Service

We had taken the elders with us to Sister Bartniki’s two weeks ago and helped clean up her yard.  About a week later Rod and Elder Neerings start getting little sores on their arms and hands.  We used hydrocortisone cream and antibiotic ointment on them but they kept spreading and growing.  Elder Neerings’ remained much smaller but Rod’s kept growing and spreading to both arms, trunk, and one leg.  We took him to the Doctors’ Urgent Care and he was diagnosed with contact dermatitis and was given a steroid shot.  The sores kept getting larger, redder and hotter and he had a fever and chills for two days.  We took him back to the Urgent Care and they treated him more aggressively with prednisone, Keflex, Zytrec and Topicort cortisone ointment.  Elder Neerings’ sores went away with just cortisone ointment.

              

Needless to say, this interrupted missionary work for a couple of days but Rod is dutifully taking all of his drugs and the sores are resolving.  As the saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished”.  And we have learned that we need to watch out for poison ivy.

                                     

We keep having deer wander through our yard along with various other wild life since our yard backs up to acres of wooded area.  It is unseasonably hot but things stay very green because the humidity is so high. 

We had a wonderful senior-couple conference at the mission home on Saturday hosted by President and Sister Sumerhays.  It is the first time we have met all of the couples serving in the mission.  It was a fun day sharing experiences and being spiritually rejuvenated. 

              

              

                                          

The Reids, on the top left, are from St. George and serving in the Mansfield Branch which is about five hours from Pittsburg. The Watts, on the top right, are from Kaysville on Mutton Hollow and are serving in the Huntingdon Branch. Sister Watts worked with Rod at Layton High for five years. The Brenchleys, on the bottom left, are from Centerville and are serving in the Somerset Ward.  The Johnsons, on the bottom right, are from Rexburg and have been the office couple for two years.  President and Sister Summerhays, on the bottom middle, are from the Salt Lake area. All of these couples are going home soon and will be greatly missed.  The only ones being replaced are the Johnsons in the office and the new mission president, of course.

             

                                            

The other couples attending were, on the top left, the Christensens from the Salt Lake area who are serving as regional mental health missionaries.  The Marshalls, on the top right are serving as the CES missionaries.  The Cannons, on the bottom, are here waiting for her to receive a bilateral lung transplant and he has been called to serve as a missionary doctor.  They are from the Salt Lake area also.  We will be the only couple serving as member and leader support. 

We have had a very enjoyable week teaching and serving.  Every day is an adventure and we love doing it together. We wish everyone could meet and love the people of Wheeling like we are having the chance to do.  We are shown in many ways each day that the Lord is in charge and he knows and loves each of us individually.