A week of oddities - last of February 2009

What a week this has been! My sister and I both had the opportunity to substitute in teaching primary classes last Sunday. It was interesting to me to see what marvelous ideas she had for teaching about prophets. She put in hours of work and had created a game with cards sort of like baseball cards of the prophets with their pictures on one side and a key quote or commandment they emphasized. My students were younger and not yet readers, so I had selected and printed up pictures as clues about commandments and then displayed our past and present Relief Society/Melchizedek Priesthood manuals with the pictures of the prophets on them plus an Ensign with Our present 1st presidency on the cover. Sis and I are both experienced teachers and it was fun to see what different ideas we were inspired with. Daddy B.J. visited primary sharing time and was invited to speak to the children.
We finished the Sabbath with a baptism for Jennifer, who recently married Matt Mginnis, who David had in his teacher’s quorum when they first moved back to Bremerton. Matt’s father had visited David’s clinic for a foot problem. He told David that Matt and Jennifer had just moved into Bremerton. When the dad learned that Daddy B.J. was the bishop in his son’s new ward, he gave Matt’s name address and phone number to David, who immediately passed them on to us. I gave Jennifer a phone call and said we would love to see them at church. The missionaries just happened (Ha, there is no such thing as a coincidence – only tender mercies of the Lord.) to track into them that week. They started teaching Jennifer and she asked to be baptized. Daddy B.J. met Matt and interviewed him for worthiness, so he was able to baptize his wife. David came to the baptism too and bore his testimony. Daddy B.J. speaks at every baptism to welcome the new members into our ward.
Monday Sis and Cliff had invited us to dinner along with the four missionaries from our ward. Patrick Leyerle, who was still living with us also went. A feast of pasta with parmesan cheese, asparagus, creamed spinach, green salad, apple pie and ice cream was prepared. Lavina fixed a chicken breast especially for me. A member of our church from Texas has called us Saturday and given us her sister, Judy Lange’s, name and number. Though she has been in our ward for some time, her records are not here yet. Judy has been diagnosed with breast cancer and the Texan wanted her to receive a priesthood blessing. The missionaries just happened (Ha, there is no such thing as a coincidence – only tender mercies of the Lord.) to bump into Judy’s daughter that week. Are we seeing a pattern form here? Judy lives only a couple of blocks from Sis and Cliff’s, so are that sumptuous dinner we were able to visit her and Daddy B.J. and the missionaries administered to her. The Texan sister phoned to thank us and asked for someone to take Judy to her doctor’s appointment Tuesday because her initial chemotherapy treatment last week had left her too sick to drive. I drove Judy on Tuesday.
Leah made arrangements for Patrick to move in with Daniel Kennedy. Since their apartment is within a stone’s throw of the Bishop’s storehouse and cannery, that will be a blessing for Patrick. It also frees up a lot of time for me. Since any houseguest is a bit of a strain, I takes some pressure from Daddy B.J. too. Tuesday evening we helped Patrick move and then Daddy B.J. went to visit a sister in the Forest Ridge nursing home. The doctors expect her to pass away shortly and though she is comatose B.J. made a bishop’s visit.
I had been working all week trying to get postcard invitations ready for our new member get-together coming Sunday. I ended up with forty and had them almost stamped and ready to mail Wednesday when Daddy B.J. called. Derek Wentz, who is 2nd counselor in the bishopric, had received a call from his wife saying their toddler had a seizure and para-meds were on the way. Derek was driving back from Bainbridge Island and wanted Daddy B.J. to go to his home till he could get there. Of course daddy did. At Harrison Memorial Medical Center they decided that since the boy had aspirated some vomit, they would med-evac him to Seattle’s children’s hospital by helicopter. I was needed to stay with the four-year-old daughter Marina so both parents could follow her brother to Seattle by car. Marina has had a bad cold and they didn’t feel good about asking another family to take her into their home. I actually arrived at the Wentz home before they got there. I had a lovely evening with Marina but needed to pass the baton the next morning. I called Crystal Sutton explained the situation and she arrived to take over at 9:00 AM.
I then rushed home to meet Daddy B.J. and drive him to Poulsbo, where the oral surgeon, whom Dr. Redd recommended, removed six of daddy’s teeth. This is in preparation to getting a denture for the top and a special new partial plate for the bottom – once his gums have healed satisfactorily. He said he had to have the extractions that day since the doctor was headed out of town for an extended vacation I had to watch a 20-minute video about caring for the patient and then watch him break all the rules they laid down. He had a seminar scheduled for that evening, so he did the presentation. He got up and went to the office this morning and worked for several hours. Does he feel pretty awful? You bet!
Michael Pierson has missed far more days of school this year than he attended, but once a lad it taller, stronger, and more determined than his mother, what can she really do? Since he is high-end autistic, the schools make all kinds of allowances from him. It reached the point where he was called into juvenile court. That appearance was this afternoon and Leah asked me to go with them. He was offered some options but picked returning to Bremerton High and working toward graduation. The judge has ordered him to be in school each and every period of each and every day this coming week or face seven days in juvenile detention. Michael committed to being at school.
At various locations during the week I have been reading “Playing for Time”, which is the account of a famous French singer’s experience in the Birkenau extermination camp adjacent to Auschwitz Concentration camp during the Holocast. Fania was with the orchestra and that preserved her life. It really was an unimaginable time and place and truly the truth is far stranger than fiction could be.Work has been progressing nicely on filling the washout in the front yard.Dennis Durban, who is in charge of the fill said it was 8 or 9 of that huge shooter truck’s loads to fill in over the new culvert. A sort of conveyer belt blower tele-scopes out of the back of the truck and sand spewsout like water from a hose. This big backhoe is still here so perhaps a little more remains to be done. We love you!