We have had three couples finish and leave us in the last 6 weeks. It's hard to see them go not only because we love them but also because we haven't got replacements yet. We are trying to hold down the fort! Also, one of our couples who was with us in the MTC and is serving here got some surprising bad news this week. Sister Fuller has stage four cancer that started in her lungs and has spread to other parts of her body. They are trying to finish their mission, but we will have to see how the radiation goes.
Last week I went with my cousin Chris Abbott to Pine Valley. Her ancestor, William Snow, settled Pine Valley and was the first bishop. We took a tour of the cute Pine Valley Chapel, the oldest LDS chapel in continuous use. It was built by in 1867 by Ebenezer Bryce, a Scottish shipbuilder.
William Snow was also the brother of Erastus Snow and one of the original pioneer settlers sent down to St. George to grow cotton in the Cotton Mission.
One of the fun things about our mission is my interaction with the young sister missionaries. While Scott is in the annex, I am at the front desk answering the phone and supporting the missionaries as they greet and talk to people who come in. I am also supposed to hug them and notice how they are doing. These wonderful sister missionaries come from all over the world. Right now we have some from Australia, England, Germany, Italy, Columbia, Mexico, Tahiti, France, and the US. The last couple of weeks Sis. Lopez has needed my help. The first week she told me she had been throwing up about twice a day for three days and wanted to know what she should do. After talking about her symptoms, I advised her to drink lemon-lime Gatorade and Sprite and eat toast for breakfast. Also, she got some saltine crackers. Happily, she got better in a couple of days. Then the next week, she came into the visitors' center distraught because she couldn't find her cell phone. They had retraced the three places they had been so far. She said, "Sister Burt, they just made me senior companion, and I lost our cell phone." I said, "That's easy to do." Then she told me about the last time she had the phone. I said, "Have you looked in your car?" She said they had a few times. I told her to give me the keys, and I would go look in her car. They went back to their apartment, and in a few minutes I walked to their car and started looking. I found the phone in the side pocket of the passenger side door! Needless to say, they were pretty excited when I knocked on their door with the car keys and their phone. I told them I was an experienced mother.
St. George Temple Visitor's Center
Good job, Grandma! I bet the sister missionaries are so grateful to have you to help take care of them.
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