These comments may seem peculiar at first, but hopefully you will be able to catch the impact as the facts are related.
On the many Humanitarian and Member Welfare Trips we have taken we always know that there is a chance for harm or injury or disease. Before we depart and while we are on these trips, we pray that we will be protected from accident and sickness. We petition the Lord that we will not be hindered in our work because of health issues or external causes of harm. As all of our family know, one of the miracles of our two years in Myanmar and our over eight and a half years on this current international assignment is that we have had virtually no illness and little harm come to us. For this we are most grateful and give full credit to the hand of the Lord. Keep in mind that all of the service that we are referring to in this document has come since we were 69 years old through the age of 80 – a time in life when illness and injury normally increase dramatically.
For the two years we were in Myanmar Mom had almost literally no problems with health. With the exception of minor stomach upsets that never prevented us from any service, neither of us had any disease or illness. Dad had a kidney stone which he passed. On one occasion he had persistent chest pains and when he was checked at a private hospital in Yangon, they became frightened because of an irregular heart beat (which he has had all of his life). We flew to Bangkok and had an angiogram. The Doctor said, “you will die someday, but not from a weak heart.” The days after the test the pain subsided and has never come back. Again, except for the two days we were in Bangkok, we never missed any assignments – and none because of illness. How could we deny the hand of the Lord in giving us such good health while in that very remote and backward country? We know of no other couple who has served there that has not had illness which kept them from their mission assignment – sometimes for extended periods.
For the last eight and one-half years we have served in thirty countries. Most of these thirty are “third world” countries. On visits we have been where riots were taking place. We have been where the water was so bad we were told to be sure to close our mouth when taking a shower. We have been in situations where under normal circumstances; we would have had fear for personal safety. We have been to several locations where we could not leave where we were staying. We have been places where we could not walk in public even in the day without others (locals) being with us. We have been on extremely rough roadways and forded rivers in vehicles when we wondered if we would be able to go another ten feet. We have been on paths which were so rutted and undefined that people of any age would have trouble traversing them. While we always try to be circumspect about what we eat, we are still in positions where the options for what we can eat are slim to none. Oh, we have had some times when we took some Pepto Bismol or some anti-diarrhea medicine – but the condition was never serious enough that we missed meetings or did not fulfill the assignment for the day. When you consider the deplorable conditions, mentioned above, in which we have found ourselves as we travel from location to location within a country, you have to know that the hand of the Lord is protecting us.
Once in Argentina, Mom missed a day of meetings. She had some strange malady which caused her to be dizzy, but that too passed, and the next day she was right in the middle of the activities. Perhaps the most serious thing that has happened to Mom is that she was bitten by a mosquito in Sierra Leone and contracted malaria. She withstood the discomfort for as long as she could and finally succumbed to the bed for about three days, but even then she got up each day and performed some work. The additional miracle attached to this malady is that she has had no reoccurrence of the malaria since the first episode – this in and of itself is a true miracle. When you think of it, what is the chance that a person of any age would only have four days of noticable sickness in a period of over 3,000 days?
Dad has had similar blessings. In this 3,000 + day period he had one day of altitude sickness in La Paz, Bolivia which literally laid him out. However, that was on a Sunday when we had no assignments and by the next day he was able to fulfill all of the tasks which we had outlined for the day. There have been times of colds and discomfort, but nothing that would hinder our assigned calling.
So sickness has taken virtually no toll on our calling – and we know that this is because we have been given a special dispensation of health by our Father In Heaven. We acknowledge his hand in our lives and we witness that we have been granted this special blessing. It is a gift, and is not a result of anything we have done ourselves.
Lack of injury is another blessing for which we implore the Lord. As mentioned, some of the places we visit are accessible only by walking. Sometimes down steep ravines and often on hills and somewhat challenging paths. We have photos of Mom crossing streams on bamboo poles and walking through some interesting and unfamiliar terrain. So the chance for injury is pretty much with us on every trip we make.
