I Want to Kill Someone!

Dear Family,

While Switzerland, Germany and Austria are letting up on their quarantines, the Philippines--with only about 400 deaths in over 100 million people--is tightening the lockdown and Duterte is threatening martial law if people aren't more diligent in staying inside.  In many areas, missionaries are not allowed to leave their house at all except that one-person may leave for a three-hour block once/week to buy food and medicine.  It's getting more difficult for me to be positive, especially since hints are being circulated by new media that the lockdown will continue past April 30 and into May.  So gratitude is particularly important in this situation.

--We are trying to keep Dennis employed, but he was unable to come for two days since he wasn't allowed to leave his subdivision.  Fortunately, he came Saturday afternoon with a government travel pass, so hopefully he can come now.  We are hoping the pass will allow him to get back the Metro-Manila border.

--We were scheduled to speak at the weekly MTC devotional April 16, so when my phone notified me that it was ten more minutes until I was to speak, I was confused (having totally forgotten it), and then thankful I avoided that opportunity!

--We held online district conference Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with the nine districts in the mission.  Stewart divided the smaller mission into three large zones, so we met separately with each district, three each day.  It surprised me how much one can feel the Spirit through a Zoom call!  It was more difficult to hold a discussion, but Stewart managed it well, and I watched the rapt attention the missionaries paid to his remarks.  The music, prayers and missionary leader participation were outstanding.  Stewart told them he's never been more (righteously) proud of missionaries in the 33.5 months he's served, than he is now in how they are handling the confinement to their apartments.

--We had 72 hours of NO HEALTH CHALLENGES -- no calls at all on Saturday, Sunday and Monday!!  And since then, most calls were not serious and even the serious ones resolved favorably.  Friday morning we took Elder Gamage Don and his companion to St Lukes Quezon City Hospital at recommendation of AMA to have him checked for appendicitis.  After ten hours and negative blood and urine tests and X-rays they wanted to schedule a CT scan (at least six more hours) but graciously let us sign a waiver to watch him at home.  He continues to feel better, for which we are thankful.  

--That evening, after a long day, a sister called Dad to tell him her companion pulled a knife on her and said, "I want to kill someone!"  The knife-wielding missionary has only been here one month, and wanted to go home since day#3, but she cannot return since there are no domestic flights to her island.  She's been disobeying mission rules and her companion was concerned before the knife-incident, but even more afterward.  Stewart persuaded the area presidency counselor to let her go to the MTC to await her return, where the knives are less accessible.  It was good of President and Sister Clark to agree, since they're already overloaded with foreigners waiting to return home and Filipinos from foreign missions waiting to return home.  When we picked her up, she was very pleased to be leaving--one step closer to the airport!  Sister Clark arranged for us to meet with our beloved Pakistani sister, who we are very grateful is still in the MTC awaiting Pakistan's borders to open.  We had a nice visit with her --and rejoicing in the miracle that she would actually complete her mission --and while we were talking, a missionary from Australia walked by who Stewart has really wanted to see.  He was able to give him some good counsel in person (he's struggling with MTC rules) and it was great to be able to tell him goodbye because with so many missionaries we didn't have that chance.

--We were relaxing together last night about 9:30pm, watching a Korean drama,  and got a call that a sister was totally unconscious and unable to be revived.  The AMA said we needed to take her to the hospital, but we didn't even know if we could even get into her subdivision!  We made it to her apartment in about 20 minutes and she was totally out.  But her heart rate was normal and she was breathing fine.  We tried, with her two companions, to get her down the steep, narrow stairs, but we just couldn't do it.  Stewart called an ambulance and had me call the assistants and office elders for help.  The elders arrived and  one anointed her and Stewart gave her a blessing promising she would be okay and that we could get her down the stairs (she is a solidly built Polynesian).  Two elders had experience with EMT work, so they instructed the others how to carry her, and with Stewart's help they made it down to the main floor.  

An army man and a couple of others came in, and we assumed it was the ambulance, but it was actually the barangay captain and his cohorts checking to see who was breaking quarantine and curfew!  After taking her temperature and being assured she didn't have the Wuhan virus, they volunteered to escort us to the hospital.  It was a great blessing because they took us to a small hospital we hadn't used before.  There was no one in the outside ER (they set up tents outside so as not to infect the hospital) and the doctor came right out, put Sister Raebati on a stretcher and inflicted some pain in her chest, then assured us she would be okay -- evidently since she reacted to the pain, she was fine!  So after a glucose shot and a little rest, she woke up, embarrassed to have caused so much trouble, and the doctor released her.  I've never been to an ER in the Philippines where the stay wasn't at least four hours, and where they didn't want to do extensive tests and usually want to admit them to observe.  This doctor was amazing and we were so happy to fall into bed, exhausted, by 1am.  The ambulance never came, so we're very thankful for the help of the elders.

I'm thankful to write and focus on the positive.  My natural-woman-mind automatically goes to the negative, but I'm trying to retrain it, and this exercise is helpful.  I need to get to the point where I am grateful in my circumstances and not just for them.  As President Uchtdorf taught, We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.

This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. 

When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement.

I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it.  And in the current situation, I'm getting a lot of practice.  Thank you for your continued prayers for us.  I know there are a lot more blessings that I am not even noticing, and I am grateful.  

Love,

Mom

Photos

Video Hannah and Dallin made to introduce my district conference on "Repentance"

Online conferences -- screen shot (some of these missionaries really need haircuts.  I like that Switzerland decreed hair salons the first thing to reopen!)

Elders waiting to for ER at SLQC

ER tents at SLQC -- if you have a cold, you cannot enter actual ER

Saying goodbye to Pakastani and Australian misionareis at MTC.

Nursing crew at Novaliches General Hospital ER

Sister Reibati wakes up!