Tender Mercies

Part of what I do here in the mission is help missionaries with health concerns.  Of course, the Church Missionary Department has an excellent web site to provide answers to just about any question I receive.  And we have an Area Medical Advisor, who is a retired physician, called to serve as the doctor to help the missions in the Pacific.  He is located in Auckland, but answers my calls immediately.  Thank goodness.  And the phone does ring.  I am getting pretty good at answering questions about colds, stomach aches, sore throats, fevers, head aches, sleep problems, in-grown toe nails, back pain, shin splints, and more recently, heat stroke.  I pray every day for the Spirit to guide me so I will ask the right questions and offer helpful answers.
  Two stories with happy endings.   A few weeks ago, on Monday afternoon (Preparation Day), I received an emergency call from an Elder.  "Sister Lindsay, my companion just knocked out his front tooth while we were playing basketball and it is bleeding a lot, what should we do?"...Having never dealt with this before, I heard myself ask, "Do you have the tooth?" " Yes ".  Then, after quickly determining they were stopping the blood with their shirts I told them I would call Elder Innis, a Senior Missionary, who was a dentist in his former life.  Elder Innis answered immediately and came to the rescue.   The tooth had to go back in immediately, and the Elder needed to get to a dentist asap.  And Elder Innis would take care of it!  Yes!  I am pleased to say, that so far the tooth is happy, back in place, and our Elder has a winning smile, once again.  With his permission, I share the following photograph.

Check out the root on that tooth!  We are using this photo as the poster for Please Be Careful on P day!

   In the same week, I received a call late in the evening, that a brand new missionary (from California, and in Australia for 9 days),  had fallen off his bike and scraped up his face.  An angel, member, was nearby, helped clean him up, stopped the bleeding, and drove him home.  He just happened to have triple anti-biotic cream in the First Aid Kit his mother had put together for him before he left for the MTC, a month ago.  Precisely, what my medical information said to do.  Bruce and I went to visit him the next morning, and he was dressed, and doing companion study.

I saw this Elder this week, and he looks almost all better!  Thank goodness.

  Thank you for all your prayers for the missionaries!