I love being a nurse!

Sisters Hinves, Rarotoga, and Wong

It is rewarding to me to serve as the “ask a nurse” for the mission.  I feel that part of my responsibility to the missionaries is not only to give them advice on how to heal and what to do when they are sick, but to educate as well.  I like to do research and so when I have a question, I can Google to my heart’s content.  (Did I tell you that my grandchildren call me “Grandma Google”?)  I research cause and treatment, exercises, nutrition, etc.  I send out what I hope is helpful information such as exercises for back pain and how to wrap an ankle after a sprain.

As often as I can, I arrange time with missionaries to get to know them better.  You all know that lunch or dinner is my favorite way to get better acquainted.  I was blessed to be with some sisters on Thursday for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Unfortunately, one of our missionaries has had occasion to be in the hospital since Thursday evening.  I have been there every day during the day time hours so that I can talk to the doctors and monitor treatment.  I feel sorry for the sick missionary and I would rather not have had them experience this but it has given me the opportunity to revisit my hospital nursing days and I have enjoyed that aspect of it. 

The hospital is a very large complex.  This is my view from the fourth floor window.

There are some little “café” style eating places in the hospital.  The food is pretty good in fact.

My breakfast one morning was delicious smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel with beetroot relish.

Sitting bedside has given me opportunity to think and read.  Along with the inspiration I receive from general conference talks, I like BYU Devotional Speeches.  One I read gave me pause to stop and really look at myself:  “The Lord Doesn’t Grade on a Curve” by Sister Janet Lee given in January 1995. 

All through my life, I have based my self-worth on how I felt I compared to others.  In school, I looked at the most popular girls, who they dated, how many friends they had, how they dressed, etc and I most often felt that I was lacking.

As I raised my children, I would look at other families, wives and mothers and think that I really wasn’t quite good enough.  I didn’t take my children to sporting activities or music lessons.  If they did play sports, I didn’t always attend their games.  My home and yard weren’t immaculate and well groomed.  My children were wonderful and I did feel honored and blessed to be their mother, but I felt I didn’t always do things in the way I should have done them. 

Even now, I occasionally catch myself falling into those old thought patterns observing others:  My clothes, my hair, my wrinkles, …….

As I’ve aged, however, I have come to realize that it doesn’t really matter how I compare to others but how I feel about myself.  In her speech, Sister Lee discusses this and gives some helpful insight.  You may read the speech here.

She begins with a story: 

Eighteen days ago our daughter-in-law Sharon gave birth to twin boys, James and John. As you can imagine, there was much rejoicing the morning they were born. Excited and loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends all lined up in front of the hospital nursery window, marveling at the beautiful little faces and perfect little bodies.

“Are they identical?” we all asked. The preliminary tests were inconclusive, which of course only made us more curious. We stared at them, placed side by side, and compared them from their ears down to their toes. Was one lighter, darker, fatter, thinner, smaller, or bigger than his brother? This led to other questions in our minds: Would one be more athletically or musically inclined? Would one have an easier time in school? Would one have more friends?

Watching from outside the nursery window, we could see the new father, our son Michael, busily going from one baby to the other, speaking softly and gently touching them. When we were finally able to talk with him in the hallway, he was full of excitement and pride about how each one was doing, noting their individual characteristics. In our curiosity we had been drawing comparisons, but Michael, as the loving father, had focused on each boy separately.

As I left the hospital, I continued to think about these new little members of our family and whether it would be hard to be compared constantly with someone else. I hoped that our family would be able to value each child individually. 

Then I began to think about life and how we often tend to compare ourselves to others. We compete with brothers, sisters, roommates, friends, or people with whom we work and go to school. Sometimes we even seem to be in competition with our husbands or wives. A few days later, still reflecting on this thought, I remarked to a friend, “Life is like being in school. We are continually grading ourselves on some imagined scorecard, trying to see who gets the A. 

“You must remember,” my wise friend answered, “the Lord does not grade on a curve.” 

This remarkable phrase caught my attention. Whatever we are doing, wherever we see ourselves on the scale of life, we need to put aside the world’s preconceived notions of what we should be and remember, “The Lord doesn’t grade on a curve.” 

