Russell and Eileen's Church Missions: ANYONE WANT RICE?

Both yesterday and today, Saturday and Sunday, Eileen started getting texts and calls from the young missionaries at 6:30 AM. The missionaries are required to get up by that time, so they assume that everyone else is up. Eileen keeps close track of who she talks to and their issues. She then provides a brief report for our mission president and his wife summarizing the issues and also records them formally in a church provided “Emed” computer program. Once a month she meets with our mission president, his wife, the Area Medical Advisor (AMA) and Area Mental Health Advisor (AMHA) to discuss the missionaries’ medical issues. Of course, if there are more critical issues they are addressed with the AMA and mission president immediately.

Over the last three days Eileen has been contacted by 23 missionaries, some multiple times. The interesting thing to me (Russell) is that 95% of the time she really enjoys the work. Since she cannot practice as a nurse here, she functions more in a triage role. Yesterday morning, she talked to two missionaries from different areas that she advised to go to the hospital. We even offered to one to go and pick him up and take him to the doctor. In both cases the missionaries declined to do so because they had baptisms later in the day; which they would rather die than miss. I think they were just hoping Eileen could suggest a magic bullet that would fix them long enough to make it through the baptisms.

On Wednesday, we went into Pasig and Taguig (Metro Manila) to do apartment inspections. One set of sister missionaries told me a week prior to our visit that there were a few things wrong with their apartment, one of which was that their microwave did not function. I questioned that since I put a new microwave into that apartment less than three months ago. They insisted that it had never worked properly which we found interesting since the prior sister missionaries from that apartment had made brownies, in part using the microwave, for us after we helped them move in. At the last moment the sisters said that they were unable to meet with us but that they would leave the key to their apartment with the guard. When we arrived, we retrieved the key and entered the apartment. Eileen walked to the microwave and tried to get it to work. She opened it up and found a bowl of black colored rice inside (see the attached picture below), complete with small insects. My assessment was that the rice had been burnt and then never taken out. We left the bowl of rice on their counter with a plate over it so the bugs would not escape. Upon questioning, the sisters said it was mold on the rice but maintained that the microwave had never worked. Interesting!

I asked this Elder to put hot packs to the lesion on his face. He decided this was an easier way to do it.

Quite honestly I was grossed out by this photo the Elder shared with me, but even more grossed out when I saw what came out from this lesion. I am not sure what he is growing in there but it sure looked nasty.

Sister Simister was one of the 5 missionaries who won the clean toilet -fridge contest. It is pretty hard to find blueberry cheesecake here and it is not cheap. Each missionary that won got a slice of cheesecake courtesy of the Healys.

These sister missionaries sang at zone conference. Sister Alder is in the middle. They paid someone in their ward just 180 pesos, or $3.50 each to make the dresses. That was including the fabric. It seems like a great deal to me.

These elders sang at zone conference.

We bought a large bottle of pickles for the Alders at a place which is similar to Costco. I never knew so many people could be excited about pickles. Several of the missionaries stopped and got a big dill pickle from Sister Alder.