Sister Boyack progressed well this week. When I saw her Thursday morning she was unhooked from all IVs, standing, talking, laughing, and eating. And she was able to wash her hair, which is thick enough it will hopefully cover up the shaved undercut on one side. She was given permission to leave the hospital yesterday but it took over 24 hours and lots of phone calls to get her actually released. Which is why we don't usually let missionaries be admitted. (It's like checking out in the grocery store--you think you're done when you get to the checkout stand here, but it usually takes as long to check out as it does to shop!) She is not allowed to fly for at least a couple more weeks, so she and her mom will stay in Sister Cole's apartment in the same condominium unit as the other couples.
Dad interviewed five zones of missionaries this week and also sent a missionary home, so it was a long week. Friday we were so late returning from interviews we had to cancel the office meeting and he ate and fell fast asleep on the couch. He had meetings yesterday at the office and all day today up in Baliwag District and baptismal interviews in SJDM and then an MCM with Fairview stake president tonight. I attended our ward with our new mission nurse and her husband. He is a little anxious about driving, but he's gradually getting up his courage and drove home crossing a five-lane highway today. With kidney stones, a mysterious rash, an infected toenail and various other maladies she said she is surprised at all the sickness. The weather is so warm now the whole country feels like a giant petri dish. Maybe that's why they keep the temperature so low in the hospital.
It's fun to hear the stories from our new missionaries of how they joined the church. One elder told me he met the sisters and they taught him one lesson. He was interested, but so shy that when they returned he jumped out of a second-story window to avoid having to talk with them and hurt himself! Later he played basketball with the elders and eventually they asked if he wanted to learn more and they taught and baptized him four years ago. He has since baptized his father and two brothers and his mom has a baptismal date in May. It's very easy for him to share the gospel because he's felt the changes in his life.
As I entered the building today, the American missionaries asked me, "What are the changes announced at conference?" They watch it next weekend, but I could honestly tell them I hadn't heard of any changes in the Saturday sessions. Stewart was able to listen to almost all three sessions in his drives today--one advantage of Metro-Manila traffic. The other is that it gives you lots of practice in patience. "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:4) If I were patient, I would be perfect!
Thanks for your prayers and emails, texts and photos. I love technology. (You will be surprised, but I am a technology whiz compared to Sister Sommerfeldt. I taught her to copy and paste texts and now we're working on opening documents and forwarding emails. I feel like a teenager helping an old person. Kind of.)
Love,
Mom
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