Why I became a nurse and a missionary.

President and Sister Parr

I’ve have missionaries and others frequently ask me two questions:  what made you decide to become a nurse? and what made you decide to come on a mission?

After I graduated high school and was preparing to leave home for college, my father called me aside to give me some advice.  I had always wanted to be an attorney.  He recommended to me that I choose a more “secure” type of profession such as a school teacher or nurse.  He told me that I may have difficulty finding a dependable job as an attorney but that there would always be a need for teachers or nurses.  Since I liked the science classes I had taken in school, I leaned toward nursing.  I have never regretted that decision and I’m grateful for my father’s wisdom.

During my career as a nurse, I have worked in a hospital, a clinic, and a rehabilitation hospital.  I have been a “mother” nurse, a “neighbor” nurse, and now a “mission” nurse.  Giving care and support to patients, friends and family has always brought me great joy and satisfaction.  It has defined me.

My husband, Kay, and I had always planned to serve a mission together.  Kay loved serving his mission as a young man in Uruguay and he wanted me to have the experience and joy that he found as he served in South America.  We looked forward to serving together.  The Lord’s timing for Kay was not to serve another earthly mission although I feel and believe that he is serving a mission where he is now.  After his death, I felt that there was no reason for me not to serve a mission. 

I wrestled with leaving my family but Kay used to always say to me:  “If you want to be of service, you have to be willing to sacrifice.”  Those words kept coming to me.  In serving my mission, I don’t feel that I sacrifice although I do miss the time with my family at home.  The blessings of mission service far outweigh any sacrifice I make.

What a blessing it is for me to have this opportunity to serve.  Sometimes it is difficult to put feelings into words and as I continued to contemplate this question of why I came on my mission further, I thought of a BYU speech I read a few years ago.  It took me a minute to find it, but Sondra Heaston, an Associate Teaching Professor in the BYU College of Nursing, gave a speech titled: Keeping Your Fingers on the PULSE of Service that said it very well.

“The heart is a vital organ necessary to maintain life. The heart rate, also known as the pulse rate, is the number of times your heart beats per minute. In order for your body to function properly, it is important to have a continuous, regular, and strong pulse. With certain variations in the pulse, you may become sick and unable to function. Elder Marvin J. Ashton, in a general conference talk from October 1988, taught that the Lord measures an individual’s heart as an indicator of that person’s capacity and potential to bless others. In his words: 

Why the heart? Because the heart is a synonym for one’s entire makeup. We often use phrases about the heart to describe the total person. Thus, we describe people as being “big-hearted” or “goodhearted” or having a “heart of gold.” Or we speak of people with faint hearts, wise hearts, pure hearts, willing hearts, deceitful hearts, conniving hearts, courageous hearts, cold hearts, hearts of stone, or selfish hearts. 

The measure of our hearts is the measure of our total performance. As used by the Lord, the “heart” of a person describes his effort to better self, or others, or the conditions he confronts. [“The Measure of Our Hearts,” Ensign, November 1988, 15] 

I recently saw a Facebook post from a wonderful friend who is a nursing student in Indiana. She had posted a video that had been presented by Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, for his 2012 state-of-the-clinic address. The video really touched my heart and helped me to evaluate how I truly see and value others. I would like to share that video with you in the hope that it will do for you what it did for me and will start you thinking about the state of your heart. [A video was shown: Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care] 

What if we could really see into each other’s hearts? Would we understand each other better? By feeling what others feel, seeing what others see, and hearing what others hear, would we make, and take, the time to serve others, and would we treat them differently? Would we treat them with more patience, more kindness, and more tolerance? 

A quote from Henry David Thoreau suggests that trying to see into each other’s hearts could truly be something that could benefit our heart health: “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” (Walden [1854], I, “Economy”). 

While we may all look at things differently, our hearts beat with many of the same dreams.” 

Sister Heaston goes on to say: 

“Doctrine and Covenants 4:2, states: Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. 

This scripture teaches us that in order to stand blameless before God at the last day, not only should we serve Him with our might, mind, and strength, but it is also imperative that we serve Him with our heart. Our Heavenly Father and the Savior know our heart. Service with all of our heart must then be motivated by the pure love of Christ, free from all selfishness. 

