Everyday Miracles

My ear has really been  bugging me again. And as you can imagine, I do not want to go home again - especially just for an earache. I mean if you are going to be sent home from a mission for medical reasons, you want it to sound a bit more dramatic than that. So I went back to the doctor here – the one that I went to before as he is the only game in town - and I will admit my confidence level in him and the medical facilities here was low. He showed Robert what  the problem was. There was a huge block of wax or some sort of buildup in my ear canal. I kept telling Robert that I felt pressure on my eardrum and my hearing was getting worse. I thought it was from the inside out not the outside pushing in. The doctor gave me some ear drops (they smelled strong) to put in my ear to soften this mess up. I put the drops in a couple of times and reported back to the doctor - this time at the hospital instead of the clinic. He talked about something there he wanted to share with us. As it turned out this doctor had gone to Europe to get training on how to operate a specific bit of equipment that had just been donated to the hospital. It is this long scope lens that is put in the ear and you can see on a TV screen what is inside – magnified too. So he sat me down and showed me my good ear. Wow, very fascinating. It looks great. Then he showed me the other ear. There really was a nasty looking plug that covered the whole canal. Then he took me into another room and with a tiny suction sucked the whole nasty plug out. It did not hurt! (Just a bit unnerving to have a vacuum in your ear, but they did that to me in the States too) Then we went back into the scope room and looked inside my ear again.  No plug! But … ugly eardrum. It has not healed well. It is blackened in places and the hole is now visible. It was microscopic when I left the States. The doctor said I will need to get some surgery when I go home. Obviously they don’t do that here. The good news is the surgery can wait until we return next year. And what a miracle to have this equipment, with the attended training, now on the Island and to now know I can get the care I need periodically. It is a real answer to prayers

The second miracle occurred in front of a sewing machine. We had six new missionaries report this week. When they had just barely arrived, looking fresh in their new suits and ties, one of the Elders caught his suit coat pocket on the stair railing at President's home just as he bounded up the stairs. It ripped his brand new suit by the pocket. I wasn't there, but the missionaries called and asked if I thought I could fix it. Ummm. I asked if it was ripped on a seam. Answer: Well, ugh, sort of. When I got back to see what the situation was, I about died. This coat was ripped down the front starting at the corner of the pocket and going down about 2 and 1/2 inches. Nobody can fix that!

But I could tell this missionary really did not want to write home and ask his parent to spend the money on a new suit. So I went upstairs and said a prayer. Then it came to me to try a few things. Suits have seams going down the front in the middle of the pocket. So I fixed the vertical part of the pocket and then made a seam that went down from the corner of the pocket all the way to the bottom of the suit. I just pinched the fabric where it wasn't ripped and then sewed the rip together. I ironed it and was amazed by the result. 

You could hardly tell it had happened. And since he will only wear the coat for one hour every week in Sacrament meeting, I think it will do him for the remainder of his mission.

      When the Elders came to get it I was laying down with drops in my ear and Robert was so disappointed that I did not see and hear their reactions. The missionary was dumbfounded. He was so prepared to tell his parents he had ruined a brand new suit and they would need to send him a new one. Elder Dola, the assistant, just beamed and said. “See I told you she could do it!” But I know - with my limited sewing experience - it was not me. It was another everyday miracle. 

     

      The next miracle happened a few days later when more missionaries arrived from the Brazilian MTC. All four were Cape Verdians. They had gone to Brazil to get their missionary training and were back to serve a mission in their own country. President likes to do a big production of where the new missionaries will be sent and who their trainer will be. Well one of the Elders was excited to find he was going to one of the northern Islands with - drum roll - Elder Orten! Elder Orten bounded into the room ready to embrace his new companion. His eyes went to him but then suddenly to the Elder beside him. President redirect his attention to his companion who he hugged, but then he turned to hug the other Elder as well. Both were near tears. What none of us knew was Elder Orten had baptized this Elder one year ago. But as things go here and you are transfer to another island with limited communication with those you left behind, he did not know if this young man had remained active or even where he was. It was an emotional moment and a miracle as it might have taken months for Elder Orten to even know this man was serving inn the mission. The missionaries are so spread out and barely in touch with each other.  Here are the two of them standing in front of our baptismal goal chart.

     

   

And that brings us to the last miracle. Imagine having 1,609 baptisms as your yearly mission goal. But the miracle is a baptism, much like the one pictured below, happens every Saturday on every island in almost every chapel.