2019 Week 7 (11-17 Feb.)
It was quite an emotional roller coaster this week!!!!! It was a
kind of week.
Elder Hable, the driver and zone leader (he was the assistant when we arrived in the mission field) has broken ribs and one is close to his spleen. It was not punctured but he is under observation for at least five days to see how it all heals. He was able to speak to his parents on the phone last night and this morning and papa/grand-papa spoke to him also a few times before and after he got to the hospital.
Elder Temaiana, his companion, the other zone leader, got a lot of bruises. All the missionaries had scans and tests done. We did not speak to him yet, he has been sleeping a lot. And all his tests are normal. He will stay at the hospital for observation also. His mother was contacted by their stake president because she does not have a phone. I hope we can arrange something for him to talk to her.
Elder Kimball had a big cut above his right eye. He told us that he sees double and he lost a lot of blood. His tests were also normal. He will stay at the hospital for observation also. He has spoken to his family last night and Papa/grand-papa spoke to him also.
Elder Champoux, notre petit Québécois, was unconscious for a long time. He came to in the hospital and had abdominal pain. The doctors could not see what was wrong with the scan, just that something was wrong and last night they did an exploratory surgery. Papa/grand-papa spoke to him before the surgery on the phone. When he asked him "How are you Elder Champoux?" He responded:" Bien" like he usually would. Papa/grand-papa told him he admired his positivity. They had a good talk. He spoke to his parents also before the surgery and after, this morning. We had to wait until this morning to get the details of what was happening. He had some torn muscles that were repaired and all his internal organs were fine.
'BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"
It is so frustrating to be so far from the missionaries when something like that happens. We are leaving today and will be there tonight. We had planned to go to New Caledonia this coming Wednesday. And so we will be there a little sooner. We are so grateful for the Hunters who are the senior couple in New Caledonia. They took care of meetings with the police, comforting the missionaries, talking with the doctors and giving us information. Elder Hunter gave blessings with the district leader who also communicated news to us of what was going on. It was a busy day on the phone for papa/grand-papa delivering news to families as soon as we got them ( which was not fast enough, we were all so anxious to know what was going on). And phone calls to priesthood leaders, Area Presidency and Church Legal Department. I spoke with the area medical advisor and he will arrive in New Caledonia in about an hour. I am thankful that he will be there also.
To finish off this very draining day, as I got out of the bathroom I came face to face with this huge centipede. Papa/grand-papa said he never heard me scream so loudly. My throat was sore after. He came to my rescue and "killed the beast" with his sandal, hitting it repeatedly. It took me sometime to stop sobbing. After staying in papa/grand-papa's comforting arms for awhile, I got a little bit of courage back but I kept following him and watching like a hawk everywhere. I was not sure if I would be able to sleep but after such a day I fell right to sleep like a baby.
kind of week.
It started great with Christmas getting here just three days before Valentine's Day.
We received our wonderful Christmas gift!
It was transfert week which is always an emotional roller coaster. It is also a busy week of training and having these missionaries over for dinner ( Tuesday leavers and Thursday arrivers)
Missionaries leaving to go back home.
Missionaries arriving in the mission field. Elder Papai looks like a bodyguard but he is a gentle giant.
They are a great group of talented and excited missionaries and we are thrilled to have them here with us.
And in the midst of all that excitement we have cyclone OMA to deal with. So before, during and after the event, the mission president has to write an e-mail for the parents and on the Facebook page to keep them informed of what is happening. And of course receiving reports from the missionaries in the areas touched by that quite interesting and now a Category 3 cyclone. I say interesting because it has been stuck in the same area all week and just getting bigger. All the forecasts of where it is going next have not happened. Which is good because we had a lot of missionaries traveling this week but it is bad because the ones getting hit by the heavy rain and wind would like it to move away and get weaker. This is where it is now.
The missionaries on Santo and Malekula got a lot of rain and some strong winds for about three days. It is calmer now but for how long? It all depends on where Cyclone OMA will go next.
We have been getting rain, sometimes pretty heavy but not for long. We got a few sunny days also and it was hard to imagine that a cyclone was raging close to Santo and Malekula.