We all want to do our best as we go through life. Sometimes, however, the most visible measuring stick we use to examine how we are doing is the one devised by the world. We naturally recognize people who are “at the top.” We applaud them, we see their names on honor rolls, we read about them in newspapers and magazines, and we try to emulate them. There is nothing wrong with that except when we try to determine our intrinsic worth or the value of those around us by our comparative grades, social status, acclaim, appearance, salaries, degrees, or possessions. 

It is an inevitable fact of life that we compare ourselves to others. Yet it can be a very dangerous practice. If we give ourselves a superior rating, we fall into the trap of pride. President Ezra Taft Benson has warned us that “the proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success” (“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, p. 6). 

If we see ourselves at the top of the ladder, we diminish the significance of others, sometimes overlooking important qualities that our grading scale ignores. We may not even be aware that we are doing this. 

An equally dangerous practice is giving ourselves an inferior rating. In this instance we often compare our weakest points with everybody else’s strongest ones. If we believe we are at the bottom of the ladder of success, we feel defeated. 

Why do we do that to ourselves? When someone else does something well or owns something we do not have, why do we immediately knock ourselves down a rung or two? Appreciating the abilities and resources of others should lift us, not diminish us in any way. Every time we see or hear something of merit, we should be better because of it. The Lord must have intended it to be that way, because each of us has been given different gifts, unique abilities, and varying insights. 

Being able to appreciate and encourage the gifts of others may well be the greatest gift of all. 

Never will our eternal value be measured in comparison with another’s performance. The Lord doesn’t think in terms of quotas—only qualities. He does not accept just the top ten percent. He wants all of us. He sees our worth from where we are today and what we can become tomorrow. Each of us stands on equal footing as we work to develop Christlike qualities such as love, humility, patience, and charity. He will attend to our individual needs and assess our progress because it is “his work and his glory” to help us succeed. 

When our measuring stick is Christ’s life and teachings, we need no other comparison.  

Each of us is loved and valued beyond any earthly means of measuring. Because the Lord knows our hearts and sees our individual worth, he does not grade us on a curve. 

I appreciate the words of Sister Lee.  I know that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.  I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and died for me and that through his sacrifice, Atonement, and resurrection I may enjoy life eternal with my family.  I know that by reading and studying the Book of Mormon, I will find direction and will know the path that will lead me to that eternal life.

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

 

I needed cookies to take to a lady to whom I minister.  I had leftovers so I took some to a couple of elders.
They called to thank me and asked if I would send them the recipe.  I told them that it was an old family recipe
and I don’t usually share but if they would promise not to tell about the recipe, I would send them a picture of it.  LOL

Flowering shrub in the parking lot of Countdown Grocery Store.  It is called Grevillea “Honey Gem”

This is a “new” vegetable that I tried.  It is really good.
It takes like mild cauliflower but looks like white broccoli.

I like my birthdays, every one…..

It has been a great week.  It was my birthday on Sunday, the 17th, and it has been wonderful to hear from family and friends.  I thank you all for your well wishes, love and support!!

While I was in New York serving, Jake and Kristin came to visit me and it happened to coincide with my birthday.  (They probably planned it that way.)   Jake surprised me with this as we waited for a train in the subway.

This has been transfer week so we lost some missionaries who finished their missions and gained some new ones.  Transfer day and orientation of new missionaries was on Wednesday. 

I have been busy with missionaries who have had a stomach virus.  I have my treatment advice on stickies on my laptop and on Notes on my phone.  When I need to give treatment advice, I can copy and paste into an email or into a text so that all instructions are written down and can be referred to as needed.

This has been a particularly nasty virus for some with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea lasting for 2-3 days and headache and weakness following for a couple of days.

Tuesday I found myself in the ER with a missionary at 5:00 in the morning.  Well….I got the call at 5:00.  It took me half an hour to drive there.  All ended well with a discharge to home around 1:30 that afternoon.