Once about five years ago we were visiting a project in Monte Bonito which is in the mountains of the Dominican Republic in a very rural and rugged setting. The women in the group decided to remain in the village where we had been holding planning meetings. The men – four of us – drove up on dirt roads and then on sort of horse trails to overlook the project in which the Church had participated with an agricultural development organization. We walked the last mile or so to reach the highest point in the area so that we could observe what had been accomplish. On the way back to the vehicle we were on a very narrow foot path that was on the brink of the hill. Somehow Dad’s foot tripped and his leg slipped over the ledge. Fortunately he caught himself and did not tumble over the ledge. One of the other men came and gave him a hand up. He was in pretty heavy duty pain. Leaning on the others he hobbled back to the SUV. The women were picked up and we drove back to Santo Domingo to our hotel. The leg was painful but not excruciating. The next morning we saw the “Area Doctor” who was one of the senior missionaries. He said that he felt the leg was not broken, but even if it was, he would not have it worked on in the Dominican Republic. We had two days more work to finish, so we stayed, completed the assignment, and then returned to Salt Lake City. It was a blessing that we were able to stay and finish what we had gone to do. The thing that made it apparent that there could be a problem was that hobbling through the Atlanta Airport was a real ordeal.
The morning after we returned to Salt Lake City we went to an emergency room. Sure enough the leg was broken. However, the swelling was so great that they had to wait ten days to set the leg. From the time we returned from the Dominican Republic untill we had our next trip was eight weeks – a fortunate time frame. However, by the time the leg was put in a cast we only had six weeks remaining and the next trip was to Bolivia where all walking on hills. We were blessed once again. The leg healed well, and in spite of the doctor’s warnings and even threats we were in Bolivia on schedule – with Dad on crutches. Again we were able to fulfill our assignment and by the time we left Bolivia Dad was not using the crutches. The fact that we could continue on in the Dominican Republic and that we could fulfill the assignment in Bolivia were direct blessings from Heavenly Father – there can be no other answer. Pain was lessened, and healing was accelerated. Once again we felt the hand of the Lord.
In retrospect, the lack of injury from falls has been the most poignant indication of divine intervention in our service. Minor trips and bumps are to be expected and happen occasionally. It is the more dramatic type of falls that cause our gratitude. Once, about two years ago in Albania, we were crossing a very wide and very busy city street. Suddenly there was a siren blaring and an emergency vehicle very close. We all picked up our pace – about six of us. Mom was walking next to Dad and suddenly, right in the middle of the street she fell. By fall we mean full spread eagle fall hitting clear up to her head. Her glass flew off and she was lying in the middle of the street. It happened so fast that Dad did not even realize she had fallen. A man standing on the side of the street ran out and picked up Mom’s glasses. By then we realized what had happened and helped her up. She was, obviously a little shaken, but no cuts or major bumps. She retrieved her glasses and we walked the additional four or five blocks to our meeting as if nothing had happened. The fall was a bad one, yet there were no broken bones, or cuts or serious bruises. And Mom was able to immediately recover and proceed with our work. The only answer is that the Lord protected her and made it possible for her not to have to suffer.
Just this past week, again in Albania, dad had a similar experience. Our hotel room was on the second floor, so we had the habit of using the stairs for exercise. The stairs – including the landings were all made of a light colored marble – all blending together. One morning Mom decided not to eat breakfast, so Dad went down by himself – taking the stairs as usual. Suddenly when he came to the first landing he found himself flying through the air. Apparently his foot hit the bottom stair and his ankle twisted. In the process – all of which lasted just a split second – his body turned completely around and he landed with his back hitting the landing at the same time that his head hit the wall near the corner. The force was so great that his head literally hit the wall and bounced hitting the adjacent wall of the corner. Thus there was blunt force on both sides of his head. So spinning as he went down he landed on his back with his head hitting the wall all on marble.
It happened so fast he did not realized what had taken place. The greatest memory was his head hitting the wall and bouncing to the other wall. He was not even really stunned, although he had a sizable goose egg on each side of his head. He immediately got up and sat on the top step of the next set of stairs and took inventory for a minute. Realizing that nothing but his head hurt he got up and went to breakfast – meeting the couple that we were training. Think about it – that was a long way to fall all on hard surface with a lot of force. A couple of goose eggs and a slight headache were the total damage. The ankle hurt a little for a day then that pain was gone. No broken bones, no cuts and no other bruises. What is the chance? The only explanation is that the Lord was protecting Dad in this instance, just as in so many other smaller incidents that have happened. Again, the hand of the Lord was evident.
We certainly try to be careful and to be watchful. We do not want to tempt fate and try the Lord. But the circumstances in which we find ourselves are such that we must rely on Heavenly Father’s guidance and care.
It is our testimony that we now feel and have felt the hand of the Lord in our Mission assignments. We are humbled by the fact that he knows of us and is watching over us. We bear testimony of His goodness, His watchful eye, and His care.
Mom and Dad
September 1, 2015