Saturday was the craziest part of the roller coaster. As we woke up we got the announcement that the missionaries can now video chat, call home along with e-mail and write like they use to every week. I think that is great news. I hope it will be a good motivation for the missionaries to be able to contact their family that way. Of course, in some areas of our mission, it is hard to get a signal for the internet. Phone calls are not possible either because it is too expensive but video chat is as easy as e-mailing. So that will be wonderful. I know we get such a boost when we speak to you (children and grandchildren)
The plan for the day was to go shopping with the Facility manager for a new dining room table and some chairs. One of the table is broken and old and termites have taken residence in it. Someone came to take some measurements and he will build a nice big one. We need to buy chairs to replace the ones that go with the broken down table because they are broken down also. The other table was damaged when the roof was replaced last November. It rained inside the house because a tarp was not put on the roof. Luckily that happened while we were gone. When we came back, it was like nothing had happened. But I noticed the damage done to the table. We were going to meet the FM at church and on our way we saw this incident:
As we are watching this happen very quickly, we get a phone call from the zone leader in New Caledonia who has just been in a serious car accident. Papa /grand-papa was hearing the moaning and cries of the three missionaries who were with the zone leader. Because of the cyclone, there is a lot of rain, the zone leaders were on their way to drive two missionaries to their new area where they had been transferred. Going over the speed limit, a wet surface, aquaplaning, they lost control of their vehicle and the incoming car struck them on their side and the SUV the missionaries were in rolled and rolled into the ditch.
The passengers in the other car were a grand-mother ( the news said in her forties) a pregnant woman and her young daughter. The grand-mother suffered some cardiac arrests and passed away about 4 hours later at the hospital ( such devastating news). The pregnant woman and her unborn baby have no serious physical injuries and the daughter suffered a broken leg.
This is the picture I saw in the Facebook page of the New Caledonia news:
Elder Hable, the driver and zone leader (he was the assistant when we arrived in the mission field) has broken ribs and one is close to his spleen. It was not punctured but he is under observation for at least five days to see how it all heals. He was able to speak to his parents on the phone last night and this morning and papa/grand-papa spoke to him also a few times before and after he got to the hospital.
Elder Temaiana, his companion, the other zone leader, got a lot of bruises. All the missionaries had scans and tests done. We did not speak to him yet, he has been sleeping a lot. And all his tests are normal. He will stay at the hospital for observation also. His mother was contacted by their stake president because she does not have a phone. I hope we can arrange something for him to talk to her.
Elder Kimball had a big cut above his right eye. He told us that he sees double and he lost a lot of blood. His tests were also normal. He will stay at the hospital for observation also. He has spoken to his family last night and Papa/grand-papa spoke to him also.
Elder Champoux, notre petit Québécois, was unconscious for a long time. He came to in the hospital and had abdominal pain. The doctors could not see what was wrong with the scan, just that something was wrong and last night they did an exploratory surgery. Papa/grand-papa spoke to him before the surgery on the phone. When he asked him "How are you Elder Champoux?" He responded:" Bien" like he usually would. Papa/grand-papa told him he admired his positivity. They had a good talk. He spoke to his parents also before the surgery and after, this morning. We had to wait until this morning to get the details of what was happening. He had some torn muscles that were repaired and all his internal organs were fine.
'BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"
It is so frustrating to be so far from the missionaries when something like that happens. We are leaving today and will be there tonight. We had planned to go to New Caledonia this coming Wednesday. And so we will be there a little sooner. We are so grateful for the Hunters who are the senior couple in New Caledonia. They took care of meetings with the police, comforting the missionaries, talking with the doctors and giving us information. Elder Hunter gave blessings with the district leader who also communicated news to us of what was going on. It was a busy day on the phone for papa/grand-papa delivering news to families as soon as we got them ( which was not fast enough, we were all so anxious to know what was going on). And phone calls to priesthood leaders, Area Presidency and Church Legal Department. I spoke with the area medical advisor and he will arrive in New Caledonia in about an hour. I am thankful that he will be there also.
To finish off this very draining day, as I got out of the bathroom I came face to face with this huge centipede. Papa/grand-papa said he never heard me scream so loudly. My throat was sore after. He came to my rescue and "killed the beast" with his sandal, hitting it repeatedly. It took me sometime to stop sobbing. After staying in papa/grand-papa's comforting arms for awhile, I got a little bit of courage back but I kept following him and watching like a hawk everywhere. I was not sure if I would be able to sleep but after such a day I fell right to sleep like a baby.
I read yesterday afternoon the following scriptures in the Book of Mormon ( Alma 38:4,5,9). It brought me peace and comfort.
"...thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee."
"...I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered our of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
"And now, my son, my children, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness."
This is the testimony I want my family to hear. I know it is true. I love the Lord and will serve Him even when it is hard because I know we are never alone.
Mifala lavem yufala we I gat no finis.
We love you forever.
Comments
Post a Comment