I have had quite a bit of travel time going to and from doctor appointments with missionaries and taking medications to missionaries too sick to go out and get it for themselves.  Not complaining at all!  I love being busy and needed. 

Some of the sights I’ve seen in my travel.  

Christmas decorations on the streets

Graffiti on a wall.

I haven’t had much time to get out and walk this week so Saturday morning I hit the foot path (side walk) and headed for the beach.

Roses to brighten my morning walk

Takapuna Beach is busy on a sunny Saturday morning

My dogs would LOVE this!

Saturday Sister Lewis called and invited me to dinner so I was treated to a lovely meal with a birthday bowl of frozen yogurt to celebrate. (The first picture on the blog.)   She also gave me a turkey made of shells that she had collected on Takapuna Beach.

Sunday evening, Lillian and Kevin came to dinner along with the Chinese speaking sister missionaries and Sister Bunker.  We had a nice evening.  After dinner we had a lesson on recognizing the spirit.

Today, I was blessed to enjoy some time with the sister training leaders.  We had lunch and ice cream.  Fun!!

Sisters Holley and Stone

This afternoon Deanne sent me some pictures of the sunset from my back yard at home.  They are so stunning I have to share.

These were taken just minutes apart.

The little bright, white light just to the right of center in the darker line is the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

A couple of things stand out to me this week.  When I was in New York serving my first mission, I was blessed to get to know the Korean speaking sister missionaries.  I spent quite a lot of time with some of them and developed close and lasting relationships.  One companionship that I knew well share some of their experiences with me and even invited me to attend some of their baptisms. 

Katie Fitt shared an experience with me about teaching and helping a man that had known her grandfather in Korea many years ago.  She invited me to his baptism but I was not able to attend. She sent me a link to a story that some of you may have seen in LDS Living.  It is such a great story I would like to share it with you HERE.

Another special event happened to me this week.  While waiting for orientation of the new missionaries to begin on Wednesday, one of the assistants to our mission president caught me and asked if I knew how to help someone get into Family Search. I’ll admit it has been a while since I actually helped someone with this but I agreed to try.

A woman, a member of the church, brought two of her family members who were non-members, to the chapel.  They wanted to get into Family Search.  The member had a key to the family history room but for some reason didn’t know how to get into the system.

Even though it has been about 7-8 years, bits of memory from the time that Kay, my husband, and I taught a family history class came to my rescue.  The non-member woman sat at the computer next to me.  I helped her set up an account so that she could access Family Search from her home computer or phone.  When she finally got logged on and typed in the name of her grandfather, names of ancestors began to come up on the screen.   She got so excited it brought tears to my eyes.  She was jumping up and down in her seat, reading out loud the names of her ancestors, and clapping her hands. 

I felt so blessed to have witnessed this special moment for this woman.  It made me recall a talk by President Eyring that Kay used to refer to often as he taught the class and tried to convey the responsibility we have to find our ancestors and to do the work for them.  He had parts of it memorized and would recite to the class. One paragraph he often quoted was ”… remember that the names which will be so difficult to find are of real people to whom you owe your existence in this world and whom you will meet again in the spirit world. When you were baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see one of their descendants make a covenant to find them and to offer them freedom. In your reunion, you will see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible disappointment. Their hearts are bound to you. Their hope is in your hands. You will have more than your own strength as you choose to labor on to find them.”

If you would like to read the talk in full, you may do so HERE.

I have personally found great joy in doing family history work whether indexing, reading stories/histories, or searching for names to take to the temple.  There is so much satisfaction in taking family names to the temple and in doing their work for them.  It is most rewarding!!

All of the things I have experienced this week have testified to me that each of us matters to our Heavenly Father and that miracles still occur.  The Lord is in every detail of our lives.

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

Change is “the constant” in a mission field

Change is “the constant” in a mission field.  Transfers are coming.

This week along with the daily/usual phone calls and texts, there have been doctor’s appointments on 2 days with missionaries, transfer planning meeting (transfers next week), English class, Health Council, and an activity at the Kauri Museum with the senior couples.

Tuesday was our final Zone Conference for this transfer period. 

