Orchids and Bodies

 This week we were able to find a few people home as we worked on our list and did our visiting teaching.  We found two more families who had moved. One man who we have visited with a couple of times had moved, we have seen him at the Farmer's Market, so we have been going there every Friday to see if we could visit with him, and this week he was there.  He is living with his sister and seems happy.  We were glad to get an update on  him.

One sister on our list lives in a trailer park and has orchids across the front and one side of her trailer...these white ones, purple and bright yellow.  She also has a pineapple growing.  We had a delightful visit with her and invited her back to church.  She has visiting teachers and knows the Filipino sisters in the ward...sounded positive, so we are hopeful.  As we left, she gave me two stems from her bushes, most were buds but they have opened up and are incredible!!  How sweet of her!!

I am grateful for a body that is still pretty healthy and lets me get around.  One man we go visiting teaching to has had eyeball transplants and a kidney transplant and is hopeful of soon getting a pancreas.  He is a diabetic and his circulation in his legs is bad.

Another just got home from a care center and has been there for a month this time.  And another is in her late eighties and has such a hard time getting around, some dementia.  Hard things...

Then we went to visit Jim Brotemarkle (his wife was the one who died) and has had problems with his colon and now cannot leave the house and can hardly eat anything.  I was glad we went, he was pretty down. As we left, he hugged Elder Medsker and called him his friend.  Hard things and feeling very alone.

Then we went with the Elders to teach Paul who is in a wheelchair and has to find another place to live.  He has a baptismal date on the 30th and was wondering about how that would work with him hardly able to stand and being quite heavy. He was pretty upbeat, has strong faith and seems excited to be baptized.

So I am glad for the blessing of a body, even with its minor problems and wrinkles and aging spots!!

We went to breakfast on Monday, with the Petts, a senior couple that went home in December.  So good to see them again!  Then on Wednesday we walked out on the pier with the Jeppeson's and had dinner.  We have made some great friends with the other couples serving here, it is good to get together and support each other and just visit!

It was transfers this week and Elder Tirrell was transferred and Elder Bittner replaced him.  They are the ones we work with the most, Elder Howard stayed.  We also got a new Spanish Elder that lives next to us!!  Change!!

Ali and her children are on their way and will be here in about an hour!!  So excited to have them visit!!