to the border in an hour and a half, we were so worried that the border would have a long line but there was one car a head of us in our line and we were through in 5 minutes, and had her to the airport by 5:00, we knew that the Lord had followed us and taken care of us, because it just doesn't go that easy.
I have been doing my work as well as Sister Green's this week, Dad helps me pull the referrals on his computer, mine won't do it, and then I call the missionaries to give them the referrals. It is so fun to hear how excited they are to get them.
Dad and I have been looking out for Sister Stevens, she lives 8 floors down from us so we can keep in touch with her and we are in a lock down building so she is protected or else the president would have her stay with them.
Sister Stevens is going to our YSA ward tomorrow, I am looking forward to her meeting and seeing the kind of missionary work that we do. She and Sister Green are in a regular ward, Sister Green plays the piano in the primary and Sister Stevens supports the missionary class. They also do volunteer work at a care center and visit a couple of families that are inactive.
As I watched Sister Green look so stricken and in shock I realized what people have said that it is so difficult for a parent to outlive their children and grandchildren, I knew what they meant Tuesday as I took care of her and watched her struggle with the terrible loss in her family. I also watched the Holy Ghost come over her and give her peace as we continued throughout the day, how blest we are to have the gospel in our lives to help us through the difficult times when they come.