My BRIGHT IDEA?

Eileen has been sick with a respiratory illness this week and worked from home on Thursday and Friday.  So, I was kind of anxious to leave the office Friday afternoon and see how she was doing when I got a call from two sisters in Ottawa Kansas.  It was 3:40 and their car wouldn’t start.  They had driven it earlier to an appointment, but now the engine wouldn’t even turn over.  Since Ottawa is over 60 miles from the office and traffic on a Friday late afternoon would be brutal, I told them to try and get someone from the ward to jump the car, but if they were unable to find someone by 4:00 that I would drive down and help them.  Fortunately, they were able to get help from a member locally, but when that didn’t get the car running, and after having the car towed to a local Firestone and them also not being able to get the car to start either, I reluctantly became resigned to this being something that was going to take my Saturday to get fixed.

My plan was simple.  On Saturday, drive the extra car we had (it had just come out of the shop) to Ottawa, give it to the sisters, have two elders drive me back, and then have the car towed from Firestone to the nearest Chevrolet dealership where it could be fixed (and should be under warranty). 

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night around 3:30 am, don’t know why, and I can usually go back to sleep quickly.  But it’s a quiet time when I can think.  The thought came to me that rather than taking the car that wouldn’t start to the nearest Chevrolet dealership, why not have it towed back to the Chevrolet dealership in Independence?  That would get the car closer to where I could deal with it easily, and I could probably get a ride with the tow truck back from Ottawa, thus eliminating the need for the elders to have to drive me back. This was a better plan. At 8:30 am I was on the phone to the dealership when they opened, talked to the towing company, the sister missionaries who I was taking the car to, the elders from whom I would not longer be taking a part of their day, and was on the road by 9:00.  By 1:30, I was back home, and the troubled car was back in Independence with arrangements having been made for it to be fixed. My early morning idea was a much better solution than my previous day’s plan.

Then it started to occur to me, maybe it wasn’t my bright idea at all.  Perhaps it was help that I needed but didn’t recognize I should ask in prayer about.  On one hand it seems strange that God would be concerned with my trivial problems.  But on the other hand, it is comforting to think that he cares about me.  It also got me wondering about all those other brilliant ideas I have had in my life, and were they really all my ideas?  More likely I’ve failed to recognize all the times I have had promptings from the Spirit, and I’ve just pridefully patted myself on the back thinking what a bright boy I am!  I am very grateful for a patient Father in Heaven.

This past Sunday I (Eileen) went to our stake center with several other senior sister missionaries to listen to the Worldwide Relief Society Devotional. I always sit near the back in church meetings so I can have a quick exit if I get a call. The broadcast had just started when my phone rang. It was a young sister panicked because she was having severe chest pain and struggling to breathe.  She had recently had a bad orthopedic issue and will be returning home next week for surgery. My first thought was “I wonder if she is having a pulmonary embolus?”  There were no urgent care offices open near her, so my choice was sending her to the ER, or trying to have her do some self care at home.  I poked my head into the devotional and motioned for another senior sister to come out. Sister Platt is a former ER nurse who is serving in records preservation in our mission.   Sister Platt talked with the young sister missionary and gave her some suggestions. I advised the young sister missionary to check back in with me every 15 minutes, which she did. By the end of the broadcast, she was doing much better.  

One of the challenges as the mission health advisor is trying to triage situations over the phone.  I don’t want to miss something which could potentially be a serious health issue, but also don’t want to send missionaries to the ER needlessly. I was so grateful that Sister Platt was with our group and willing to share her expertise with me and the young sister that evening. 

This  missionary car is less than one year old but needed to be towed because it wouldn't start.

Elder Perry teaching Russell about finances. The Perrys are leaving in April and their replacements don't come in until June. Russell will be doing both cars and finance for a while.  It will take quite a bit of juggling of his time. 

I have never seen an elder who didn't like a donut.  Russell bought the donuts to thank them for their help, a dozen when we started and a dozen for when we finished.

We fit 12 people in the transit van to go pick up the new cars.

There were supposed to be 11 cars, but the dealership couldn't find the second key to one, so there were only 10 new cars. The Facilities Management lot is turning into a new car lot of identical looking cars. 

Difficult to see on the white car, but there were quite a few pock marks on the car from hail. The mechanic drew circles around the damaged areas which were all over the car. The estimate to fix them all was over $6,000. The church declined to have the body work done.