Sister Bunker teaches an English as a second language class every Wednesday evening at the church.  She was out of town this week so she asked me and another nurse in our ward to substitute for her.  We taught the English words for health problems and body parts so that if a person needed to go to the doctor, they would be able to explain the problem they were experiencing.  We also discussed illnesses and over-the-counter medication names and uses.  We had students from Asia, South America, and Central America.  It was a fun evening for me.

I have mentioned Lillian, my Chinese friend, in previous posts.  Her husband has been here visiting with her and Kevin, their son.  Michael had to return home to China on Saturday so I was invited to go to dinner with them on Friday evening.  Lillian knows I like soup dumplings, so I was treated to a very delicious dinner with pleasant company.

Saturday morning I rode with Elder and Sister Lewis to The Kauri Museum for lunch and tour with other senior couples. 

From Wikipedia: 

The Kauri Museum is in the west coast village of Matakohe, Northland, New Zealand. The museum, to the south of the Waipoua Forest, contains many exhibits that tell the story of the pioneering days when early European settlers in the area extracted kauri timber and kauri gum. 

The museum has over 4000 sq metres of undercover exhibits, including the largest collection of kauri gum in the world, and the largest collection of kauri furniture. It has a model of a 1900s kauri house with furniture and models in the dress of the early years, and an extensive collection of photographs and pioneering memorabilia. On the wall, there are full-scale circumference outlines of the huge trees, including one of 81⁄2 metres, larger even than Tane Mahuta. The museum includes a working mock-up of a steam sawmill.  

It tells its story from the colonial viewpoint, and presents its representation of the kauri gum industry as part of the process of creating the New Zealand identity. 

Here is a little information about the kauri tree from Wikipedia:    It is the largest (by volume) but not tallest species of tree in New Zealand, standing up to 50 m tall in the emergent layer above the forest's main canopy. The tree has smooth bark and small narrow leaves. Other common names to distinguish A. australis from other members of the genus are southern kauri and New Zealand kauri.
Read more here. 

The museum was interesting.  I enjoy history so this was a memorable excursion.  I have a lot of pictures to share in no particular order.

My husband, Kay, liked to collect canes.  He even has a few similar to some of these.

The next few pictures are represent just a portion of the large collection of kauri gum.  The gum is a valuable collection.  Some gum pieces have sold for thousands of dollars.  Kauri gum is a resin (a sticky substance) produced by New Zealand’s giant kauri trees. The resin helps protect the tree by filling in holes and damaged areas.

Kauri trees can live for more than 1,000 years, so they make a lot of gum over a lifetime. As the trees die and fall, the ground where they grew becomes littered with kauri gum. Over time, this often gets covered by soil or swamps. 

Most kauri gum is found in Northland.  This is really interesting if you would like to read more.

Gum diggers

Around the grounds of the museum there are other significant buildings of the period.

Flowers and other things on the grounds.

My Monday morning walk in Takapuna

As I’ve done quite a bit of driving this week, I have had time to think about some of the things that mean a lot to me.   I had watched this video, Living Beyond “What If?” | Cambry Kaylor – Hope Works, and had time to ponder and think about hope.

I recognize that many people struggle to have hope in their lives.  I see missionaries and family and friends struggling with loss of loved ones, financial woes, job and work stress, and health issues.  The list is endless.  Yet with hope we can press on and endure. 

On the church website I read the following:

“The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active.  

When we have hope, we trust God’s promises. We have a quiet assurance that if we do “the works of righteousness,” we “shall receive [our] reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23). Mormon taught that such hope comes only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ: “What is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41). 

As you strive to live the gospel, you grow in your ability to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”   The principle of hope extends into the eternities, but it also can sustain you through the everyday challenges of life. With hope, you can find joy in life. You can “have patience, and bear with … afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions” (Alma 34:41).”

At times life’s trials can weigh us down.  I am forever grateful for the hope that has come into my life through the Atonement of my Savior.  I have hope that I will be with my eternal companion again and that I will be with my family for all eternity.  This hope gives me the courage to continue on and to try to do the things that will lead me in the direction I must travel to have these hopes fulfilled.

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