Just as there is a necessity for each of us to know that our physical heart is functioning properly, it is equally important to know that our spiritual heart is healthy and functioning properly. Unfortunately, there is not a two-finger technique that I can teach you that will effectively assess and monitor your spiritual heart rate. But there are indicators from our daily life that help us to know where we stand spiritually. One of the most easily measurable of these indicators is our ability to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of others—or, in other words, our ability to be of service to those around us. And that is the topic I would like to address with you today.

I would like to suggest to you an acronym that will help you to assess, monitor, and improve your spiritual heart health. That acronym is PULSE, which is defined as follows:

P = Pray: Pray to have a serving heart.
U = Understand: Understand and recognize the needs of others.
L = Lose: Lose yourself in the service of others.
S = Spirit: Be Spirit driven—listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit.
E = Emulate: Emulate the Savior.”

Sister Heaston goes on to explore each of these in greater detail.  It is a wonderful talk and I would invite you to read, or better yet, watch it in its entirety.

I would encourage you also to watch the video in the talk: Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care.

I can testify that serving others does in deed bring joy, love, and the Savior into my life.

The cold and flu season has hit the southern hemisphere.   As I mentioned last week, I continue to have calls every day and have gone to urgent care 3 times this week with missionaries to get treatment for strep throat, coughs, etc.  One day I was able to help a couple of sisters who needed a ride to a conference because the driver in the companionship had an injured ankle.  Two other days I went to doctor’s appointments.  It has been a busy but rewarding week.  I have few pictures to show but the love I feel from the missionaries can’t be captured in a picture.

Tuesday I drove to Whangarei to take some medication to a missionary.  While there it was suggested that I go to a Philippine restaurant.  It was a good suggestion.  I had pork adobo.  It was delicious.

I was told that adobo is the national dish of the Philippines.  I wanted to know more about the food and this is what I learned:

“Adobo, a popular dish in Philippine cuisine. You may use chicken, pork, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic and slowly simmered until yummy! Many Filipinos consider adobo, the national dish of the Philippines. The perfect adobo lies in the delicate balance of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and spices (bay leaves and fresh ground peppercorns).  Others use salt or patis (fish sauce) to enhance flavors. Recipes vary from different regions in the Philippines.  The best way to start the preparation of adobo is to marinate all ingredients for at least an hour or the longer, the better.  This is followed by gently stewing the mixture until the meat is tender, and the marinade is reduced to a small amount of gravy.”

I also enjoyed Pan de ube - aka - ube bread, the super yummy Filipino bread with a sweet yam filling.

We got a new mission president and companion this week.  On Saturday evening, the senior couples in our mission had dinner at Bushman’s Grill with President and Sister Parr where we celebrated the 4th of July and got acquainted with our new leaders.   Sad to say goodbye to President and Sister Walker who went home to Hawaii, but welcome to President and Sister Parr.

The beach has been awesome this week.   I love the “moodiness” of the beach:  all sunshine one day and wind and rain the next.

Tuesday morning

After a stormy night, we often see little jelly fish on the beach.
This is a HUGE jelly fish with my foot for comparison of size

Someone is going fishing. Two ski-dos decked out for the day.

Wednesday sunrise

Saturday morning boat races

 And the race begins

Sunday afternoon there was a stiff wind.

Kite day!!

When we arrived at the beach on Monday morning, it was high tide.  In all of the time I have been walking the beach, I have never seen the tide this high.  We usually enter the beach at the north end by the boat ramp.  Today the water was so high that we had to walk a few blocks south along the streets to enter the beach and it was still difficult to find a dry path to walk on and to stay out of the waves.

This picture shows the water clear up to the stone wall. Normally I would
have tons of room to walk along between the wall and the sea.

I misjudged how quickly the wave would hit before I could get to high ground.  Wet Feet!!!

South end of the beach with water up to the stone wall on this end too.

Huge log carried a shore

It is July but also the time when poinsettias bloom.  At least they are blooming in my neighbor’s garden.

Tuesday morning on my walk home from the beach, the sun was shining after a rain.  The sun caught this rose in such a way that it doesn’t look real but I did not alter the color in the picture.  I like the raindrops on the petals.

It is my prayer that you will all be healthy and safe and find joy in serving others.

I love my Savior.  I love you my family and friends.